Nov 29 Good Speckled Trout Fishing

Stacy and me and two others went Speckled Trout fishing today because it was a beautiful day. My motor has been pronounced dead but I ran it anyway. And it ran...... Unfortunately, I am headed back to Stumpy Point tonight for 12 days so I am SCARED that I will miss the entire Trout season. Looking ahead, the forecast for Hwy 12 repairs to be completed is probably March. Sooooo, The Lovely Miss Jennifer has issued me an ultimatum..... No OVERTIME at CHRISTMAS. I agree. We lost 15 Christmas's and I think we deserve to spend this one together.... The Trout, on the other hand, have avoided the wrath of Capt Marty & Top Water Charters for nearly the entire month of November and December ain't looking great for me either. I will be working lots of "Ferry Time"........ Soooooo, they paid dearly today. All fish were caught on Green Grubs. It wasn't great, but there were 2 ice bags full of dead fish at the end of the day. Stacy got the biggest at 19". Stacy got the best of me and the most at 34 Speckled Trout. I got 26 Speckled Trout. The others, not so many..... Total Catch for the Day: 60 Speckled Trout up to 19"

Nov 28 The Radio Island Skunk

I wish this Fishing Report was titled "Radio Island Skunk" because on my way back up the Beach after catching 100 Speckled Trout I was approached by a small, furry, putrid, black and white animal........ But that aint the case....... It was the "other Skunk". The "I caught nothing" one that we dread..... Today I made my first hike down to the "sure thing" Speckled Trout hole at Radio Island. And I must say, all  good things must come to an end or what a great couple of years it's been! But, if today was any indication, It's not happening this year.  I hope I'm wrong but I never felt so much as a bump...... Total Catch for the Day: NOTHING

Nov 26 Red Drum, Flounder and Speckled Trout in a Pond

Hey, I finally went fishing! Working at Stumpy Point has really sucked. I HAVE NOT had any luck fishing for Speckled Trout on the Outer Banks. There have been some good bites, but I'm always at work. So yesterday I got a "minute" and pulled up to a Pond that I found in Wanchese. I called my buddy Ted who has lived there his whole life... I asked, "Anyone ever fish this spot?" He explained that it was an old borrow pit where they dug sand when they built the Mann's Harbor Bridge and "NO", as far as he knew it was dead and no one ever fished there....  So I wandered to the water's edge and felt for fish spirits or a fish whisperer or something.... Nothing. Dead. There was even a sheen of fresh oil that the light wind was lapping up on the shoreline at my feet. Undaunted, I hurled a much trusted 5" white gulp bait into the tannic water. Turned the reel handle 5 turns and KA-BOOM. A bite. My first bite since October 28th! What could it be. Bass, Catfish, Eel, Rockfish???? Well, an hour later I had 8 Speckled Trout up to 17", 5 Red Drum up to 26", 2 Southern Flounder that were too small, and a Sea Robin... Even more importantly, I lost a 7 lb+ Flounder at my feet and had my line broken by another Doormat Flounder. That is startling. That is what I get riding around with the exclusive "Trout gear". The 6# test ain't set up to battle gigantic freshwater Flounders in downtown Wanchese. Nobody would believe this and my only witness was a shiny black Grackle.... Total Catch for the Day: 8 Speckled Trout up to 17", 5 Red Drum up to 26", 2 Southern Flounder and 1 Northern Sea Robin 

Here's The Problem

There is a short section of Highway 12 north of Rodanthe that is going to be a challenge to fix. The old road bed is pretty much in the surf. Looking west, there is no where to build a new road.... It is a flat, marshy area. Bottom line, all this is built on a Sandbar. Hey I got an idea, lets build a Casino on Shark Island! All these pictures were taken at Dead Low Tide on Wednesday Nov 21st.

More Hurricane Sandy Pictures

I was trapped at Ocracoke for 72 hours. The first 36 hours, I rode the storm out on the MV Chicamacomico. What fun that was........

Oct 30 Fishing during a Hurricane

Here are a few fishing pics from the STORM!  I was holed up on a Ferry on the South end of Ocracoke Island and I pretty much kept a bait in the water.... Fishing wasn't great, but I didn't get shut out either..... Total Catch during the Hurricane: 3 Atlantic Stingray, 1 Tautog, and 7 Pinfish

Oct 27 Life Sucks

The 2012 Capt Marty "Life Sucks" Tour and Road how is about to get underway..... What I mean is this....
My stomach is boiling. My hands are numb. My neck aches. My back feels funny. I've a got a couple of Doctor Appointments next week.

However, it looks bleak because the weekly "big adventure" is about to begin... In the next couple of hours, I'm loading up a change of clothes and a jar of peanut butter and heading over to Ocracoke on a Ferry. Once there, I will face unknown perils in the name of the NC DOT to protect and prevent destruction of valuable State Assets under seige from Hurricane Sandy! The South Dock at Ocracoke will be cut off from the rest of the Island (Civilization) as Hwy 12 washes out again. In the face of all this Capt Marty will be stranded on a lonely sand spit. Trapped without cast nets, dip nets, rod and reel. Millions of Jumping Mullet and hundreds of Doormat Flounders will scoff at my predicament....Wait a minute, grab the rod and nets.... This could be a wind tossed paradise. What was I thinking? My numb fingers please don't fail me now!

See ya Tuesday.

October of 2012...... Perfect Storm Again

Here we go! A late October Hurricane is getting ready to ride the Jet Stream right into a collision with an early season mass of Arctic air somewhere off the US east coast. It's shaping up very similar to a couple of very memorable storms from the not so distant past. Creating another "Perfect Storm"...... First, who can forget the 1990 October Northeaster that pushed a Dredge Boat off anchor and dropped the Oregon Inlet Bridge. Remember? Then, a year later, a 1991 October Hurricane merged with a cold front to form the first aptly named "Perfect Storm". This storm crushed New England and was made famous by the story of the Swordfish Boat called the Andrea Gail. The boat was lost in the storm and speculation of what happened to them was the subject of a best selling Book and Movie......... Personally, I remember the 1990 Storm better. Down in Morehead City, it was blowing 40-60 kts and it wasn't quite rough enough to keep me grounded.... That night I left the Beaufort Waterfront in an 18 foot Boston Whaler and slipped around Radio Island and hugged the shoreline all the way to the old Morehead-Beaufort Railroad Tressle... I fished all alone that night between the Highrise Bridge and the Railroad Tressle with lights in the water and by scooping up Silversides with a dip net and sending them right back down on a hook produced Gray Trout after Gray Trout after Gray Trout.... It was a wide open bite and I'll never forget it. A few Bluefish, Speckled Trout and Silver Perch mixed in.... By morning, I estimated that I had caught 250 Gray Trout and had a cooler full of 1-3 lb Gray Trout. At that time, late October of 1990, I was having my best fishing season ever and I certainly wasn't going to let the WIND stop me from fishing because I was completely focused on "Trout Fishing" that fall and I knew the Trout bite that night was going to be EPIC! The next afternoon I woke up to news that the Oregon Inlet Bridge had collapsed...... Big Deal I thought to myself.....

Too many stories this week...... Not enough FISHING!

Top Water Charters NC Citations Statistics

Okay, I'm bored.... I went Flounder Gigging and I saw absolutely nothing.. So, I'm doing what I used to do quite often when I was younger. Playing with numbers. This fact sheet contains no data from the 80's or 90's. This is a NC Citation Count from January 1, 2000 until October 25, 2010. It shows trends in good fishing results and also reflects my personal fishing preferences. This is a count of all my personal NC Citations and also my clients and friends NC Citations if they were caught on my Boat. I am going to list the 15 most prolific species. I picked the year 2000 because that was the year I started my Professional Fishing Career. So here are the 15 most likely NC Citation Species to show up if you are fishing with me!

    SPECIES             Total           Best Year                          Largest Fish
1.   Red Drum             535          104 released in 2000              59" in 2000
2.   Speckled Trout     103           41 in 2000                           10 lb 8oz in 2000
3.   Cobia                     64           15 in 2010                             94 lbs in 2010
4.   Amberjack             59           14 in 2006                             85 lbs in 2007
5.   Flounder                50            15 in 2005                          10 lb 11 oz in 2003
6.   Bluefin Tuna           34            12 in 2003                           380 lbs in 2003
7.   Sheepshead            34            17 in 2009                           15 lbs in 2012
8.   King Mackerel       26            11 in 2000                          46 lb 8oz in 2000
9.   Spanish Mackerel   23            5 (3 times)                           8 lb 8oz in 2009
10. Shark                     20            6 released in 2011                500 lbs in 2010
11. Barracuda              16            7 in 2012                              38 lbs in 2012
12. Wahoo                   12            5 in 2001                              96 lbs in 2001
13. Striped Bass           12           5 in 2004                               47 lbs in 2004
14. Sailfish                    11          3 released in '05 and '07          88" in 2001
15. Crevalle Jack          11           4 in 2002                               31 lbs in 2002
All Others                     33         14 Different Species
TOTAL SINCE JAN 1, 2000-------1043 NC Saltwater Fishing Citations

***The 14 Different Species were: Blue Marlin, Dolphin. Blackfin Tuna, Atlantic Bonito, False Albacore, Tilefish, Black Drum, Grouper, Red Snapper, Spot, Pompano, Sea Mullet, Black Sea Bass and Gray Trout

***My first NC Citation was a 66 lb Amberjack caught on June 24, 1988.

***Back in the 1990's my NC Citation Count is heavily weighted with King Mackerel, Red Drum, and Speckled Trout catches
.
***Four species that I caught my NC Citations for in 1990's were not counted in this survey. They are Triggerfish, Yellowfin Tuna, Porgy, and White Marlin.

***My goal since 1988 has been to Catch each and every NC Citation offered.... After 24 years and 752 Personal NC Citations for 33 different species, I remain 4 shy of my goal. I am lacking a NC Tarpon, a 3lb Croaker, a 15 lb Bluefish, and be "my lucky day" on a Bigeye Tuna

***I am proud to note that many of my Bluefin Tuna AND my Blue Marlin Citation came with Capt Marty rigging baits, hooking the fish, fighting the fish, landing and/or releasing the fish all while running my boat. In other words, neither of these species is represented by "Charter Boat caught fish"

*** I always said that I'd quit if I ever got them all.......

I'm Back at Hatteras & I Have NO IDEA What I'm Doing!

I'm a Sailor without a Crew.... I'm an Engineer without a Boat..... At Hatteras, the Bluefish and the Speckled Trout are chewing.... I honestly believe that I will be coming home early this week..... I have no Ferry and I have no Crew. I've got some ailments but FISHING IS FANTASTIC. The TOP WATER BOAT is broken down and I'm in a dilemma...... Decisions Decisions Decisions

Oct 21 One King Mackerel Bite

It was a pretty day and I was feeling a little better in the back, the neck, and the knees..... My fingers had the feeling come back a little.... My God, I'm falling apart! Jennifer let me go out for a little fishing expedition and I really wanted a King Mackerel for the smoker and some steaks to take to Hatteras..... I knew there was a fairly large King Mackerel Tournament going on and figured all the spots to The East would be competitvely "covered up"... So I nabbed me a few Bluefish and Pinfish inside Beaufort Inlet and I pushed the SS Tugwell out on a plane and let her glide to a stop about 13 miles south of Beaufort Inlet. Thinking back about all the Shark, Amberjack, and Barracuda bites from a couple days earlier, I broke all my traditions and set out a 3 bait spread of live Pinfish.... Crazy idea. I was thinking way back to Admiral Currin's 65 lb King Mackerel caught on a pinfish in Oct of 1997. Also way way way back to Tony Englehardt's 28 lb King Mackerel in Sept of 1988 when one pinfish is all we had! Well, 15 minutes after setting out the baits seemed like a long wait, but the silence and speculation was shattered by an explosion behind the boat and a screaming reel on the short bait. As line peeled from my reel, I was very happy and very worried that I'd get spooled! Quickly, I got it under control, lines cleared, and The SS Tugwell headed in the right direction! My back and my neck felt great! Twenty five minutes later I was gaffing a beautiful 36 lb King Mackerel and I was thinking "mission accomplished".... Hell, maybe I should've fished the Tournament. Fished for another hour and caught 2 Sharks. Caught them on Bluefish, of course......... Ran home and was on the couch in time for the 4pm NFL games..... Later that night, my back ached, my neck ached, and my fingers were numb. You know, while I was fishing, I felt fine! Maybe I'm allergic to "not fishing." Total Catch for the Day: 36 lb King Mackerel and 2 Sharpnose Sharks 

Say What

I don't give a damn what anybody says..... I eat alot of fish..... I like good food...... I am overweight and know what's good and what ain't..... I have all sorts of fresh fish at my disposal constantly...... There is pretty much NO FISH SPECIES in the Atlantic Ocean that I haven't tried..... Not true, I'm sure I missed a few..... I've had Marlin to Opah to Halibut to Spot to Mackerel to Eel to Oyster Toad...... And I Say that BARRACUDA is so much better than WAHOO or MAHI MAHI it ain't even funny. No comparison.... Don't trust me? I could care less!

Oct 20 Casting for Red Drum

This morning's fishing trip went out the window with Admiral Currin's back! So, to ease my pain I planned a dual threat fishing adventure on-foot... First was Taylor's Creek on the strong incoming tide and it was popping! Thirty minutes of fishing produced 6 Red Drum and some garbage. The largest Red Drum was 19" and the smallest was 16". Not great, but I am not complaining..... Part 2 of my adventure was to the Mung Holes with my 3 wt fly rod and rubber-legged spider. It all looked good and I saw a few Bass and Bream, but no takers. Ouch. Oh well, looks like a "Football Afternoon". Total Catch for the Day: 6 Red Drum up to 19", 3 Pinfish and 3 Inshore Lizardfish

Oct 19 Beaufort Waterfront Fishing

Nine years ago, on Oct 19, 2003, was a very windy day. Around 20-25 Northeast to be exact. I took my 23 ft Maycraft up to the Cape Lookout Shoals with plans to destroy the Bluefish. The wind and seas made them "untouchable". I was really disappointed. I returned to Hunter's Dock where I had a few Finger Mullet in a bait bucket. I didn't have my primary dock fishing weapon with me. (A conventional reel loaded with 80# powerpro to deal with tight spaces and many barnacle encrusted pilings) All I had was 2 spinning rods with well worn, twisted and stretched 10# mono that needed changing! Ah, who cares I thought, this day is shot! I fished around all my usual nooks and crannies and I had caught a few Flounder and a couple of Red Drum. I was suprized my luck was holding up because one of my Flounders was a 20", cookie cutter 3 pounder and the Red Drum were 5 pounders. Fish in this class were a 50/50 proposition at this location due to heavy structure. It surely seemed my day had taken a turn for the better. Then I moved to the fingerdock farthest inshore. And for the first time in 30 years of fishing this Dock, I dropped my bait straight down at this exact location. No, I actually swung it backwards, slightly under my feet. I felt something weird. my bait shifted, but it wasn't a bite..... Peering down in the dark, 4 foot deep water, I reeled up and inspected my bait. No marks, but it was a feeling I didn't yet comprehend. The sinker (and bait) had moved. It was like the bottom had shifted. In the shallow water, fishing nearly vertical, you could feel everything so I couldn't be wrong. Besides, I'm Capt Marty Moore, just ask Jennifer, I've never been wrong! Anyway, I quickly re-dropped and wham bam, something hammered my mullet. I gave 10 seconds slack and lifted my rod sharply. A deep bow quickly developed and my rod tip bounced in huge gyrations. Heavy as hell. The fight was on and I had a huge fish on. Unfortunately, I had old brittle well used 10# mono and my fish was now framed in my poor choice of fishing area.... Basically a framed up with barnacle laden pilings in a square about 4 foot by 4 feet. In other words, if this fish actually ran laterally, even one time, it had a 99% chance of escaping. But it didn't. I slowly lifted this fish. When it came up it was a huge Doormat Flounder. All it was doing was trying to swim backwards. Its head was slanted upwards and it was undulating backwards. I reached for my net and expected at any time for this fish to "right itself" and explode. It was capable of making a 75-100 foot run and one quick burst! But it never did. The damn Flounder allowed itself to be netted. This fish weighed 10 lb 11 oz and remains my career largest Flounder. The only time I've been close was a 10 lb 6 oz Flounder that I caught in Hatteras in 2004. wow. So yesterday, on the 9th Anniversary of that Fish, I fished the Dock. Once during the day and again later that night. My catch was a mixed bag with a couple of Flounder and a couple of Red Drum as well. NO 10 POUND KICKER FISH though. Today's true trophy fish were my career best "Dock Gag Grouper" and a well developed Lizardfish. By the way, from the story above. That "feeling I didn't yet understand".... The movement of the bait and sinker.... I understand now.... If you are wondering.... I had dropped my egg sinker directly onto the Flounder's back. I felt the Flounder shift positions to get the 2 oz weight off his back! Another oddity of Flounder fishing is their willingness to bite an egg weight even though there is a fat finger mullet 8-10" away. Trust me, it happens all the time! Total Catch for the Day: 2 Southern Flounder up to 2 lbs, 2 Red Drum at 24" and 25", 1 Gag Grouper at 1lb 4oz, 8 Pinfish, 1 Hogfish and 3 Inshore Lizardfish up to 2 lbs

Oct 18 Great Barracuda of the Year

Larry and Anne have fished the Chesapeake Bay for Striped Bass for years and recently moved to NC and wanted to learn a little about fishing methods in this area. It was a fine day for it. A little of yesterday's huge ground swell remained and the Menhaden are still playing hard to get.... Those were our obstacles. We overcame them! Personally speaking, I'm a little unhappy because I had at least 4 instances of "broken lines" today. twice on 20# mono on King Mackerel tackle. Once on 8# mono while Larry was fighting a Speckled Trout. And finally, Anne popped 80# braid on an Amberjack. Makes me shake my damn head. I DO NOT LIKE THAT and IT'S MY JOB TO NOT LET THAT HAPPEN...... Once, I can live with. Four times, and I feel terrible and I apologize..... So, the catch was, all the Bluefish we needed on metal in the Inlet for bait. Anne then caught a Blacktip Shark that had us thinking.......Sailfish! Wrong. Larry caught a King Mackerel that had us thinking......Wahoo! Wrong. Then we had a double header and Larry got an Amberjack and Anne caught a 38lb Barracuda that was an awesome fighter and showed us the  0 to 60 mph afterburners that Barracuda's are famous for! After that, I took them to an inside "trout hole" and Larry showed me another broken line. I am sorry Larry! Total Catch for the Day: 25 Bluefish up to 2lb 4oz, a 15 lb King Mackerel, a 24 lb Amberjack, a 38 lb Great Barracuda, and a 25 lb Blacktip Shark

Oct 17 Bluefish Explosion

Brent and his dad, his brother Brandon, and his old pal Buck went fishing with me this morning and from the boat ramp, it looked like a beautiful morning..... Looks were slightly deceiving!  It was beautiful, but there was a GIANT GROUND SWELL rolling towards shore from a far away  Hurricane. The high seas were a spectacle and the surfing was "world class"..... BUT, the sun was reluctant to come out, the wind was higher than forecasted, and it was down right cool all day long... As for the fishing.... It started in Beaufort Inlet with a "every cast" rally on  Bluefish on metal. It ended in Beaufort Inlet with another "every cast" rally on Bluefish on metal. Whew! In between we fished unsuccessfully for King Mackerel and we searched unsuccessfully for Albacore. We jigged the AR 315 Reef and we casted gulps all over and around a well known local "trout hole". We caught a little pile of assorted fish. But, today was all about the Bluefish. And, the only thing keeping it from being the  "World Class" monicker was the average size was a little small. The larger Bluefish were 2 pounds. The small ones were 4 oz. Sorry, I left my camera at home so, No Pictures..... Total Catch for the Day: 125 Bluefish up to 2lbs, 2 Speckled Trout at 1 lb 4 oz, 1 Yellow Jack, 2 Hogfish and 3 Inshore Lizardfish

Oct 15 Big Flounder Flurry

Before I forget I need to get this in....... Okay, the big one got away. The biggest Flounder I got was 6 lb 12 oz. I also got a 5 lb 8 oz and a 5 lb 4 oz. I got 2 others at 20". I got 2 others at 18". I gave some away. I dropped one overboard, dead as a doornail in Taylor's Creek on Tuesday morning. Not a release, that fish was caught about 330am at Hatteras Inlet.... The absolutely Lovely Jennifer, her beautiful daughter Savannah, and I just ate a beautiful baked 5+ pound Flounder with potatoes, tomatoes, onions and bacon stripped. Call me impressed. I'm going to marry that girl like I should have 15 years ago. Anyway, all these fish were caught in 25 kt NE wind and driving rain. I gave a few away and the pictures are from the Beaufort Waterfront on Tuesday morning... It was one helluva week for Flounder! Total Catch for the Night: 7 Southern Flounder up to 6 lb 12 oz

Oct 14 I'm Exhausted and Here's a Flounder

Fished all night. Paying for it right now. I caught 4 Southern Flounders and broke off a mystery fish. Who cares..... Biggest Flounder of the night was 4lb 8oz. Good Night. Total Catch for the Night: 4 Southern Floundere up to 4lb 8oz

Capt Marty's NC Citation Collection

I did some research into my old fishing journals and internet fishing reports and even though I'm missing a couple of years, I think this is pretty accurate. If anything, I'm actually missing a few NC Saltwater Citations! Back in the old days, I used to have lots of days/nights with multiple King Mackerel/Speckled Trout Citations. They were hard to keep up with. Anyway, to the best of my knowledge, my 7 lb Flounder and my 6 lb Flounder this week were my #751 and #752 NC Saltwater Citations since I started keeping up with them on June 24, 1988 when I caught a 66 lb Amberjack in Beaufort Inlet on a size#00 clark spoon.

Oct 13 All Good Things Must Come To An End

Last night the Flounder bite died. Even though the weather was great and the bait is still thick, we are now fishing around the bottom of the tide and that is an insurmountable obstacle to contend with......So, last night there were no Flounder bites for neither Frank nor I. After an hour of trying, I said "To Hell With It" and went on a Flounder Gigging Mission and speared 2 Flounder at 17" each.  As for the actual fishing, we only caught 3 fish on rod and reel. I caught a Conger Eel and a Sea Bass. Frank's fish was a very rare and unusual species called a Unicorn Filefish. The first that I've seen in person and a very cool fish. I hope my pics turn out good...... Total Catch for the Night: 1 Conger Eel, 1 Black Sea Bass and 1Unicorn Filefish