The weather is more springy and water temperatures have warmed to around 60 degrees – which is much better that the abnormally cool surf temperatures we’ve been seeing.

Scattered summer time catches - sea mullet, puffers and keeper puppy drum - have shown up in the surf. Big drum and keeper puppy drum have also been caught. The report from the folks at Tradewinds Bait and Tackle reveals a decent number of keeper puppy drum and several large drum measuring upwards of 46 inches landed in the surf last week.

Conditions on the beach were a little grassy a few days last week, leaving small, weighted blobs hung up on my pink fireball rigs. First time caster Nancy Fisler was ecstatic to feel the tug at the end of the line and reel in this grassy prize from the surf – it’s better than nothing. 

I’ve been trying out some bottom rigs with shrimp on the beaches. I’m gunning for (or casting for) a keeper puppy drum to take home and boil with some taters, onions and bacon. As it stands now, if I ate what I caught, it would be seaweed soup. And that’s just not indigenous around here. 

In the meantime, I’m still practicing my casting skills and readying for the big blue tussle.

Bluefish have been non-existant on the beaches, but I heard the commercial guys (according to Ms. Patti Plyler) pulled in a few blues just off the beaches. So, it’s any day now for beach fishermen.

Drum is on the restaurant menus this week, landed by the local commercial fishing fleet at the Ocracoke Fish House. Speckled trout have also been landed by the commercial fleet. 

Big catches were landed aboard Drum Stick last week as the deep droppers got into some big snowy grouper - some weighing more than 40 pounds. Tilefish, triggerfish and red snapper were also brought to the docks.

Bottomfishing has been the ticket right now for offshore boaters, as the last of the tuna head away from us. I did hear that the recent southwest blow brought in some gaffer dolphin (mahi-mahi) for our neighboring Hatteras fishing fleet.  

I wouldn’t be surprised if some gaffers are being brought to the Ocracoke docks as I write this. It’s the time of the season for them. Any day now.

Inshore boat trips have produced some large drum, with keepers mixed in. Black drum have also been landed inshore.

The weather here has been gorgeous recently, with mild temperatures and current winds from the east-northeast. Although a small craft advisory issued for the first part of the week could put a damper on boating and cause for some sand blasting on the beach, the wind is supposed to lay down by Tuesday evening and switch to a south-easterly direction, becoming south by Thursday. This should push some warm water in and anglers could start to see more of our in-season catches, including sea mullet, puppy drum, black drum, bluefish and maybe even a cobia.

Email fishing stories and pictures to megpieinthesky@gmail.com, attn: fishing report. I look forward to sharing your stories. Until next time, keep your line (or net) in the water and Fish On The Current!