Night Fishing

My Favorite Places Fish

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The most frequently asked question by visiting anglers. Where can I go fishing while visiting the Northern Outer Banks? Well, here are the “Walkingangler’s” favorites.

Daniels Bridge – great bridge deck to fish from both on north and south sides. Easy access, parking, restrooms, shaded area, fishing cleaning station. Good for crabbing. Look for channels and moving water. There is deep hole approximately one hundred fifty yards south of bridge. Long casts and covering more water increases catches.

Wildlife Pier / William Baum Bridge – long dock that extends into Albemarle Sound. Easy access, parking, restrooms, shaded certain times a day, benches. Fish the north and east sides of dock. Drag baits along the pilings and cast north into the slough / channel leading into marina. Avoid south side – rubble and snags from bridge construction.

Various boat ramps – Wildlife pier ramp (under Baum bridge) and Oregon Inlet (near Coast Guard Station) ramp are good places to find many bottom fish. Long casts into the sound and slow retrievals into the holes increase catches. Watch to boats being launched and loaded.  

Oregon Inlet Fishing Center – south point on east side of basin. Good wade fishing and crabbing Watch for waves from boats and deep holes while wading. Parking is good at marina. Restroom facilities are fishing center.

Various dune cross-overs. KH, KDH and NH have dozens of dune break for immediate access to the surf. Some areas require a long walk. Some areas have adequate parking, potable toilets, and stairs and ramps. Fish the moving tides and focus on the close in sloughs.

BeBop Pier – west end on Mann’s Harbor Bridge. Easy access, limited parking, shaded area with benches.  North side is good for shallow fishing. East and south are adjacent to bridge. Long casts toward bridge into slough increases chances. Lots of crabs and mosquitoes during the summer.

Bodie Island Slough – west end of parking area at the Bodie Island Lighthouse. Long walk through gate at end of circle along a dirt road. Minimal parking. No restrooms adjacent to fishing area. Once at slough, good fishing to the north or around any structure. Lots of crabs and mosquitoes most of the year.

Pamlico Sound / Hatteras Island Sound fronts – many pull offs along the entire coast with direct access to shallow water. No facilities. Park parking permit may be needed if off pavement.

Obviously, there are dozens more but these are my favorites. We haven’t included the piers because they are a given. These are the special spots. Piers will be discussed during another post.

Remember – anglers will need a license to fish any of these spots.

Good Luck and Enjoy!!

Until Next Time – Tightlines – Capt. Tony

The “Little Bridge”

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The Melvin R. Daniels Bridge is one of the favorite places to fish on the Outer Banks. Better known as the “little bridge”, it was once one of the local’s best kept secret. But with its central location, easy access, amenities and abundance of action most of the year, this bridge is now known as one of the best places to catch fish.

The Daniels Bridge is located in the town of Nags Head on Rt. 64/264 Manteo Causeway just west of Whalebone Junction. The concrete structure has easily accessible guarded walkways on both sides of the bridge. A five foot concrete barrier on the south side provide protection from wind and traffic.

The parking lot on the west side of the bridge can accommodate dozens of vehicles.  And adjacent to the parking area, visitors will find a nice picnic area, covered pavilion and modern restroom facilities. There is also fish cleaning table and running water as an added convenience.

When fishing this bridge, most anglers will start on the south side and work their way along the walkway from west to east. After working the south side anglers will typically flip to the northern side of the bridge.

Many species of fish can be found around this bridge. The key is watching the bait fish and other anglers. Try to mirror their actions. The sound bottom is mostly sandy with minimal structures outside the bridge footprint.   Unless jigging, it is a safe bet to fish close in toward the bridge pilings. Fast moving current under this bridge is the angler’s best friend.

Most anglers use a light to medium fishing gear to either bottom fish or jig for roving schools speckled trout or stripers. The standard two hook bottom rig tipped with small #4 hooks with fresh shrimp or cut bait is best for bottom fishing. When jigging, anglers typically use small lead head jigs fitted with a swim bait or other artificial plastics.

The best advantage for anglers who fish on the bridge is they don’t need any special equipment. It is important to just keep it simple. A simple light rod and reel, a two bottom rig and some fresh bait should help to get the action started quickly.

Anglers who want to fish on the Daniel’s bridge need to purchase a saltwater fishing license and obtain a copy of the local fishing regulations. It is also imperative that all anglers know the creel and bag limits for each species.

The saltwater license, a copy of the regulations, fresh bait along with any fishing gear can be picked up at any local tackle shop.

So for a great place for the beginning angler, kids of all ages, families or the experienced angler looking for that trophy fish, the Melvin R Daniels “Little Bridge” is the place to go.

Until next time – Tightlines – Capt. Tony

Organize Your Bags

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Tackle bags can sometimes be compared with our backyard sheds. We buy a great tool, maybe use it once or twice, and then need a place to store it before the next use. And that next use may not be anytime soon.  So we place it in the shed and then the next thing we know, the shed is full and when we need that tool, you can’t find it.

Well, our tackle bags are a lot like those backyard sheds. We need a place to store our go-to items along with that special gear we purchased with the hope that it would work. And like storing dozens of tools in the shed, the fishing gear somehow gets shoved in our tackle bags and frequently gets lost or damaged.

Not only can gear get damaged but the angler can get injured reaching into their bag for something only to get stuck by a hook or bait knife.

Organization of fishing tackle and gear is imperative. Most anglers use plastic trays or zip lock bags to store items in their bag. Hooks, sinkers, floats and other items should be kept in their original containers if possible. Bags and boxes have many compartments which can be used for frequently use tools, extra line, scents.

So when the fish are biting or the blitz is on is no time to begin digging into you gear box or bag to retrieve something. It’s best to put things in their place where you can access them quickly before the big rush occurs.

Remember, your target species won’t wait around for you to rig up the right gear and catch them.  You must be ready at any moment.

“Because most times you only have a moment to make that cast”.

Until next time – Tightlines – Capt. Tony