UTERJanuary
Sea bass on the wrecks; a giant bluefin some winters
Sea bass on the Hatteras wrecks; ocean stripers only in the coldest winters.
Cape Lookout to the Virginia line
Outer Banks & Hatteras fishing
What's biting in Outer Banks & Hatteras in October: pompano, king mackerel and redfish at their peak, with tarpon, Spanish mackerel and sheepshead around too. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows 38 fish here month by month, from Ocracoke to Duck.
The fall surf run: drum, blues, albies
A hundred and twenty miles of barrier island — Ocracoke, Hatteras, Pea Island, Bodie, the northern beaches — with Cape Point at Buxton where the Gulf Stream and the Labrador Current meet, three inlets (Ocracoke, Hatteras, Oregon), and behind them Pamlico, Croatan and Albemarle sounds and the Neuse and Pamlico rivers. The Gulf Stream runs 20 miles off Oregon Inlet.
OcracokeHatterasBuxtonAvonRodantheOregon InletWancheseNags HeadManteoDuck
Updated
Now · October
The fall surf run: drum, blues, albies
Cape Point and the inlets for big drum; trout and gray trout move into the sound creeks.
RedfishSpotted seatroutLittle tunny (bonito)Weakfish (gray trout)WhitingWahoo
This month here
From the season calendar, best firstPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingAroundAroundAroundAround
Pompano
Fall fish with the mullet run.
King mackerel
Redfish
The fall surf run: big drum at Cape Point and the inlets, puppy drum in the sloughs.
Spotted seatrout
The fall run starts in the sounds and creeks.
Black drum
Drum at the inlets and the Oregon Inlet bridge.
Whiting
Fall sea mullet off the piers and the Hatteras surf.
Bluefish
Weakfish (gray trout)
The fall run in the sounds and Oregon Inlet.
Wahoo
Wahoo off Hatteras.
Yellowfin tuna
Swordfish
Little tunny (bonito)
Albies off Hatteras Inlet and the Cape Point shoals.
Atlantic croaker
Spot
Spot run off the piers and in the sound inlets.
Tarpon
Spanish mackerel
Sheepshead
The last fish leave the bridges.
Flounder
Leaving through the inlets.
Greater amberjack
Sailfish
Mahi-mahi (dolphin)
Blue marlin
White marlin
Summer flounder (fluke)
Leaving the inlets for the offshore wrecks.
Sandbar shark
Sand tiger shark
Black sea bass
Blackfin tuna
Tautog (blackfish)
Blueline tilefish
The water
The tide here
Semidiurnal, 2–3.5 ft
Ocean side: two tides a day, two to three and a half feet. Inside Pamlico and Albemarle sounds the lunar tide all but vanishes — wind tides rule, and a southwest or northeast blow moves feet of water.
Structure that matters
Beach / surfPass / inletFishing pierBridgeChannel edgeGrass flatOyster barDock / pilingsWreckArtificial reefLedge / hard bottom
After a cold front
Northeasters stir the surf and push bait out of the sounds — the fall drum and blues bite turns on behind them. In winter, a hard freeze can stun speckled trout in the sound creeks, and the state may close the season after one.
Month by month
What's happening, and what to throwFebruary
The quiet month
Deep sound creeks on the warmest afternoons; wrecks when the ocean lays down.
March
Tautog on the bridge; blues and drum on the way
Crab tight to the Oregon Inlet bridge rubble; the first spring fish at Cape Point.
April
Spring drum and chopper blues at Cape Point
Cut mullet or menhaden on a fish-finder in the Hatteras surf; metal for blues.
May
Gaffer mahi, spring drum and the first cobia
Off Oregon Inlet and Hatteras for big mahi and yellowfin; trout on the sound grass.
June
Cobia off the beaches; blue marlin offshore
Sight-cast cobia with live eels; fluke in the inlets on bucktails.
July
Spawning drum gather in Pamlico Sound
Big popping corks over the sound shoals at dusk; tarpon roll on the slicks.
August
Peak Pamlico drum and tarpon; white marlin start
Maw Point and the lower Neuse for drum on the bait balls; marlin off Oregon Inlet.
September
White marlin peak; drum leave the sound
Short flounder harvest window early in the month — check NCDMF; the surf starts to light up.
October · now
The fall surf run: drum, blues, albies
Cape Point and the inlets for big drum; trout and gray trout move into the sound creeks.
November
Northeaster drum and blues; trout in the creeks
Fish behind each blow; trout in the canals from Manns Harbor to Hatteras.
December
Trout in the creeks; yellowfin offshore
Deep creeks and canals for trout; watch the inlets when the ocean drops to the mid-40s.
Fish guides for Outer Banks & Hatteras
When, where and what to use, fish by fishAtlantic bluefin tunaAtlantic bonitoAtlantic croakerAtlantic sharpnose sharkAtlantic spadefishBlack drumBlack sea bassBlackfin tunaBlacktip sharkBlue marlinBluefishBlueline tilefishBull sharkCobiaFlounderGreater amberjackKing mackerelLittle tunny (bonito)Mahi-mahi (dolphin)PompanoRedfishSailfishSand tiger sharkSandbar sharkSheepsheadSpanish mackerelSpotSpotted seatroutStriped bassSummer flounder (fluke)SwordfishTarponTautog (blackfish)WahooWeakfish (gray trout)White marlinWhitingYellowfin tuna
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