Walleye vs Flounder

Walleye are the BEST FRIED FISH on PLANET EARTH

Flounder, while probably more versatile, do not taste as good as Walleye

The other day I cooked supper for my Brother and my Parents..... Each of us had a whole baby Flounder scored and fried..... That's damn good in this neck of the woods...... Whole Baby Flounder is SO DAMN GOOD that it's literally against the Law! Just kidding.... No I'm not..... Yes I am..... No.... Yes..... Hell I'm confused so I can't get in trouble, right?  Anyway, fried Flounder is the popular choice of the masses on the Atlantic Coast.... The challenger: The famous and rarely eaten by us "Coastal RedNecks", THE WALLEYE..... Probably the general consensus would pronounce the Walleye as the #1 Eating Freshwater Fish on Planet Earth..... So what was better?

Remember, the Flounder were right out of the water..... The Walleye were vacuum sealed in June..... Both were fried at the same time. In the same oil. In the same pan..... Actually the Flounder went first....

The WINNER:

Hands down, NO CONTEST

The Walleye are the Best.... Walleye are head and fricking shoulders better than any other fried fish that I have ever had.... NO CONTEST. PERIOD.......

Aug 28- Feeling Better and Back to Work

Why does this remind me of my LIFE here lately?

I am Feeling Better and I am Back at Hatteras, but I am working a horrible shift.... Go in at 945am and get off at 10am. That's a DRINKING SHIFT and I don't drink! My Computer is still infected with TECHNO LICE, but there's not a damn thing a dumbass fisherman can do about it....... I got a couple old fishing reports to post too, I'll see if I'm smart enough to get them up in chronological order..... Since last Friday, my boat has been on the shelf and I've had another episode of Back Pain. Y'all remember that 4 years ago I was crippled and looking at surgery and disability..... Well, it magically went away and I've done pretty much what I wanted..... I had one episode last year and I had one last week.... No real cause, just the pain crashing back into my life.... What sucks is, it's the exact same as 2010 ..... Because of that, I'm never sure if it's here to stay or a temporary thing ...... From Saturday through Wednesday, I've been crippled and I've tried to rest, but I've managed some good and great Fishing (mainly as a spectator).... Today, I feel better and I'm back to work at Hatteras..... Not sure what happened or why my back hurt..... It's fading now, thank God..... Now onto my boat....... I'm hoping for good news . A much trusted Mechanic has it and I hope to be up and running next week!

Aug 25- The "I've been Hacked" Update

I got a lot to tell! Unfortunately, I'm on my cell phone and due to my limited technical knowledge, this is a less than ideal situation for me. My Laptop, on the other hand, is so damn infected by Malware or Adware, whatever the hell you call it, that I can't hardly even post. It's very frustrating.... Whoever the damn Hacker is that does this type of work (Random Deal App), I'd love love love to take him out Tiger Shark Fishing. As you guys could probably guess, Mr Hack Bastard would be the bait.... On second thought, I'd much rather see 200 hungry Triggerfish strip the Hacker down to his skeleton..... Anyway, we caught a big King Mackerel Saturday under the cool haze..... Cool as Hell! Also, and unfortunately, it's time to go back to work! The Top Water Boat is still in Intensive Care and I'd like to really thank Captains Tyler Thomas and Capt Tugwell for allowing me the opportunity to keep plugging along. Next week when I get home hopefully the Top Water Boat will be up and running, but I should have access to Tuggy's boat, which I am debating a name for..... I'm considering Fish Cemetery, FlyN Fish, En Fuego, and others.....

And the winner is.............


Admiral Tuggy Taylor's Boat has been named:

FlyN Fish

For use on this website anyways.......I like it!

Aug 24- Taylor's Creek Flounder Flurry

Taylor's Creek caught Flounders

Well, I'm crippled..... The old back injury has reappeared..... But fishing has been great and I can't stop...... Let me take a different angle for a moment. Back in 1972, my Aunt Joyce dated and eventually married a man from Beaufort, Richard Chadwick..... Chad, as we called him, was a BADASS retired Highway Patrol Captain..... BADASS..... Thus, my family, who always stayed over at the Morehead Ocean Pier, started to visit Beaufort on a regular basis..... Then in 1976, My Dad bought a House over in Beaufort... An old, historical House built in 1871. It was a half block from Front Street and funny, he paid about $18,000 for it..... Anyway, Chad's sister Evelin lived in the probably Beaufort's most famous dwelling, the House built by Capt Sloo on Front Street, right on Taylor's Creek... In the Old Town Cemetary, Capt Sloo's daughter is buried in a Keg of Rum.... Dying far out to Sea, Capt Sloo wanted to preserve her for a proper burial..... So the story goes...... Now I didn't care about history, but for years (Decades) she had the only Dock on a long stretch of shoreline from Barbour's Machine Shop to the Turn Table at the west end of Front Street..... I learned pretty young that DOCK STRUCTURE PLUS LIGHTS EQUALS FLOUNDER..... Granted, as a 7 year old Garner Boy, I wasn't crushing them... I remember my cousin Danny catching a 5 lb Flounder off this Dock in the late 70's..... I fished off this Dock extensively..... My 1990 I was "On this Flounder Bite Big Time"....  I renmember not working one summer and fishing all night and selling my Flounders..... We also went to the Trawler Bouy everyday ib a 18 ft Boston Whaler and sold our King Mackerel..... I remember the guys at Gulfstream Seafood looking at my Flounders and saying "no net marks, no gig marks, Boy, where are you getting all these Flounders?" As the years went by, my skill on big fish improved.... My first NC Citation Flounder was a 6 lb 14 oz Doormat from this Dock.... My career largest Flounder came from this Dock, a 10 lb 11oz Monster..... Marc Rouse and I caught 70 Red Drum here on Election Day of 2004! I caught 6 Flounder over 6 lbs on 6 drops in about 16 minutes here on Halloween Day of 2006. I caught back to back Cobias here one day a few years ago. I caught a 2 lb 10oz Croaker here, my closest ever to the elusive Croaker Citation..... For 20 years, Tony Englehardt and I hooked things here and never saw them, never turned them, never stopped them..... Even on 130# mono on a 12/0 Penn Senator..... I caught Ladyfish here by the dozen but got strikes and jump offs by the thousand!

YOU GET THE POINT----- This Dock was one of the Most Important Places in My Life..... Well, last year, Hunter Chadwick whom was Itney's son, sold the house.... Thus ending my 42 year Love Affair with this Dock..... Oh My God, just like a good friend had died.... I can't put into words how this affected me. And will until the day I die.....

Anyway, on Sunday afternoon at high tide, I slipped down to the little beach at the foot of the Dock and caught some Flounder. I was surprized at the lack of Red Drum..... But, oh Lord, this was emotional..... I caught enough Flounder for my Mom and Dad and we gave Jennifer's Dad a bag of Fillets as well.... All these Southern Flounders were caught on White Gulp. Some were too small and some were 2 lbs.... They all got eaten.... WQe loved the old days at Capt Bill's.... That place sucked. Then and Now..... Except for Friday Nights in 1980, 1981, and 1982.... They had all you can eat whole fried baby Flounder.... Pretty much 12" to 14" Flounders headed and gutted, then scored and fried..... Delicious..... Total Catch for the Day: 8 Southern Flounder up to 2 lbs and 4 Inshore Lizardfish up to 1 lb

Aug 23- Oh My Aching Back Fishing Trip and a CITATION KING MACKEREL

Tuggwell is Good on Kings, Cobias, Red Drums, and Striped Bass.... He's The Man!

Nice Haul on a Day when I wasn't much help

WOE.... Nice and cool this morning.... Overcast/Hazy...... Light Winds and Not much Seas, a little Ground Swell....... I couldn't take it!  Once again, the Top Water Boat is on the Shelf.....  Capt Tuggwell, having recently recieved a Life Saving Award from the City of Greenville, needed a REEL ADVENTURE to celebrate.... I, on the other hand, needed to "con" T-WELL into pulling his Boat back down to Beaufort because there is good damn chance that I could be "Boatless" that first week September.... I can't stand to lose another $1000 due to breakdowns.... In addition to the cost of repairs..... Shoot man, I could be in a 2000 to 3000 dollar hole REEL QUICK...... So, I talked Tuggs into a Beaufort Inlet Adventure!  Well, we quickly caught our bait and ran out to the SW off Beaufort Inlet..... Pulling up at the second Yellow Ball to the right, we found some amazingly quick bites from a sea full of Jumbo Spanish Mackerel..... Where the hell have you guys been hiding? I seem to recall 8 quick strikes and 4 Spanish Mackerel expired in the War. Three of them were over 5 pounds and 2 were NC Citation winners.... After a 15 minute lull and just as we were pulling in our baits to make the jump offshore to the next Yellow Ball when it happened! A damn miracle..... The hazr burned off and despite it being close to lunchtime, the Sun shone reddish orange like daybreak! And as Tuggwell reeled in his last Pogy, a 39 lb King Mackerel had other ideas....30 feet from the boat, the majestic King split the Ocean's surface with the wire rig plainly attached to his face...... One end of the bait tumbled right 6 feet high and the rear end of the bait flipped off the left.... Tail still beating.... Out of 10,000 water droplets visible in front of the hazy sky, at least 20 of them were stained with blood...... The World was Silent and Time stopped for a Heartbeat.  As The King crashed  back into his watery domain, Our senses exploded with sights and sounds, shaky nerves and racing hearts...... The Drag on my Shimano Sppedmaster screamed and hundreds of yards of 20# mono melted off the spool..... As usual, we penciled him in as a 50 lb King..... As always! With a sad string of failures and let downs creeping into the back of my mind, I turned the boat as Tuggwell walked forward. Starnge not having to clearr lines, but this was the last bait in the water.... Perfect! This one headed straight offshore! Just like my 46 lb 8oz King did in October of 2000. Just like my 30 lb King did in August of 1988. Just like Gerald's 66 lb King did in Oct of 1997. Just like Linus's 40 lb King did last fall...... So I chased. ten minutes later the big Steel Hook on a Pole hit him in the shoulder and that was that...... Nice Tuggwell..... After that, the fishing was anti-climatic. Reads like a Field Guide.... A Barracuda, A Amberjack, A Grouper, A Shark..... Actually a few released fish too..... Total Catch for the Day: 39 lb 8oz King Mackerel, 4 Spanish Mackerel from 4 to 6 lbs 8oz, a 24 lb Great Barracuda, a 33 lb Amberjack, 4 Gag Groupers from 22" to 28", 5 Black Sea Bass, 1 Southern Flounder, 1 White Grunt, 3 Spottail Pinfish, 1 Sand Diver, 1 Chub Mackerel, 3 Sharpnose Sharks from 5-9 lbs, 1 Blacktip Shark, and 1 Blacknose Shark

Aug 22- Good Day of Fishing

Very Nice 22 foot Bay Rider was my Water Whip for the Day... Thanks Capt Tyler Thomas

Ready to SHOCK and AWE the Local King Mackerel Population

Joe A watched 200+ ysrds of 20# mono "melt" of his spool in seconds.... 

Birthday Joe collected a NC Citation False Albacore

Well, it was better than sitting this one out! With the Top Water Boat in Intensive Care, Capt Tyler gave me the keys to his nearly new 22 ft Bay Rider and Joe Alley and I took his friend "the other Joe" fishing for his birthday.... We started off by catching 15 dozen Menhaden for live bait and we quickly took off for the Mackerel Grounds..... As we approached King Mackerel Country, we ran up on a very very active school of frenzied Spanish Mackerel.... Casting was good. Too good. In fact, we were bit off twice when the sharp-eyed Mackerel hit the uni-knot where my shock leader was attached..... This ate up alot of valuable time.... Re-tying leaders and stingsilvers.... The frenzy ended quickly and we only had 2 Spanish Mackerel to show for our efforts... Made me wish we hadn't left the dock at 9am..... Those fish were probably ablaze at 6am and we only caught the last 10 minutes.... Anyway, we went King Mackerel fishing.... That was okay, except one thing was missing..... The King Mackerel! One time I really got fooled! We had a double strike...... Screamers.... Reel Dumpers....... One fish headed north, the other headed south. It was a dilemma..... I was willing to bet my ass that we had a double header of 30+ pound Kings hooked up..... I was glowing. 15 stressful minutes later, Joe A had color! Here we go, but something was wrong. This fish was bulldogging downward and in a tight circle. Unreal. I couldn't believe it when a 33" False Albacore popped up. DAMMIT....... So a couple minutes later Birthday Joe reeled up his 35" False Albacore. This one had 350 yds off the spool at one point.... In my mind, this was a 45+ pound King..... Not just No, but HELL NO...... Sitting dead in the water and lamenting my "bad luck" my anglers were very happy though.... Neither of them had experienced this kind of fight from this kind of fish...... The next 20 minutes was a "Shark Frenzy"..... 4 Sharpnose Sharks and 1 Blacktip Shark. Enough already. The guys were happy though, weird.... Then I ran east. Way east. All the way to Shark Island. Here we found the missing Bluefish. Plenty of them from 1-3 lbs each. Not quite every cast, but still it was great action on stingsilvers.. I saw 2 Crevalle Jacks crash my lure. Somehow they both missed. I saw the jumbo Blue Runners  once and we didn't catch one of them either.... The Shoals were alive with big Blacktips too. The western edge was teeming. We passed them up for some fish dinners though.... All in all it was a good day. Thanks Tyler. Thanks Joe and Joe... Total Catch for the Day: 2 False Albacore at 15 and 17 lbs, 25 Bluefish from 1-3 lbs, 2 Spanish Mackerel at 2 lbs, 4 Sharpnose Sharks from 6-8 lbs, and 1 Blacktip Shark 

Aug 21- WHY ME

Breaking down and getting towed in sucks...... Its even worse when all the hard work is done and the only thing left is catching the damn fish....... Son of a damn Beee Otch. The Baitwell was packed with turbo charged Menhaden and Paul and I was clearing the Inlet at 7am...... Slick, Blue Water teeming with Adult King Mackerel awaited us...... We were gonna be the first or second boat to drop a bait in the water this morning....... The Top Water Boat, while nursing injuries and showing years of hard use, was actually purring like a kitten this morning..... Then suddenly, she died. Dead. I mean she was  D E A D.... I nursed her back to life a couple of times. In retrospect, I used up the gas in my water separating filter..... There was a major restriction from the Tank to the Filter..... Not  a drop was getting through.... A great analogy was...... The Top Water Boat suffered a severe Stroke this morning. She is on Life Support.... Capt Marty stands to lose between $1000 and $2000 in income and potential repairs.... makes me shudder.... Now, for a little Good News...... Capt Tyler Thomas has been kind enough to lend me the use of his BADASS 22' Bay Rider "Super" Skiff..... My last Bay Rider experience ended with a Wahoo on an 18 foot Skiff..... I'm all set tomorrow to try this again... Look out King Mackerels.... Please let this happen and let the fish bite and please please please let me not harm Tyler's Boat...... I need ONE BITE.... Another 35 lb King Mackerel would be a thing of Beauty!

Aug 20- Citation King and Spanish Mackerels

Mike doing battle with a Smoker King

Cliche I know..... But y'all should've seen The One That Got Away!

Mike brought his step dad out for what the Captain promised to be a Great Day of Casting on what the Weatherman said was going to be a Beautiful Day on the Ocean...... And by some magical stroke of fate, There were NO FISH on the Cape Lookout Shoals and it was blowing 15 out of the Northeast and it was Rough as Hell Early...... Strike One, Strike Two...... Then with 2 strikes and no Balls in the Bottom of the First...... Mike hit it over the fence when he landed a 34 lb King Mackerel. Beautiful. Then we missed one...... Then we caught a big Spanish Mackerel and a Sharpnose Shark. Then came a major slowdown. Tuggwell and I was going to show them a trick with stingsilvers over a Wreck. Tuggy's drop produced a nice Bluefish while mine snagged a 100+ lb Sand Tiger. Not a pretty sight on the 10# spinning tackle. The hooks finally pulled and we left..... Scoured the Shoals and found nothing... I can not believe it... I'd stake my life on 10,000 Bluefish with scattered Mackerel and Jacks..... Nothing..... Finally, back at Beauforrt Inlet and we lost a King Mackerel that could make a grown man cry..... A BIG ONE.... A bonafide TOURNAMENT $$$$$ WINNER.....  Attention to details fail and this one's on me.... Could've been any of our career best King Mackerel, but honestly, Mike has plenty of meat. It would've been a feel good release though... Yeah right, that wasn't gonna happen.... That big King was headed to Morehead City! As it is, he's out there... With 2 trebles in his mouth.... Total Catch for the Day: 34 lb King Mackerel, 6 lb Spanish Mackerel, 2 lb Bluefish and a 6 lb Sharpnose Shark

Aug 17- Oddball Red Drum and Adriel's Freak Accident

Little Red Drum attacked a Spro Bucktail

I was targetting Flounder and I caught 2 little Surprizes

Adriel was out Boogie-Boarding

When he felt a thud and then a sharp pain

Expecting a Shark bite, instead he found a Needlefish imbedded in his foot.... OUCH

No big deal, I caught a couple of small Red Drum playing around with a Spro Bucktail... Amazingly, I had H

DAMMIT I LOST ALL MT TEXT..... NO TIME TO RE-TYPE

Lets just say Adriel got attacked by a Needlefish

Total Catch for the Night: 2 Red Drum

Aug 17- The End of Good Fishing

Hatteras Side baby Flounder

Gulf Flounder, the rarest of our "big three" Flounders

Gigging Flounders and Wasting Time

Horseshoe Crab on the Run

4 lb Oyster Toadfish. NC has the biggest Oyster Toads on the East Coast

The end of good fishing? I should've said the end of mediocre fishing. It was "interestingly good".... I've seen such incredible fishing at this location. People don't believe me when I first tell the stories. September of 2004. Shew. 28 Flounder in one night. Many between 6lbs and 7lbs. Fish up to 10 lb 6oz. After time, they don't believe me and if I continue to tell the stories, these boys eventually turn on me... I'm a liar! Oh well, who cares. At the end of this week, we will tally up 40 to 50 Flounders. It will be the MOST FLOUNDERS some will ever see caught on rod and reel.... To me, it was just another "fun letdown". I've lived with this for 10+ years.......  So last night, I went straight gigging. It was horrible. I didn't see any Flounders under perfect conditions. Meanwhile, back at the Dock, I'm not sure what the boys caught. Nobody told me anything...... Just funny looks, like a joke had been played on me, that's all I got.... I checked my watch and it just about time for the Flounder bite to start.... Thursday Night-130am.... Friday Night-230am.... Here it was coming up on 330am..... Even though the gigging sucked, I figured I'd catch 5-6 Flounders right quick on jigheads and gulp, just like the past 2 nights...... Unfortunately, my Tub of Gulp was GONE..... XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXX XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.............  I talked about a PATTERN last Blog Entry, remember?  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  Thus the Flounder, set to chew at 330am had the place to themselves.......... THE END OF GOOD FISHING..... Period. Earlier I caught a few creatures.... Total Catch for the Night: 1 Gulf Flounder, 1 Summer Flounder, and 2 Oyster Toadfish up to 4 lbs

Aug 15- Part 2 Buxton Beach Fishing

Billy walks the middle Jetty.... There are 3 of these things on the Buxton Beach

Beautiful Colors on an Ocean Flounder

Small Flounder, but spunky

Billy with a nice keeper at 19". Four great Fillets on one of that size!

Capt Marty with his Nemesis....... The Florida Pompano

Billy and I gave up sleep this morning and made the trek out to the Jettys that mark the old location of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. To make a long story into a short story, I guess you'd say we were targeting Pompano and Sea Mullet.. It quickly became apparent that this spot on this day wasn't going to work for these 2 species.... We were minutes away from bagging this entire idea and heading home and going to bed..... Even the Sand Fleas were diificult to find, but I found enough to get us by..... Lack of bites made sure that we had "more than enough"..... Anyway, on a whim, I tied on a leadhead and a gulp..... Guess what, I caught a Flounder. Billy copied me.... Billy caught a Flounder... and there you go. In the next 90 minutes, I caught 4 Summer Flounder and Billy caught 3 Summer Flounder. These Flounders ranged from 12" to 19". We had 2 keepers. I also caught....... DRUM ROLL PLEASE........... A Pompano! I caught a Florida Pompano. A damn Pompano.... Shew. A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.... Crazy... Total Catch for the Day: 7 Summer Flounder from 12" to 19" and 1 Pompano

Aug 15- Billy Gets It!

I explained to Billy how popular this Fish is over on Harker's Island

This is Billy's second Flounder in 20 years. Billy is a great Fishing student

I was "posing" my Flounders while Billy was "catching" his Flounders

Billy's enthusiasm is contagious.. He and I are hitting the Beach tomorrow morning!

A day later, here's our Flounder.... Thanks to Gary Cooper. Delicious.... 

Tonight was a beautiful and the waters were very calm... I'd say the fishing and the gigging wasn't the greatest! I did see a 10 lb Flounder that was a runner and he got away from me.... Tomorrow night I WILL GO LOOKING FOR HIM AGAIN! Anyway, at one time there was three of us out playing. Keith was walking with his gig well north of the Ferry Dock..... Nothing!  Billy was casting a gulp in the mouth of the Ferry Basin.... Nothing!  Meanwhile I really rolled the dice, trying to catch a Sandbar Shark or a Blacktip Shark way down the Beach east of the Ferry property, practically in the Ocean..... Nothing !  When we all finally made it back to the Ferry it was 330am and we had nothing in the box.... It was put up time or shut up time ! Eat or go hungry...  I walked over to the east ramp. The scene of yesterday morning's massacre. As soon as I got over there, I quickly, I scored a 16" Summer Founder. . In the blink of an eye, I caught 2 more Summer Flounders.... Billy was a little frustrated, but excited. I walked away and headed back to the Ferry and my cooler. I made up my mind that I wasn't going back over there. I knew, if the night before was any indication, then Billy was getting ready to get some action.... When it happens once, it's a rally..... If it happens twice, its a pattern...... As I watched Billy, it was quickly apparent that #1 We had discovered a pattern (as Billy hooked up a 17" Summer Flounder) #2 Billy had experienced his "Flounder Revelation" (as Billy hooked Flounders on his next two drops)  Suddenly, Billy had 3 keeper Summer Flounder to match my 3 keeper Summer Flounder. A slow night had quickly turned into a pretty damn good night of Fishing..... Total Catch for the Night: 6 Summer Flounder from 15" to 18", 6 Oyster Toadfish from 2-4 lbs, 1 med large Hogfish, 7 Pinfish, 1 baby Gag Grouper, and 1 Inshore Lizardfish

Aug 14- Early AM Flounder Rally

Late afternoon scenery was a hint that a good night was ahead

The First Keeper of the Night came from the Hatteras Side

This Flounder came off a tiny, shallow, well lit spot that produces A FLOUNDER 150 Nights per Year

Spending the morning cleaning FISH is always a GOOD FEELING

I hate to add....... Billy sits this one out. Poor guy had no drive last night. He wasn't quivering with anticipation, he wasn't a wide-eyed wonder.... He wasn't chomping at the bit to see what the warm green waters held last night..... There you go! That explains it, maybe Billy is a normal guy just starting out fishing.... Nowhere near MY OBSESSION.... Because, me on the other hand, I couldn't wait... Fishing and Gigging were on my mind all day and all night. We had to make an extra trip due to heavy late night traffic..... So I wasn't free until 230am. First I walked an hour with my gig and light. Nothing. The Ferry Basin was too dirty and the Inlet was too windy. At 330am I was putting a 3" white gulp shrimp on and it was looking bleak.... But THIS IS FISHING and anything can happen.... And this is MARTY MOORE and all I've done for 45 years in FISH.... Well, I cut out my first 4 years, but by the age of 5, I was a TERROR on the Morehead Ocean Pier.... Anyway, casting around the Center Ramp (as usual) was tough due to the wind and huge drifts of white sea foam.... Now, educated people like me (haha) know that Sea Foam actually has its origin from proteins excreted by various plants, animals, fish, and other "life"..... I'm really not educated enough to further explain this.... You Google It, I'm tired! Anyway, so I took it as a Good Sign.... After catching and releasing 4 Flounder that were too small, I actually caught a 16" Southern Flounder. Looking up now, I moved over to the eastern most ramp. In the past 12 years, this ramp has received far less fishing effort from me than the other two ramps.... However, last night it looked different. The way the wind and tide were running, it looked like a great ambush spot.... Then the Foam and Grass was making it hard to fish anywhere else. I walked over to the east ramp and on my first cast I caught a strong, fast, and heavy 19" Southern Flounder. My net was 2 ramps over. No chance of getting it. I took a chance and swung the Flounder up, and out, and over the rail. Awesome! Next cast, wham! a 15" Summer Flounder. Next cast, wham!  Oh no, this was a 3 lb Oyster Toad. Then I made an adjustment. I cast up on a poorly lit, but lit, shoal just beyond the deep water associated with the Ferry Ramp.... Here I found the nest! My next 12 casts resulted in caught Flounders, pulled hooks, or missed bites... Finally, right at 430am, the bite died. Like someone threw a switch. Had they ALL bit my gulp and there were no more Flounder there? Did they stop biting because of some underwater occurrence we'll never understand? Answers we will never have.... Once again, regardless of the small average size, Fishermen want one thing: To catch Fish. Last night, I caught the hell out of some Flounder. I wish Billy would've been there... Total Catch for the Night: 9 Southern Flounder up to 19", 7 Summer Flounder up to 15" and a 3 lb Oyster Toadfish

Aug 13- Early AM Ferry Dock Adventures with BILLY

Billy's First Flounder in 20 Years

I had just explained to Billy that we sometimes caught baby Gags around Docks

A Keeper Croaker! A Fish of my Youth is now an Oddity

I managed to pull out a 4 lb Southern Flounder

I also threw the Cast Net once and Bombarded the Jumping Mullets!

Billy Harris quit fishing at age 12. Now at age -- he has decided to take it up again..... I want Billy to catch fish and I want him to be able to take his 2 little kids out on the Beach and help them catch fish.... Last night, I wanted Billy to score big. He is my pupil and he has made a large investment in fishing gear. Each of his kids have a brand new rod and reel. I do not, repeat DO NOT want Billy to get frustrated and quit fishing too soon...... Last night was going to be tough. When we tied the Ferry up, the tide was falling hard... Billy was playing around and had caught a couple of Pinfish.... I picked up his rod that had a lead head tied on it..... I said "Billy, do you want to catch a Flounder?"  Of course, everyone knows Billy's answer.... With no grubs, no gulp, and no live bait we had a dilemma....Billy had caught a Pinfish though. So I took the dead Pinfish and filleted it and cut me a strip. I carefully threaded it on the lead head like it was a grub. I explained exactly what I was doing, where and why. I explained that last shift I had caught 8-10 little Flounders with this same technique at this exact same spot.... Now with Billy's undivided attention and with dread and doubt caused by the hard falling tide, I pitched the leadhead and strip combination out over a well lighted, shallow, sandy spot that is between 2 old steel "backing plates". There is about a 10 foot section of water between the 2 vertical walls of old pock-marked rusty steel. A great ambush spot on the incoming tide..... God knows I needed a real live Flounder to "back me up" so this little Fishing Lesson would mean something to Billy..... Sure enough, at nearly the end of my retrieve, something grabbed my bait.... "Look Billy, I think I got a Flounder......always give him a few seconds to eat your bait"....... Time stopped as Billy stared at me like I was a 3 headed monster..... "Here we go man, lets see" and I firmly raised my rod..... "Like you are spanking a baby's ass, Billy" is how I described my hookset.... The rod bowed and the tip quaked, perfect signs for an experienced Flounder Fisherman. "Yessir Billy that's a Flounder" I said as a little 12" Summer Flounder broke the surface.... "NO WAY" Billy exclaimed, believing but not believing. Seeing but not sure.... Anyway, a minute later I showed Billy the 5 ocelli that makes a Summer Flounder a Summer Flounder and explained what a Southern Flounder and a Gulf Flounder looks like.... As I gathered my light and gig and prepared to walk away for an hour, I watched Billy..... He carefully threaded a fresh strip on that jighead.... He pitched his bait 20 feet away to the edge of that steel plate.... He slowly "hopped" his bait back towards the other steel plate.... Suddenly he stopped. I moved a little closer to get a better view. Billy firmly lifted his rod and I heard him squawk like a Night Heron. Seconds later he swung a Flounder over the rail. The joy on his face was real. The sense of accomplishment, while meaningless in the Grand Scheme of Things, was PRICELESS IN THE MOMENT..... Billy proclaimed that it was the First Flounder that he'd caught in 20 years. Amazing.  And, don't forget, Flounder is what's for Supper! Total Catch for the Night: 4 Summer Flounders from 11" to 13", 3 Southern Flounders up to 3 lbs, 2 baby Gag Grouper, 1 nice Atlantic Croaker, 6 baby Bluefish, 13 Black Sea Bass, 2 Oyster Toadfish, and 1 Atlantic Stingray

Back to Hatteras ***Updated 8/12***

Pulling in Silver Lake

Capt Doug Martin and Capt Rick Scarborough are sightcasting to a school of Red Drum

Tommorrow Night I start another shift.... As usual, look for Flounders, Sheepsheads, Pompano, and Sea Mullets! Look for them..... In reality, expect a few Flounders and a pile of Jumping Mullets! I will be armed with Rods and Reels, Castnets, and Gigs and Lights..... Look Out Fish, here comes Capt Marty!

Right now I am on the Cedar Island Ferry headed to Ocracoke.... I must say the weather is gorgeous and Pamlico Sound is flat as a pancake... I am SO DAMN TIRED OF THIS CRAP WORKING OUT LIKE THIS I WANT TO PUKE... I just spent the past 5 days in 10-25 kts of east wind with a daily (WRONG) forecast of Rain and T-Storms..... I spent 2 days fighting horrible conditions and produced good catches and plenty of smiles and laughs and good times. I spent the next 2 days trying to convince my anglers that the Fishing was going to be fantastic despite the forecast .... Left sitting at home when I should've been out fishing and earning $900..... Now, here it is time to go back to work, and the weather is GREAT. It makes me sick and pushes me a little closer to the edge. The Edge being where Capt Marty says "to hell with it" and moves to the Mountains to pursue Brown Trout and Smallmouth Bass...... I hope all y'all enjoy great weather and great fishing today and beyond ... To all the weather forecasters out there, hope you get a nail in your tire and you break a tooth. Why do we need you? After all these years and advances in technology and forecasting results on the coast are still in the Stone Age. Pitiful. Look west, weatherman. That's what's headed our way. That summation is as good as their's most of the time



When I get home next week, I am OPEN for CHARTER on Sat Aug 23rd, Sun Aug 24th, and Mon Aug 25th

Night Fishing is now really a great option..... Giant Red Drum in Pamlico Sound/Neuse River OR incredible variety fishing around the Morehead City State Port Docks

Call or Text me on: 252-241-8350

Email me at: captmarty1@gmail.com

Aug 11- FANTASTIC BLUEGILL and BASS FLY FISHING including 2 lb BLUEGILLS

This little Pumpkinseed nearly had me fooled!

The first Largemouth Bass of the day was the Smallest

Changed to the Fly Rod and the REEL FUN Began

Caught 8 of these in One Spot, a Great Bass Rally

Then one bite forever changed the way I think about Beaufort's Freshwater Fishery

The Largest Bluegill of My Fishing Career

Another Giant Beaufort Bluegill

And make it Three Huge Beaufort Bluegills and I had to go!

Man, I couldn't be any happier if this Fishing Report's Title was: 7 Blue Marlins inshore on spinning tackle????? To me, this one, the real one, is nearly as absurd....... How about 3 Bluegill from 12" to 13" and up to 2 lbs on the 3wt Fly Rod and a Dry Fly (tiny Grasshopper imitation) just outside the Beaufort City Limits!  Three Giant Bluegills plus, 12 Largemouth Bass all in less than 30 minutes of Fly Fishing.... It was an INCREDIBLE DAY of FRESHWATER FLY FISHING...... I will not add the usual "by Beaufort, NC standards"..... Hell, it would've been a great day anywhere in North Carolina/ USA/ On Earth! All of this really in less than 30 minutes???? YES.... And yes, I found a new Pond and I am very, very happy! And YES, that makes 2 new Ponds in the past 2 days..... I even have permission to move some of these "Super Bluegills" over to the Mung Hole to try to jump start the genetics over there.....   Earlier in the afternoon I also fished Bud Dan Reservoir. Always a letdown because the size and beauty of that place.... However, I guess it's just too close to North River and is too vulnerable to flooding and salt water immersion....  Whatever the reason, the Fishing is always poor and today was no exception. In 45 minutes today, I caught one baby Pumpkinseed, which caused a lot of initial happiness because I thought it was a baby Redear Sunfish, affectionately called a Shellcracker across the southeast USA.. I was excited because Shellcrackers are the largest member of the Sunfish Family growing to over 5 lbs in select locations! It was not a Shellcracker though, just a Pumpkinseed which resulted in another Beaufort Freshwater Grand Slam for Capt Marty..... Total Catch for the Day: 12 Largemouth Bass including 10 from 2-3 lbs, 3 Bluegills from 1.75 lbs to 2 lbs, and 1 Pumpkinseed