The First Hurricane Irene Cancelation

Well its a beautiful day and I've had my first Hurricane Irene cancelation. I think the Ocean is getting a little bumpy. Who knows, I may go for a little boatride as soon as the Time Warner Cable guys gets done rigging me back up

Aug 15 Bluefish Chewing and Great Jigging Variety

Mark and his boys joined me this morning for a half day adventure. I owed them a good one after botching Friday/Saturday Night. It was a little breezy and choppy this morning in our first spot, but the fish were there and the fish were hungry. It wasn't every cast, but there were enough Bluefish on metal to make sore wrists and hands. Then after stuffing the livewell and the cooler, we went east looking for a big Sand Tiger. Unfortunately, the usually cooperative Sharks were not biting our baits today. We did manage to have some serious fun by dropping stingsilvers to the bottom and ripping them back to the surface. Interesting mix of Jacks and other oddball fish. All in all it was a success, but I did mess up a little by heading back across the Shoals to look for Spanish Mackerel.. The Mackerel were nowhere to be found and our search for Red Drum was wiped out by a steering failure in my upper station. That really sucked and needs my attention. Fast! Total Catch for the Day: 60 Bluefish up to 3 lbs, 2 Amberjacks, 1 Blue Runner, 1 American Red Snapper, 1 Spanish Mackerel, and 1 At Sharpnose Shark at 8 lbs

Aug 14 Cedar Island Wind, Lightning, and Waterspouts

Bad news. I pushed this trip back a day to take advantage of SW wind. The guys that fished Friday night got beat up by the East wind, but they caught a few fish.... So Sat Nite was looking good. Nice 10 kt SW wind. But, as we arrived at the boat ramp a dark cloud was coming. We sat out the first rain in our trucks. An hour later, we scrambled. We anchored up and started fishing with rain and lightning in the vicinity. The pressure gradient turned the warm SW wind into a cold NE wind. It was rough. The very thing I tried to avoid. Two differences though, the fish were not biting and there were big storms all around. We stuck it out for 3 hours. Missed a Monster Shark and caught a Bluefish.... Then as I stared west into absolute darkness, a bolt of lightning lit the sky behind us.... And clearly illuminated was a monster waterspout and it was on not too far away! I tried to deny it... I told Mark to watch the western sky and wait for lightning.... Seconds later a serious groundstroke to the west. I said what did you see. Mark said, "A Tornado!" Goodbye fishing grounds... Not in the Dark! We hauled it to the boat ramp. I drove back to Beaufort in driving wind and rain and amazing lightning... My fault guys, we should've caught them Friday night and stayed home saturday.... Captain Failure...Total Catch for the Night: 1 Bluefish

Aug 11 Part 2 Slow Red Drum Fishing

Berkley, Chris, and I made the 40 mile trip east tonight to sample the Southern Pamlico Sound Red Drum fishing and it was a little disappointing. The forecasted SW winds never materialized and we bopped in the swells delivered by 15 kt NE wind. Not our best Drum winds! We stuck with it and we caught a 25 lb Drum around 9pm and a 45 lb Drum right at 10pm. We thought the 10 oclock Drum was the "start of the bite" but the bite never came and it was over. All said and done, it wasn't worth it.... Total Catch for the Night: 2 Red Drum up to 45 lbs

Aug 11 Bluefish and Barracudas

Jeff and his boys went today on a half day trip and we had a great trip last year that made expectations high! Fishing was the same or better this year. Last year they bailed Bluefish and caught Amberjacks. This year they tore up the Bluefish on every cast and did well on Barracuda. The Amberjacks are still missing and I dont have time to search for them on a half day trip. Jeff had the big fish of the day when he released a 35 lb Barracuda. I am still camera-less and the big Cuda was released beside the boat before I could pull out my phone! We caught a 20 lb Barracuda later and missed a few spectacular strikes. The boys also caught some nice Spanish Mackerel on metal. Jeff lost the day's big mystery fish after a fairly long battle on light spinning tackle. An unknown fish ate a stingsilver just off the bottom and we chased it offshore of the wreck and lots of long runs and lots of throbbing. My guess was that it was a large Blackfin Tuna. Oh well, can't win all of our battles, but I wish we could have seen what we were up against. The 12# spinning tackle was slightly over matched in this battle.... Total Catch for the Day: 50 Bluefish up to 3 lbs, 2 Barracuda up to 35 lbs, and 2 Spanish Mackerel up to 3 lbs

Aug 8 One More Day in Hatteras

Another week on the Big Island has come and gone and I will be headed home tonight. The key to good fishing next week and good life in general will depend on whether or not I can coerce Robin to get in the old fishing truck this afternoon to make the journey back to Beaufort. I think it's going to have a happy ending! My schedule is pretty full next week between fishing trips and a Coast Guard License Physical. As it stands right now, I got Friday August 12th open and that's it. If nobody calls, I'm sure I can find somebody that will go fishing with me. Robin. Or I could stay home and do nothing. Robin. Or I could go to the Courthouse and get married. Robin. Just kidding, that was for your benefit Tuggy..... Anyway, looking for some Red Drum anglers starting this week and my next 2 weeks off. Its time to get the Citation Train Rolling again. Call me at 252-241-8350.

Capt Marty is back at Hatteras and ROBIN

Cape Hatteras is a different kind of good now. Really, really good. When I'm at work, I watch the Jumping Mullets and Sheepsheads swim around... They used to drive me crazy. I'd be tossing a cast net all morning and dunking Sea Urchins all afternoon..... Now I stand around grinning and waiting to get off work so I can go see ROBIN...... Waiting to see ROBIN..... ROBIN is so sweet, and smart, and thoughtful, and kind, and cool, and cute, and beautiful, and Smoking HOT, I really feel like the luckiest guy around... Those Citation Sheepsheads are lucky too. Because since I met ROBIN, I aint been chasing them this summer... Does anyone blame me? Huh? When I get home, I got Friday August 12th open. Fishing has been awesome, but so has Life in general. Once again, thanks to ROBIN. Anybody want to go that day please call me at 252-241-8350... Everybody have a great week... In the meantime, please don't wake me up from this dream that I'm dreaming!

Aug 1 Every Cast Bluefish and More

Howard and crew bailed the Bluefish this morning and the Bluefish were much bigger than they were Sunday. The first school we hit and the last school we hit were both solid 2-3 pounders on every cast on metal lures.  In between, we merely caught 1-2 lb Bluefish on every cast for 2 hours. Sigh. We also had a short flurry on Spanish Mackerel. Then we rode the Shackleford Banks Beach looking for a Red Drum. Failed. We cruised west looking for an after lunch Mackerel. Failed. We ended up jigging metal at AR 315 and found plenty of action on a variety of fish. Total Catch for the Day: 75 Bluefish up to 3 lbs, 10 Spanish Mackerel up to 2 lbs, 1 Southern Flounder at 18", 12 Black Sea Bass up to 14", 1 Rock Sea Bass, 1 Oyster Toadfish at 3 lbs, 1 At Needlefish, and 4 Inshore Lizardfish

July 30 Bluefish and Sand Tigers

Same mission as yesterday. Stuff the box, stuff the live well, and go find something huge. First thing in the morning, the Bluefish were there. A dozen black schools of them. Every cast. Three anglers hooked up. I even joined the fray. We bailed them. For an hour. Stingsilvers were flying and popping off. Bluefish everywhere. Then we went looking for a fight. Brandon was ready. The first bite was a let down. A freaking Sharpnose Shark on a butterflied 3 lb Bluefish. What a letdown. Next bite was a monster. Brandon aint no 7 year old like yesterdays "monster slayer" but the fight was similar. Then the hook popped out after 10 minutes and that Shark was still on the bottom. We never saw this Shark....... A few minutes later, Brandon released a 150 lb Sand Tiger and he did it in 3 minutes. Makes me wonder how big the other one was! After the Shark and facing a "pick up the girls" deadline, I made a critically bad decision to go Amberjack hunting. It was a failure. A 14 mile round trip to fish for 15 minutes. Duh. No Amberjacks present and we missed a Barracuda bite and had a few other Barracudas swarm us but the bait was too smart and hid under the swim platform behind the motor. I was furious, needless to say. Sorry guys, we should've gone Blacktipping.... Total Catch for the Day: 75 Bluefish up to 3 lbs, 2 Spanish Mackerel at 2 lbs, a 7 lb Sharpnose Shark, and a 150 lb Sand Tiger

July 29 Every Cast Bluefish, Deep Jigging Mackerel, and a 250 lb Shark

Yeah, it was worth the wait. The weather was much prettier today than yesterday. It worked out good for Chris and the Boys.... The worst part of our day was that I didnt have my camera! I missed alot of great action shots on Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel. The schools of Bluefish were insane today. We spent a couple of hours casting over thousands of 1-4 lb Bluefish. Stuffed the cooler and the live well. Then we headed to a wreck that was covered up with Spanish Mackerel. We caught a few, but we had bigger fish to fry. One drop to the bottom and we got what we were looking for and then some! An epic battle between a 7 year old boy and an 8 ft long Shark...... And, the boy won! Classic. Probably the second largest Shark ever on Top Water Charters.... Not counting the Basking Sharks we have snagged and released. Anyway, it was a great day, non-stop action, a never to be forgotten Shark for a kid, lots of good eating fish, and a mission accomplished! Total Catch for the Day: 60 Bluefish up to 4 lbs, 10 Spanish Mackerel up to 2 lbs, 1 Pinfish, 1 Inshore Lizardfish, 1 At Thread Herring, and a 8 ft long 250 lb Sand Tiger Shark 

July 28 Too Much Wind

I hope I did the right thing..... Chris had a AM halfday charter and since we were both free tommorrow, I decided that we should let this wind blow out and try again in the morning..... Hopefully, the winds will be lighter, the seas smaller, and the fish hungrier tommorrow.... In the meantime, Robin and I went swimming and hung out and had a great day.....and we didn't catch a single fish!

July 18 Awesome Fishing Period

Today was one of those days.... Very consistent and easy Spanish Mackerel up to 2 lbs on metal first thing in the morning. A leaping missile attacks of 100+ pound Blacktip Sharks in open water a few miles east.... Hammering a school of Spanish Mackerel... Watching them chase down and engulf live Mackerel right by the boat was incredible... Then 2 acres of 1-3 lb Bluefish on every cast and up to 4 per cast on one of my crazy rigs! Bigger Bluefish too. Heather lost a 4-5 pounder because I didn't get the net quick enough. Scott had a 1 lb Bluefish chomped in half by a larger Bluefish. Then we ended up the day with 65 and 75 lb Blacktips on live Bluefish and cut Mackerel in the skinny water. What a blast. Easy day and, of course, I got to go back to Hatteras tommorrow. Total Catch for the Day: 12 Spanish Mackerel, 60 Bluefish, and 3 Blacktip Sharks 

July 17 Robin, Mackerel, and a Shark

Today I took my new girlfriend, Robin,  out for a boat ride. We frolicked in the water. We caught 50 Sand Dollars.... Then I hauled her into the Ocean. I nailed 5 Spanish Mackerel in 6 casts on metal. Then we shutdown to drift and relax. Of course, I had to drop a half Mackerel overboard and turn the clicker on. Great timing, Capt Marty. At least, I finally got a fishing picture of Robin to put up for those who have been asking.... Hopefully there will be lots of more to come, for a long, long time. Believe it or not, she is cooler and sweeter than she is HOT. That's a hard reality for me to deal with!!!! Yep, it seems Capt Marty is hooked and it feels like 200# and a circle hook. I'm finished.....  Total Catch for the Day: 5 Spanish Mackerel and a 15 lb Blacktip Shark 

July 16 Bluefish, Sharks, and East Wind

Today we had grand illusions of Dolphin on light tackle. Amberjacks, Kings, and Cudas. Unfortunately, the weather man gave us 15 kts of east wind and 3-5 foot seas that pretty much made life in open water miserable..... So we went to a sloppy spot and cast for Spanish Mackerel, then we went and caught some Bluefish from small up to 2 lbs. After looking at some places we "couldn't go to" we found a nice quiet place that was pretty active with Sharks. The highlight of the day? I had a good one when Stacie caught a 75 lb Blacktip Shark and a nightmare when I suffered a steering failure in the Tower and nearly wiped out a Boat and a family on the beach at Cape Lookout. I am truly sorry for scaring anybody! It will definitely not happen again. Total Catch for the Day: 30 Bluefish up to 2 lbs, 7 Spanish Mackerel up to 1 lb, a 50 lb Southern Stingray, 1 Hogfish, 1 Black Sea Bass, 5 Inshore Lizardfish, and a 75 lb Blacktip Shark

July 13 Blacknose and Blacktip Sharks

Kevin and family fish a great half day with me today. I took them to the "sure kill" Bluefish spot and loaded the live well with 1-2 lb Bluefish and put enough in the box to to make everyone happy. Then we left the Bluefish behind and went looking for a Shark. Now came the easy part. In the last hour of our trip, we caught 3 adult Blacknose Sharks, a 45 lb Blacktip Shark that was a perfect specimen, and also released a Southern Stingray. The Blacknose Sharks were really cool because we were catching them in 2 foot of water. Weight guesses where probably 35 lbs, 28 lbs, and 20 lbs. The Blacktip Shark was cool because he stripped 200 yds of line in 5 seconds and gave my thumb a burn like I haven't had since Dec of 1989. Great Day. Great Charter. Total Catch for the Day: 40 Bluefish up to 2+ lbs, 3 Blacknose Shark up to 35 lbs, 1 Southern Stingray, and 1 Blacktip Shark at 45 lbs

July 7 Stuck on an Island

I'm back at Hatteras and I'm working a non-fishing shift, so I don't expect to catch anything much.  But, I might get lucky, who knows! Next week, if the weather is decent, I would expect the fishing to be excellent. Lots of action, and hopefully, some big fish. I know they are here, just got to be able to get to them! My Open Dates are GONE. Sorry about that!

July 4 Great Casting Action and Smoking Blacktips in Shallow Water

Honestly, today was too rough for a center console..... I  am not taking somebody fishing to get paid. We are all in for catching, or all in for exploring... I figured out from pleading "its too rough" with Stephen that #1 we came too far to be denied and #2 he was wanting to catch a bunch of fish.... He was warned, and he said "Let's Go!" So we turned the corner at Barden's Inlet at 7am and got smacked down by 25 kts of SW wind and 6-8 foot seas in a falling tide and ripping long shore current. An hour ro the Shoals and a long search finally got us the other side. Then we pulled into a Bluefish wonderland. Periods of "every cast" fishing followed by searches for something else. We stayed for hours and we rocked and rolled and we slayed the Bluefish. Then we went up the Beach to the North and searched for anything else. Nothing. Back to Cape Lookout and I decided to try a spot that Ive been watching develop.... A pair of 2 lb live Bluefish went overboard. Minutes later a 125 lb Blacktip leaped beside the boat. Then the first strike occured. It went from there he is..... to all the line is gone in about 10 seconds..... The amount of drag we were fishing was incredible. And the hook pulled. Again and again. We were 0 for 4 at one point and I was starting to believe that we were jinxed in a Slough covered with the biggest, baddest, fastest Blacktip Sharks I'd ever seen. Finally, we got a manageable 100 pounder and Stephen released him. Thank goodness. That was it for the catching and a long boat ride home followed and we searched Barden's Inlet, Beaufort Inlet and 8 miles between. But it was the 4th of July and there was a lot of cocunut butter in the water... No fish! Total Catch for the Day: 45 Bluefish up to 3 lbs and a 100 lb Blacktip Shark

July 3 Bluefish, Bluefish, and more Bluefish

The weather was okay for fishing but it was a war-zone for catching fish because of where I knew we had to go! 18-20 knots of SW wind and 4-6 foot seas. I knew where the fish were, but it was a helluva ride to the spot. I'm not sure how safe it was, but we beat and battered our way to a spot where we could catch a 2-3 lb Bluefish on nearly every cast. Metal and Top Water Plugs. Unfortunately, yesterdays Spanish Mackerel bite never materialized but the Bluefish were chewing. I also saw a couple of large Ladyfish that tried to eat a top water plug but they were unsuccessful. Too bad, that would've been really cool. After loading the live well and the cooler we battered our way back to a place to where "I thought we could catch a big Blacktip Shark". But, honestly, we got there too late and the tide had turned and the boat traffic was brutal. We did have a huge Blacktip Shark devour a live 3lb Bluefish and smoke 300 yards of 50# mono in a matter of seconds. Reel Dump for sure. As quick as I dumped the anchor, the line went slack and we recovered our Bluefish, still on the hook. Without a single mark on it! Unbelievable. Total Catch for the Day:75 Bluefish from 2-3 pounds

July 2 Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish on Every Cast

Jason and crew joined me for a pretty rough adventure but I knew a good spot that was very, very fishy and was in the lee of the SW wind and swell. the only problem was the ride there and the ride back... Looking back on it, this was the gravy and was just the tip of the iceberg for the next 2 days. We found a spot where the Spanish Mackerel were biting pretty good early in the morning. After a short frenzy, it turned into straight Bluefish. Every cast on metal. You couldn't miss! With a live well full of Bluefish and a cooler loaded with Blues and Mackerel, we had intentions to go Amberjack fishing but decided to go back to the Cape Lookout Bight had try for a "calm water" Blacktip Shark. Unfortunately, our only catch on the Shark Spot was a 60 lb Southern Stingray. Other fishy things I saw were a big Pompano and a 40 lb Barracuda on the Cape Lookout Shoals. Total Catch for the Day: 15 Spanish Mackerel up to 1 lb, 40 Bluefish up to 3 lbs, and a 60 lb Southern Stingray

July 1 Bluefish and 90 lb Blacktip Shark

Testing my concentration to new heights, Robin caught Bluefish on every cast up to 4 lbs and livebaited a Bluefish to a fired up 90 lb Blacktip Shark. 100 lb Woman vs. 90 lb Shark. It was a pretty Shark, but................ This was pretty much a scouting trip for the upcoming weekend and honestly, fishing was great but we were not looking to slaughter a bunch of fish. Looked like Mackerel, Bluefish, and Sharks are here IN FORCE. Sorry guys, I picked a hell of a day to leave the camera at home. Total Catch for the Day: 8 Bluefish up to 4 lbs, 1 Spanish Mackerel, a 90 lb Blacktip Shark

June 1 Largemouth Bass Chewing

Korey, Chris, and I at Lennoxville. Korey had a 6lb 8oz Bass. I got a couple of fat 4 lb Largemouth Bass. Thanks to Korey for allowing us access to all these large Bass that have been Beaufort's hidden gem for decades. Total Catch for the Day: 13 Largemouth Bass

Flounder and Oyster Toadfish

There is a "crab bloom" happening at South Dock over on the North end of Ocracoke Island. Thousands of Blue Crabs from mature females to babys the size of dimes are everywhere. Oyster Toadfish must love them. Last night I set a personal one day record of 18 Oyster Toadfish. Between the Blue Crabs and Toadfish, Flounder fishing is nearly impossible. The past two nights, I have caught a few Finger Mullet to supplement the Silversides that I've been using for bait. That has helped the Flounder count. I am also starting to collect a very nice bag of Flounder filets and a huge bag of cleaned Blue Crabs. My momma will be happy when I get home. All you can eat Blue Crabs. My Dad, not so happy. Total Catch for 2 Nights: 5 Southern Flounder up to 17", 3 Summer Flounder up to 16", 27 Oyster Toadfish up to 3 lbs, and 1 Black Sea Bass

June 24 The Day that Changed my Life

On June 24, 1988 I woke up as a normal 21 year old idiot. That night when I went to bed my life had changed...... That afternoon I was reeling in a 1 pound Spanish Mackerel that I hooked trolling on a 00 clark spoon in Beaufort Inlet. On its way to the boat, something swallowed it. An hour later I had a 66 pound Amberjack laying on the deck of my Boston Whaler. Life would never again be the same. 33 years ago. Holy Cow. If it wouldn't have happened, where would I be?

Cape Hatteras Blue Crabs and Poor Fishing

I'm back at Cape Hatteras for a wonderful week of ferrying the traveling public across Hatteras Inlet. As always, I will try to catch a few fish while I'm here. So far, the fishing has been as bad I've ever seen it at South Dock in my 10 years of effort. Perhaps its because my fishing time is occurring during the falling tide.... Perhaps there is too much grass and other debris in the water.... What I really think is it is due to the incredible number of Blue Crabs that are dominating my fishing hole.... Wednesday night, I'd had enough of nothing and set a crab pot. Three hours later, I shook 28 Blue Ccrabs out of it. I also dipped a few with my landing net and caught a few on live Mullet. Thursday night's crab count was 16 Blue Crabs out of the Pot. Remember, this is basically a 3-4 hour soak time and baited up with inferior bait. Chopped up Pinfish and Sand Perch aint the best crab bait! Pity the poor Flounder that settles on the bottom at South Dock. He is in for a short stay or he is gonna get his ass pinched! Hopefully, the 60 kt wind and torrential rain we just had will "shuffle the deck".  I did fish Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights with a rod and reel and so far,  it was been nothing to brag about.... At all....  The absolute highlight of my fishing week so far was last night. I had a shot at a Houndfish that made about 3 passes under the ramp where my Ferry was tied up. This was NO ORDINARY Houndfish. At first glance I thought it was a Freshwater Gar. Happens occasionally at Hatteras, especially drought summers and especially after bad storms. But it was so big it couldn't have been a Spotted Gar, the kind are common to NC waters. I thought thats a damn Alligator Gar. The monsterous variety down in Texas and the Gulf States. On it's next pass I got a better look, it was clearly just a Houndfish. But this monster was pushing 7 feet and had an enormous girth for this species. The MFer looked like a damn Wahoo! It would've been a "News Maker" if I could've landed it, I promise that. Total Catch for the 3 Nights: 13 Oyster Toadfishs up to 2 lbs, 2 Southern Flounder, 9 Sand Perch, 1 Black Sea Bass, 4 Bluefish, 2 Atlantic Silversides, 4 Croakers, and 5 Pinfish

June 21 Largemouth Bass in Beaufort in the Morning

Before leaving for Hatteras and a week of work on the Ferry, Korey and I made one last early morning trip to "Lunkerville" and the fish were biting, just not the big ones. Between the two of us, I think we caught 9 Largemouth Bass and I had the largest at 3 lbs. Little bit of a letdown...... I did have a  big one eat my plastic worm, but I missed on my hook-set.......... I also caught a decent Bluegill on a plastic worm. I tried to use him for live bait. It was a long cast to the pot hole I was targetting. On my first cast, things were looking good! The Bluegill was running around in circles and jumping out of the water. I was getting ready to "raise my Bass Bar!" Then the Bluegill got grassed up and it was over. I reeled it in, cleaned him off, and re-cast him. Nothing. Damn. Total Catch for the Morning: 9 Largemouth Bass up to 3 lbs and 1 Bluegill

June 20 Quest for Something Big

After last nights blow, we decided it was too windy for the Ocean this morning. So, after a long "should we go" discussion we got a late start and went looking for live bait and planned to "roll the dice" on a BIG FISH. Pretty quickly we caught a cast net full of Menhaden and headed to Cape Lookout. We got about 2 hours of incoming tide and it was pretty steady action. Unfortunately, our big fish turned out to be a 75 lb Southern Stingray. We also caught a 23 lb Blacknose Shark. The light-line was zinging left and right. Three missed strikes, a few Bluefish, and 2 Houndfish were causing the commotion. We were hoping for a shot at a Tarpon today but it never materialized and I've seen a couple of 20-25 lb King Mackerel up there the past couple days. Regardless, it never happened for us today.... The last hour of fishing was spent scouring the skinny water and sightcasting to Blacktip Sharks. We didn't get a strike, but we had some "hair raising" encounters. Total Catch for the Half Day: 3 Bluefish, 1 Southern Stingray, 1 Blacknose Shark, 2 Houndfish, and 8 Smooth Dogfish

DIABLO's Final Resting Spot

Since I discovered them in the the mid 1980's Beaufort has had 3 Ponds down in Lennoxville that were legendary producers of Giant Largemouth Bass. Anyone able to access them was able to catch "Bass of a Lifetime" on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, the place was nearly inpenetrable. Thick brush on the shoreline and extensive shallow flats of mud and mats of grass protected tiny pot holes in the grass that were teeming with 8-12 lb Largemouth Bass. These legendary Bass can supposedly leap 6 feet out of the water a snag snag Dragonflys, Redwinged Blackbirds, and Purple Martins from the air! Huge Water Moccasins ruled the shoreline and Giant Eastern Diamondback Rattle Snakes ruled the approaches to the Ponds..... We can deal with all that. However, the ONE THING that stood between you and fishing history was a Giant Pit Bull/Rottweiler mix named Diablo that lived nearby and ruled these woods with his blood curdling bark, his snarl, and his mouth foaming growl. The 50 feet of heavy gauge, rusty chain that drug behind him added to his mystique. I always figured he pulled down the side of a house to escape his bonds.... Legend had it he had survived a few Shotgun blasts and it only made him meaner and stealthier. That Dog made the Legend of the Lennoxville Ponds on par with the legends of  Bigfoot, Sasquatch, The Abomible Snowman and the Loch Ness Monster.... Today, Max and I paid homage to Diablo's final resting place. The fear of my adolescence has been exercised. Maybe I can sleep tonight for the first time since 1985 without being haunted by Diablo. My God, has it been 26 years since I felt his hot breath and rabid slobber on my bare legs as I ran for my life...... and dropped 2 rod and reels and my tacklebox......all the way to Freedom Park! I never looked back and it took 20 years to return....

June 19 Bass and Bluegills

Yesterday afternoon and today I fished 3 different ponds. Fishing was poor, bad, and decent in each different location. Korey and Max were with me today. Kory and I caught about 5 Largemouth Bass each. This time, the size was a little different. I had the biggest fish at 2 lbs. Yesterday afternoon, I caught 4 Bluegills on a bettlespin. Low Low Low water in the Beaufort Mung Holes. In danger of massive die-offs in a couple of places. Total Catch for the 3 Ponds: 10 Largemouth Bass and 4 Bluegill

June 18 The One Hour Fishing Lesson

Korey gave it to me today in Pond #1. A 6 lb and a 7 lb Largemouth Bass where I was the PHOTOGRAPHER and not the ANGLER. I changed baits one time, from a buzzbait to a plastic worm, and I couldn't hardly get a cast off without snapping a picture. That one little hesitation cost me!! Plus, Korey had the home field advantage???? Things settled down on Pond #2 and I found me a 4 and 5 pound Largemouth Bass. We each caught 5 Largemouth Bass each and this was in 60 minutes total in and out time! Incredible. Total catch for the Day: 10 Largemouth Bass up to 7 lbs