Today's Report

Offshore

Scrappy offshore everywhere: down at Hatteras, boats picked at a few mahi, blackfin tuna and wahoo, with the wahoo numbers softer than they've been, while the Oregon Inlet fleet ground through a picky tuna bite of a few blackfin and yellowfin, landed two wahoo and heard of some bluefish around the inlet. Only a handful of boats went midweek as bookings thin out this time of year, but it can still fish really good. One bright spot: boats down at Hatteras are working a really good drum bite with a few bluefish around Hatteras Inlet — nobody's sure whether it's inside, outside or on the bar, but it's worth a look.

Inshore & the Sound

Inside, small speckled trout are showing in pretty good numbers with a puppy drum or two still around, and most of the big drums have pushed into the ocean for now. It's been a genuinely good year in the sound, and the wave of juvenile speckled trout turning up in the surf, the inlets and the sound bodes well for next year.

Surf, Springs & Piers

The Cape Hatteras Anglers Club Invitational surf tournament is on the beach at Hatteras — 60 or 70 teams of about six anglers, two sessions today and two more tomorrow — a bragging-rights event that's also a real shot in the arm for Hatteras Island. The drum bite runs north to south, including north of Oregon Inlet: mostly yearling red drum with some slot-sized puppy drum, a few underslot fish and some true bruisers to 50 inches — a lot of it after dark, but not all. Cape Point had bites yesterday along with some action at the Buxton motels, a few drum came off the northern beaches north of Oregon Inlet, Avon Pier had a great sea mullet bite two at a time with fish a pound and a half or better, and a few bluefish are mixed into the surf.

Bait, and What’s Biting

It's all about the drum and the sea mullet right now — red drum in every size from yearlings to fish pushing 50 inches, sea mullet a pound and a half or better that are fine eating and easy pickings for kids new to fishing, plus a few bluefish on the beach.

Outlook

We'll pass along tournament updates as each session wraps today and tomorrow. With the drum bite running north to south island-wide and a good crop of juvenile speckled trout pointing to a bright next year, there's plenty of reason to keep a rod rigged.