The fire that continues to burn on the mainland has made it tough couple weeks for folks in this region. The Outer Banks is not threatened, but as this report is being written, the fire remains out of control and has burned more than 30,000 acres on the mainland. As a result, smoke and airborne ash have become commonplace along the Outer Banks, depending on the direction and velocity of the wind. In addition to the smoke, the weather has been hot, with several days of 90-degree temperatures and the forecast is for several more days of sweltering heat. But, overall the fishing has been fair and in some locations very good.

This spring, big bluefish have made one of their best showings in recent years along the Outer Banks and they continue to prowl the surf line from Nags Head to Ocracoke. I don’t think there were any big blitzes, with the choppers chasing bait up on the beach and slamming lures on every cast, but anglers fishing with lures and bait at several locations have taken blues to 36-inches during most of June. A few days ago I was throwing a lead head jig from the beach at first light in Nags Head and managed to hook (and land!) a very fat 34-inch bluefish.

Otherwise the surf has offered up scattered catches of small blues to two pounds, sea mullet, sheepshead and a few Spanish mackerel, which were scattered from Avon to Hatteras Inlet. A few big drum were taken at Cape Hatteras by anglers who are willing to get wet and paddle their kayaks around the no ORV zone to get to Cape Point. Some are targeting cobia, and their efforts to snare a cobe have been paying off in small doses.

A seven-pound, seven-ounce sheepshead was beached near Ramp 43 on Wednesday, June 4. Cobia were reported from the beach at Ramps 43, 49 and 55. Ocracoke reported a good number of long, skinny bluefish, some sheepshead, sea mullet, small bluefish, some small puppy drum, a few pompano and croakers from the beach.

Beach access continued to be an area of contention as many sections of beach remain closed to vehicles and pedestrians. For updated information regarding the status of beach closures within the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, go to www.nps.gov/caha and click on “Off-Road Vehicle Information. Click on “Current ORV Access Information (Reports and Maps),” click on “Current Interactive Beach Access Map using Google Earth.”

Bluefish were in the pier fishing spotlight and the piers located north of Oregon Inlet reported lots of them. Oddly enough, they were in mixed sizes, from 1 to 6-pounds, with an occasional chopper hitting the eight-pound mark. Some great runs of bluefish were reported during early morning tides, and Spanish mackerel began to show in the bluefish catches at the end of the first week of June. Croakers, triggerfish, spadefish and sea mullet were also taken from the piers. Hatteras Island piers reported sea mullet, croakers, Spanish mackerel and Frisco pier reported a 30-pound cobia as well as some red hot Spanish mack bites, with fish up to four pounds.

Soundside fishing is getting in gear at several locations. Some good speckled trout action, with fish up to four pounds, were reported inside Oregon Inlet. The “Manns Harbor area” was productive, but I don’t have a specific location and I can’t blame the folks who told me about their catch for not wanting to share the info. However, I suspect it was along the shoreline of the mainland. A few trout were taken around Green Island Slough and among the marsh islands at the south end of Roanoke Island.

Flounder, with several of them being in the keeper range, were boated at a variety of locations. Some were taken on soft plastic Gulp artificials along the edges of marsh islands. Some were caught on big strips of squid or fresh mullet drifted slowly at the edges of the deeper channels. Spanish mackerel were boated outside Oregon and Hatteras inlets. Bluefish and a few puppy drum were taken inside the inlet. The Little Bridge on the Nags Head Causeway continued to have anglers lined up, elbow to elbow on several mornings and on some days, their efforts paid off. Catches were not red hot every day, but early mornings did produce speckled trout, puppy drum, and some small blues.