Outer Banks fishing report for the week of September 10, 2026. The first cooler nights of September have started to move things along on the Banks, and the surf from Nags Head down through Ocracoke has been productive most mornings. Puppy drum are in the sloughs, Spanish mackerel and bluefish are on the beaches, albies have shown up at Cape Point, and the first big red drum of the fall have been caught on the south beaches.
What’s Hitting
What’s hot this week is the surf. Puppy drum in the 18 to 27-inch range are in the sloughs and around the points from Nags Head to Hatteras, along with sea mullet, spot, and pompano. Spanish mackerel and bluefish are blitzing along the beach and around the piers. False albacore have arrived at Cape Point and the Hatteras Inlet area, feeding on the bait moving along the shoals. The first big red drum of the fall have been caught at night on the Hatteras and Ocracoke beaches, and the run should build over the next few weeks.
Offshore, the Gulf Stream boats out of Hatteras and Oregon Inlet are catching wahoo, mahi, and some blackfin tuna, and there have been sailfish releases along the edge.
Where to Find Them
Puppy drum are in the deeper sloughs on the beaches from South Nags Head to Rodanthe and around the Buxton and Frisco beaches. Spanish and blues are around the piers — Avalon, Nags Head, Jennette’s, and Avon — and along the beach wherever the bait is. Albies are at Cape Point and off the Hatteras Inlet on the moving tide. Big drum are on the Ocracoke beaches and the south side of Hatteras at night on the incoming tide. In the sound, trout and puppy drum are in the creeks and around the bridges.
Tides & Conditions
The new moon this weekend brings strong tides, which sets up well for the drum on the beaches at night. Winds have been northeast at 10 to 20, which has pushed bait toward the beaches and made the surf a little rough, but the northeast wind is the drum wind on the Banks. Water temps are in the upper 70s. Seas offshore have been 3 to 5 feet with the northeast wind.
Tackle & Tactics
For puppy drum in the surf, a bottom rig with fresh shrimp or cut mullet on a 2/0 circle hook, or a soft plastic on a 1/2-ounce jig head worked through the slough. Spanish and blues want Gotcha plugs and metal casting jigs from the piers and beach. For albies, small metals on a fast retrieve. For the big drum at night, a fish-finder rig with a chunk of fresh mullet or a whole small menhaden on an 8/0 circle hook, cast into the deeper cut on the incoming tide, with 8 ounces of weight to hold in the surf.
Local Intel This Week
Public ramps: the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center ramp is the main access to the inlet and the ocean, the Hatteras Village ramp serves Hatteras Inlet, and the Ocracoke ramp covers the south end. Sound-side ramps at Rodanthe and Avon serve the Pamlico. Beach access with an ORV permit is available throughout Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and the piers are the easiest shore access. Fish are concentrating in the surf sloughs at the tide changes and at Cape Point on the moving tide. Check current NC Division of Marine Fisheries regulations before keeping fish — red drum have a tight slot and big drum over 27 inches must be released, and the National Seashore has seasonal beach closures to confirm before driving.
This Week’s Tip
The puppy drum in the surf are in the sloughs, the deeper water between the outer bar and the beach. Walk the beach at low tide and mark the cuts in the bar where the water drains out, then fish those cuts on the incoming tide. Most surf anglers cast as far as they can and put their bait past the fish. The drum are often within 30 feet of the sand.
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