Top Water Charters Fishing Reports and News Beaufort Morehead City Atlantic Beach Pamlico Sound: January 2013

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Look What Jennifer Caught

Looks like Capt Marty is engaged..........................

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Jan 29 Red Drum and Bluefish Super Bowl

Tuggy and I hadn't fished since October? Damn time is flying by! So today was a beautiful day and I needed to get away from the problems on LAND and I needed to get out in the water and lose myself in the Beauty of the Ocean and the Challenge of Fishing..... Tuggy was more than ready to join me! So we headed out Beaufort Inlet, turned our bow towards the East, and pushed up the throttle! GLORIOUS........ Then we dipped into a wave and a wall of 49 degree water blasted us in the face! WTF are we doing! So much to do at home and here we are wasting money and time and suddenly wet and cold. MISERABLE.... Then we talked it over and continued (slower and carefully) to the East.... The first challenge we encountered was multiple schools of a mystery Mackerel species... Very similar to last years highly annoying and challenging Bullet Mackerel invasion at Cape Lookout.... So, to get a quick glimpse and cast metal approximately 10 times with lots of running and chasing (high level of annoyance) these fish were either At Mackerel, baby Albacore, or increasingly common Bullet Mackerel? Tuggy actually hooked one and fought it long enough to get cocky...... But his rod tip went "ping" after an intense 2 minute battle. Pulled hooks. I do know that Bullet Mackerel and At Mackerel both have weak jaw bones and are a tough combination of hard fighters and soft mouths. Hard to Hook and Easy to Lose. Not to mention their absolutely uncanny ability to change directions whenever your lure is "in the air"... These damn things are the absolute Definition of Fishing ANNOYANCE... Hell I am getting MAD just thinking about them...... After we gave up on that, we quickly found plenty of Red Drum and Bluefish and a scattering of other assorted fish. Two hours later we were headed home with a great catch and a great time... Red Drum score was 7 to 7. Tuggy will quickly tell you that his stingsilver was producing bigger Drum than my speck rig. Therefore before we left I tied on a stingsilver and quickly caught Mary Lee. Not the Great White Shark, but the largest Red Drum in the school. Hey Tuggy, you were right! Total Catch for the Day: 14 Red Drum from 17" to 28", 40 Bluefish up to 2 lbs, 5 Black Sea Bass up to 14", 1 Gag Grouper at 18", 1 Hogfish, and 3 small Sheepshead

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Jan 22 Largemouth Bass before the Cold

I made a quick trip to Lake Bernaur. I knew the Alberta Clipper was hours away and if the bitter cold persists in Beaufort, that will pretty much end all mung hole fishing until late March/early April.... So I spent 30 minutes tossing a beetlespin in the "big pond". I had 5 strikes. I released 4 small Largemouth Bass.... And regretfully, I was playing around in the shallows while talking on the phone..... And...... I got crushed by a much larger Largemouth Bass. Fishing one handed with 8 feet of string out, a 4-5 lb Bass erupted from some vegetation at my feet. While holding my phone in one hand, I fumbled with my drag, and...... POP went my 8lb test mono. My fault. The "fish of the day" and potential early "fish of the year candidate" swam off with my beetlespin pinned to her lip. Well dammit. Total Catch for the Day: 4 Largemouth Bass

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Jan 17 Tautog Tales

First of all, last night I went home with a career best 4 lb Tautog. I filleted it and we are having it for lunch tomorrow.... I saved the carcass and tossed it on the grill. I also rubbed the head down with salt, butter, and black pepper, sealed it in tin foil, and placed it on the grill instead.... Here's the results: The carcass contained "the meat between the bones" after filleting. This was a very tasty appetizer. As for the head, it was delicious. The cheeks contained 2 large nuggets of rich, white flesh. Also the throat area was loaded with meat as was the top of the head. This was the first time I've ever tried this and I'd say that the Tautog's head was a "gold mine" of meat.... So, this morning was foggy and we stayed tied up for several hours. I briefly tried fishing. No luck. I had to run to the Post Office around 10am. I decided to leave my rig overboard so I loosened my drag and propped up my rod. Evidently a short while later my Oiler and good buddy Billy Harris noticed my rod "bouncing down the rail". Billy ran over and quickly grabbed my bucking rod! He then expertly wrestled a 4 lb Tautog over the rail of the MV Kinnnekeet. That's two 4 pounders in two days! An hour later, I followed up with another Tautog over on the Ocracoke side. This one was a merely a 2lb 8oz, a little letdown after the 4 pounders... Not bad, I'm really enjoying this Very Challenging Fish. It feels like Trophy Fishing because the bites are few, its a challenge busting these very strong fish out of heavy structure, and the fish itself is a very high quality for eating purposes... A little later, David Carter caught a 5 lb Conger Eel on my rod. This Eel had to wrestled out of heavy structure. Tough Customer.... I guess any bite is a good bite on a cold January day! Total Catch for the Day: 2 Tautog up to 4 lbs and a 5 lb Conger Eel

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Jan 16 Career Best Tautog

Whew, this one was a LONG TIME COMING..... Tautog used to be a NC Citation Species. It was dropped from that program about 6 years ago. To get that Citation you had to catch a 7lb Tautog. When I first hatched my plan to "catch them all", I knew Tautog would be the toughest roadblock. Nearly impossible... After the Tautog was dropped from the NC Citation Program, I was still very interested in catching them. As a matter of fact, as I get older I am drawn to more obscure species and more radical approaches to fishing..... Somewhere along the line, all the Red Drum and Trout become too vanilla and too much like the "last one" or "last years fish".... Meanwhile things like Sheepsheads and Crevalle Jacks and Spadefish and Ladyfish became more exciting and challenging to me.... (TO ME) I realize that is a very important qualifier..... Anyway, Tautog still represent a major challenge and one of my winter-time interests. But, I might add, I do not pursue them beyond my home waters. North Carolina is the southern end of their range and only the Oregon Inlet area has any consistent Tautog fishery at all... As a matter of fact, Oregon Inlet is probably a 100 times better than Hatteras. And make that a 1000 times better than Beaufort Inlet. And I've never even fished for Tautog at Oregon Inlet.... Even farther north, Virginia has a GREAT Tautog fishery, including several fish that were close to the All Tackle World Record Fish..... I have never fished beyond Hatteras Inlet for them..... That's what I meant by "not pursuing them"...... Having never fished in "decent" Tautog waters, obviously my chances for a large one is not good. Also, what I would consider a "good one" would be considered a very average one in Virginia... Anyway, in my entire life I have probably caught 20 Tautog. I caught maybe 10 last year and it was best year ever. My largest Tautog was probably around 2 lbs. A far cry from the 25lb World Record from New Jersey. All that changed today when I dropped a piece of Squid into a 12 feet deep hole in the Rocks that are covered by 7 feet of water by the Ferry Docks on the north end of Ocracoke Island. I got a slammer of a bite and immediately got hung up. After a few seconds my rod tip bounced free and I quickly cranked upwards as my fish battled through Rocks and Concrete and Steel Ramp Stanchions. Suddenly she broke the surface! A Large Tautog! With time running out (time for the Ferry to load) and with NO Landing Net, I rolled the dice and lifted my prize...... Could've gone either way but..... Seconds later I had a 18" long 4 lb Tautog laying at my feet. Career Tautog. Early leader for "2013 Fish of the Year".... Now I want a bigger one! Total Catch for the Day: 4 lb Tautog

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The Ides of January

Damn if it aint the 15th of January already.... Crazy how time flies. I'm back at Hatteras and this time I've got the 430am run..... Hopefully I will be able to go fishing up this way before I come back home. Hopefully back up at Va Beach. The Striped Bass and Bluefin Tuna are biting. Hatteras has King Mackerel and Blackfin Tuna..... Other than that, I saw a sight today that I've never seen before.... In Hatteras Inlet, I saw an acre of water explode with Atlantic Mackerel. Nice ones. I'd guess 1-3 pounders. Beautiful. I'd love to have casted a tiny stingsilver into that fray..... Also, this morning I caught around 100 Squid. First of this winter. I didn't have my rod and squid jig so I simply tossed a cast net and caught them all! Now I gotta go out and clean them...... What the hell was I thinking? *** UPDATE*** Okay, I guessed 100 Squid..... Wrong! Because I just cleaned 60 Squid and bagged 120 Squid! Amend that catch to 180 Loligo Squid. That is some high quality C A L A M A R I baby!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Jan 10 Black Sea Bass and more

Took Arik today and it was supposed to be Beautiful. Well it wasn't..... It blew North and Northeast and it blew 15kts and it blew 20kts. There were whitecaps 2 miles out. It sucked and there was a Small Craft Advisory up. We missed that! Anyway, we fished 2 spots to the west of Beaufort Inlet and we were s\happy with the number of Sea Bass and disappointed with the number of Dogsharks.... Obviously, it must be winter! Arik hadn't fished in 10 years.... I fish 100+ days a year for the past 35 years..... Guess who outfished who? Yep, I lost 5 rigs while Arik never lost a rig. He caught the biggest and the most. It was a fun day and glad I took Arik and I hope he has a great fish dinner! Total Catch for the Day: 30 Black Sea Bass up to 13", 2 Spiny Dogfish up to 10lbs, 1 Sheepshead, 1 Scup, 1 Spottail Pinfish and 1 Pinfish

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Jan 5 Cold & Lonely Sheepshead

Last night was pretty and cold. I stayed up all night and looked for some adventure. I put on my waders and grabbed my light and gig. I set out about 1am and walked around Hatteras Inlet and the east end of Ocracoke Island until 3am. The water up here is pretty much dead. I saw less than 10 fish of all species combined.... I saw 3-4 tiny shrimp..... No crabs, no shellfish of any kind.... I saw several big, nasty Lion's Mane Jellyfish.... What I did see was hundreds of pink, nasty little worm-like things.... Not sure what these things are called. I found them all floating nearly vertical in the water column. There bodys were hanging loosely towards the bottom. When I probed them with my gig, they would become rigid and immediately sink to the bottom where they were barely visible on the sandy bottom in the dirty water. These worms were 4-8 inches long and were pretty insignificant. I would imagine that they would be a major food item for lots of the fish that we love to catch...... Finally, around 330am, I dropped a bottom rig into the rocks below the Ferry Ramp and caught another Sheepshead. After releasing him, I had 3-4 more bites and I missed them... Where are my Tautogs dammit. Total Catch for the Night: 1 Sheephead

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Jan 3 Where's My Tautog?

I know that I am not the man or the fisherman I was a few years ago. Or maybe I'm willing to suffer for Squid, but not the fish that live among the cold, dark rocks and pilings of South Dock. Regardless of why, the air temp in the upper 30s and wind blowing 20 out of the North sent me scurrying back into the Engine Room pretty quickly on both Jan 3 and Jan 4. The biggest difference between the 2 nights was, on Jan 3rd I actually had a pleasant suprize...... With No Squid present on either side, when I started fishing, I'd have to say that I was "Tautog Fishing". Last winter I caught quite a few of those uncommon, but tasty visitors from up North... So that's what I had in mind... Unfortunately, I didn't catch any Tautog either. But I did have a little action. In about an hour of trying, I had 6 bites and caught 3 fish, including a powerful little Sheepshead that had me thinking I had hooked a fat Tog. It was disappointing just for a minute because a Sheepshead is a fish that I'm always happy to see. Especially on a cold January night! Total Catch for the Night: 1 Sheepshead, 1 Black Sea Bass, and 1 Oyster Toadfish

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Big Fish on Light Tackle

Top Water Charters and Capt. Marty Moore is one of North Carolina's Premier Nearshore and Inshore Big Fish on Light Tackle Fishing Guides. Consistently producing Fish that earn NC Citations is my trademark. Since 1988, I have personally landed 846 NC Citation winning Fish for 34 Different Species. A few of my Personal Top Fish are 10 lb 11 oz and 10 lb 6 oz Flounders, a 83 lb Red Drum, 94 and 83 lb Cobias, a 83 lb Yellowfin Tuna, 96, 85, and 83 lb Wahoos, a 66 lb Amberjack, a 67 lb Black Drum, a 9 lb 6 oz Speckled Trout, a 53 lb King Mackerel, a 33 lb Permit, a 12 lb 8 oz Sheepshead, a 19 lb 4 oz False Albacore, a 11 lb Spadefish, a 12lb 4 oz Bonefish, a 4 lb 8 oz Ladyfish, a 2 lb 14 oz Sea Mullet, a 140 lb Tarpon, a 66 lb Swordfish and a 380 lb Bluefin Tuna.

A few of my Best Light Tackle Catches are a 240 lb Bluefin Tuna caught on a 20# live bait tackle, a 350 lb Blue Marlin caught on a 30# trolling tackle, a 50 lb Yellowfin Tuna caught on 10# spinning tackle, a 34 lb 8 oz King Mackerel caught from the Beach on 10# spinning tackle, 75 lb Cobia caught on 15# spinning gear, 73 lb Cobia caught on 20# spinning tackle, 61 lb Cobia caught on 10# spinning tackle, a 60+ lb Red Drum caught on 10# spinning tackle, 83 lb, 85 lb, and 96 lb Wahoos all caught on 20# livebait tackle, a 46 lb Red Drum caught on 8# conventional tackle, a 39 lb Red Drum caught on a 7wt fly rod, a 7 lb Largemouth Bass caught on a 3wt fly rod and a 135 lb Sandbar Shark caught on 12# spinning tackle.

I also caught a 37 lb 4 oz King Mackerel in 2001 that was worth $52,000 in the Snead's Ferry King Mackerel Tournament

My Clients and Guests have landed over 500 NC Citations since 1998 with Standout Fish like the N.C. State Record 11 lb 3oz Spadefish, a 68 lb Wahoo, a 67 lb Wahoo, a 92 lb Cobia, a 85 lb Cobia, a 84 lb Cobia, a 82 lb Cobia, a 81 lb Cobia, a 85 lb Amberjack, a 83 lb Amberjack, a 80 lb Amberjack, a 375 lb Bluefin Tuna, a 500 lb Great Hammerhead Shark, a 200 lb Sand Tiger Shark, a 62 lb Black Drum, a 24 lb False Albacore, a 15 lb Sheepshead, a 10 lb 8 oz Speckled Trout, 47 lb Striped Bass and too many Red Drum and Flounders to count.

UPCOMING BEST FISHING

In the Boxes that follow are the types of FISHING and varieties of FISH that Capt Marty recommends fishing for! I try to keep this pretty current as we move forward through the calendar year. As the seasons change the Fish available and the methods of Fishing change. I will do my best to accommodate my Clients wishes, but I will also be completely honest about our chances if a Client wants to Fish for a specific type of Fish. I will always recommend what I believe is our "best bet for success" based on the weather, the time of year, and what happened yesterday! This is how I fish and it's based on 30+ years of Experience and Learning the Hard Way

So what's happening NOW or what's coming soon..... Look Below and Keep Reading

Live Bait Fishing for King Mackerel

Live Bait Fishing for King Mackerel is usually done with 20# mono on light rods and small conventional reels. We fish with very light drags and small treble hooks. When a King Mackerel strikes, usually a live Menhaden, you have no idea whether you have 2 treble hooks stuck in the jaw and throat of the King Mackerel, or you could also have 1 prong of one hook snagged into the Mackerel's skin. Therefore, the idea is to let the King burn off line versus a light drag. After withstanding the initial blistering run, we move the angler to the bow of the boat and we track him down! Without a doubt, on pretty days in October and November, this is what we "need" to be doing.... Since I took up this fishery seriously, back in 1988, in addition to the targetted King Mackerel, the potential bycatch is staggering... Wahoo, Yellowfin Tuna, Blackfin Tuna, Bluefin Tuna, Sailfish, Barracuda, Amberjack, Crevalle Jack, Spanish Mackerel, Cobia, Red Drum, Red Snapper, Grouper, a dozen Shark species, False Albacore, Houndfish, Gafftopsail Catfish, Tarpon have all been hooked and/or landed onboard Boats that I was personally fishing aboard..... Oh yeah, back in 1998 during the Hardee's Atlantic Beach KMT we hooked up 4 Billfish at one time. Two pulled off, and we released a Sailfish and I tried my best to release my catch... Because it was caught on a ribbonfish, it had 4 treble hooks in it. By the time I got him unhooked, he had expired! What was it? It was a 44", 8 lb SPEARFISH! So yeah, when Live Bait Fishing for King Mackerel, anything is possible

Run and Gun Casting.... Spring Summer & Fall

Casting Metal Lures, Top Water Plugs, and Flys in the Spring, Summer, and Fall is one of my all-time favorite fisheries. Our main targets are Albacore, Spanish Mackerel, Red Drum, Atlantic Bonito, and Bluefish. The Red Drum are usually found on the Shoals at Cape Lookout and generally, we are casting into huge schools of fish in crystal clear water. These Drum schools are a year-round possibility. The Atlantic Bonito is a special fish for a few reasons. They are a handsome fish that also happens to be a rugged fighter. Very similar to Albacore, but there's one major difference. The Atlantic Bonito is delicious on the table, it prepares and eats just like Yellowfin Tuna. No Joke! Another thing that makes the Atlantic Bonito so special is that they are usually only around for about a month and on a day to day basis, they are usually only worth fishing for about 2 hours every morning. We really need to be sitting on the spot at first light. Atlantic Bonito are one of the few fish that are worth this kind of trouble! Adult or "Chopper" Bluefish also provide many thrills in the Spring. Finding vast schools of 8-12 pound Bluefish in 2-3 foot of water guarrantees a great day of fishing. Great jumpers and surface strikers, these Chopper Bluefish aren't really that good to eat, however I'd never pass up an opportunity to catch a couple of them! Smaller Bluefish can usually be found at various places and at various sizes throughout much of the year. The 1-4 lb class of Bluefish is often a trip saver from April through November. These smaller Bluefish are still great fighters, but are also very tasty. Spanish Mackererel are very reliable from May through October. These Mackerel are beautiful, sporty, and great eating. Spanish Mackerel tend to get progressively larger throughout their season, and large numbers of 5-7 lb fish are sometimes common. They are a very popular fish. Albacore are a good possibility in the Spring, great in September, and keep right getting better right through November! Albacore are lengendary fighters and they are definitely the best game in town on many windy, cold mornings in the Fall when fishing is impossible for anything else!

Cobia Fishing

Cobia Fishing is one of the most exciting inshore Fisheries that we have here in NC. It offers the inshore angler a chance at catching a tough fighting, great eating gamefish that averages 30 pounds and grows to weights over 100 pounds. Fishing for Cobia is availiable by 2 completetly different methods. The "old way" is to fish with bait on the bottom and wait for a Cobia to find you. This method can produce great fishing at times and there is usually enough bycatch (Bluefish, Sharks, and Rays) to keep you busy. The other method is far more exciting, but can be limited by the weather. In this fishery, we ride around and search for Cobias and cast to them. This is probably the most exciting and suspenseful inshore fishery that we have going right now. Delivering a bucktail to a cruising 50+ pound Cobia is very exciting. This method also allows us to fish with much lighter tackle since there is usually no anchor lines and other boats in the immediate vicinity. By either method, catching a big Cobia is a fish that will always be worth bragging about and provide lots of great fish dinners.

NIGHT (and Day) FISHING for GIANT RED DRUM

In August and September we have a very reliable and outstanding fishery in the Southern Pamlico Sound and Neuse River for Trophy Red Drum. These fish will average from 30 to 50 lbs. My personal best came in August of 2000. Caught just a couple hundred yards off the Beach at Cedar Island, this huge Red Drum was 59" long and weighed 83 lbs. I started fishing for these Red Drum in the Cedar Island area back in 1997 and since that year, my success rate has hovered around the 90% mark. Catches of 20-30 Red Drum per night isn't all that uncommon.... I offer this type of fishing from mid-August through September. I fish out of Cedar Island, right by the NC Ferry Operation. The hours for this trip are usually 6pm until midnight. Cost is $350

In addition, Red Drum commonly "turn up" in the Ocean as I run my regular trips out of Beaufort Inlet. Sight casting when conditions are good and fish are avaliable is a Fantastic Fishing Experience! If I had to generalize, I'd say March through June is our best bet for sight casting to Large Red Drum. Then I would guess that August through December are mt best months to find schools of Slot-sized (18" to 27"). Red Drum also turn up while fishing for other fish. They are a distinct possibility 12 months of the year!

Sight Casting to Red Drum

This is why I bought the Tower! I feel like for the first time, I will be able to consistently sight cast to schools of Red Drum in the Ocean nearly year round. These Drum will average from 7 to 15 pounds and when we find them it will be a very memorable fishing experience. I expect that I will be able to target these Red Drum consistently from April through May and again from August through mid-November. Possibly even on into January and beyond! Finding schools of Giant Red Drum is also becoming more common at Cape Lookout! Sight Casting for Red Drum is something that we can easily combine with other types of Fishing trips such as Cobia, Albacore or Speckled Trout. It would usually only take an hour or so to determine if the schools of Drum that I like to target are availiable.

Wreck Fishing

Wreck Fishing is a great way to spend a day on the water. Two of my all-time favorites, Amberjack and Barracuda, are very exciting and fun fish to catch. Amberjacks can be caught on Top Water Plugs, Bucktails, Metal Jigs, or Live Bait. Top Water Plugs draw awesome surface strikes and provide a great visual experience. Live Bait would be my second choice. Watching a pack of aggressive Jacks chase a 2 pound Bluefish down is incredible. Either way most people who haven't fished a Wreck before have never experienced seeing dozens of "big" fish swimming around the boat. Amberjacks frequently do this! Barracudas are another great fish. They respond best to live baits and tube lures. They are awesome jumpers for both height and distance, easily out-performing King Mackerels and Wahoos in this department. They have blinding speed and are also rugged fighters. Bigger Cudas fall for live baits more frequently, but the ones that chase down and bite tube baits are amazing too. You simply CAN NOT reel these baits too fast. It is impossible. Other Wreck Fish include: Flounders, King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel, Spadefish, Crevalle Jacks, Cobia, Sea Bass, Sharks, and others. Anything is possible on a Wreck off Beaufort Inlet!

Dolphin Fishing

The traditional "Big 3" of the offshore meat fishing world is Wahoo, Dolphin, and Tuna. Of these 3, Dolphin are the most common and readily accessible to the Small Boat, Center Console Fleet. From early summer until mid-October I am able to target for Dolphin with some degree of consistency from Boat and I can usually do this within 25 miles of land. Wahoo and Tuna are also possible, especially later in the season. Giant Wahoo actually are fairly common catches among the small boat fleet in late October and early November. My 3 career largest Wahoos all came within 10 miles of land and were all caught close to Halloween. I would never claim to compete with the regular Charter Boat Fleets in the offshore trolling game, but I do offer this type of Fishing at half their price and lots of "hands on action" for my clients. Of course, great weather is absolutely necessary!

Bottom Fishing

Bottom Fishing or Jigging with Metal Jigs or Bucktails off Beaufort Inlet is a great way to spend a day on the water. This is a Year Round fishery, only affected by NMFS closures. On pretty days, it is possible to fish farther offshore in deeper water and catch a variety of Groupers, Snappers, Amberjacks, Porgys, Black Sea Bass, Grunts, and Sharks. This type of Fishing is for Full Days only and very weather dependant on my 25 foot Center console for obvious reasons, but the fishing can be awesome when conditions are favorable.

A totally different fishing experience can be had by bottom fishing or jigging speck rigs much closer to the Beach. This fishery is best during Fall and Winter. Staying within 3-4 miles of shore allows me to fish many more days with type of weather that is common in winter. Fishing can be excellent for Black Sea Bass, Bluefish, Gray Trout, Sea Mullet, Black Drum, Croaker, Hogfish, Dog Sharks, and many other varieties.

Bottom Fishing in the Sounds and Inland Waterways can be fantastic from September through November. This is a great way to introduce children to fishing. Our most commonly targetted fish is the small, but tasty Spot. If we can find a Spot we jusy might find a cooler full! Other fish caught while "Spot Fishing" include Croakers, Sea Mullet, Gray Trout, Bluefish, Flounder, Black Drum, Red Drum, Hogish and more.

Capt Marty's Top 15 Catches

1. 50 lb. Yellowfin Tuna (my 1st Tuna) caught on 10# and a stingsilver while casting to Albacore 5 miles off the Beach on 9-19-1988. Amazing.
2. 240 lb Bluefin Tuna caught on 20# and a cigar minnow light line while Grouper fishing on 11-28-1997. I fought this fish for 4 hours and covered 7 miles.
3. 83 lb. Wahoo caught while King Mackerel fishing by myself out of a huge fleet of Carteret County's best fishermen on 11-8-1995. This story is too long to tell here...
4. 66 lb. Amberjack caught on a #00 Clark Spoon on 6-24-1988. The Amberjack swallowed a 2 lb. Mackerel I was reeling in. This fish really got me "HOOKED".
5. 96 lb. Wahoo caught on 15# and a boston mackerel on a light line while Grouper fishing on 10-2-2001. I hooked this one seconds after Gerald Currin had decked a 67 pound Wahoo and was still "bragging".
6. 10 lb. 11 oz Flounder caught in Taylor's Creek on a windy day on 10-18-2003. My career largest Flounder was caught in a place I'd ignored during 20 years of Flounder Fishing!
7. 83 lb. Cobia caught off Cape Lookout while fishing by myself on 5-15-2002. I hate to admit this, I actually tried to break this one off because I was convinced it was a Stingray!
8. 350 lb. Blue Marlin caught on 30# while Dolphin fishing off Ocracoke on 5-20-2001. I rigged the baits, set out the lines, hooked the fish, fought the fish, wired the fish, tagged the fish, and released the fish!
9. 7 lb. 4 oz. Largemouth Bass that I caught on 5-2-09 on a 3 wt fly rod and a tiny rubber-legged spider. I hooked a tiny Bream that the Bass swallowed. I knew when she jumped, she'd throw the Bream... When she did, as the Bass re-entered the water, line started to peel off my reel again. the tiny fly was somehow lodged in the Bass's lip! Caught in a tiny pond at MHC Wal-Mart. Unbelievable!
10. 3 lb 8oz Spanish Mackerel caught on the Morehead Ocean Pier in August of 1974. My first "REAL" fish. I turned down a trip to the movies so I could stay out on the Pier that afternoon.
11. 37 lb. 4 oz. King Mackerel (combined with a 30 lb.4 oz the day before) that won $52,900 in the Snead's Ferry KMT on 8-12-2000
12. 34 lb. 8 oz King Mackerel caught from the Shackleford Banks surf on a peanut shad rigged up on a Penn 440SS (small spinning reel) with 8# on 7-14-2001.
13. 12 lb. 8 oz Sheepshead that ended a 10 year quest to catch a Citation Sheepshead on 8-12-2007.
14. 24 lb Blackfin Tuna that ate a stingsilver one mile off Atlantic Beach on 5-6-2010. I was casting for Bonito with a 10# spinning rod and had chased some Albacore inshore of AR-315. The Tuna was a blind strike and took an hour to land!
15. 67 lb. Black Drum caught on 5-3-2011 that outweighed my previous best Black Drum by 62 lbs and made me actually believe (for the first time) that I might actually accomplish my life's mission of collecting all the NC Citations!

Capt Marty's Personal NC Saltwater Citation Tally

All Fish caught by Capt Marty on Rod n Reel
Starting with a 66 lb Amberjack caught on June 24, 1988 in Beaufort Inlet
Species / # Citations / Largest Wt
1. Red Drum / 363/ 83 lbs
2. Flounder / 70 / 10 lb 11oz
3. Speckled Trout / 68 / 9lb 6oz
4. Cobia / 67 / 94 lbs
5. Amberjack / 48 / 66 lbs
6. Sheepshead / 34 / 12lb 8oz
7. Spanish Mackerel / 31 / 9 lbs
8. King Mackerel / 30 / 53 lbs
9. Bluefin Tuna / 21 / 380 lbs
10. Wahoo / 21 / 96 lbs
11. Barracuda / 15 / 36lb 8oz
12. Shark / 8 / 241 lbs
13. Black Drum / 8 / 67 lbs
14. Sailfish / 7 / 88"
15. Striped Bass / 7 / 35lb 8oz
16. Grouper / 5 / 35 lbs
17. Florida Pompano / 5 / 2lb 9oz
18. Black Sea Bass / 5 / 4 lbs
19. Crevalle Jack / 4 / 28 lbs
20. Red Snapper / 4 / 15lb 6oz
21. Tilefish / 4 / 12lb 8oz
22. Atlantic Bonito / 3 / 25"
23. Yellowfin Tuna / 3 / 83 lbs
24. Sea Mullet / 3 / 2lb 14oz
25. Triggerfish / 3 / 7lb 15oz
26. Blackfin Tuna / 2 / 24lb 8oz
27. False Albacore / 2 / 19lb 3oz
28. Gray Trout / 2 / 6lb 2oz
29. Blue Marlin / 1 / app 400 lbs
30. White Marlin / 1 / app 60 lbs
31. Spearfish / 1 / app 8 lbs
32. Dolphin / 1 / 40 lbs
33. Spot / 1 / 1 lb
34. Porgy / 1 / 6lb 7oz
TOTAL 849
Citation Saltwater Fish from other States
Snook / 4 / 35" (Texas)
Striped Bass / 1 / 47 lbs (Virginia)

Capt Marty's Personal NC Freshwater Citation Tally

Starting with an 8" Flier caught in a Wake County Pond in July of 1982
Species / # Citations / Largest Wt
1. Hickory Shad / 38 / 2 lb 9oz
2. White Perch / 25 / 1 lb 4oz
3. Blue Catfish / 6 / 42 lbs
4. American Shad / 6 / 5 lbs
5. Rainbow Trout / 5 / 21"
6. Largemouth Bass / 3 / 8 lb 4oz
7. Bluegill / 3 / 2 lb 2oz
8. Bowfin / 2 / 33"
9. Chain Pickerel / 2 / 28"
10. Green Sunfish / 2 / 10"
11. Pumpkinseed / 2 / 11"
13. Yellow Perch / 2 / 1 lb 6oz
12. Brook Trout / 2 / 20"
14. White Catfish / 1 / 4 lbs
15. Bullhead / 1 / 2 lb 8oz
16. Redfin Pickerel / 1 / 14"
17. Flier / 1 / 8"
Total 102
Citation Freshwater Fish from other States
Brown Trout / 2 / 16 lbs (NY)
Walleye / 6 / 28 7/8" (Ohio)
Freshwater Drum / 3 / 24" (Ohio)

2001 NC Citation Count

Citation sized fish caught by Capt Marty or Top Water Clients and Guests
1. Blue Marlin 1
2. Bluefin Tuna 4
3. Cobia 4
4. Dolphin 1
5. Flounder 2
6. Grouper 1
7. Pompano 1
8. Red Drum 70
9. Red Snapper 2
10. Sailfish 2
11. Speckled Trout 7
12. Spot 1
13. Wahoo 5
Total 101
***I spent 45 days in South Padre Island, Texas from early October until Thanksgiving catching Mangrove Snapper (up to 3 lbs), King Mackerel (up to 19 lbs), Spanish Mackerel, Hardhead Catfish, Pompano, Speckled Trout (up to 3 lbs), Red Drum (up to 5 lbs), Ladyfish (up to 5 lbs), Palometa, Gulf Sea Mullet (up to 2 lbs), Little Tunny, Bluefish, Sand Sea Trout, and (finally) SNOOK (up to 9 lbs). Of course, I fished every day or night possible.***.