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Outer Banks Angling: Red, brown, and green
Without
a doubt some of the best moneymakers in the Outer Banks fishing world
are red drum, cobia, and mahi-- and they are all currently here and
biting. ....Read
More
| Jones continues to question endangered status for Atlantic sturgeon
U.S.
Rep. Walter Jones, R.-N.C., continues to push back against the National
Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) ongoing effort to protect Atlantic
sturgeon as an endangered species under the Endangered Species
Act.
In
February of 2012, NMFS decided to create a Carolina “distinct
population segment” of Atlantic sturgeon and to list that segment as
endangered. ....Read
More
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24 boats compete for prize money in Hatteras Village Offshore Open
Twenty-four
boats competed for $86,400 in prize money in the 19th annual Hatteras
Village Offshore Open last week. The tournament is the first event in
the Governor’s Cup billfishing series.
First
place in the billfish division and $39,886.25 in prize money went to
Stream Weaver for one blue marlin and two white marlin releases. ....Read
More
| UPDATE: Gamefish bill is alive and well in the legislature
Through
the chaos of changeover day in the state legislature, the proposed
gamefish bill continues to sit quietly in a committee, still
legislatively viable and apparently not forgotten.
“It’s
definitely not dead,” said Deans Eatman, a staff member in the office
of Rep. Michael Wray, a Northampton Democrat who is one of the bill’s
primary sponsors. ....Read
More
UPDATE: Watermen plan a show in force in Raleigh to oppose gamefish bill
Watermen
in North Carolina plan a show of force in Raleigh on Monday, when
members of the public have been invited to give feedback on a proposed
gamefish bill that would make specked trout, red drum, and estuarine
striped bass no longer available to consumers and commercial fishermen.
“Folks are very concerned about this legislation,” said David
Hilton, president of the Ocracoke Working Watermen’s Association. “All
the leaders in the community are definitely calling all the fishermen
to go.” ....Read
More
Political terrain is rougher in new version of the gamefish bill
Commercial
fishermen for the fourth time are fighting against passage of a
gamefish bill that is winding its way through the North Carolina
General Assembly, but this time the political terrain is rougher and
the legislation is an entangled mix of actions.
The
bill, HB 983, proposes to remove red drum, speckled trout, and
estuarine striped bass from commercial fishing and make them solely
recreational catches, a measure strongly opposed on the coast.
The same bill, however, also provides funds for dredging and fisheries
observers, measures strongly favored on the coast. It would also
compensate watermen for losses. And it raises fees on
recreational saltwater fishing licenses as a funding mechanism. ....Read more
| Outer Banks Angling: The wheels on the bus go round and round
In
the movie “Ground Hog Day,” Bill Murray plays a weather forecaster who
goes to Punxsutawney, Pa., to cover the prediction by the
furry groundhog, Phil. Unfortunately for Bill Murray, he becomes
trapped living the same day over and over again.
It
would seem that the Outer Banks and most of the Eastern Seaboard have
found themselves in the same twilight-zone like scenario. This spring
has by far been one of the most unfavorable weather-wise in the recent past.
The
northeast winds seem to just go round and round and barely let up. For
every couple of days of the preferred spring, southerly winds, we get
numerous days of hard northerly winds. ....Read
More
| Anglers battle relentless wind in Ocracoke Surf Fishing Tournament….WITH SLIDE SHOW
After
battling strong winds over two days, the Raleigh Saltwater Sport
Fishing Club won the 30th annual Ocracoke Island Invitational Surf
Fishing Tournament. One of the team members, John Bryant, also caught
the largest fish with a 32 ¾-inch bluefish.
The
Raleigh group had 56 points, nudging out second place winners, Team
Advanced Fishing of Rodanthe, which had 51 points. The Delaware Mobile
Surf Fishermen of Dagsboro, Del., were third with 40 points.
The
OISFT is an invitation-only event where 70 teams of fishing men and
women compete in four sessions over two days. This year’s fishing
days were Thursday and Friday, May 2 and 3. ....Read
More
| Boats are back to using the main channel in Hatteras Inlet
Commercial
fishing, charter, and private boats are back to using Rollinson Channel
to safely navigate between the harbor in Hatteras village and Hatteras
Inlet.
Since
January, many boats were using an alternate channel that goes farther
west into the sound to bypass the heavily shoaled Rollinson Channel,
also known as the ferry channel or main channel. ....Read
More
| Jones continues efforts to block catch-shares funding
U.S.
Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., is continuing his effort to block funding
for approval of new fisheries catch-shares programs in the Atlantic
Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
On
Tuesday, April 16, Jones and a bipartisan group of 24 of his House
colleagues sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee asking
them to eliminate funding for new catch-shares programs in the fiscal
year 2014 appropriations bill for the Department of Commerce. The
committee is expected to take up the bill later this spring. ....Read more
| Outer Banks Angling: Fishing is heating up
Hard
northwest winds, rain, and clouds made most outside activities
difficult over spring break. Swimming, kayaking, kiteboarding,
windsurfing and such were almost a “no go” for two weeks.
But that didn't necessarily hinder the fishing. Actually, it was fairly decent. ....Read more
| Outer Banks Angling: Spring ahead
The
clocks have been moved forward an hour and we are just days away from
the official start of spring. The ground hog told us we would get nice
weather soon, but actually we have had the worst weather of the winter
season since that prediction. And that has not helped usher in the
spring fishing season. ....Read more
| Owners of Hatteras-based boat win another round in long legal battle over Big Rock winnings
After
several defeats in lower courts, the state Supreme Court has handed the
charter boat Citation another opportunity to land more than $1 million
in winnings it has so far been denied from the 2010 Big Rock Tournament.
On
the first day of that year’s June tournament, the Hatteras-based vessel
had hooked an 883-pound marlin, the largest in the history of the
contest. But days later, the boat was disqualified after organizers
learned that its mate lacked an active $15 recreational saltwater
fishing license until two hours after the marlin was caught.
A
ruling from the Supreme Court of North Carolina last month reversed a
state Court of Appeals decision that had favored the tournament board’s
disqualification of the Citation’s prize money: $912,825 in the Blue
Marlin Division and $318,750 in the Fabulous Fishermen’s Level. ....Read more
| Outer Banks Angler: Cold-stunned
After
some really mild early winter weather, the temperatures have plummeted,
threatening many inshore fish, such as puppy drum and speckled trout,
which might get trapped in shallow water that turns cold suddenly and
not make it out to the warmer ocean. ....Read more
| Outer Banks Angling: Earning your stripes
December is here and most of the inshore fishing will fall off as water and air temperatures drop.
The speckled trout fishing will generally pick up and puppy drum fishing can be good. However,
most people have come to look at December as the beginning of striped
bass season. These fish are also known as rockfish, rock, or stripers.
....Read more
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55th
annual Cape Hatteras Anglers Club tournament was ‘a logistical
nightmare’
A
long time ago, some guy that history remembers as “Murphy” came up with
this law that most of us remember as going something like this:
“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”
Last
week, Nov. 7 -10, the 55th annual Cape Hatteras Anglers Club
surf-fishing tournament—the largest tournament of its kind in the
world—did its part to prove Mr. Murphy right.
....Read more
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NCBBA
red-drum tournament is cut short by weather
The
annual North Carolina Beach Buggy Association annual Red Drum
Tournament ran head on into Hurricane Sandy as the storm passed by the
Outer Banks on the weekend of Oct. 27-28.
The
tournament began on schedule on Thursday, Oct. 25, with 222 anglers
competing for more than $10,000 in cash and prizes. A total
of 16
red drum were measured during the three-day tournament, of which the
five over 40 inches were qualifying for a state citation.
....Read more
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Outer
Banks Angling: Tournaments and foul weather
At
times I swear it seems that fishing tournaments are synonymous with
foul weather.
For
five years my friend, Tommy Wheeler, and I hosted a surf-fishing
tournament for striped bass on Hatteras Island. It seemed that almost
every year the weather would get nasty just prior to and during
the tournament.
We
see it over and over during offshore boat tournaments -- stories of
boats punching through a fierce and furious inlet to go look for the
big money.
And,
no, I don't think the tournaments are cursed, nor do I think that it is
given that the tournaments will bring foul weather. But it sure feels
that way sometimes.
....Read more
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Hatteras
Charter Fishing: The Pioneer Years
Before
there were paved roads, before there were bridges, even before there
was electricity on Hatteras there was charter fishing. And men named
Vernon Willis, Nelson Stowe, Luther Burrus and Ernal Foster took
anglers to the Gulf Stream without benefit of radio, Loran, or sonar.
These
men were the pioneers and the business they began has evolved into the
economic backbone of Hatteras village, rivaling and perhaps surpassing
commercial fishing in its importance.
....Read more
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The Albatross Fleet turns 75
with a celebration…WITH
SLIDE SHOW
As
folks were beginning to gather at the docks in Hatteras village
Saturday afternoon for the Albatross Fleet’s 75th anniversary party, an
uninvited guest blew in from across the Pamlico Sound. It was a really
impressive Hatteras squall with buckets of great big rain drops that
brought visibility down to about nothing, strong winds, and thunder and
lightning.
However,
the islanders and guests at the party were not deterred but carried on
as they always do in foul weather. They waited out the squall
in
their vehicles or delayed their arrival, but they came anyway. The
festivities got under way after about an hour’s delay under a big tent
in the parking lot next to the Albatross docks. ....Read
more
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The
very
best guide to charter fishing on the islands….WITH SLIDE SHOW
If you’ve never been fishing off Hatteras or Ocracoke, it’s definitely
worth looking into. The variety of trips, boats, captains,
and
species of fish available is quite impressive, and there are options
that can accommodate almost any budget or interest.
That said, with so many options available, choosing the right charter
can be a daunting task, especially for first-timers. To make it a
little bit easier, The Island Free Press has compiled a guide to
Hatteras and Ocracoke charter fishing. With answers to
frequently
asked questions, information on everything from choosing a boat to
cleaning your fish, advice on making your trip more enjoyable, and
pictures to rouse your inner angler, this guide is designed help get
you off the docks and on the water. ....Read
more
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