Feb 23- Where's Winter?

I know that I'm in the minority. I know I will get a few "Shut the Hell Ups"......  But I miss Winter. I remember some growing up that were a little too cold or too wet, however, I can never once in my life, remember saying, " thats too much snow, thats too much ice!" And I'm not that much of a glutton for punishment. I would just like to see a couple of weeks were we had lows in the 20's and high's in 30's. One or two little "snow events"....  Would that be so bad? Oh well, looks like we pretty much got another pretty week ahead. Highs approaching 70........ Im not complaining. I just like Winter. In the past, I loved bundling up, warming up a cold bed. Walking through the Woods when there was snow on the ground. I miss those things. I really miss my wife and I really miss my Dog too. Back in November, I asked in a Blog Entry:" Can Things Get Worse"....... The answer is YES. Back then I had Winter's first Snow to look forward to!  Well, scratch that..... Bring on the Fishing

Also.......

Tne TOP WATER, my 25 foot Downeaster Center Console is FOR SALE

I am asking $16,000

I am looking to downsize and after the 17 hard fishing years, I will be looking to catch a ride to the 14 Bouy.

Feb 2, 2017- Great Bass Fishing

Cbo and the first fish of the day

First Bass Landed

One of my first

It started getting old pulling the Phone Out

Chris with a fat Bass

Fish of the Day. 8 lb Largemouth Bass

Fish of the Year 2017 (so far........)

Chris and I went over near Pollacksville today to fish a Pond on his Father In-Law's Farm. A Farm Pond. I have fished plenty of Farm Ponds in my career, and this one is head and shoulders above ALL THE REST. Maybe 3 years ago, Chris took me there and in 3 hours we caught an estimated 35 Largemouth Bass and 20 of them were cookie cutter 4 pounders. It was stunning for such a small pond. I have patiently waited for another opportunity. Today was the Day. The Pond didn't disappoint. After a tough start because of a shoreline that has become hard to access because of overgrowth and weeds and trees. We finally settled on a spot opposite of where we found large numbers of fish in the past. It didn't matter. Im pretty sure that our activity eventually attracted the Bass "to us". In the following 2 hours, Chris and I once again caught an estimated 35 Largemouth Bass. I caught an 8 pound Largemouth Bass and a 5 pound Largemouth Bass. Chris also caught a 5 pound Largemouth Bass. We caught over 20 Largemouth Bass from weighed between 2 to 4 pounds each. Amazing consistency. Finally, we probably had 5 baby Bass in the 1 pound range. Once again, this was a World Class Largemouth Bass Fishing afternoon. This Pond is amazing. Total Catch for the Day: 35 Largemouth Bass from 1 to 8 pounds each

Jan 27- Ducks and Crappies

Capt Rhino Hanzguthrie admires his FIT

Beautiful Morning for a Duck Killing

Capt Cbo with our First Crappie of the Millenium

My Jumbo Crappie

Ryno's Crappie. We each caught 2 of them

My Suprize Largemouth Bass

And the best part of the day was when Capt Chris said, "aptly named Crappie Fishing"........ Because, in North Carolina, Me and Chris are the World's Worst Crappie Fisherman. In fact, I hadn't caught a single Crappie since probably 1982. I dont fish for them much, but there is a reason for that. Its called Bad Fishing. I have no idea WHERE to catch Crappie. In my past, I could figure out ANY FISH I really wanted to catch. Mastered a few. Inshore Fishing Wisdom has traditionally held that Sheepshead are the trickiest, hardest fish to catch in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Then in 2008, I caught 19 NC Citation Sheepshead........Crappie? I never figured out....... So yesterday, after I returned to the Duck Hunting Arena for the first time in 17 years. Poor hunting or Poor location caused that to be a BUST! No good ducks were seen. Merganzers were flying and some like to take their frustrations out on them.... Not me. Poor little bastards. Anyway, on our way home up Slocum Creek, we decided to try to catch a few fish. From our location and the look of the environment, I wouldve guessed Speckled Trout or Striped Bass. I was surprized when Capt Columbus got the first bite and pulled up a Black Crappie. Damn. Three hours later, Chris, Ryan, and I had caught 2 Crappie each and I had caught a fiesty Largemouth Bass. We never quite figured out a pattern on the Crappie. It was fun and it was a challenge. Something tells me Chris and I will be back! Total Catch for the Day: 6 Black Crappie up to 1 lb and 1 Largemouth Bass at 1 lb 8oz

Nov 21- When you think things can't get any worse

They do...... I will explain later today. By the way, fishing and the weather has generally been great.

Nov 5 and Nov 6- Took a Couple Days off from Fishing

Made the walk down to Radio Island with Emma on thursday. Nothing to see, too pretty. The water looked tropical, certainly it was a far cry from the dingy brown "trout filled waters" after the Hurricane. It seems to be, with the Trout anyway, we have reached a lull..... At least until the week of the Nov Full Moon.  I'd guess that itll blow back up then.

Nov 2- Spotted Sea Trout aka Speckled Trout En Fuego

Continuing to bite with reckless abandon down on the Southeast Corner of Radio Island. I made the hike down there today during a break from running errands with and for my daddy...... More importantly, I also got up early this morning and made the trip to Havelock to meet up with Jennifer. My Wife and The Love Of My Life, whom is No Longer In-Love with me. Life is always chunking knuckle curveballs high and inside to me and I strike out more than ole Mark McGuire did. As for Jennifer, she looked great and I hope she is happy. History has a way of repeating itself so I worry......But she clearly doesnt want or need me in her life. To the contrary, she surely acts as if I am a stranger, an annoyance.....even an escapee from a Leper Colony. Its not getting any better, only more and more distant.....BUT...... Most Importantly and The Purpose of ALL THIS:

She did bring Emma and pass her off to me! So, most importantly, I got Emma back. Thank God, I LOVE THAT DOG.  I will keep her for 7 or so days, maybe more. We shall see what works.....

Finally, back to the Fishing, back to Radio Island, and back to the Purpose of this BLOG. I did make the hike and I bombarded the Spotted Seatrout, the actual name for the more popularly called Speckled Trout. Today, it was an easy 19 cast limit and the size ran from 17" to 19". All fish were captured on red lead head/green curly tail grub. THIS IS THE GREATEST SPOTTED SEA TROUT LURE/COMBO OF ALL TIME.  Tommorrow I will make my first attempt at Smoking Fish. Emma will be my test taster, nevermind, she eats the skin off raw trout. Like a Kodak Brown Bearon the Yukon River....... Love Dad. Love Mom. Love Ellen. Love BJ. Love Emma.........Total Catch for the Day: 4 Speckled Trout 17" to 19"

Nov 2- News Flash

Pics coming on this one, but HOLY SHIT WHAT A WAHOO!!!!! A 202 lb Wahoo landed down off Lake Worth, Fl.

Got Emma back after a 2 week sabbatical.

Apparently, both my ex-wifes hate me. Not sure I ever did anything but be nice to either of them.

Finally, hiked down to Radio Island last night. Fished 50 casts. 10pm until 11pm. No bites. My Life Sucks.

Wahoo and Emma pics coming

Nov 1- Speckled Trout On Fire

One Fang

2 Fangs

Great Limit of 2+ pound Speckled Trout

Had a window of opportunity, walked out to Radio Island, 25 minutes later I had 4 Speckled Trout on my stringer and released 3 more. And, of course, you should've seen the one that got away! I highly recommend anyone wanting to catch some Speckled Trout to get down here. Fishing is the Best Ive seen in 9 years. So good in fact, I HAVE NOT EVEN LAUNCHED MY BOAT. Speckled Trout are crushing it, on foot......on boats......wherever! Total Catch for the Day: 7 Speckled Trout from 14" to 19"

Oct 31- Happy Halloween & Fish Killed Me

Forget Halloween, but I was haunted by hundreds upon hundreds of Striped Bass in a feeding frenzy from sundown until 5am. Non stop busting bait on the surface. The winds on the Southern Pamlico Sound were strong and NE. It blew bait up against the Rocks and then pushed them all through my circle of light. A perfect recipe for a Fishing Massacre....... I had my 5wt Fly Rod and a dozen flies that were fair mimics of the silversides the Stripers were pulverizing....... So, 2500 casts later, I pulled off two fish and landed 1 Striped Bass.
What the Hell just happened? I do not have an explanation. I had 11hours and I could not figure out to make it work! Total Catch for the Night: 1 Striped Bass at 12"

Oct 30- Striped Bass Again

No sad stories.... No big Fish either... Caught several Striped Bass on fly and only lost a couple. Most fish were caught by slow titching a damn Fly that is a famous Atlantic Salmon Fly called a Silver Doctor. My Fly collection is getting used up in all this heavy structure! Total Catch for the Night: 8 Striped Bass from 10" to 14'

Oct 28- The Wolfpack of Fishing

No, I aint talking about Club Championships in Collegiate Bass Fishing! I am talking about me, hooking 7 Striped Bass on Fly and losing every damn one of them. Couldn't finish a game. Lost every battle. Is Coach Dave Doeren my "Fly Fishing Coach" all the sudden? Then THIS happened......

After moving to a different dock, this one has a narrow window between a Rock Jetty and a huge Tripod that holds one side of a Ferry Ramp. 40 feet out is the edge of the lights that hold the fish. So, Im casting parallel to a Rock Wall to my left and plenty of huge structures to my right. Now, all summer and fall I have hooked and landed 12" to 20" Striped and White Bass in this narrow avenue. No problem....... Tonight, I was 0 for 7 on Striped Bass and walked over to the Dock for a quick try before conceding defeat..... My first cast landed 35 feet out and I let it sink for 6 seconds. Strip strip strip Ka-Boom. A bite. Suddenly the fly line was ripped from my hands. This was different! Luckily, he ran straight offshore and missed all the pilings. Quickly this fish got into my backing. That is a first for me since last November's NY Chinnok Salmon! Suddenly this big fish did a 180 degree turn and raced back towards the spot it was hooked. I furiously reeled to regain control. All the sudden the quiet 3am darkness and silence was shattered by a huge Striped Bass leaping out of the water and it landed in about 6" of water on top of the Rocks. As I came tight again, I couldnt believe what I was seeing thrashing white water on top of the Rocks. A 40" to 45" Striped Bass. Im guessing 25 to 35 pounds. It was hard to decifer in total darkness and app 10 feet away. In the next 10 seconds, he flopped and fought his way back over the edge into deep water. Still stunned, I had just started to process and plan to land this fish. The Seawall and Dock was a good 5-6 feet high, so it was probably gonna be impossible, especially on the 5wt Fly Rod. In the end, it didnt matter. When the big Striped Bass made it back to deep water, he left my fly line wrapped around a boulder. As I worked different angles to free my line, for the first 30 seconds, the fish was thrashing on the surface 2 different times. I will never forget his massive tail waving out of the water, slinging phospherous lit white water. Then the leader popped and eventually I even had to break the fly line to free it. End of Story. End of the Nights Fishing (no more leader material) SUCKS, but I wouldn't trade that experience for nothing! Total Catch for the Night: Nothing Zilch 0 for 8

Oct 27- Striped Bass on the Fly at Night

Once again, at my secret Southern Pamlico Sound location, I noticed lots of activity under a shoreside light. One toss of a blue/white/mylar fly and....... BOOM! Fish On! In the brief flurry that followed, I landed 3 Striped Bass and missed about 5 strikes. It all ended when 2 Otters wandered into the area. My largest Striper was 20". I only photoed the first one which was quite smaller. Always fun on the Fly Rod. It doesnt look like I will make it to the Mountains this fall, so any Fly action I can find is a plus. Total Catch for the Night: 3 Striped Bass up to 20"

Oct 23- Late Night Trout

A decent Trout caught on a Mirrorlure

Let this One go and he slowly swam away

Little Trout attack Mirrorlures too

Made the midnight hike again! This time the fishing wasn't nearly as productive. Smaller Trout hit the baits better. I released nearly 40 undersized Speckled Trout. Only 2 keepers were captured. Not worth it! Total Catch for the Night: 42 Speckled Trout up to 18"

Oct 23- Continuing Trout Story

Not a huge fan of eating Speckled Trout......

then I tried smothering Trout filets with grated cheese and......HELLO!!!!

Capt Tuggy is in town with Lauren, his beautiful wife. They are celebrating their 1st Anniversary. I guess that means, one year ago today, I was up at Lake Ontario catching 13 and 16 pound Brown Trouts and Chinook Salmon. My first hint of knee problems too....... Anyway, the three of us walked out to Radio Island this morning. Lauren was a tad too short, so that to reach the "Trout Water" she would've had to go in over her waders..... Tuggwell and I each landed 2 Speckled Trout. One of mine was the big fish at 21 1/2 inches and just under 4 lbs. Tuggy and I have a Fishing Mission tentatively planned for 12 midnight....... As for the stealing ass low life punk that stole the cooler out of my Truck last night,,,,,, Hey Faggot, if you need that Cooler that bad, I hope you enjoy it. And when BAD THINGS start happening to you as a result of your sin, I hope you can handle it. Total Catch for the Day: 4 Speckled Trout up to 3 lb 8oz

Oct 22- TROUT OF A LIFETIME

Catchy title  there, Captain Marty! Wonder where this is headed? I must say, it sounds good...... But, unfortunately, everyone whose "sarcasm meter" is "pinging" is correct. This Trout of a Lifetime ain't about size. That's only real concern. Bragging.... That ain't me. Who listens to a crippled, washed up Captain any more? Emma? Hell, Jennifer has dog-napped her to New Bern.....  No and even though the Trout I caught were beauties, perhaps the #1 Stringer that I ever hauled off Radio Island. Solid 3 pound fish. Four of them and many releases...... But, But, But....... They WILL COST MY DUMB ASS and THEY WILL COST ME DEARLY.... See, while I was down the Beach Fishing, 3 punks that I briefly encountered in the Parking Lot in all likelihood STOLE THE YETI COOLER out of the back of my Truck...... See, I was fishing from 12 midnight until 130am. I had the WHOLE DAMN PLACE to myself......  In the meantime, down the Beach, as the thieves were pillaging my Truck, I was GIVING THOSE DAMN TROUT THE BUSINESS!!! Roughing them up. Keeping the 20+" fish that weigh over 3 lbs. Released many and all those Fish were 18" and 19". Ready for this to get worse? As if that $259 Yeti Cooler wasn't bad enough, somehow, saltwater penetrated my "LIFEPROOF" Phone Case and entered my Samsung Galaxy 4 and...,.,.,.,.,..,appearantly, the Damn Phone has shorted out as well..... so, Capt Marty gets the poor little Trout. As the, petty, punkass, pill addicted faggots steal my cooler. Finally, corporate America gets ti perform one more colonostomy on me as I struggle to buy and set up ANOTHER NEW CELL PHONE.......and all this shit keeps happening to me. You know, physically, I FEEL GOOD. You guys will have to be patient with me again. I have Lost All My contacts again..... "Trout of a LIfetime" according to my Title...... Well I figured, $260 (Yeti) plus another $300 for a (new Phone) and I am looking at a nearly a $600 STRINGER tonight..... Brutal.........OH shit on it, its 3am   Total Catch for the Night- 24 Speckled Trout up to 21"




t

Oct 21- Captain Marty visits the NC STATE FAIR

Well today I said to myself.... (No one listens anyway)

I have FISHED SO MUCH since 1986, I haven't been to the State Fair. Hardly any College Football and Basketball games..... Hell, I haven't been anywhere and done anything...... Except Fish and Fish and Fish....... So, anyway, this morning, I said to hell with it, I'm going to the State Fair. Period.

Headed home now. Mission Accomplished. Al's French Fries, Hill's Corn on the Cobb, a Footlong Hot Dog from the Cary Stop......

Hope the Fish had a good day

Oct 20- All Good Things Must Come To An End

Due to my incredible politeness and correctness, ha ha, I attempted to take a friend fishing at Radio Island. "Great Fishing awaits I promised him"....... Then from 230pm until 345pm I watched him go through a procession of searching for rods and reels, a cooler, bottom rigs..... Locked himself out.....Had to shit....... One damn thing after another. I could've made 2 trips and caught 4 limits before he finally annouced, "I'm ready"..... So instead of walking out there at 245 like I did 5 of the past 6 days, (and caught limits of Speckled Trout), this time I scurried out there after 4 o'clock. Walking out there, I passed plenty of guys walking in with their limits and all the guys still out there were all just standing around and no one was catching anything. So, I finally made it out there at dead low tide. Got disgusted, made a dozen casts, caught nothing, and went home. My fault. Lone Wolf Fishing Operation. And my Pal will have to find his own way out there next time.. ..  Total Catch for the Day: Nothing

Oct 18- Another Big Day of Speckled Trout Fishing

Today I was down there at the worst possible time to be Speckled Trout Fishing. Dead Low Tide. Around 4pm. There was 40 or so people on the Beach. Lots weren't fishing. Standing around like "the bite was over".........Hmmmmm, I thought, okay, all good things must come to an end....... Then my first 3 casts were crushed by big fat aggressive Speckled Trout. Damn, there is No End to them. I must say, I did struggle today. After the first three quick ones, I lost my red back Mirrorlure in the Rocks. Then I tried a leadhead and soft plastic. I quickly caught a 17"-18" Trout. Instead of a quick exit, I decided to release this one. Then, in a classic return to "washed up Capt Marty", I lost 5 leadheads and baits in the Rocks in the next 10 minutes! I mean, I made a damn Fool out of myself. Twice I waded in, tied on a bait,  waded back out, and First Cast was into the Rocks. Geezzz, I buy expensive lead heads because I believe they make a difference. I damn sure didn't miss a single Rock today...... Eventually, I caught a couple on soft plastic before tying on another Mirrorlure and whacking them good again. Today, I gave several away, released quite a few, and actually caught one that was too small. GREAT FISHING CONTINUES. Also, I have met so many great people on that Beach the past 4 days. Its so cool when everybody is catching fish! Brings out the best in people. Total Catch for the Day: 14 Speckled Trout from 13" to 19"

Oct 17- Speckled Trout On Fire

Here is THE ONLY problem with Speckled Trout Catching at Radio Island. The Air is too hot for waders and the water is too cold to get your nuts wet. And to reach the fish, you gotta wet the satchel. So....... I wear waders.  The hike down there aint too bad. The hike back with an extra 8 to 11 lbs of Trout on a stringer is BRUTAL. I also lost my chartreuse and gold Mirorlure today in the Rocks. Put on a Red Back TT series and caught SpTs on 4 straight casts. Once again, I caught 8 Speckled Trout. I dragged four more home. Baked one in the oven tonight. Delicious. Todays fish were once again between 18" and 21". Everybody willing to walk and get a little wet were catching them. I was down there for 45 minutes. GREAT FISHING.   Total Catch for the Day: 8 Speckled Trout up to 21"

Oct 16- Speckled Trout Biting Mirrorlures

I made the hike again. I spent an hour throwing a chartreuse and gold Mirrorlure. My personal favorite. It got my four Texas Snook, up to 9 lbs, out of the South Padre Island, Tx surf back in Nov 2001. That color combo also caught me a 10 fish limit of Speckled Trout, including 4 Citations with a big fish of 5 lb 6oz out of the Hatteras Island surf in 2006. Ahhhh, when you feel "washed up" you like to reminisce. Anyway, today it caught me 8 Speckled Trout in 60 minutes. I brought four home from 18" to 20". I released a bigger one and a smaller one and gave 2 fish away. Great Fishing. I love catching them on Mirrorlures. Total Catch for the Day: 8 Speckled Trout up to 21"

Oct 15- Speckled Trout Chew

Okay, I been busy. But there has been a very unusual Speckled Trout Event taking place since  Hurricane Matthew. Radio Island has been a very consistent producer of Speckled Trout for the past 5 to 6 years. The only problem has been that they were mostly 12" to 13" illegal to possess fish. This year, starting last tuesday, that all changed! Limits of Speckled Trout in the 18" to 22" are being captured by ALL. A couple guys released the info on Facebook, and by the time I was able to make it out there on Sat morning, there were 100+ people out there. EVERY ONE was catching them! Soft bait, Mirrorlures, all sorts of stuff...    Lots of Trout caught...  I caught mine and GOT OUT OF THERE. Total Catch for the Day: 5 Speckled Trout from 18" to 20" and 1 Lizardfish

Oct 4- Hurricane Matthew and its Not Looking Good for the US East Coast

Just what we needed...... An October Monster. There once was a famous movie that said "Avoid the Grand Banks in October"......Well, in 2016, looks like we need to avoid Shackleford Banks too....  We still got a few days...  GO AWAY MATTHEW. TURN EAST PLEASE.

Oct 2- King Mackerel Fishing

Korey and Chris joined me for another day of live bait fishing. Chris caught a net full of Menhaden, and away we went. A few hours later, we had our bites, but we didnt take full advantage of them..... As it was, counting a couple of undersized Kings, we tallied 6 total King Mackerel and one jumbo Spanish Mackerel. We have once again failed to catch us the Trophy King Mackerel we have been searching for. Today, we had a couple in the teens and a couple around 10 lbs. Kinda disappointing. We really WANT a 50 pounder. Hell, we'd settle for a 40, or a damn 30 pounder......... Todays best catches were Korey's 7 lb Spanish Mackerel and the 10 lb King that Capt Marty caught on a stingsilver and spinning rod.....Total Catch for the Day: 6 King Mackerel up to 14 lbs and 1 7 lb Spanish Mackerel

Sept 29- Not Quite Epic, King Mackerel Chewing

Chris and I went on a killing mission...... Just what I needed.Total Catch for the Day: 10 King Mackerel up to 14 lbs, 3 Albacore up to 4 lbs, and 1 Bullet Mackerel at 1 lb

Sept 19- Twenty Eight Years Ago Today

28 years ago today, Tony Englehardt and I were in his 17 ft Boston Whaler fishing. It was a beautiful day. We found ourselves down to the SW between the AR's. We were chasing small 3-5 lb Albacores and casting stingsilvers at them..Tony and I had each released a couple Albacore........

Tony raced up to the next school and I fired a cast. Routine. Just like all the others. Only this one was tougher. Tony was anxious to continue the chase to the next school. I cant budge him, turn towards him and track him down. Tony did and we were soon straight up and down over my fish. Now, I cant lift him, hes boring down hard, I replies as my rod deeply bowed and tip pulsed to the unseen fish's tail beat..... What on Earth is this one so different for I wondered? With crystal clear water, no wind, and bright sunlight, conditions were perfect. I peered over the side,  and way way down deep, 40 feet perhaps, laid a 50 lb Yellowfin Tuna. Holy shit Tony, I got a Tuna! As the shock wore off, now the tension increased. Ten worrisome minutes later, he was laying on deck. My first Yellowfin Tuna ever. 50 pounds. Caught on a stingsilver on 10# test. Small spinning rod. 28 years ago today.

Sept 14- Great Casting and Vertical Jigging

I have just returned from Memorial Hospital in Greenville and ECU. I was there with my Dad who recieved excellent care. Id like to thank everyone we came into contact with, everyone there was nice, helpful, and professional. Eastern North Carolina has a great resource there in Greenville. That being said, unless its to go to The Bonefish Grill, I hope we don't go back anytime soon..... Because my Daddy's surgery recovery spilled over into my Work Week, I had to take off, and with nothing to do this morning except check my Dad's incision, I jumped at Ryan's offer to go help him catch a hundred pounds of Albacore. So at 645 am, off we went!  And what a beautiful day it was. Partly cloudy with increasing clouds, light North winds, cool temperatures. Great weather, FOR ANYTHING. Especially running the Ocean armed with spinning rods and stingsilvers. And it really was "one of those days". Schools of breaking gamefish nearly everywhere we looked. Albacore, Spanish Mackerel, and Bluefish were most numerous. By dropping out stingsilvers to the bottom near an Inshore Wreck also gave us a shot at all sorts of other fish. And we found good stuff here, including King Mackerel, Amberjacks, and Gag Grouper. It was funny that of the dozen or so Boats that fished near the Wreck today, all the other boats were really clubbing small Black Sea Bass and not really catching anything else. Yet our Boat and one other Boat that was crushing Big Spanish Mackerel on peanut Shad, caught all sorts of other varieties but we never saw a Black Sea Bass on our hooks! I did manage a 14 lb King Mackerel and Ryan caught a stud 6 lb Spanish Mackerel. . In the end, we didnt manage to capture our 100 lbs of Albacore, but we did end up with a nice catch.... Total Catch for the Day: 9 Albacore from 4 to 8 lbs each, 4 King Mackerel from 3 to 14 lbs, 15 Spanish Mackerel from 10" to 6 lbs, 15 Bluefish from 1 to 3 lbs, 3 Amberjack, 1 Crevalle Jack, 3 Gag Grouper, and 1 monster Pinfish

Aug 30 to Sept 5-Striped Bass on Fly

Well, in 7 the  night period...... I think I actually tried it 5 nights. Really made an effort on 2 nights.     And I landed 18 Striped Bass. No Hybrids. No White Bass. Straight Striped Bass. Being no expert, I marveled at their beauty,  wondered their age (I guess 2 to 3 tr old) , and I am constantly amazed at their chosen niche and strategy in LIVING. Smarter than the Pacific Salmon, whose lifestyle is similar.  Our Bass dont have to pay the Ultimate Cost as the Salmon do, but thanks to our hooks and nets, many do....... The ones I caught didn't. Holding a beautiful, frisky fish, that just happens to be GREAT EATING.... But, to me, killing this fish, at 12 inches, aside from being totally illegal by the way, but why or how could anyone eat it. Left alone, it will grow to 40, 50, even 60 pounds. It will create millions of its kind. It will thrill dozens who encounter it. Eventually some fisherman will outsmart him and land a legal trophy that is still great eating. Hopefully, this will occur one night during the November Full Moon. Around Hatteras Inlet. About 2024. Eel Migration. My 12" Striped Bass will become someone's FISH of a LIFETIME. Total Catch for the Period: 18 Striped Bass from 10" to 15", 1 Pinfish , and  1 Menhaden

Aug 26- Great Late Summer Casting

Jeremy and I t went out to the Cape Lookout Shoals to see what was out there chewing today........NO EXCUSE for being this Slack. But, I have been working. I've been trying to help my Mom and Dad, as they both have had their goes with Cancer as well as other ailments 80+ year olds must endure. I've also fought Air Condition Units and Tires. Yes, Capt Marty's battles are being fought on multiple fronts. I'm feeling like the "good Hitler" surrounded on all sides. In the past, I took out my frustrations on fish. With old age ( and new aches) nowadays I even feel sorry for the fish.....

Back to Jeremy and my day.....Jeremy truthfully  is one of the Worlds Worst Fisherman. He truly shines with the Ladies, but the Fish have him foiled. I remember one stretch where I hooked Bluefish on 9 straight casts. The louder I chanted, the quieter Jeremy grew. Then I realized he wasn't hooking up at all. By that point, my attempts at "coaching" were met by eye rolls and sadistic mumbles..... Well, by the early afternoon we called it a day.  We had a nice catch of Blues and Mackerel. We had seen many Sharks including one that easily went 12 to 13 feet long. It was near the bottom in 15-18 feet of water. He occupied an area that was teeming with hundreds of 6 foot Blacktip Sharks. All Blacktips were swimming south or north, wheras "Mr. Big" was swimming west. Perpendicular to all other sharks. (When can I use those terms in this industry.....6.02 X 10 to the 23rd.......Total Catch for the Day: 60 Bluefish from 1 to 3 lbs, 5 Spanish Mackerel 2 to 3 lbs, 1 Atlantic Needlefish, 2 Blue Runners, and 2 Crevalle Jacks

Aug 24- GREAT FALL FISHING COMING SOON

Okay folks, the temperatures are getting cooler, the days are getting shorter, and Fish are feeding with reckless abandon.  Sure signs that FALL is getting closer.... Also, my knees are doing much better and Life's many stresses seem to be leveling out. In other words, ole Capt Marty is actually thinking about FISHING again.

Anyone interested in FISHING, call me or text me at:

252-241-8350

Or email me at:

captmarty1@gmail.com
wmoore6@ec.rr.com

Aug 22- Striped Bass on Fly at Night

Striped Bass on a Fly at Night..... Sounds Cool

Absolute feeding frenzy under the lights last night. I honestly hadn't seen the resident Cedar Island school of Striped Bass in 6+ weeks or so. Tonight at midnight, it was game on, with 5-8 fish busting on the surface every 15 seconds, and the action lasted for 90 minutes. I was busy, then caught the last 10 minutes or so......I had 7 bites on a cool shrimp imitating fly and landed 4 Striped Bass. They accounted well for themselves versus the 3 wt Fly Rod. One Bass actually got into my backing. The action was awesome. I also landed an adult Menhaden that was hooked in the mouth. Whether or not this Menhaden "hit the fly" or the "fly hit the Menhaden" I'll never know my..... Total Catch for the Night: 4 Striped Bass from 10" to 15", and 1 Menhaden

Aug 11- Slow Fishing in the Crazy Fast Current

Christopher's Scup

Capt Marty's New Best Friend

SeeBo with a Great Blue Runner

Awesome Head on this Guy. Nice Barracuda too.

Great Barracuda is actually it's proper name

Capt Ryno wages War with a Light Wand

And Conquors Mr Amberjack... This Guy's "Feeding Stripe" is lit up....

I got off the sidelines today and finally got back into the game.... I wish I could say, "The Fishing was Glorious as Captain Marty triumphantly rode back into Battle......" It was more like, Despite light winds and slight seas, plenty of fresh bait, and a major Shipwreck all to ourselves, the Fishing Team comprised of Former Gold Medal Winners struggled to produce...... Too much Olympics! In actuality, the problem today was the Current. Gulf Stream type current has pushed way way to the west..... And I aint talking about a little northward drift. I'm talking about rushing water. And when the whole environment is barreling northward and the water temperature is very very hot, poor fishing usually is the result..... So Ryan, Chris, and I struggled. Holding position in 80 foot of water and delivering a live bait into narrow windows and corridors of a wreck was very challenging. Once there, the Groupers were non-existant. (Hiding from Tiger Sharks). The Amberjacks were completely scattered and extremely cautious (Been ravaged by Marauding Bands of Tiger Sharks), even the Barracudas were schooled up for protection and acting funny (Tired of Not Being in Charge of the Wreck, thanks to Groups of 7-12 foot Tiger Sharks) The funny thing was, the current had even carried the Tiger Sharks north...... Anyway, our long half day of Grouper live baiting turned into jigging sting silvers on light spinning rods for whatever we could find...... And an otherwise poor fishing day turned into an interesting day in we all had our moments...... Chris was first when he hooked a mystery fish right off the bottom. A minute later, he had the biggest damn Scup that I've seen since the 70's..... For the uneducated, Scup used to be a very important commercial Fish. Especially up north, New Jersey was its epicenter..... They disappeared. As a kid, I remember reading a book and the subject of Scup, it read "Like a Hoarde of Locust vast schools of Scup would enter a Bay and in a short time the waters would be so devoid of life, no other fish could be found." The Scup was/is the primary fish marketed  under the "catch all" name Porgy and is a member of the Porgy Family..... Other notable Porgies are the Pinfish, the Sheepshead, and the Red Porgy. The Red Porgy is commonly called Silver Snapper.... Anyway, who the hell cares. Chris caught a Porgy that would've pleased the Capt of a 1970 Porgy Boat..... Next up was Ryan. His notable fish was a mystery bite on the bottom, with a small sting silver, on a light spinning rod, with 10 lb test..... 20 minutes and 100 guesses later, and I watched the entire yo yo battle play out on the Fish Finder..... "Ryan, he's 25 feet down, Ryan he's 65 feet down. Ryan he's 40 feet down. Ryan he's 70 feet down." and so on and so on and so on......... So after 20 minutes, we finally get color, we celebrate that it's not a Shark, and Chris quickly gaffs a 36 lb Amberjack. Not too shabby on 10# line and a buggy whip rod..... Finally, its Capt Marty's story and its late and I'm tired and I am driving to Baltimore tomorrow so I'm going to do this fast! Chris caught a small King Mackerel on his stingsilver and it was chased to the Boat by a Huge Barracuda. Acting quickly, I pitched silver barbfish in his direction. Despite this large Barracudas age and experience, he simply couldn't avoid the sudden splash and flash of the panic stricken barbfish. He struck, I struck, and a short time later, he was chasing me and Ryan around the Boat! To summarize the sheer size of this Cuda, he carried 3 remoras. Crazy...... At 44 lbs, he is my new career best Barracuda. Crazy speed and acrobatics. I LOVE those fish! Also, we all caught great sized Blue Runners. They are also a Great Fish and (NOBODY KNOWS) they are outstanding to eat...... We caught a handful of other stuff, came in early..... It was struggle, but we all had our moment..... Total Catch for the Day: 5 Amberjacks from 16 to 36 lbs, a 44 lb Barracuda, 3 Blue Runners 5-6 lbs, a 2 lb 8oz Scup, a 1 lb 8oz Vermillion Snapper, 5 Black Sea Bass, 1 Tomtate, and 1 Sand Perch

Aug 3- HELLO AUGUST

Well, Capt Moore is alive and kicking. Life is a bit of a struggle, missing my wife and Love of my Life and all that..... No, Jennifer DID NOT come back. It zapped my routine worse than a bad back and two bad knees ever did! Living and recovering from a Broken Heart does not make me want to go fishing..... Nor did the blazing July heat..... Well here it is August and I expect cooler and wetter weather. I also expect Capt Marty to slowly rebound and become myself again. King Mackerel beware!

And....... insomnia STILL SUCKS. Its 1am and I got to be at Cedar Island in 4 hours. Id sure like to be sleeping. Losing all my rods and reels. Losing my wife. Losing sleep...... They all suck.  I miss them all..... Lets go fishing!

July 2016- Temperatures in the 90's

As I get older, I freaking hate July. Fishing has traditionally been okay for some stuff but overall, no one raves about "Great July Fishing" unless you hit a pocket of cool water in the deep and land a Billfish Grand Slam or a Giant Blue Marlin...... Of course, long time Top Water Charters associate George Frazier did put 13 Rainbow Runner on the Dock last weekend. That was SURELY the Greatest Catch of RR's in North Carolina Sportfishing History. PERHAPS the Greatest RR day in US East Coast Fishing History. And POSSIBLY the Best RR  in the History of Earth. Until George Frazier cane along, Id only met 2 or 3 people who'd ever caught 1 in their lifetime. What George is doing is amazing.

Rainbow Runner, also known as "Hawaiian Salmon" is a long, slender member of the Jack family that happens to have white Sashimi grade flesh. Highly prized.

July 16- Fly Rodding On Foot Around The Beaufort Water Front

Well, the first thing I did, concerning fishing, was walk down to the foot of Moore Street. Where Moore meets Front..... Don't get me started here. This is a very very sad subject for me..... All the way back to 1980, I had very near exclusive rights to Miss Evelyn Smith's Dock. At that time, you had Barbour's Machine Shop, the massive 3 story brick building and the Smith Dock. Those were the only Docks from the Beaufort Gulf Dock west All the Way to the Cul-de-Sac at the west end of Front Street. Better known as the "Turn Table".......The Smith dock was passed on to Richard Chadwick, whom was my Uncle by Marriage and later his son Hunter...... By then, other Docks, were popping up both east and mostly west of the Chadwick Dock. Every new Dock meant Fish Holding Structure and MORE IMPORTANTLY......Take it from the guy with 40+ Flounder Citations...... All ABSOLUTELY  LOADED with Flounder and Red Drum....... Well Time Marches on. People Die. Others Sell their Property. At one time, I controlled and exclusively fished the Chadwick Dock, Dr Boones Dock, Pages Dock, Martins Dock, and Fraziers Dock. HELL, I didnt need a boat......... The Storys and History are crazy........NINETY (90) RED DRUM from 1 boat slip. Election Day 2004. 4 tagged Red Drum from Pamlico River....... HOW ABOUT 6 FLOUNDER OVER 6 POUNDS ON 6 STRAIGHT DROPS on Halloween of 2005........ HOW ABOUT A 10 LB 11OZ FLOUNDER in 2 feet of water....... HOW ABOUT BACK TO BACK COBIAS BACK IN 2012....... But, like I said, One bt One, I lost access to each and every Dock.... So this morning, I stood on the little Beach at the foot of the old Chadwick Dock and cast my fly. Makes me want to cry. Docks and Wives. Lost. How sad. This is a Fishing Blog. Let me tell yall, from July through November, this is a GREAT FISHING SPOT. Flounder and Red Drum. Anyway, today I caught a small Southern Flounder. Later at the Pond, I caught the usual suspects. Total Catch for the Day: 1 Southern Flounder, 2 Largemouth Bass, and 4 Bluegill

July 15- Late Night Bass Fishing

It was a failure. I am sure that it would take a sizable Bass to hit the huge Frog Imitation Fly that I was tossing...... Plus, the Beaufort Mung Hole aint exactly Lake Okeechobee either. The biggest "Mung Hole" Bass would probably make a fine bobber bait in South Florida....... Honestly, it was either that (Fly) or do a walking trip with the Gig-a-Lite and gig...... I chose the Fly Rod. I gotta admit, there is something Wild and Wooly about throwing that big popper out in the darkness and working it back. The Darkness. The Anticipation. The Energy focused on that Fly. Pop. Pop. Pop. Nothing ever happened, but I bet I try it again. At the right spot. Look out. Total Catch for the Night: Nothing