8:00pM Pier life

by Philip S. Ruckle Jr.

As the sun sets in the west, darkness overtakes the 76-year-old Nags Head Pier. Overhead lights flicker on to battle against the coming darkness.

The pier opens daily before sunup and by 8 p.m., some of those that remain are leaning on the handrails, others have folding chairs for a little more comfort. Several fishing lines are cast out into the ocean waters.

“Fishing would be better if the water were warmer,” says Tom Charity, behind the counter of the pier’s bait and tackle shop on an April night. “But they’re still catching some blue fish, shad, skates and rays. Then every now and then somebody will hook a drum.”

About half way out on the 750-foot pier Loren Lehman of Kill Devil Hills is leaning on the rail with a line in the water. It’s pretty windy tonight and others nearby are huddled together to help block the wind as they re-bait their hooks. Lehman says he’s a regular at the pier and comes fishing almost every day.

When asked why he likes to fish at night, Lehman says it’s peaceful and then asks: “Why sit at home and watch TV?”

Fishing all day from 5 a.m. until midnight is $15, so a skilled angler can recoup that in a good day’s catch. Sightseeing is just $3 a day and the view out over the water is both interesting and, at times, spectacular. The pier is almost close enough to the Gulf Stream to see it.

If you come for just the view without a fishing rod or tackle and change your mind, pier staff can get you up and running with anything you need from the tackle shop. There are several rods for rent or for sale, in addition to bait, tackle, snacks, drink and ice.

Strolling out to the end of the pier, the wind seems to be a bit stronger.

Josh Bradshaw and Kelly Young are set up almost at the end of the pier. There’s a little bit more light shining on them but they’re still isolated at the end of the pier.

“We were here earlier and the weather was nice,” said Bradshaw. “But now it’s a little cooler and very windy.”

They were still able to pull a few in, although several were trout, and all were too small to keep so they had to be thrown back.

After hooking a skate, it took the two of them to get it free so it could go back into the water.

Regular visitors to the Outer Banks, Bradshaw said they make it down from Virginia a couple of times a year.

Another regular visitor, Jeffrey Travis, stopped in the tackle shop on his way out long enough to chat with Charity a few minutes.

Travis, who in years past worked here at the pier, said he comes every chance he can get.

At about 8:30 p.m. John Kelly from Virginia comes in with his son John Kelly Jr.

Riding bicycles from their house on Wrightsville to the pier at MP 11.5 on the Beach Road, John Jr. says he grew up on Nags Head Pier and they come down from Virginia to the pier about once a month. Making a purchase at the counter with Charity, John Sr. comments that this is one place that still takes cash. After locating the coin change machine, the Kellys try their hand at pinball.

Walking back out on the pier beyond the breakers, you can make out the waves crashing on the shoreline. You can hear them as well.

One of seven Atlantic Ocean fishing piers here on the Outer Banks, the warped, weathered wooden boards give it a nostalgic look. Some places have spaces between the planks where you can see the ocean swells below your feet.

It’s the perfect place to hook a few fish. After all, what’s not to love about a fishing pier?