Oct 31- Great Albacore Fishing and Snagging Mullets

Its Halloween and the Weatherman played a bad trick on us..... Slight chance of rain? How about it rained on us continually from 830am until 130pm. The weather absolutely derailed our "King Mackerel" fishing.... Up towards the Shoals we found Albacore fishing "as good as it gets".... When the vast schools of "red bait" seeks your boat for cover and the Albacore Squadrons are bombarding them right under your feet! A 5 foot cast is too far.... We still wanted to go King fishing at that point though. Chris and I released 2 Albacore each. Then the rain set in.... We ran to the Cape Lookout Rock Jetty to ride out the rain. And that's where we sat for the rest of the day.... Speckled Trout fishing was okay. I caught them pretty good, but mostly they were a little too small. Bluefish were pesky. The big draw was the Jumping Mullets. They were more commercial gill netters up there than rod and reelers..... We decided to start snagging them. I am a snagger from way back... As a child I would tie long strings of treble hooks and snag anything and everything from Mullet to Menhaden to Spadefish to Sheepsheads to Bottlenosed Dolphins..... Anyway, Chris and I had a great time snagging Jumping Mullets up to 6 lbs. It really was the best thing we found on this miserable, rainy day..... Total Catch for the Day: 16 Speckled Trout up to 14", 10 Bluefish up to 14", 1 Summer Flounder at 14", 4 Albacore up to 12 lbs, and 8 Jumping Mullet up to 6 lbs

Oct 30- Red Drum Everywhere

Today was a lost cause. It was beautiful. It was warm. I am home. It is THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR TO FISH.... Mid to late October to mid November is the best inshore fishing of the year, period...... And, we will not get many more days this beautiful weather-wise.... And this morning my back was hurting so bad and was stiff that I simply could not do it.  I was wide awake at 4am. I was up at 7am. I could not get going until 12pm.... I finally launched my boat and rode out to Beaufort Inlet. I knew the Speckled Trout were chewing at Cape Lookout. I briefly considered gong up there by myself. I decided against it. I did decide to search Rough Point for Red Drum.... I didn't get there... I ran over a Giant School of Red Drum  in Beaufort Inlet. A monster school. I had 2 rods up top in the Tower and I quickly hooked 2 fish. I climbed down and released 2 Red Drum, both were in the 20" range. I quickly caught 3 more. All the same size. Then I lost that school. I headed east and didn't go a 1/4 mile before running into another school. Again I hooked 2 from the Tower. Two more Red Drum from 21" to 23". I caught another before I lost them. I considered keeping one, but damn, I just gave away 4 Flounders to a guy at the Boat Ramp. Good Karma. I decided that if I was going to keep a Red Drum, it needed to be big enough to feed two people. I was thinking Red Drum on the half shell, grilled with heavy blackening seasoning.... I looked briefly for a school of larger Drum. I didn't see any and I gave up quickly and headed home. Aching back and hoping for a big day on Halloween! Disn't take many pics, all the Drum looked the same. I tried to get some pics of the school, but I'd get too excited and start fishing... Need to teach Emma to take pics. She is my new "fishing partner". She is a beautiful Yellow Lab that came with Jennifer as a package deal when we got married....Total Catch for the Day: 8 Red Drum from 20" to 23"

A Little Fishing Philosophy

One of the Great Thrills of Fishing is that we are both Surprised by the Strike and we Expected it all along......

By the late Donald Millus from Conway, SC from his literary classic:

"FISHING THE SOUTHEAST COAST"

The Best Fishing Book I ever read....... And I read it probably 25 times..... Cover to Cover......

Fans of my Blog recognize this saying. I think its worth repeating on the day after I caught a Citation Flounder in a crazy spot and with my Trout Rod..... (I was surprized)  I had the foresight to carry my Landing Net with me though and I wouldn't have landed this Flounder without it..... (I expected it all along)  And it was a (Great Thrill). My Ferry Crew watched this unfold and I'd say they were actually impressed. As should be, Flounder and/or Speckled Trout are always Big Attention Getters. My Oiler and Assistant, Mr. Peco de Gallo, will be having fresh Flounder tonight courtesy of me.

Also, Thank You to Mr. Donald Millus. Sir, you helped me catch this Flounder!

Oct 22-28 Flounder Week 2013

I am back at Cape Hatteras and back to work..... Once again, I will keep this Post as a "running tally" of my fishing successes and failures.....

Oct 22- Damn I just had a 7 Flounder Rally in 10 minutes at Hatteras Village. Topped off by a 5 lb 2oz  NC Citation Flounder. All caught on a "trout rod" with 8#  mono and a white 4" Gulp Shrimp. I'm pitching it in 2 feet of water to lighted areas. Is this "my slump buster"? It feels good. Alot of fishing left in this night! It's GAME ON..... So, it rained and stayed windy later in the night.... I caught a couple more Flounders though. Interestingly, as I looked closely at my large Flounder, it turned out to be a Summer Flounder. This one is definitely my career largest and first career NC Citation Summer Flounder! Obviously, I have caught many many Southern Flounders over 5 lbs...... So, the total for the night finished up at 7 Summer Flounder up to 5 lb 2oz and 3 Southern Flounder up to 16". Great start to my week!

Oct 23- Today I had a great 30 minutes on the Beach up at Buxton. Fishing at the original Cape Hatteras Lighthouse location where 3 old, broken up Steel Groins are still in place. Up here they call them "the Jettys". Regardless of their name, they make a great fishing area. I haven't fished up there in a long time. I'm not sure why? Lazy.... So today I was tossing a white gulp 50 feet out in the Ocean. In 30 minutes, I had 4 bites. I missed two and hooked two. The two I hooked made it to the Beach and were absolutely beautifully colored Summer Flounders. Nice ones too. One was 21" the other was 20". Time to go to work now. I expect more Flounders!  Well, expectations were NOT met.... Fishing sucked. All I managed to catch was a Flat Needlefish. That is my second "weirdo" Needlefish of 2013.... Earlier I caught an Agujon. My career Needles include: Houndfish, Atlantic Needlefish, Agujon, and Flat Needlefish. It's a very cool family of fishes....

Oct 24- Another bad night of fishing. No bites around Hatteras. Over at Ocracoke, it was bad also. No Flounder action. I even went gigging. Nothing. Finally, out of boredom I dropped a bottom rig baited with shrimp among the Rocks.... Caught a gaggle of Pinfish and Sea Bass. Out of  nowhere I got a monster bite. It pulled drag as it bored downward. Then.... POP went the 10# mono! I think it was a big Oyster Toadfish, but..... I have a few doubts. Dammit, I wish I would've seen it. Finally, a couple weeks ago I bought a new "Roe Mullet Net"... Large Mesh, Heavy Weight 10 foot Cast Net. I've thrown it a few times. So last night I threw it and Be-Jesus.... What a Load.... at 3am I struggled to pull a load of adult Jumping Mullets over the side. Thud. A net loaded with Mullets. 22 Jumping Mullets up to 5 lbs. I threw alot back because I just don't need them.

Oct 25- Continuing with the Flounder theme.... So far this week, I've caught a few Flounder. I got a Flounder Citation. Today I baked a Jumbo Flounder with potatoes and onions. Finally late this afternoon, I just walked over to the Beach nearest to the State House and started casting a white gulp shrimp... My first cast bogged down on the retrieve, then my rod tip started bouncing as a Summer Flounder began to shake his head in an effort to dislodge my hook. Yessir, another Flounder! Another rally. All of these Flounders were borderline, 14" to 15" to 16", and I didn't keep any of them anyway. I was going to keep a 3+ pounder if I caught one. This was a very enjoyable fishing session. No one else was catching anything. I shook them up bad by walking up and catching 6 quick Flounders and a Spot. Also, the False Albacore were tearing it up just beyond the outer bar. If I could've hooked one of them..... INSTANT LEGEND

Oct 26- Really not alot of fishing....  Dropped a bottom rig over the Rocks and caught an Oyster Toadfish. Dropped it again and hooked a monster. Presumed a huge Toad. Regardless, I never saw it. It snapped my 10# mono in heavy structure. It hurt though. I hate losing fish.... Tried to play with the Flounders and coudn't find any...

Oct 27- Big difference from yesterday. When I first got to work, I dropped a gulp down in a foot of water and a little Flounder attacked. The bait was too big. But, he attacked anyway. Again and again and again. Over and over. Probably 30 times this Flounder attacked that gulp. I told anyone that would listen "Fish are going to bite tonight".....  And bite they did. Flounder after Flounder, They bit all night. I had a couple of licensed guys on the boat so no one get excited... When it was over I had 8 Southern Flounder, including 3 that were in the 4 lb class. I also had 2 Summer Flounder. My smallest Flounder was 15". He was bleeding pretty badly or I would've released him. I released 4 Flounder that were borderline. I didn't catch anything other than Flounder. No garbage. Great Night!

Oct 28- Another good night of Flounder fishing. Another NC Citation. This one was a 22" 5 lb Southern Flounder that attacked a 7" Mullet. I also caught 2 19" Flounders, a Summer and a Southern. I also got a pair of 15" Summer Flounders. I released 3 Flounders that were too small. Also released a some garbage fish and some Bluefish that were too small. Walked over to the Inlet at 3am and saw an astounding number of Red Drum right in the suds... Ran back to my truck (as much as my back would allow) Ran back to the Inlet and wouldn't you know, they were gone.....

Total Catch for the Week: 21 Summer Flounder up to 5 lbs 2oz, 16 Southern Flounder up to 5 lbs, 1 Spot, 6 Bluefish, 7 Pinfish, 3 Oyster Toadfish at 2 lbs, 1 Flat Needlefish, and 12 Black Sea Bass

Oct 21- Bad Time Fishing

Ryan and I were dying to go King Mackerel Fishing...... However, persistent NE wind caused us to redirect our efforts. In hindsight, we would've been better off staying off the water entirely..... We did catch a few Bluefish and Lizardfish out by a Stop Net off Atlantic Beach..... Hoping for a Speckled Trout and finding........ NONE...... After that we went on a quick Albacore Cruise and there was nothing quick about that. I didn't want to run far to the east so we dropped that plan.... The last thing left for us was to scour the Beach for Schools of Red Drum..... Here's where it really turns sour..... So, after a 4 mile search, we found about 300 slot sized Red Drum milling in less than 2 feet of water. Beyond the breakers, under the foam. About 6 of them swirled and gave away the school..... Ryan and I salivated as we moved in to "collect our limit".... First I hooked up, first cast! Ryan hooked up! Mine pulled off...... I cast again, hooked up! Ryan pulled his off...... I pulled mine off..... PANIC! I said 11 oclock and cast again..... Ryan sailed off course to 1 oclock. Behind the school. My cast found paydirt! Hooked up! As I tried to show Ryan where to cast, I pulled the hook again. WHAT? Ryan's cast went un-answered. I cast again. NOTHING.... They were gone. Four Hook-ups. Four Pull-offs. Now they were gone. We searched for an hour and never saw them again..... Thus ended a Terrible Fishing Day..... Total Catch for the Day: 5 Inshore Lizardfish and 4 Bluefish 

Oct 20- Fly Fishing Beaufort

Windy, dark, rainy morning. I very briefly went boating this morning. I had visions of Speckled Trout swimming through my dreams. The reality..... I caught 4 baby Flounder and got wet and cold. Then I cut it short and tied up on the Beaufort Waterfront and hit my Mommas for breakfast. Good ole Days revisited. After that, I was done boating and I grabbed my fly rod and went Bass Fishing. It wasn't great, but it was fun. Started off with a small rubber legged spider and I caught a pair of Bluegills. I was seeing lots of Largemouth Bass but they didn't respond to the little bug. So, I dug out a larger Bug and for a few minutes the Bass went nuts. I released 7 in 15 minutes and the bite died. And Emma went swimming to seal the deal. Total Catch for the Day: 3 Southern Flounder, 1 Summer Flounder, 7 Largemouth Bass, and 2 Bluegills

Oct 18- Giant Albacore and Bluefish Frenzy

Not my best day.... Some mistakes were made, we had some wire malfunctions, we lost some "big fish" to tangles and twists, we broke "big fish" on a Wreck, and finally, I tried to net a 8-9 lb Spanish Mackerel as opposed to gaff it and that ended in disaster with the hooks hung on the net and the Spanish getting out and getting gone in a flash.... I am sorry Brent, no body feels worse than me.... Then we had a throttle break down that honestly, had it occured an hour earlier, we would have been in big trouble.... But it didn't and its fixed now. Props to Stacy who I hired to mate for a day. He caught the bait, he made rigs, he set out our spread, and he fixed my boat. Thanks again Stacy..... The fishing was as "action packed" as you would want it..... Unfortunately, the majority of our bites came from oversized stud Albacores. I weighed a 20 lb Albacore on my BogaGrip and we had 2 other just that large. We had another that wasn't that heavy but was still 34" long.... Albacore Citation City...... We also missed a 25 lb King that "parted the wire" after skying on the bait and smoking the reel...... The wire broke...... When that happened, we were amazed..... Then it repeated itself over and over again...... We also lost Amberjacks and other Albacore, and mystery strikes to "wire failure"..... I've never seen it before. #4 Malin single strand breaking over and over. It was embarrassing, but when you're on the Ocean, you can't simply go get more...... Then came the "Spanish fiasco". Brent caught him on a stingsilver and light spin..... We had 2 big fish hooked up and pulling drag on the live bait rods, plus we were right over the Wreck..... I thought the net would be quicker and easier. Wrong and that was that. My fault, time to move on from that..... The day spiralled down hill after that..... Much later, we found a major Bluefish frenzy on the eastern edge of the Shoals. Everybody caught all they wanted.... I sent the men home with an apology and a bag of Triggerfish fillets. Once again, Stacy cleaned all those Triggers. I ruined the day. Stacy saved the day....... Total Catch for the Day: 5 Albacore from 16-20 lbs, 25 Bluefish from 2-3 lbs, 2 Sharpnose Sharks, 5 Pinfish, 1 Hogfish, 1 Tomtate, and 2 Black Sea Bass

Oct 17- Excellent Dolphins and Vermilion Snapper Fishing

George, Antonio, and I set sail this morning in "perfect conditions" and the plan was to try to catch Rainbow Runners at the Yancey Wreck, jig up some Amberjacks, and let George get in the water with his gun and shoot some really nice fish..... Fail. Fail. Fail..... But, we had one of the greatest days of the year! First, the Yancey was covered with cold green water and apparently the Rainbow Runners checked out. The Jacks weren't interested and George didn't like the idea of swimming in 145 ft of green murky water. I didn't blame him. So we switched gears and ran a mile farther south. The second place we stopped produced the prettiest Vermilion Snapper I have seen in 20 years..... We caught them with the few squid we had..... Out of Squid, out of Snapper.... We also caught lots of other interesting stuff including 12 Gray Triggerfish.. Hearing the radio chatter from just a mile away and it sounded great for Dolphin and good for Wahoo, we made the radical decision to go trolling..... Then we got struck. Right as George and Antonio were setting out lines 3 and 4 I saw 300 Dolphin racing in on us from out of a long slick..... Trolling was canned immediately. As George donned his wetsuit and got his gun ready, Antonio and I bailed Dolphins. Then just as George was ready to go in, up comes an ornery 9 ft Bignose Shark. As the big Shark watched us catch Dolphin after Dolphin, he became increasingly enraged..... Chasing our fish almost out of the water, snapping at air, and splashing water everywhere. It was looking dicey for swimming, to say the least. Suddenly a 6 lb Sharksucker raced ahead of the Dolphin and ate my bait! I quickly landed my new career best Sharksucker!  George and I figured this "overgrown Remora" had probably harassed this Shark for years! Mr Bignose would quickly devour him if given a chance.... George quickly rigged up a Shark Wire while I prepared the Sucker..... As predicted, the instant the Sharksucker hit the water, the Shark pounced and quickly ripped off 400 feet of line straight down. George and Antonio quickly brought him back up..... Before we released him, we made sure that we encouraged him to leave the area. With the coast clear, George slipped silently into the 480 foot deep water. Hello. 4 8 0   F E E T   He quickly speared 2 Dolphin and we ran for home. I might have left out a detail or two but my finger is cramping..... Great day on the water. Great Catch. Go see Antonio at Stillwater Bar and Grill on the Beaufort Waterfront.... Total Catch for the Day: 27 Dolphin from 2-5 lbs each, 15 Vermilion Snapper 3-5 lbs each, 12 Gray Triggerfish from 4 to 6 lbs each, 2 Amberjack up to 22 lbs, 1 Sand Tilefish 2 lbs, 2 Blacktip Sharks at 10 lbs each, 2 Sharksuckers at 5-6 lbs each, and a 150 lb Bignose Shark 

Oct 16- Albacore and Bluefish in the Wind and Rain

Lewis and his boys came fishing with me today and unfortunately, there was a little too much North Wind to go out and more than a couple of miles off the Beach. We tried to live bait King Mackerel off Shackleford Banks but it wasn't productive. The majority of the day was spent chasing Albacores and slinging metal lures. The boys were excellent casting and soon got the hang of it. They lost a few battles and won a few... Everyone released an Albacore. We also got into a crazy Bluefish frenzy up towards the Shoals. The boys were catching Bluefish by dipping their stingsilvers with one foot of line off their rodtips. Jiggle 2 seconds. Fish On!   Later in the afternoon we pulled livebaits and casted to breaking fish again. This time down by AR-315. We searched for Red Drum on the Beach unsucessfully.... All in all it was a little disappointing since it is mid-October, and good weather should provide great fishing. We probably missed it by a day! Total Catch for the Day: 75 Bluefish up to 1 lb, 8 Albacore up to 10 lbs, 2 Spanish Mackerel up to 1 lb, 1 Atlantic Bumper, and 1 Hogfish

Oct 8-14 Hatteras Nightshift Fishing Tally

Rain..... Blow..... Rain..... Blow

Dirty Water..... High Tides......

As soon as it clears, watch out , it's October and the fish are supposed to be chewing! Surprisingly, I hear the Spots are actually biting! Its been a while. Bring on the Spots! We'll see......

Oct 11- Got the Fishing Week going last night. The weather was much nicer. Light winds, some drizzle, cloudy and cool. it felt like an October Night! I got that "Speckled Trout feeling". As a matter of fact, if I was home, I think I'd head over to Radio Island (hint hint, wink wink, clears my throat) and try to catch some nice early season Speckled Trout....  Back to Hatteras.... I was really unprepared last night. Didn't have my Flounder gear for fishing. Didn't have my waders for gigging and my batteries were dead anyway. Well damn. I threw the cast nets and caught 1 large Mullet and about a dozen Finger Mullets. On the live mullets, I caught 2 undersized Flounder and 2 Lizardfish. Like I said, I was NOT READY.... By the way, 10 years ago, on Oct 11, 2003, I caught my career largest Flounder. In Taylor's Creek, right on the Beaufort Waterfront I pulled up a 10 lb 11oz Flounder. Doormat. A 10-11 on 10-11. Can't forget that one! Never fished again..... Total Catch for the Period: 2 Southern Flounder, 2 Inshore Lizardfish, and 1 Oyster Toadfish

Hatteras, Rain, and Next Week

I'm back at Hatteras. I guess we've had close to 5" of rain yesterday, last night, and this morning... Last night reminded me of a Hurricane. Not sure what the forecast is, but as soon as I start fishing, I'll start a running tally of my catches..... Now for next week. I've had a couple of cancellations so I'm pretty much wide open. If the weather is good, I'd expect the best fishing of the year. King Mackerel should be absolutely chewing. While King Mackerel fishing in October, there are many, many other fish that may be encountered.... These fish include Cobias, Wahoos, Blackfin Tunas, Yellowfin Tunas, Bluefin Tunas, Sailfish, Crevalle Jacks, American Red Snappers, as well as the usual Amberjacks, Barracudas, Albacores, Sharks, and huge Spanish Mackerels, In other words, I can not stress enough that if its pretty outside, we need to be King Mackerel Fishing..... Unfortunately, Albacore Fishing is peaking. Red Drum are peaking. Flounder are making their last stand. Grouper are chewing. Spots are running. There is SO MUCH to do. Fishing will be great. I have too many OPEN DATES. I hate to go fishing all by myself!

I'm digging deep into my past with these 2 photos but both of these Fish were caught while King Mackerel Fishing

#1 96 lb Wahoo in 2001
#2 240 lb Bluefin Tuna in 1996

Call Me at 252-0241-8350

Oct 17, Oct 18, Oct 19, Oct 20, and Oct 21

My Luckiest Move Ever

I need to get this out there..... Thursday morning, as I was driving to the Mountains, I lost the transmission out of the old Fishing Truck. I was in a J-A-M..... Three hours from Home. Five hours from where I was going.... My truck was loaded with gear. I was on Hwy 64 West and it was Rush Hour in the AM..... My truck would only go 35mph. When it tried to go to 3rd gear there was no 3RD GEAR to go to..... I exited the highway and I was lost. I had no idea where to go or what to do.... My mind raced. I went up a hill and around a curve and I came up on a place called:

                                POOLE's
                               Tire and Auto Repair

I pulled in there and those boys took me in like I was family. They found me a used transmission and they bolted it on for me. I was on my way in 4-5 hours. The general manager, Scott, was generous enough, kind enough, and trusting in me enough, to give me the keys to his freaking personal vehicle so I could drive into Town to kill time! This blew my mind. I simply CAN NOT say enough kind words about those guys at Poole's..... Please, if Any of my Readers live in the Knightdale area, I highly highly recommend that you guys start using Poole's for ALL of your AUTOMOTIVE NEEDS..... If any of you guys at Poole's read this, if any of y'all are ever in the Morehead City area and want to go Fishing, go for a Boat Ride, or if you ever need any help from me, please don't hesitate to call me.... If every Business provided their service like those guys did for me, the World would be a better place.... Sorry if this seems excessive, but you guys Can Not Appreciate the Dilemma I was In and how Scott and his crew bailed me out.... Saved my Mountain Fishing Trip and saved the old Fishing Truck.

Thanks again guys. Poole's Tire and Auto Repair is #1 in the Capt Marty's opinion!

Little Sid

I first encountered Little Sid back in April of 2012. Little Sid ate a popping bug in the Mung Hole one of the first days I got out and went fishing after being diagnosed with a few bulging disks, a couple of herniated disks, and one blown disk.... In other words, I was pretty much crippled. I was out of work, I was bored, and I was lonely too. I went out and bought a 38 gallon aquarium. When Little Sid ate my little fly I liked his looks and I liked his "spunk".... So, I dropped him into a 5 Gallon Bucket full of Pond Water and hauled back to my House alive. I released him and a little Pumpkinseed into my aquarium where they lived with 4 White Perch originally... Little Sid was just a little fellow back then. The size of a credit card. Then my inexperience almost killed him. I let my aquarium water become a toxic brew of ammonia and other bad stuff..... Little Sid nearly died. His pectoral fins were flooded with blood and both of them were stuck to the sides of his body. I fixed my water just in time to save them and decided to release the 4 Perch back into the wild. Their migratory instincts made them miserable in the aquarium..... I also released the Pumpkinseed because he was sort of a deadbeat. Actually, he was way more active at Night.... As for Little Sid, he recovered and a long string of would-be tank-mates began.... He killed them all! Oscars. Algae Eaters. More Pumpkinseeds. Misquitofish. Other Bluegills. Tadpoles. Monsterous Insect Larvae. Little Sid killed out of hatred. Little Sid killed out of territoriality. Little Sid killed for food. Today, Little Sid is a full grown adult Bluegill. He is a great fish. He changes colors like a Chameleon. He digs holes like a Prairie Dog. He chases, pursues, and devours every other fish that I drop in his tank. He also always hangs on the side of the Aquarium closest to where Jennifer is sitting..... Little Sid is a NC Freshwater Citation sized Bluegill......

Oct 7 More Beaufort Fly Rod Action

Fishing was pretty good until Emma escaped from the Truck and decided to go fishing too..... Bluegills and Largemouth Bass were feeding. Total Catch for the Day: 6 Largemouth Bass and 6 Bluegill 

Oct 6 Bass and Bream Slamming the Fly

I guess I got a little case of "Fly Rod Fever". Back home, my best bet was a small Pond near my house that I never used to fish... I gave up on it years ago. Too shallow. The Bass were stunted. The Bream were stunted.... A couple months ago, when the Top Water Boat was out of commission, I caught 3 really nice Bass out of it, including a 5 lb Largemouth Bass. That one blew my mind... The worst of the Mung Holes is now The Crown Jewel..... I also let it rest as I got busy in the Boat again.... Today, I went back to my "new favorite" to check it out. Armed with the 3wt Fly and some popping bugs.... I quickly got the Beaufort Freshwater Grand Slam. Plenty of Bluegills. I didn't get any of the larger Largemouth Bass. It looked like they were on the windward side and I couldn't get to them with the Fly Rod. There were some amazing explosions in the Shallows over there. Great action where I stood though. Plenty of fish "popping" the Bug. Lots of Bluegill bites. These Bluegills are consistently the largest ones in Beaufort that I've found. By next summer, I think they'll be big enough to eat. Hell, they are now..... It wasn't really too much of a let down after the Mountains...... It was fun! Total Catch for the Day: 20 Bluegill, 1 Pumpkinseed, and 3 Largemouth Bass

Oct 5 Fishing for Wild Trout

We spent the morning on the Tuckasegee River so I could try for a Brown Trout..... No luck. I caught a few Rainbow Trout. Jalen slipped off and caught a bunch of Rainbow Trout. The Brown Trout, I have learned, are hard to come by...... I saw one caught on a spinning rod. That's it..... After about 2 hours in the big River, we pulled out and drove up into the high country. To a place called Moses Creek. A place where you can't imagine, from looking at the size of the Creek, that there would be anything that lives there... You also wonder, How on Earth did these Trout ever get to exist in such a place? For a first timer, like me, it is an incredible experience..... Jalen was disappointed because he said the fishing was really tough today.... Like the fish weren't even there.... Well, I can say this.... There is NO POSSIBLE WAY for those poor little fish TO GO ANYWHERE!.... Their entire universe is a Pool that is no larger than the Welcome Mat under your front door..... So, to fish here casting is unnecessary and impossible. You reach forward with your rod tip and drop your tiny Dry Fly at the head of the pool and let it drift through the Pool, a process that takes 3 seconds. A little more if your fly finds an eddy. The first time I saw a tiny swirl under my Fly, I couldn't believe it. Lightning fast, but they have to be.... If a morsal of food enters their pool, they've got a second or two to catch it before its gone! So, first I saw a fish. Next I finally hooked a fish. Then I actually landed a fish. Then I got a second fish! First I caught a wild Brook Trout that I dropped off the fly. He fell back into the Creek before I could pull my camera out. Luckily Jalen later caught one so I was able to get a picture of a nearly identical fish. In the last pool at the end of my "bad back" capabilities, I also caught a wild Rainbow Trout. Born and bred, and will live it's entire life in this this tiny creek. Absolutely Amazing....... Here is where MY OPINION starts------This "Fishing" is an entirely different experience than any other Fishing I have ever experienced. What an amazing SPORT, HOBBY, and WAY OF LIFE. Some people go fishing. Other people "LIVE IT". I live, eat, and breathe fishing. Anybody that loves Fishing has go to go Creek fishing for Native Trout..... That Rainbow Trout pictured in my hand is 100 times more amazing than any Blue Marlin that was caught today in the Atlantic Ocean.... I can promise you that------This is where MY OPINION ends...... Total Catch for the Day: 20 Rainbow Trout 4" to 8" and 3 Brook Trout 3" to 6"

**Catching the 3" Brook Trout & 4" Rainbow Trout are just as spectacular as catching a 50 lb Fish***

Oct 4 Tuckasegee River Trout Frenzy

Good day on the Tuckasegee River. I caught a trophy Brook Trout that was big enough for a NC Freshwater Citation. The Rainbow Trout fishing was excellent. Unfortunately, I did not catch a Brown Trout...... I got to see one though.... I'll be damned if Jalen didn't catch one on his first cast.... Here's the way it went:  Jalen cast across the current, started stripping his fly back, turned towards me and said, "Do it just like this, Marty..... Hey, I got a bite...... oh hell, it's a Brown Trout!" And we never saw another Brown Trout the rest of the Day (or the next day)....... Other than that, Rainbow Trout fishing was great. Before lunch I caught 23 Rainbow Trout and 2 Brook Trout. My largest fish was my 17" Brook Trout. My largest Rainbow Trout was probably around 13"..... Jalen didn't catch his usual number because he was staying with me and helping. I was hampered by poor footing. Walking in current on slippery rocks with rubber boots is horrific. After lunch I bought a pair of felt-soled wading boots and that issue was fixed..... When we returned to the River Jalen went out on his own and bombarded them. I struggled for a long time. Just before dark we re-united and found a huge school of Trout with quite a few HUGE Trout. They looked to be well over 20"... Unfortunately, the big ones would not bite anything. It was annoying to cast to them over and over and watch them roll behind your fly, follow your fly, or just purely ignore your fly.... After we gave up on those, we both managed to catch some of the smaller Rainbow Trout on Dry Fies. I never imagined myself doing that..... There was a small hatch going on of some little white insect. Caddis Fly I guess..... Jalen dug 2 tiny flies out of his box and we rigged them up on 1 lb test leader.... We threw them out there and I'll be damned if those Trout didn't come up and slurp them down. Amazing...... At the end of the day, I figured that I caught 33 Rainbow Trout and 2 Brook Trout. Tacking on Jalen's afternoon numbers makes our catch really impressive. Jalen got a Grand Slam. I was a Brown Trout shy of one..... Total Catch for the Day: 80 Rainbow Trout up to 13", 6 Brook Trout up to 17", and 1 Brown Trout at 12"