Outer Banks: 10.4.11 - Pretty Fall Day at Avalon Pier
Sure is a pretty fall day. In fact, October sure is a pretty month on the Outer Banks. Fall is settling in, and the pace of life seems to slow; the days are warm, but not too hot, the nights are cool, the beaches are empty, and water is warm….plus the fishing and surfing is fantastic. Can’t ask for much more than that. Happy to see you again October.
Sun & low 70′s today, but a northwest wind is keeping it cool. Surf is fading. Fish are biting. Water temps in the low 70′s.
Good Afternoon! Here is the Outer Banks Beach, Surf and Fishing Report for 9/8/11. This video was shot at the Kitty Hawk Pier in Kitty Hawk NC at 9:30 am.
Adam is out of town this week (we miss him tons!) but were lucky enough to have Bob get out there and give you all the beach report today. Things started out cloudy and rainy here in the OBX with expected isolated storms throughout the day. We’ve got temperatures in the lower 80′s with a light SE breeze and have only had the sun poke its head a couple of times so far.
The surf is a mess today. Wave heights from about 8-15′ scattered around the area. Looks like we are getting the leftovers of tropical storm Katia as she makes her way back out at sea. Unfortunately there are no clean waves and heavy rip current potential out there this morning. Things may change as the day goes on and the wind changes, so we will see.
Fishing remains steady with consistent reports of bluefish, spanish, some bottom fish and throw back trout. The past couple of days have been somewhat slow for fishing because of the strong waves and cold water in the area but will surely be picking back up soon.
The beach looked beautiful today despite the rain and it is an awesome day to get out there and watch these GIGANTIC waves break and searching the beach for washed up treasures.
Outer Banks: 8.17.11 - Perfect Summer Day at Avalon Pier
Good morning. Here’s the Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report for Wednesday, August 17, 2011.
This video was shot at the Avalon Pier in Kill Devil Hills at 9:00 AM.
I’m not sure if we’re turning a corner towards the end of summer, or if we just have a great weather pattern hanging with us, but the beach weather this week is near perfect. The sun is bright, the skies are blue, the humidity has dropped, temps have cooled to the low 80′s, there’s a light onshore breeze out of the northeast, and water temps have jumped to the mid 70′s. Hard to beat this beach weather!
Unfortunately, no surf to report. Lake Atlantic. And the forecast isn’t too promising. The wind will be inconsistent over the next few days, and a good portion of the time it will be out of the northeast, so even the little swell we have won’t be clean. Hopefully some swell and offshore winds are in our near future. The good news is that the water should stay warm with this onshore wind.
OBX fishing is going great. Tight lines all around. Offshore is catching dolphin, wahoo, and tuna – yellow fin are still in the area, and black fin showed up yesterday; some bill fish mixed in as well. As a side note, the Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament starts today, so we should see some impressive game fish being hauled in.
The bridges, piers, surf, & Sound are very consistent with a wide variety of fish – spot, croaker, blue fish, speckled trout, flounder, trigger fish, cobia, and some spade fish showed up yesterday.
Come along as we take a tour of the Army Cops of Engineers Field Research Facility, or what we OBX’ers call the Duck Research Pier in Duck, North Carolina. The Field Research facility is used to study coastal processes, especially those that cause beach changes. The pier fulfills four main objectives:
provides a rigid platform through the surf into deep water from which to attach instruments
provides a permanent base of operations for various studies by the Corps, private industry, universities, and other branches of the military
provides field data for use in laboratory experiments and numerical models
provides a facility for testing new instrumentation in the field before deployment
If you have ever been out on the beach in Duck you may have seen the 1840 foot pier from a distance but there are only private beach accesses near the facility. The reason they Army chose to build the pier in Duck is pretty neat. Duck was chosen because of its distance from coastal structures, affected by the high frequency of storms and hurricanes, and only lightly affected by the dynamics of inlet processes. It also has access to both the Atlantic Ocean and Currituck Sound making it easier to conduct a variety of experiments.
I don’t want to tell you too much more about the pier because you need to get out there and do the tour. It was really educational and makes you appreciate all of the wonder that’s associated with the ocean. They are only doing the tours until August 19th and are Monday-Friday at 10:00 am. Only one more week left so get out there!
Good morning. Here’s the Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report for Wednesday, August 10, 2011.
This video was shot at the Avalon Pier in Kill Devil Hills at 9:00 AM.
It has been a great beach week so far with temps in the mid 90′s, but the weather pattern has changed. The great weather continues today – and through the weekend – but the wind has switched from the southwest to the northeast, and with that switch comes a change in weather conditions.
The wind is blowing 10-15 mph out of the east-northeast, and with it comes cooler temps. The sun is still shining, and the sky is a gorgeous blue with almost no clouds, but the temps have dropped from the mid 90′s to the mid to low 80′s. And the water temps are creeping back to the 80′s as the east wind pushes warmer water towards shore.
Very comfortable day at the beach. Air and water are almost identical temps.
Unfortunately, this northeast wind is not helping the surf. We’ve enjoyed a few fun days of surf. Sunday through Tuesday saw waist high waves with a light offshore wind out of the southwest that kept the swell very clean. There were a lot of surfers in the water, and it was a blast. However, the swell is fading, and the wind is not helping. Looks like we are out of luck for OBX surf for the rest of the week. But it was a fun summer swell while it lasted.
Since there’s no surf to report, let’s focus on fishing! Tight lines all around. OBX fishing is going strong. Offshore is catching wahoo, dolphin, big eye and yellow fin tuna, and some bill fish mixed in. The bridges, piers, surf, and Sound are very consistent with a wide variety of fish – craokers, flounder, spot, speckled trout, blue fish, Spanish mackerel, cobia, trigger fish.
Good morning. Here’s the Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report for Wednesday, July 27, 2011.
This video was shot at the Avalon Pier in Kill Devil Hills at 9:00 AM.
Great beach weather today. The weather pattern has changed over the past few days. The summer heat wave that was hanging over the area has moved off, and we are welcoming in very comfortable weather. We’ve even had short rain storms that past three days…unheard of over the past few months…the plants are loving it.
The humidity has dropped, and the temps are in the low 80′s today. It is starting off a bit overcast this morning, but the sun is fighting its way out, and it should be mostly sunny by the afternoon. There is also a light offshore wind out of the southwest that is adding a cool breeze to the day. This weather should stick with us for through the end of the week; a slight increase in temps, but great beach weather.
Unfortunately, there is no surf to report. The ocean is flat, flat, flat. I haven’t seen is this flat in quite a while. There is a tiny bit of swell coming in, and the offshore breeze is keeping it clean, so if you find the right spot, you may get a longboard wave or two, but not much in the form of waves today. And really, not much surf coming in next few days.
The good news is that the water has warmed up quite a bit. We’re looking at water temps in the mid 70′s, and with the wind forecast, it seems like it should stay warm for the rest of the week.
OBX fishing is going strong. Offshore is catching big eye and yellow fin tuna, dolphin, and some bill fish mixed in. The bridges, piers, Sound, and surf are all very consistent with a wide variety of fish – spot, croaker, blue fish, flounder, speckled trout, Spanish mackerel, trigger fish, cobia. Tight lines all around!
Outer Banks: 7.26.11 - Great weather in Kitty Hawk
There is something great about a summer heat wave. Hot, humid, hazy…It feels like summer should. It slows everything, and everyone, down to that slow summer pace. The “I don’t want to move from this rocking chair” pace.
But there’s also something great about that same heat wave moving off and welcoming in more comfortable temps. That switch is on today. The oppressive heat and humidity we’ve had for the last week are gone – for now – and some very comfortable 80 degree temps have settled in.
Great beach day. Perfect temps, 80′s. Overcast to start, but the sun is on its way out. The water is warming up – 70 degrees this morning. Unfortunately, no surf, but the fish are biting.
Good morning. Here’s the Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report for Friday, July 22, 2011.
This video was shot at the Lillian St. beach access at 9:00 AM.
Happy Friday. Great beach day and a great beach weekend ahead. Temps in the 90′s, sun, and a light offshore wind out of the Southwest all weekend. Great beach weather!
However, there is good and bad news with that offshore wind. I like to start with the bad, so I’ll share that first. The southwest winds tend to blow the warm surface water out to sea, and the cooler water rises to the surface. This is a process known as “upwelling.” So, the bad news is that we can see the water temps change pretty quickly based on the wind direction, and it’s been blowing out of the southwest for a few days, so the OBX has seen the water temps drop from the mid 70′s to the mid 60′s.
A bit chilly, but like I said, there’s good news too. The fish really like the upwelling process because as the warm water moves out, and the cooler water that “upwells” to replace it tends to be rich in nutrients. So, there’s good news for OBX fishing, and the offshore breeze keeps the surf clean.
There’s not much surf to report today (or this weekend), but the little swell that is out there is very clean. The surf is in the knee high range. Probably best for SUP (stand up paddleboarding), but a decent longboard wave too. In the video, I mention that the guys in the water are in board shorts so it can’t be too cold, but you’ll see some in wet suits too. A long stint in 65 degree water can get chilly.
Tight lines all around for OBX fishing. Offshore continues to see dolphin, yellow fin tuna, wahoo, and some bill fish mixed in. The piers, bridges, surf, & Sound are all very consistent with a wide variety of fish – spot, croaker, blue fish, speckled trout, Spanish mackerel, trigger fish, cobia.
