Oregon Inlet U.

Enroll now for winter schooling striper action at N.C.’s northern coast.

Motoring through the near shore waters off Oregon Inlet, the captain scanned the early morning water for any sign of activity and also monitored four sets of trolling rods that dipped into the boat’s wake as the craft plowed through the rolling water.

The captain, Shannon Miller from Manteo, steered the big center console along a path hoping to take advantage of the northeast currents that would move packs of big striped bass out of northern Virginia waters and bring them to the mouths of North Carolina sounds.

Trolling at the outskirts of the Oregon Inlet Bar, the boat was mid-track into a wide arc when the outside umbrella rig rod bounced once then dipped seaward. A smile spread across Miller’s face as he throttled back to allow one of his anglers to grab the rod and begin to reel in the substantial fish.

It had been five years since a five-year-long banner cycle of striper fishing off the Carolina coast reigned from 1997 to 2003. Experts and old salts alike like to describe the five-year fishing cycles that affect numerous species of Outer Banks fishing. Maybe this fish was the first in another boom cycle.

Ask striped bass anglers who frequent the nearshore waters outside the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and all will point to water temperature as the most-important factor in bringing numbers of trophy fish down from the northern waters, as well as drawing out big “rocks” from Albermarle and Pamlico Sounds.
Cold water that freezes the backs of inshore sounds and pushes every living creature from tiny baitfish to whales toward the shallow nearshore shoals is the ideal situation. Those were conditions Miller hoped to find.

“When the water in the sounds gets to 55 degrees and below, the bigger rocks will move out of the sounds with the outgoing tide,” said Miller, who operates Blood Vessel Sport Fishing, a charter-boat service that ranges from an Albemarle to a 25-foot twin outboard center console. Miller makes the Broad Creek Marina in Wanchese his base of operations during the winter striper season.

Miller said the vast majority of big stripers that move out of the sounds are resident fish in the 20- to 25-pound range. That’s a good time to catch a big rockfish, but it lacks the consistency of the bigger runs from up north. The problem is compounded by the 3-mile state coastal-waters zone, outside of which it’s illegal to possess any striped bass.

During the last banner cycle, winter cold fronts gripped the northeast from Chesapeake Bay and Virginia to the Hudson River in New York. When those sounds became too cold for northern stripers, the waters from Nags Head to Cape Lookout in North Carolina played host to millions of migrating rockfish seeking warmth and, more importantly, baitfish.

“If the ocean water temps drop lower, into the mid-to-lower 40s, all of the marine life lays up on the shoals,” Miller said. “We’ll even start to see seals at the beaches at the inlets.

“Offshore stripers move into state waters following baitfish, menhaden, sand eels, gray trout-all the little stuff that can’t stand the cold.”

When those conditions exist, Miller trolls the nearshore waters looking for schooling stripers. Trolling is his search tactic. He’ll pull mojo rigs, bucktail jigs or Mann’s Stretch 25s. His trolling gear is 15- to 20-pound class tackle. He pairs medium heavy rods with Shimano TLD 15 baitcast reels. The reels are spooled with 80-pound braid and a 6-foot length of monofilament leader.

The Stretch 25 is a “set-it-and-forget-it” lure, the captain said.

“You can either troll it slow and get a slow wide wiggle or pull it fast and get a fast, tight wiggle,” he said. “Either way it’s a deadly bait for locating fish.”

While he’s trolling Miller searches for tell-tale signs of striped-bass activity.

“Just look for the birds — sea gulls, gannets, pelicans,” Miller said. “The birds get up high and search for pods of baitfish driven to the surface when the schools of stripers attack. Finding a swarming flock of birds diving on one location is a sure sign you’ve got stripers. Then it’s just a matter of getting the boat within casting range of the giant dark spot in the water.”

The Blood Vessel captain trolls to find fish, but once he’s on them he much prefers to cast to them. There’s not much finesse required when casting to water boiling with hungry striped bass. He rigs a 2- to 4-ounce white-and-chartreuse Spro jig with a 6- to 8-inch curlytail or shad body. Then it’s just a matter of casting into the school and winding with a tight grip on the rod. The bite is unmistakable-like tying a concrete block to a length of string and tossing it overboard.

“The best days to get offshore are with a southwest wind blowing off the mainland into the cold water,” Miller said. “You’ll see lots of bay boats and center consoles out in the light chop, and everybody’s chasing birds. On the other hand, a northeast wind will push the fish deep out to the 3-mile range into deeper water to try to avoid the bottom swells created by the harsh winds.”

Miller prefers days when the wind keeps a lot of the inshore boats home. He’ll take the Albemarle, which makes getting through the inlet a lot easier as well as fighting the chop. He may have to troll more and deeper water to find big schools of fish but suggested the boat can pick up some fish by trolling rigs at certain spots that seem to hold fish throughout the winter. He’ll target wrecks, humps and rips, but he’s still looking for the birds and the easy quick bite.

Other days may bring the harshest weather when getting through the inlet is risky and fishing is downright impossible. On those days, Miller and his crew have had success downsizing lure and working the inside edges of the inlet to catch 5- to 10-pound stripers in the sound.

While it’s illegal to possess striped bass in the Exclusive Economic Zone (federal zone), boats are allowed to possess two striped bass per angler at a minimum length of 28 inches from 1 to 3 miles offshore.

“That’s what happens when we get the cold water,” Miller said. “It’s something to get your arms jerked out of the socket all day and then come back through the inlet and actually see seals playing in the surf.”