Oct 30- Tugwell Mackerel Massacre

Tuggwell collecting Pink Slips

180 lbs of gutted King Mackerels. Great Catch in less than 150 minutes of Fishing

Capt Tuggwell came racing to town this morning to get in on this Fall's epic King Mackerel bite before the weather goes to crap this weekend. Facing rough seas with wind and seas set to increase into the afternoon, it was important that we get this done quickly. Also, with the Top Water Boat down again, the smaller, quicker FlyN Fish was perfect for this task. I recruited hard core fish killer, Stacy to join us..... Departing at 7am, we had bait at 730am, and we were beating our way out there by 8am.... Once at NWP, first menhaden in the water got crushed and we were in for another incredible day of fishing! I aint got much time, so I'll give the short version.... Tuggwell, Stacy, and I fished in sloppy and wet conditions. It wasn't a camera day. We pretty much fished from 9am until 1130am. We never went 5 minutes without a hook-up. We fished 2 rods. Tuggwell held a rod and I held a rod. Stacy held the wheel and the gaff.... We missed very few bites. We caught 9 King Mackerel. We had 5 over 30 lbs. Tuggwell caught 2 twins that weighed 36 lbs each. We also caught a pair of Albacore, the second one had us thinking "Blackfin Tuna"..... That really was our only disappointment. If the size of King Mackerel ratchets up like it usually does when this fishery shifts to the East Side in November..... WATCH OUT  Total Catch for the Day: 9 King Mackerel including 36 lb King, 36 lb King, 34 lb King, 31 lb King, 31 lb King, 28 lb King, and 2 Albacore at 15 lbs and 16 lbs

Oct 29- Greatest Show on the Water

John Boy's first career King Mackerel

Kings were chewing. It was hard to get more than 2 lines in the water

Pesky Albacore moved in late in the day

As we were counting our catch, we dropped a live double-header in the pile

Our last couple of Kings were released to fight another day!

JohnBoy and I went King Mackerel Fishing and it was out of this world. For the first 3 hours, we never got more than 2 lines out...... Fishing was not only great, it was also spectacular as nearly every King Mackerel leaped out of the water on the strike..... We saw so many beautiful jumps it's hard to recall them all..... One particular is etched in my mind. It was a King that we missed! A 30-35 lb King that leaped upward in a classic pose.... Arched body..... Just like s Traditional Mount. Then he slowly turned his head down and entered the water prettier than Greg Louganis ever did in the 1984 Olympics.... It was one to remember, that's for sure. JohnBoy picked a great day to go King Mackerel Fishing for the first time. JohnBoy caught 3 King Mackerel that were large enough for a NC Citation. Unfortunately, the King Mackerel were biting so quickly and the action was so fast that I did a poor job taking pictures of all the fish. I got JohnBoy's first King with "live colors" but I never took another good King picture..... In my defense, it was very rough out there today and there was alot of boat's fishing in the area...... We ended up with a 135 lb limit of King Mackerel and 2 Albacore at 13 and 15 lbs. JohnBoy caught King Mackerel weighing 32 lbs, 30 lbs, and 30 lbs...... Congratulations JohnBoy and you're ready to tackle this on your 23 ft Parker next summer....... Total Catch for the Day: 11 King Mackerel from 12 to 32 lbs and 2 Albacore at 13 lbs and 15 lbs

HALLOWEEN FISHING----TRICK or TREAT

Traditionally, if the Weather is Good-----The Fishing is GREAT

Furthermore, if the Weather is Great-----THE FISHING CAN BE BEYOND YOUR WILDEST BELIEF

Halloween 2005---- Top Water Charters catch with 1 Angler:

6 King Mackerel 12-20 lbs
2 Amberjack 35 lbs
2 Gag Grouper 10-12 lbs
7 Albacore released
30 Bluefish 2-4 lbs
16 Southern Flounder 20" to 24"
4 Red Drum from 25" to 30"

Come getcha some of that!!!!!!

Oct 28- The King Mackerel and Bluefish

First Fish of the Day

Girls Gone Wild

Capt Tugwell's secret Love Child

Everybody caught a King Mackerel and these were a nice class of fish

I finally got a beautiful day to go fishing! I had a great crew! My problem was..... I didn't get off work at Cape Hatteras until 1030pm..... So I drove nearly 5 hours to get home, got my boat ready, and met my crew at 10am. We were supposed to go out on Wednesday, but with great Fishing and Weather forecasted, I knew this crew needed to go fishing on This Day! So we pulled it off...... The King Mackerel Fishing was the "big deal"..... Unfortunately, this crew didn't really care about catching Kings.... So, when everyone caught a King, we left the King Bite and ran to the Shoals to search for something different.... What we found was absolutely amazing! THE MOST BLUEFISH that I've seen in 10 years! Miles and Miles of Bluefish. Millions of 2-4 lb Bluefish. The crew caught all they wanted and then I went searched for some  Red Drum. I actually found a nice school of 50-70 Red Drum cruising among the Blue Horde.... I made a cast with a Gulp and immediately hooked up. Then something unbelievable happened. From my perch 15 feet high, I watched this happen.... As the hooked Drum broke away from the school about 20 Bluefish suddenly raced in his direction. Then right before my eyes the Bluefish ran up to the Drum and started biting the gulp that was protruding from the Drums mouth. Very quickly the Bluefish managed to bite my jighead off and the Drum swam away..... Afterwards, I searched for the School for 30 minutes until I gave up... A great day, then we had a shaky ending...... Three miles from Beaufort Inlet, I had the same old gas problems that had me tied up earlier..... We finally got the Top Water Boat moving after an hour delay.... I think I will use the FlyN Fish for the rest of my weeks fishing and there is a BLOWWWWWW coming so I will have some time to work on my boat! Total Catch for the Day: 3 King Mackerel at 28 lbs, 25 lbs, and 24 lbs, 1 Albacore at 13 lbs, and 12 Bluefish from 2-4 lbs

Oct 19- Pigfish and Pinfish

Before I pulled my Boat out of the water, Jennifer and I went fishing. Unfortunately, the wind was howling and we really didn't need any Spots. Joe was kind enough to give me 15 nice Spots the day before..... The Bluefish in Beaufort Inlet were in a life threatening rip created by the Ground Swell, the Tide, and the Wind.... In other words, our options were limited. Besides, all I had was a box of Squid. So....... We fished for 60 minutes in Gallant's Channel and even though the catch sounds puny, it was fun watching TLOML pull in some fish..... Jennifer and I actually tied in the "Top Fish" department. We each caught a jumbo Hogfish.... We also caught lots of Pinfish, Hogfish, and Black Sea Bass... I caught a Lizardfish, locally known as a "Preacher's Prick".... I also caught a rare little guy called a Rock Sea Bass..... Closely related to Black Sea Bass and the lesser known Bank Sea Bass.... The Rock Sea Bass is much smaller and rarer than its two cousins..... Total Catch for the Day: 12 Pinfish, 8 Hogfish, 4 Black Sea Bass, 1 Rock Sea Bass, and 1 Inshore Lizardfish

Oct 18- Scary Good Bluefish and Spot Fishing

Joe with a Double Header

Gulf Flounder

At this point we started giving Spots away!

More Ground Swell. Too much WSW wind. Tides that were too low. Dirty water...... Capt Marty the complaining, excuse machine, overturned suckage box!!!! But alas, Joe was happy just getting out and being on the water..... As a matter of fact, Joe's great attitude made everything better. It was a miracle! The Inlet Bluefish doubled in size overnight and yesterday's One Spot became today's Fifty Spots!!!! What a difference a day made! A couple of things that I tried did not work. Two different Speckled Trout ideas fizzled..... However, the Bluefish in Beaufort Inlet was great in the morning and the bottom fishing for Spot was outstanding! Also of interest, one old guy beside us caught a very very nice Flounder on a bottom rig. Probably a 6 lb Flounder. I wish it was on my boat! Total Catch for the Day: 50 Spot up to 12oz, 24 Bluefish up to 2 lbs, 7 Gray Trout up to 14", 1 Gulf Flounder, 15 Hogfish, 8 Black Sea Bass, 30 Pinfish, and 4 Inshore Lizardfish

Oct 17- Best Pinfishing On Earth

Kay and Stacy teamed up to catch a pair of Speckled Trout

I admit, I was torn...... Should I say, "Capt Marty unlocks key to secret Speckled Trout Fishery" or "Top Water Crew bombards Pinfish like the Nixon Bombed Hanoi on Christmas Day in 1972"???? Tough decision. And since the Speckled Trout will probably be a fluke catch...... And since the Pinfish will probably be repeated a 1000 times over...... I went with the Pinfish Title.... Seriously, Stacy and Kay joined up with me today and my personal goal was to catch my Dad 8 damn Spots.... After yesterday, I figured we'd kill them. The Top Water Boat was definitely en fuego on the Spot yesterday.... Today, it was a different result. Totally.  First problem was that every damn boat was anchored up and I couldn't get a suitable drift. Yesterday, there was probably 90% anchored boat rate. However, I had a perfect drift path and nobody got in my way, and more importantly, no one could really see our results..... A damn nice pile of Spots and I saw more Spot caught on my boat than the other 50 boats combined..... On the other hand, today we caught ONE SPOT in 60 minutes of effort. We had to anchor up with the rest of the fleet and we probably weren't patient enough either.... We left as the peak tide was approaching. Honestly after we caught 85 Pinfish to our ONE SPOT enough was enough..... Upon leaving the "Spot spot" we did bumble into a pair of beautiful Speckled Trout. One was over 2 lbs and I swear I saw a 6 lb Speckled Trout flash by off my bow.... Check in tomorrow to see if this was Real or just a Fantasy..... Anyone remember Aldo Nova? Total Catch for the Day: 2 Speckled Trout at 24oz and 40oz, 1 Spot, 85 Pinfish, 8 Hogfish, and 7 Black Sea Bass

Oct 16- Good Fishing in Tough Conditions

Good Eating Right Here

Another Small Sample of our Nice Catch

More Spot More Spot and More Spot

The Ground Swell killed the fishing! I take it that there's a Hurricane or Tropical Storm out there somewhere. Huge and annoying Ground Swell ruined my best 2 options. The Cape Lookout Shoals were totally covered with whitewater and breaking waves. Low tide in the morning didn't help.... The worst part was that we could see an incredible bird and fish event taking place on the Eastern Edge. Too bad, some very dangerous conditions layed between us and the action.... So, low tide and bright sunshine in October usually means a really good chance to find Red Drum schools, pods, and even single fish in the Shackleford Banks surf.... So I crawled up top and we went looking... Unfortunately, the same SW groundswell closed out the Beach and fishing and finding fish were impossible... So, I guess so far things ain't looking good..... But, to the contrary, Matt and Tony left my boat very very happy.... These guys fish and they understood the problems we faced.... They also sat out their surf fishing down at Emerald Isle yesterday and watched the rain and wind.... I think they had pretty low expectations! Fortunately, first thing this morning the guys caught small Bluefish on nearly every cast in a very tough tide rip in Beaufort Inlet.... Then we missed on the Shoals and the Beach..... Needing some fish and some action, I headed back inside Beaufort Inlet, broke out some bottom rigs and shrimp, and we did really well on the "much sought after" Spot.... Nice Spot. I told the guys that, even though I rarely fish for Spot nowadays, that today was MY BEST SPOT DAY SINCE 2001.... Bottom fishing was wide open.... Every drop... Pinfish, Spot, Hogfish, Gray Trout, and others... Bites came quick. It left a good taste in our mouths and a "feel good feeling".... On the way home I tried to ruin the "feel good" by hitting the Taylor's Creek docks for Red Drum... It was a fail, fail, fail endeavor. With rising winds and raging tide, the Top Water Boat is not a Dock Hopper... Too big, too bulky.... Great day through, we out-fished every boat in our vicinity.... The crew was great. Atlanta boys.... Hot Spots in grease. Yum. Total Catch for the Day: 24 Bluefish up to 24oz, 24 Spot up to 12oz, 2 Gray Trout up to 24oz, 3 Inshore Lizardfish up to 15", 40 Pinfish, 8 Black Sea Bass, 24 Hogfish up to 16oz, 1 Northern Puffer, and 1 Scup

UPDATE---- TIME TO FISH

This is a VERY IMPORTANT FISH on the NC Coast in the Fall

Been fighting computers, Google, etc etc etc

Working off IPhone for now. I have no idea how to do pictures to my blog via this device

Sorry Guys...... Let's just go fishing

Booked: Thursday and Saturday

Open: Friday, Sunday, and Monday

Come on, Kings, Spots, Trout, Drum, Albacore

Computer Failure

First, not sure how or why, but several people have told me that my old website is now "in Spanish"..... I honestly haven't worked on that thing since 2008 so I have no idea how that happened..... Number two, my laptop is so infected with adware, malware, virus, whatever... That I simply can no longer use it..... Pictures and Fishing Reports have temporarily ground to a halt..... In fisherman's terms: My Laptop is like a kid fishing with 10# test over a wreck and hooks up a 75 lb Amberjack. In other words, it ain't gonna work. Plus, I'm at Hatteras and I damn sure can't do anything about any of my problems up here on this Sandspit.....

Oct 6- What Went Wrong ??????

THE BIG ZERO

Beautiful weather. October. Light Winds. Cooling Ocean Temperatures. This sounds like a can't miss fishing day! Well, we missed. The cast net failed. The throttle failed. The Captain failed. The Angler failed..... No King Mackerel bites. And then with "hot info" about a 10,000 fish school of Red Drum two miles away, my grumpy, distracted Angler mumbled,  "I've had a belly full, take me home"........ Well, on one hand, I can't say I blamed him..... But on the other hand, for someone that used to fish 40-50 days per year, someone that hasn't fished but 6-7 times in all of 2014, for someone that's caught  1 ( that's ONE) Red Drum in his entire life, on the prettiest day of the year, and getting ready to drag their tired ass back to Rawlee....... I can not figure out to save my ass why my angler didn't want to go "catch a Red Drum on every cast"....... Oh well, everybody's different I reckon. In hindsight, I should've just ran to the Eastside first thing.... Go with what you know...... Chasing a bite that's 48 hours old sucks sometimes .... Total Catch for the Day: Nothing

Oct. 3- Interesting King Mackerel Fishing

Alex with the first bite of the day

Pretty cool, a baby Hammerhead Shark

45 lb Hammerhead Shark.... If left alone this monster could top 2000 lbs one day

10 lb King Mackerel for Alex

The Fire Drill

Alex scores a 12 lb King Mackerel

Alex pretty much lets everybody hold one of his Kings!

They told me yesterday was EPIC.... Poor Capt Marty was hanging out with his Dad and taking part in a high level financial summit...... Can't catch them all, right? So today, Rob and his son Alex and their friends were with me for a day of whatever. I suggested King Mackerel! The guys agreed and off we went. We quickly caught our bait and made the 18 mile run to where the Kings chewed yesterday! Once there, fishing was good. Lots to see on a half day trip. Big Sharks and King Mackerel were jumping in all directions. We landed 2 Sharks right off the bat. The second one was a 45 lb Hammerhead Shark. Awesome. After that it was a King Mackerel rally, only interrupted once. This time it was a Houndfish. These monster Needlefish are affectionally known as "Raleigh Sailfish".... As far as the King Mackerels went, it was bittersweet. We hooked 7 and landed 4. Not bad for a "half day charter".... The problem was, our 4 caught King Mackerel were cookie-cutter 10-12 pounders.... The 3 we lost were absolute "smokers"..... Dumping my Shimano Speedmasters of 300-350 yards of 25# test mono! Two broke the wire. The other separated the 30# flourocarbon shock leader.... DO WHAT!!!! Never in my Life have I experienced more than ONE of these events a YEAR.... NOW THREE IN ONE DAY!!!! To make matters slightly worse, we also missed 4-5 aerial strikes from nice King Mackerel. The great thing about this group was that they didn't care to kill or keep anything.... All those missed strikes were still enjoyable visual, spectacular events..... The lost fish, while they had Capt Marty in a suicidal state of mind, the crew's spirits were great...... Great Day. Lots of Action. Very very interesting Half Day of Fishing...... Total Catch for the Day: 4 King Mackerel from 10-12 lbs, 45 lb Hammerhead Shark, 8 lb Sharpnosed Shark, and a 48" Houndfish

Sept 29- Last Hatteras Flounder Tango

Capt Marty's largest Flounder of 2014

Not bad for a rainy 60 minutes of Fishing

Got a nice one! 7 lb NC Citation Flounder..... Also got 2 other nice ones, including another Citation winner. Raining all night. Miserable night with a nice payoff....... Total Catch for the Night: 3 Southern Flounder at 2 lbs, 5 lbs, and 7 lb 4oz

Sept 28- Awesome Flounder Rally

These Flukes were 5 lb and 4 lb

Chewing

Getting ready for the Fillet Knife

For a short time it was like the "good ole days"...... Reminiscent of 2004.  After a slow start to fishing, avoiding the Barbarian Hordes of Pinfish while looking for Sheepsheads, and finding none..... After a boring hour, I noticed a small gaggle of  Finger Mullet up in the shallows. A rare sight nowadays..... In the years before the much discussed Dredge Carolina was tied up in the Ferry Basin, there would be school after school after school of Finger Mullets passing through. Shadowed by Flounders "beyond your wildest dreams"...... Anyway, for old times sakes, I threw my cast net and caught 15 fat Finger Mullets.... Good Thing. It paid off.... Anyway, I grew tired of looking for the Mythical Sight Castable Sheepshead.... Tired now and yawning.... I pondered laying down for an hour. No, I've got some live bait, once again I thought, "for old times sakes" I'm going to toss a Mullet out on the old "Flounder Berm"..... Twenty seconds later, it seemed like Andre the Giant thumped the back of my hand that was holding my rod. Okay, that's familiar! I paused 15 seconds and lifted my rod firmly...... The rod bowed and the fish surged off. A minute later, I netted a 4 lb Southern Flounder..... Thus began the best 30 minutes of my 2014 Fishing Season (Well, that's debatable) Nine Flounder on Nine Mullets on Nine Casts to the exact same spot. A 5 lb Founder, Three 4 lb Flounders, Three 2 lb Flounders, and Two 16" Flounders. As Gary Cooper netted my last Flounder, another crazy South Dock Phenomenon began! I have fished here 20-60 nights per year, every year since 2004..... That's literally hundreds of nights... Its always been a great place for very small snapper Blues. I've honestly never seen a Bluefish approach 12oz here..... As I celebrated my 9th Flounder and could nearly "bet my life" that #10 was minutes away..... But NO! Suddenly the water boiled. My Finger Mullet was chomped in two. I flicked it back out there, a bleeding half Mullet.... It was instantly crushed. The fish was incredibly fast and strong. It raced circles in the dark straight below my perch on the Deck of the MV Croatoan. Finally, my fish broke the surface. Spooled up with 80# PowerPro, I swung my quarry up and over the rail.... WHAT? A freaking 3 lb Bluefish. Peering over the side, I saw 12-15 of these Blue "Eating Machines" bolt under me and head for the lights and shallows. The water boiled again.... I never caught another Flounder. I tried a couple more Finger Mullets but they were chomped up. Finally my treble hook (the only treble hook in my truck) got bit off by a Chomper Bluefish..... Amazing night at South Dock! Total Catch for the Night: 7 Southern Flounder from 2 lb to 5 lb, 2 Summer Flounder at 16" each, 1 Bluefish at 3 lbs, 2 jumbo Pinfish, 1 baby Gag Grouper, and 2 Atlantic Needlefish

Sept 24, 25 and 27- South Dock Sight Casting to Sheepsheads at 3am

Flounders from Sept 24 and 25 up to 5 lb 8oz

A truly Sight Casted Sheepshead with a vicious Surface Strike.....At Night!

Tons of Baby Gag Groupers around this Fall. A great sign for the future

A 6 lb Southern Flounder from Sept 27!

More Dead Flounders!!!!

I never thought that I would see a Title like that... If I didn't generate it, I'd never believe it....... A few things to note first: First, the Outer Banks in general and Hatteras Inlet in particular has seen an EPIC PINFISH EXPLOSION this summer. This is my 12th season of spending Half my Time at Hatteras and I am seeing massive hoards of big ass Pinfish everywhere that I look.... Under the lights at South Dock is always like looking into a huge aquarium every night. This is an ABSOLUTE AMAZING SPOT. Less than a mile from Hatteras Inlet, plenty of deep water and plenty of sandy flats, and ENOUGH LIGHT to see from OUTER SPACE. Since 2004, I could've literally wall-papered my house with Sheepshead and Flounder Citations from this place..... Other years, we have caught Black Sea Bass by the 5 gallon bucket full, Squid by the hundreds, huge Gray Trout, huge Conger Eels, and enough Tautog to warrant fishing for them....... This year however, South Dock belongs to the PINFISH........ Next item of note: Every since the NC State DOT owned Dredge Carolina has been tied up at South Dock, the Flounder Fishing has been horrible. The location of the Dredge disrupts the natural flow that the massive schools of Finger Mullet and that is the reason the Flounder have, in the past, have been as thick as, shingles on a roof..... It ain't like that now..... Now the last 2 nights have caught 3 Flounder per night. A far cry from the 28 that I caught on September 7, 2004. 10 over 6 lbs and a big fish of 10 lb 6 oz..... Last night I got a NC Citation winning 5 lb Flounder and a 4 lb 12 oz Flounder.... Nice.... But what will stick in my mind, the last 2 nights, were the 2 hours that I spent sight casting live blue crabs to crazy pyscho Sheepsheads that are swimming around with 1000s of Pinfish. Whenever a baby Crab comes along, the Sheepshead accelerates and busts them on top. Its amazing to watch. After a minute though, the "Angler" in me wants to catch the damn thing.... So the past 2 nights I've spent time casting tiny crabs to marauding Sheepsheads. As it stands now, in a couple hours of effort, I've hooked 1 Sheepshead and caught 2 dozen horse Pinfish. The second biggest problem is actually catching the small crabs. Anyway, I am confident I'll get one tonight! And, on the night of Sept 27, I cast a small Blue Crab to a cruising Sheepshead. The Sheepshead changed directions slightly, raced ahead, and smashed the crab on the surface! A minute later, Keith netted him and my mission was accomplished! Sight casted Sheepshead at Night! Amazing! In the meantime, I have caught several more Flounders and baby Groupers. The Flounders are all keepers and I managed another 6 lb NC Citation Winner last night and a 4 lb 8oz Flounder. Life is Good.....  Total Catch for the Past 3 Night Sessions: 11 Southen Flounder up to 6 lbs, 2 Summer Flounders up to 3 lbs, 6 baby Gag Groupers, 1 Inshore Lizardfish, and 24 Pinfish

OPEN DATES

Wednesday Oct 1, Friday Oct 3, Sunday Oct 5, and Monday Oct 6

Expect VERY GOOD Fishing. Live Bait or Casting. Also, Bottom Fishing should be good both inside, nearshore, and offshore.

Give me a call (252-241-8350) and Let's Go Fishing

Sept 22- Two Greats Leaps by Fish..... Two Great Failures by Capt Marty

That Title is a little harsh..... In reality, I was witness today to two of The Sport of Fishing's most iconic sights.... Two leaps to freedom by two of the World's Greatest Gamefish. Now, unfortunately, both escaped..... Here's my day:  About 1130am, with my chores done, the "too much" NW wind subsiding, pretty damn hot and partly sunny......and almost low tide and I pretty much got a School of 1000 Red Drum "dialed in" at low tide.... I made the decision to splash the Top Water Boat and go for a quick ride. Tomorrow I go back to work and this week has been disappointing to say the least...... Anyway, Emma and I quickly found our Red Drum and caught 2 nice upper slot fish. I also caught a freak Speckled Trout that ate my 5" Jerk Shad right in the middle of a 100+ group of Drum.... Weird. By that time I'd heard of a pretty decent casting opportunity over to the east..... Realizing that by the time I get off work, September will be over, I made a decision to take Emma on a wild ride. She loves Bluefish anyway so she wasn't complaining.... Arriving to my "HOME AWAY FROM HOME" on Shark Island, I found some good, not great fishing. Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, and Albacore were availiable but it was definitely not a blitz..... I probably caught 10 each on Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish. Emma devoured 2 Bluefish. Kodiak Brown Bear style. Pinning the head and getting a tooth hold on a piece of skin, she tugs and tugs and eventually pulls the skin right over the tail.... Damn Emma. Then, if she's real hungry, she'll eat the carcass. She gives it a minute to see if I'll give her another one. Obviously, she prefers the skin..... Anyway, I put 8 Bluefish in the livewell. I put 10 Spanish Mackerel on ice. I figured I'd try to catch a King Mackerel. I've had good luck this year with minimum effort and this is exactly the kind of day that WEIRD STUFF HAPPENS.... Lets hope for "good weird"..... Before I left the shallows and the knots of redbait, I did manage to release 2 Albacore just because they were there and I was building a nice Species List! So, as the afternoon wore on, it got prettier and prettier.... I ran back to the west and I decided to stop because I was encountering schools of bait deep about a mile off Barden's Inlet. I set up a nice spread of 3 live Bluefish and pulled them west. About 10 quiet minutes later, I was dreaming of the Mung Hole and Largemouth Bass on popping bugs....  Then I noticed the short bait got very animated.... Jumping and flip flopping around. Here we go...... King Mackerel Time! Suddenly there was a splash. Too far back for the short bait and not quite back to the middle bait.... In the dirty (pretty damn dirty) green water, a long black shape came into sight.... As I stood there confused, Then I noticed where the line entered the water for the middle bait was dangerously close to where the mystery fish swam.... the black shape seemed to effortlessly keep pace with the boats forward speed.... In the next second, it all came together. In my mind, I figured out what I was seeing and the fish and line literally came together as well.... Right there, 30 feet off my stern, and 8+ foot Sailfish rose that last foot to the surface. His sickle tail broke the surface. he flicked his huge blue/purple sail half up and then retracted it, and then with a flick of his tail, he charged the short bait.... But, SON OF A BITCH if he didn't get involved the other line, the middle bait, a good 25 feet ahead of the swivel.... Damnation. The Sailfish felt the line and it wrapped him up somehow. He veered away from the bluefish he was getting ready to eat, veered away from the Top Water Boat, and veered away from Capt Marty..... Bad Luck crushed my first Sailfish opportunity in 2 years... Or did it? Suddenly the reel screamed and 25# line poured off...... A 20+ second peel out.. Then out there, 200 yards away, towards a distant Atlantic Beach, this huge Sailfish jumped and jumped again. Then he laid on the surface and tailwalked (on his side) straight back at me..... He covered a good 50 yards.... Hell, could a miracle happen and I actually land this thing...... Three minutes later, I was gaining line and allowed myself to dream..... And PING he was gone....

TO BE CONTINUED...... 1 Great Gamefish Lost (Iconic Leaper) LOST

Sorry.... I am at Hatteras now. Anyway, where was I?  Okay, after the Sailfish encounter, I continued to slow troll towards the west. I had a minute of excitement on a blind strike in the cool green waters.... Heavy but not fast.... This one turned out to be a 45-50 lb Hammerhead Shark... I love Sharks and I really love Hammerheads.. I figured this was a good spot for me to quit.... I packing it up and ran to the Boat Ramp. By The Way, MOST IMPORTANTLY, The Top Water Boat is running great. Looking forward to a Great Fall.... I need some Bookings. Where I was 8 years ago vs where I'm at now is incredible..... Is the economy THAT BAD or is my lack of advertising killing me????? Total Catch for the Trip: 10 Spanish Mackerel from 16oz to 24oz, 10 Bluefish from 24oz to 32oz, 2 Red Drum at 26" each,  2 Albacore at 7 lbs each, a 13" Speckled Trout and a 45 lb Hammerhead Shark

PART 2

Off to the Mung Hole with my 3 wt Fly Rod and a popping bug for a sunset session.... Wait a minute, I broke my TFO 3 weight, remember.... I am actually fishing with a Sears Brand, Ted Williams signature, split bamboo 4wt that my Momma bought at a Yard Sale for $1 20 years ago.... I HAVE NO BUSINESS using this relic. It might be worth something.... But intelligence hasn't been a Capt Marty personality trait here lately either..... Well, right or wrong, the old Teddy Baseball split bamboo uncurled a "Jalen Morton" original right up against the Bank at my "favorite Mung Hole"..... HOLY BAT TURD, BOY WONDER..... A freaking Largemouth Bass the likes of which I haven't seen since RL Vaugn's Farm Pond gave up a 28" Lunker in March of 1990..... Wouldn't you know that on "Big Mouth's" second jump, the tiny bug got thrown back at me! Oh well, iconic gamefish leap #2 was in the books..... I won't soon forget the RUSH, the SWIRL, the WEIGHT as he CAME TIGHT, nor the 2 JUMPS..... This Bass was so BIG and was so CLOSE that I could literally hear his gills rattle as he shook his massive head on the second jump.... I thought Lil Sid was save in this Pond... But, he better watch his back here. There is a TRUE LUNKER lurking in this place.... After that, I lost another big Bass and landed 2 small Largemouth Bass..... Well, it could've been a great day... Hey, you know what, I felt the incredible speed and watched the incredible aerobatics of a Jumbo Sailfish. I hooked and battled a HUGE LARGEMOUTH BASS on a 60+ YEAR OLD SPLIT BAMBOO FLY ROD. I lost both but it was still a great day! Total Catch for the Pond: 2 Largemouth Bass

I got some pics on my camera.... But NO SAILFISH and NO HUGE BASS sooooo, so what, who cares

GREAT PICTURE of TOP WATER CHARTERS

Good Top Water Friend JD Dallas informed today that I might need to check out the

Crystal Coast Visitor's Guide......

There is a nice picture of Capt Marty and The Top Water Boat in action.......

Capt Marty in pursuit of Large Game Fish off Beaufort Inlet

I'd agree. Great Picture. Thank you to whoever decided to use this photo!!!

Sept 19- Sightcasting to Red Drum

First of all September 19 is a date that is very very important to who I Am and the person I became..... Specifically, on the morning of September 19, 1988, Tony Englehardt and I was out on Tony's Stepfather's 17 ft Boston Whaler. We were on a "casting mission" hunting for Spanish Mackerel... We had worked a few miles west of Beaufort Inlet. Finding some fish in the clear, blue water southwest of AR-320, we had began working farther off the Beach and our stingsilvers were finding more Albacore than Spanish Mackerel.... That was fine by us, as we were looking for a fight as much or more than fish dinner..... These Albacore were small and fun, averaging 4-6 lbs..... I made "just another cast" in the direction of "just another school of breaking Albacore"... Hooked up immediately, but something was different this time. The fish ran out and down. It pretty much had its way against my light drag of my Shimano Speedmaster Spinning Reel and 10 lb test Ande line.... I couldn't gain any line back... After taking my cussing from a high strung Tony E, I finally went to the bow and we tracked this one down.... I quickly got straight up and down over this fish. I will NEVER, EVER FORGET looking over the side and down into that crystal clear water ..... There it was, 50 feet below.... A freaking Yellowfin Tuna. My first and probably 35 miles from where you would ever expect to see this species. In addition, we now knew what we had, so the tension was thick and the anticipation was high.... The tackle I was using was overmatched but I knew time and pressure would eventually land me my first Yellowfin Tuna. Five miles off the Beach and on a tiny #4 treble hook that was hung on a $2 stingsilver..... Round and Round the Tuna swam as I gained inches on every revolution.... Ten minutes later, his tail broke the water 8 feet off the starboard side. Pulling too hard for comfort, I managed to keep his head up as his tail propelled him straight at Tony. SHAZAM, Tony sunk the gaff and MY LIFE WAS FOREVER CHANGED. I WOULD NEVER STOP FISHING and I HAD THE CONFIDENCE TO LAND ANY FISH THAT I HOOKED FROM THIS DAY ON....... Yep, to this day, the challenge is getting a fish to bite a hook. If he bites, and I hook him, I WILL catch him unless I get impatient. Usually I Do Not get impatient ....... Anyway, that's why September 19 is a special day in my book. As is 1988. My favorite day. My favorite year..... Today, Emma and I cruised out to Rough Point right after low tide and our Red Drum school was right where we left them yesterday. On 4 casts, I caught 4 Red Drum. I kept a 24" Puppy Drum and released 3 that were larger.... Red Drum on the half shell is on the menu tomorrow. Football Saturday. Camping. Boiled Shrimp and Grilled Red Drum. The Good Life. Jennifer and me are headed to Cliffs of the Neuse State Park. Poor Jenn. I love you . Total Love for the Day: 4 Red Drum from 24" to 31"

Sept 18- Casting in the Wind

The action was too hectic for photos. All these fish were caught in 20 bloody minutes. This was all I got!

Too much NE wind! The forecast was NE at 10-15 kts. Right on cue it was blowing 20-25 NE by the time Chris and I cleared Lennoxville Point at 8am. We quickly caught a live well full of Menhaden and we were off.... Headed to the King Mackerel Grounds..... It was quickly obvious that we were wasting our time.... Way too much NE Wind, dirty water, and absolutely NO BAIT in the areas that we could safely fish. We tried Barden's Inlet, the Dead Tree Hole, and Beaufort Inlet. They all sucked. Not to beat a dead horse to another death.... We gave up quickly and ran in to the Shackleford Beach. Immediately we found pods of Red Drum and water boiling with Crevalle Jacks! Made for some great casting action... My personal highlight was when a 28-30 lb Crevalle Jack followed my gulp back to the boat . Dipping, rolling, and finally attacking my bait and DAMMIT the damn thing missed it. Right by the boat, in plain sight.... That Jack would've ate up 2 hours on the spinning rod. The Red Drum were upper slot. Chris caught 4, keeping a 27" Red Drum. I caught 3, keeping a 25". We each caught 2 Crevalle Jack. These guys were 4 lbs each. I "saw" a huge one..... The Shoals were too sporty to try.... Oh well, chicken salad out of chicken shit. Total Catch for the Day: 7 Red Drum up to 27" and 4 Crevalle Jack at 4 lbs each

Sept 11- Beautiful Day at Hatteras

9-11  Thirteen Years..... Really? That's incredible. A day no one will forget. It was a tuesday morning, our first day back at work..... Seven days later, I caught my NC Citation winning Spot from the Kitty Hawk Pier. 12" and One Pound......I won't forget that either! 

Too bad great weather absolutely DID NOT mean great fishing on the Beach this morning... Far from it. The casting at Hatteras Inlet this morning was absolutely terrible.... The tide was high but the current/tide was freaking ripping from left to right. Believe it or not, where Billy and I was standing, the water was probably moving at 7-8 knots. A long cast with metal and a fast retrieve and the last 100 feet of line would be in the suds directly perpendicular to your standing position and would be directly off your right shoulder. Honestly, there was no way in Hell anything other than a Salmon could swim here (on purpose) and the last time I checked..... Salmon ARE NOT on the Hatteras Long List of SPECIES...... Anyhow, a long walk to the east was an attempt to get away from the Inlet and associated current. Here Billy and I each popped out a Lizardfish on metal.... Sometimes we win "tiny battles" that please us. On most days, Lizardfish would be an unwelcomed guest..... Later, we went to the Frisco Pier and other Anglers had all the best spots tied up.... Up the Beach from the structure, there was the MOST MASSIVE school of Fish that I've seen all year..... Acres and acres of Finger Mullet in the surf. They truly stretched as far as I could see to the east and they were jumping from the surf break out to the end of the Pier.... Millions upon millions of migrating Mullets.... That's it boys! Fall is upon us and the Drum, Flounder, Trout, Blues, Spanish, Kings, and Sharks will soon crash the Beach in vast numbers. Fishing will be great! Not today though. It sucked.... I need a Beach Permit for my new truck. The Point at Buxton is where the Fishing has been consistently good..... Total Catch for the Day: 2 Inshore Lizardfish   

Sept 8- Dodging Rain and Chasing Fish

Big Bad Carson battles a 150 lb Blacktip Shark in a fight that ended with a Spinning Leap

A few minutes later, Carson defeated this stout 75 lb Blacktip Shark

Jeff and Angie had an inexperienced crew of young anglers. In hindsight, I should've took this crew somewhere inside for baby Croakers and Pinfish. Unfortunately, 99% of the time, Top Water Charters ain't exactly "take a kid fishing"...... So, after a lengthy rain delay, I ran us hard to the east, directly AT the darkest cloud I could find..... The Lightning Strokes were the only thing that made me hesitate..... "To The East", the Top Water Charters Rally Cry!   We made it to the Cape Lookout Shoals and quickly found exactly what I was looking for and fully expecting.... The MOTHERLODE of BLUEFISH in the skinny water, Hungry and full of Spunk.....  Then, sea sickness hit the crew hard...... I was left with young son Carson and mom Angie.... The rest were in Sick Bay.... Poor Carson. The kid went from Bluegill in a Pond experience to casting metal to 3 lb Bluefish. Quickly followed up by pitching half Bluefish to 100+ pound Blacktip Sharks on 50# braid/spinning tackle..... Followed up by a 75 lb Southern Stingray in heavy structure ..... The kid came in as a "Fishing Greenhorn" and left as a "Fishing College Graduate"...... I did let him bombard a few Pinfish on Fall Break ! Total Catch for the Day: 5 Bluefish up to 3 lbs, a 85 lb Blacktip Shark,  a 75 lb Southern Stingray, and 20 Pinfish

Sept 7- Bad Weather: One Bad King

Scott battles "The King"

Tuggwell readies "The Steel"

Thank God, the pressure is off!

Plenty of these guys around right now.... Acres

Casting on the Shoals.... Laid Back!

Damn that Foot Looks Painful!

Poor little Lookdown popped up in the Cast Net

Crazy morning.... Running under threatening skies and 15 kts of South Winds, on a day when it seemed we were the only boat on the Ocean.... We bypassed schools of Spanish Mackerel, schools of Bluefish, and schools of Albacore..... Going big and going for a King Mackerel.... We arrived at the Summerlin and found 3 ft seas, pretty green blue water, with a few slicks scattered about.... I quickly announced, "Perfect Livebaiting Conditions!"   Three minutes later, the wind blasted us at 30 kts, the seas jumped up to 6 feet, the temperature dropped 10 degrees, dark clouds and lightning covered is up and a cold wind driven rain pelted us ..... STUNNED, I made 2 circles around the Wreck..... After thinking doom and gloom privately for 5 minutes, I suddenly blurted out, "This is the Stupidest Thing I've Ever Done!"  Before I could say. "Get them up we are headed home" , one of our flat lines exploded and Tuggwell cried out, "King Mackerel Baby!" 20 tense minutes later, Tuggwell sunk the steel and an epic battle had ended..... I can not say enough about the job Scott did fighting this wild and crazy King Mackerel..... After that, the winds lightened and the skys lightened..... Fishing turned into a Shark-fest and we also pulled off a small Cobia... We saw a large Cobia that wouldn't bite. We gave up on live baiting and went casting... Action was fierce with Bluefish and Albacore chewing.... We searched hard for some Spanish Mackerel but they disappeared soon after the storms passed..... We found Bluefish in vast numbers and the guys whacked them good... Total Catch for the Day: 27 lb King Mackerel, 20 Bluefish up to 2 lbs, 2 Albacore at 5 lbs each, 2 Blacktip Sharks at 4 lbs each, and 1 Sharpnose Shark at 8 lbs