Hatteras December 15, 2011
Linda Harper and Ashley Bahen with a pair of stout king mackerel they hooked while fishing aboard the "Miss Hatteras." Photo courtesy of TW's Bait Tackle.
Eddie, of Hatteras Jack, reports that surf casters are still hooking some speckled trout from Hatteras Island’s northern beaches. Casting soft plastics on jigheads or MirrOlures is fooling the specks.
Some puppy drum, black drum, pufferfish, sea mullet, spot, and croaker are taking an interest in bottom rigs baited with shrimp and cut baits that anglers are casting into the surf.
The water is still in the mid-50’s, and anglers are eagerly waiting for it to fall a few degrees to see if the striped bass make their way to Oregon Inlet and Hatteras. If and when they do, anglers can tempt them to bite large cut baits and metal spoons from the beaches. Or they can troll, cast, or jig for the stripers from boats.
If the weather gets truly cold this winter as it did two years ago, anglers may see some excellent puppy drum action with schools of fish along the beaches.
Wesley, of Frank and Fran’s, reports that anglers are connecting with some sea mullet, pufferfish, and an occasional puppy drum from the beaches at Avon, Buxton, and Frisco. High-low bottom rigs baited with shrimp will tempt bites from all the surf bottom feeders.
As the water temperature falls over the coming months, anglers are hoping striped bass will make their way south in range of Hatteras Island surf casters.
Bob, of Frisco Tackle, reports that the surf is producing action with pufferfish, sea mullet, dogfish, and a few black drum. All are taking an interest in shrimp-baited bottom rigs.
The water is still 62 degrees, so anglers may see a few more big drum feeding around Cape Point before it cools off further and they head south. If the water drops into the low-50’s for an extended period, striped bass should also be making their way south off Hatteras, and they may be feeding within range of surf casters.
Pete Kruger, of the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, with a fat speckled trout he hooked in the Nags Head surf.
Kyle, of Frisco Rod and Gun, reports that surf casters are connecting with some sea mullet, pufferfish, and a few black drum and flounder from the Frisco, Buxton, and Hatteras beaches. Shrimp on high-low bottom rigs are fooling all of the surf bottom feeders.
Plenty of dog sharks are feeding around Cape Point for anglers looking for slightly larger adversaries. They’ll readily take just about any bait that anglers can cast.
Offshore, the king mackerel fishing has been up and down around temperature breaks off Hatteras Inlet, with some days producing excellent catches and some days slower.
Yellowfin and blackfin tuna, along with a few wahoo, are still feeding in the Gulf Stream, and boats are hooking them while trolling skirted and naked ballyhoo when they get the weather to run offshore.
Jay, of Bite Me Sportfishing, reports that anglers are finding good action with yellowfin and blackfin tuna while trolling skirted and naked ballyhoo in the Gulf Stream off Hatteras Inlet.
The king mackerel bite has also been solid on many days, and live baits or strip bait/sea witch combos are fooling the kingfish.
Bluefin tuna should be making their appearance off Hatteras in the coming weeks. Boats search for the big tunas along the cool/warm water edge from the 180 Line on out to the east, and hook the fish while trolling large ballyhoo under skirted lures and vertically jigging over tuna they mark on the depthfinder.
Melinda, of Tradewinds Tackle, reports that surf fishing has been a bit slow on Ocracoke over the past week, but anglers are connecting with some smaller flounder, pufferfish, and dog sharks.
Shrimp on bottom rigs are fooling most of the fish.
