Outer Banks Winter Grab Bag
By Joe Malat

Dan Shockley of Roanoke, VA proudly displays a 38-inch striper he caught from the Oregon Inlet surf. Photo by Joe Malat

It's January, the beginning of a new year, and we're well into winter. I'm not much of a cold weather fan, and if this year is anything like the last two winters on the Outer Banks, I might have to invest in a couple of southbound plane tickets.

But, I'm not leaving any time soon. There's still plenty of good fishing to be had, and prudent surfcasters should abandon any thoughts about winterizing their tackle. As I'm writing this during the end of the first week of December, it's been a mild fall, and the water temperature along the northern beach remains in the mid-fifties. As long as the temp doesn't dip below the fifty-degree mark, we'll still have a grab bag of fish that includes sea mullet, speckled trout, gray trout, red drum, bluefish and stripers to hold our interest.

Unless we get locked into an Artic deep freeze and the ocean temp dips well below fifty degrees, the stripers will probably cooperate through much of February. As the water chills, the hot spots will migrate further south, from the beaches around Oregon Inlet, down to Cape Point and finally Ocracoke Island.

Stripers will be captured on bait and artificial lures, and I'll bet we'll see more than one classic scene of stripers with tails and backs out of the water, chasing baitfish against the beach. Fresh bait will be difficult to find, but many of the tackle shops and marinas that remain open will be selling live eels, a top striper bait.

If the tackle shops don't have fresh mullet or menhaden, don't forget the seafood department at your favorite grocery store. As long as the price doesn't break the bank and if I really want to catch a fish, I'll bait my hook with a piece of just about any type of fresh fish, rather than use a hunk of frozen mullet.

As of the second week of December, speckled trout continued to make a strong showing at several Outer Banks locations. Fish up to three pounds were being caught at Ramp 55 near the south end of Hatteras Island, in some of the deep sloughs near the Frisco Pier, along the beach at Avon and at a few locations between South Nags Head and Kitty Hawk.

Winter specks will hit the old stand-by lures of lead heads with soft plastic tails, and MirrOLures. The preferred (by the fish) lure color may change from day to day, but green has often been a consistent producer. Lead head sizes vary, with 3/8-ounce red heads topping the list. On calm days, a ¼-ounce head will work just fine. When the water cools, try to remember to slow down your retrieve. Sometimes an agonizingly S-L-O-W crawl is just what it takes to entice a trout.

They've been gone for a few years, but a highlight of this winter's fishing may be the appearance of big bluefish in the surf. Some were caught along the beach at Corolla in early December. I would not be surprised to see jumbo choppers mixed in with feeding stripers, especially from Kitty Hawk down to Pea Island, and around Oregon Inlet.

For those of a new generation who don't remember the big blues or know and how to catch them in the surf, a large Hopkins, Gator, Stingsilver, or Kastmaster lure will trigger strikes. Don't forget a wire leader. A leader that's too long will hamper your casting, so I recommend a 6 to 12-inch piece of black or coffee colored wire in front of any spoon or top water plug you throw at the big blues. This short length of wire also provides a convenient "handle" to help drag these fish up on the beach.

If the big blues don't cooperate, look for smaller bluefish, in the ¾ pound to two-pound range to be scattered along the beach. The best bet for small choppers will be the southern end of Hatteras Island from Cape Point down to Hatteras Inlet, and they may appear anywhere. Feeding fish can be taken on a small metal lure, such as a ¾ ounce Hopkins Shorty. For consistent success with small bluefish, it's tough to beat the old standard two-hook fireball rig, baited with any kind of fresh fish.

Spinning rods, with a fairly fast taper or stiff tip, six to seven feet in length, mated to reels that will hold up to 200 yards of 8-pound test monofilament are perfect for casting light lures to speckled trout. The combo is also a good choice for throwing lures such as small Hopkins, Stingsilvers, or Kastmasters in case bluefish suddenly appear on the scene.

For sea mullet and any other smaller fish that might happen to come along, nothing beats a simple, but effective two-hook bottom rig. I like those with two wire spreaders that accept pre-snelled hooks, but the monofilament style with clips for plain hooks are just as effective. The beauty of these rigs is the ability to switch the size and style of hook in seconds. Use small strips or chunks of mullet and strips of squid on these rigs, and I like long shank hooks in the #2 to 1/0 range.

Bloodworms and fresh shrimp will be almost impossible to find at any of the Outer Banks tackle shops during the dead of winter, but don't forget the grocery store for shrimp. There's always the possibility of some decent-sized, shrimp loving, black drum in the Hatteras surf during January.

My favorite rod and reel combo for this type of fishing is a nine-foot spinning rig that can handle between 2 and four ounces of weight plus my rig. I've spooled my reels with monofilament since I began surf fishing, but during the past couple of years I've been using Berkley Fireline for this type of fishing and can't believe how many more bites I can feel. The no stretch factor picks up even the slightest nibble, and the thin diameter of the line allows me to cast a few feet farther and hold bottom a bit easier. I like the flexibility of 14-pound test. This combo also doubles as a great set up for casting lures to stripers, if I'm lucky enough to get into them.

Instead of trying to satisfy your fishing habit by watching the bass and redfish pros Saturday on morning television, experience the real thing, and hit the Outer Banks beaches for a winter season grab bag.