Thursday, July 31, 2008

July 31 Wahoos and Blackfin Tunas




Gerald, Scott, and I endured 40 miles of 5-6 foot speed bumps all day long. We also endured a very slow day of fishing in and around 30 fathoms. No Dolphin action makes for slow summertime fishing. By the end of the day we had 2 Wahoo (22 and 25 lb.s) , 2 Blackfin Tuna (5 lb.s each), and 3 Barracudas. We missed about 5 strikes. It was so rough, the only time I took my camera out was on the way offshore to take a picture of Dale Britt's charter boat Sensation. My camera got soaked by blowing spray!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

July 30 Red Drums and Flounders





  1. I'm headed offshore tommorrow so I'm taking it easy today. I'll pull 2 shifts on the dock. This morning I fished a hard falling tide and my first four drops were pretty successful! A 22" Red Drum and 3 Flounders. After that it was hard times so I saved the rest of my Finger Mullets for later this afternoon. The afternoon session was better for Red Drum, with a 21" keeper and 5 releases. Flounder were still biting with 3 keepers and 2 toss-backs. The grand total for the day at the dock was 6 Red Drum and 8 Flounders!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

NC Fishing Citations



On June 24, 1988 I weighed in an Amberjack at Davis Fish Company on the MHC waterfront that weighed 66 pounds. It was my first NC Citation. Since that day I've been collecting them. The 10 lb 5 oz Sheepshead that I caught on July 26 was my 366th Citation. A total of 28 different species are represented in my collection. In the spring of 2008 NCDMF made a few changes in the Citation Program. A few species were added, one species was dropped and some minimum weights were changed. If these new rules had gone into affect sooner, I estimate that I'd be well over 400 total citations and I'd have 33 species represented! These numbers do not count what my clients and guests have caught through the years.

July 24-26 Citation Sheepsheads




I had a great 3 day run of catching Sheepsheads on the north end of Ocracoke Island. Citations Galore. On July 24, I caught Sheepsheads weighing 8 lb.s 4 oz. and 8 lb.s 6 oz. On July 25, I caught Sheepsheads that weighed 8 lb.s and 8 lb.s 8 oz. On July 26, I caught a Sheepshead that weighed 10 lb.s 5 oz. I also had a pair of 7+ pounders. I released several between 2-5 lb.s.

Monday, July 21, 2008

July 21 Flounders in Taylor's Creek



I made my first Front Street dock fishing trip of the year this afternoon. Size was a problem, but numbers were good. In an hour of fishing with live Finger Mullets, I landed 8 Southern Flounders and 2 Red Drum. The Red Drum were really small to nail live baits. Two of the smallest that I've ever caught, one was probably around 8" and the other close to 10". The Flounders ranged from 11" to 17". Two were keepers, twins at 17" each and they made the trip to Moore St. to my parents house. Bon Appetit.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

July 19 Tropical Storm Coming!


Fishing was pretty good before this Storm developed. This chart is from NOAA and it looks like we are going to get some significant wind. Batten down the hatches! Looks like my fishing is over until I get home from Hatteras. Hope it doesn't blow all the Sheepsheads and Flounders away! My Citation Count for 2008 is down. We need to pick up the pace pretty soon.

Friday, July 18, 2008

July 18 Flounders Chewing




Yesterday I found a great spot for Speckled Trout and Red Drum. Today that same spot was covered up with Flounders. From 7am until 11am nearly every cast was a Flounder. The only other fish we saw were a dozen Bluefish and very few Black Sea Bass, Lizardfish, and Pinfish. I estimate that we caught 60 Flounders. We kept 14 between 15.5" and 19". All the rest went back. We also had 8-10 Bluefish from 1-2 pounds. We were fishing a channel with an average depth of 10 foot. We found a "Black Hole" in the middle of this channel and it was matted with Flounders. Like shingles on your roof! When we first found the "Black Hole" we each caught keeper Flounders on 4 straight casts; the 8 Flounders on deck in the second picture.

July 17 Sailfish, Crevalle Jack, Speckled Trout, and Red Drum What a Mix!


Not a pretty day. Mostly cloudy early and a 15 knot North wind. Not a good day to to throw a Top Water Plug. But I did anyway. My first cast was followed by a Barracuda. My second cast was creamed by a Crevalle Jack. While chasing this Jack around the wreck my boat suddenly became a safe haven for a school of Thread Herring that was under seige by 3 Sailfish. As if a big Jack on a spinning rod wasn't enough, I quickly hooked up 2 Sailfish on cigar minnows. Triple header. Twenty minutes later I had released a 72" Sailfish, broke off a Sailfish that got tangled up with the Crevalle Jack, and released a 20 lb. Crevalle Jack! Before I left the area I also caught a few Black Sea Bass on a jig. Later in the morning I went inside and caught 2 Red Drum (27" and 30") from the tower. I also caught 4 Speckled Trout (18" to 20") that were cruising the edge of a channel. Finally, on the way home, I visited my favorite Shoal and saw a dozen Blacktip Sharks from 40 to 60 pounds each. Sailfish picture was done with my cell phone! That was the best I could do....It actually turned out pretty good!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

July 13-14 Hatteras Sheepshead Frenzy




The convicts finally showed up in their usual places at Hatteras Inlet. On the 14th I actually found where the motherlode hangs-out when they aren't cruising the pilings. My first drop with a Urchin and 8-10---8-10 pounders all fought over my bait. Amazing. Ten minutes of panic later and I had 8 lb. 4 oz. and a 8 lb. 2 oz. citation Sheepsheads on the deck, along with a 7 lb. 8 oz. Sheepshead and released 4 in the 3 to 5 pound range! On the 13th I got a 8 lb. 5 oz. citation Sheepshead and got busted off by "the biggest Sheepshead I've ever battled!" The 80# PowerPro never had a chance.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

July 6 Horrible Fishing

Steve and Scott encountered poor conditions all the way around this morning. We pushed back the start time from 6am until 7:30am, but it didn't seem to help. We got soaked early and often as we tried the Ocean in mounting seas and scattered thunderstorms. Then we ran for cover and found dirty water inside everywhere we went. By 2pm we had endured enough bad fishing and headed home under improving conditions. The final tally was 1 Blacknose Shark at 15 pounds and a few Black Sea Bass, Bluefish, Sea Robins, and a Southern Stingray.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

July 3 Amberjacks and a Sand Tiger





It is starting to sound like a broken record, but the Amberjacks saved the day. After a slow morning of trolling we got bored and went to check out the Russian Freighter wreck off Cape Lookout. This wreck has been sanded up for 10 years and last year it miraciously "re-appeared". Today it was covered with Amberjacks and Sharpnose Sharks. Brad and Wesley each caught an Amberjack and pulled on several others. We battled several on the 10# spinning rod. Wesley lost one to a huge Barracuda. We moved on to the north and hit another spot where we caught 15 keeper Black Sea Bass and a Spanish Mackerel. Finally on the way home we hit one more place and Brad released a 70 pound Sand Tiger Shark and broke off a bigger Shark!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

July 2 Light Tackle Wreck Fishing



Brad and Sarah joined me today for a half day of inshore wreck fishing. There was a ton of action and lots of strikes. We also saw some huge Barracudas that wouldn't bite. They were content to follow us around! When it was over Brad had caught a Barracuda and kept an Amberjack for the grill. We also caught Vermillion Snappers, Triggerfish, Spanish Mackerel, Black Sea Bass, Spottail Pinfish, Scup, and some Grunts.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

4th of July


Happy 4th of July to everybody. I am availiable on July 5 and 6 if anyone is interested in a fishing trip. The picture is a Taylor's Creek sunrise!