MEGA MILLIONS

My life has been a cake walk.... I was a 46 year old that never had to grow up.... I found a career where I could fish 100-200 days a year... I chased pretty girls.... Got my feelings hurt a few times, but hey, that's life..

Then I met a girl that I really fell for... In August, my life couldn't be better. Fishing was good. My girlfriend was the prettiest and the sweetest thing ever... We had some BIG NEWS!!!

Then came Hurricane Irene... Robin and I got dealt a horrible blow to our plans.... Shark Island got blown down and Fishing was a struggle from that point on.....

By Christmas, for a whole bunch of very complicated reasons that were No Ones Fault, my relationship fell apart

By March, my Perfect Bill of Health was shattered by a MRI that showed some major Back Problems. 30 days of Pain and a threat of Paralysis on my Right Leg.

ALL THAT BAD NEWS.....

Well, tonight it ends baby! Tonight I'm all set to win the MEGA MILLIONS drawing! I'm getting ready to WIN THAT $500 MILLION..... THAT's 500,000,000 DOLLARS

March 27 IT WAS A BAD DAY

Okay, here goes. About 30 days ago, I was blindsided by an intense back pain... Nothing I hadn't experienced before and it always lasted 2-3 days and went away..... Well, this time it didn't. I didn't let it stop me. I went fishing a few times. I caught a few Shad, I caught a few Red Drum.... In between, I saw 2 Doctors. Both assumed a Muscle Sprain, but as I explained myself, them nor I could figure out why it didn't go away.... Finally, on a whim, I had an MRI.... I also got prescribed Predisone that made me feel great! So great, in fact, we were catching 40 lb Red Drum on Friday... Then Chris and I were headed to the Neuse River on Monday.... My phone rang.... My MRI results and with it my 46 year old youthful exuberence and reckless way of life came to a grinding halt..... I am the proud owner of 2 BULGING DISCS, 1 HERNIATED DISC, and 1 UNKNOWN MASS that is pushing against a BUNDLE of NERVES that evidently controls my right leg.... Surgery Recommended but I opted for Steriod Injections and Physical Therapy. With no improvement on my leg, I'll be looking at Surgery regardless. But I'm holding off on that.... Doctor's orders---Rest and no lifting heavier than a coffee cup... I said "Hey Doc, guess what I was doing Friday, beating down the Ocean for 60 miles. up and down a ladder in the breakers, lifting and tossing 6 big ass Red Drum." He shook his head and said, I should be paralyzed right now, please don't do it again.... So, Capt Marty is on the shelf. No more worrys about a broken heart. I got a broken back. Im lucky. Im sorry. For those affected, I am truly sorry... I will come back better, lighter, stronger. I cant believe the way my life has changed since Dec 19th. I really thought the Bonito and the Cobia would be my escape.... Looks like a big fat NEEDLE in my SPINE will get that job though... Anyway, So long for a while.... Capt Marty is on the Shelf!

March 25 Catching Bait

With visions of a 50 lb Flathead Catfish swimming around in our head, Chris and I went to the Mung Hole and collected a few Bluegills to use for live bait... The fish weren't nearly as festive as the day before, I only caught one on the fly. Also, the Bass were window shopping, but not buying. The few Bluegills that are headed to the Neuse River with us all fell for the Roostertail Spinner. Total Catch for the Day: 8 Bluegill

March 24 Beaufort Freshwater Grand Slam on Fly

Freshwater Fly Rod action in Beaufort is fast and furious this morning, all on popping bugs.... If you don't mind small fish and I don't.... Im just glad that my back is allowing this today! My best fish of the day was a 14" Largemouth Bass that I caught and then discovered a dead battery in my camera. I ran in for lunch and a new battery and caught another slam and got the pictures for proof...... WOW! Anyway, I do love those Bass and Pumpkinseeds on the 3 wt fly rod. There was lots of surface activity this morning and I'd get 4-5 strikes on every cast. Needless to say, it was good day to be an amateur fly caster! Total Catch for the Day (so far): 28 Bluegill, 4 Pumpkinseed, and 3 Largemouth Bass

March 23 Sightcasting to Red Drum

Mission Accomplished. Chris, Joe, and I found Giant Red Drum by the hundreds. It wasn't always easy. They were shifty. Boat pressure had them on the run. But we cast enough swimbaits and Bucktails at them to score 6 NC Citation Releases. We also found a few thousand slot Red Drum but we didn't get to that party fast enough. I honestly could've thrown my cast net and caught 100, but we couldn't get a bite out a few thousand panicky Red Drum.. That's all we saw except for a few 100 lb Sharks. No Bluefish and no Albacore was disappointing.. Total Catch for the Day: 6 Red Drum up to 46" 

March 17 Ferry Dock Fishing

Paul Terry and I stayed up and fished most of the night over on the north end of Ocracoke Island.. For the most part, the fish were small. The Black Sea Bass were expected, the Tautog and the Sheepshead were a suprize. Where the hell are the Pinfish and Bluefish? PT did take home a tasty little Tautog and enough Sea Bass fillets to make a meal. Total Catch for the Night: 35 Black Sea Bass, 1 Tautog, and 1 Sheepshead

More Good Pictures from Thursday

Damn if I aint a couple of relapses from the Bad Back and the Broken Heart.... I think if the back would slack off, the Fishing could push the Heart back into complience.....  Also, yesterday and today, I had planned to go sightcasting for Red Drum, but unfortunately, the beautiful weather we've been experiencing has also brought thick fog to Hatteras Island. The TOP WATER BOAT is headed back to Beaufort Inlet this week and I expect to be ready to Rock-N-Roll by the first of April....

March 15 Beautiful Weather & Slow Fishing

I fished off Hatteras today with the famous litigator Paul Terry of Va Beach and Stevie Bittman, who played monopoly in real life and won. He bought up the railroads and enough unfortunate people landed on them and Bittman collected his fee. Then he hit community chest and it said "Go fishing for Amberjack" and the Jacks won........ Here's my excuse, we went to an area where the current was blazing... The problem was, with a late start and an early finish (I worked until 6am and need to be home by 4pm) the Bluefin and Yellowfin Tuna were 20 miles NE and the Dolphin and Blackfin Tuna were 12-15 miles South. So we were hung out to dry.... But it was beautiful and we did find some Amberjacks to go with our one Dolphin bite. Where we were, the Dolphin were hard to find. The Amberjacks were in the heavy cover. In the end, we sucked. Total Catch for the Day: 1 Dolphin and 1 Amberjack

March 11 Steady Hickory Shad

I woke up this morning to a new world. The back pain that ruled every second of my life for the past 26 days had let up and the gray dreary world that surrounded my heart since Dec 19th had brightened. I can't explain that one.... Those that know me best, know exactly what I'm talking about. Not sure WHY or HOW, but it is what it is.... The best part of my day was that Mr Merwin Jones and I were set to go to Pitch Kettle Creek this morning. It was NOT A MISTAKE... It was a cold morning, but it gave way to a bright sunny, warm day. The fishing was inconsistent, but at the end of the day, It was great! The best thing about today's catch, in addition to the numbers, was the size. Today's Hickory Shad were consistently large. The biggest Shad, lots of 14" to 18", that I've consistently caught in a few years. The largest Hickory Shad I weighed on my certified scales was 2lb 3oz, there might have been a couple that were a few ounces larger. There were 14 fish that were all bookends. We released several of the larger fish since they were males. By NCWRC standards we caught 14 Citation winning Hickory Shad. That's rocking! The Hickory Shad were equal opportunity slammers today. The smacked the spoon and the grub pretty equally. I also got my first doubleheader in probably 3 years. Lots of big Roe laden females today pushing and topping 2 lbs each. Great Day. Total Catch for the Day: 80 Hickory Shad up to 2 lb 3 oz 

March 8 Hickory Shad on the Side

On a trip to Raleigh to visit relatives, I couldn't resist a little detour over to Cowpen Landing. In an hour of casting I caught 6 Hickory Shad, including 4 fat Red Roe Runners. They were slamming the grub today, Nice ones with big, mature roes. Good eating. Total Catch for the Day: 6 Hickory Shad up to 15"

March 7 Where Ive Been

Okay. No Fishing lately. I went to work last week at Hatteras and hurt my back. A trip to Hatteras Medical Center on Friday and I've been feeling like Charlie Sheen, but my back is still hurting! I also got involved in bringing a Ferry down to Southport from Mann's Harbor. That was a 2 day trip. On Monday we left Southport headed back to Morehead City with another Ferry. High winds got us stuck between the Figure 8 Island drawbridge and the Wrightsville Beach drawbridge. We finally got to Morehead City yesterday.... So, here I sit with a bad back. I'm dying to go Shad Fishing. My Boat sits at Hatteras and I've got night run next week. Hopefully the Bluefins will be chewing and the Yellowfins too!

Feb 25 Hickory Shad Biting

Chris and I escaped from the stressful world today and hit Neuse River for some Shad Fishing. When we first arrived up to Pitch Kettle Creek, it was apparent that the fishing was excellent. However, Chris and I struggled to find our niche! Finally on our second anchoring attempt, I hooked with a small Buck Shad. Better than nothing, we were on our right! Wrong! Then the doldrums hit. Christopher was going into look down mode. His two favorite spots were occupied. Things were looking bleak. Christopher ran up a Creek and emptied his 9mm on some unsuspecting water molecule. He felt better. We ventured back out in main river current and we found our spot. Every third cast we'd hook up a nice Hickory Shad but 4 out of every 5 were bucks. We ended up with a nice pile of red roe delictasies. YummYumm. Taste better than the Captain's spelling. Momma says I aint doing enough crossword puzzles. Mental sit-ups. Yeah Right....... I got that off my chest...........Pretty soon,  Shad will turn to Bluefish will turn to Atlantic Bonito will turn to Cobia..... By then The Marty & Robin story will be finalized. With either with a yes or a no. God figuring out these fish are much easier
Total Catch for the Day: 45 Hickory Shad up to 2 lb 2oz

Feb 22 Beautiful Day and Good Bluefin Tuna Action

I joined CL Lupton and crew today for a Bluefin Tuna trip out of Oregon Inlet. It was a beautiful day and pretty good fishing as well. It was also a great day for viewing the Blue Planet. Thousands of Common Dolphin and lots of huge Hammerhead Sharks. The Bluefin Tuna were there as well. Just not always biting. In the afternoon, we found a huge school of them. The bites came quicker and the action was great. The entire time, our boat was surrounded by hundreds of Common Dolphin in all directions. These are the Dolphin that look like they are wearing tuxedos. Beautiful little critters. As for the fishing, we had 9 bites, released 6 Bluefin Tuna up to 200 lbs. We also killed a 210 lb Tuna. Our smallest Tuna was cute "little 70 pounder". Great day. Great Crew. Total Catch for the Day: 7 Bluefin Tuna up to 210 lbs

This Is Why I'm Here

Capt. Marty,


I believe God put all of us here for some reason. We may be close to finding that reason in our life time here. Sometimes never. I can tell that God wants you to be a Fisherman, just like some other famous fisherman (lol). You give much joy to many people, some you meet, some you don't. We have never met, but I read your articles every time you post. The people that do fish with you get great knowledge, great fishing, and a good friend. Now whats better then that?



We all need some attitude adjustments, it makes us a better person. Don't let anyone change your passion. Chin up... Your a good man.

Your friend

Wayne

Feb 13 Freezing Cold and Hickory Shad

Capt Chris knew I was bummed out so he bit the bullet and took me on the Neuse River on an early season, freezing cold, Hickory Shad excursion...... My lasting impression? Chris is a great friend. IT WAS COLD!!!! The fishing was poor. We found a few Shad up in Pitch Kettle Creek. (That is just for you, Tuggy!) I really believe the best Shad fishing is a week to 10 days away. However, its always good to get the first one "out of the way". Chris and I also explored some new area. Brice's Creek and the lower Neuse around New Bern. We couldn't buy a bite. Hopefully the pace and the results of the fishing will be on the upswing soon. I need a diversion. Weird, my favorite pictures from this day were not the "fish pictures". Also, being sad and shedding a tear is a liberating experience. For obvious reasons, I've been a little emotional. But when the tears freeze down the side of your face, it really pays to "think about something happy" for a little while instead. Thanks Columbo.....Total Catch for the Day: 8 Hickory Shad up to 1 lb

Feb 10 Amberjacks saved the Day

I had the pleasure to fish with Capt Chris Kimrey and Dustin today on a beautiful winter day. Light winds and NO seas. For much of the day, fishing was a let down. Trolling for Wahoo and Blackfin Tuna was pretty poor and we were 10 miles away from a brief morning bite. Oh well. Lunch time found us 50 miles offshore on a beautiful tide line. It was a sight to see, with 73 degree water moving east at 4 knots and 69 degree water moving west at 3 knots. Where the water rubbed together whirlpools spun balls of foam the size of volkswagons like kiddy toy spinning tops. Thousands of Man-o-wars, some kind of weird worm, and small fish abounded. However, no feeding fish or birds were present. It was an epic spectacle and an epic let down. So we ran to a nearby wreck and casted and jigged as a last ditch effort. We were rewarded with an epic "Jack" day. Amberjacks, an Almaco Jack, huge Blue Runners, and an Albacore all fell to the jig. A little inshore we jigged up a Gag Grouper, lots of nice Black Sea Bass, Bank Sea Bass, and more Amberjacks. All in all, a great day. Total Catch for the Day: 14 Amberjacks up to 20 lbs, 1 Almaco Jack at 14 lbs, 1 Albacore at 8 lbs, 6 Blue Runner up to 5 lbs, 1 Gag Grouper at 7 lbs, 14 Black Sea Bass up to 3 lbs, and 2 Bank Sea Bass 

Feb 4 Long Hatteras Boat Ride

A beatuiful day on the water. A horrible day of fishing on the Top Water Boat.... The outlook was good.... A large school of large Red Drum on the Shoals.... The best Blackfin Tuna bite on the Planet right off Hatteras... Bluefin Tuna fishing has been slowly expanding to the south... So we were ready! So what did Frank and Ian get? We made it to the 280 Rock. We saw one school of Blackfins airing it out! We circled the area for 30 minutes and didn't get a bite. We jigged on the Rock with no luck. We saw one other boat jig up one Blackfin Tuna..... The Bluefin Tuna bite blew 12-15 miles NE of our location and it was just too far away to run to at 11am since we were already 30 miles SE of Hatteras Inlet. We did stop by the Diamond Shoals Lighttower and catch some Albacore and a Triggerfish and a Hogfish. Then we ran in to Diamond Shoals and looked for the Red Drum schools. We found none.... So we called it a day and ran home to do Ferry duty last night. All together we ran 80+ miles and came home with a nice Gray Triggerfish. Thats one expensive fish sandwich right there! The highlight of our day was having a very close encounter with a huge, adult Manta Ray! This beast dove right under my boat and I swear his width was close to our length....  25 FEET!!!  Total Catch for the Day: 3 Albacore, 1 Triggerfish, and 1 Hogfish

Jan 30 UPDATE

I am headed back to Hatteras tommorrow. I have the Night Run and I am taking my Boat. There have been a couple of Bluefin Tuna caught inshore at Hatteras. Therefore, I will be doing some Bluefin Tuna fishing this week/next week if conditions allow it. Please call me if anyone is interested. 252-241-8350... Wed Feb 1 through Mon Feb 6

Jan 28 Spiny Dogfish Heaven

It was too pretty to sit on the shore... I was wishing I was in Va Beach.. I was wishing I knew where some good fish were down here in Beaufort Inlet.. I was bored.. I was missing Robin.. Sooooooooo, I launched the Top Water Boat! First time in a while. The Ocean was pretty, but there was some groundswell.. I debated headed west, but I am always pulled east! Off Cape Lookout, I found some Loons and Mergansers over some marks. So I dropped a speck rig and quickly got rewarded with a Dogshark. Then another and another and another... Quite a few, in fact. Big, pregnant female Spiny Dogs. 10-12 pounders. After getting my reel on, I continued my journey to the Shoals. Same old story, ever since Hurricane Irene the Shoals have sucked. I hope that something changes up there before Spring.. The Cape Lookout Shoals are poor and the formation is as bad as I can remember. I have been scouring those Shoals 50+ times a year for 20+ years. So, I consider myself a knowledgable person when it come to the Cape Lookout Shoals... (While I continue to fail in less important fields such as.... Personal Finance, Relationships, Health, but hey, at least I'm good at something)... Anyway, I crossed the Shoals hoping to find acres of Albacore and rolling Striped Bass... Negative... What I found on the Summerlin Reef was 4 small Red Drum, a handful of Bluefish, Black Sea Bass, and a Oyster Toadfish... With such a sterling catch, I am disappointed to say, I left my camera at home. I'm sorry!  Total Catch for the Day: 10 Spiny Dogfish up to 12 lbs, 10 Bluefish up to 10", 8 Black Sea Bass up to 8", 4 Red Drum up to 14" and 1 Oyster Toadfish

Jan 26 Striped Bass gnawing off Virginia Beach

What a great day to be fishing... The Blue Planet was putting on a show. Humpback Whales and Gannets. Striped Bass and Bluefin Tuna. Miles of Menhaden. The biomass was incredible. Right off the metropolis of Va Beach.. I knew I had arrived in the big city when Sea Tow was broadcasting an Info commercial every 10 minutes on the VHF Radio.... Welcome to the BIG TIME I guess.............Back to the Fishing! It took a few passes, but catching 3 Bass, then 2 Bass, and then 3 Bass again and our 4 man bag limit was met and we were done by 9am! All the fish were probably Chesepeake Bay fish in the 20-24 lb class. They were caught right at the mouth of the Bay. I also lost a nice one that I guess was 40+ pounds. I've never felt a Striped Bass run like that. Ever. Damn probably would've been a new career best for me, but the hook pulled.... We pulled off 2 others and that was it. 8 out of 11 Striped Bass in 3 hours of trolling in a huge fleet of boats right off Cape Henry..... Then we ran in to the dock and we dropped off our fish. Then it was off to the Tuna grounds.... We should've headed home! A few hours of Bluefin Fishing was fruitless for us. We did see one boat doing battle with a Bluefin Tuna in 35 foot of water a couple of miles off the Beach. We watched him spin counterclockwise for a hour and we left him spinning off False Cape.... We came home after a couple of hours trolling and running around. We called it a great day. A Bluefin Tuna would've made it a perfect day! Total Catch for the Day: 8 Striped Bass up to 24 lbs