Cape Lookout Yak Camp Fish

Years ago when I worked at a real estate company on the beach they had me represent them at Chamber of Commerce function. At first I was not too excited. Then I found out that it was actually a boat ride and lunch at Cape Lookout lighthouse. My attitude changed once those details came to light. When we arrived at lighthouse bay I remember thinking how awesome it would be to get out their on my kayak.

Fast forward over ten years and I still had not made that trip again by boat or kayak. So last week when the wind was supposed to die down a little I planned an overnight stay paddling from Harker's Island to the lighthouse. I fished along the way and the tide and winds made it a very easy ride.

When I got closer to the lighthouse I found finger mullet and hungry bluefish. I fished most of the day both in the yak and from the sand. I couldn't catch anything but blues most of the day.

If you have never been out to Cape Lookout lighthouse area, it is a must see. There was not a whole lot of people out there so I almost felt like I had the place to myself. I had packed a good sized cooler with the essentials: water, Lunchables type snacks, and of course beer.

After having my fill of bluefish I started looking for a place to set up camp. For some reason I wanted to camp somewhere I could see the lighthouse when I awoke in the morning. I found a nice spot across the bay on Shackleford Banks. This spot was pretty cool as it was almost directly across the bay from the lighthouse and the beach drops nearly straight off into the deeper waters of the channel.

From this spot I continued catching bluefish and enjoying the view in the fading sunlight.

I got careless and let my finger mullet die in their little bucket. No matter, I kept fishing them, and catching bluefish. As I started running low I thought I would chunk them to prolong the fun. Low and behold I actually caught a speckled trout on the tail of one of those dead finger mullets.

When the sun set, I retreated to my tent and had a couple cans of soup for dinner. When I woke up I was kind of bummed to see the wind never really died down. Looking at the water it was clear we were about mid-way through a falling tide. Between the wind and the tide I knew this was going to be a long paddle, or pedal rather, back to the truck at Harkers Island.

A couple hours later I was back to my truck and civilization. I would like to do that trip again, but I definitely want to try and get out there when winds are forecast around 5 MPH next time.