Anyone 



for 

 Surfing, 

 Sailing 



and 



Sea 

 Kayaking? 



By Kathy Hart 



Tell anyone you're planning a 

 coastal vacation, and they'll assume 

 you are going to lie on the beach, play 

 in the surf and pig out on plates of 

 steaming seafood. 



And there's nothing wrong with 

 that. In fact, it's just what doctors 

 order for work- weary people who 

 need to escape the daily grind. 



But for other folks, a day at the 

 coast is a ticket to adventure. To heck 

 with the beach towel, lounge chair and 

 umbrella. They'd rather sail than sit or 

 catch a curl rather than catch the rays. 



Below is a list of "other" activities 

 you can consider the next time you 

 plan a seaside vacation. 



^Olf — Ten years ago, only a 

 handful of golf courses dotted our 

 seaside. But now, more than 40 golf 



courses, most south of Wilmington, 

 beckon those men and women who 

 spend hours swinging a club. 



Not only are golf courses more 

 abundant, they are also far above par, 

 says Rocky Kurland of Golf Maga- 

 zine. 



"North Carolina has some of the 

 best courses in the country," Kurland 

 says. And many, he notes, are 

 designed by top-name golf course 

 architects. 



Despite the abundance and 

 excellence of our courses, Tar Heel 

 coastal golf has until recently been a 

 well-kept secret. Now, Dick 

 Trammell, director of the state's 

 Division of Travel and Tourism, is 

 marketing North Carolina as a golf 

 destination, creating competition for 

 neighboring South Carolina. 



The marketing efforts are paying 

 off as more golfers from in the state 

 and out are teeing up. 



If you want to tee off on a top 

 course in early spring and fall, plan 

 ahead, Kurland says. Courses can be 

 crowded and prime tee times taken 

 during these choice seasons. 



And golf can be a bargain in 

 North Carolina. "You can easily get 

 on a course for $20 to $30 on up," 

 Kurland says. "That's an excellent 

 price when you consider that it can 

 cost more than $200 to get on some 

 courses in other areas of the country." 



surf fishing — At the first hint 



of a northerly breeze in the fall, surf 

 fishermen pack their off-road vehicles 

 with coolers, waders, bait and tackle. 



Jim Bahen, a Sea Grant Marine 

 Advisory Service agent, says fall 

 fishing is best because larger fish are 

 moving to inshore areas to spawn. 

 Along the Outer Banks, surf anglers 

 line the shore from September 

 through November as they cast for 

 red drum and bluefish. Southward, 

 surf fishermen hope to lure flounder 

 and speckled trout to their lines. 



Coastal hotels and motels often 

 offer these avid anglers special 



discount rates, and some municipali- 

 ties allow the fishermen to drive on 

 the beach. 



But fall isn't the only time 

 fishermen can cast a line in the surf. 

 Anglers can also fill their coolers with 

 catch in the spring. Then, young adult 

 panfish, such as spot, croaker, 

 whiting and flounder, are leaving 

 their estuarine nurseries to face 

 adulthood in the big ocean beyond. 



If you're limited to summer surf 

 fishing, Bahen advises dropping your 

 line in the early morning or late 

 afternoon when there are fewer 

 swimmers to scare off the fish. 



pier fishing — If you want an 



easy way to catch fish, there's 

 nothing easier than dropping a line 

 off the end of one of North Carolina's 

 many coastal piers. 



"You don't have to do much 

 fancy casting or have much fancy 

 equipment to pier fish," Bahen says. 

 "And the good thing about a pier is it 

 gives you access to different depths of 

 water for catching different fish." 



At the end of the pier, where 

 water depths are 18 to 25 feet, anglers 

 can drop a line for king mackerel, 

 drum along the Outer Banks or shark 

 in the winter. 



Three-quarters of the way down 

 the pier, you'll find fishermen jigging 

 for Spanish mackerel in the early 

 morning or late afternoon. At the 

 halfway point, in water depths of 2 to 

 8 feet, anglers cast a bottom rig for 

 spot, croaker, whiting and bluefish. 



Most piers are accessible year- 

 round, but many close their conces- 

 sion area or bait-and-tackle shop 

 during the winter months. 



charter fishing — Forget 



bluefish and croaker. Some recre- 

 ational anglers are lured only by the 

 fight of big game fish. If that's your 

 lure for fishing, then you're game for 

 North Carolina's charter boat fleet. 

 You can charter a boat into 



Continued 



COASTWATCH I 5 



