FIVE FACTS

Oregon Inlet Fishing Center

BY KATRINA MAE LEUZINGER

WITH THE SOUND ON ONE SIDE, AND THE ATLANTIC ON THE OTHER, there’s no shortage of good places to fi sh on the Outer Banks – but the best spot might just be where those two bodies of water meet. Though inlets have long dotted the barrier islands, Oregon Inlet is undoubtedly the most famed in today’s fi shing industry, and at the epicenter of this local hotspot lies the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center. Since the 1950s, this full-service marina has been bustling with people heading out on charters, booking tours, launching kayaks and admiring the day’s fresh catch – all while telling time-honored tales about the big one that just got away. 3 BAGGING THE BIG ONE If you’ve ever been to the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, you’ve probably spotted the life-size replica of what was once a world record blue marlin – weighing in at more than half a ton, and stretching nearly 14 feet long, it’s a little hard to miss. The bragging rights for this catch belong to Jack Herrington, who fought almost three hours to land the impressive fi sh almost 40 miles off the inlet in 1974. Afterwards, Jack had two taxidermized mounts made – one for the fi shing center and one that graced his living room until his death, when his wife donated it to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. Though Jack’s world record was broken three years later, his 1,142-pound catch held the state record for another 34 years.

1BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES Though it may seem as though the fi shing center has always been there, it ultimately owes its existence to a particularly troublesome 19th century hurricane. Prior to 1846, the main passage from the Atlantic to the sound waters west of the barrier islands was down near the once-central Portsmouth and Ocracoke islands. That September, a monster of a storm blew through, leaving wreckage and two major new inlets in its wake. With Hatteras Inlet to the south, and Oregon Inlet farther north, economic opportunities abounded – and the northernmost passage was subsequently named after the fi rst ship to navigate its waters, a side-wheeler named the Oregon. 4 SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES Outer Banks commercial fi shermen had their fi rst brush with reality TV fame when the popular National Geographic show Wicked Tuna created the spin-off Wicked Tuna: North vs. South in 2014. The show pitted Northern fl eets against local ones to see who could catch the most tuna – with Captain Greg Mayer of the Oregon Inlet-based Fishin’ Frenzy claiming the top prize right out of the gate. The show was redubbed Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks by season two, and according to some of the captains, the hardest part about being a reality TV star is remembering to keep their language “family friendly” while wrestling 500-pound tuna. Still going strong, the ninth season of this locally fi lmed show premiered in July 2022.

2MANAGING A MARINA The National Park Service (NPS) manages an impressive 84 million acres of land in the United States. This includes the roughly 70-mile stretch from south Nags Head to Ocracoke known as the Cape Hatteras National Seashore – and, yes, that puts the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center under the NPS’s purview. While that might seem like an oddity, the NPS’s mission isn’t just about preserving nature; it’s also about giving people opportunities to appreciate our country’s natural resources. You won’t see any park rangers bagging up bait sales, though – the NPS has contracted out the center’s daily operations from the very start in 1953, and current manager Russ King has a 20-year lease on the space that won’t expire until 2038. 5 FISHING FOR THE FUTURE While the ‘60s-era ship store has served the marina well, it’s seen better days – and that’s precisely why the NPS announced in 2021 that major renovations are on the way. Phase I is supplying new utilities, plus an upgraded parking lot and a new fi sh house, while Phase II will concentrate on building a new ship store with a museum and a restaurant. In Phase III, which is scheduled to start this winter, the old store will be removed to make way for an open-air pavilion designed to host everything from fi shing tournaments to weddings. Barring any weather-related delays, the improvements are expected to be complete sometime in 2023 – paving the way for many future generations of avid anglers.