# No luck in the surf but...



## eye-man (Aug 8, 2010)

Tried fishing the beach in Nags Head without much success. Went off-shore on Wed. And we slayed the tuna. Started off trolling and picked 5 tuna and one wahoo. The bite turned off so we sent up the kite. All I can say is wow! We picked 9 more tuna before heading in. If you ever charter on the outer banks look up Country Girl. Big Al put us on the fish and Charles showed us how catch em!


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## eye-man (Aug 8, 2010)

Great day of fishing


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

wow, nice! looks like a great time. 



> The bite turned off so we sent up the kite.


 whats that mean?

did you catch anything at all surf fishing?


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## MuskieJim (Apr 11, 2007)

Wow! That is awesome! Those tuna are like a torpedo with fins. I've always wanted to catch some kite fishing, I can imagine that is really exciting to see them take the bait and watch the clip pull off. 

I found this diagram using Google, but its pretty detailed. Kite fishing:


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

crazy! thanks for the pic, ive never heard of that.


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## eye-man (Aug 8, 2010)

We had a few bites in the surf and I had one on that threw the hook about 10 feet out. My brother-in-law had a fish take his bait and broke the the line off of the snell. We only fished bottom rigs with shrimp and mullet, but the shrimp seemed to get the most bites. By the way the kite bite is awesome. The tuna will actually leap out off the water to get at the bait. And you always have more than one fish biting when they start busting. We had two doubles and one of those was almost a triple but we didn't get the last fish hooked.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

thanks for the come back. shrimp did get a lot of attention for me but they are hard to keep hooked. i know what you mean about the snell, i had the same thing happen. glad you had a good time!


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## Matulemj (May 29, 2012)

I'll be in Nags Head next week. I will check out that charter service. As far as shore fishing, what did you use so I can avoid it and try something different 


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## RiverWader (Apr 1, 2006)

Should have traveled down to Avon area to surf fish, We were catching, Trout, Blues,Sharks,Rays, An occasional Spanish, and Lots of small fish.
All the fish were caught on bottom on Shrimp, Mullet, and Squid. And after the wind came in thursday the fishi shut down.


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## RebelWithACause122 (Mar 29, 2011)

RiverWader makes a point... the fish are not always biting the same along all stretches of beach. I've fished the beach in Nags Head quite a few times. Sometimes I'l catch 3 or 4 different species of fish on the same bait/lure... but next time I go and do the exact same thing, I get nothing. One thing I'd like to suggest is that whenever you go down to the Outer Banks, stop in at a local bait/tackle shop and ask them what's being caught in the surf and WHERE. They'll usually be glad to tell you, and they'll usually also off up ON WHAT. Also check local pier reports and such to see what's being caught. This doesn't mean that I then go start at the areas they mention... just because the reports indicate activity in one area, doesn't mean that other areas won't be productive. They don't have ALL the info, but they do have good info. If they say that the only fish being caught are around the inlet, I'll still fish the beach in Nags Head... but if I find it really unproductive, I'll go to where people have been catching fish.

I tend to move around anyway. Sometimes I fish from the beach, sometimes I fish in the sound, sometimes I fish from bridges, sometimes I fish from my kayak. If I'm not catching, I'll try something else or someWHERE else. There are some other important factors that are hard for most of us freshwater fishermen to get used to:

1) Reading the beach. I'm getting better at this one. Find an article or book that talks about "reading the beach" and put it into practice. By watching how the waves act, you can get an idea of the shape of the bottom... where the sandbars are, where the GAPS in the sandbars are, and so on. Sometimes, all you need to do to get into the fish, is walk 50 yards down the beach.

2) Tides. At first I thought this would be easy... but it's more complicated than I thought. High tide (or low tide) does not occur at the same time all along the coast... and it REALLY starts to vary (timewise) when you start going INSIDE the inlets into the sounds. Also, fish can be caught at pretty much any tide stage... but the tide stage and/or associated current may change where the fish are, how they are oriented, which tactics will work, and what species will be feeding.

3) Wind. I need to learn more about this one. The direction of the wind impacts what types of fish are available in the surf. One time I told the guy at the bait shop that yesterday I caught flounder after flounder in the surf, today I can't get one... he told me the wind changed (don't remember the directions, need clarification) and that I wouldn't catch any flounder until it changed back.

So much to learn, but focus on these 3 things first.


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## backlashed (Mar 19, 2011)

Reading the beach and the wind are probably the most important parts of this.

If the wind is wrong is just doesn't pay to go out, unless you're like me and feel that sitting on the beach with a full cooler is still pretty special! 

Ditto talking to the local tackle shops. Yes, they DO want your money, but they want you to come back too! Down on Hatteras I go into Hatteras Jacks in Rodanthe and check in with owner Ryan White. I also stop in at the Red Drum Tackle in Buton. I've never been to the Roost in Hatteras village but plan on visiting them in July. If you go to the Roost talk to John Mortenson, aka JAM, he's a kayak fishing legend down there.


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## backlashed (Mar 19, 2011)

MuskieJim said:


> Wow! That is awesome! Those tuna are like a torpedo with fins. I've always wanted to catch some kite fishing, I can imagine that is really exciting to see them take the bait and watch the clip pull off.
> 
> I found this diagram using Google, but its pretty detailed. Kite fishing:


If you have never seen it look, for it on youtube, tuna are incredible!


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

> Should have traveled down to Avon area to surf fish, We were catching, Trout, Blues,Sharks,Rays, An occasional Spanish, and Lots of small fish.


awesome riverwader, glad you had a good time.


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## eye-man (Aug 8, 2010)

If the wind is wrong is just doesn't pay to go out, unless you're like me and feel that sitting on the beach with a full cooler is still pretty special! 

Exactly!


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## catmando (Aug 21, 2006)

What's the best wind?

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## eye-man (Aug 8, 2010)

Cat,
I talked to a local who was fishing near our location, he said the bluefish had been biting pretty good for the past couple days but had shut off when the west wind moved in. Not that it means a whole lot but I figured it was a place to start. The more we know about the conditions the better chance we have at catching and not just fishing!

Riverwader,
That wind Thur. and Fri. was awful. It made it almost unbearable to be outside let alone on the beach with the sand pelting you. As for traveling, I thought about fishing the bridge that runs toward Manteo (can't remember the name) but never really had the time. The beach behind the house was just really conveinent. I could go down after dinner and fish til dark and carry everything with me in one trip.

P.S. does anyone know the regulations on fishing after dark or how many rods you can legally use at one time? I had asked for a copy of the regs. at TW's and he told me they were out , although he gave me a chart with the min. length requirments and a fish identification guide.


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## Shed Hunter 365 (Dec 3, 2007)

I am heading down to the Outer Banks around the end of July. Any idea what will be biting on the surf at this time.


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## RebelWithACause122 (Mar 29, 2011)

Shed Hunter 365 said:


> I am heading down to the Outer Banks around the end of July. Any idea what will be biting on the surf at this time.


Shed Hunter, you're in luck. Backlashed is going to be down there early in July and I'm going down there mid-July... so you'll have some fresh reports to go off of. I've been going to Nags Head in mid-july for years. It's mostly a mixed bag of smaller fish, some getting up to a few pounds. In the surf, you are likely to encounter sea mullet (whiting), spots, croakers, bluefish, pompano, and if you're lucky, flounder, seatrout, and puppy drum. There will also be skates and rays, sharks, bait-stealing pinfish and so on. You can find sheepshead around hard structures such as bridges, piers, and rocks. There are many more, some of which are rare in that area, some of which are strange looking (searobins, toadfish, lizardfish). One thing I like about the saltwater (or at least, the Outer Banks) is the incredible variety available. I've caught like 16 different species out of those waters... I don't know of any lakes here in Ohio where I've caught 16 different species.

Keep an eye out for reports next month from Backlashed and from myself (and anyone esle who might be headed down there) and you should be able to get a good idea of what's been biting and what methods have been producing. I know I'm certainly anxious to get down there... I can hardly wait!


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## Shed Hunter 365 (Dec 3, 2007)

Thanks Rebel, I certainly will keep an eye out.


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## backlashed (Mar 19, 2011)

catmando said:


> What's the best wind?
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


Depends on the species, but winds from the NW to SW churn up the water and keep the game fish away, especially mackeral. Sharks are the exception, an 6' Tiger was caught off the Hatteras Island Beach by a 14 YO earlier this week.

Shed Hunter, I'm going to be staying in Salvo on HI and fishing the beaches down there. If I can I'll also go out on a kayak, probably a rental cause I'm a sissy and cant lift any of mine right now. Our house has a dock on the sound so I can leave it in the water or drag it onto the beach. I'll also be able to do some poppin' cork fishing for trout and flounder right off our gazebo, I'll let you know how that works. I'm going to take some Big Joshy Swim baits, I'll buy some Berkly soft plastic shrimp and then mullet or squid from Hatteras Jacks. 

Pin Fish like the taste of plastic and will decapitate your soft baits so take plenty.

Rebel, 6 big bull sharks were seen by a mullet fisherman yesterday in the Pamlico Sound between New Inlet and Rodanthe. You're going to need some stout hooks if you are going to hook one of those boys.


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## backlashed (Mar 19, 2011)

eye-man said:


> P.S. does anyone know the regulations on fishing after dark or how many rods you can legally use at one time?


Try this website, I can't get any of the PDF documents on their site to open for me.


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## RebelWithACause122 (Mar 29, 2011)

backlashed said:


> Rebel, 6 big bull sharks were seen by a mullet fisherman yesterday in the Pamlico Sound between New Inlet and Rodanthe. You're going to need some stout hooks if you are going to hook one of those boys.


Shhh, don't tell my wife about that. She only swims in the ocean because she's convinced that there all the large and/or aggressive sharks stay way offshore except for down in Florida. Not really sure how she came up with that, but whatever works for her. I've got some big, beefy hooks, some metal leaders, and an 11 foot surf rod with an 80-size reel... which has 150 yards of 65 lb braid, backed by 100 yds of 30 lb mono. I had 30 lb braid on when I reeled in my 3 ft shark... then the next 2 sharks I hooked managed to cut or break my line above the metal leader (one of them was on long enough to let me know that it was significantly larger). This time, with 65 lb braid, (with a 60 lb mono shock leader between braid and metal leader), I'd like to put a 5 ft shark on the beach... I guess we'll see. I will spend most of my time fishing much smaller (and tastier) fish, but the thrill of reeling in something big certainly makes shark fishing worth some time as well.


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## Shed Hunter 365 (Dec 3, 2007)

You guys are getting me pumped up. I am a freshwater guy, because thats what we have around here, but really looking forward to getting after it down there.


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## RebelWithACause122 (Mar 29, 2011)

Shed Hunter, when are you headed down and what town are you staying in?


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## Shed Hunter 365 (Dec 3, 2007)

I am staying in Duck


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

> If I can I'll also go out on a kayak, probably a rental cause I'm a sissy and cant lift any of mine right now. Our house has a dock on the sound so I can leave it in the water or drag it onto the beach. I'll also be able to do some poppin' cork fishing for trout and flounder right off our gazebo.


sounds like a dream come true vacation. how do you go about renting a kayak like that. you paddle back to your dock and bring it in the house every night? is it a weekly rental? that would be something id be interested in trying. 

good luck on your trip, all you guys.


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## RebelWithACause122 (Mar 29, 2011)

I've never stayed that far north on the outer banks, so I can't help you out with public fishing access points, or bait/tackle shops, or restaurants. However, the surf fishing will be pretty much the same, only you'll be less likely to catch some of the fish that migrate up from the south. Pompano and spanish mackerel I know get less common as you go north from Oregon inlet. I'll be down in Nags Head July 15-22, and I'll let you know how I do.


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## backlashed (Mar 19, 2011)

hardwaterfan said:


> sounds like a dream come true vacation. how do you go about renting a kayak like that. you paddle back to your dock and bring it in the house every night? is it a weekly rental? that would be something id be interested in trying.


They do daily and weekly rentals out there. There are several water sport rentals within a 1/2 mile of where we are staying. I could also skip that and go with a guide, I know of at least one that provides quality kayaks to fish from.

I had two surgerys' June 11 and am on a 10# weight restriction for 4 more weeks, otherwise I'd be taking my 'Cuda down.

I found this link this morning to the Fishing-NC.com Newsletter. I'm signed up, easy enough to do.


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