I ONLY stay in S. Nags Head! The outer Banks pier is where I learned almost everything I know about pier fishing and fishing on the Outer Banks.
The pier is not as long as it use to be but I fish it most every evening about an hour before the sun goes down til after dark. Bluefish on gotcha plugs most every night. You've got bottom fishing for whatever and live baiting for Kings and cobia. Eddie in the pier house IS the man. He has been working on the pier I know personally for about 30 plus years. He will tell you if its worth even trying.
Ramps are easy, Oregon Inlet fishing center has free ramps which put you right into the sound, 10 mi drive maybe. On the other side of the bridge towards Manteo across the road from pirates cove marina are free public ramps that put you into the sound 5 mi. drive. I use Oregon inlet because I can get tackle bait etc. in the fishing center.
I have only chartered the offshore boats to fish on but I do here that DOA is a good charter, Ifyour want to fly fish then go for FLygirl etc.. Most of those boats all dock at Oregon inlet anyway so put your boat in and at the end of the day you can check into whos available, they tend to get rather busy this time of the year.
Good luck.
Another thought you might try driving over to Wanchese and check out the couple of little marinas, you might get a better deal cause these guys are off the beaten path.