TARBORO —
It’s vacation season, and I am sure many of you have plans to visit the Outer Banks (OBX) this summer. Put Jennette’s Pier on that to-do list. It is a wonderful fishing pier, and offers something for everyone in the family. It is located at milepost 16.5 on Beach Road at Nags Head. From June-September the pier is open 24/7.
The Jennette family built the original pier in 1939. It was an OBX’s first pier, and well received by fishermen all along the eastern seaboard. It weathered many storms and hurricanes over the years, but Hurricane Isabel in 2003 did a knock-out blow destroying 540-feet of the existing pier. It was time to redesign and rebuild.
Bowman, Murray, and Hemingway Architects of Wilmington were tasked with this challenging undertaking. Chip Hemingway, son of George and Lynn Hemingway of Tarboro, was one of the leading architects and designers on this project.
The original 1939 wooden structure was removed, and ground breaking for the new North Carolina Aquariums’ Jennette’s Pier was May 22, 2009. It was a mammoth construction project amid pounding, breaking surf. The $25 million dollar project was funded from existing non-General Fund receipts, and perpetual funding comes mostly from admission receipts and private funds. This historic landmark property, purchased by the Aquarium Society and transferred to the State of North Carolina, continues to make history with its high levels of sustainability and LEED “green” building and operating methods.
The pier is designed to withstand hurricane-force winds, and generates about half of its energy needs with three 105-feet tall Bergy wind turbines, 240-feet apart, 10 Kw each, that illuminate the 1,000-feet long pier. It includes solar panels, geothermal heating and cooling, and gray water reuse plumbing systems are also among the sustainable green building components featured at the facility, plus a waste-water treatment system that can recycle water for toilets, significantly reducing water usage, capable of handling 15,000 gallons per day.
The two-story 16,000-square-foot pier house features a tackle shop, public bath house, indoor and outdoor educational classrooms with live animal tanks, and a conference center on the upper floor to accommodate large meetings, school groups, conferences, dinners & receptions. Jennette’s Pier educates about the oceans, inspires appreciation and conservation of North Carolina’s aquatic environments, as well as being a premier state of the art recreational fishing destination.
Hot Spot: A wealth of helpful information about pier activities, special events, and schedules can be found on their web site at www.jennettespier.net. Fishermen will be pleased to find daily up-to-date fishing reports, tide tables, and real time wind alerts. Info by phone can be accessed at 252-255-1501.
Summer fishing staples at the pier include the usual bottom feeders: spot, croakers, flounder, sea mullet, trout, blues, and Spanish mackerel. Saltwater piers offer up a variety of different and interesting fish.
Care to share? Tight Lines welcomes your fishing success stories and “fishy’ photos at CarolinaAngler@Gmail.com.
See you on the water, my friend!
Tight Lines
Related Photos
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George Hemingway weights a bluefish he caught off of Jennettes Pier early in June. The fish was 31 inches long and weighted 6 1/2 pounds. Hemighway’s son Chip built the pier. Photo/Submitted
Jennette’s Pier offers fishing, education, and family fun
- Tight Lines
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Battle Park is a cornucopia of nature
Fifty-seven acre Battle Park, in the heart of Rocky Mount, is named after the Battle
family of Tarboro, founders of Rocky Mount Mills. Water-powered, the mill dam was hewn of the rocks of the Great Falls, past the westernmost point of Edgecombe County. -
Take a kid fishing this summer
As you put the final touches on your summer vacation plans, consider a fishing outing for the youngsters. They might not remember or appreciate that expensive beach cottage rental, or that high-dollar meal at that trendy waterfront restaurant, but I would bet a pretty penny they will recall every detail of a fun-filled family fishing experience.
Just about anywhere you chose to go this summer will offer fishing -
Shad Season in Review
All things considered, 2013 was a good shad season, thoroughly enjoyed the fishing activity and usual camaraderie among shad fishing friends. Shad fishing to me is about so much more than just catching fish. It’s a total package of enjoyment as it captivates and dominates my life February through May.
Wayne Harrell kicked off the season winning the first shad contest catching his hickory shad on a cold 19-degree Saturday morning, February 2.
The shad hole on East River Road in Tarboro was a little disappointing this year. Untimely flood waters might have limited our regular peak run. Fish were caught and we had some good days, but not the action we have experienced in past years. -
Banner Day at Battle Park
Sunday was Mother’s Day. I am not a mother, but I played one in a school play years ago, so I figured that entitled me to go fishing on Mother’s Day. Need an excuse or rationalization to go fishing? Check with me, I’ve got plenty!
After suffering through 2-3 days of a rain induced swollen, unfishable Tar River at Battle Park in Rocky Mount, it was jackpot time on Sunday. Without a doubt, I had my best white shad fishing day ever, fishing from sunrise to early evening. Action was good all day, with a little lull for about 2-hours in the heat of the afternoon.
I am proud to report to you that I enjoyed a 50-fish day. I caught a personal best 46 white shad, 3 hickory shad, and foul-hooked a very angry, upset 3-foot gar. I thought I had two large white shad, or maybe a big rockfish, so I was a little surprised to see Mr. Gar. It was like reeling in an uncooperative 2x4 piece of lumber. -
NCWRC enforcement officers doing a great job
North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission has two enforcement officers assigned to each county. That’s 200 dedicated, educated, and highly trained individuals protecting our North Carolina environment and natural resources. To become an enforcement officer applicant, one must participate in a highly competitive selection process. A typical candidate is required to pass extensive background and psychological screening. Also included is a vigorous 19-week training academy that is patterned after a military boot camp, with an emphasis on physical fitness.
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Tight Lines declares Ginger Perry of Nashville the shad queen
One of my favorite places to bank fish is the boat ramp at Battle Park in Rocky Mount. I have met a lot of interesting people there. Three or four times this season, I have watched this amazing lady, Ginger Perry, fishing with her friend, Big Kelly, for white shad. Simply put, she is one good angler! She casts and retrieves like a pro, and always catches her fair share of fish. Maybe a few more than her fair share! This lady can flat-out fish!
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Time for the John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo on the Tar river
Tarboro Association of Saltwater Sportsman (TASS) presents the annual John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo on the Tar on Saturday, April 27th. Entry fee is $100 per boat.
Registration and information is available daily at Roberson & Dupree Shoe Store, Main Street, Tarboro. The absolute registration deadline is Friday, April 26, by 8 p.m., at the boat landing on River Road, or when the maximum limit 40 boats have been signed-up. Attendance at the Captain’s meeting Friday night, 7 p.m. at the boat landing on River Road, is highly recommended. Rules will be read, questions answered, and you will receive your Captain’s Bag, tournament t-shirt, and other goodies. Each boat is allowed to weigh-in 2 of their largest rockfish, as chosen by the Captain. -
Sign-up this Saturday for John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo
One of the TASS premier events that local anglers always enjoy is the annual John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo. Registration is limited to the first 40 boats. Full grown men, me included, will be standing in line like giddy teeny-boppers looking concert tickets early Saturday morning waiting for Roberson & Dupree Shoe Store to open at 9 am to plunk down that registration fee.
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Bottoms Up! Greg Bottoms Wins TASS Shad Tournament
To my knowledge, Greg Bottoms does not smoke or drink, but he does have another habit, and an enviable one at that. Greg wins fishing tournaments. He won the Fall Speckled Trout Tournament, and last week claimed top honors in the shad tournament. Obviously, the man knows his way around a rod & reel. Greg is a skilled angler, and a nice guy, deserving of that success.
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Shad Tournament participants weighing-in some good fish
All indications are that this will be a banner year for the 12th Annual TASS Hickory
Shad Tournament. The timing is perfect because the shad “bite” has turned on
considerably everywhere. At the halfway point through the week-long tournament, the leader board is already showing some impressive fish weights. Charles Strickland leads the top tier adult category with a healthy 2.56 Hickory Shad. That will be a hard “Hick” to beat! - More Tight Lines Headlines
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Battle Park is a cornucopia of nature
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