Sorry for the delayed report, but it has been a very busy several days. Last week's Outer Banks Surf Fishing school was well attended by eager participants, but the fish did not make a very strong showing. Our group was blasted by southerly winds that topped 30 knots for most of the day on Saturday and the determined and sand-blasted group caught bluefish up to 1½ pounds, sea mullet, a few croakers, dogfish and sharks. Sunday's fishing was more pleasant when the wind backed off and shifted directions, but the fishing was only fair.

Overall, fishing was good at most locations throughout the week, despite some challenging weather.

Surf fishing was only fair along the northern beaches. On a couple days the surf was rough and dirty and only yielded a few scattered big bluefish, some small blues and a few croakers. Hatteras Island, from Salvo to Avon, produced bluefish to twelve pounds, small blues, sea mullet, croakers, black drum to five pounds and a few large pompano. The bluefish and sea mullet action was very consistent on most days.

The South Beach of Hatteras Island from Frisco to Hatteras Inlet produced good numbers of big blues, sea mullet, puppy drum, little bluefish and a few big drum near Ramp 55. During Mother's Day weekend the bite of big blues was very good at some of the deeper holes and sloughs near Ramp 55. Soundside anglers around the inlet caught small flounder and gray trout.

Ocracoke Island had some very consistent surf action with lots of bluefish up to 10 pounds. The big choppers were very plentiful and were caught at several locations along the island. Other catches included small bluefish, puppy drum, sea mullet and a few big drum from the southern end of the island. Proof of warming water temperatures was indicated by the appearance of pompano and sheepshead in the surf.

When the wind abated enough for small boaters to leave the dock, they found some fish on the soundside and around the inlets. Spanish mackerel and small bluefish were reported around Oregon Inlet. A few speckled trout, puppy drum and some keeper-sized flounder were caught by light tackle anglers fishing inside the inlet, around some of the marsh islands and at the channel edges. The west side of the Croatan Sound, between the bridges, also offered up some decent puppy drum catches on lures and bait.

Hatteras Inlet boaters reported a fair number of puppy drum, lots of bluefish, scattered Spanish mackerel and flounder. The cobia run is on! Several of them were taken on bait and lures, topped by a whopping 95-pounder. The big news for inshore boaters at Ocracoke was cobia, and they were taken in good numbers, despite some windy conditions. Cobia to 73 pounds, mostly taken by anglers sight casting, have already been reported.

Pier fishing was good. Some speckled trout were taken but the big news was the strong appearance of big bluefish the three piers north of Oregon Inlet. These piers also reported a couple days with strong numbers of sea mullet plus small bluefish, puppy drum and skates. A few "yearling"sized drum that exceeded the upper range of the slot (27-inches) and were released. The Rodanthe and Avon Piers had black drum, sea mullet, small blues, and a few keeper-sized gray trout. Avon Pier also reported a 45-inch red drum that was released and an 8-pound black drum. Both piers also had plenty of big bluefish up to 13 pounds. I’m not sure where the big blues are coming from, but I'm glad they have decided to pay us a visit.