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May 4, 2009
Outer Banks Angling: The April fishing report By ROB ALDERMAN  Wow.
What a month April was. Up and down air temps, up and down water temps,
and just flat out day-to-day dramatic changes in weather. Yep. Welcome
to spring on the Outer Banks—Mother Nature’s menopause.The inconsistent weather and constant beach closures made judging the surf fishing very difficult. The water had hard times maintaining the optimal 60- to 70-degree range most of the month. However, if we did get few nice days, then we would see blow toads, sea mullet and bluefish. None of the species ever seemed to have a major run, but there were some nice days of catching for each. Beach closures for bird habitats took out a reasonable amount of our prime surf fishing spots very early this spring. Places such as Oregon Inlet, Ramp 27-30, Cape Point, and the Hook, to name just a few, lost vast amounts of access, by which we gauge our spring fishing. If no one can get to these prime spots to fish, it’s truly hard to judge how good the fishing was or is. The big drum made several appearances on Ocracoke and Cape Point for the surf fishermen. Although Cape Point’s access was denied to vehicles and most pedestrians, because of a closure between Ramp 44 and the Point, there were those who chose to wade around the enclosures to catch fish. Those who refused to be denied were properly rewarded with big fish.  Pier fishing really has had a slow start but began to see a slight pick up towards the end of April. Hatteras piers had the best water temps and the best catching. Sea mullet, blow toads, bluefish, small spot and croaker dominated the pier reports. Avon Pier did mange to take down a few big drum that were released early in the month. The inshore boats had some great days chasing down the red rum from the shoals of Ocracoke to Cape Point. Offshore fishing was off the hook with good numbers of bluefin, blackfin, and yellowfin tuna taken, along with fair numbers of dolphin, tile fish and grouper on a regular basis. This is still another hard fishery to gauge, because the number of spring trips is down for the fleets. The charter community, like the surf fishing community, hopes that the “in season” will prove to be a good one. I had the weather and time to spend a few days kayaking in the ocean. I very much enjoy these trips. I feel like a flea on an elephant out in the Atlantic Ocean in my 14-foot piece of plastic. I generally like to cruise around and search for anything I can, and I don’t put any pressure on myself to catch a lot of fish. I enjoy my surroundings and the sites. I’ve had schools of small sharks, jack crevalle, cobia, turtles and so much more pay me a visit, and I must say it’s a lot of fun. And while I don’t put any pressure on myself to catch, I do bring the big guns to this fight. Bluefish and Spanish mackerel are fun in the Yak, and they can pull you around—but I am looking for bragging rights. Big drum, cobia, king mackerel, or anything else that will make for a good story out of the kayak is what I want. I think all fishing comes down to good, friendly bragging rights. Commercial, charter and die-hard recreational fishermen know what I am talking about. The catch that is so good your friends call you a “jerk” -- and it’s a compliment. (Rob Alderman is the host and producer of the “Outer Banks Angler” fishing program and the owner of The Outer Banks Angler store located in Buxton. You can find out more on his adventures at www.OuterBanksAngler.com.) |
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