Mahi Mahi / Dolphin: One of the most beautiful fish in the Gulf Stream, the dolphin is am iridescentturquoise and lime green fish whose color slowly fades after its reeled out of the water. While there is never a guarantee that you'll find or reel in a blue or white marlin, the challenge in both finding and landing the overwhelmingly strong, fighting fish draws thousands of anglers to the Outer Banks year after year.įishermen who want to make sure they don't return home empty-handed may want to target the dozens of species of tasty large fish that frequent the Gulf Stream. White marlins, though much more rare, can also be found off the coast, and like their blue counterpart, are caught locally at record-breaking sizes. A number of record-breaking blue marlins have been reeled in over the past 100 years, and many anglers embark on an Outer Banks charter fishing trip because of the lure of the blue marlins. Hatteras Island is known as the Blue Marlin Capital of the World and a number of annual tournaments pay homage to this moniker. If you're new to charter fishing, an experienced captain and first mate can steer you towards the optimal types of fishing for the season, the weather, and for your taste, but generally you can target "meat" or "sport" fish, depending on your end goal of returning home with a week's worth of dinners, or a lifetime's worth of stories. You might not notice it while you're fishing, but the sun off the water is much more powerful than on land, making it all the more easy to sunburn. Many captains recommend taking one the night before, and one about an hour before departure for the most effective results.Īlso be sure and bring plenty of sunscreen. A Gulf Stream trip can be roller-coaster bumpy, especially during the first navigation through the inlets, and a little Dramamine before your trip goes a long way. Some companies can even ship your fish if you're in the Outer Banks for a quick day or weekend trip.īring Dramamine. Like servers or bartenders, first mates are generally paid a minimum amount and earn their living off of tips.Ĭall beforehand to see what options are available for taking your catch home - many charters will clean and pack your fish for you at the end of the trip, making it easy to grill up the day's catch. It is standard practice to always tip the first mate. What to know before you go Charter Fishing to ensure as much fishing as possible during peak fishing and feeding hours. You'll also need to plan to be up early - most charters leave the docks between 4:00 a.m. (Make-up charters and refunds due to weather cancellations are common practice, however.) Anything more, and the charter boat may not even be able to go out fishing. The other thing to keep an eye on when planning a charter trip is the weather: wind and wave conditions on the Outer Banks can change within minutes, but if possible, you'll want to book a charter trip during a time when the winds are at most 15-20mph. Smaller parties can be combined together, and individual anglers may want to call a week or so in advance to see if they can be "added on" to a pre-existing fishing trip, generally at a lower cost. Even with a seemingly limitless supply of individually owned charter boat businesses to choose from, reservations book up fast.Įach charter boat can generally accommodate a party of 6 people, and offer half-day or full-day trips to the Gulf Stream. When reserving a charter trip, you'll want to be sure and book well in advance, particularly during the peak visitation months of June, July and August. Launching points for charter boats include the marinas in Wanchese on Roanoke Island, the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center adjacent to Oregon Inlet, and Hatteras Inlet, which features a number of landings and marinas for charter businesses to dock. In some areas, like Cape Point on Hatteras Island, the Gulf Stream is a just a 15 mile boat ride away, and provides some of the best big-catch fishing north of Florida. Charter Fishing is one of the biggest draws for vacationing anglers, due mainly to the Outer Banks' proximity to the Gulf Stream. You'll notice that just about every major "harbor" along the inlets of the Outer Banks has a fleet of charter boats just waiting to launch.
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