Tuesday, June 29, 2010

June 29 I'm still at Hatteras




I've been here too long. Tommorrow will be day 10 and I need to get home. Since my last report, I've caught another Sheepshead on a Hermit Crab and I've wrapped up a few more Jumping Mullets. The Mullets are big ones for June, 2-3 pounders and great for the grill. I've had them 4 times in 9 nights and they are still great. My Sheepshead was a small one, less than a pound. Today I found a lump of 4 Sea Urchins. I thought about catching them and using them for bait. They might be the key to the future though. The last 3 years there was an endless supply. I could harvest 50 per day, 365 days a year, and never see a change. Now they are all gone, except the 4 I found today. Those 4 might re-populate the entire Basin. Then again, those 4 Urchins might quickly become a batch of Sheephead Citations. Capt Marty's Dilemma! Total Catch for the Period: 1 Sheepshead

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

June 22 and 23 First Sheepshead

The first Sheepshead of 2010 on the hook and 40 lbs of Jumping Mullet in my cast net on June 22nd. I'm taking a wild guess here, but I believe the great Sheepshead fishing of '08 and '09 will not carry over this summer. From the looks of it, the entire Sea Urchin population around Ocracoke and Hatteras has died off last winter. The Sea Urchin bonanza made catching all those 8-12 lb Sheepshead a piece of cake. The one I caught today was ate a Hermit Crab and that's alot of work. My Sheepshead was a 2 pounder and I released him unharmed. On June 23rd, I tossed the net one time and loaded it down with 70 lbs of Jumping Mullet. Total Catch for 2 days: 1 Sheepshead

Saturday, June 19, 2010

June 19 Slow Red Drum Fishing







Lee and I fished a Red Drum Tournament and it was an adventure. We ran 80 miles. A great circle. We caught a nice 24" Red Drum and a less than nice 20" Red Drum. East winds and Low tides made it tough on us earky in the day. Whew, that's an understatement! I am not sure where we finished, but I know it wasn't in the top 3. Total Catch for the Day: 2 Red Drum, 1 Southern Flounder, and 1 Pinfish

Friday, June 18, 2010

June 18 My Boat is Back in Action

My Boat is ready. I am ready. The Spanish Mackerel, King Mackerel, Amberjack, Shark, and Dolphin are ready! But first, Capt Lee Willis and I are fishing a Red Drum Tournament tommorrow. We are fishing on a brand new 23 ft Parker Bay Boat. Lee is http://www.redfishaction.com/. We are fishing the HT3 Tournament Series. Looks like fun........

Thursday, June 17, 2010

June 17 Dolphin Fishing







Great weather today did not mess us up! I caught a ride with Tuggy and Brock and we found a few Dolphin by trolling in 100 feet of water SE of Beaufort Inlet. Then somebody said, "Here they come!" So we bailed them on light spinning tackle. Nice. Lots of jumps and changes of direction. After we caught all we wanted we tried to catch an Amberjack on a jig. No luck, too much current. We had shots at 2 Cobia, but Tuggy and me (the Cobia Killers) screwed those up. Total Catch for the Day: 20 Dolphin up to 18 lbs

Saturday, June 12, 2010

June 12 Hatteras Cobia Fishing Part 3
















I got a chance to fish up at Hatteras today aboard Johnny Willis's private boat and it was great day on the water. Johnny, Gary, and Lee are all avid fishermen and they love to catch Cobia. Conditions were perfect but the fishing was a challenge. We tried sight casting and bait fishing. Southern Stingrays and Spiny Butterfly Rays made bait fishing very hard on our tackle boxes! The BIG ONES were on the Shoals today. 100-200+ pounders that are impossible to pull off the bottom. The Cobia were very shy today. Gary got a 55 lb. Cobia on a bucktail right off the bat and we had a couple of other chances. I got a double header of 36" Cobia off a Stingray and Lee nailed a 39" Cobia off the same Ray. We saw 2 other nice ones and thats about it. The weather was great, but the fishing was slack. Total Catch for the Day: 4 Cobia up to 55 pounds, 2 Spiny Butterfly Rays up to 50 pounds and 2 Southern Stingrays up to 60 pounds

Friday, June 11, 2010

June 10 Ferry Dock Fishing




It's a little too early for the good stuff but I was up late last night so I gave it a try. The highlight was a 15" Croaker on cut bait and a few Jumping Mullets in the cast net. The fishing was okay for the pests.... Small Black Sea Bass, Pinfish, Sand Perch, and small Bluefish. I saw a few Spadefish milling around in the dark, but they were too slick. The lowlight of the night was the first Oyster Toad of the season! It might would've been worth my time to try for a Flounder, but traditionally, I have caught more Flounder at the Hatteras side in June than on the Ocracoke side. At least I got a couple of fish for lunch tommorrow. Fried Croaker Sandwich. Total Catch for the Night: 1 Croaker, 10 Black Sea Bass, 10 Pinfish, 4 Bluefish, 1 Sand Perch, and 1 Oyster Toad

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

June 8 and 9 Hatteras Surf Fishing


Tuesday I went out looking for a 2 lb Pompano and all I found was a baby Puffer and a 8 lb Cownose Ray. Sand Fleas were hard to catch on the rising tide. There was some really, really nice scenery on the Beach. Better than nothing. The Cownose Ray was a great fight and conversation starter. On Wednesday, I went to the same spot and had nearly identical results. The only difference was that I caught a Sea Mullet instead of a Puffer. I did battle another Cownose Ray. Total Catch for the Day: 2 Cownose Ray, 1 Gulf Sea Mullet and 1 Northern Puffer

Monday, June 7, 2010

June 6 Bailing Dolphin











I got a chance to fish offshore at Hatteras today and the fishing had been great so I decided to go for it. As usual, the weather forecast was iffy. We woke up to a 20kt SW wind. Once we reached the fishing grounds, the wind was honking and the current was blazing. That combination actually helped hold the seas down, I think! Our biggest problem was that Saturday's Dolphin schools were 20 miles farther South on Sunday morning. So we chased them down. By lunchtime, we had 1 Skipjack Tuna and 4 Dolphins. After we found the spot, we sacked them up pretty good. Lots of bailers and 7 between 15-25 pounds. Ed got the largest, a 25lb Bull Dolphin on a spinning rod. Frank got his largest, a 17 pounder, on a trout rod. When it was all said and done, we had caught about 350 pounds of Fish. Total Catch for the Day: 62 Dolphin up to 25lbs and 1 Skipjack Tuna

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Boat Disabled and Headed to Hatteras

Just when I think things can't any worse......I used to be happy about heading to Hatteras, but this time, the thought of it makes me sick. The bigger problem is with my Boat. Night Run out of Hatteras in June would be a wonderful thing, but this time I'm headed up there with NO BOAT and that sucks. Hopefully the Boat will be up and running when I get home on June 15th. In the meantime, I will be looking for some Flounder and Sheepshead around the Ferry Dock.

Friday, June 4, 2010

June 4 Sharks and Rays and Boat Problems





The top picture is of another Dead Whale. What's up with that? Anyway, the Whale's day was worse than mine, barely. This day did not go as planned. I left the dock with a phantom alarm. During the day I developed a real problem. All sorts of electrical problems. The Boat's troubles dictated our day. It was all Bad! By the end of the day, I would call it an interesting catch. No Cobia though and since that was the primary Target Species, it was not a successful day. Jerry caught lots of new things. Three varieties of Shark and two flavors of Ray. The best fish we caught was a 4 foot Bonnethead Shark. The largest thing we caught was a 60 lb Spiny Butterfly Ray. The Boat is officially "broken down" and I almost forgot, I broke a rod on a Stingray. Not a great day! Total Catch for the Day: 2 Blacknose Sharks up to 25lbs, 1 Bonnethead Shark, 3 Sharpnose Sharks, 2 Southern Stingrays, 2 Spiny Butterfly Rays up to 60lbs and 2 Bluefish