Sometimes when you’re at the beach, “nothing” is the best thing to do. Just sit on a lawn chair in the sand, watch the waves curl and crash along the shore, marvel at the string of pelicans bobbing over the water and simply relax. However, there is no shortage of things to do at Nags Head, and for me, a fishing rod is usually involved.
You can fish in the surf, off the piers, in the sound, from the Oregon Inlet Bridge, behind Bodie Lighthouse and if you have a boat, the sky – rather, the ocean – is your limit.
For charters, the Gulf Stream lurks some two hours from port with dolphin, wahoo, tuna, billfish, king mackerel and other species waiting to do battle. For an offshore venture, check out the charters at Oregon-Inlet.com. Closer to shore, charter boats like Beach Bum Fishing with Capt. Reese Stecher can put you on stripers, cobia, flounder, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, speckled trout and red drum. Reese has the advantage of being able to fish in the sound if conditions are not right in the ocean. He knows where the fish are and will put you on them. He also offers half-day trips so you can spend more time with family. Go to beachbumfishing for more information.
For family fun, a chicken neck, a scoop net and a long string will put a bunch of feisty crabs in the bottom of a five-gallon bucket. Crabbing can be done at the several public access points in the sound, from the Little Bridge at Manteo and behind the Bodie Lighthouse, to name a few. There are go-cart tracks for the kids, bike rentals, plane rides along the shore, golf courses, the Wright Bros. Memorial at Kitty Hawk, gift shops, the North Carolina Aquarium, The Lost Colony and countless other places to go and see.
But as I mentioned earlier, doing “nothing” is not a bad choice.