One guy comes from Texas. They fish all day and night. In the fall, subsistence fishers also flock to Outer Banks piers to stock up on spot for winter food. Anglers aren't the only ones who congregate at piers. During summer evenings, there are as many spectators as fishers.
Most piers charge a nominal amount for sightseers.
At Nags Head Pier, the spectators include a young college couple who sit on a wooden bench and watch the seagulls flutter over, and a large stingray being pulled in. You might get to see a shark come around or see someone clean fish. In North Carolina, public fishing piers became popular during the early part of the 20th century. Built in 1923, Kure Beach Pier is the oldest in the state and possibly on the Atlantic Coast, according to Coastal Fishing in Carolinas From Surf, Pier and Jetty. Pier poles were cut from the forest along the river and used as pilings.