Answer for March 17th Thomas

I dont have a really good answer for you Thomas. I can tell you that I will try my hardest. That cant be measured so at the end of the day you can form your own opinion.... What you can measure is this: I can guarantee you that I will RUN FARTHER and FISH LONGER than any of the high profile guides around here with funny costumes and their names plastered all over their shirts. (I can assure you that I know who I am and I dont need Capt Marty embroidered above my pocket) I can absolutely promise you that 80% of the time most of these dudes DO NOT want to compare catches with me at the end of the Day. Another thing I don't need or desire is to see my name in print or plastered all over local fishing literary paper dumps. These "professionals" pay a couple hundred dollars a month and these fishing rags print "Glorified Articles" explaining their great fishing prowess and endless virtues.... Meanwhile the true fishermen dont want to be seen. They keep their methods and fishing spots a secret as long as possible. Now, in todays "internet world" fishing pictures go a long ways to drum up business. So I do like to publish fishing pictures to raise interest in my business. Also, I will tell anybody anything if they ask, But you DAMN SURE wont be reading about it in a regional fishing "fish wrapper." And yes, I am a part time guide. Other guides hate me. I dont care. I fish and I have fished between 150-200 days per year EVERY YEAR since at least 1992. I WILL BE FISHING whether I have a charter or not. So, Thomas, call me if you want to try me out, if not, Good Luck with your alternative choice. There are some Great Fishing Guides out there... And there are some dudes that are some great entertainers. Great Conversationalists. There are some Con Men out there. There are some PURE T IDIOTS that are complete rip offs. I don't fit any of those categories. You can ask me in private and I'll tell you what I think about individual fishing Guides. As for me, I have good days. I have bad days. Some times I Go The Wrong Direction. However, I am confident that I will always be able to find something to catch and something to "make our day" catching..... I think my past record (approaching 1000 NC Fishing Citations), my equipment, and my Boat make me a pretty good choice for a day of fishing.... Anyway, End of Rant. Hope that helps, Thomas......

March 22 Casting for Shad

Will, Matt, and I made the trip to Pitch Kettle today and we figured it would be more productive than watching the NCAA Tournament on our couches! I'm not sure what we missed on the hardwood, but we did experience a beautiful but chilly day on the River. The fishing was more challenging than a couple of days ago. We fished really hard to catch 25 Hickory Shad. We caught more Roe Shad than on Tuesday, but the numerous and athletic Bucks that Tuggy and I encountered were missing in action. That combined with a large number of missed strikes and bumps kept our numbers down. I did catch another 17" Hickory Shad that weighed over 2 lbs. But even that one had a less developed Roe. Personally, I think they are nearly "spawned out"... Time to fish for White Shad at least once... Then it will be time to turn to the "SALT".... Total Catch for the Day: 25 Hickory Shad up to 2+ lbs

March 19 Hickory Shad Fishing

Capt Tuggy took my up Pitch Kettle Creek today for some World Renowned Light Tackle Fishing. Tuggy has been fishing the River, the Creek, and the Swamp for 25+ years and he knows every Cypress Knob and Stump. It was amazing for him to point to a spot and guarantee a bite. Then I would cast and, BINGO, a bite would happen. Tuggy really is the Master of Pitch Kettle! Overall the fishing was a little slow, but steady. Between the 2 of us we caught 52 Hickory Shad including a couple of monsters. We had 12 fish that were 14" and larger that were big enough for a NC Freshwater Citation. My largest fish was 17" and weighed 2 lb 9 oz. Tuggy's biggest was 17" and 2 lb 7 oz. Tuggy also released a Largemouth Bass. The first I've seen caught while Shad fishing. Total Catch for the Day: 52 Hickory Shad up to 2 lb 9 oz and 1 Largemouth Bass

March 17 Worst Drop in the History of Fishing

Twenty five miles from where I stood beside a OBX Pond yesterday, 200-400 lb Bluefin Tuna busted top water plugs cast on spinning tackle. Arguably the GREATEST FISHING on PLANET EARTH right now is occurring right off Hatteras and Oregon Inlet. As a side note, the charterboat Godspeed, off Hatteras, dropped jigs into a subtle mark on their Fish Finder. A short time later, the crew marveled at their catch. Golden Tilefish. One Golden Tile is a fish of a lifetime. On this day, the Godspeed boat hit the motherlode and brought in 6 Golden Tiles. They weighed 30-40 pounds each. All of this knowledge weighed heavily on my jealous mind yesterday. While "fish of a lifetime" were being hooked like Goldfish in a Shot Glass, I stood by "fishless" Ponds and tossed pitiful baits to non-existent fish. Dammit..... So I geared up for a BIG COMEBACK last night. I was gonna get a SIGNIFICANT FISH last night or at least I was going all out with effort. Realistically, I had visions of a trophy Tautog, or even a strange trophy. In the past, I have seen such oddities as Monkfish and Atlantic Torpedos swimming around the Ferry Docks in late winter. I was going to get something out of the ordinary. I could feel it... So I baited up with fresh Menhaden and quickly had.... Nothing. I leaned my rod against the rail and wandered off. An hour later, I picked up my slack line. I gently pulled tight. The line was alive between my fingers. It pulsed. Once. Twice. I quickly picked up my rod. Tightened my drag. Reeled down and sharply set the hook. My rod bowed deeply. I could feel my 80# powerpro popping off snags. The weight was incredible. The rod tip bounced deeply. It hung in concrete pilings and scattered rock. One last pop and my line was free. The fish surged heavily. Reluctantly it rose. Peering into the brown, windswept water I saw length. Nice. Then my fish broke the water. I reeled down and in one quick, smooth motion I lifted my quarry over the rail and onto the Ramp....... Then I knew. I had gone into my personal record book. The worst drop ever. On the top hook was a 5 lb Conger Eel. ON the bottom hook was a medium large Oyster Toadfish. Incredible in its Badness. Double Negative. Bluefin Tunas and Golden Tilefish this was not.... Later I caught another of each. Total Catch for the Night: 2 Conger Eels up to 5 lbs and 2 Oyster Toadfish

March 16 OBX Freshwater--Beautiful Ponds--No Fish

Boredom consumed me today... So I ventured out and fished 4 different ponds in Avon and Buxton. I never had a bite. Honestly, I can't say whether or not there were any fish in any of the Ponds that I fished. All these freshwater bodies of water that I fished today are subject to flooding during Hurricanes and Northeasters.... I'm pretty sure that these were flooded both last year and the year before. I used to see Largemouth Bass and Carp along the shoreline. Today I saw nothing, I felt nothing, and I expect that the freshwater fish up here have suffered. With that said, a land-locked Red Drum or Flounder would've been nice. But it didn't happen. A big ZERO. Total Catch for the Day: Nothing

MOST EXCITING TIME of the YEAR

Time is flying by! Before you know it, it will be late April and May. We will be doing lots of fun things... Among these fun things:

1. Searching for and Casting to COBIA. Riding around in crystal clear water, looking for huge brown shapes swimming solo or in small groups. Fish up to 100 pounds are possible any day we spend looking for them. Also searching for Manta Rays, Leatherback Turtles, and huge schools of Menhaden.  Any of these could create unbelievable fishing opportunities.

2. Searching for and Casting to Huge, CHOPPER BLUEFISH. Normally we find large schools or small packs of roving, voracious Choppers in very shallow water. Casting a large top water plug anywhere in the vicinity results in a spectacular, water busting surface strike. One word---SAVAGE.

3. Searching for and Casting to Incredibly Strong, Unbelievably Fast, and Absolutely Delicious Eating ATLANTIC BONITO. These inshore cruise missiles pop up, ravage schools of minnows, quickly disappear and move on.... We chase them and cast to them and when your metal lure or plug cast lands in the right place, you are in for an awesome and memorable fight. They're fight is very similar to Albacore, maybe they slug it out a little deeper and mabe they're stamina is slightly less, but when you get your hands on a Bonito, you basically have a "mini Yellowfin Tuna" for your plate. Sushi, Sashimi, grilled, salad. Whatever.

4. Searching for and Casting to GIANT RED DRUM. The past 4-5 years we have had huge schools of 30-50 lb Red Drum on the Shoals at Cape Lookout. Easy to find if they are there. Easy to catch if they are found. Sight casting to huge schools of Giant Red Drum is one of the greatest experiences they I can offer in the Spring near Beaufort Inlet.

5. Searching for and Casting to __________ ! Fill in the blank.  In the past 5 years, on different days, as a bonus to the other 4 fish listed above.... We have found vast schools of 40-80 lb BLACK DRUM in 4 feet of water on the Shoals.... We have found numerous schools of shifty and hard to get ahead of 20-25 lb BLACKFIN TUNA right up against the shore off Atlantic Beach..... Very numerous hunter-killer packs of 25-75 lb THRESHER SHARKS right off Atlantic Beach.... We quite often find schools or scattered 2-4 lb GRAY TROUT on the bottom at this time of the year. Always nice to pick up a couple of them to eat when you get home!

The MOST AMAZING PART of all this is that we could possibly DO ALL OF THIS IN ONE DAY. Call me. Book a Day. Lets Go Fishing.... 252-241-8350 All my APRIL and MAY Open Dates are Posted

March 12 NO FISHING

Here I sit, back at Hatteras for another 7 days... Last week sucked. I fished my way home and caught 4 Shad. Then I caught 1 Bass. The weather sucked. When it didn't suck, My boat motor is in a 1000 pieces. Here it is Winter/Spring again and I DON'T have a "River Boat". Shad fishing and Speckled Trout fishing would be very possible if I had a little Boat for it. Columbo was out of action with a "sore mouth". My other friends are not "into fishing enough to sacrifice sleep in winter". My parents are also fighting little battles that require my attention, even though I haven't done enough, it kept me from driving off and fishing the riverbank this week. Likely a waste of time and money anyway.... Well, there you have it, my "NO FISHING EXCUSE RANT for March of 2013". Seems like the past 3-4 years that I've had lots of those rants.... Now I'm at Hatteras again and I'm working the Night Run. My fishing options are: 1. Talk Tuggy into launching a Bluefin Tuna excursion. 2. Jump on a Charterboat "Make-up" trip out of Hatteras 3. Fish the Ferry Ramp and it is usually dead, day and night, in March..... I guess I should add that its pouring down rain and blowing a gale. Oh well, NO FISHING might last another damn week..... For fishing excitement, I have been following the Fishing Report out of Bud N Mary's Marina in Islamorada, Fl. Great reading and gives me hope for April! www.budnmarysblog.com     I also miss and love Jennifer. Thanks for making my miserable week one of the best times of my life. Wink

March 10 Beaufort Bass

Out to catch some minnows for Little Sid.... Made a quick cast with a white beetlespin.... Smack..... Caught a chunky little Largemouth Bass in an under-fished Mung Hole... That's it. Total Catch for the Day: 1 Largemouth Bass

March 5 A Fish of a 1000 Casts?

Muskellunge? I wish, but not in Eastern North Carolina...... Never before will you hear Hickory Shad described that way..... Hopefully, never again. Today was THAT DAY and a couple of factors contributed to it.... First, the weather was beautiful and the forecast for the next 2-3 days is beyond rotten. Bad enough to mess up the fishing for an entire week and that just so happens to be my "fishing window of opportunity". A week..... Therefore today was MY day to FISH. However, we were casting for Hickory Shad, not trolling the Great Barrier Reef for 1200 pound Black Marlin. Nor were we drifting live lobsters off Key Largo for 85 lb Cubera Snapper! The second factor that added to everyone's immense patience was that there was a very fun and interesting group of guys fishing at Spring Garden today. Dudes that were from all over eastern NC and all walks of life. After the first hour and approximately 60 empty casts, it was almost as if we were all "long lost friends" that had just reunited.... It was really neat. And the fishing was agonizingly slow. I estimate that I casted between 600-700 times and I caught 4 Hickory Shad and had one swirl behind my spoon. Pretty bad when we fondly remember a "swirl".... Anyhow, I caught 2 little Bucks and 2 big fat powerful Roe Shad. I kept one Shad and gave one away. I released the 2 small ones. Both of my keepers were well over the 13" minimum for an NC Freshwater Citation. As a matter of fact, the one in my cooler is a 16" and 2 lb 9 oz beauty..... Well, high winds, rain, and cold weather due in tomorrow. Just what I expect. Total Catch for the Day: 4 Hickory Shad up to 16"

March 1 & 2 Bad to Worse Fishing

Fishing around the Ferry Dock can be spectacular from July until October. Huge numbers on citation sized Sheepsheads and Flounders... Most other months can be good as well. April , May, and June are good. November, December, and January are inconsistent, but can bring great fishing. Especially fishing for Squid and an occasional Tautog. In case no one noticed, February and March didn't get mentioned.... Because Ferry Dock, Beach, and Shore fishing nearly always sucks during the "Dead of Winter"! Anyway, the last few nights of February were interestingly horrible. Unfortunately, the first couple nights of March were positively, absolutely pathetic. I was actually shut out on March 1. NO FISH, NO BITES, NO NOTHING. It was really too damn cold to go "all out", but I tried for 30 minutes and I froze my ass off for NOTHING! I thought, "There is NO STREAK to continue, so WHY am I torturing myself?" Tonight (March 2) it wasn't nearly as cold and I quickly corralled a lonely, cold Black Sea Bass...... Meanwhile just over the horizon, Bluefin Tuna are thick off the OBX. Lots of Sharks, Tilefish,  Jumbo Sea Bass are chewing as well..... Why am I sitting on this Ferry? Oh we'll, I LOVE MY GIRLFRIEND (I know Jennifer will be checking out my blog). At least that part of my life is  Better than ever! Total Catch for the Period: 1 Black Sea Bass

Feb 26-28. Late Night Scrapping

This Fishing Report is a work in progress. Here goes, so far....  At this point, two things are certain: #1 Slow Fishing......  #2 Cold Fishing...... I guess those two things are to be considered normal for any IDIOT fishing in that 12am until 4am window of opportunity in late February at this Latitude! (I'm sure the report would be more exciting if I was fishing in Key West or Miami)   Regardless, on Feb 26th, I caught 2 Oyster Toadfish including a egg-laden 2 pounder.... On Feb 27th, I got hammered by a 6 lb Conger Eel that I wrestled out of a tight spot. Pretty much ripped him through a 7 foot chute of rock and steel. Wow that sounds dramatic! If only I was bragging about an 8 lb Tautog! Anyhow, about 2 hours later, Charlie Roughton and I each caught a juvie Oyster Toad.... Hard to get excited about this fishing right now!!!! Update: At 321 am on the 28th, I just reeled in another Conger Eel and a Black Sea Bass. Seeing that Black Ass Sea Bass was like running into an "old friend".....Total Catch for the Period: 4 Oyster Toadfish up to 2 lbs, 1 Black Sea Bass and 2 Conger Eels up to 6 lbs

Feb 25 Awesome Largemouth Bass Fishing

After an attempted Hickory Shad trip and a wasted drive to Aurora, Chris and I cremated the Largemouth Bass in Pollocksville...... This trip  started at 6am and I didn't hook the first Largemouth Bass until after 2pm...... Once we got in the right place, the Fishing was fast and furious.... Without a doubt the BEST LARGEMOUTH BASS FISHING I have experienced in 25 years. The Bass were so aggressive, I saw them doing some things that I've never seen before.... Since we were originally Shad fishing, we only had ultralight spinning tackle, 6# and 8# test mono. After we moved to the Ponds in Pollocksville and due to the extremely light tackle, we were actually fishing for Bream with worms on bobbers. As I hooked and fought my first Bass, other Bass actually attacked my red bobber 3 times during the fight. This was repeated time and time again in the first 10 minutes of fishing. It was really hard to figure out what the hell was going on at first!  It was incredible to watch 3-6 lb Bass slash at the bobber while fighting another 3-6 lb Bass on the leader 3 feet behind the action. I'd never even heard of that happening period. And it happened to us at least 5 different times. Wow......When the action died out,  I had caught 21 Largemouth Bass with a dozen between 3-6 pounds. Chris caught 15 Bass up to 6lbs. We also caught some monster Golden Shiners. Weird. Total Catch for the Day: 36 Largemouth Bass up to 6lbs and 6 Golden Shiners

Feb 21 First Hickory Shad of the Year

Today I'm in New Bern for a dermatology appointment. So I turned this into a fishing excursion as well.... As everyone knows, that's how I roll. So I headed down to Cowpen Landing to see what was happening. The report was poor. The "golf cart crew" said they had seen ONE SHAD caught all year. Yikes. Anyway, with an hour to burn, I tied on a grub and a spoon... Then on my 7th cast I felt that familiar tap. My line started racing right to left. After a short give and take, I slid a fat Hickory Shad up the boat ramp. It was a good feeling, but was it a fluke? Two casts later... Boom, another one. For 10 minutes it was a flurry. They were biting the white grub and I caught 7 Hickory Shad before they quit.... Not a lot of time to waste, so I left for my appointment. Maybe I'll go back when I get out... Okay, so I went fishing after my appointment as well..... First I went to Spring Garden and then I went back to Cowpen Landing. I caught more 2 Hickory Shad in each spot. I also fished cut Shad on the bottom with NO RESULTS.... I'm pretty happy with the fishing today. I got 5 fat Roe Shad and released 6 athletic Bucks. The male fish were airing it out and doing backflips. Cool to see that kind of energy in any creature in February......  Total Catch for the Day: 11 Hickory Shad up to 12"

Feb 20 Poor Trout Fishing

Went on a trip to South River today with Will Grant. There have been a pretty good Speckled Trout bite down there throughout Duck Hunting Season. Will is a Duck hunter and he had seen where everybody had been fishing when the fishing was good.... So here we go.... Now that its over, here are my thoughts: Either we couldn't figure out how to catch them, or the Speckled Trout have moved to different places.... We fishing in probably 10 places. They all looked good, but that could be everywhere down there! It is a really pretty place. Lots of creeks, cuts, bays. Lots of tall marsh grass. Lots of wildlife, especially Ducks. Everything needed for a great day, except Trout. I fished really hard. Will fished pretty hard. I missed maybe one bite. Will missed maybe one bite. I say maybe bites because there was lots of little snags on the bottom.... I caught 1 Red Drum.... Total Catch for the Day: 1 Red Drum app 14"

Streak Ain't Looking Good

If I had a crystal ball, I'd say "the streak ends today".... The Top Water Truck has a flat tire, I have no bait, I have no good place to fish, and my time tonight is limited.... South Dock at the other end of the Island is 13 miles away and the Highway is covered with tire popping Clam and Scallop Shells. This really sucks

Feb 11 Raining and Fishing and Streaks

When its raining and you are looking for ONE FISH...... No matter how small that fish might be..... That's one pretty damn fish! So be it today. In a pouring rain, as I rush around getting ready to go back to the Outer Banks and my "real job" for the first time in 23 days.... I didn't have a lot of time so I grabbed my rain coat and Little Sid's crickets and beelined to the Munghole.... And the bobber quickly went down and seconds later I had a Bluegill in my hand.... That's Number Six. Tomorrow night I will get off work around 7pm and I will try to keep my streak alive. Silver Lake at night, in February, will be quite a challenge. And its gonna be for 7 nights. Why even bother I wondered today. But I did and I will try... Total Catch for the Day: 1 Bluegill  

Feb 9 and 10 Keep the Streak Alive (Barely)

Jeezzz, its only Day 4 and I was out in the wild, struggling to keep my streak alive. It really isn't even a streak at this point.....  But it was a nice sunny day and catching a fish should've been easy.... Jennifer was along for fun and that turned into pressure. She had other things that she needed to do.... But I had said, "Come on baby, this will only take a minute"....... WRONG...... ONE HUNDRED and TWENTY MINUTES later, I had a Bluegill in hand.... Thinking ahead. Sunday and Monday should be okay..... Tuesday and the next 7 days my only chance will come at Ocracoke. At night. Nearly impossible..... Fishing in Silver Lake at night in February. I will not need a MIRACLE, no, I will need SEVEN MIRACLES......  Then comes Sunday February 10.... Honestly it was the weirdest 24 hours of my life. Somewhere in there I did catch a fat little Pumpkinseed. They have been "Missing in Action" in all my early season Grand Slam Quests.... But when I needed a fish today to keep "The Streak" alive, a Pumpkinseed saved the day! Five in a Row!!   Total Catch for the 2 Days: 1 Bluegill and 1 Pumpkinseed

TOP WATER PHILOSOPHY

ONE OF THE GREAT THRILLS OF FISHING IS THAT WE ARE BOTH SURPRIZED BY THE STRIKE AND WE EXPECTED IT ALL ALONG............

Come Catch the Excitement with Me in 2013

Feb 7 and 8 Beaufort City Limit Bluegills and Green Chubs

A little while ago I watched my pet fish, a Bluegill named Little Sid, inhale 6 Crickets. It's one of the greatest sounds in fishing. Maybe even Nature as a whole.... A large insect struggles on the surface. A fish silently rises beneath it. With one quick motion (in the case of a Bluegill) the fish accelerates quickly over the final distance, then pretty quickly slams on the breaks. This sends a surge of water that very briefly lifts the hapless insect. In a fraction of a second, the hungry fish opens its mouth, flairs its gills, and creates a vacuum that draws the insect into its mouth and this results in a loud pop on the surface of the water.... Mountain Trout do it with a slurp. Big Bream do it with a pop. Striped Bass sound like cinder blocks raining. Tarpon I'd say are raining cinder blocks as well.... Everybody, fisherman or not, needs to go to Robbies in Islamorada Florida to feed the Tarpon.... Or just watch... Dreaming of the Florida Keys.... Anyway, watching Little Sid eat crickets made me yearn for fishing... Then I fried up a few White Perch fillets from yesterday. Delicious. So, I said "What the Heck, Go Fishing".. So I went to the Mung Hole and in a steady rain, I caught 8 Bluegills. The sizes ranged from tiny to small... It got me thinking of taking on a personal challenge.... How many days in a row can I catch a fish? I have 6 or 7 ponds less than a mile from my house that are loaded with stunted and starving Bluegills.... So it's simply a matter of doing it. Okay, so lets do it! 8 Bluegills on Thursday makes it 2 in a row....   Okay, so its Friday and after last nights torrential downpour I thought pond fishing might be difficult. I also thought after last nights torrential downpour that pond fishing might be really good. In other words, I didn't have a clue. I knew the Top Water Boat and the Ocean and/or Sound was off limits.... So I knew to keep up with my callenge that I'd have to catch a freshwater fish. So when my absolute "No Fail" method of chumming hard and bait fishing absolutely failed, I thought I was "in trouble"... Before moving to a different location I fired out a large green beetlespin... Wham! I got plump little Bass. Then another. Then another. Mission Accomplished..... 3 Largemouth Bass on Friday makes it 3 in a row...... Total Catch for the 2 Days: 8 Bluegills and 3 Largemouth Bass