Sept 29- Last Hatteras Flounder Tango

Capt Marty's largest Flounder of 2014

Not bad for a rainy 60 minutes of Fishing

Got a nice one! 7 lb NC Citation Flounder..... Also got 2 other nice ones, including another Citation winner. Raining all night. Miserable night with a nice payoff....... Total Catch for the Night: 3 Southern Flounder at 2 lbs, 5 lbs, and 7 lb 4oz

Sept 28- Awesome Flounder Rally

These Flukes were 5 lb and 4 lb

Chewing

Getting ready for the Fillet Knife

For a short time it was like the "good ole days"...... Reminiscent of 2004.  After a slow start to fishing, avoiding the Barbarian Hordes of Pinfish while looking for Sheepsheads, and finding none..... After a boring hour, I noticed a small gaggle of  Finger Mullet up in the shallows. A rare sight nowadays..... In the years before the much discussed Dredge Carolina was tied up in the Ferry Basin, there would be school after school after school of Finger Mullets passing through. Shadowed by Flounders "beyond your wildest dreams"...... Anyway, for old times sakes, I threw my cast net and caught 15 fat Finger Mullets.... Good Thing. It paid off.... Anyway, I grew tired of looking for the Mythical Sight Castable Sheepshead.... Tired now and yawning.... I pondered laying down for an hour. No, I've got some live bait, once again I thought, "for old times sakes" I'm going to toss a Mullet out on the old "Flounder Berm"..... Twenty seconds later, it seemed like Andre the Giant thumped the back of my hand that was holding my rod. Okay, that's familiar! I paused 15 seconds and lifted my rod firmly...... The rod bowed and the fish surged off. A minute later, I netted a 4 lb Southern Flounder..... Thus began the best 30 minutes of my 2014 Fishing Season (Well, that's debatable) Nine Flounder on Nine Mullets on Nine Casts to the exact same spot. A 5 lb Founder, Three 4 lb Flounders, Three 2 lb Flounders, and Two 16" Flounders. As Gary Cooper netted my last Flounder, another crazy South Dock Phenomenon began! I have fished here 20-60 nights per year, every year since 2004..... That's literally hundreds of nights... Its always been a great place for very small snapper Blues. I've honestly never seen a Bluefish approach 12oz here..... As I celebrated my 9th Flounder and could nearly "bet my life" that #10 was minutes away..... But NO! Suddenly the water boiled. My Finger Mullet was chomped in two. I flicked it back out there, a bleeding half Mullet.... It was instantly crushed. The fish was incredibly fast and strong. It raced circles in the dark straight below my perch on the Deck of the MV Croatoan. Finally, my fish broke the surface. Spooled up with 80# PowerPro, I swung my quarry up and over the rail.... WHAT? A freaking 3 lb Bluefish. Peering over the side, I saw 12-15 of these Blue "Eating Machines" bolt under me and head for the lights and shallows. The water boiled again.... I never caught another Flounder. I tried a couple more Finger Mullets but they were chomped up. Finally my treble hook (the only treble hook in my truck) got bit off by a Chomper Bluefish..... Amazing night at South Dock! Total Catch for the Night: 7 Southern Flounder from 2 lb to 5 lb, 2 Summer Flounder at 16" each, 1 Bluefish at 3 lbs, 2 jumbo Pinfish, 1 baby Gag Grouper, and 2 Atlantic Needlefish

Sept 24, 25 and 27- South Dock Sight Casting to Sheepsheads at 3am

Flounders from Sept 24 and 25 up to 5 lb 8oz

A truly Sight Casted Sheepshead with a vicious Surface Strike.....At Night!

Tons of Baby Gag Groupers around this Fall. A great sign for the future

A 6 lb Southern Flounder from Sept 27!

More Dead Flounders!!!!

I never thought that I would see a Title like that... If I didn't generate it, I'd never believe it....... A few things to note first: First, the Outer Banks in general and Hatteras Inlet in particular has seen an EPIC PINFISH EXPLOSION this summer. This is my 12th season of spending Half my Time at Hatteras and I am seeing massive hoards of big ass Pinfish everywhere that I look.... Under the lights at South Dock is always like looking into a huge aquarium every night. This is an ABSOLUTE AMAZING SPOT. Less than a mile from Hatteras Inlet, plenty of deep water and plenty of sandy flats, and ENOUGH LIGHT to see from OUTER SPACE. Since 2004, I could've literally wall-papered my house with Sheepshead and Flounder Citations from this place..... Other years, we have caught Black Sea Bass by the 5 gallon bucket full, Squid by the hundreds, huge Gray Trout, huge Conger Eels, and enough Tautog to warrant fishing for them....... This year however, South Dock belongs to the PINFISH........ Next item of note: Every since the NC State DOT owned Dredge Carolina has been tied up at South Dock, the Flounder Fishing has been horrible. The location of the Dredge disrupts the natural flow that the massive schools of Finger Mullet and that is the reason the Flounder have, in the past, have been as thick as, shingles on a roof..... It ain't like that now..... Now the last 2 nights have caught 3 Flounder per night. A far cry from the 28 that I caught on September 7, 2004. 10 over 6 lbs and a big fish of 10 lb 6 oz..... Last night I got a NC Citation winning 5 lb Flounder and a 4 lb 12 oz Flounder.... Nice.... But what will stick in my mind, the last 2 nights, were the 2 hours that I spent sight casting live blue crabs to crazy pyscho Sheepsheads that are swimming around with 1000s of Pinfish. Whenever a baby Crab comes along, the Sheepshead accelerates and busts them on top. Its amazing to watch. After a minute though, the "Angler" in me wants to catch the damn thing.... So the past 2 nights I've spent time casting tiny crabs to marauding Sheepsheads. As it stands now, in a couple hours of effort, I've hooked 1 Sheepshead and caught 2 dozen horse Pinfish. The second biggest problem is actually catching the small crabs. Anyway, I am confident I'll get one tonight! And, on the night of Sept 27, I cast a small Blue Crab to a cruising Sheepshead. The Sheepshead changed directions slightly, raced ahead, and smashed the crab on the surface! A minute later, Keith netted him and my mission was accomplished! Sight casted Sheepshead at Night! Amazing! In the meantime, I have caught several more Flounders and baby Groupers. The Flounders are all keepers and I managed another 6 lb NC Citation Winner last night and a 4 lb 8oz Flounder. Life is Good.....  Total Catch for the Past 3 Night Sessions: 11 Southen Flounder up to 6 lbs, 2 Summer Flounders up to 3 lbs, 6 baby Gag Groupers, 1 Inshore Lizardfish, and 24 Pinfish

OPEN DATES

Wednesday Oct 1, Friday Oct 3, Sunday Oct 5, and Monday Oct 6

Expect VERY GOOD Fishing. Live Bait or Casting. Also, Bottom Fishing should be good both inside, nearshore, and offshore.

Give me a call (252-241-8350) and Let's Go Fishing

Sept 22- Two Greats Leaps by Fish..... Two Great Failures by Capt Marty

That Title is a little harsh..... In reality, I was witness today to two of The Sport of Fishing's most iconic sights.... Two leaps to freedom by two of the World's Greatest Gamefish. Now, unfortunately, both escaped..... Here's my day:  About 1130am, with my chores done, the "too much" NW wind subsiding, pretty damn hot and partly sunny......and almost low tide and I pretty much got a School of 1000 Red Drum "dialed in" at low tide.... I made the decision to splash the Top Water Boat and go for a quick ride. Tomorrow I go back to work and this week has been disappointing to say the least...... Anyway, Emma and I quickly found our Red Drum and caught 2 nice upper slot fish. I also caught a freak Speckled Trout that ate my 5" Jerk Shad right in the middle of a 100+ group of Drum.... Weird. By that time I'd heard of a pretty decent casting opportunity over to the east..... Realizing that by the time I get off work, September will be over, I made a decision to take Emma on a wild ride. She loves Bluefish anyway so she wasn't complaining.... Arriving to my "HOME AWAY FROM HOME" on Shark Island, I found some good, not great fishing. Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, and Albacore were availiable but it was definitely not a blitz..... I probably caught 10 each on Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish. Emma devoured 2 Bluefish. Kodiak Brown Bear style. Pinning the head and getting a tooth hold on a piece of skin, she tugs and tugs and eventually pulls the skin right over the tail.... Damn Emma. Then, if she's real hungry, she'll eat the carcass. She gives it a minute to see if I'll give her another one. Obviously, she prefers the skin..... Anyway, I put 8 Bluefish in the livewell. I put 10 Spanish Mackerel on ice. I figured I'd try to catch a King Mackerel. I've had good luck this year with minimum effort and this is exactly the kind of day that WEIRD STUFF HAPPENS.... Lets hope for "good weird"..... Before I left the shallows and the knots of redbait, I did manage to release 2 Albacore just because they were there and I was building a nice Species List! So, as the afternoon wore on, it got prettier and prettier.... I ran back to the west and I decided to stop because I was encountering schools of bait deep about a mile off Barden's Inlet. I set up a nice spread of 3 live Bluefish and pulled them west. About 10 quiet minutes later, I was dreaming of the Mung Hole and Largemouth Bass on popping bugs....  Then I noticed the short bait got very animated.... Jumping and flip flopping around. Here we go...... King Mackerel Time! Suddenly there was a splash. Too far back for the short bait and not quite back to the middle bait.... In the dirty (pretty damn dirty) green water, a long black shape came into sight.... As I stood there confused, Then I noticed where the line entered the water for the middle bait was dangerously close to where the mystery fish swam.... the black shape seemed to effortlessly keep pace with the boats forward speed.... In the next second, it all came together. In my mind, I figured out what I was seeing and the fish and line literally came together as well.... Right there, 30 feet off my stern, and 8+ foot Sailfish rose that last foot to the surface. His sickle tail broke the surface. he flicked his huge blue/purple sail half up and then retracted it, and then with a flick of his tail, he charged the short bait.... But, SON OF A BITCH if he didn't get involved the other line, the middle bait, a good 25 feet ahead of the swivel.... Damnation. The Sailfish felt the line and it wrapped him up somehow. He veered away from the bluefish he was getting ready to eat, veered away from the Top Water Boat, and veered away from Capt Marty..... Bad Luck crushed my first Sailfish opportunity in 2 years... Or did it? Suddenly the reel screamed and 25# line poured off...... A 20+ second peel out.. Then out there, 200 yards away, towards a distant Atlantic Beach, this huge Sailfish jumped and jumped again. Then he laid on the surface and tailwalked (on his side) straight back at me..... He covered a good 50 yards.... Hell, could a miracle happen and I actually land this thing...... Three minutes later, I was gaining line and allowed myself to dream..... And PING he was gone....

TO BE CONTINUED...... 1 Great Gamefish Lost (Iconic Leaper) LOST

Sorry.... I am at Hatteras now. Anyway, where was I?  Okay, after the Sailfish encounter, I continued to slow troll towards the west. I had a minute of excitement on a blind strike in the cool green waters.... Heavy but not fast.... This one turned out to be a 45-50 lb Hammerhead Shark... I love Sharks and I really love Hammerheads.. I figured this was a good spot for me to quit.... I packing it up and ran to the Boat Ramp. By The Way, MOST IMPORTANTLY, The Top Water Boat is running great. Looking forward to a Great Fall.... I need some Bookings. Where I was 8 years ago vs where I'm at now is incredible..... Is the economy THAT BAD or is my lack of advertising killing me????? Total Catch for the Trip: 10 Spanish Mackerel from 16oz to 24oz, 10 Bluefish from 24oz to 32oz, 2 Red Drum at 26" each,  2 Albacore at 7 lbs each, a 13" Speckled Trout and a 45 lb Hammerhead Shark

PART 2

Off to the Mung Hole with my 3 wt Fly Rod and a popping bug for a sunset session.... Wait a minute, I broke my TFO 3 weight, remember.... I am actually fishing with a Sears Brand, Ted Williams signature, split bamboo 4wt that my Momma bought at a Yard Sale for $1 20 years ago.... I HAVE NO BUSINESS using this relic. It might be worth something.... But intelligence hasn't been a Capt Marty personality trait here lately either..... Well, right or wrong, the old Teddy Baseball split bamboo uncurled a "Jalen Morton" original right up against the Bank at my "favorite Mung Hole"..... HOLY BAT TURD, BOY WONDER..... A freaking Largemouth Bass the likes of which I haven't seen since RL Vaugn's Farm Pond gave up a 28" Lunker in March of 1990..... Wouldn't you know that on "Big Mouth's" second jump, the tiny bug got thrown back at me! Oh well, iconic gamefish leap #2 was in the books..... I won't soon forget the RUSH, the SWIRL, the WEIGHT as he CAME TIGHT, nor the 2 JUMPS..... This Bass was so BIG and was so CLOSE that I could literally hear his gills rattle as he shook his massive head on the second jump.... I thought Lil Sid was save in this Pond... But, he better watch his back here. There is a TRUE LUNKER lurking in this place.... After that, I lost another big Bass and landed 2 small Largemouth Bass..... Well, it could've been a great day... Hey, you know what, I felt the incredible speed and watched the incredible aerobatics of a Jumbo Sailfish. I hooked and battled a HUGE LARGEMOUTH BASS on a 60+ YEAR OLD SPLIT BAMBOO FLY ROD. I lost both but it was still a great day! Total Catch for the Pond: 2 Largemouth Bass

I got some pics on my camera.... But NO SAILFISH and NO HUGE BASS sooooo, so what, who cares

GREAT PICTURE of TOP WATER CHARTERS

Good Top Water Friend JD Dallas informed today that I might need to check out the

Crystal Coast Visitor's Guide......

There is a nice picture of Capt Marty and The Top Water Boat in action.......

Capt Marty in pursuit of Large Game Fish off Beaufort Inlet

I'd agree. Great Picture. Thank you to whoever decided to use this photo!!!

Sept 19- Sightcasting to Red Drum

First of all September 19 is a date that is very very important to who I Am and the person I became..... Specifically, on the morning of September 19, 1988, Tony Englehardt and I was out on Tony's Stepfather's 17 ft Boston Whaler. We were on a "casting mission" hunting for Spanish Mackerel... We had worked a few miles west of Beaufort Inlet. Finding some fish in the clear, blue water southwest of AR-320, we had began working farther off the Beach and our stingsilvers were finding more Albacore than Spanish Mackerel.... That was fine by us, as we were looking for a fight as much or more than fish dinner..... These Albacore were small and fun, averaging 4-6 lbs..... I made "just another cast" in the direction of "just another school of breaking Albacore"... Hooked up immediately, but something was different this time. The fish ran out and down. It pretty much had its way against my light drag of my Shimano Speedmaster Spinning Reel and 10 lb test Ande line.... I couldn't gain any line back... After taking my cussing from a high strung Tony E, I finally went to the bow and we tracked this one down.... I quickly got straight up and down over this fish. I will NEVER, EVER FORGET looking over the side and down into that crystal clear water ..... There it was, 50 feet below.... A freaking Yellowfin Tuna. My first and probably 35 miles from where you would ever expect to see this species. In addition, we now knew what we had, so the tension was thick and the anticipation was high.... The tackle I was using was overmatched but I knew time and pressure would eventually land me my first Yellowfin Tuna. Five miles off the Beach and on a tiny #4 treble hook that was hung on a $2 stingsilver..... Round and Round the Tuna swam as I gained inches on every revolution.... Ten minutes later, his tail broke the water 8 feet off the starboard side. Pulling too hard for comfort, I managed to keep his head up as his tail propelled him straight at Tony. SHAZAM, Tony sunk the gaff and MY LIFE WAS FOREVER CHANGED. I WOULD NEVER STOP FISHING and I HAD THE CONFIDENCE TO LAND ANY FISH THAT I HOOKED FROM THIS DAY ON....... Yep, to this day, the challenge is getting a fish to bite a hook. If he bites, and I hook him, I WILL catch him unless I get impatient. Usually I Do Not get impatient ....... Anyway, that's why September 19 is a special day in my book. As is 1988. My favorite day. My favorite year..... Today, Emma and I cruised out to Rough Point right after low tide and our Red Drum school was right where we left them yesterday. On 4 casts, I caught 4 Red Drum. I kept a 24" Puppy Drum and released 3 that were larger.... Red Drum on the half shell is on the menu tomorrow. Football Saturday. Camping. Boiled Shrimp and Grilled Red Drum. The Good Life. Jennifer and me are headed to Cliffs of the Neuse State Park. Poor Jenn. I love you . Total Love for the Day: 4 Red Drum from 24" to 31"

Sept 18- Casting in the Wind

The action was too hectic for photos. All these fish were caught in 20 bloody minutes. This was all I got!

Too much NE wind! The forecast was NE at 10-15 kts. Right on cue it was blowing 20-25 NE by the time Chris and I cleared Lennoxville Point at 8am. We quickly caught a live well full of Menhaden and we were off.... Headed to the King Mackerel Grounds..... It was quickly obvious that we were wasting our time.... Way too much NE Wind, dirty water, and absolutely NO BAIT in the areas that we could safely fish. We tried Barden's Inlet, the Dead Tree Hole, and Beaufort Inlet. They all sucked. Not to beat a dead horse to another death.... We gave up quickly and ran in to the Shackleford Beach. Immediately we found pods of Red Drum and water boiling with Crevalle Jacks! Made for some great casting action... My personal highlight was when a 28-30 lb Crevalle Jack followed my gulp back to the boat . Dipping, rolling, and finally attacking my bait and DAMMIT the damn thing missed it. Right by the boat, in plain sight.... That Jack would've ate up 2 hours on the spinning rod. The Red Drum were upper slot. Chris caught 4, keeping a 27" Red Drum. I caught 3, keeping a 25". We each caught 2 Crevalle Jack. These guys were 4 lbs each. I "saw" a huge one..... The Shoals were too sporty to try.... Oh well, chicken salad out of chicken shit. Total Catch for the Day: 7 Red Drum up to 27" and 4 Crevalle Jack at 4 lbs each

Sept 11- Beautiful Day at Hatteras

9-11  Thirteen Years..... Really? That's incredible. A day no one will forget. It was a tuesday morning, our first day back at work..... Seven days later, I caught my NC Citation winning Spot from the Kitty Hawk Pier. 12" and One Pound......I won't forget that either! 

Too bad great weather absolutely DID NOT mean great fishing on the Beach this morning... Far from it. The casting at Hatteras Inlet this morning was absolutely terrible.... The tide was high but the current/tide was freaking ripping from left to right. Believe it or not, where Billy and I was standing, the water was probably moving at 7-8 knots. A long cast with metal and a fast retrieve and the last 100 feet of line would be in the suds directly perpendicular to your standing position and would be directly off your right shoulder. Honestly, there was no way in Hell anything other than a Salmon could swim here (on purpose) and the last time I checked..... Salmon ARE NOT on the Hatteras Long List of SPECIES...... Anyhow, a long walk to the east was an attempt to get away from the Inlet and associated current. Here Billy and I each popped out a Lizardfish on metal.... Sometimes we win "tiny battles" that please us. On most days, Lizardfish would be an unwelcomed guest..... Later, we went to the Frisco Pier and other Anglers had all the best spots tied up.... Up the Beach from the structure, there was the MOST MASSIVE school of Fish that I've seen all year..... Acres and acres of Finger Mullet in the surf. They truly stretched as far as I could see to the east and they were jumping from the surf break out to the end of the Pier.... Millions upon millions of migrating Mullets.... That's it boys! Fall is upon us and the Drum, Flounder, Trout, Blues, Spanish, Kings, and Sharks will soon crash the Beach in vast numbers. Fishing will be great! Not today though. It sucked.... I need a Beach Permit for my new truck. The Point at Buxton is where the Fishing has been consistently good..... Total Catch for the Day: 2 Inshore Lizardfish   

Sept 8- Dodging Rain and Chasing Fish

Big Bad Carson battles a 150 lb Blacktip Shark in a fight that ended with a Spinning Leap

A few minutes later, Carson defeated this stout 75 lb Blacktip Shark

Jeff and Angie had an inexperienced crew of young anglers. In hindsight, I should've took this crew somewhere inside for baby Croakers and Pinfish. Unfortunately, 99% of the time, Top Water Charters ain't exactly "take a kid fishing"...... So, after a lengthy rain delay, I ran us hard to the east, directly AT the darkest cloud I could find..... The Lightning Strokes were the only thing that made me hesitate..... "To The East", the Top Water Charters Rally Cry!   We made it to the Cape Lookout Shoals and quickly found exactly what I was looking for and fully expecting.... The MOTHERLODE of BLUEFISH in the skinny water, Hungry and full of Spunk.....  Then, sea sickness hit the crew hard...... I was left with young son Carson and mom Angie.... The rest were in Sick Bay.... Poor Carson. The kid went from Bluegill in a Pond experience to casting metal to 3 lb Bluefish. Quickly followed up by pitching half Bluefish to 100+ pound Blacktip Sharks on 50# braid/spinning tackle..... Followed up by a 75 lb Southern Stingray in heavy structure ..... The kid came in as a "Fishing Greenhorn" and left as a "Fishing College Graduate"...... I did let him bombard a few Pinfish on Fall Break ! Total Catch for the Day: 5 Bluefish up to 3 lbs, a 85 lb Blacktip Shark,  a 75 lb Southern Stingray, and 20 Pinfish

Sept 7- Bad Weather: One Bad King

Scott battles "The King"

Tuggwell readies "The Steel"

Thank God, the pressure is off!

Plenty of these guys around right now.... Acres

Casting on the Shoals.... Laid Back!

Damn that Foot Looks Painful!

Poor little Lookdown popped up in the Cast Net

Crazy morning.... Running under threatening skies and 15 kts of South Winds, on a day when it seemed we were the only boat on the Ocean.... We bypassed schools of Spanish Mackerel, schools of Bluefish, and schools of Albacore..... Going big and going for a King Mackerel.... We arrived at the Summerlin and found 3 ft seas, pretty green blue water, with a few slicks scattered about.... I quickly announced, "Perfect Livebaiting Conditions!"   Three minutes later, the wind blasted us at 30 kts, the seas jumped up to 6 feet, the temperature dropped 10 degrees, dark clouds and lightning covered is up and a cold wind driven rain pelted us ..... STUNNED, I made 2 circles around the Wreck..... After thinking doom and gloom privately for 5 minutes, I suddenly blurted out, "This is the Stupidest Thing I've Ever Done!"  Before I could say. "Get them up we are headed home" , one of our flat lines exploded and Tuggwell cried out, "King Mackerel Baby!" 20 tense minutes later, Tuggwell sunk the steel and an epic battle had ended..... I can not say enough about the job Scott did fighting this wild and crazy King Mackerel..... After that, the winds lightened and the skys lightened..... Fishing turned into a Shark-fest and we also pulled off a small Cobia... We saw a large Cobia that wouldn't bite. We gave up on live baiting and went casting... Action was fierce with Bluefish and Albacore chewing.... We searched hard for some Spanish Mackerel but they disappeared soon after the storms passed..... We found Bluefish in vast numbers and the guys whacked them good... Total Catch for the Day: 27 lb King Mackerel, 20 Bluefish up to 2 lbs, 2 Albacore at 5 lbs each, 2 Blacktip Sharks at 4 lbs each, and 1 Sharpnose Shark at 8 lbs

Sept 6- Casting Bonanza

A couple of days ago I had a guy that wanted to go "Wahoo Fishing". Great idea and the Wahoo have been chewing lately. My old pal Gerald caught 8 nearly identical 35 lb Wahoos on Friday... Today the weather was decent and I could've, should've gone Wahoo Fishing.... Make me some Money! The problem was, my boat just got out of the Shop! The Wahoo are out on the Break. That means 40-45 miles offshore minimum. I DID NOT think this was a GOOD IDEA on the first day out on the Water with an "iffy" boat... I could've took those guys out 25 miles and "robbed them" and might've caught a Wahoo, but that ain't September Wahoo Fishing and I ain't that kind of Captain... I tried and tried to tell them how great the live bait and casting has been and how much cheaper it would be for him and how much safer and smarter it was for me..... To no avail! Needless to say, I had no charter today. Put myself right out of a job .... So my lovely wife and I went out on a test run ... I wasn't thrilled with the Top Water Boat. Still has issues. The Cape Lookout Shoals were alive. The metal lures that I casted were quickly slapped. Lots of variety, I caught Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, Blue Runner, Crevalle Jack, Houndfish, Albacore, and the incredibly annoying Bullet Mackerel. We chased fish from the breakers out about a mile to the east. All in all, for a shakedown cruise, the fishing was incredible! The 5 lb Crevalle Jack on 10# spin was an absolute riot. Great Fish, Great Fight. Round and Round he went! Total Catch for the Day:  6 Spanish Mackerel up to 24 oz, 2 Blue Runner up to 1 lb, 5 Bluefish up to 2 lbs, 1 Houndfish at 48 ", 1 Albacore at 7 lbs, 1 Crevalle Jack at 5 lbs, and 1 Bullet Mackerel at 24 oz

Sept 5- Citation Spanish Mackerel Blitz

The King comes aboard

Capt Marty's second Favorite Fish

Ed's Citation Barracuda

Blue Runner from the Shoals

Once the Spanish started biting, photos were impossible

More NC Citations

Our only King Bite of the Day

Back to the Grinder today.... We quickly caught plenty of menhaden for bait and ran to the East....  First bait in the water at 725am. We immediately hooked a big Spanish Mackerel and pulled him off right by the boat.... Shaky start, but after that, it was One Big Spanish Mackerel after another up until 10am. The only time we didn't get a Spanish Mackerel, we got a King Mackerel instead. That was a little disappointing. Getting the one King Mackerel bite and boating a 25 lb King Mackerel.... It was hard to get too upset though.... From 730am until 1000am, we caught 11 Spanish Mackerel from 4 to 7 lbs each. We had 6 over 6 lbs that earned NC Saltwater Citations. After the King Mackerel and 2 Sharpnose Sharks, we ran farther east and fished 2 different Wrecks. One Wreck had a Dive Boat on it so we couldn't get too close. We got a 36 lb Barracuda here. At the next Wreck, we sucked it up. Lost 3 bites, Broke wire, broke line, and pulled hooks. Then we released a 17 lb Barracuda. We raised some huge Sharks and we saw many Barracudas. I assume we saw a Tiger Shark. It was swimming deep as hell and that was probably why we saw NO Amberjacks at this spot. Too many BIG SHARKS around.... After that, it was a struggle. We fished the 1700 Rock and the current was impossible..... We casted to Bullet Mackerel, them annoying bastards! Finally, Casting on the Shoals produced Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, and a Blue Runner. Oh yeah, we also caught and released 2 False Albacore.... We finished up in Beaufort Inlet looking for that one BIG BITE... We never got it.... Great Morning. Fair Afternoon..... Total Catch for the Day: 25 lb King Mackerel, 16 Spanish Mackerel including 11 over 4 lbs and 6 over 6 lbs, 2 Albacore 7 lbs each, 2 Barracuda at 36 lbs and 17 lbs, 1 Bluefish, 1 Blue Runner, and 2 Sharpnose Sharks

Sept 4- My Parents Anniversary

Holy Crap.... My momma and daddy have been married 54 years. September 4, 1960..... Damn

Tomorrow I start Fishing . I'm scared. The weather has been great for 12-14 straight days. How much longer can this hold out.....

And please, send me a 40 lb King Mackerel and every cast Spanish Mackerel... Tonight I smelled the. "Marsh".... Anyone that lives on the Coast knows what I'm talking about. Anyone that's ever smelled it , knows what I'm talking about..... It's a scent that signals Fall and signals great fishing is near .... Near and Here. It's time. Let's Go.

Sept 2- Surf Casting in Hatteras Inlet

Billy's Beach Spanish Mackerel

I am still at Hatteras because I am working 2 days of overtime.... Honestly, we need the money. Things are breaking around the house (and the boat) and life is very expensive nowadays.... Two days of overtime is about like fishing a full day charter, except there is NO EXPENSE, NO RISK, NO WORRIES, and NO FICKLE FISH that may or may not bite..... So I committed to it, I am half way through it, and I am ready to get home and get this Fishing Operation up and running again..... Looking at Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.... BUT, I NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHO IS FISHING WITH ME ON SATURDAY because there are others who'd love to fish....Anyway, after work today, Billy and I rode down to Hatteras Inlet and casted metal for 2 hours..... It was windy, the tide was ripping, and the water was fairly clear, not great but a semi-clear green..... Plenty of bait. Millions of Silversides. What kept us interested was the small pack of large Spanish Mackerel and Blue Runners that would explode right in front of us every 4-6 minutes. Only for a few seconds, then they'd be gone, disappeared into the raging current. Like I said, 4-6 minutes later, they'd do it again.... This went on for 2 hours..... The Spanish would lay out horizontally, like racing yachts. Streaking across the surface. Water and Silversides flying..... There they are and then they were gone. In less time then it took you to read that sentence. Gone. Gone for 4-6 minutes, then back again..... Talk about frustrating.... The Blue Runners were hilarious..... They didn't do their thang as often as the Mackerel, but they were even more spectacular.... Racing in towards the Beach, then suddenly turning skyward and hurling themselves upwards, out of the water.... Then they'd turn a flip, or a half flip, or even a flip and a half..... These were adult 2-4 lb Blue Runners.... Incredible. They had me salivating... The Spanish Mackerel, the one's busting, were 3-4 pounders. Nice. But, to me, Spanish Mackerel under 5 pounds are a Dime A Dozen.... These Blue Runners not a dime a dozen, they were special! They were incredible. A Real Trophy in Capt Marty's World.... I was bristling with anticipation and tingling with excitement...... "CUT TO THE CHASE"  my constituents are saying as they read this, "What the Hell did you Catch?"   Well, here is where the Story Sours..... In 2 Hours, I figure I made app 100 casts.... Not tosses either. I was "ripping" it as far as I possibly could. I was cranking it as fast as I could and still keep my stingsilver submerged..... And out of app 100 casts, I had one bump, I snagged one silverside. And I had 98 casts that were complete DUDS.... I sucked. It was my worst day of Fishing since December of 2004. Without a doubt... I will discuss Dec of '04 later..... Lets just say, in light of the cartwheeling Blue Runners and the frenzied Spanish Mackerel, that today was "my worst day of fishing" in a solid decade..... To make matters worse, Billy (I ain't fished in 15 years) caught 2 Bluefish and 2 Lizardfish.... More importantly, Billy caught his first Spanish Mackerel of his Fishing Career.... It was NOT one the big "show stoppers" that was performing in front of us.... In My Life, the First Spanish Mackerel was/is my Most Memorable and Life Changing Catches.... AUGUST 1974, I remember it like it was Yesterday... Oh well, back to today.... The Student-5 The Master-0...... Not Good........ Total Catch for the Day: 2 Bluefish, 1 Spanish Mackerel, 2 Lizardfish, and 1 Silverside