September 3, 2010 Fishing Rate >
Well it seems Ocracoke escaped the worst of Hurricane Earl yesterday as it approached our island. I took the kids and dogs and left for Raleigh at 6:30 am when Earl was a Category 4 hurricane at 144 mph wind and not turning as expected. But when it brushed by Ocracoke at 2 AM it was down to 105 mph wind.
Alan stayed and reports that the power went out sometime after 4 in the AM. The wind at the house was about 40-50 mph through the storm with a few higher gusts. The sound side flooding caused about 2-3 feet of water to flow through the village. As of noon today, the power is still out on Ocracoke due to a breach in the power supply on the Hatteras side of Ocracoke inlet located out on that sandy spit area and a little troublesome to get to. But Tideland Electric is working on it. Highway 12 had about 3 feet on sand on it this AM and NCDOT is working to clear that off. I put a few photos of pre Earl on the slide show and hope to get some of the aftermath to share later. I hope to get back to the island sometime tomorrow when they give the ok.
The fish did not seem to mind the approching storm, and the few folks out fishing Wednesday reported puppy drum, and bluefish. The day before we heard of lots of nice keeper flounder, spanish mackerel, bluefish and puppy drum.
Anthony Reeder of Greensboro, NC shared his photos of a nice 28" red drum he caught and released on Wednesday morning and a nice spanish from the day before. Trevor Pokines and Ricky Howley of Central Square, NY caught small bluefish and a couple of nice keeper flounder. Marie Riddick of Ocracoke, NC also shared a photo of a nice flounder on Tuesday. Charlie and Layla Tugwell of Farmville, NC emailed us several photos of just some of the red drum they caught and released on Friday from the beach to share with you. Thanks for sharing the pictures!
Have fun fishing!
Melinda
