In order to fully appreciate any offshore charter fishing trip from Hatteras it is interesting to know a bit about our magnificent Atlantic Ocean current called the Gulf Stream. What the heck is the Gulf Stream you ask? It’s actually similar to a giant warm water river that runs in a clockwise motion circling the Atlantic Ocean. It collects warm water near the equator during its travel and then carries that warm current along the North Carolina coast keeping our climate warmer here in the winter and slightly cooler then the inland areas in the summer.

During its travels the Atlantc Gulf Stream also circulates this current along the European and African coasts. The total effect of the Gulf Stream’s warming becomes much more apparent when you realize that Great Britain is on a plain equal to the Northern reaches of Canada but doesn’t share the same cold climate. Just how massive is this current? The Gulf Stream actually moves at a rate of 30 million cubic meters per second as it passes the Strait of Florida and picks up movement to an astonishing 150 million cubic meters per second as it passes Newfoundland.  

That explains a little bit about what the Gulf Stream is but what we really want to talk about is how it affects North Carolina and our fishing. The Gulf Stream doesn’t have actual boundaries like a river or stream. Since it runs basically on top of and mixing together with the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf Stream's current can meander close to North Carolina or further away depending on the season and the prevailing weather conditions. During the winter months the current may stay approximately 20 miles off our coast but during the summer because of the way our location sticks out into the Atlantic, the Gulf Stream and its warming effects can come extremely close to Hatteras Inlet.

Regular visitors and locals get to see constant reminders of the Gulf Stream during the summer months and many of these folks never even notice it. Often when you are on a local beach during the summer you can see a cloud bank sitting over the warm humid Gulf Stream waters just off the coast while the skies overhead are crystal clear. The Gulf Stream actually generates its own weather patterns that are separate from the mainland. The water temperature in the Gulf Stream during the summer can rise into the upper 80’s Fahrenheit which is pretty warm for moving water but it can still have a cooling effect if the air temperatures over land would be into the 90’s otherwise.  

Fishing In The Gulf Stream:  Many species of pelagic fish roam the currents of the Gulf Stream. Some of these predator species migrate north and south within and along the current while others move east and west preferring to use the cover of the Sargasso Weed from the Sargasso Seas as habitat of their prime food sources. Sargasso Weed is a living and floating orange colored plant that thrives in center of the Atlantic Ocean and is the nursery and an important cover for countless marine life.

Although the Gulf Stream has relatively little Sargasso moving in its current by comparison to the dense Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, occasionally large amounts can be swept in the current along with its associated marine life. Fishermen in the Gulf Stream look for large pods of Sargasso or they will watch for lines of Sargasso formed by colliding currents. These are natural fish magnets. The Sargasso that has been collected and circulated by the Gulf Stream current is extremely important in maintaining the Gulf Stream fishery.

To an offshore fisherman just finding a good weed line can be like finding gold. It is the basis of the entire Gulf Stream ecosystem. Not every single weed line produces fish because there are many other variables to consider but every time an angler finds a weed line offshore the level of anticipation is definitely  heightened considerably. 

Good captains need to understand the Gulf Stream thoroughly in order to know where to look for the fish species that they wish to catch. They know the warm eddies that have broken away from the Gulf Stream and drifted into cooler water areas of the ocean can actually be compared to fish "pens" holding large groups of fish that resist leaving their preferred water temperatures. Captains know that certain species prefer specific water temperatures which may only occur on the edges of the Gulf Stream’s current where it meets the colder surrounding water. They known that the Gulf Stream current runs deep and they realize that while it is passing any offshore obstructions such as the Continental Shelf or immense underwater rock piles it creates heavily oxygenated upwelling which will often hold bait and predator fish feeding on the baitfish available.   

Your Invitation To Opportunity: The Gulf Stream and its edges are an amazing work of nature that is worth the price of a charter just to say that you have been there and seen it. The marine and avian creatures that abound both in and around the Gulf Stream are usually only ever seen by people watching the Discovery Channel. You will have the opportunity during your charter to soak it all in and actually interact with one of most impressive places on this planet! We would love to have the chance to share all this with you on your next trip to Hatteras, NC.