April 30 Citation Gray Trout, Bonito, Chopper Bluefish

Chuck and Donnie were looking for a Bonito early this morning and then we were going prospecting on the Shoals for something bigger. These boys were exclusively using fly tackle so the challenge was great! The Bonito were a let down, but Donnie did get one to eat a fly. Chuck made the day when he caught (and released) a suprizing 28" Gray Trout, along with the first Spanish Mackerel of the year and 2 Bluefish.

Later in the morning Chuck fought a myriad of conditions to land 2 10 pound Bluefish on the fly rod. I also caught 2 Chopper Bluefish on spinning tackle witha popping plug. Also on the shoals, Chuck cast to several more small groups of Bluefish, 2 large Spanish Mackerel, and several large Sharks that were cruising in shallow water.

April 29 Blues Drum and Trout

Bonito Fishing was a major let down this morning! Russel, John, and Christine are still waiting to catch their first Bonitos! However, they did catch at least 40 Bluefish, along with Red Drum, Gray Trout, Black Sea Bass, Gag Grouper, and Smooth Dogfish. Some of their Bluefish were 1-2 pounders and Russel's Red Drum was a suprizing 24".

The seas were a little rough early, but the fishing was actually pretty good. Later in the morning as the wind layed out, the fishing fizzled out as well. We finished up inside Beaufort Inlet catching Smooth Dogfish up to 14 pounds.

April 26 Bonitos are Chewing

After 3 straight weeks at Hatteras I was glad to sail out of Beaufort Inlet this morning and I was greeted by wave after wave of hungry fish! First stop off Atlantic Beach was covered with Bluefish and I probably caught 25 and kept 10 for the frying pan. All of these Bluefish were from 1 to 2 pounds each. Next up was an epic Atlantic Bonito bite. In an hour's time, I hooked 10. I pulled off 1, broke off 2, let swim off 3, and boxed 4! These fish ranged from 3 to 5 pounds each and were superb fighters on light tackle.

After searching to the east for a Chopper Bluefish to no avail, I finally ended up on the Shoals at Cape Lookout and released 2 Red Drum at 30" and 33".

It was also a great day for viewing Ocean life. I had close encounters with a Basking Shark, 4 Ocean Sunfish, and 3 Leatherback Turtles!

I'm open for charter on April 28, 29, and 30. Let's go Bonito fishing for $200!

April1 Sea Mullet Fishing

We had a nice catch of Sea Mullets up to 13" today fishing in the MHC Turning Basin. the ratio of throwback Gray Trout and Croakers to Sea Mullet was probably 10:1, but it was still fun and there was lots of action. We also caught Dog Sharks, Spot, Pinfish, Hogfish, Black Sea Bass, Rock Sea Bass, Sea Robin, and Bluefish. Also, we caught all 3 varieties of Sea Mullet, Northern, Southern, and Gulf. The fish bit best at the top of the tide and we only fished for less than 2 hours.

April Open Days and Opportunities

As of right now, here is what I have availiable and what I suggest.



March 30, 31, April 1, and April 2.----Fishing out of Beaufort for Albacore should be availiable. Other options include searching the Shoals for schools of Red Drum, bottom fishing for Sea Mullet and Puffers. Also pretty much all the Dog Sharks you want.



April 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.---Fishing out of Hatteras for Giant Red Drum. I will only be availiable for Half Day Morning trips and with SW wind, I expect this fishing to be very good! I will be open to both boat and guided surf fishing.



April 11, 12, 13, and 14.---Fishing out of Beaufort for Albacore, Bluefish, Gray Trout, Sea Mullet, Red Drum, and possibly an early Atlantic Bonito.



April 20, 21, and 22.---Guided Night-Time Surf Fishing at Ocracoke for Giant Red Drum. I can almost promise great fishing given a moderate SW wind and an incoming tide. This is the most reliable Trophy Red Drum spot in NC during the Spring!



April 26, and 27---Fishing out of Beaufort for Atlantic Bonito, Albacore, Bluefish, Gray Trout, and Red Drum. I would expect both Chopper Bluefish and very sporty Cownose Rays to be around. Giant Red Drum are a possibility on a pretty day and a long boat ride! Sometimes we do find them a bit closer! Also, Starting April 24, the Bonito Special is availiable!

March 28 Albacore Inside the Inlet!

I had a great day of light tackle Albacore fishing today. I pretty much found cooperative schools of Albacore everywhere I looked from inside Beaufort Inlet all the way to the Shoals at Cape Lookout. In a half day of casting metal on spinning tackle, I released 8 Albacore up to 14 lb.s.

My goal for today was to search for schools of Red Drum up on the Shoals at Cape Lookout, but that never happened. I was amazed at the major changes to the landscape out there however. There was more dry lumps on the Shoals today than I can ever remember and huge areas of very shallow flats that stretch far to the west of where they were last winter. I see lots of potential for a great fly and spin fishery for Chopper Bluefish this Spring. Maybe even anchor the boat and walk in to cast.

March 14 Drum and Dogs

Released around 20 Red Drum today. All these fish were caught on structure in 50 to 60 feet of water. These fish were all undersized at around 14" to 16". Also caught plenty of Dogfish, both Spiny and Smooth varieties. Top Dog was a 17 lb. Pregnant Smooth female.

March 13 Shad Fishing

It was such a pretty day, I had to go fishing! So I made the drive over to the Neuse just west of New Bern and caught my first Hickory Shad of the year! Last year was great and by mid-March we were catching 50 to 75 per day so my expectations were very high. Unfortunately the fishing was a little slow, but by fishing a pair of White Grubs near the bottom I was able to scrap out a limit of Red Roe keepers and release a few more. Also, I had a jumbo White Shad, 4 lb.+, on for 2 jumps and 1 screaming run and I had a couple of bites on a Cat Rod but NO HOOK-UPS! I call it a good day and hopefully tomorrow will be better!

Miami Fishing Trip

Without going into great detail about what a great fishing trip this ALMOST was, I'll just say I caught a Sailfish and a Swordfish on the same day. That's pretty good! Unfortunately, I missed 3 more Sails and 2 other Swords and broke off a nice sized Mako! Adding insult to injury was the fact that I only got picture of the Swordfish and my Camera's shutter speed was set wrong! Oh yeah, the Swordie was also undersized and had to be released!

Awesome Picture!

I don't have any new fishing reports because I haven't been fishing. I did find a killer picture on the internet that I'd like to share!

Blanket License

I have purchased the Blanket License for my Boat. You will not need a NC Recreational Fishing License to fish with Top Water Charters in 2007. You will need your license for Surf fishing and River fishing with Capt. Marty.

Spring Fishing Specials and Open Dates

After last year, I expect Spring of 2007 Fishing to be outstanding. Fishing for Giant Red Drum, Bluefish of all sizes, and Atlantic Bonito were outstanding last year. Other options are bottom fishing for Black Sea Bass, jigging for Gray Trout, and Shad fishing in the Neuse River.

I'm going to do a special deal in late April/early May for Atlantic Bonito. Here's the deal. A half day of Bonito fishing will cost $200. A regular half day inshore regularly costs $275. Here's the difference. Last year, after catching Bonito very early most mornings, I would run all over the Ocean looking for other things to fish for. On several occasions, I found huge schools of 20 to 40 pound Red Drum. On other occasions, I found nothing. Some of my clients enjoyed the hunt and some didn't. The fact of the matter is this, if my clients want to target At. Bonito only, that trip is so absurdly simple and the tackle requirements are minimal, I can easily do this trip at a discount rate. No Problem. I might add, other fish are caught while Bonito fishing including King and Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, Albacore, and Gray Trout. If my clients would like the opportunity to look for other things in other places and use other methods for other fish, then we'll do he regular half day inshore at $275.


Right now my open days for March and April are:

March 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 28, 29, 30, and 31

April 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29

I will also be availiable for Guided Surf Fishing on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands during this period. I will give more detailed information on specific dates as they approach. April is the best time to target Giant Red Drum in the surf at Ocracoke Inlet. Last year we nailed them pretty good from April 19 through April 24.

New Fishing Report Forum

I lost my old one. Too bad. All those great reports from 2006 and all those photos. I hope this one works!