Outer Banks, NC - Aug 7-14, 2011

[jay348]

Got back from vacation in the outer banks on Sunday. I got to test out my new rod in the surf and after consulting with a few locals...wound up catching a bunch of bluefish.

I stuck to fishing during sunrise and incoming tides, and every now and then a school would move through and I would get lucky. Nothing big...the blues were trout-sized at most, but they put a surprising bend in the 8 wt. The biggest was maybe 13". For being my first fish in the surf PERIOD, catching them on a fly was a blast.

Full Report Here

Here are a few pics:

 

[jayL]

Cool report. I need to get back to that place.

 

[Fredrick]

With all those blues you should of tried a poper you would of had a blast

 

[Nymph-O-Maniac]

Nice report. How did they taste?

 

[jay348]

fred i was thinking the same thing. tried a gurgler once and it was getting hit but i think the hook was on the big side...next time for sure.

never ate them before last week, but we cooked em in butter and lemon/lime juice. came out pretty good.

 

[pwk5017]

I was down there during the same week, man! Next time fish high tide during the later afternoon/early evening(not always this time check the local tide charts). The bait fish come in alot closer during high tide. I didnt take my fly rod, but I averaged 20 bluefish in 1.5-2 hours a day. They were all around a foot, with one being close to the 13-14" range, but they were a blast. Just watching them fly through waves cutting up baitfish was exciting. I think the big ones move in around october.

p.s. you have some cojones to put your finger anywhere near that mouth, they have some sharp teeth.

 

[jay348]

very cool you were down as well. yeah, aside from a few lost/torn up flies, i was pretty lucky w/ the teeth...only got my finger once.

totally agree on the baitfish too...one of the ones we cooked had around a dozen little ones inside.

 

[pwk5017]

They routinely shredded and bit the tail off my curly tail grubs. I also had a southern gentleman tell me to, "kick the dang thing back in, those blues will take your damn finger off!" The losing of a finger seemed excessive, but they certainly had big enough and sharp enough teeth for me to not want my finger caught in their mouth. Also, one of the most spastic fish I have ever handled, which I think added to the worry over the teeth.

 

[Suckerspawn]

Cool post! I spent week in OBX and it was sick at times during AM, had several doubles on Drum, few flounder under the minimal size and some blue fish also. Didn't take fly's or fly rod, fished with spinning outfit and have to say, the flounder put up best fight and did bend 9' rod little!

 

[wgmiller]

I just got back from there myself (South Nags Head Aug. 13-20). Took the fly rod and managed a 10" flounder from the surf on a grey/white Clouser deep minnow. Also a few other smaller fish, but overall the surf proved too unmanageable for most of the trip to fly fish. With the beach restoration that is occurring, casting was a bit of a challenge as they have added quite a bit of height to the beach as well as depth.

Took my oldest daughter to the Outer Banks Fishing Pier which was right across the street from where we stayed. As much as I hate to say it, we bait fished with cut shrimp on a two-hook downrig and she had a blast. Caught some blues, croaker, and the one thing she couldn't stop talking about - a ray. As much of a purist fly fisherman as I am, bait fishing provided her far more activity than any other technique of fishing.

Saltwater fishing sure is fun! :-D


BTW, if you REALLY want to make life easy on yourself when it comes to casting in the surf, you can make a stripping basket out of a dishpan. This saves a TON of grief when it comes to watching your fly line get taken out with the tide.

I used .080" weedwacker line and glued them in place with Shoo Goo. Thread a piece of webbing through, add a buckle and voila! An effective and most importantly, inexpensive stripping basket!

 

[sandfly]

cow nosed ray------------ great on fly rod will make the reel scream.
glad you caught a few with your daughter and had a good time.
if you hit the sand behind you, turn and cast towards the dunes and shoot on the back cast....

 

[Fishidiot]

Wgmiller
Nice stripping basket!
Why feel bad about bait fishing? I enjoy all types of fishing and use a lot of spin gear in the salt. Fishing is fishing. Your daughter had a blast - that's all that matters. I always tell guys new to salt fly fishing to take spin gear with 'em as sometimes it's mighty hard to FF at the beach.

 

[wgmiller]

FI - I must be too much of a fly snob! LOL I just love the challenge that fly fishing brings. Beyond a doubt, bait fishing in the salt is the way to go though.

I would have loved to have caught that ray on a fly rod. The surf was just too rough to get out (and down) to where the fish were. I was able to go about 30-40', but longer than that became a challenge. I've used the backcast as a front cast in freshwater, but never thought to use it in the surf. It's amazing how much they built the beach up with dredged sand.

Nice work Jay378. If you really want to learn more about fly fishing the Outer Banks, check out OBX fly fishing. Beware of the addiction...

 

[gfen]

I'm not familar with that area, but I tried fishing the actual surf zone once with a fly rod in NJ. It was an exercise in pointlessness for me, but I take one down every year and fish a bay up to its inlet.

Far easier without crashing surf and high winds.

 

[bam]

Many of those surf dwellers rely on scent as their primary sense. I've never fished the salt with fly gear, but I imagine it could be a PITA and is probably much less effective than spin or bait fishing. Good to hear you guys got into fish. If I can talk my uncle into lending me his keys, I'd like to get down there for a long weekend in October.

PWK,
I watched a dude get his thumb shredded by a small blue at Oregon Inlet. I was in grade school at the time, but remember it like it was yesterday. Thought he could lip it like a bass... even as a youngster I'm sure I'd have better sense than that.

 

[jay348]

very cool stripping basket! i'm hoping to make a few more salt trips in the fall and this one week was all it took to make me wish i had one of those.

 

[sandfly]

Only way to fish the surf proper is with a shooting basket, same for back bays too...

 

[wgmiller]

That pic is a year or so old. Since then I've added drain holes (an absolute necessity), stickers, and a piece of pool noodle as padding. You can do this very easy as a DIY project.

Good luck and be careful with those bluefish!

 

[sandfly]

Take a vcr cassette case and turn into a fly box on the side of your basket. just cut out the center part (2 circles that hold cassette) and add foam to inside. glue to side of stripping basket. One on each side will give to enough flies for hours of fun in the surf. here is one way to make;
http://www.noreast.com/fly/Tackle/boxes.cfm

 

[jay348]

very cool stuff guys, thanks for the tips. a weekend project seems to be in order here.