"Baby Penguin" at Oregon Inlet

Here's everybody's "Baby Penguin". Its actually called a Dovekie or Little Auk. Its nearest relative is the better known Puffin. It nests in high Arctic cliffs and ranges south in the winter. Oregon Inlet is well south of its normal range. It is a diving bird that feeds on tiny crustaceans and tiny fish. Sea Lice?? I also saw my first Harbor Seal this winter down at Hatteras Inlet last week. Lots of snow, cold wind, seals, and "baby penguins"...... It's about time for some warm weather!!!

Jan 29 Cape Lookout Fizzle

What a difference 100 miles makes! Today I fished in absolutely perfect conditions. Same water temp as Oregon Inlet yesterday... Same bait... Absolutely no catchable fish between Beaufort Inlet and Shark Island! Honestly, all I saw was hundreds of Atlantic Bottlenosed Dolphin. Evidently the Striped Bass can tolerate Whales and 1000s of Boats pounding them off Oregon Inlet, but can not stand the harrassment delivered by Flipper. In a beautiful setting, watching these Dolphin frolic around the boat was amusing.... For about 5 minutes. I want fish. I want blood. I did manage to catch a perfect Starfish on a speck rig off Shackleford Banks... That's it... Total Catch for the Day: 1 Starfish

Jan 28 Striped Bass Fishing

With my Boat on the shelf with false alarms that make trolling for Striped Bass nearly impossible....... This morning at 3am, I made a good decision to head out the door and go Striped Bass fishing at Oregon Inlet with Capt Tuggy. Honestly, the fishing was so good, it sucked. However, Capt Tuggy gets full credit for working his "Striper Magic" and I know that lots of boats failed to produce.... Or produce legally.... Whatever..... How can the fishing be so good that it sucked? Well, I got up at 3 am and I got home at 9pm. We basically fished for 20 minutes, caught 20 Striped Bass with a total weight of between 350-400 pounds. Caught them all at once. up to three per rod. We had a 35, 37 and 39 lb 12 oz Striped Bass. Tuggy got the biggest one as part of a doubleheader with a 25 pounder. I've watched his technique and studied his rigs enough now... I'm ready. I need to get my engine fixed. It looks like the fishing is going to be good for another month. At one time today, we marked 60 feet of solid Striped Bass. Lots of Whales today also Right Whales, Humpbacks and Fin Whales. Also, lots of C-130s, Helicopters, and CG Cutters. The Feds certainly dont want their Striped Bass tampered with in wake of last weeks massacre. Obama would proud of their vigilance along the 3 mile line at a 1000 dollars an hour..... Total Catch for the Day: 20 Striped Bass up to 39 lb 12 oz

Hatteras Blizzard

I finally got to play in the snow on Jan 22nd. It snowed all day and half the night at Hatteras. We had at least 7" and a few drifts as high as 5 foot. Needless to say, Fishing was at a standstill. I think. I know the Ferrys were until Sunday morning.....

Elvin Hooper and his World Record Red Drum

For those that don't recognize that name, Elvin Hooper caught a 90 pound Red Drum on November 7, 1973. This fish was the IGFA All Tackle World Record for exactly 11 years. Elvin caught this Drum off the Rodanthe Pier and 37 years later, he is still a legendary figure out here on Hatteras Island. Elvin is a retired school teacher and recently starting working at the Hatteras Ferry for "something to do". Tonight I asked Elvin about the story behind his record catch. I had heard a few rumors and wanted to hear about that fish from the guy who caught it. Its a great story. Here it is.... Back in those days, Elvin and a small group of friends fished every night from Nov 1 through Nov 14. It was a tradition. On the night of Nov 7, 1973 Elvin was fishing 2 rods. He got a bite and was reeling in a Clearnosed Skate. He had the Skate on the surface, clearly visible under the pier lights. Before he could lift the Skate to unhook him, he had a bite on his other rod. He quickly leaned the rod with the Skate on it against the pier railing to attend to the other rod. After catching and releasing a smaller Drum and rebaiting and casting the second rod back out, Elvin moved back to the rod with the Skate on it. As he lifted the rod, he felt a strong thump. Line suddenly ripped off the reel. A few minutes later Elvin's friends had netted and landed a 90 pound Red Drum on the deck of the pier. The Skates tail was wagging out of the Old Drum's mouth. Elvin's Red Drum weighed 95 pounds that night on the Pier's scales. Unfortunately, the scales weren't certified and it was 6 months later when the frozen and then thawed out fish was weighed officially and the scale read 90 pounds. A replica of Elvin' s Drum hangs on the wall at Finnegan's Restaurant in Buxton. On Nov 7, 1984 David Deuel caught a 94 pound Red Drum from the surf at Avon. Elvin's record might still stand if certified scales would've been readily available. Who knows. Elvin doesn't reallycare, h e just wishes he could legally keep one on occasion for an Outer Banks culinary classic, stewed Drum. The Puppys just aint the same !The date of November 7th is a date that ALL Red Drum on the Outer Banks think of as the most important date of the year. Elvin's story is a classic and it is a tale that will never die. I hope my blog readers enjoy this tale and hopefully I will have a good fishing report to post soon!

Jan 20 Crazy Fishing Rules

The top picture is of hundreds of dead Striped Bass that stretched for miles. Discards of a legal Trawling Operation in NC. The bottom picture is a deck load of icy-dead Speckled Trout scooped up in a frozen NC creek. Another ridiculous NC decision. One the one hand, a Trawler crew can fish all day and cull hundreds of dead 18-25 pound Striped Bass in order to max out the monetary value of their 50 fish limit of 40 pounders..... HELLO Stupid Example ONE.... On the "just as stupid" hand, a fisherman is not allowed to pick up a dead, frozen 8 pound Speckled Trout stuck in the marsh grass. Unlawful to possess..... HELLO Stupid Example Two...... The SPECKLED TROUT must lay there and rot because of IGNORANCE while the STRIPED BASS must float there and rot because of GREED. Another pair of baffling fisheries decisionshe State of North Carolina. Saltwater fishermen in states like Florida, So Carolina, Texas and Louisiana must be scratching their heads over the Speckled Trout ruling. Meanwhile, fisherman in Virginia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, and Maine are absolutely livid over the Striped Bass massacre that NC politicians endorse just south of the Va state line. Who's running this place, Butch Davis? Hell he didn't see anything or know anything. Only in North Carolina. Move NCDMF to Carrboro. Can't get any worse.

Jan 16 Dogfish Heaven

Today we scoured the Cape Lookout Shoals. Every nook and cranny. I dont know about last week, or tomorrow, or next week, but today there were NO STRIPED BASS AT CAPE LOOKOUT. They weren't there on Jan 15 or Jan 16. If anything changes, you can read about it here..... Back to the fishing. Chip and Shem fished with me years ago and today they came back and brought Antonio, an exchange student from Spain. Antonio had never been fishing. The great thing for me was, he was thrilled with catching Sharks, didn't matter that they were Spiny Dogfish., also called Dog Sharks or Horndogs. Chip and Shem have fished all over the North America and they said "No Problem" when I explained our dilemma! Our dilemma being, cold water, lack of fish and 10,000 Bottlenosed Dolphins on the Shoals. The sheer volume of Dolphin on and around the Shoals usually has disasterous results for the clear water sight casting that I like to do. The only guarrantee I could offer was the Dog Sharks. So for 2 hours we drifted in 60 feet of water and bailed Dog Sharks. Doubles and Triples. The water around the boat was teeming with Dog Sharks. We caught them on bait and jigs. Before and after, we rode the Shoals and pretty much watched the Dolphin. Blue Planet material to say the least. Great experience for Antonio. Then we fished the Rock Jetty, the Port Wall, and the MHC High Rise Bridge. Nothing. Total Catch for the Day: 60 Spiny Dogfish from 5-12 lbs

Jan 15 Spiny Dogs at Cape Lookout

I returned home and with a trip scheduled for tomorrow I figured I needed to go on a little scouting trip. I found ideal conditions, which make any trip much more enjoyable. I found hundreds of Bottlenose Dolphins playing on the Shoals and riding the swells. Now for the bad news..... All I found to catch was Spiny Dogfish. And I found them by the hundreds. In all honesty, they do put up a nice tussle and they are heavily regulated and support a massive commercial fishery. Therefore, somebody likes to eat them!! Hopefully, tomorrow we will catch a few Dogs and also find some more glamorous species. Total Catch for the Day: 8 Spiny Dogfish up to 10 pounds, 1 Clearnosed Skate and 1 Pinfish

Jan 14 15 Striped Bass up to 32 pounds

I had the pleasure of fishing with Tuggy and the Greenville crew today and we definitely got off go a slow start and I had a long day. I left Beaufort at 2am, we left the dock in Wanchese at 630am and were fishing by 830am...... And at 2pm we had 2 Striped Bass in the box and had released a 10 lb Striped Bass. Then we finally got hot. In the next hour we caught 13 Striped Bass. Most of these fish came on umbrella rigs and the rest on Mo-Jos. Finally, while trying to catch our last couple of fish for our limit, we got 6 fish on at once, includindg 2 doubleheaders. A 30 lb Striped Bass, a 20 lb Striped Bass, and an umbrella rig all at once reminds me of pulling the anchor back in the commercial Grouper fishing days. Way earlier in the morning we caught and released our first Striped Bass, a 10 pounder, which I caught on a jig on a light spinning rod. That was our only jigging bite, which was a bummer. At the end of the day, our 3 top Striped Bass were 32, 31, and 30 pounders. Our 10 fish limit weighed approximately 230 pounds. All in all, we went something long stretches between bites, but we finished with a hell of a flurry! Total Catch for the Day: 15 Striped Bass up to 32 pounds

Jan 10 The Mystery of MISERY

With my time at Hatteras winding down and the Striped Bass bite WFO, I couldn't stand it.... So in into the teeth of a brutal 15kt NE wind and temps in the low 30s and with a winter storm brewing to the south, I launched and headed out of Oregon Inlet all alone. I knew I messed up when the first spray of the first wave blasted my bare face. Water temp on my bottom scope was 35 degrees. Okay, the fish supposedly chewed all day on Sunday from the Inlet to Jeanettes Pier. All day and close to the Beach. So I rode up to Jeanettes in 3-4 foot seas. No Bait, No Birds. Commercial Drop Netters were everywhere and they weren't finding them either. By 11am I was headed home with nothing but frostbite and a gas bill. I guess the very few boats that caught them found them after lunch. I missed it. I had suffered enough and honestly it was a little dangerous to be out there by myself that day... Total Catch for the Day: ZERO

The Whale that smiled at me!

Thanks for not jumping on me Ms Whale.......And, Oh Ms Whale, what pretty baleen strips you have.

Jan 6 Striped Bass and Whales at Oregon Inlet

I'd say the Striped Bass fishing was decent. The Whale Watching was excellent. We saw probably 20 Whales. Humpback Whales, Fin Whales, and a Right Whale. And if Right Whales earned their name because they were the "right" whale for whalers to harpoon..... We found one today that wouldn't have lasted 2 minutes in the 1800's. We had the tamest and friendliest whale ever harass us and follow us around for 10 minutes, swimming with his nose out of the water the whole time. It was crazy...... But hey, this is a fishing blog, not a Whale Watching blog. Tuggy, Brock, and I first rode to Rodanthe chasing yesterday's State Record. Then we battled the wind back to the North for 20 miles. We finally made it back to Oregon Inlet where Tuggy's deadly spread of Mo-Jo's and Umbrellas caught our fish. We got hit twice. Tuggy got 2 on one rod. I caught three singles. Brock caught three singles. We missed a couple of bites. We got our limit of 6 Striped Bass and let a couple go. Our fish weighed up to 25 pounds. Nothing great, cold as hell, and more fun than I've had lately! Total Catch for the Day: 8 Striped Bass up to 25 lbs

Me and My Boat are ready to go Striped Bass Fishing

I am at Hatteras and I am working the Night Run. I've got my Boat with me and the Striped Bass are chewing 60 miles up the Beach. I am fishing on Thursday Jan 6. After that, weather allowing, I am availiable for Striped Bass Fishing out of Oregon Inlet on Jan 8, 9, 10, and 11. I would highly recommend fishing with a local guide or charter boat. However, I am availiable and would love to go Fishing! Call my cell phone at 252-241-8350.

Jan 1 Red Drum on the Rocks

On New Years Day, I made a mad dash from Raleigh to Beaufort to the Cape Lookout Rock Jetty to take advantage of a beautiful weather day. We arrived at the Rocks around 3pm and in 90 minutes of bumbling and figuring out all the tackle that "I forgot"...... Stella and I managed to release 10 Red Drum while my pal Noah caught 50 right beside me. Oh well, thats how it went! It was the first trip of 2011 and it sure was nice to catch a few Drum on a beautiful afternoon. Total Catch for the Day: 10 Red Drum up to 18" 

2010 Best Fishing Pictures of 2010

Here are a few of the best! At the top is Jeremy with a 94 lb Cobia and a 78 lb Cobia and a pile of 30-50 pounders. Stella with a 4 lb 13 oz Sp Trout and a 3 lb 8 oz Speckled Trout highlights the last picture. In between are Big Grouper, Big Barracuda, Amberjacks, Red Drums, and Capt Marty's inshore suprize Blackfin Tuna.

2010 Fishing Review

The highlight of the 2010 Fishing Year for Top Water Charters will definitely be the Spring/Early Summer part of the year. Vast schools of small Red Drum inhabited the Cape Lookout Shoals all winter and while searching for them in March of 2010, I began to encounter larger Red Drum. By April of 2010, I was pretty much running straight to schools of 30-50 lb Red Drum. I have never found these fish in Carteret County Ocean waters with this consistency. Then it got even better. Returning from Hatteras around the first of May and with early Cobia rumors swirling, I fished in the fog one day. Knowing that I couldn't sight cast Red Drum or search for a Cobia, I decided to take a last chance at a few Atlantic Bonito that I had pretty much ignored this Spring because of the big Red Drum. Casting over bait, in the fog, a mile off Atlantic Beach, I caught a 26 lb Blackfin Tuna on a stingsilver and a small spinning rod. That was a highlight. A great Spring of 2010 was shaping up. The following day, it reached epic porportions. With light winds and bright sunlight, I had a 15 Cobia day, with 2 fish at 57 and 58 pounds. All on bucktails and spinning tackle. These numbers are a pretty common occurence from Hatteras to the Va Line, but unheard of for Beaufort Inlet. The following morning, the first place I looked I found 100+ Cobia milling on top. All huge fish! Three casts equaled three fish hooked up. Two broke off on each other and Josh Faglie landed the other at 78 pounds. A fleet of boats had seen the activity and moved in on that school, so I left and headed off to the east. When the day was over, we had caught 19 Cobia, headlined by my personal best 94 pounder. Then the wind and the weather and the Marine Fisheries came.... Cobia fishing remained "bettter than average" but the year's highlights were over for me. The rest of the year can be easily summarized. Great Bluefishing, good Spanish Mackerel. Good Amberjack fishing. Good Shark fishing. Numbers were really good for the much-sportier Blacktip Sharks. We had an epic day on a school of those things in the fall. Big ones at 100+ pounds and lots of them on top water plugs!. I did not involve myself with Flounder or King Mackerel at all this summer/fall. Sight casting to Puppy Drum was good but inconsistent. A giant September rain event killed the Albacore bite and ended the Spanish Mackerel run prematurely. Finally, Speckled Trout numbers were unreal, but their size was a huge let down. Remember that my work schedule causes me to miss lots of good fishing as well. The best week of Giant Red Drum fishing in the Pamlico Sound and Neuse River occurred while I was not fishing. There was also a week of great live bait fishing for big King Mackerel and Wahoo that happened while I was working. I can't catch all the great fishing, but this year worked out pretty good for me. A decent number of charters and a career Cobia for me. 72 total NC Citations with 8 different species represented. Thats pretty typical of what I've produced the past 10 years. Fishing at Hatteras has produced lots of Citations for me personally. Flounders and Sheepsheads. This year I didn't fish up there much at all. This year, I anticipate returning to my "fishy ways".   ****2931 Total Fish in 2010***