The Outer Banks is dotted with many marinas with slips, boat ramps, gas and diesel fuel, tackle, and supplies. Almost all offer fishing charters as well. We've listed the fishing opportunities available at marinas in our Offshore and Inshore Headboat Fishing category in this chapter. For information pertaining to slip rental, see our Getting Here, Getting Around chapter; and for information on amenities offered to boaters, such as boat ramps, gas, and supplies, see our Water Sports chapter.

Fishing the backwaters means fishing the more-protected inland sounds, rivers, and lakes, either brackish or freshwater. The Croatan Sound, between Roanoke Island and the mainland, is a popular fishing spot for striped bass, also known as stripers or rockfish in these parts. Striper fishing is a year-round sport on the Outer Banks, though you can keep those caught in the sound only at certain times of the year. The Manns Harbor Bridge is renowned for its striper activity. Stripers congregate at the bridge, feeding around the pilings. They also feed over oyster bars located near the bridge. Be on the lookout for diving gulls and terns, which is a good identifying marker of the location of stripers. Both sides of the bridge have public parking and access for waders, but the western side has a marina with a boat-launch ramp. The Croatan Sound Bridge, just beyond the Manns Harbor Bridge, has proven itself as a striper-attracting structure, so you should try both bridges. Many anglers fly fish for stripers. Others swear by live eel, jigging with a bucktail or grub, or casting a Rat-L-Trap.

Backwater fishing also includes the Alligator River and South and East Lakes. You can troll, spin-cast, bait-cast, or fly fish year-round in the backwaters. You'll find an interesting mix of freshwater and saltwater species, including crappie, striped bass, largemouth bass, flounder, bream, sheepshead, drum, perch, croaker, spot, catfish, and trout. It all depends on the season.

If you'd like a guide, there are a few that offer backwater services. The fishing is so laid-back that you might find the guide throwing in a line with you. Since these waters are more protected and less prone to harsh offshore winds, you can often fish here when you can't elsewhere. This is a nice alternative to ocean fishing, and it's a good choice for families. Bring your camera. You might spot birds, deer, and bears on land and alligators in the water.

You don't have to hire a guide, though. You can launch your own boat from any number of local ramps (see our Water Sports chapter) or contact a tackle shop or marina for information.

Phideaux Too
P.O. Box 343, Manns Harbor, NC 27953
(252) 473-3059

The Outer Banks has been a top fishing destination for decades, but fly fishing only recently caught on here. The fly- fishing bug on the Banks started in the 1960s and 1970s, when a few well-known fly anglers and locals cast flies into the surf for bluefish and were quite successful. In 1979 Chico Fernandez fly fished the Outer Banks, catching a white marlin. In 1981 he set an International Game Fish Association Fly Rod record with a 42pound, 5-ounce red drum on a 12-pound tippet. Since then, anglers have slowly discovered the Outer Banks's varied fly-fishing opportunities. Fly-fishing magazines and television shows now regularly feature the Outer Banks and its fly-fishing guides.

Fly anglers fish in the same places conventional anglers do. Fly anglers catch dolphin, tuna, and marlin in the Gulf Stream. They catch amberjack, mackerel, albacore, and cobia on inshore wrecks. They reap pompano and bluefish in the surf and stripers in the sounds. The most successful and accessible fly fishing is in the sounds, where you'll find speckled trout, stripers, red drum, bluefish, and Spanish mackerel.

It can be difficult to learn to fly fish the Outer Banks, especially the vast Pamlico and Roanoke Sounds. Hiring a guide is the quickest way to learn the area. If you prefer to go on your own, ask for advice at local tackle shops.

Flat Out Fly-Fishing & Light-Tackle Charters
(252) 449-0562
www.outerbanksflyfishing.com

Surf fishing is a popular Outer Banks pastime for the competitor or amateur alike. While there are miles of beach from which to cast a line, experienced local anglers say a surf caster's success will vary depending on sloughs, temperature, currents, and season. One of the hottest surf- casting spots on the Outer Banks is Cape Point, a sand spit at the tip of Cape Hatteras. Anglers often stand waist-deep in the churning waters, dutifully waiting for red drum to strike.

About nine months out of the year, anglers can fish for red drum on the Outer Banks. The best time to catch big drum is mid-October through mid-November. During this period large schools of drum are feeding on baitfish called menhaden that migrate down the coastline. Cape Point is the hot spot for drum, but it tends to be a very crowded place to fish. A good second choice is the beach between Salvo and Buxton. But in the fall, you can catch them from Rodanthe down to Hatteras Inlet. From mid-April through about the third week in May, red drum show up around Ocracoke Inlet, both in the ocean and shallow shoal waters at the inlet's mouth and also in the Pamlico Sound.

Serious drum anglers fish after dark for the nocturnal feeders. Insiders prefer a southwesterly wind with an incoming tide and water temperatures in the low 60s. Big drum are known to come close to the surf during rough weather. Puppy drum (or juvenile drum) are easier to catch than the adult fish. They show up in the surf after a northeast blow in late summer or early fall. Anglers use finger mullet with success as well as fresh shrimp (and we do mean fresh). Red drum are a regulated fish, both in size and limit. Call your local tackle shop for more information. If you're interested in learning more about red drum tag and release programs, call the Division of Marine Fisheries at (252) 473-5734 or (252) 264-3911.

There's a lengthy list of fish regularly caught at Cape Point. Common species include dogfish, bluefish, pompano, striped bass, and Spanish mackerel as well as bottom feeders such as croaker, flounder, spot, sea mullet, and both gray and speckled trout. More uncommon are tarpon, cobia, amberjack, jack crevalles, and shark weighing several hundred pounds.

Shoaling that takes place off Cape Hatteras makes Cape Point a haven for baitfish, and the influence of the nearby Gulf Stream and its warm-water jetties also contribute to excellent fishing. The beach accommodates many four-wheeldrive vehicles, and during peak season (spring and fall) it's packed with anglers. If you want to try fishing Cape Point, take North Carolina Highway 12 to Buxton and look for signs to vehicle access ramp 43. (For more information about driving on the beach, please see our Getting Here, Getting Around chapter.)

A section on surf fishing would not be complete without discussing bluefish. For years, anglers enjoyed the arrival and subsequent blitzes of big bluefish during the Easter season and again around Thanksgiving. During a blitz, big blues chase bait- fish up onto the beach in a feeding frenzy. This puts the blues in striking distance of ready surf casters. It's a phenomenal sight to watch anglers reel in these fat and ferocious fish one after the other. Anglers line up along the shore like soldiers, and many a rod is bent in that telltale C-shape, fighting a bluefish. Some days you can see a skyfull of birds hovering, waiting to feast on the baitfish that the bluefish run toward the shore for.

The last few years, the blues have not blitzed like they used to. As with most species, population figures (or at least landings) tend to rise and fall in cycles; perhaps they're tending toward a low point in the pattern. Maybe the big bluefin tuna, which feed on bluefish, are taking over these days, but blitz or not, you can usually catch some bluefish in the surf or in greater numbers offshore.

Joe Malat's Outer Banks Surf Fishing School
415 Bridge Lane, Nags Head
(252) 441-4767
www.joemalat.com