# Nags Head in June



## Maxvelocity (9 mo ago)

Hi guys, I'm heading to south Nags Head the third week of June with my sons. We have rented a place within walking distance to the beach. I've done a lot of research in the past couple of weeks on surf fishing, but I have many lingering questions. Is there decent surf fishing in Nags Head that time of year? Is there any chance of hooking into something big? I've read that people catch fish only several feet from shore. Is that true? Should I cast my bottom rig into the breakers, just behind them, or just in front of them? Is there any advantage to wading out and heaving a cut bait out as far as I can?

This site seems to have a lot of knowledgeable and friendly people on here, and I'm really looking forward to your responses! Thanks in advance!!


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## retired (Oct 20, 2016)

I am no expert but have fished a good deal for 50 years. Get a couple-three cheap 9-10 ft rods. Spinning is better for you. 3-5000 size reel. Rod holders. Yes, some double drop rigs with smaller hooks. Lets say 2-6 size kahle or circle hooks. Get some shrimp, keep it cold. Fish bites in a couple variations. Cut bait may be good at times. With that you can increase your hook size somewhat. Honestly I am trying to put you on pomps, spot or croakers. But as you mentioned there is ALWAYS a chance of a good blue or Red. As far as where to fish. Read up on looking for a cut in the surf. Generally I am not a dedicated drum fisherman any more. I will often have a couple rods out deep100-150 yards HOPEFULLY. Wind has some bearing on that. One under my feet and one rod maybe 30-40 yards out. Pompano is my target fish most of the time. Don't forget metal..........I have killed them several times on those. Your best friend will be gained experience. Or fishing with someone that has been there and done that. I could go on for a good bit about the do's and Not's but just keep it simple. Good luck


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## Thorhammer (9 mo ago)

agree 100- but talking shrimp, not the frozen bait shop kind. Fresh, people's dinner kind, leave shell on, pin a size 4 or 6 circle or mutu hook through a finger nail sized piece and you will catch a lot of fish you never saw bite. Generally speaking, no fish had skrimps nicely peeled for them in the wild, and will stay on the hook better thru wave wash with shell and maybe make your biter aggressive enough that the mutu gets him. 15-20 lb braid on aforementioned setups will aid bite detection and distance, if needed, but pomps, croakers, sea mullet etc. run right in the wash and first slough. 

My 0.02.


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## pcbtightlines (Aug 9, 2020)

IMO …I would recommend against using braid …Mono a lot easier to handle and significantly cheaper.


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## Reelturner (Dec 24, 2003)

pcbtightlines said:


> IMO …I would recommend against using braid …Mono a lot easier to handle and significantly cheaper.


I agree! Especially if you are mainly bottom fishing.


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## Maxvelocity (9 mo ago)

Thanks guys for taking the time to reply! Is Nags Head a decent place to fish? Will the beaches be so crowded that it will be a problem?


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## pcbtightlines (Aug 9, 2020)

Third week of June schools are out and it’s full summer vacation mode for families. This is pretty much true all up and down the East coast.

If it was me I would probably be out on the beach fishing from 5am-9am or when sun is setting in the evening and do some nighttime fishing.


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## Jhmiller94 (Oct 29, 2020)

There is beach nourishment scheduled this spring and summer, so you may need to flexible about where you fish. If you have 4wd and don’t mind going south, Coquina beach isn’t far neither is Oregon inlet - ramps 2 and 4. Pay attention to the tides and wind direction. I’ll be down that time as well. Good luck!


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## Maxvelocity (9 mo ago)

pcbtightlines said:


> Third week of June schools are out and it’s full summer vacation mode for families. This is pretty much true all up and down the East coast.
> 
> If it was me I would probably be out on the beach fishing from 5am-9am or when sun is setting in the evening and do some nighttime fishing.


I was afraid of that lol. We will try that.


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## retired (Oct 20, 2016)

Maxvelocity said:


> I was afraid of that lol. We will try that.


If you have 4 WD get a 10 day permit. Go south and get on ramp or any place for that matter that gets you on the beach. That would be my first objective if its possible.


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## Maxvelocity (9 mo ago)

retired said:


> If you have 4 WD get a 10 day permit. Go south and get on ramp or any place for that matter that gets you on the beach. That would be my first objective if its possible.


I do not have a 4x4, just a 2wd SUV. Is 4wd necessary?


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## jahtez (Aug 29, 2021)

Get a tide chart and focus your fishing during the incoming and high tides. Consider spending a day or at least a morning or afternoon/evening on one of the piers as they are natural fish attractors and they also give you access to different water columns (plus the opportunity to see who is successfully catching fish and why). If you are a freshwater lure fisherman (bass or walleye) then also consider reserving a rod for that, get yourself a couple of Hopkins spoons, Stingsilvers, Gotcha jigs, or basic lead head jigs heads with curly tails, and work those through the trough (catching bluefish on lures can be ridiculous fun).


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## DaBig2na (Aug 7, 2011)

The main thing about fishing NH in June is pay attention to the water temp water will most likely be in the 60s especially on a SW due to upwelling. Jigging gotcha plugs off the piers in the early morning hours from first light to about 8am can yield some nice Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish. No the beaches wont be overly crowded away from the piers.. Seems everyone wants to gather around piers during daylight hours. Plenty of beach with public access from Kitty Hawk to the inlet. The Little bridge and the pier at the boat ramp across the highway from Pirates Cove are two good options. I am not impressed by the Bonner Bridge Pier.. They should have left the catwalks up. 
Fishing the beach will take some scouting to look for cuts, holes, and troughs that are within walking distance from the public beach access. Check out Second Street access... there is an old ship wreck there that holds some fish from time to time


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## Maxvelocity (9 mo ago)

jahtez said:


> Get a tide chart and focus your fishing during the incoming and high tides. Consider spending a day or at least a morning or afternoon/evening on one of the piers as they are natural fish attractors and they also give you access to different water columns (plus the opportunity to see who is successfully catching fish and why). If you are a freshwater lure fisherman (bass or walleye) then also consider reserving a rod for that, get yourself a couple of Hopkins spoons, Stingsilvers, Gotcha jigs, or basic lead head jigs heads with curly tails, and work those through the trough (catching bluefish on lures can be ridiculous fun).


I am a freshwater lure fisherman. I will be fishing with my gear that I used to fish for pike and salmon when I live in MI. Would that be ok for surf and pier fishing? I do have a bunch of soft plastics for bass as well, including white curly tail jigs. I may need to pick up some heavier jig heads. What weight leader do I need to attach to my main line for bottom fishing?


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## Maxvelocity (9 mo ago)

DaBig2na said:


> The main thing about fishing NH in June is pay attention to the water temp water will most likely be in the 60s especially on a SW due to upwelling. Jigging gotcha plugs off the piers in the early morning hours from first light to about 8am can yield some nice Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish. No the beaches wont be overly crowded away from the piers.. Seems everyone wants to gather around piers during daylight hours. Plenty of beach with public access from Kitty Hawk to the inlet. The Little bridge and the pier at the boat ramp across the highway from Pirates Cove are two good options. I am not impressed by the Bonner Bridge Pier.. They should have left the catwalks up.
> Fishing the beach will take some scouting to look for cuts, holes, and troughs that are within walking distance from the public beach access. Check out Second Street access... there is an old ship wreck there that holds some fish from time to time


The water will be cooler than I thought. I didn't find a ton about the Bonner Bridge Pier. So thanks for that input.


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## Maxvelocity (9 mo ago)

I appreciate everyone taking the time to answer my myriad of questions.


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## pcbtightlines (Aug 9, 2020)

There is a website that shows historical water temps (most likely surface) if you want to see what the last couple years looked like. Just make sure to check locally when you are there as things can change with the weather etc. 

seatemperature.info


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## DaBig2na (Aug 7, 2011)

Maxvelocity said:


> I am a freshwater lure fisherman. I will be fishing with my gear that I used to fish for pike and salmon when I live in MI. Would that be ok for surf and pier fishing? I do have a bunch of soft plastics for bass as well, including white curly tail jigs. I may need to pick up some heavier jig heads. What weight leader do I need to attach to my main line for bottom fishing?


If youre fishing fresh water stuff I think youd be better suited on a pier fishing the bottom with natural bait or fishbites
a seven ft rod and a 2500 series reel is about all you need. You can also with that same rod jig for spanish and blues with a gothcha plug. I use 10# crystal fire line and a 30# fluro leader for that. Off the beach takes a little more rod and reel capacity fish may be at your feet in the wash or out on the bar a 4000 series reel will do all you need out on the beach 15# braid is what I use and a hand tied 2 hook rig and 1/0 mutu circles... Look for sand fleas and they make a great bait for sea mullet and pompano.


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## retired (Oct 20, 2016)

Maxvelocity said:


> I do not have a 4x4, just a 2wd SUV. Is 4wd necessary?


YES.......another thought is go south. Before the bridge is some fishing opportunities. After the bridge you will see people parked and them walking to the beach. Little further down is also some ramps that have walk access. Often you can access the beach without a horrible walk. I think you got a good idea what its going to look like around you. Think Myrtle beach so fishing will be limited unless you travel a bit. I have not turned left when I get to 12 in years, there is a reason. But I am fishing and not on a family type trip. We take our weims and being alone is our object.


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## jahtez (Aug 29, 2021)

Maxvelocity said:


> I am a freshwater lure fisherman. I will be fishing with my gear that I used to fish for pike and salmon when I live in MI. Would that be ok for surf and pier fishing? I do have a bunch of soft plastics for bass as well, including white curly tail jigs. I may need to pick up some heavier jig heads. What weight leader do I need to attach to my main line for bottom fishing?


I've used smallmouth gear (7' M rod, 2000 to 3000 spinning reel, 12b mono) for casting lures off the beach when the surf wasn't rough, and caught trout, blues, flounder, mullet, and puppy drum that way, so it's very doable. If you have that size reel and a rod in the 8' MH range that can sling a .5 to 1.5 oz metal spoon repeatedly, or throw a 2-3 oz sinker plus bait comfortably, then that should cover most of surf situations you're likely to encounter at that time of year. The same gear should work well for the pier as well, but remember that whatever you catch has to be hauled up the last 12 to 20 ft from the water to up and over the rail. 

I prefer a 4000 or 5000 spinning reel on anything from a 8' MH up to 10' H, and using 20lb mono in the surf, mostly because it can handle rougher conditions than the lighter gear. I'm not really a big drum fisherman so I typically don't need more than that.

For bait fishing I tie my line directly to the swivel of a double bottom rig, bottom float rig, or fish finder rig, as they're typically have sufficiently sized monofilament in their construction to handle most of the fish you should encounter. For lure fishing I typically tie a 30 lb mono shock leader to my line and then use a loop knot at the lure. Some people like a wire leader instead of mono but I can't say that I've lost more fish by not using it, even when I'm in a school of blues.


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## Von (Apr 26, 2021)

I’ve had decent luck fishing the edge of beach re-nourishment projects. Look for areas they just completed. The edges usually provide some decent structure.

Von


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## Maxvelocity (9 mo ago)

Great info guys! Any thoughts on line color?


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## retired (Oct 20, 2016)

Maxvelocity said:


> Great info guys! Any thoughts on line color?


Clear flouro leader and I make my pomp/spot/whiting rigs with clear flouro as well......usually 20-25 LB line....


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## RACfish51 (Jul 2, 2016)

I use either High Visibility yellow or orange for main line. And like Retired just replied, Clear flouro leader & rig set ups.
We usually go down the last week of May & stay either in Colington or South Nags head.
A couple of places to try if the crowds are to bad is Ramp 0. Just at the end of Old S. Nags head Rd. Parking lot is just before the right turn to get to Rt 12. Try to the right of the pipe line.
Or go to the Fish Commission pier under the bridge & across from Pirates Cove Marina.


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## fishiker (Dec 10, 2015)

Much good advice so far. We have fished late June early July the past several years and had excellent luck catching mullet with a few puppy drum and other species mixed in. The most productive bait for us has been fresh sand fleas. Last year a couple friends went on vacation with us. They had never fished the surf before but caught plenty of fish using their 7ft spinning rods. 
Tide, temperature, and wind are factors that influence when we fish.


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## Maxvelocity (9 mo ago)

fishiker said:


> Much good advice so far. We have fished late June early July the past several years and had excellent luck catching mullet with a few puppy drum and other species mixed in. The most productive bait for us has been fresh sand fleas. Last year a couple friends went on vacation with us. They had never fished the surf before but caught plenty of fish using their 7ft spinning rods.
> Tide, temperature, and wind are factors that influence when we fish.


Agreed! Everyone has been very helpful. Thanks everyone for chiming in.


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## Phinzfan82 (Mar 27, 2015)

Everything mentioned here is solid advice. Wind direction matters as well. SW and W are your least desired winds. Any East wind is usually really good. Water clarity will be usually clearer on an east wind. That time of year with warmer water and clear water (if conditions are favorable) piers can be really productive too for the Spanish mackerel bite as well as bluefish. Prob some sheepshead around any bridge columns and can be caught on blue crab or fiddler crabs as well as fleas.
If your having trouble reading the beach or where to cast, check out Rich Troxxlers videos. A little dry but the information is solid. It’s not always what bait but where the bait is placed. Line up all the info here with tides, winds, etc you have substantially increased your chances of catching fish. Tight lines pal!





https://m.youtube.com/user/richtroxler


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