We spent the past week in Corolla in the Outer Banks. This was our first time in the area, really fun trip. There was a small pond beside the condo that I fished every day for 35-40 minutes, usually before the kiddo got up or after lunch. It was loaded with bass and big sunfish.
I rented a kayak one day to try to fish the sound. The surf was fairly rough all week and I didn't try it with my fly gear. A fly shop guy down on Roanoke Island told me the sound up in Corolla is almost 100% fresh water, no redfish or trout, and the fishing would not be good. Aaaaand, he was right. I fished hard from 9AM-2PM, covered a decent amount of water, had zero takes, and physically saw just one fish. I don't even know what it was, I spotted it chasing minnows near the cut I was heading for. By the time I got there, it was gone.
I started in the circled area and fished the bracketed area. I hit boat docks, weed lines, cuts, drainages out of ponds, and duck blinds...no fish.