Red drum serve as the Outer Banks’ theme fish, designated in 1971 as the state saltwater fish, and Capt. Ryan O’Neal pursues them avidly.
Although November is the best month, when reds over 40 pounds are an everyday happening, the summer can produce some action in troughs just outside Ocracoke Inlet, with sea mullet the preferred bait since it attracts fewer rays than menhaden.
Cero mackerel will make a showing around the inlet in September and October. They are larger than Spanish mackerel, blue-toned, with a think, dark lateral line. Like Spanish, they slam trolled Clark spoons. O’Neal said they will average around 5 pounds.
“They average about 5 pounds,” O’Neal said.
Southern flounder are a fascination for O’Neal. His ancestors fished them commercially, gigging and impaling fish as big as 30 pounds.
“They gig them right up in the shallows. You can see them lying on the flats,” O’Neal said.
Late September is a good time to come across one of these finicky feeders. Compared to summer flounder, the need to open the bail and allow the flounder undisturbed possession of the bait is greater. O’Neal said they are not as big as they once have been.
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