We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday season. We will we closing today around 4 pm, closed all day on Christmas and open like normal on the 26th at 6 am-9 pm.
I have no fish to report with the rainy weather we have had today.
Sailor wants to wish you all a Merry Christmas.
This Halloween morning I woke up at home here in the woods of our village of Frisco to gloomy, gray skies and a biting wind blowing through the trees. The spooky weather brought to mind the stories of both of the Trent Woods Witches that I grew up hearing about around this time of year. Trent is the original name of the village of Frisco, the change came about when the post office was established about a hundred years ago and there was already a Trent, NC. Locals still call our village Trent. The woods here are part of the unique maritime forest that Cape Hatteras is blessed to have. They are a comfort from the winds, shelter from ocean, and full of folklore. One of my favorite storytellers here on Hatteras Island is Daniel Couch of Hatteras Tours. He can take you all over the island and share these tales with you!
Both stories concern misunderstood women, Polly Poiner and Cora, who lived on the fringes of village society in the 1700’s. They are both probably a variation of the same tale. They are never referred to together or as knowing one another. Or perhaps there were two women who dabbled in the occult or simply got themselves on the bad side of their neighbors.
The most famous story here is the Cora Tree. Cora was accused of bewitching and killing people in town and was taken to be hung from an old oak tree. As the rope dropped, a lightening bolt came down from the heavens and struck the tree. She disappeared. The tree still stands in the neighborhood of Brigand’s Bay. The full story can be read on the Brigand Bay Homeowners website.
The story of Polly Poiner may have more fact behind it. Polly was accused of killing off her neighbor’s cattle and horses. She denied it but mocked the man who accused her and repeatedly was heard to cackle and laugh at his continued misfortune. I have heard she spun wool on a spinning wheel and he constantly lost sheep. On the day the man had had enough, he killed her as she sat working at her wheel. He was arrested and put on trial for murder, sentenced to hang at the county seat. For years after, no one could grow crops on the land the murder occurred. And the while the stories of Polly vary, they almost all state that the witch is still a-spinning. Some see a ghost of her at her wheel, some say a noose spins on the ground. One version is in the book Seaside Specters by Daniel Barefoot and can be read here (click on Dare County). Either way, I do not care to witness it! I myself spin yarn for knitting and I do believe I will not be spinning on my wheel this Halloween night!
If any of this has any truth to it I am not sure, but what I do know is this. These women have held us spellbound for centuries….by their stories.
Natalie Perry Kavanagh
In 2003 Hurricane Isabel hit the Outer Banks with winds of 105 mph. A few days before landfall Isabel had been as strong as 165 mph. The intense storm surge slammed into Hatteras Village and tore up businesses, homes, historical buildings, and the landscape. A year later the village showed it was not a community that gives up on a place by celebrating the livelihood that depends on the very thing that caused so much damage. The sea.
A Day at the Docks has been growing ever since. This year, despite a wet and drizzly day, had one of the largest crowds seen yet. People from all over the island were joined by people from all over the country to celebrate the men and women who work on the water.
There were exhibits on fish species and cooking challenges, crab races and fishing contests, old stories and new music, all throughout the day. Our own Frisco Sandwich Company won 2nd place for their Seafood Chowder in the Chowder cookoff! It was delicious!
The kids Dockside Fishing Contest kept the judges busy with over 100 kids angling for top prize. Families stayed alongside coaching their kids and keeping watch on them. Frisco Rod and Gun’s Joe Kavanagh (age 6) even won a prize for the most Rare Catch by reeling in a Grouper! The big winners in the contest were Overall/Grand Prize Winner – Heaviest Pinfish 1st place was Ruby Shoemaker, Overall/Grand Prize Winner – Longest Fish 1st Joey Gavetti with a 32” Stingray!
Come join Hatteras Village next September for A Day at the Docks and celebrate life on the water!
Natalie Perry Kavanagh
Today we remember those who lost their lives in the senseless acts of terror on our homeland. We will never forget!!!
Here is the Frisco Rod and Gun Outer Banks Fishing Report for Hatteras Island.
Today was mostly sunny with light winds. The winds were from the south-west at 5-10 mph and the temperatures were in the upper 70’s.
Up on the Avon beaches some bluefish and sea mullet were reported. Around the Buxton beaches and out at Cape Point good catches of bluefish and spanish mackerel. Over on the Frisco beach some good bluefish catches and sea mullet were reported. Down around Hatteras Inlet the bluefish and spanish mackerel bite was pretty good with a few flounder mixed in.
The inshore boats caught speckled trout, flounder and puppy drum in the Pamlico Sound. Just outside Hatteras Inlet there were spanish mackerel and bluefish caught.
The offshore boats had a better day with nicer weather. There were good catches of wahoo and bailer dolphin with some limits. Some king mackerel and blackfin tuna were reported. One sailfish was released..
Woolrich summer men’s and women’s clothing is now 30% off. Also, Hatley summer clothing is 30% off.
Come by and see us at Frisco Rod and Gun, located at 53610 Hwy 12, across from Billy Mitchell Airstrip and Ramp 49. Open year round, 364 days a year. Visit us in the store or shop online anytime at friscorodandgun.com.
Here is the Frisco Rod and Gun Outer Banks Fishing Report for Hatteras Island.
The weather today was much better than yesterday. The temperature was around 80 and the sun was shining. Wind were 5-10 MPH from the north.
From the beaches today there was some good fishing. In Avon the Sea-Mullet and Spanish were caught. In Buxton there were some bigger Pompano and some nice Sea-Mullet. In Frisco there was Pompano, Black Drum, Bluefish, and a scattered Grey Trout. In Hatteras they were catching pompano.
The Drum and Speckled Trout fishing was good again inshore today.
Offshore the Dolphin and Wahoo bite continued again. Also there was some Blue and White Marlins along with a few Sailfish.
Today was the last day of the 2014 10th Annual Hatteras Grand Slam Billfish Tournament. Participants fish 2 out of 3 days. Only a few boats were eligible to fish today. so the numbers were down. A White Marlin and a Sailfish were released and 2 lost fish. For more information go to hatterasgrandslam.com.
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Come by and see us at Frisco Rod and Gun, located at 53610 Hwy 12, across from Billy Mitchell Airstrip and Ramp 49. Open year round, 364 days a year. Visit us in the store or shop online anytime at friscorodandgun.com.