Nov 21- When you think things can't get any worse

They do...... I will explain later today. By the way, fishing and the weather has generally been great.

Nov 5 and Nov 6- Took a Couple Days off from Fishing

Made the walk down to Radio Island with Emma on thursday. Nothing to see, too pretty. The water looked tropical, certainly it was a far cry from the dingy brown "trout filled waters" after the Hurricane. It seems to be, with the Trout anyway, we have reached a lull..... At least until the week of the Nov Full Moon.  I'd guess that itll blow back up then.

Nov 2- Spotted Sea Trout aka Speckled Trout En Fuego

Continuing to bite with reckless abandon down on the Southeast Corner of Radio Island. I made the hike down there today during a break from running errands with and for my daddy...... More importantly, I also got up early this morning and made the trip to Havelock to meet up with Jennifer. My Wife and The Love Of My Life, whom is No Longer In-Love with me. Life is always chunking knuckle curveballs high and inside to me and I strike out more than ole Mark McGuire did. As for Jennifer, she looked great and I hope she is happy. History has a way of repeating itself so I worry......But she clearly doesnt want or need me in her life. To the contrary, she surely acts as if I am a stranger, an annoyance.....even an escapee from a Leper Colony. Its not getting any better, only more and more distant.....BUT...... Most Importantly and The Purpose of ALL THIS:

She did bring Emma and pass her off to me! So, most importantly, I got Emma back. Thank God, I LOVE THAT DOG.  I will keep her for 7 or so days, maybe more. We shall see what works.....

Finally, back to the Fishing, back to Radio Island, and back to the Purpose of this BLOG. I did make the hike and I bombarded the Spotted Seatrout, the actual name for the more popularly called Speckled Trout. Today, it was an easy 19 cast limit and the size ran from 17" to 19". All fish were captured on red lead head/green curly tail grub. THIS IS THE GREATEST SPOTTED SEA TROUT LURE/COMBO OF ALL TIME.  Tommorrow I will make my first attempt at Smoking Fish. Emma will be my test taster, nevermind, she eats the skin off raw trout. Like a Kodak Brown Bearon the Yukon River....... Love Dad. Love Mom. Love Ellen. Love BJ. Love Emma.........Total Catch for the Day: 4 Speckled Trout 17" to 19"

Nov 2- News Flash

Pics coming on this one, but HOLY SHIT WHAT A WAHOO!!!!! A 202 lb Wahoo landed down off Lake Worth, Fl.

Got Emma back after a 2 week sabbatical.

Apparently, both my ex-wifes hate me. Not sure I ever did anything but be nice to either of them.

Finally, hiked down to Radio Island last night. Fished 50 casts. 10pm until 11pm. No bites. My Life Sucks.

Wahoo and Emma pics coming

Nov 1- Speckled Trout On Fire

One Fang

2 Fangs

Great Limit of 2+ pound Speckled Trout

Had a window of opportunity, walked out to Radio Island, 25 minutes later I had 4 Speckled Trout on my stringer and released 3 more. And, of course, you should've seen the one that got away! I highly recommend anyone wanting to catch some Speckled Trout to get down here. Fishing is the Best Ive seen in 9 years. So good in fact, I HAVE NOT EVEN LAUNCHED MY BOAT. Speckled Trout are crushing it, on foot......on boats......wherever! Total Catch for the Day: 7 Speckled Trout from 14" to 19"

Oct 31- Happy Halloween & Fish Killed Me

Forget Halloween, but I was haunted by hundreds upon hundreds of Striped Bass in a feeding frenzy from sundown until 5am. Non stop busting bait on the surface. The winds on the Southern Pamlico Sound were strong and NE. It blew bait up against the Rocks and then pushed them all through my circle of light. A perfect recipe for a Fishing Massacre....... I had my 5wt Fly Rod and a dozen flies that were fair mimics of the silversides the Stripers were pulverizing....... So, 2500 casts later, I pulled off two fish and landed 1 Striped Bass.
What the Hell just happened? I do not have an explanation. I had 11hours and I could not figure out to make it work! Total Catch for the Night: 1 Striped Bass at 12"

Oct 30- Striped Bass Again

No sad stories.... No big Fish either... Caught several Striped Bass on fly and only lost a couple. Most fish were caught by slow titching a damn Fly that is a famous Atlantic Salmon Fly called a Silver Doctor. My Fly collection is getting used up in all this heavy structure! Total Catch for the Night: 8 Striped Bass from 10" to 14'

Oct 28- The Wolfpack of Fishing

No, I aint talking about Club Championships in Collegiate Bass Fishing! I am talking about me, hooking 7 Striped Bass on Fly and losing every damn one of them. Couldn't finish a game. Lost every battle. Is Coach Dave Doeren my "Fly Fishing Coach" all the sudden? Then THIS happened......

After moving to a different dock, this one has a narrow window between a Rock Jetty and a huge Tripod that holds one side of a Ferry Ramp. 40 feet out is the edge of the lights that hold the fish. So, Im casting parallel to a Rock Wall to my left and plenty of huge structures to my right. Now, all summer and fall I have hooked and landed 12" to 20" Striped and White Bass in this narrow avenue. No problem....... Tonight, I was 0 for 7 on Striped Bass and walked over to the Dock for a quick try before conceding defeat..... My first cast landed 35 feet out and I let it sink for 6 seconds. Strip strip strip Ka-Boom. A bite. Suddenly the fly line was ripped from my hands. This was different! Luckily, he ran straight offshore and missed all the pilings. Quickly this fish got into my backing. That is a first for me since last November's NY Chinnok Salmon! Suddenly this big fish did a 180 degree turn and raced back towards the spot it was hooked. I furiously reeled to regain control. All the sudden the quiet 3am darkness and silence was shattered by a huge Striped Bass leaping out of the water and it landed in about 6" of water on top of the Rocks. As I came tight again, I couldnt believe what I was seeing thrashing white water on top of the Rocks. A 40" to 45" Striped Bass. Im guessing 25 to 35 pounds. It was hard to decifer in total darkness and app 10 feet away. In the next 10 seconds, he flopped and fought his way back over the edge into deep water. Still stunned, I had just started to process and plan to land this fish. The Seawall and Dock was a good 5-6 feet high, so it was probably gonna be impossible, especially on the 5wt Fly Rod. In the end, it didnt matter. When the big Striped Bass made it back to deep water, he left my fly line wrapped around a boulder. As I worked different angles to free my line, for the first 30 seconds, the fish was thrashing on the surface 2 different times. I will never forget his massive tail waving out of the water, slinging phospherous lit white water. Then the leader popped and eventually I even had to break the fly line to free it. End of Story. End of the Nights Fishing (no more leader material) SUCKS, but I wouldn't trade that experience for nothing! Total Catch for the Night: Nothing Zilch 0 for 8

Oct 27- Striped Bass on the Fly at Night

Once again, at my secret Southern Pamlico Sound location, I noticed lots of activity under a shoreside light. One toss of a blue/white/mylar fly and....... BOOM! Fish On! In the brief flurry that followed, I landed 3 Striped Bass and missed about 5 strikes. It all ended when 2 Otters wandered into the area. My largest Striper was 20". I only photoed the first one which was quite smaller. Always fun on the Fly Rod. It doesnt look like I will make it to the Mountains this fall, so any Fly action I can find is a plus. Total Catch for the Night: 3 Striped Bass up to 20"

Oct 23- Late Night Trout

A decent Trout caught on a Mirrorlure

Let this One go and he slowly swam away

Little Trout attack Mirrorlures too

Made the midnight hike again! This time the fishing wasn't nearly as productive. Smaller Trout hit the baits better. I released nearly 40 undersized Speckled Trout. Only 2 keepers were captured. Not worth it! Total Catch for the Night: 42 Speckled Trout up to 18"

Oct 23- Continuing Trout Story

Not a huge fan of eating Speckled Trout......

then I tried smothering Trout filets with grated cheese and......HELLO!!!!

Capt Tuggy is in town with Lauren, his beautiful wife. They are celebrating their 1st Anniversary. I guess that means, one year ago today, I was up at Lake Ontario catching 13 and 16 pound Brown Trouts and Chinook Salmon. My first hint of knee problems too....... Anyway, the three of us walked out to Radio Island this morning. Lauren was a tad too short, so that to reach the "Trout Water" she would've had to go in over her waders..... Tuggwell and I each landed 2 Speckled Trout. One of mine was the big fish at 21 1/2 inches and just under 4 lbs. Tuggy and I have a Fishing Mission tentatively planned for 12 midnight....... As for the stealing ass low life punk that stole the cooler out of my Truck last night,,,,,, Hey Faggot, if you need that Cooler that bad, I hope you enjoy it. And when BAD THINGS start happening to you as a result of your sin, I hope you can handle it. Total Catch for the Day: 4 Speckled Trout up to 3 lb 8oz

Oct 22- TROUT OF A LIFETIME

Catchy title  there, Captain Marty! Wonder where this is headed? I must say, it sounds good...... But, unfortunately, everyone whose "sarcasm meter" is "pinging" is correct. This Trout of a Lifetime ain't about size. That's only real concern. Bragging.... That ain't me. Who listens to a crippled, washed up Captain any more? Emma? Hell, Jennifer has dog-napped her to New Bern.....  No and even though the Trout I caught were beauties, perhaps the #1 Stringer that I ever hauled off Radio Island. Solid 3 pound fish. Four of them and many releases...... But, But, But....... They WILL COST MY DUMB ASS and THEY WILL COST ME DEARLY.... See, while I was down the Beach Fishing, 3 punks that I briefly encountered in the Parking Lot in all likelihood STOLE THE YETI COOLER out of the back of my Truck...... See, I was fishing from 12 midnight until 130am. I had the WHOLE DAMN PLACE to myself......  In the meantime, down the Beach, as the thieves were pillaging my Truck, I was GIVING THOSE DAMN TROUT THE BUSINESS!!! Roughing them up. Keeping the 20+" fish that weigh over 3 lbs. Released many and all those Fish were 18" and 19". Ready for this to get worse? As if that $259 Yeti Cooler wasn't bad enough, somehow, saltwater penetrated my "LIFEPROOF" Phone Case and entered my Samsung Galaxy 4 and...,.,.,.,.,..,appearantly, the Damn Phone has shorted out as well..... so, Capt Marty gets the poor little Trout. As the, petty, punkass, pill addicted faggots steal my cooler. Finally, corporate America gets ti perform one more colonostomy on me as I struggle to buy and set up ANOTHER NEW CELL PHONE.......and all this shit keeps happening to me. You know, physically, I FEEL GOOD. You guys will have to be patient with me again. I have Lost All My contacts again..... "Trout of a LIfetime" according to my Title...... Well I figured, $260 (Yeti) plus another $300 for a (new Phone) and I am looking at a nearly a $600 STRINGER tonight..... Brutal.........OH shit on it, its 3am   Total Catch for the Night- 24 Speckled Trout up to 21"




t

Oct 21- Captain Marty visits the NC STATE FAIR

Well today I said to myself.... (No one listens anyway)

I have FISHED SO MUCH since 1986, I haven't been to the State Fair. Hardly any College Football and Basketball games..... Hell, I haven't been anywhere and done anything...... Except Fish and Fish and Fish....... So, anyway, this morning, I said to hell with it, I'm going to the State Fair. Period.

Headed home now. Mission Accomplished. Al's French Fries, Hill's Corn on the Cobb, a Footlong Hot Dog from the Cary Stop......

Hope the Fish had a good day

Oct 20- All Good Things Must Come To An End

Due to my incredible politeness and correctness, ha ha, I attempted to take a friend fishing at Radio Island. "Great Fishing awaits I promised him"....... Then from 230pm until 345pm I watched him go through a procession of searching for rods and reels, a cooler, bottom rigs..... Locked himself out.....Had to shit....... One damn thing after another. I could've made 2 trips and caught 4 limits before he finally annouced, "I'm ready"..... So instead of walking out there at 245 like I did 5 of the past 6 days, (and caught limits of Speckled Trout), this time I scurried out there after 4 o'clock. Walking out there, I passed plenty of guys walking in with their limits and all the guys still out there were all just standing around and no one was catching anything. So, I finally made it out there at dead low tide. Got disgusted, made a dozen casts, caught nothing, and went home. My fault. Lone Wolf Fishing Operation. And my Pal will have to find his own way out there next time.. ..  Total Catch for the Day: Nothing

Oct 18- Another Big Day of Speckled Trout Fishing

Today I was down there at the worst possible time to be Speckled Trout Fishing. Dead Low Tide. Around 4pm. There was 40 or so people on the Beach. Lots weren't fishing. Standing around like "the bite was over".........Hmmmmm, I thought, okay, all good things must come to an end....... Then my first 3 casts were crushed by big fat aggressive Speckled Trout. Damn, there is No End to them. I must say, I did struggle today. After the first three quick ones, I lost my red back Mirrorlure in the Rocks. Then I tried a leadhead and soft plastic. I quickly caught a 17"-18" Trout. Instead of a quick exit, I decided to release this one. Then, in a classic return to "washed up Capt Marty", I lost 5 leadheads and baits in the Rocks in the next 10 minutes! I mean, I made a damn Fool out of myself. Twice I waded in, tied on a bait,  waded back out, and First Cast was into the Rocks. Geezzz, I buy expensive lead heads because I believe they make a difference. I damn sure didn't miss a single Rock today...... Eventually, I caught a couple on soft plastic before tying on another Mirrorlure and whacking them good again. Today, I gave several away, released quite a few, and actually caught one that was too small. GREAT FISHING CONTINUES. Also, I have met so many great people on that Beach the past 4 days. Its so cool when everybody is catching fish! Brings out the best in people. Total Catch for the Day: 14 Speckled Trout from 13" to 19"

Oct 17- Speckled Trout On Fire

Here is THE ONLY problem with Speckled Trout Catching at Radio Island. The Air is too hot for waders and the water is too cold to get your nuts wet. And to reach the fish, you gotta wet the satchel. So....... I wear waders.  The hike down there aint too bad. The hike back with an extra 8 to 11 lbs of Trout on a stringer is BRUTAL. I also lost my chartreuse and gold Mirorlure today in the Rocks. Put on a Red Back TT series and caught SpTs on 4 straight casts. Once again, I caught 8 Speckled Trout. I dragged four more home. Baked one in the oven tonight. Delicious. Todays fish were once again between 18" and 21". Everybody willing to walk and get a little wet were catching them. I was down there for 45 minutes. GREAT FISHING.   Total Catch for the Day: 8 Speckled Trout up to 21"

Oct 16- Speckled Trout Biting Mirrorlures

I made the hike again. I spent an hour throwing a chartreuse and gold Mirrorlure. My personal favorite. It got my four Texas Snook, up to 9 lbs, out of the South Padre Island, Tx surf back in Nov 2001. That color combo also caught me a 10 fish limit of Speckled Trout, including 4 Citations with a big fish of 5 lb 6oz out of the Hatteras Island surf in 2006. Ahhhh, when you feel "washed up" you like to reminisce. Anyway, today it caught me 8 Speckled Trout in 60 minutes. I brought four home from 18" to 20". I released a bigger one and a smaller one and gave 2 fish away. Great Fishing. I love catching them on Mirrorlures. Total Catch for the Day: 8 Speckled Trout up to 21"

Oct 15- Speckled Trout Chew

Okay, I been busy. But there has been a very unusual Speckled Trout Event taking place since  Hurricane Matthew. Radio Island has been a very consistent producer of Speckled Trout for the past 5 to 6 years. The only problem has been that they were mostly 12" to 13" illegal to possess fish. This year, starting last tuesday, that all changed! Limits of Speckled Trout in the 18" to 22" are being captured by ALL. A couple guys released the info on Facebook, and by the time I was able to make it out there on Sat morning, there were 100+ people out there. EVERY ONE was catching them! Soft bait, Mirrorlures, all sorts of stuff...    Lots of Trout caught...  I caught mine and GOT OUT OF THERE. Total Catch for the Day: 5 Speckled Trout from 18" to 20" and 1 Lizardfish

Oct 4- Hurricane Matthew and its Not Looking Good for the US East Coast

Just what we needed...... An October Monster. There once was a famous movie that said "Avoid the Grand Banks in October"......Well, in 2016, looks like we need to avoid Shackleford Banks too....  We still got a few days...  GO AWAY MATTHEW. TURN EAST PLEASE.

Oct 2- King Mackerel Fishing

Korey and Chris joined me for another day of live bait fishing. Chris caught a net full of Menhaden, and away we went. A few hours later, we had our bites, but we didnt take full advantage of them..... As it was, counting a couple of undersized Kings, we tallied 6 total King Mackerel and one jumbo Spanish Mackerel. We have once again failed to catch us the Trophy King Mackerel we have been searching for. Today, we had a couple in the teens and a couple around 10 lbs. Kinda disappointing. We really WANT a 50 pounder. Hell, we'd settle for a 40, or a damn 30 pounder......... Todays best catches were Korey's 7 lb Spanish Mackerel and the 10 lb King that Capt Marty caught on a stingsilver and spinning rod.....Total Catch for the Day: 6 King Mackerel up to 14 lbs and 1 7 lb Spanish Mackerel

Sept 29- Not Quite Epic, King Mackerel Chewing

Chris and I went on a killing mission...... Just what I needed.Total Catch for the Day: 10 King Mackerel up to 14 lbs, 3 Albacore up to 4 lbs, and 1 Bullet Mackerel at 1 lb

Sept 19- Twenty Eight Years Ago Today

28 years ago today, Tony Englehardt and I were in his 17 ft Boston Whaler fishing. It was a beautiful day. We found ourselves down to the SW between the AR's. We were chasing small 3-5 lb Albacores and casting stingsilvers at them..Tony and I had each released a couple Albacore........

Tony raced up to the next school and I fired a cast. Routine. Just like all the others. Only this one was tougher. Tony was anxious to continue the chase to the next school. I cant budge him, turn towards him and track him down. Tony did and we were soon straight up and down over my fish. Now, I cant lift him, hes boring down hard, I replies as my rod deeply bowed and tip pulsed to the unseen fish's tail beat..... What on Earth is this one so different for I wondered? With crystal clear water, no wind, and bright sunlight, conditions were perfect. I peered over the side,  and way way down deep, 40 feet perhaps, laid a 50 lb Yellowfin Tuna. Holy shit Tony, I got a Tuna! As the shock wore off, now the tension increased. Ten worrisome minutes later, he was laying on deck. My first Yellowfin Tuna ever. 50 pounds. Caught on a stingsilver on 10# test. Small spinning rod. 28 years ago today.

Sept 14- Great Casting and Vertical Jigging

I have just returned from Memorial Hospital in Greenville and ECU. I was there with my Dad who recieved excellent care. Id like to thank everyone we came into contact with, everyone there was nice, helpful, and professional. Eastern North Carolina has a great resource there in Greenville. That being said, unless its to go to The Bonefish Grill, I hope we don't go back anytime soon..... Because my Daddy's surgery recovery spilled over into my Work Week, I had to take off, and with nothing to do this morning except check my Dad's incision, I jumped at Ryan's offer to go help him catch a hundred pounds of Albacore. So at 645 am, off we went!  And what a beautiful day it was. Partly cloudy with increasing clouds, light North winds, cool temperatures. Great weather, FOR ANYTHING. Especially running the Ocean armed with spinning rods and stingsilvers. And it really was "one of those days". Schools of breaking gamefish nearly everywhere we looked. Albacore, Spanish Mackerel, and Bluefish were most numerous. By dropping out stingsilvers to the bottom near an Inshore Wreck also gave us a shot at all sorts of other fish. And we found good stuff here, including King Mackerel, Amberjacks, and Gag Grouper. It was funny that of the dozen or so Boats that fished near the Wreck today, all the other boats were really clubbing small Black Sea Bass and not really catching anything else. Yet our Boat and one other Boat that was crushing Big Spanish Mackerel on peanut Shad, caught all sorts of other varieties but we never saw a Black Sea Bass on our hooks! I did manage a 14 lb King Mackerel and Ryan caught a stud 6 lb Spanish Mackerel. . In the end, we didnt manage to capture our 100 lbs of Albacore, but we did end up with a nice catch.... Total Catch for the Day: 9 Albacore from 4 to 8 lbs each, 4 King Mackerel from 3 to 14 lbs, 15 Spanish Mackerel from 10" to 6 lbs, 15 Bluefish from 1 to 3 lbs, 3 Amberjack, 1 Crevalle Jack, 3 Gag Grouper, and 1 monster Pinfish

Aug 30 to Sept 5-Striped Bass on Fly

Well, in 7 the  night period...... I think I actually tried it 5 nights. Really made an effort on 2 nights.     And I landed 18 Striped Bass. No Hybrids. No White Bass. Straight Striped Bass. Being no expert, I marveled at their beauty,  wondered their age (I guess 2 to 3 tr old) , and I am constantly amazed at their chosen niche and strategy in LIVING. Smarter than the Pacific Salmon, whose lifestyle is similar.  Our Bass dont have to pay the Ultimate Cost as the Salmon do, but thanks to our hooks and nets, many do....... The ones I caught didn't. Holding a beautiful, frisky fish, that just happens to be GREAT EATING.... But, to me, killing this fish, at 12 inches, aside from being totally illegal by the way, but why or how could anyone eat it. Left alone, it will grow to 40, 50, even 60 pounds. It will create millions of its kind. It will thrill dozens who encounter it. Eventually some fisherman will outsmart him and land a legal trophy that is still great eating. Hopefully, this will occur one night during the November Full Moon. Around Hatteras Inlet. About 2024. Eel Migration. My 12" Striped Bass will become someone's FISH of a LIFETIME. Total Catch for the Period: 18 Striped Bass from 10" to 15", 1 Pinfish , and  1 Menhaden

Aug 26- Great Late Summer Casting

Jeremy and I t went out to the Cape Lookout Shoals to see what was out there chewing today........NO EXCUSE for being this Slack. But, I have been working. I've been trying to help my Mom and Dad, as they both have had their goes with Cancer as well as other ailments 80+ year olds must endure. I've also fought Air Condition Units and Tires. Yes, Capt Marty's battles are being fought on multiple fronts. I'm feeling like the "good Hitler" surrounded on all sides. In the past, I took out my frustrations on fish. With old age ( and new aches) nowadays I even feel sorry for the fish.....

Back to Jeremy and my day.....Jeremy truthfully  is one of the Worlds Worst Fisherman. He truly shines with the Ladies, but the Fish have him foiled. I remember one stretch where I hooked Bluefish on 9 straight casts. The louder I chanted, the quieter Jeremy grew. Then I realized he wasn't hooking up at all. By that point, my attempts at "coaching" were met by eye rolls and sadistic mumbles..... Well, by the early afternoon we called it a day.  We had a nice catch of Blues and Mackerel. We had seen many Sharks including one that easily went 12 to 13 feet long. It was near the bottom in 15-18 feet of water. He occupied an area that was teeming with hundreds of 6 foot Blacktip Sharks. All Blacktips were swimming south or north, wheras "Mr. Big" was swimming west. Perpendicular to all other sharks. (When can I use those terms in this industry.....6.02 X 10 to the 23rd.......Total Catch for the Day: 60 Bluefish from 1 to 3 lbs, 5 Spanish Mackerel 2 to 3 lbs, 1 Atlantic Needlefish, 2 Blue Runners, and 2 Crevalle Jacks

Aug 24- GREAT FALL FISHING COMING SOON

Okay folks, the temperatures are getting cooler, the days are getting shorter, and Fish are feeding with reckless abandon.  Sure signs that FALL is getting closer.... Also, my knees are doing much better and Life's many stresses seem to be leveling out. In other words, ole Capt Marty is actually thinking about FISHING again.

Anyone interested in FISHING, call me or text me at:

252-241-8350

Or email me at:

captmarty1@gmail.com
wmoore6@ec.rr.com

Aug 22- Striped Bass on Fly at Night

Striped Bass on a Fly at Night..... Sounds Cool

Absolute feeding frenzy under the lights last night. I honestly hadn't seen the resident Cedar Island school of Striped Bass in 6+ weeks or so. Tonight at midnight, it was game on, with 5-8 fish busting on the surface every 15 seconds, and the action lasted for 90 minutes. I was busy, then caught the last 10 minutes or so......I had 7 bites on a cool shrimp imitating fly and landed 4 Striped Bass. They accounted well for themselves versus the 3 wt Fly Rod. One Bass actually got into my backing. The action was awesome. I also landed an adult Menhaden that was hooked in the mouth. Whether or not this Menhaden "hit the fly" or the "fly hit the Menhaden" I'll never know my..... Total Catch for the Night: 4 Striped Bass from 10" to 15", and 1 Menhaden

Aug 11- Slow Fishing in the Crazy Fast Current

Christopher's Scup

Capt Marty's New Best Friend

SeeBo with a Great Blue Runner

Awesome Head on this Guy. Nice Barracuda too.

Great Barracuda is actually it's proper name

Capt Ryno wages War with a Light Wand

And Conquors Mr Amberjack... This Guy's "Feeding Stripe" is lit up....

I got off the sidelines today and finally got back into the game.... I wish I could say, "The Fishing was Glorious as Captain Marty triumphantly rode back into Battle......" It was more like, Despite light winds and slight seas, plenty of fresh bait, and a major Shipwreck all to ourselves, the Fishing Team comprised of Former Gold Medal Winners struggled to produce...... Too much Olympics! In actuality, the problem today was the Current. Gulf Stream type current has pushed way way to the west..... And I aint talking about a little northward drift. I'm talking about rushing water. And when the whole environment is barreling northward and the water temperature is very very hot, poor fishing usually is the result..... So Ryan, Chris, and I struggled. Holding position in 80 foot of water and delivering a live bait into narrow windows and corridors of a wreck was very challenging. Once there, the Groupers were non-existant. (Hiding from Tiger Sharks). The Amberjacks were completely scattered and extremely cautious (Been ravaged by Marauding Bands of Tiger Sharks), even the Barracudas were schooled up for protection and acting funny (Tired of Not Being in Charge of the Wreck, thanks to Groups of 7-12 foot Tiger Sharks) The funny thing was, the current had even carried the Tiger Sharks north...... Anyway, our long half day of Grouper live baiting turned into jigging sting silvers on light spinning rods for whatever we could find...... And an otherwise poor fishing day turned into an interesting day in we all had our moments...... Chris was first when he hooked a mystery fish right off the bottom. A minute later, he had the biggest damn Scup that I've seen since the 70's..... For the uneducated, Scup used to be a very important commercial Fish. Especially up north, New Jersey was its epicenter..... They disappeared. As a kid, I remember reading a book and the subject of Scup, it read "Like a Hoarde of Locust vast schools of Scup would enter a Bay and in a short time the waters would be so devoid of life, no other fish could be found." The Scup was/is the primary fish marketed  under the "catch all" name Porgy and is a member of the Porgy Family..... Other notable Porgies are the Pinfish, the Sheepshead, and the Red Porgy. The Red Porgy is commonly called Silver Snapper.... Anyway, who the hell cares. Chris caught a Porgy that would've pleased the Capt of a 1970 Porgy Boat..... Next up was Ryan. His notable fish was a mystery bite on the bottom, with a small sting silver, on a light spinning rod, with 10 lb test..... 20 minutes and 100 guesses later, and I watched the entire yo yo battle play out on the Fish Finder..... "Ryan, he's 25 feet down, Ryan he's 65 feet down. Ryan he's 40 feet down. Ryan he's 70 feet down." and so on and so on and so on......... So after 20 minutes, we finally get color, we celebrate that it's not a Shark, and Chris quickly gaffs a 36 lb Amberjack. Not too shabby on 10# line and a buggy whip rod..... Finally, its Capt Marty's story and its late and I'm tired and I am driving to Baltimore tomorrow so I'm going to do this fast! Chris caught a small King Mackerel on his stingsilver and it was chased to the Boat by a Huge Barracuda. Acting quickly, I pitched silver barbfish in his direction. Despite this large Barracudas age and experience, he simply couldn't avoid the sudden splash and flash of the panic stricken barbfish. He struck, I struck, and a short time later, he was chasing me and Ryan around the Boat! To summarize the sheer size of this Cuda, he carried 3 remoras. Crazy...... At 44 lbs, he is my new career best Barracuda. Crazy speed and acrobatics. I LOVE those fish! Also, we all caught great sized Blue Runners. They are also a Great Fish and (NOBODY KNOWS) they are outstanding to eat...... We caught a handful of other stuff, came in early..... It was struggle, but we all had our moment..... Total Catch for the Day: 5 Amberjacks from 16 to 36 lbs, a 44 lb Barracuda, 3 Blue Runners 5-6 lbs, a 2 lb 8oz Scup, a 1 lb 8oz Vermillion Snapper, 5 Black Sea Bass, 1 Tomtate, and 1 Sand Perch

Aug 3- HELLO AUGUST

Well, Capt Moore is alive and kicking. Life is a bit of a struggle, missing my wife and Love of my Life and all that..... No, Jennifer DID NOT come back. It zapped my routine worse than a bad back and two bad knees ever did! Living and recovering from a Broken Heart does not make me want to go fishing..... Nor did the blazing July heat..... Well here it is August and I expect cooler and wetter weather. I also expect Capt Marty to slowly rebound and become myself again. King Mackerel beware!

And....... insomnia STILL SUCKS. Its 1am and I got to be at Cedar Island in 4 hours. Id sure like to be sleeping. Losing all my rods and reels. Losing my wife. Losing sleep...... They all suck.  I miss them all..... Lets go fishing!

July 2016- Temperatures in the 90's

As I get older, I freaking hate July. Fishing has traditionally been okay for some stuff but overall, no one raves about "Great July Fishing" unless you hit a pocket of cool water in the deep and land a Billfish Grand Slam or a Giant Blue Marlin...... Of course, long time Top Water Charters associate George Frazier did put 13 Rainbow Runner on the Dock last weekend. That was SURELY the Greatest Catch of RR's in North Carolina Sportfishing History. PERHAPS the Greatest RR day in US East Coast Fishing History. And POSSIBLY the Best RR  in the History of Earth. Until George Frazier cane along, Id only met 2 or 3 people who'd ever caught 1 in their lifetime. What George is doing is amazing.

Rainbow Runner, also known as "Hawaiian Salmon" is a long, slender member of the Jack family that happens to have white Sashimi grade flesh. Highly prized.

July 16- Fly Rodding On Foot Around The Beaufort Water Front

Well, the first thing I did, concerning fishing, was walk down to the foot of Moore Street. Where Moore meets Front..... Don't get me started here. This is a very very sad subject for me..... All the way back to 1980, I had very near exclusive rights to Miss Evelyn Smith's Dock. At that time, you had Barbour's Machine Shop, the massive 3 story brick building and the Smith Dock. Those were the only Docks from the Beaufort Gulf Dock west All the Way to the Cul-de-Sac at the west end of Front Street. Better known as the "Turn Table".......The Smith dock was passed on to Richard Chadwick, whom was my Uncle by Marriage and later his son Hunter...... By then, other Docks, were popping up both east and mostly west of the Chadwick Dock. Every new Dock meant Fish Holding Structure and MORE IMPORTANTLY......Take it from the guy with 40+ Flounder Citations...... All ABSOLUTELY  LOADED with Flounder and Red Drum....... Well Time Marches on. People Die. Others Sell their Property. At one time, I controlled and exclusively fished the Chadwick Dock, Dr Boones Dock, Pages Dock, Martins Dock, and Fraziers Dock. HELL, I didnt need a boat......... The Storys and History are crazy........NINETY (90) RED DRUM from 1 boat slip. Election Day 2004. 4 tagged Red Drum from Pamlico River....... HOW ABOUT 6 FLOUNDER OVER 6 POUNDS ON 6 STRAIGHT DROPS on Halloween of 2005........ HOW ABOUT A 10 LB 11OZ FLOUNDER in 2 feet of water....... HOW ABOUT BACK TO BACK COBIAS BACK IN 2012....... But, like I said, One bt One, I lost access to each and every Dock.... So this morning, I stood on the little Beach at the foot of the old Chadwick Dock and cast my fly. Makes me want to cry. Docks and Wives. Lost. How sad. This is a Fishing Blog. Let me tell yall, from July through November, this is a GREAT FISHING SPOT. Flounder and Red Drum. Anyway, today I caught a small Southern Flounder. Later at the Pond, I caught the usual suspects. Total Catch for the Day: 1 Southern Flounder, 2 Largemouth Bass, and 4 Bluegill

July 15- Late Night Bass Fishing

It was a failure. I am sure that it would take a sizable Bass to hit the huge Frog Imitation Fly that I was tossing...... Plus, the Beaufort Mung Hole aint exactly Lake Okeechobee either. The biggest "Mung Hole" Bass would probably make a fine bobber bait in South Florida....... Honestly, it was either that (Fly) or do a walking trip with the Gig-a-Lite and gig...... I chose the Fly Rod. I gotta admit, there is something Wild and Wooly about throwing that big popper out in the darkness and working it back. The Darkness. The Anticipation. The Energy focused on that Fly. Pop. Pop. Pop. Nothing ever happened, but I bet I try it again. At the right spot. Look out. Total Catch for the Night: Nothing

July 13- Tossing a Fly, Saying Goodbye, and Broiling a Bullet Mackerel

Well...... It was a strange day. Obviously I can toss a fly any day. Today, was a pretty day. Bass and Bluegill were biting. It was great. It put me in a good mood...... A mood that was shattered when I ran into Jennifer while I was helping my 80+ year old Momma take her Dog to the Vet...... Jennifer had already been by our (suddenly my) House and got our (her) cat....... So now, what seemed to be a BAD BAD BAD Dream, is now totally REAL. The ABSOLUTE LOVE of MY LIFE is GONE. And by all indications, She will not be coming back. My Back. My Knees....... All the physical Pain in the World does not touch this. HEART BREAK. HEART ACHE. Whatever. Thinking about Jennifer and how close we were, Just a very very short time ago makes me Hyperventilate......   I am not going to dwell on it here, on this forum. I made mistakes. I shouldve SOLD this House. I fell in LOVE with Jennifer on our first date in June 1996. I LOVE her yesterday. I LOVE her today. I will LOVE her tomorrow. And I will LOVE her for a LONG LONG TIME...... I can not understand why she can not love me in return, but I am totally in debt to her for tyying because I DO NOT have to spend the rest of my Time on Earth wondering if we "would've made it."

Thank you Jennifer Goodwin Moore, I will forever Love You.....

Now, to my Fishing Followers. I apologize.... From My Back, to my Dad's Health, to my Suzuki, to my Knee's, to my Wife ....... I totally apologize. I was, at one time, in my heavily slanted opinion, I was the Best MIXED Inshore/Offshore Fishing Guide in Central North Carolina..... Money spent hiring Captain Marty Moore was Money Well Spent..... My 800+ NC Citations were equivalent to Degrees hanging in a Dentist's Office....... Now, I am not so sure.... I am just a fisherman, on a good day, I can seem like a "Fishing God"........On a poor day, I am liable to break down a really miis my wife to the point of tears.... I'm sorry..... Caal me to go fishing and we shall see what you get.....

Oh yeah, I actually kept a few Bullets. They made great bait....... I also figured the cat, Mister Tumnus would chow down on them too...... But Jennifer had come and got him...... NO MORE CAT.  Boooooo Hooooooo...... Any way, I pan seared a Bullet Mackerel fillet and guess what? Totally edible. I wouldn't say

Total Catch for the Day: 5 Largemouth Bass up to 2 lbs and 8 Bluegill

July 12- Great Fishing

Strange looking box early.... Bullet Mackerels 

Tuggwell with a larger Spanish. On a Metal Jig from 70 feet deep

christ.... outstanding Tuggwell photography.....what?

Add TBon'e 38 lb Jack

We spent 25 minutes re-viving this Jack

Tuggy's best Grouper Rally ever

Bullet Mackerel Frenzy. We could've fill the Box..... Grouper Bait Extrodinair

My Trophy Blue Runner fail prey to Tuggwell Photography too..... Pathetic

This was oure catch wabout 2/3 of the way through..... We are missing several pf our Largest Groupers and all of our Largest Spanish Mackerel s

Great Weather greeted Capt Tuggy and I as we put the New Tuggwell Fishing Machine through it paces this morning........  Fishing was great. Honestly, Id call it good for certain things, but the amazing conditions, oddball catches, and quality in the kill box, made it grade out as "Great Fishing" by the end of the day! We started out on the Shoals and it was a total freakshow. Expecting Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel, we caught those but, we ended up with higher numbers of suddenly common Bullet Mackerel and always sporty adult Blue Runners. We did capture Bluefish and Mackerel in the 2 lb class too. We left the Shallows and went Wreck Fishing. At the first spot, I dropped a half a Bullet Mack and quickly found myself hooked to a 200+ pound Pelagic Stingray. Rare that you see these Giant Stingrays. I got him up 35 feet off the bottom and could see his gigantic form 25 feet below the boat when the line separated. We had a couple of Sharks that hit stingsilvers to on 10# spin. Crazy fights... Great fights... Long Fights.....    At the next stop, we had great fishing for Amberjacks up to 38 lbs, Gag Groupers, Spanish Mackerels, Giant Blue Runners, and more. Capt Tuggwell had a great Grouper Rally, catching 5 Gags in less than 20 minutes. Tuggwell also caught 2 large Spanish Mackerel on light spin. Capt Marty's signature fish would have to be a 5 lb Blue Runner.  The largest Runner I've caught since 1986! Total Catch for the Day: 7 Gag Grouper up to 7 lbs, 3 Amberjacks up to 38 lbs, 4 Spanish Mackerel up to 3 lbs, 6 Bluefish up to 2 lbs, 5 Blue Runner up to 5 lbs, 1 Sharpnose Shark at 7 lbs, 1 Dusky Shark at 13 lbs, 12 Bullet Mackerel up to 1 lb, 2 Pinfish, and 1 Black Sea Bass

July 9- My Dad's Birthday

I cannot tell you..... There is not enough time in the day or enough words to express how Great of a Father my dad was to me, for me...... He gave me EVERYTHING that a son needs to be happy and successful. Both as a kid and as an adult. There was nothing that my Daddy could've done that wouldve been better than what he did......Growing up, there was NOTHING in my eyes, that my Dad couldnt do...... Run a Bank (Raleigh Savings and Loan) all week and then build or fix anything on Saturday Morning! Then take me fishing in the afternoon. Then we'd listen to college football on the radio while he cooked the Worlds Best BBQ Chicken for supper..... (On a huge brick outdoor grill and patio that he made, of course)

Everything was going great in my Fishing Development until he picked up the Golf Habit and I was ON MY ON.....Just kidding, I am just SO HAPPY for my Daddy to have had the opportunity to play those thousands of rounds of Golf that he loved so much. And was pretty good at, I suspect. I surely wish he could still play.

Anyway,  HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a GREAT GREAT GREAT FATHER..... Charles Allen Moore born July 9, 1936. I LOVE YOU VERY VERY MUCH and I wish I turned out half the Man you were/are.......You lead me by example and showed me the Right Way to do Everything in Life that a boy/young man needs to be successful, productive, and happy.

I hope this mskes sense!  Its very late. I have insomnia. And this screen and keypad are tiny.

Speaking of "tiny"....... reminds of Tiny Pender, ex basketball player at NC State. (Watch how my mind works). The last time I saw him in person, he was pimp striding through the Tangerine Bowl crowd in 1978. NCState versus Pittsburgh....... I was there. Surely, I mustve been a punk ass 13 year old pain in the ass..... But my Daddy hauled me, and my brother down there. To see, honestly, a meaningless Bowl Game.... All the way to Orlando Florida. Taking 2 boys to a Football Game! He also hauled me to NY, Boston, Baltimore, and Atlanta to see MLB. Greensboro, Atlanta, and Landover, Md to see ACC Tournaments..... Good God I could never, ever say Thank You, I Love You, or Happy Birthday enough to scratch the surface of what my Daddy has done nor continues to do for me....  (yesterday, For Example)  shew.......

Let me just add..... Happy Birthday Daddy. I love you.

July 3- Bass on Fly

Today, I figured I'd try it again. Right off the bat....... Here comes a Bass! It was looking much better.... Then the bottom fell out! Imagine that.... Rain negatively affecting my fishing...,. Sheesh.... Ten minutes of fishing at best and it was alot of fun, Oh well...... Total Catch for the Day: 3 Largemouth Bass and 6 Bluegill

July 2- Fly Rodding Beaufort

Sometimes a guy just needs to go fishing.... And since its a Holiday Weekend and my Boat was sitting on its Trailer, I decided to leave it right where it sits. I can't handle the Boat Ramp Drama right now! Anyhow, when I need a quick fix, I can always head over to the Beaufort Mung Holes..... Lordy, wouldn't I love to be in Albion, NY right now..... Wade the Shoreline of Lake Ontario and cast to Love Struck Chinook Salmon and Marauding Giant Brown Trout..... Much different Fishery I am heading off into..... I'm hoping for a Beaufort Grand Slam and the signature catch would be a 14" Largemouth Bass..... Oh well, we play the hand that's dealt us...... As for the fishing.... There'd be NO Slam on this day..... The Bass pulled a NO SHOW which was a suprize and the Pumpkinseed pulled a NO SHOW and that wasn't a suprize.... That leaves me with the Bluegills and they were chewing... Capt Cbo says that there has been a group fishing the Mung Holes with Cane Poles and toting buckets and they've been keeping everything they catch..... Oh well, hard to argue with feeding your family but Damn...... Those Fish were hardly ever worth keeping..... Go to a Dock and catch a bucketfull of Pinfish people! Leave my little Fly Rod Fishing Hole alone and the friendly little fish that live and play there alone! Total Catch for the Day: 24 Bluegill

June 30- SHARK WEEK

Phil and crew wanted good fishing and they trusted my judgement..... It was both good and bad. We wanted to head out in the 18-20 mile range and sock it to the Dolphin, Grouper, and Amberjacks.... just a couple days ago, it was beautiful weather and pretty good fishing. Nothing had changed with the forecast. SW winds at 5-10, 2 foot seas, air temp in the 90's. That was our forecast..... So, of course, at 7am we were greeted by a rain storm the size of Rhode Island, 18 kt winds, and 3+ foot seas... All settled in SE of Beaufort Inlet and moving our way according to Tuggwell's Radar...... So our whole plan, our whole outlook, and our FATE changed. Right there....... I quickly turned east towards a Trawler where I knew we'd find WORLD CLASS SHARK FISHING. I was right, we very quickly landed a huge Blacknose Shark in the 36-38 pound class. Keep in mind, the World Record for this species is 41 lb 9oz..... We also caught a spunky 45 lb Spinner Shark and a beautiful baby Hammerhead Shark.  We broke off a couple of others. Also, Kevin wanted to kill a legal Blacktip Shark, but we didn't want a large carcass in the boat all day, so refrained from getting our Blacktup Griller..... The guys, being hopeful, were ready to GO FOR IT...... I suspected the Worse and told the guys "we were leaving the Best Fishing we'd find all day"...... At this point, I hoped to make it to the Big 10 Fathom Reef Complex and I hoped that we could find success there..... An hour later, the entire crew was soaked and beat to death, black clouds formed a barrier to the south and southeast, but we made our "back-up" destination and we started trolling for Mahi Mahi......  Three Disappointing Hours later, we had missed 3 strikes that bit the Ballyhoo off right behind the hook and we had managed to release a baby Amberjack.....  Not Good. So, we tried the Amberjack and Grouper route, even though, once again, we were 10 miles from Great Fishing, at least we had hope here and it would also keep the crew busy and make them feel "part of the action".... But, it was tough. It was aa tricky drift, our live baits were simply too big for this area..... Oh wouldn't I liked to have been in 90-100 feet of water instead of 65-75 feet! Well, 30 live Menhaden and 75 minutes later, we broke for the Beach. The guys had 1 keeper Gag Grouper, 1 keeper Amberjack, and 1 keeper Black Sea Bass. We had missed 2-3 dozen bites and we had released Grouper and Bass..... Finally, late afternoon, we made it back to the Trawlers and we crushed the big Blacktips, including a 75 lb keeper.... We also rode over to Shark Island but conditions weren't great for Sight Casting..... We actually did not see any Bluefish or Spanish Mackerel at all,,,,, Looking back, we probably should've Shark Fished all day and NOT went on our 100 Mile Boat Ride. But this crew, and I did too, wanted to go Hero..... Its just that we failed! A 25 lb Dolphin or a 15 lb Gag could've changed everything......Total Catch for the Day: 2 Amberjack up to 15 lbs, 2 Gag Grouper up to 25", 6 Black Sea Bass up to 15", 4 Blacktip Sharks up to 85 lbs, 1 Blacknose Shark at 36 lbs, 1 Hammerhead Shark at 10 lbs, and 1 Spinner Shark at 45 lbs

June 27- Striped Bass on the Fly

I had my 5wt Fly Rod ready to go tonight and wouldnt you know it, every thing changed..... For the past 6 nights I've watched hundreds of juvenile Striped Bass and a mix of White Bass and Hybrid Bass as well...... Catching them on fly (or anything else) would be as simple as "hitting the water". Well tonight, all that changed thanks to about 2 dozen jumbo Jumping Mullets that decided to spend 6 freaking hours daisy chaining right under the lights where the Bass Frenzys had been taking place. I suppose in the eyes of 8" to 12" Striped Bass, a bunch of 20" Mullets churning in a tight circle was an intimidating sight..... Anyway, the feeding frenzy that happened the past 6 nights never materialized.... But, patience and outside the box thinking paid off eventually when I finally landed a hard fighting 12" Striped Bass on a shrimp initation. Man...... that was fun. Total Catch for the Night: 1 Striped Bass

On the Fly, yeah baby!  Hey, its been a Horrible 2016

That little Bass made me happy

June 25- Capt Marty Conquers New Citation Species

Big, big suprize tonight! Standing over a school of juvenile Striped Bass that Ive been fishing/watching for the past month, I waited until the time was right....... And then I made a quick cast with a tiny grub/jig head. I quickly got a bite and this fish did not come up easily. When I finally got this fish on the surface, I saw I needed a net but didnt have one. After a quick search for options, and finding none, I reeled down and quickly and smoothly lifted my fish up up up and over the rail. Miraculously, as soon as this fish cleared the rail, my 6# mono popped and a much larger than expected fish fell to the deck in front of me. Wow. What a surprise. I quickly noticed a much stouter body and pointier anal fin than the small Striped Bass I was expecting. It was clearly a White Bass. The little cousin of the Striped Bass and this one was a Trophy. This White Bass was 18+ inches long and thick. This morning this fish weighed 2 lbs 9oz on my 4 lb Chantillon Scale. Crazy and a New NC Freshwater Citation for me..... Back to last night..... My next cast was intercepted by a fish and this one turned out to be a 13" Hybrid Bass. Amazing. Before the night ended, I had caught 2 small Striped Bass giving me an odd "Striped" Grand Slam! Total Catch for the Night: 1 White Bass at 2 lb 9oz, 1 Hybrid Bass at 13", and 2 Striped Bass

June 23- Baby Striped Bass Frenzy

Evidently the Striped Bass that call the Neuse River home have recently had a very very successful spawn. I would assume that any juvenile Striped Bass patrolling the Southern Pamlico Sound would in all likelihood be Neuse River stock. Regardless of where they came from, they are swarming the Rocks around the Cedar Island Ferry..... I started working for the Ferry at Cedar Island back in April of 1992, and I have never once caught or seen Striped Bass in this area. Now I have heard tell of adult Stripers being caught in Pound Nets down off Cedar Island. It was generally thought that the latest group of "big fish" were caught up in 2003 or 2004.....  The smaller fish, like the ones I'm encountering, rarely swim east of an area approximately the Havelock (south) or Oriental (north) in the Neuse River area..... Anyway, tonight I caught 6 Striped Bass on a 1/16 oz jighead and white grub. There appeared to be a pretty sizeable "swarm" of Bass that were in a feeding frenzy that ended suddenly as the tide rose. On slack high water, the action turned off like a switch was flipped...... Take it where I can get it nowadays. Total Catch for the Night: 6 Striped Bass

June 17- Sharks and Rays

Phil and Brad made up a great crew and after several days of trying, we finally got this fishing trip in..... Friday was pretty enough, but it was surrounded by strong wind and heavy rain and I believe, the rain anyway, pretty heavily affected the fishing..... We started off inside the Bight at Cape Lookout and I tried to put Brad into his first Cobia. Brad, it seems, hadn't been doing much saltwater fishing in his life. He had spent all his free time playing baseball and it was time well spent as he will be a joining the University of South Carolina this fall on scholarship as a catcher. Any SEC sports scholarship means that you are BIG TIME. Yes, BRAD DEBO will be a name yo watch. Great kid and I hope he makes the MLB one day! Well, anyway Brad didnt get his first Cobia, but he landed his first Shark snd Southern Stingray.  Brad had one Stingray that was well over 100 pounds and Brad ceremoniously cut off his spine and stuck it Uncle Rays head between his eyeballs. Ive made that a once yearly tribute to honor Steve Irwan and Brad did the honors this year.

To be cont.......

BIG ROCK Day Two

My two Hometowns, Garner and Beaufort.... Guys are representing! Mark Annis, Garner Sr Class of '84 with a 621 pounder! Then the Struyk boys, Curtis, Russ, and CJ are holding down 2nd place. Congrats guys..  

Looking for Gerald and Joey Bell to make their move......

Meanwhile my knee aches and my wife packs...... Life is a journey and I'm stuck in a Romanian Muddfield. Thanks.

June 13- Lets Go Fishing

I am home and I NEED to go fishing!

The Big Rock Tournament is underway so........

We will see some High Dollar Assets. Sounds like a pretty good bite going on off there in the wild blue yonder!

Funny thing about Fishing...... When they are biting Offshore..... they are usually biting inshore as well.....

Oh well, THATS MY SALES PITCH

June 3- GREAT OCEAN LIFE VIEWING..........

Capt Marty even got in a cast or two

At the Bottom is a Bluefish Roe...... Rare indeed, I hardly ever catch Spawning Bluefish!

............And not so great catching....... Honestly, we could've caught alot more but we were looking for "large" fish. Garland and Amanda joined me today and it was beautiful..... We found a spot with Glassy Clear Blue Water and it was full of spawning Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish! We pulled our bucktails off in favor of metal lures and spent an hour catching fish...... 18 Bluefish from 2-3 lbs and 12 Spanish Mackerel from 1-3 lbs..... Incredibly Fast Action. Casting over schools of acres of Bluefish! Also multiple schools of spawning Spanish Mackerel..... Then it was back to looking for Cobia..... What we found but DID NOT catch was amazing.... First, however, Amanda joined me up top for a Bottlenosed Dolphin show for the ages.... In 15 feet of crystal clear water we found a pod of app 25 female Dolphins and each one had a tiny 3-4 foot long infant..... I can almost tell you we saw some birthing but I can't be sure.... I was still in "fishing mode" but I did enjoy the show.... Then, east of Shark Island, from 12 noon until 3pm, we watched and searched and witnessed a SHOW that seemed just like Sea World. Here's the Line-Up and I hate to say, NO BITES....... But we saw: 5 Cobia, 12 100+ pound Tarpon, 1 Crevalle Jack, 2 1000 pound Manta Rays, 1 Barracuda, 10,000 Bluefish, 5,000 Spanish Mackerel, and a pile of Sharks, Rays, Turtles, and Sea Birds...... It was amazing. We had a feast this afternoon on fresh Bluefish and Amanda will never, ever forget the SHOW we saw today...... I am still working to figure out a way to catch Tarpon on Cape Lookout Shoals. I see them nearly every year. They are headed North as fast as they can swim..... There has to be a way! By the way, all the Cobia were on the bottom and I basically T-Boned them...... We had a couple of followers, but No Takers.... OUCH    Baaa Humbug    Whatever works!  Total Catch for the Day: 18 Bluefish 2-3 lbs each and 12 Spanish Mackerel 1-3 lbs 

May 30 and 31- Striped Bass Where They'd Never Been Before

I started working on the NC Ferry back in April of 1992. I have found good fishing at Night where ever Ferrys tie up for the Night. Three things are always present. Deep Water, Heavy Structure, and Light. Because of these three factors, two other things are usually present: Bait Fish and hungry Predators..... That being said, when I dropped my Speck Rig inside the Cedar Island Ferry Basin tonight, I was expecting Gray Trout.... Just like all those other nights back in the 1990's. Well, I was in for a big shock when my first strike resulted in a small Striped Bass. Wow. My next cast resulted in a double header of small Striped Bass. With a little wind and scattered rain, those little Stripers kept me busy for 90 minutes.  I figured I caught 16 Striped Bass that first night and actually worked 3 different schools. Different locations inside the Docks and they seemed to "learn" the Speck Rig after a few from each school were caught.  The following night, I caught 2 more Striped Bass...... Quicker to catch on...... Total Catch for Two Nights: 18 small Striped Bass and 1 Pinfish