Beaches at Oregon Inlet, Cape Point and Ocracoke Island are expected to be quieter than usual this July Fourth weekend - the first time they've been closed to off-road vehicles through the night.
Access on foot or vehicle also is limited or nearly nonexistent at other times in those areas. But ORV access to some areas - in particular on the Pole Road at Hatteras Inlet - has recently improved.
"That's great," said Dan Willard, manager at Red Drum Tackle Shop in Buxton.
Willard said that with the exception of ramps 44 and 45 to Cape Point and ramp 34 near Avon, every access ramp is open with some room to drive up to the beach.
A court-approved agreement between the National Park Service, the Defenders of Wildlife and the National Audubon Society, Dare and Hyde Counties and a coalition of beach driving groups was implemented April 30 as a plan to protect nesting shorebirds and sea turtles.
To the dismay of beach-driving proponents, resource protection closures were more onerous than expected, sometimes shutting off entrance to open sections of beaches. Several acts of vandalism also resulted in mandated enlargements of the closures.
The prohibition on night driving between 10 p.m. and
6 a.m. from May 1 through Nov. 15 has discouraged anglers from coming to Hatteras, Willard said.
Unless they park at ramp 43 and walk the 50 yards to the water, he said, they can't see their vehicles while they're fishing at night.
The anglers who fish there drop their gear off on the beach before 10 p.m. and then go park their vehicles, he said. Typically, there would've been hundreds of anglers coming to fish at night, he said, but now it's too much of a hassle.
"Truthfully, there hasn't been that many people coming in," Willard said about the holiday business. "There's nobody here because of that nighttime driving limit.
"There's just nobody coming down for the weekends anymore. It's pretty rough," he said. "We're missing the Spanish mackerel bite, which is right at sunrise."
Billy McCaskill, owner of Whalebone Tackle in Nags Head, said that by now most anglers are aware that the Bodie Island spit at Oregon Inlet is inaccessible to pedestrians and to vehicles, but "they're not happy."
Instead, he said, a lot of anglers have been making do with fishing in front of the cottages where they're renting. And many have said they won't be back.
"I think it's going to have a huger effect next year," McCaskill said.
Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.com
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Hassle
It's not so much the hassle of the walk.
It has more to do with the equipment you need to drag along for a night of fishing and the fact the walk mentioned does not get you to Cape Point anyway. You cannot walk there at the present time.
Some other good spots are also not accessible such as Bodie Island Spit at Oregon Inlet, Hatteras Inlet and the North and South Points of Ocracoke, plus a number of good spots between Salvo and Avon.
You also have to leave your vehicle, with all its other stuff, unattended at night. Not exactly a good idea, even with it locked up.
"Unless they park at ramp 43
"Unless they park at ramp 43 and walk the 50 yards to the water, he said, they can't see their vehicles while they're fishing at night.
Typically, there would've been hundreds of anglers coming to fish at night, he said, but now it's too much of a hassle."
Walking 150 yard is a hassle? If you have ever been surf fishing out there you will know from seeing the crowd that there will be some very happy doctors. Take the walk guys. It's part of the adventure.
I assume that Hatteras has forgot it is a driving destination and gas is over $4?