December 26- Chritmas and Thanksgiving Past

Both of these very important, late season Holidays have passed and like nearly everything else in the Life of Capt Marty, they passed silently and without incident. Good or Bad. Almost like I don't exist!

But, I not in a Witness Protection Program. I'm a JAG. Just a Guy. A Ferry Engineer (Nobody Cares) and a Fishing Guide (Plenty of People Cared). Once again, to those that cared, here I mean my old Fishing Clients and Friends and MORE IMPORTANTLY, the hundreds of people that read and enjoyed my Blog on a regular basis, I am sorry. I am sorry I quit posting on a regular basis. I am also sorry that I sold my Boat and severely reduced the time that I spend on the water. Unfortunately, that was probably necessary for my skin, knees, and back. At least, staying off the Ocean and avoiding things like Southern Stingrays and Amberjacks. (LOL)

Anyway, I think in the past several days, I've come to recognize, that my lack of Fishing and Posting has lead to feeling that I have Lost a Huge Part of my Identity..... Therefore, IF there are Any of my Long Time Readers still out there, bored and looking for reading material, I am (Once Again) going to make an Effort to get this thing going again. I also still hope and pray to have a skiff and be up and going again next Spring.

Once again, Happy Belated Thanksgiving. Merry Chritmas. Happy Holidays. Also, tonight I will try to update a few other things on my Blog and touch on a few FISHING trips that I failed to post.... I used to easily fish 100 days per year. Hell, prbably closer to 200 days on lots of years.

I realize I have tried this before..... only to get sidetracked. My life feels empty now. There were things that were important in my life that have been lost. This may seem silly, but here goes...... My Daddy aint coming back. My Wife aint coming back. Emma aint coming back. My knees and Back are not going to be 30 years old again.... However, I CAN go FISHING AND I CAN make Fishing Reports at the end of the day. I may be the Only Person to read about it, but Capt Marty will have that part of his life back!!!!!1

Sept 11- Why we should be Scared in Beaufort, NC

Okay, here goes.....and this goes for Hurricane Florence and any storms in the future. I want to point out, in my dumbass, uneducated, typically wrong opinion, Beaufort Inlet IS NOT THE SAME PLACE it was in 1996, 1999, 2005, or any of the other MAJOR HURRICANE EVENT YEARS.

Here is what Ive seen, what I see, what I know, and what I think.

On Sept 4, 2012, Gerald Currin and I had a very memorable day fishing at AR-315 off At Beach. We caught a tiny Sailfish. Around 14" long. Cool as Hell. That day, we also fought a huge Hurricane Swell coming off an obscure storm named LESLIE that was dar away in the Atlantic. That afternoon, when came back in the Inlet, we both noted the incredible erosion that had occured in the mere 5 hours that we had fished. The western end of Shackleford Banks, while the scene of some incredible surfing, had been incredibly eroded by the monster swell that rolled up the Beach from the SW.

Jump ahead 6 years. It is now 2018. What began THAT DAY IN 2012, has never been reversed and has now eroded a massive amount of the western end of Shackleford Banks. Range Finders and Day Boards that once stood in the sand dunes 1,000's of feet from the water, now stand in the Ocean nearly a 3/8 of a mile from the nearest sand. The exact same phenomenom has happened in Hatteras Inlet. The west end of Hatteras Island is GONE.

As a result of this erosion down here in Carteret County, this is what I see and its got me a little spooked. Beaufort Inlet, for years, was a very nicely defined and narrow Inlet. Standing on Front Street in Beaufort and facing South, you had 2 massive bodies of land standing between Beaufort and the Open Ocean. Shackleford Banks and Carrot Island. As the landmass on Shackleford Banks has been peeled back to the east, its like a window has been opened that COULD ALLOW giant Ocean Waves, that wouldve smacked Shackleford Banks to now Roll Right On to Carrot Island before dumping its energy. Now, I realize that the Beaufort Waterfront is still guarded by a Double Island Wave Break if the waves approach from either the SE or SW. But, if by fate, Hurricane Florence was to push a 10+ foot Storm Surge and throw in a 18 foot Swell from the DUE SOUTH, look for an absolute disaster for the town of Beaufort. All the boarding up in the world aint gonna make much difference. Giant Ocean Combers breaking on Carrot Island. The very waves that slipped in Beaufort Inlet, through an area that a mere 6 years ago the same waves would've encountered 20 foot high sand dunes!!!!. Look for dead horses, scrub Oaks, docks and boats to be piled up in front of Clawsons. It aint good and hopefully it wont happen. I can not understand WHY THE EROSION HAS NOT BEEN ADDRESSED IN THE MEDIA. But ask anyone who fishes regularly in and out of Beaufort Inlet. That'll tell you. Something very bad is happening and unfortunately, its about to get worse.

Sept 9- Offshore Again Finally

Ive got alot going on so (I feel the hot breath of a Cat 4 Hurricane on the back of my neck).

So I get a chance to go aboard Capt CL Lupton's new gig, a badass 57 ft Sportfishing Rig called "Feet First". Good chance, in September of 3 things happening Offshore in September off North Carolina south of Hatteras. Could be EPIC fishing for Wahoo. Could be EPIC fishing for Sailfish. OR...... It could be EPICALLY SLOW FISHING. I guess there are "average" days too. Anyhow, in a crazy spin of Fishing Fate, we kinda got all three rolled into One Day. How one wonders?

Well, here goes. Arriving at "the spot" at 7am, the first ballyhoo in the water literally gets picked off the rodtip by a 35lb Sailfish. Crazy. By 7:05am, we've got a Sailfish release. Making this brief.....By 10am, things are ROLLING. 2 out 4 Sailfish. 3 out a 6 Wahoo. A Blackfin Tuna and a Dolphin. Also captured 2 Great Barracuda. At this pace, by 2pm we box will be stuffed and the clothes line will be covered with flags.....

And then we went 4 hours and 30 minutes with ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Nary a Bite. The end. Total Catch for the Day: 2 Sailfish at 35 and 40 lbs, 3 Wahoo from 33 to 37 lbs, 10 lb Blackfin Tuna, 7 lb Dolphin, and 2 Great Barracuda at 8 lbs each

Sept 1- Near Miss

Dammit. I missed that boat by 1 hour. When I talked to its owner on friday afternoon, and we were trying to set up a meeting time. I tried to be "Mr Nice Guy" and let this guy sleep in/lay up with his woman. Whatever. Hell I was working Night Shift, I wanted to meet him a 6am. But NO. HELL NO. Mr Nice Guy suggested 11am. Not to rush Mr Boat Owner, Mr Hard Working 8 to 5, Monday through Friday Working Class American. Let him relax and take his time.... 

So, anyway, at 10:45, I called to firm up our meeting time and place. No Answer. I texted him. Left all those same intentions. No response....... Here we go. Called back at 11am. Our original meeting time. No Answer. Repeat. Repeat. Finally, I drove to the boat. Here I found my future boat. Sitting there. There were, I noticed, 2 sets of vehicle tracks in the high grass. Right up to my boat. Some had been checking her out. Recently. I called again. Text again. By 3pm, the writing was on the wall. It wasnt going to be my boat. Finally, just as I was heading out the door to work, Mr Boat Owner reluctantly called me and apologized to me. Someone, it seems, had waved $6000 bucks in his face at 1030am. He took it.

Pretty much, I was struggling to STAY AWAKE in order for this dude to SLEEP LATE. Because I tried to be considerate, I got stood up and never got a chance to 6buy that little boat. Life Sucks Again.. Capt Marty Moore is still boatless. No Dad. No Dog. No Boat. And......cant fish off the Dock on Front Street that I had exclusive rights to from 1978 until 2017. Having a spot to walk to, where Ive caught thousands of Red Drum and Flounder from is a NICE ASSET TO HAVE IN LIFE, especially as a Fishing Fanatic.

So Long, Crowd

July 17- New Boat......Almost

I had finally convinced myself of 2 things....

#1 My friends AINT taking me fishing

#2 It is TIME for a New Boat

So, I found a great deal on a Skiff like I'd been looking for. Watch out Shad in Pitch Kettle Creek. Watch out big ass Doormat Flounder every where. Watch out Ladyfish in Taylor's Creek. Watch out Speckled Trout at the Rock Jetty.... But, as luck would have it, I was an Hour Late.

Now I'm really depressed. Watch out Pinfish in the Cedar Island Ferry Basin.

June 15- Capt Marty Explores Lake Mead, The Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas

This great trip was planned and executed by my brother,
Mike. Great job Mike. Four great travel segments, booked by Mike and executed by American Airways. New Bern to Charlotte to Las Vegas to Charlotte back to New Berr n. Perfect flying. Bad Ass fully loaded Chevy Tahoe from Thrifty Rentals. Mike and I drove this extremely nice and high tech SUV from Las Vegas to The Grand Canyon and back to Vegas. We stayed one night at The Hoover Dam Lodge. This place is a CLASSIC MIX of olde tyme ambience and modern fun. 1970's feel inside with a mix of restaurants, gambling areas, gift shops, even "indoor" gem mining.... In constrast, out the side door are helicopters for Hoover Dam Tours and plenty of boats, jetskis, and 4WD jeeps and buggies. All that "tucked" away in this crazy lil Mountain Range... Very Brown, hardly no plant life, and consisting of millions upon millions of Rocks. Some of which are huge boulders. The Colora
do River slides out from under Hoover Dam and  continues on towards the Baja California. Incredible.

My contribution to this trip was on morning one.  Before heading off to The Grand Canyon, we shot over to the LAS VEGAS BOAT HARBOR, and Mike and I rented a 22foot Jet Boat. That turned out great. Fun boating, great lil boat, explored the sapphire clear dark water. Incredable shoreline as mountains with multi-colored bands of rock suddenly ri se majestically from the Lake's shoreline. We took it all in as we zipped over Lake Mead's surface from our jetboat. From my "FISHING PERSPECTION" Lake Mead is absolutely full of  Carp and Striped Bass. Millions of them. They are all over the Marina, patiently waiting for kids to feed them popcorn. All in All, Lake Mead was a great part of this trip

To be

May 27- 30 Years Ago Today

Jeez, 30 years ago today I caught my career best Yellowfin Tuna. 83 pounds. First Yellowfin ever and still to this day my career best. I will always remember a few fishing veterans whispering "Allison" when that Tuna was pulled from the box. I always intended to bust that open down off Costa Rico. Damn never made it. Life ain't over, but right now, that's a Life Failure......

May 1- Bass Out The Ass

Best day in over a Year. 7 to 8 pound Bookend Largemouth Bass. Back to Back. Same Nest. Pics and Details later. This is a pain in the ass with the phone but here's the pics. Both fish came from a Farm Pond in Harnett County. Both fish ate a Plastic Worm. First one ate a Red Shad Culprit and the second one ate a Blue Worm with a Red Tail. Both off the same bed, 3 minutes apart. At last check, both Bass were back on the Bed when I left. It was nice to actually "do something" with a Rod and Reel. It had been a while!

April 3- Worst Days Ever

One of these days Im going to examine the worst days of my life and figure out where it "all went wrong"......

As for the fishing.... Tomorrow is a perfect example of the past 18 months of my life... Last shift at work,  I worked with Capt Tyler Thomas and Capt Josh Faglie. Captains and Good Guys EXTRAORDINARE. Capt Tyler is/was one of the Few Center Console Fishing Guides (can do it all, catch it all, and succeed consistently) that I considered my equal. Capt Tyler WAS/IS the only person that I considered BETTER than mewhen it came to Bait Fishing for Cobia. Cocky on my part, YES. Thats how I rolled for 15-16 years. Complimemtary of Tyler? YES...I CANNOT STRESS THAT ENOUGH. TYLER WAS MY EQUAL. Now, of course, Ive lost it. Casting into packs of marauding Blackfin Tuna in May of 2016 unsuccessfully over and over didnt seem like a Life Changing Catastrophy at the Time . However, that day proved to be very pivotable in my life. Up until that point, I caught any and every fish I wanted. Singlehanded Blue Marlins and Singlehanded Bluefin Tunas to 6 pound Goldfish on fly. That day in  May, 20 to 25 piund Blackfin Tunas were hurling 8 to 10 at a time. All in 15 feet of water right off the Circle. Fourth year in a row. May Full Moon. I made perfect cast after cast after cast. Stunned nothing...... and I aint caught shit since....sheeesh...

Anyway, back to Tyler and Josh. We talked about going this week on Tylers boat. We were all too busy tuesday and it was pretty. Wednesday and Thursday were blow out and rain outs. Now comes Friday. .....Looking pretty. Oh yeah.... Shark Island here we come. Home again. A good client and friend of mine put me up a mailbox out there. I was there nearly every damn day. A truly GREAT INSHORE/NEARSHORE FISHING DESTINATION..... Well, wouldnt you know it.....Momma's got an appointment at 10am. Just perfect timing to eff up the morning AND the afternoon.

Oh well.... Im sure this is senseless babble....Good Night

If Tyler and Josh go fishing, I will try to report their catch

March 5- Containers Adrift off Hatteras

Sorry guys.... I've been offshore!

Just thinking, 70+ shipping containers adrift North of Hatteras. Probably easing closer to shore.....

Back in 2006, a container was lost at Sea right before Thanksgiving. A week or so later, it washed up on the Beach at Frisco. The local Land Pirates, living up to their heritage beautifully, cracked it open and it began to empty it. Somewhat disappointing, but not a total loss, it was FULL OF.......

Ready.....

Doritos. Yep, everyone on Hatteras Island had free Doritos for weeks. All we needed was a container full of Mt Dew