Tidelines – June 14, 2012
I just got back from another distribution run to the Outer Banks. As I’ve previously noted in my Tidelines columns, distribution is unglamorous (stop-and-go traffic, in and out of the car, finding parking, getting newsprint on your hands and clothes, etc.), but distribution to the Outer Banks can also bring with it the opportunity to go fishing. And when that distribution run to the Outer Banks happens in early June, then opportunity means sight casting for cobia out of Oregon Inlet Fishing Center with my good friend Capt. Donnie Davis of DOA Charters.
Like last year, this past week we cruised the coastline of Hatteras in search of cobia that we could coax into eating a bucktail (or a live eel if they were noncommittal on the bucktail). And like last year, we found fish that were willing to eat and fish that weren’t.
Last year’s trip with Donnie had been my first time fishing with him, as well as my first time fishing out of Oregon Inlet. And while on last year’s trip with Donnie I enjoyed the newness of it all (it was also my first time riding in the tower and spotting cobia from that elevated position, as well as having my cobia cleaned by the Oregon Inlet crew), this year I enjoyed the familiarity of the trip.
I felt at home back in the tower and working to discern the rays and turtles from the cobia. My instructions were recognizable and the same as last year—cast the bucktail beyond and in front of the fish, bring it to the fish quickly so the bucktail stays on the surface, and then jig it in front of the fish. Hopefully the cobia will roll on it, because if you see the roll then you’re almost guaranteed a strike.
And if the bucktail is presented correctly but it doesn’t work, then don’t waste time casting it again—go quickly to the live eel before the fish loses interest and moves on.
My days on the water with Donnie, both last year and this year, produced memorable fish, though I think everyone agrees that the cobia fishing this year never really kicked in. Last year over our two days of fishing we brought several large cobia (30-50 lb. class) to the boat.
This year we brought in one cobia, as we were unable to get any of the other and larger fish that we saw to eat. And with a new born in the Hurley house, my instincts told me to only go fishing one day and not to push for two this year.
And now it’s time for a confession, as I know Donnie will be reading this Tidelines and will expect me and Fisherman’s Post to be honest. The photo I am running of us with a cobia is from last year’s trip and not this past week. Donnie is a little skeptical of fishing publications right now (a photo of his boat off of Hatteras recently ran in a national fishing magazine’s article on striper fishing out of Montauk), so I want to go out of my way to keep up his trust in Gary Hurley and Fisherman’s Post and be clear that I am running a dated photo.
Donnie, his wife Jennifer, and their two kids are full of hospitality when I come to visit, so much so that I am volunteering to do distribution again in July. The cobia will be gone, but Donnie has a few secret triggerfish holes, and I also hear that he is the tautog expert of the Outer Banks.
And I’m sure that the kids and I will once again be enjoying swings, tightrope, and trampoline the evening before we fish, and if I’m lucky then Jennifer will once again include a sandwich wrap and a couple of Propels for me when she packs Donnie’s lunch for the boat.
If sight casting for cobia is a trip that you’d like to try, then I would give Donnie a call to talk about dates for 2013. He has a number of returning regulars every year that can fill up a calendar, so it’s best to at least start making plans early.
And if you’ll be traveling to the Outer Banks anytime this year, or if you need a reason to make the trip, then get in touch with Donnie to target speckled trout, triggerfish, tautog, jacks, or winter stripers—no matter when you go, he can help create a fishing memory (and a full cooler).
You can reach him by calling (252) 202-5565, or by visiting www.doacharters.com.
My last suggestion? Ask Donnie to have at least three gaffs on the boat.
