Sport Fishing on the Outer Banks

Sport Fishing on the Outer Banks By R Wayne Gray and Nancy Beach Gray

The Outer Banks, barrier islands off the coast of northeastern North Carolina, have long provided inhabitants with ready access to clean water and bountiful wild fisheries. In the 1930s, these locals recognized they could make a living full time by taking out paying parties of sport anglers. At this time, entrepreneurs built oceanfront piers to get these sport fishermen closer to migrating schools of fish. An act of Congress preserved the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which promoted the pastime of surf fishing. As the industry of charter fishing developed, captains working out of Hatteras and Oregon Inlet ventured farther into the Atlantic Ocean to reach the Gulf Stream, the home of the ultimate fishing trophy, the blue marlin. This book chronicles the history of sport fishing on the Outer Banks. Whether fishing is a livelihood or a pastime, fishermen and fisherwomen invest in more than just catching. They commune with a seascape that is both inspiring and potentially dangerous. And what locals and visitors alike have found on this sliver of sand is simple: paradise on earth.