For a fraction of the cost of an offshore charter trip, fishermen can harvest the best bottomfish the ocean or sounds can offer.
Outer Banks anglers on a small budget can fish from the largest boats in the harbor.
That’s because head boats — they get their name from captains charging “by the head” — sail from Manteo, Wanchese, Oregon Inlet and Hatteras on a daily basis.
They give fishermen the chance to spend a morning or afternoon wetting their hooks for the best that inshore and nearshore fishing has to offer for a couple of $20 bills. For a hundred bucks and change, they can board larger boats and head offshore for bigger fish such as grouper, sea bass, snapper, tilefish and other bottom-dwelling species.
Either way, the captain throws in the dolphin- and osprey- watching free of charge. Compare that to $1,200 to $1,500 for a day of Gulf Stream fishing with five friends.
Like all fishing trips, head-boat charters depend on a blend of art, science and luck. Lady Luck and beginner’s luck converged for Johanna Seese from Pittsburgh on a steamy summer morning aboard the Miss Oregon Inlet. She landed the biggest fish on the boat on a day when most of her neighbors reeled in croakers and puffers. They cheered and laughed when she hooked a 2-pound triggerfish.
“This is my first fishing trip, and that’s the first fish I’ve ever caught,” she said. “For a while I thought I might not catch one at all.”
Seese did not know what to do with her catch, but that was no problem. Mate Lisa Ashley arrived quickly, and with a smile, hooked the fish, baited the hook and got Seese ready to catch another one. Ashley said her job includes keeping up the morale of the crew if the fish refused to bite.
“I might sing and dance for people if the fishing gets too slow,” Ashley said.
Slow fishing did not mar Seese’s trip so Ashley danced around the deck assisting anglers. Most of the fish she unhooked were croakers that grunted their own salty songs. She stashed keepers in plastic bags and threw the smaller ones back.
Capt. John Gallop knows the Roanoke, Croatan and Pamlico sounds well. For five years, he captained the Crystal Dawn head boat out of the Pirate’s Cove Marina on Roanoke Island. Before that, he served as mate on the Country Girl, which carries up to 27 anglers through the inlet and into the open ocean.
“On the Country Girl, we fished the wrecks and rock piles for black sea bass, trigger fish and tilefish,” said Gallop, who moved to the Miss Oregon Inlet last year.
“I grew up commercial fishing and started charter fishing when I was 19,” said Gallop, who after three decades of charter fishing, knew this day would be a croaker trip when his boat left the marina.
“About 90 percent of the time we fish in the sound,” he said. “If the water is clear, we fish for flounder. We mostly catch croakers and sea mullet in dirty water. The water is clearer when the winds blow east from the ocean. A west wind tends to stir up muddy water.”
On the high-dollar trips, anglers hook up with various tuna species, Mahimahi or battle billfish. Yet for novices, it is a big ocean out there, and getting seasick can happen. Aboard the inshore head boats, anglers can enjoy a fun day on calm water, and with a little luck, bring home a mess of fish for supper.
“Miss Oregon Inlet is a slow boat, but it is big and comfortable,” Gallop said. “This is a nice boat for a novice. During most trips, they get to see some dolphins while they enjoy a Pamlico Sound fishing trip. Our range is short because this is an 8-knot boat, so we do most of our fishing in the channel. Most of the channel is 13 to 15 feet deep.”
Gallop also fishes deep sloughs around Oregon Inlet, where he can slip his 65-footer within a few yards of the sandy islands on the sound side of the inlet. Gallop shares theses fishing spots with the Miss Broad Creek and the Crystal Dawn, and with private boats.
“We have a little bit of an edge because we are closer to the fishing ground,” Gallop said. “The other boats have to come all the way from Manteo and Wanchese.”
He shares that edge with fellow captains by giving them fishing reports over the radio, and they do the same for him. Head-boat fishing in the sound is about helping each other, he said.
“We all talk to each other,” Gallop said. “It is a lot easier for three boats to find fish than just one.”
Mate Mark Albertson regularly teaches quick fishing lessons during the 30-minute ride to the fishing grounds. Fishermen gather in the cabin and he shows them how to use the rods and reels that are furnished.
“These reels are made for drop-fishing, not casting,” he said. “Take the reel out of gear while keeping your thumb on the spool. Let it drop until you feel it hit the bottom.”
Each rod is equipped with a double-hook rig with 4/0 hooks and 5-ounce sinkers tied on to 20-pound line. Mates furnish strips of squid and assist with baiting, landing fish and fixing tangles.
“I love to see kids catching fish,” Albertson said, “It is good to see them learning to enjoy this sport; maybe that will keep them away from some of the bad stuff going on out there.
Gallop offers advice for more-advanced anglers who want to bring their own tackle.
“Bring a little spinning (outfit) with 8- to 12-pound-test line on it,” he said. “It is a good idea to bring a bag of bloodworms or some shrimp. Once I saw three people on the bow catch 19 fish in a row before they ran out of bloodworms. We furnish squid for bait, but sometimes switching to shrimp or bloodworms will catch more fish.”
Gallop said 2- to 3-ounce sinkers should be fine. He advises to make short casts with care due to the often-tight quarters along the rail. Bring extra rigs for when you hang up, tangle or break off. Light-tackle action is always fun, but sometimes the sound will give up a surprise from the shallow water.
“Saw a guy hook a cobia at the transom once,” Lisa Ashley said. “It broke off before he could land it, but what a fight!”
Sometimes pieces of cut bluefish will do the trick. That worked for Chris Dibler of Kitty Hawk, who stood by the transom and reeled in croakers two at a time. Dibler fishes all over the Outer Banks and knows a few tricks.
“Yesterday, we fished at the Kitty Hawk Pier right after a storm,” he said. “We caught a mess of bluefish. This is the first time I tried bluefish for cut bait, but that is what the croakers want today.”
No matter what tackle anglers choose, fishing always takes patience. On this trip, the bite was slow until Gallop found the croakers about 9 o’clock. Soon after, the Miss Broad Creek and Crystal Dawn sailed over to join Gallop’s vessel.
On board, anglers landed small fish but wore big grins. The mates assisted anglers with smaller black sea bass and croakers. Some of the croakers were big enough for the frying pans.
“This is a fun job when people are catching fish,” Albertson said. “People are happy and that makes me feel good.”
Mates work for tips and know how to keep anglers happy. They could teach lessons on how to give expert customer service.
That same afternoon anglers enjoyed good feelings on the southern end of Hatteras Island. Capt. Spurgeon Stowe runs the Miss Hatteras and Capt. Clam out of Oden’s Dock in the fabled fishing village of Hatteras. On this day, he ventured into the ocean, where his customers fished on the bottom with Boston mackerel and strips of squid.
“We run all-day trips four times a week,” Stowe said. “I go from 20 to 30 miles out. I like to fish the ledges, reefs and the hard-bottom rock piles. We mainly catch sea bass, triggerfish and snappers.”
On the smaller Capt. Clam, Stowe targets flounder and croakers in the sound behind Hatteras Inlet.
“We fish here the same way the Oregon Inlet boats do,” he said.
Onshore or inshore, Stowe draws repeat clients from all over the East Coast to the island where he grew up fishing as a way of life.
On a sizzling Wednesday, William Maxwell of Wilton, Conn., worked hard when the Miss Hatteras docked at the end of the day. He lugged a heavy stringer of black sea bass and vermilion snappers to the cleaning table. Maxwell traveled about 550 miles from his home to make the catch, and he’s made this trip before.
“I have done this a couple of times now,” Maxwell said. “This is pretty fun. I will be back.”
DESTINATION INFORMATION
WHERE TO GO/HOW TO GET THERE: Outer Banks head boats dock in several locations, from Wanchese and Manteo to Oregon Inlet and Hatteras. All areas are accessible from most of North Carolina via US 64 or US 264, to Wanchese and Manteo, then NC 12 down the Outer Banks to Oregon Inlet and Hatteras. Trips run on a regular basis from all ports throughout the summer.
HATTERAS: The Miss Hatteras and Capt. Clam head boats fish from Oden’s Dock in Hatteras. Miss Hatteras runs full-day, offshore trips on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The cost is $120 per angler for up to 40 people. On Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, the Miss Hatteras runs half-day offshore trips, morning and afternoon. The cost is $45 for adults and $40 for kids 12 and under. Capt. Clam runs half-day trips in the sound every day except Sunday at the same prices. Call 252-564-7365 or visit www.hatterasfishingcaptain.com.
OREGON INLET: Miss Oregon Inlet sails from the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center just north of Bonner Bridge on NC 12. From Memorial Day until Labor Day, the boat runs two daily half-day trips and twilight cruises on Thursdays and Fridays. Fishing trips cost $40 for adults and $30 for ages six and under. Cost for the cruises is $16 for adults and $10 for age seven and under. Call 800-272-5199.
WANCHESE: Anglers board the Miss Broad Creek at the Broad Creek Fishing Center in Wanchese on Roanoke Island. Through the summer, the crew runs two half-day trips daily if enough anglers show up. The cost is $40 for adults and $30 for 12 and under. Call 252-473-5344 or visit www.broadcreekmarinaobx.com.
MANTEO: Board the Crystal Dawn or Country Girl at Pirate’s Cove Marina on Roanoke Island beside the Manteo-Nags Head Causeway. From June through August, the Crystal Dawn fishes two daily half-day trips inshore near Oregon Inlet. While the Crystal Dawn stays in the sound, the 57-foot Country Girl can ferry up to 27 anglers from five to 50 miles out for bottom-fishing trips, targeting artificial reefs, wrecks and hardbottom for sea bass, triggerfish, tilefish and others for $110 a head. Call 252-473-5577 or visit www.crystaldawnheadboat.com or www.countrygirlcharters.com.
ACCOMMODATIONS: Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, Manteo, 977-629-4386 or www.outerbanks.org.
