I waited to file this report until the last possible minute, in the hope that I would have some substantial fishing news to report, but unfortunately that is not the case. We continue to ride the Outer Banks weather roller coaster, highlighted by a day or two of warm weather and southerly breezes, but hampered by a wind shift to the north and blustery, cold winds and a rough ocean. One step forward, and two steps back.

As of the middle of April, the water temperature has only reached 54 degrees from the Avalon Pier, on the northern Outer Banks, and it is a few degrees warmer at the southern end of Hatteras Island.

By the middle of April, piers along the northern end of the Banks reported a few speckled trout, skates, dogfish, a few sea mullet, small gray trout and some small croakers. But the operative word was “few” in every case. The Hatteras Island piers had more of a variety, but not many more fish. Frisco pier probably had the greatest variety and added flounder to the above mix of species.

Surfcasters fared better, but virtually all of the action was concentrated from the southern end of Hatteras Island down to Ocracoke Island. A few big drum were beached from Cape Point on the few days when the wind was warm and blowing from a southerly direction. Mostly it was skates and dogfish from Pea Island down to Cape Point, and the Point down to the South Beach produced more of a variety that included sea mullet, blowtoads, small bluefish, some flounder and a few puppy drum. Hatteras Inlet had some sea mullet and small bluefish and a few days of decent flounder action.

A change in the weather really turned on the action at Ocracoke and the island lit up on Friday, April 11. Beautiful weather made for very good fishing with lots of black drum, puppy drum, bluefish, and a few sea mullets being caught. A couple trophy drum were caught and released from the southern end of the island.

Soundside anglers along the northern Outer Banks had little to brag about. The constant, blustery winds made angling next to impossible for boaters on many of the days, but I did hear of some decent action for shorebound anglers. The Melvin Daniels Bridge, commonly called the “Little Bridge” on the Nags Head-Manteo Causeway was the hot game in town, with some excellent catches of puppy drum, a few spackled trout, scattered stripers and some small bluefish. For anglers who happened to be in the right place at the right time, the drum fishing was red hot. Most of the fish were within the “keeper” slot with some of the drum exceeding the 27-inch maximum size. This quality fishing was not an every day thing, but it was consistent enough throughout most of April, up until the middle of the month, when this report was due.

Even though striped bass season was open in the Albemarle Sound, catches were few and far between.

A new, full-color angler’s guide is available to the public for free. The 131-page, pocket-sized booklet contains information about the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ recreational fishing programs, license requirements and ethical angling practices. It also features a large section that describes the biology and habitat of frequently caught fish species, including fishing tips.

The North Carolina Coastal Recreational Angler’s Guide is the first project to be completed with a grant from the Marine Resources Fund, which receives revenues from the sale of Coastal Recreational Fishing Licenses. The Marine Fisheries Commission and Wildlife Resources Commission approved the $100,000 grant in the spring of 2007.

Individuals may obtain a copy at any N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries office or the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Web site, http://www.ncdmf.net.

Bait and tackle shops, tourist centers and other businesses that cater to the coastal fishing population may arrange for delivery of the books by contacting Kelly Odom, the division’s public education specialist, at (252) 808-8028, 1-800-682-2632 or Kelly.Odom@ncmail.net. Availability is limited.