May 15- Five NC Citation Red Drums and 100+ lb Sharks

Capt Marty's first Cobia of the Year faded to Red...... Red Drum and a nice one too!

Emma loves Sashimi

Tuggy and I got on a nice roll and popped out 7 quick Drum out of a tight fleet of Boats... Our Neighbors were MAD

Tuggwell in da house one more time!

Capt Tuggwell and Rhino and I went out this morning on a "Cobia Mission"..... In hindsight, I believe that we were one of the few Boats that DID NOT catch a Cobia today. Hell, some boats caught limits of Cobia..... Reports far to the North, we that ONE BOAT caught 45 Cobias.... Well, I knew we'd miss the Motherlode this year, but I still expect some good/great fishing. I DID NOT EXPECT to miss a Great Bite on a Day that we were "out there" though. We meandered to the East and wasted 4 hours when the boats to the west were whacking them.... That how it goes!!!!! Anyway, we salvaged our day by busting the Giant Red Drum this afternoon off Shackleford Banks. I got one that bottomed out the 60 lb BogaGrip. That was great.... Also, we hit the Bonito this morning and we also caught 2 Slammer Sharks. Both well over 100 pounds..... A zippy quick and high flying Blacktip and a brute force Sandbar, Both Bad-Ass customers.....Tomorrow is a new day and the Cobia will pay dearly for today's embarassment!!! Total Catch for the Day: 7 Red Drum from 34 to 62 lbs, 2 Atlantic Bonito at 6 lbs each, 20 Bluefish up to 4 lbs, 5 Spanish Mackerel up to 2 lbs,  1 Sandbar Shark at 135 lbs, 1 Blacktip Shark at 125 lbs, 1 Smooth Butterfly Ray at 100 lbs, and 2 Smooth Dogfish up to 10 lbs

Two Incredible Fish from OBX Nets

24 lb Summer Flounder that fell to a Trawler's Net

Hopefully I can get a picture of both of these catches, but yesterday saw 2 amazing Fish landed up here on The Outer Banks. Not that it matters one way or another, but you won't hear much about either of these catches because both fish died in a Net. First up, is a Summer Flounder which was caught in a Fly Net towed by a Trawler. This Super-sized Fluke weighed in at 24 lbs, significantly larger than the existing World Record which is holding on 22 lbs 7oz. Charles Nappi, if still alive, dodged another bullet! The Flounder he caught on Sept 15, 1975 is STILL THE RECORD!

Next up, Avon's Matt Farrow caught a Speckled Trout in a Gill Net today that weighed in at 17 lbs 8oz. Bigger than the existing World Record by 1oz. This fish could've been anyone's! The roe laden monster was caught just behind Hatteras Island, right against the Marsh, 200 yards from Hwy12! Right against the Marsh.... A perfect place to throw a Zara Spook. Just like Craig Carson did back in 1995 when he caught his 17 lb 7oz Speckled Trout down in sunny Florida. Somebody, anybody, could've beat that today! Hellfire, I was laying in bed, less than 25 miles away from the exact spot where Matt's Trout got "gilled". Dammit! First the Beach cruising Blackfin Tunas, now an All Tackle World Record Speckled Trout. So close, I felt water droplets on my brow when they busted bait on top!

I'll post the Flounder pic when I get home and hopefully I'll get a pic of the Speckled Trout. Obviously, this is going to be a Great Fishing Year. Rod and Reelers complaints of Commercial Fishing killing everything AND Commercial Fishermen yapping about Development and Pollution..... Bla Bla Bla. Seems to me that there are plenty of Fish around this Spring and obviously some of them are "TROPHY SIZED"

May 7- Taste Test and Hatteras Inlet Bluefish

One of the World's Great Gamefish. The BLUEFISH. I Love these Fish!

Another Watercolor Bluefish

Another thing I Love about Fish and Fishing is Fish Art. Here is a third Bluefish Print. All three are AWESOME

Two Great Great Gamefish are fighting it out on Capt Marty's grill this afternoon. The Atlantic Bonito, the inshore crusher versus the Lengendary Blue Marlin. So many Dumbos have asked me "can you eat Blue Marlin?".... Well, my most effective answer is "yes, the Atlantic Blue Markin is against the law to sell and they are banned from most restaurants in the U.S. for a pretty basic reason. That being, they are so damn tasty, they are subject to commercial annihilation". And because their presence in the Gulf Stream is so valuable to the Sportfishing Community, we can't afford to take any chances with their population. However, when a Blue Marlin dies on the hook of a Recreational Fishing Vessel, the excellent meat should definitely not be wasted. Therefore, when the Hatteras Charter Boat "Carolina Girl" landed a 300+ pound Blue Marlin yesterday and commenced giving away 5-10 lb blocks of pure meat, Capt Marty got in line. I have, in the past, grilled and blackened Blue Marlin and I must say, it is phenomenal! Making this Marlin even better is the incredible capture method those boys used. They were kite fishing for Blackfin Tuna when this unlucky Marlin repeatedly attacked the skipping rubber flying fish until he finally got hooked. It must've been an incredible sight. Those clients had that "special moment" watching that Show and they are now Hooked For Life..... Good job guys!

And the winner is....... The Bonito by a small margin. But take into account the Bonito marinated in Garlic Expressions for 2 days while the Marlin marinated for 2 hours. Also, this hunk of Marlin came from near the tail, which contains sinew and makes it a little tougher. Still, the Marlin was incredible and I've still got a 8 lb Block of Prime Shoulder Loin. It's going to be awesome!

Finally, I tossed a stingsilver in Hatteras Inlet for an hour this morning. I caught 12 Bluefish from 1-2 lbs each and had to hear "you should've been here yesterday from 10 different anglers. Evidently, Red Drum and Bluefish were on Fire yesterday. I don't care. It's been a good day! Total Catch for the Day: 12 Bluefish up to 2 lbs

May 4- Striped Apes Go Apeshit

Here is our North Carolina Bonito Species....... Average 4-8 lbs. World Record 18 ls 4oz

The "other side of the World" has a Bonito called the DOGTOOTH TUNA

The Dogtooth Tuna is one of Earth's Greatest Game Fish

The World Record Dogtooth Tuna is 230 lb 6oz. It is a Reef Species and is a great challenge to catch

This morning I called my personal good luck charm, Jeremy, into action. I only use Jeremy occasionally. He is not a Fisherman, he does not Fish. Whenever he goes with me GREATNESS ENSUES. He has, in 2 trips, seen a total of 17 NC Citations caught. He has seen a 24 Cobia day. He has seen a 94 lb Cobia caught. He has seen a 7 Citation Black Drum day. He is, without a doubt, my Good Luck Charm! So this morning, I grabbed Jeremy and we went Bonito fishing! We only had a couple of hours, like yesterday. Fortunately, for Bonito Fishing, the morning bite is where it's at! This morning was typical. Fish were busting sporadically for a hour from approximately 645 until 745. After that, blind casting and letting the sting silver sink paid dividends. Then, on the way home, we hit a rare bonus. We found a school of Bonito in extremely shallow water. A first for me. In all my years scouring the Cape Lookout Shoals, I've never seen them in the skinny water.

Dammit I typed for an hour on my phone working on this Report and lost it all when my battery died! Try it again some other day...

I ain't typing all that again. I've lost it twice. To summarize, we caught them good on structure,as expected. Then on the way home, we found a school boiling in 4-6 ft of water. Gulls, Terns, and Gannets joined the fray and the ball of Redbait was rapidly disappearing. We got 3 more Bonito out of this most exciting scenario! Bonito in 4 ft of water is very Bonefishesque in its fight. SUPER! Total Catch for the Day: 11 Atlantic Bonito from 4 to 7 lbs each, 30 Bluefish up to 2 lbs, and 4 Black Sea Bass up to 13"

May 3- Good Bonito Casting

Black Sea Bass seem to be stacked up on all structure. Spawning Time???

Fighting Bonito

Getting close.... Great Fight for its size!

If these guys weighed 50 pounds, they would be the Greatest Fish in the Ocean

Capt Marty with a Nice Bonito

Rhino crushes another Bonnie

Just my luck.... Ringtail from Hell

When the Limit is One, make it Count

Nice Catch by 930am.......

Back at the Dock at 930am with 4 Bonito and a 3 lb Gray Trout so I guess we can call it good fishing! Really the same old story, a  Bluefish, a Gray Trout, a Black Sea Bass, or a Atlantic Bonito on nearly every cast/drop. The Bonito were the headliners, of course. What a great fish. The Bluefish were everywhere.....1000's of them. It was hard " not to catch" one of them. We searched galliantly for the Blackfin Tuna. It was useless.... For 2015, they are GONE. we had our shot and we blew it.... Sorry to those expecting a miracle... Next up: The Cobia! Total Catch for the Day: 4 Atlantic Bonito 4-6 lbs, a 3 lb Gray Trout, 35 Bluefish up to 2 lbs, 14 Black Sea Bass up to 12", 1 Spottail Pinfish, 2 Pinfish, and 3 Hogfish

GREAT FISHING RIGHT NOW

COBIA are coming

BLACKFIN TUNA are jumping

BONITO are biting

SHARKS are menacing

BLUEFISH and GRAY TROUT are chewing

FISHING IS EXCITING RIGHT NOW. COME ON DOWN AND CATCH THE ACTION

252-241-8350

May 1- Blackfin Tunas: Would've Could've Should've

The Reefs were covered up with Sheepshank Bluefish. 

Largest Gray Trout of the week for Rhino and I

This Albacore fought an incredible battle. He deserved to live

A GREAT DAY of FISHING and we killed 3 great fish to eat. The was it ought to be......

We should've caught one or two, or more, 25 to 30 lb Blackfin Tunas. Because we damn sure had our chances. We slung sting-silvers into and beyond incredible surface frenzied forays that had Full Ass Grown Blackfin Tunas hurling skyward, bellyflopping, and plowing through schools of hapless Herrings. It was quite a show! But, this is a BLOOD SPORT and we failed miserably! There was two occasions that I actually had line smoking off my spinning reel. Both times ended in monumental failure. In reality, I don't think I hooked either fish. In hindsight, I think each was a case of a Tuna getting briefly wrapped up with my line as I cranked my stingsilver through the melee.... It is hard to exolain this level of excitement, anticipation, exhilaration, and failure. To see all those huge Blackfin Tunas, 500 yards off the Beach. 40 miles from where they're supposed to be. And to cast into them. Knowing that "you can't miss"..... Then to miss, cast after cast, after cast after cast..... So incredibly difficult to accept. And I know..... I've been preaching that THESE BLACKFIN TUNA come up this same Beach every year... ONE DAY. On May 6, 2010 I caught a 26 lb Blackfin Tuna, in the exact same spot as todays action. In 2011, a Blackfin Tuna were seen and chased by a friend of mine, all the way up Atlantic Beach. He could not get one to bite though! In 2012, one day in May, there was a Blackfin Tuna caught off a nearby Pier. In 2013, an angler out sightcasting Cobia saw an odd group of "Big Fish" chasing bait. He re-rigged a rod with a stingsilver and caught a 30 lb Blackfin Tuna. Then last year, my pal Capt Chris Kimrey was casting for Bonito and nailed a nice Blackfin Tuna, This was in May, as were ALL THE OTHERS..... One Day in May, the past 5 years in a row. Today was THAT DAY. I was THAT ANGLER. Me and Rhino. We failed. The Streak died......... God we wanted a Tuna soooooo bad.

Back to the Fishing.... Other than the Tuna, we had a great day. Rhino caught a fine Gray Trout at 3 lbs 4oz. We each caught a Bonito. We each caught a False Albacore. Then we saw a school of fish inshore from AR-320. Upon arriving it was a full fledged donnybrook. Packed full of hungry Gamefish. Bluefish. False Albacore. Atlantic Bonito. Hellfire, the Blackfins were probably there too, To say "every cast" was an understatement. I caught one particular Albacore that fought incredibly. Looking back, that fish must've been being chased by a Shark. This fish ran incredible circles all around the Boat 4-5 times. The line slicing the water as it flies by the boat at 20 knots is an amazing sight. I wish everybody could experience this..... I must say, the past 2 days have been AS EXCITING of a START TO A NEW FISHING YEAR as I could ever imagine. Unreal. Giant Sharks. Great Casting. Hurling 30+ pound Tunas 500 yards off the Beach. Trout as fast as you can drop to the bottom. "Every cast" casting. It honestly can't get much better!  Total Catch for the Day: 4 Atlantic Bonito up to 5 lbs 4oz, 5 False Albacore up to 10 lbs, 30 Bluefish up to 2 lbs, 6 Gray Trout up to 3 lb 4oz, 12 Black Sea Bass up to 13", 4 Pinfish, 2 Spottail Pinfish, and 1 Scup

Rainy Day Notes

One really crazy thing we saw yesterday was very noteworthy. After I spent all winter griping that "Unless Mary Lee (the tagged 3500 lb Great White Shark) swims up to my boat, I probably ain't gonna see anythjng out there that I haven't seen a thousand times before. " Well, I was wrong! Yesterday Rhino and I saw a Freak Show. One in a Million here in NC! We saw a Gannet surface with a fish in his beak. A menhaden in all likelihood.  Then, to our amazement,  a 7 foot Shark surfaced and attacked the Gannet. Probably in effort to get the Shad. All we saw was the Sharks tail whipping, his dorsal fin high and erect,  and his eyes above the surface and his jaws snapping at ghe Gannet. The Gannet was backpedaling and squawking up a storm. I turned Thr Top Water towards the scene and the Shark quickly spooked. The Shark may have succeeded, I'm not sure. In my experience, that size Shark doesn't spook so easily. Regardless, it was quite a sight. It just ended too quickly!

Captain Marty's Bonito Ceviche. Awesome Boat Food. Appetizer Food. Main Course even.

Grilled Bonito. Absolutely Delicious Grilled Fish!

As for the Bonito that Rhino and I caught 7 and I made a killer batch of Ceviche. As my Ceviche "cured" in the refrigerator, I cooked up four of the largest loins on the Grill. Lightly marinated and cooked medium rare and this Sarda Sarda was every but as good as any Yellowfin Tuna has ever been. No Shit..... Now today (May 1st) I ate some delicious Ceviche while I was fishing on the Sea Spray. It was kick ass as well and tomorrow my brother and I will be eating some Bonito Toro as Sashimi. I already know how good this is gonna be! Long Story Short..... Atlantic Bonito is THE INSHORE TUNA on the US East Coast. It is everything Yellowfin Tuna is except the size of the Loin and the "Flake" size of the meat..... Awesome Fish!

Indigo Bunting. Rare Bird sighting at Ferry Dock over at Ocracoke Island

Finally, the other day at South Dock on the Eastern End of Ocracoke Island I noticed a very unusual bird. Dark Blue. Almost "Duke" blue. He also had black wings. It was asmall bird, the size of a true Bluebird. His color caught my eye. I snapped a quick, but poor quality photo. I thought I knew what it was, and after checking a Field Guide, I was right..... This little birdie was an Indigo Bunting. A very prominent species for the Bird Watchers out there......

April 29- Bonito Barrage

Rhino and a Beautiful Bonito

We all like Ceviche made with Bonito and this will make two Huge Batches!

We had a few of these in the LiveWell at one time as we waited on Mako Mike to return!

"Walleye of the Ocean"

Poor Emma in the Background! Sleeping off a Trout and Bluefish Sushi Tray

Top Water Charters triumphantly returned to the Ocean this morning and hammered the Atlantic Bonito, Bluefish, Gray Trout, and Black Sea Bass. The Bonito, formerly known as "Striped Apes" by people "in the know" are one of my FAVORITE SPECIES. These fish have the IT FACTOR. They are elusive, fast, hard hitting, and incredible fighters. They are beautiful and must be seen alive to be appreciated. They are absolutely delicious on the plate. Grilled or as Ceviche, anywhere Yellowfin Tuna shine, these Bonito make a great substitute. Finally and adding greatly to their appeal, is the fact that they are only around about 6 weeks and they will be gone until next Spring! This morning, Capt Rhino Handsbro and I sailed on what I really considered a "Shake Down Cruise". I really and truly expected the WORST CASE SCENARIO. Last Fall, before the Punk Ass Faggots stole all my Rods and Reels, The Top Water Boat was not running right. I was having "fuel" problems and I had pretty much narrowed it down to a serious obstruction inside my 27 year old fuel tank. In other words, I had a big problem. Well, this past winter, I did NOTHING. I did double up on my Marine Sta-bil though. Hopefully, the high concentration of fuel additive somehow broke up or dissolved whatever had my pick-up strangled off last year! FAT CHANCE but that was my hope. I figured we'd experience the same old problems as last year and I'd be forced to pursue an expensive repair..... Rhino, on the other hand, was bristling with confidence and he was ready to go "Wreck Hopping" in search of an early season Cobia, or two! Well. owner operator, and fraidy-cat, Capt Marty had the final say and I opted for the relative safety of inshore. As we hit the Inlet at 730am, we quickly realized the calm seas and light winds would allow us to scour the Cape Lookout Shoals safely and still stay close to the Beach as I waited for the inevitable break down..... Well, the Break down never happened.... The Top Water Boat ran great all day. Unfortunately, the overcast sky lasted all day as well so Sight Casting to the Schools of Giant Red Drum or finding that first Cobia of the Year cruising the Beach,,,,, Those things never happened either. So finally, about 10am, Capt Rhino and I compromised all we meandered our way out to the nearest Wreck on the Eastside of the Shoals. Here we found a Motherlode of fish. Four extremely tasty and gamey species occupied the waters surrounding this Wreck in outstanding numbers. The first thing we encountered were vast numbers of Gray Trout on the bottom. Every drop resulted in a hook-up. Gray Trout up to 19" and over 2 lbs were there for the taking. We were chasing the ghost of an 8 lb "Rumor" Trout that was landed last week. We know how that goes. Closer to the Steel wreckage, the Weakfish gave way to Black Sea Bass of all sizes. Rhino quickly caught a 14" Bass, while right at the end of the day, I won The Battle of Basses with a 16" Blue Hump. The Wreck itself was enshrouded with an armada of Bluefish. Thousands of them. We tried not to catch them, but that was impossible! The Bluefish we encountered ranged up to 2 lbs. Finally, and most importantly, the Wreck also held some mysterious number of Capt Marty's FAVORITE Inshore Fish, The Atlantic Bonito. Known for surface forays at Dawn and Dusk; in the middle of the day they are harder to find and target, but in my opinion, they school up and revolve around the wreck. Like a planet in orbit around the sun, these Bonito "stand off" the wreck a few hundred yards and just circle. If food presents itself, they'll eat. But, they are pretty much waiting for the sun to dip towards the horizon again and that's their cue to rise to the surface again and start doing their thing. Busting Bait and putting on a show! Anyway, middle of the day, the trollers do well and the blind casters get lucky..... Well today, Rhino "got lucky" 4 times including a NC Citation 24" stud Bonito. Capt Marty hit 3 Bonito. The true highlight of the day was when Rhino had a 2 lb Trout chased down and slammed by a 90 lb Mako Shark. Holy Shit! Right by the Boat. Dammit, if we could've landed that 6 foot Trophy, it would've been incredible. However, the minute Rhino came tight with that 10# mono, it would've taken a freaking miracle to hold on to that Shark. It lasted 60 seconds. She peeled off 200 yards of line before the flouro shock leader parted...... Total Catch for the Day: 7 Atlantic Bonito up to 24", 35 Bluefish up to 2 lbs, 16 Gray Trout up to 19", 40 Black Sea Bass up to 15", 5 Pinfish, and 2 Spottail Pinfish 

April 25- Here It Comes

Good Morning Globe. Fishing Season is here. Awoke this morning to the sound of Charter Boats opening up the throttles and racing to the Gulf Stream up here at Hatteras. World Class (an over-used term by idiot Fishing Guides) Blackfin Tuna Fishing. World Class means, to me, best Fishing for a specific species that the "World" has to offer. It DOESN'T MEAN that Jackleg McGraw from Harker's Island caught 3 Red Drum and a limit of Speckled Trout! Joey Bell and I had "World Class Speckled Trout Fishing" on December 3, 2000 when we caught 20 Trout over 7 lbs with a big fish at 10 lbs 8oz. Anyhow, boats at Hatteras are crushing the Blackfin Tuna and in some cases, every single fish qualifies for an NC Fishing Citation. Florida considers their Blackfin Fishery World Class and a 20 pounder down there is a Ghost. Up here at Hatteras, some boys are filling the box with 28-32 lb Tunas. That, my friends, is a World Class Blackfin Tuna Bite.

April 21- Crazy Hatteras Inlet Fishing Tall Tale

We'll see if this one is believable! Later tonight there will be a picture to go along with this tale..... So I'm back to work, first day at Hatteras Inlet in 22 days. First trip across on the Ferry and at 8am Billy Harris and I walk out on the Beach on the north end of Ocracoke Island during our 30 minute layover. Check the Beach out, look for Shells and cool Driftwood. As we wonder south towards the Ocean, we cross a shot of yellow stren 20# mono that dead ends in the sand in a knot of seaweed and plastic debris. The other end disappears in the Inlet..... I tell Billy, "I wonder if someone's Rod N Reel is on the other end. I bend over and pick up the line and start hauling it in...... (Y'all know where this is headed?). Well, as I come tight, it quickly becomes apparent that there will be NO LOST ROD-N-REEL. Instead, the line starts fighting back! Amazing. 150 feet of line later, I reach a 10 ft section of Shock Leader, followed by a 8 lb Red Drum. Thankfully, Billy was there to photo my catch because I didn't have the heart to kill this Fish. Billy snapped a quick photo and I slid a dead tired Red Drum gently back into the Inlet. I did remove the circle hook from his throat, which still had a pretty fresh chunk of Mullet on it. My biggest dilemma was to re-cast the bait or clean up the plastic pollution. Wonder what I did? Total Catch for the Day: 1 Red Drum at 8 lbs

April 20- Bream Busting Fly Rod Adventure

Capt Christopher Columbus came by this morning to put some PowerPro on a couple of his reels and we had a long talk about Fishing and Boats and other stuff...... When Cbo left, I had an hour to blow before I had to catch the Ferry to Ocracoke. So, I grabbed my trusty 3wt Fly Rod and ran off to the Mung Holes..... Not much time, but I was quivering to try a GrassHopper imitation that Cbo had picked up at Cabelas.... Well, a beautiful bait, but........ With nearly NO ACTION. It looked great to me, but the fish were not rising. With time running out, I went to my traditional favorite, a Betts rubber-legged spider. With the little plop and splash. dark shapes quickly materialized out of the murky green water under my offering. Then....... Poweeeee it happened! A Beaufort Beauty, a Pumpkinseed slammed my fly and the fight was on! A quick release and right off the bat I had the "hardest  of the Beaufort Sweetwater GrandSlam"..... A couple of casts later and I had my Bluegill....... Now, I was looking for a Largemouth Bass. With sand falling through my hourglass, I found another Bluegill.... Then another.... Then another Bluegill...... Then another, and another, and another.... I never saw a Bass today. I never tried a larger Popper. I ran out of time. Great Fun Though.... I am loving and fascinated by the Fresh Water Fishing for some reason. I can only imagine the JOY that I would feel if I lived down by Santee Cooper, SC or Lake Erie or even close to the Tuckasegee River in the NC Mountains....... Its all I think about honestly. I'd like to add another thought: I wish I could find a fishable and accessible population of Crappie in Carteret County. That would slow my wunderlust! Total Catch for the Day: 6 Bluegill and 1 Pumpkinseed 

April 17- Santee Cooper Adventure

Long time Top Water Charters friend Tom invited me to join him on another Fresh Water Adventure yesterday and I jumped at the opportunity! Last year Tom put me on some great Walleye Fishing up on Lake Erie. Size and numbers of Walleye that I caught was OUTSTANDING! This time, the target species was Redear Sunfish, more affectionally known in the Southeast as a "Shellcracker". Unfortunately, the Shellcracker bite was a little slack, but there was great variety to be had on these twin, huge SC Lakes. I also caught a surprising White Crappie that was tagged and won me a 42" Striped Bass Mount made by King Sailfish Mounts. Thanks to Tom Burro's Fish Camp for sponsoring that incredibleness!! Back to the fishing, Tom really out performed me. He caught trophy sized Black Crappie and Shellcrackers. I may have got the better of him on numbers of keeper Bluegill though. We teamed up to catch around 50 total fish of 7 different species. We actually caught decent numbers of both Yellow Perch and White Perch too. Tragically, all of these delicious fish were "too small". Anyone that puts down either of these two's culinary qualities needs their Heads examined........ Our best fish of the trip was Tom's 2+ pound Black Crappie. Tom's much smaller Black Crappie was an extremely light in color and, at first glance I would've guessed it to be a White Crappie. Much later, at the cleaning table, I counted its dorsal spines of which it had 7 of them. A White Crappie, on the other hand, has 5-6 dorsal spines (Black Crappie have 7-8 dorsal spines). Remember this worthless piece of Fish Fact for proper Fish ID regardless to  the fishes actual color....Of course, the most outstanding Crappie was MINE. The one with the yellow spaghetti tag pinned just below his second dorsal fin!!!! Total Catch for the Day: 3 Black Crappie up to 2 lb 2oz, 25 Bluegill up to 1 lb 4oz, 6 Redear Sunfish up to 1 lb 4oz, 1 Pumpkinseed, 1 Hybrid Sunfish (Bluegill X Green Sunfish, I think???? This same combo when paired up in a Laboratory makes the Famous Georgia Giant), 8 White Perch, and 8 Yellow Perch

April 6- Ararat River Trout Failure

After a business trip to Winston Salem, Jennifer and I decided to drive up to Pilot Mountain for the fun of it. After a great time on the Mountain, we wondered over to Mount Airy. Of course, I kept my eyes on a constant lookout for "fishable" water. I just happened to have tossed my beloved 3wt Fly Rod in the truck for the ride. Once we arrived in Mt Airy, we quickly found the Ararat River. I remembered reading about this place. A great little easily wadeable and easily fished Trout Water. As matter of fact, this River is a well stocked, delayed harvest River. Luckily for me, I quickly found out from a couple of locals that the River had just been stocked two days ago. Hell yeah, hungry Rainbow Trout everywhere! Sadly, this may or msy not have been true but I couldn't catch the damn things. I tried a dozen different flies and several in-line spinners. I saw roll after roll. I saw Trout chase my offerings over and over. I maybe hooked 2 or 3. I landed NONE. It was The Most Frustrating Fishing Day In A Long Long Time. Especially when, as we were leaving,  a dude walked up and caught two Rainbow Trout on his first 2 casts. Jeminy Crimany. Total Catch for the Day: NOTHING

April 4- Fly Fishing Beaufort

Thirty minutes with the popper and the 3wt....Then a hen Mallard landed in the Pond and Emma lost all control. Hard to fish a small Pond with a pyscho Yellow Lab splashing around. Bluegills were verty very active in the late afternoon sun splash after a rainy morning! Total Catch for the Day: Bluegill and 1 Largemouth Bass

Rainy Saturday Blues

I wish this meant "Bluefish".

Sorry, I will say this..... when Jennifer sets up her laptop tonight, I WILL GET THIS BLOG IN ORDER and make a Statement. The 2015 Fishing Season is upon me. It's go time people. The Bonito and Cobia are coming!

April 1- Hickory Shad Fishing

Weird day, but....... It was fishing. Finally! Short version, Momma needed my Dad and their barking ass Black Snake dachshund, Tiny, out of the house for 4 hours... So I said, jump in the truck and we'll go for a ride! Cowpen Landing, Pitch Kettle Outpost, Maple Cypress, and Spring Garden were all visited! CPL and SG were "high hooks" with 3 Hickory Shad each. All bucks. Lost a huge Roe Shad at Cowpen. Darn it. All fish hit the white grub. The throb of the spoon felt good thoughPretty day. Felt good. Total Catch for the Day: 6 Hickory Shad