Fishing Opportunities from Oeracoke, North Carolina
When the alarm clock sounded at 3:55 AM, Mary, whose hearing is much better than mine, reminded me of the day’s scheduled events. I quickly roused our son, a son-in-law, two grandsons and a friend and told them about the need not to tarry. The six of us were scattered on three different floors of Blackbeard’s Lodge in Ocracoke, NC.
After a quick breakfast of oatmeal and coffee, I was at the front of the lodge at 4:30, our scheduled time to leave. The two grandsons, one still on California time (1:30) required extra persuasion. We left at 4:40 and were thankful that the local police were still sleeping. From the village of Ocracoke, we had fourteen miles to travel to catch the first ferry to Hatteras.
The drive was along National Seashore land and no developments are allowed. Only dunes separated the State Highway 12 from the Atlantic Ocean and one of the ten top beaches in the world. Sometimes drifting sand has to be scraped off the highway.
The free ferry, operated by the North Carolina Highway department, had loaded 10 to 12 vehicles when we drove on. We made the 5 AM ferry; the next one would be at 6AM. Later the ferry would run every 15 minutes.
It was still very dark and the route to Cape Hatteras was a very narrow channel among scattered islands of sand and shallow sandbars. Strong searchlights showed the way, and we arrived at the Hatteras dock some 35 minutes later, the same speed used throughout the day.
It was a half-mile drive to Teach’s Lair Marina where we loaded our day ’s supply of drinks and food onto the Sea World with Captain Skaklia.
We left the dock about 6 AM on a beautiful morning, now daylight. The remains of tropical storm Bill was expected about 1 PM.
The Sea World had to maneuver through the same route as the Ocracoke Ferry and at the right moment exit from Pamlico Sound into the Atlantic via a very narrow channel only 6.5 feet deep. The forty-one foot Sea World needed four and a half feet clearance. This inlet is the only exit from the sound for miles.
The captain then turned his global position finder on and established his direction to a specific spot in the ocean where he had caught fish before. It was now over 100 feet deep and the water temperature was 78 degrees. The Sea World traveled at its maximum speed of about 15 miles/hr through one foot waves. After about two hours under way, we arrived at the chosen spot. There were no boats in sight and the water temperature was still 78 degrees.
The captain knew how the Gulf Stream changed from day to day, and we moved further out. Suddenly the water temperature went to 82 degrees, floating ‘’weed beds’’ were seen and other fishing boats were visible. We were now in the Gulf Stream.
On the way out we saw a large Hammerhead Shark and several flying fish. The flying fish appeared to be about 6 inches long and have a ’’wing span’’ of 6 inches. They leave the ocean to escape large predator fish below. They fly sometimes up to 200 yards just above the waves and then reenter the ocean. We saw one of the fish in flight grabbed by a large bird, a shearwater. We also saw a fish (probably a tuna) grab the flying fish as it reentered the water.
We now began to catch dolphin fish and in about an hour, had landed 24. We were allowed 60, but we had been given orders that this year, we were not to bring fish back to Tiffin. So, with outriggers on, we trolled for 2 or 3 hours for Tuna, Sailfish, Marlin, etc., but we landed only a 17 pound dolphin fish during his time. We returned to Teach’s Lair about 5 p.m.
Our 95 pounds of dolphin fish were commercially cleaned, and we returned to Ocracoke. By previous arrangement, the Pony Island Restaurant cooked some of our fish, now called mahi mahi, and prepared a full meal complete with hushpuppies, potatoes and salad for the twnety-two of us. The meal was half the regular price. To get to the restaurant, we had to go around great pools of rainwater from tropical storm Bill although out in the Gulf Stream, very little rain had fallen.
From the surf on Ocracoke, we caught flounder, blue fish, sea trout, sea robins, spots and almost landed a three foot Spanish mackerel. It’s a great vacation spot.
To be there during the off season of September and October would be especially great. I invite any of you to call me about how to make arrangements. There are many historic areas to visit as well, such as Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, and the Lost Colony on Roanoke Island.
– Percy