June 17 Slow Fishing & Windy

This was probably the toughest day of the year for me, personally.... Things just ARE NOT GOING MY WAY.... I had a great crew on board, Randy and gang from Greensboro and Winston Salem... I really wanted to catch them a big fish! Will and I went out in front of Harker's Island and caught a huge cast net full of Menhaden... And.......................... That was the highlight of the day... We picked up my fishing crew at 1pm and it was Struggle City... When it was over, we had caught an unusual Bullet Mackerel that we spent an hour chasing and casting to..... I've seen a few Bullet Mackerel, Frigate Mackerel, and Chub Mackerel in North Carolina waters, but they are an unusual catch... Its hilarious to me to hear all the local guides and resisdent "experts" brag about all the "baby Albacore" in the Cape Lookout Bight! Oh well, everyone isn't a "fish idiot" like me... I literally learned how to read with Fishing Books and Field Guides..... Other than the Mackerel, we snagged a At Thread Herring and a Menhaden..... We fished bait on the bottom in 3 different spots, we cast to a bait ball in the Ocean, and we rode out to the Shoals... The wind was terrible... I am SO SORRY GUYS.....They really did a helluva lot better on their own boat before they jumped on mine... That was a definite NC Citation Pompano, a real trophy fish!  Total Catch for the Day: 1 Bullet Mackerel, 1 Atlantic Thread Herring and 1 Menhaden

June 16 BIG ROCK NEWS----Joey Bell coming to the Scales

As predicted in my June 9th comments section!!! Joey Bell, long time Top Water friend and sometimes client, is headed to the scales and is looking to pull out a last second victory. the mystery is..... What is Capt Brower and Joey bell up to? They boated their Blue Marlin at 923am and continued to fish.. I'm betting that they are skirting the 400 lb minimum weight and they made the decision to keep fishing... But who knows? We will all find out at 530pm when the "Fishing Partner" arrives at the scales!

Also, I had a last second cancellation due to winds ON A DAY THAT 5,000 OTHER BOATS ARE FISHING... This was NOT my decision and events like this are going to force me to abandon my long-time casual policy towards deposits and non-refundable deposits when its not the Capt's decision and there is no emergency issue to cause the cancellation...

A lot of work went into this morning's fishing trip and seeing my boat sit in my driveway all day is a dose.... Especially since I let the day's fishing charter dictate the way my night went last night..... By staying home last night, I might have missed my chance to land Miss Blue Marlin that could've changed my life. Ha Ha

June 14 100lb Nurse Shark and Too Much Wind

Vinnie and Jennifer joined me on a half day of fishing when, once again...... The WIND dictated our every move.. Too much NW wind that became too much N wind and finally settled in as too much NE wind... I reality, too much wind from any direction is a pain in the rear... The North wind suspends sediment in our nearshore water and greatly reduces visibility. We all know that any wind from the East hurts fishing... Why? I have No Answer for that question.... In my opinion, on my boat, any wind 10 knots or less is great... North or East, any wind from 11-15 knots is OK. anything over 15 knts from the North or East sucks.... Winds from the South and West, I can put up with a little more. I'd say 11-20kts is OK, and anything over 20Kts sucks...... So yesterday was 20-25kts from the Northwest to Northeast, any way you cut it, it was too much. However, all this wind does not make it UNFISHABLE, it just greatly restricts my options as a Captain as to where and how we are able to fish...... so, how did we do? First, we caught a net full of Menhaden, so off to Cape Lookout we went. Anchoring up inside the Bight at Cape Lookout would get us out of the wind, but the tide would make things difficult...  Our fishing was interesting with lots of bites, runs, bite-offs, and releases... The fish of the Day was Vinnie's 100lb Nurse Shark. We also released other Sharks and Rays and we lost a 75lb Sandbar Shark that showed himself before escaping...,. We also lost a monster mystery fish that ran off 250 yards of line on the first run..... Over all, interesting but poor fishing.. Total Catch for the Day: 100 lb Nurse Shark, 8 lb Sharpnose Shark, 4 Southern Stingrays 20-75 lbs each   No Pics until Jennifer sends my a Nurse Shark Pic

June 13 Popping Bug Action

Get the real action started tomorrow.... So today I went over to the Mung Hole to catch some guppys for Little Sid and Jeremy, and while I was over there I tossing a rubber spider around for a few minutes.... Fishing was fast and furious at the first stop. I caught 5 Largemouth Bass and a Bluegill and missed many blow ups and swirls.... Over at the next spot, the guppys were plentiful, but the fish didn't cooperate. Back at my House, the Boys are getting big. They devoured 20 guppys in a minute and splashed a half gallon of water out of my aquarium. Tonight they got 20 more guppys and a monsterific insect larvae to munch on..... Total Catch for the Day: 5 Largemouth Bass and 1 Bluegill

Ferry Dock Fishing

So far, I've seen 1 Sheepshead in the 6-7lb range that I didn't catch... I caught a 2lb Tautog that ate a fat red Sea Urchin... The Sea Urchins have exploded in Hatteras so hopefully there will be a Sheepshead explosion soon to follow! Time will tell.. Hatteras is also having a population explosion, as tourist season hits its stride.... All those bikinis, are definitely a distraction when trying to catch the "speedy nibblers"  like Sheepsheads and Tautogs....... While playing with other baits like conch and hermit crabs, I have also managed to catch a few Black Sea Bass.... Total Catch for the Week: 1 Tautog and 8 Black Sea Bass 

June 5 Venus Over Hatteras

I guess Venus over Hatteras is an understatement...... I guess it was over all of us! My buddy, Steve Bittman, is an amateur star, planet, and space watcher, so he was up early to take this beautiful picture......... And I share it with the Top Water Nation! How corny was that?

 Last week I returned to work with a bang! This week it looks like a fizzle..... I did bring my castnet, my bait bucket, my landing net, and my Sheepshead/Flounder Combo.... Is the old Capt Marty really back. Time will tell...... I hear that Korey went out and bought a fly rod.... Can't wait to get home and check out his progress!

Open next week. I'm going fishing regardless..... Join me. The Fish will bite.... June 13, 17, 18

June 3 Cobias, Groupers, Triggers & more

Geoffry, Sarah, Phil, and Hans finally helped me break out of a fishing slump.... It was another slow morning of Rays and Turtles and I decided, even though the wind and seas were really a little too brisk, to head offshore to a wreck in the middle of the day.. Really the tide and wind were combining at Cape Lookout to make bad fishing really miserable. The boat was swinging back and forth and Will and I were trying to be entertaining and constantly tending to slack lines... I was readty to quit! So I decided to go riding.... And an hour later, we were somewhere we didn't need to be! However, Phil quickly hooked up a 33" Cobia on a stingsilver and light spinning tackle. Meanwhile, everyone else was bringing up a steady stream of Black Sea Bass, Spottail Pinfish, Gray Triggerfish, and Tautog... The fishing was quickly getting fun. I dropped a live shad down and immediately got a bite. I handed the rod to Hans, and he quickly dispatched 24" Gag Grouper.... And thats how it went for the next 90 minutes. When it was over, we had 2 Cobia and a nice box full of Grouper, Triggers, and a Tautog.... After that, we went back inshore and tried again for a bigger Cobia.. All we got was another Turtle and a couple of big Southern Stingrays... Total Catch for the Day: 2 Cobia, 6 Gag Grouper, 2 Gray Triggerfish, 4 Spottatil Pinfish, 1 Tautog, 4 Southern Stingray up to 90lbs, 12 Bluefish, 3 Atlantic Thread Herring and 1 Hogfish

June 2 Struggle City

I picked my crew up at Calico Jacks this morning and unfortunately, there wasn't a Menhaden to be found in the eastern half of Carteret County..... Meanwhile 15-18 miles to the west, the Shad were flippin away. A two hour round trip from where we were..... So, we went looking all over the area where we were and ended up baitless for the first part of the trip! Then we searched for the Big Bluefish but they weren't in their usual places..... Then we looked for smaller Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel, but the lingering effects from Tropical Storm Beryl made fishing miserable. Dirty water and too much wind. Nice size ground swell with gnarley wind chop headed the opposite direction made the Ocean into a nasty cess pool of slop.... Our fishing sucked.. Inshore sucked. Nearshore sucked... The whole day sucked. Beat up and wet, for nothing.... Finally after lunch the wind subsided and the sun came out.. We ran back inside and caught a solid net full of Menhaden, the perfect Cobia baits. The tide was perfect. we ran back out to Cape Lookout and set up for Cobia Fishing.... And the crew had to go home! What a let down! Wil Grant and I fished for a few minutes down at Beaufort Inlet and caught a 7 ft Tiger Shark, Loggerhead Turtle, and a Southern Stingray. Total Catch for the Day: 15 Black Sea Bass, 1 Hogfish, 2 Rock Sea Bass, 3 Southern Sting Rays and a 150 lb Tiger Shark

June 1 Nasty Day & Great Fly Fishing

I had a trip cancel out this morning. Good for them, it was a gray nasty day with wind steady at 25 kts from the SW. I went for a very short and wet boat ride and it was NO FUN and NO BAIT and Miserable... A little later, Korey and I went to a couple of Ponds and fishing popping bugs on the fly rod and roostertail spinners on light spin I racked up numbers of Bass and Bream... In the meantime, Korey fished a plastic worm and live Bream and he caught fewer, but larger Bass... I'd call it a great session of freshwater fishing! Total Catch for the Day: 25 Largemouth Bass up to 3 lbs, 15 Bluegill and 1 Pumpkinseed

Capt Marty's Birthday

May 30. Is there reason to celebrate? Yeah it is. My Back DOES NOT HURT. I am back to work on the FERRY. I am freed up to FISH. And Im not constantly thinking about things that I cant change....

Looking ahead... Lets Go Fishing  June 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 are open...

UPCOMING WEEK

Im at Hatteras working on the Ferry and so far so good concerning my back... And its good to be back. Its a lot of fun! Its a lot of fun! I dont see me doing any fishing this week, but next shift I will be bringing some tackke!

Next week when I get home, I will be looking to run some fishing trips... I am open for business on May 30 and 31, plus June 3 and 4. Please call me if interested. Missing work has put me in a dilemma and I need to earn some money... And I promise you, lack of fishing, improving health, and eagerness to please my clients will result in 100% effort to not only catch fish, but flat out murder them. Im looking for some MONSTER catches. For Real!

****June 1 & 2 are booked****

NC Fishing Citations

Reminded of the 17-18 lb Bluefish that recently escaped by the boat, I thought somebody out there might be interested in seeing a list of the NC Saltwater & Freshwater Fishing Citations that I have managed to collect in my fishing career. It all started with a 66 lb Amberjack that at my clark spoon on June 24, 1988....

Salt:
Amberjack, Shark, Barracuda, Crevalle Jack, Tilefish, Sheepshead, Red Drum, Black Drum, Dolphin, Sp Mackerel, King Mackerel, Wahoo, Bluefin Tuna, Sailfish, White Marlin, Blue Marlin, Black Sea Bass, Yellowfin Tuna, Blackfin Tuna, At Bonito, False Albacore, Triggerfish, Porgy, Red Snapper, Grouper, Spot, Sea Mullet, Pompano, Gray Trout, Flounder, Cobia, Striped Bass and Speckled Trout

Fresh:
Largemouth Bass, White Perch, Bowfin, Blue Catfish, Bullhead Catfish, Yellow Perch, Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, Chain Pickerel, Redfin Pickerel, American Shad, Hickory Shad, Flier, Green Sunfish and Pumpkinseed

What a Nice List..... I can't concentrate on conquering the Freshwater list.... In order to finish off my salty quest, I needed that Bluefish. The minimum weight for Bluefish used to be 17 lbs. I caught quite a few 15 and 16 pounders, but since they lowered the minimum, a 15 pounder is hard to come by... As far a Tarpon goes, I've caught plenty in Florida, but never put in the effort here in NC to catch one. Seems like I would have bumbled into one over the past 25 years, but I never managed to get my hands on one of the few that I did encounter! That leaves 2 tough ones! First, there is Bigeye Tuna and you pretty much have to be in the right place at the right time and get lucky... Off Oregon Inlet.... A couple years ago a boat right beside me pulled it off. Five strikes and Five Bigeyes between 150 and 225 lbs each... While we hooked baby Blackfins...My number never came up. Finally, a 3 lb Croaker in the 21st century off NC is like finding a Unicorn... But I did catch a 2 lb 10 oz Croaker 3 years ago on a jerk bait casting for Puppy Drum.... So who knows... I always promised my beautiful ex-wife Meredith if I ever caught them all, I'd quit fishing.

May 21 Cleared to Return to Work

The worst period of My Life is coming to a close and I am about to return to my old job and my old life.... Hopefully, I wont fall into any of my old bad habits! The Downward Spiral that started on Dec 19th, accelerated on March 1st has run its course and slowed to the point that I get get back on and attempt to start this thing spinning in the right direction. Upward!  Back to Hatteras. Back to the Ferry. Back to being a Fishing Guide. This period of my life will never be forgotten..... I've had a great Physical Therapy crew over at Beaufort Physical Therapy. Ive had the steroid injections. I've got the education.. I so am ready to get out there and try and see if I can do this without hurting myself! Bring on the Ferry. Bring on the Fish.

Also, I haven't told my Legion of Fishing Followers..... On May 16th I had the worst possible thing happen to me... I missed a golden opportunity to land a 17-18 lb Bluefish. Oh Lord, it was a Citation Opportunity of a Lifetime. I sightcasted to him from the Tower with a bucktail and he grabbed it. I watched the whole thing from above. I battled him for 45 seconds... Unfortunately, he was never hooked, just had a mouthful of chartreuse hair. Finallly, on a jump he ripped the hair out and I watched him swim away, spitting out globs of hair as he hauled ass.... I was absolutely devastated...... After 24 years of chasing the dream of catching all the NC CITATIONS..... After collecting 570 Total NC Citations for 33 species.... only 4 species to go and Bluefish is one of them.... It was just as bad as Dec 19th.........It was just as bad as March 1st.........

May 16 Bluefish Frenzy & Missing Cobia

Capt Chris took BJ Swain out today for a Cobia/Bluefish trip and he definitely fulfilled half of the promise. Last year, I took BJ, and we caught 10 Cobia on bait and lost a monster... It was a great day, 10 out of 11 on Cobia bites!! This year, everything is different... From my back to the fishing! So here's how it went...... The boys actually caught a net full of Menhaden so things were looking good for bait fishing. However, they decided to go sight casting first and unbelievably, they found 12-15 Leatherback Turtles and every single Turtle was cobia-less.... Two years ago, finding a Leatherback Turtle in May or June off Beaufort Inlet was an automatic Cobia.... This year, it just aint happening... The crew did find a monster school of Chopper Bluefish off Cape Lookout and they hammered them... Casting into a 1000 Bluefish that weighed from 7 to 10 pounds each, you couldn't miss. It was awesome action and they threw all the junk on my boat that nothing else would bite, and it was a bite on every cast! Between the Turtles and the Bluefish, the day slipped away. They finally tried bait fishing late in the afternoon and caught one measly Shark. Another terrible Cobia day in a terrible Cobia year.... Total Catch for the Day: 15 Bluefish from 7-10 lbs and 1 Sharpnose Shark

May 12 Happy Mother's Day and a Largemouth Bass on the Fly

Today I was catching food for my pets (an Oscar named de LaHoya, a Bluegill named Little Sid, a Pumpkinseed named Jeffrey Dahmer, and a Algae Eater named Jeremy) and I nailed a spunky Largemouth Bass on my 3wt fly rod and a popping bug.... The aquarium fish are pulverizing misquitofish and mummichogs. The Oscar gets bigger every day. Total Catch for the Day: 1 Largemouth Bass


Also, Tomorrow is my FINAL STEROID INJECTION. Hopefully, this little chapter of my life is nearly over. I know things may never be the same, but I certainly hope that I will be deemed WELL ENOUGH to return to work.....

May 11 Sheepshead of the Century and Giant Bluefish in Shallow Water

Miss Jennifer went out today with Capt Chris at the helm for some sun and some excited yelling and screaming... I rode along as an observer and potential date in the running for Jennifer's charms.... At times, I thought I met my long lost twin sister. Other times I wanted to spank her with a feather duster... She managed to cast to a catch 3 Chopper Bluefish from 10-13 lbs and lost another. The highlight of the day was the HUGE Sheepshead that attacked a swimbait on the Shoals. Right before we landed the FISH of the YEAR candidate, a 100+ pound Sandbar Shark came out of nowhere and grabbed the Sheephead. Punched out a bite that took half the Sheepshead's body. The remainder weighed 12 lbs. Half a Sheepshead and it was still a NC CITATION.... We also found an 80 lb Cobia in 2 ft of water at Cape Point. The first bucktail almost bought him a ticket to Beaufort, he followed it all the way to the boat and did a headstand on top of it.... Not bite though. Then after he lost interest and continued his trek, he turned the bucktail down again. Then another different colored bucktail. Then he ignored a swimbait.... Pissed off now, I rigged the harpoon and called in Capt Columbo, who was nearby... However the Cobia slipped into the breakers and entered the "Eastside" and disappeared... Total Catch for the Day: 3 Bluefish from 10-13 lbs and a * * *15 lb Sheepshead* * *  

Capt Marty's Day

Physical Therapy is going great! My last steroid injection is monday. Hopefully I will go back to work on May 22nd.... I've been out catching misquitofish to feed my Oscar, my Bluegill, and my Pumpkinseed. The Pumpkinseed is named Jeffrey Dahmer. He is a sick cookie to say the least. These fish love misquitofish, pinfish, shrimp, and stonecrabs. I have company right now. Another Bikini Girl. As soon as she finishes her breakfast she thinks she is going on a nice little boat ride and get some sun.... In reality, she is going out on a hardcore sightcasting for Cobia, blood and guts fishing mission....

May 8 Blazing Spanish Mackerel

Capt Tugwell Jones sailed the Top Water Boat today and reported "every cast" fishing for 1-2 lb Spanish Mackerel. Action packed casting top water plugs for Chopper Bluefish. Finally, a carefully presented bucktail that was expertly delivered to a 25 lb Cobia..... The problem was, the Cobia wasn't interested. Also, a picture is worth a thousand words. Unfortunately again, there is no picture and the words elude me, but the crew reports a 8-10 lb Flounder rose off the bottom in 4 ft of water and smashed a top water plug. Swam back to the bottom and after a 30 second tussle, the flounder shook the hook out of his mouth!  Crew on drugs? Lucky flounder? Is this the truth? We'll never know! Total Catch for the Day: 30 Spanish Mackerel 1-2 lbs and 3 Bluefish 10-12 lbs

May 7 Chopper Bluefish & Wild Turkey Hunting

Capt Chris Chadwick took the Top Water Boat out today and thanks to Capt Chris Kimrey (Custom Saltwater Taxidermy and Mount Maker Charters) we caught 10-14 lb Bluefish on top water plugs in 1-4 feet of water. Awesome sight casting and top water action... I'll have to check with the Captain for a count... Also, its worth adding that Capt Chris Chadwick picked me up this morning at 4am and allowed me the honor to join him on a Turkey Hunting Expedition. Unfortunately, the Turkeys made Turkeys out of us by not showing up.... Turkeys or Cobias, Im not sure which is more annoying. I had a blast though. I found some bear tracks and followed them far enough to find a big pile of Bear Shit! And I can definitely say that this Bear did actually shit in the woods! I also saw my first Fox Squirrel. I also saw a beautiful Painted Horse with one blue eye and one brown eye. Cool. Pictures from today's adventure will be posted after tommorrows adventure! Thanks for everyone's patience with my horrible fishing reports and my horrible Marty's Life Reports. To those that propelled me towards my early demise.... Sorry, yall need to try harder. Capt Marty is on the comeback trail... Total Catch for the Day: 6 Bluefish up to 14 lbs

Captain Marty Notes

A HAPPY PICTURE TO PROMOTE A POSITIVE OUTLOOK

Here it is the month of May. My back is better, I hope. There is little pain, just numbness in my right big toe. I have one more steroid injection and a couple of weeks of physical therapy. Hopefully, I will return to my job on May 22nd. Fishing hasn't been great off Beaufort Inlet. It seems the motherlode of Bonito, and possibly Cobia, have slipped by us. Its too early to tell about the Cobia, but Capt Rick Caton did see 70 in a couple of hours off Rodanthe two days ago. So, it definitely appears the first big wave has not only passed Cape Lookout, but Cape Hatteras as well....

Some of the other things that have been bothering me seem less important now... My back and getting back to work has definitely been my #1 priority. I've had support, both personally and professionally from a few good friends. Keeping the Top Water Boat running at least a few trips. Bending and lifting and pulling are going to be my challenges moving forward. Raising my tower.. I may have to consider a change of fishing styles and a change of boats in the near future. I hope not, but if I do, I had a great run in the Ocean. On the Shoals and Wrecks...

Capt Marty has a new prospect lined up too. Another Bikini Girl possibly. Definitely a water lover and a boat lover. And a "aint scared of a bikini" body! Its about time that I find that balance that I've searched for since the early 90s.... Too Good.... Too Bad.... I hope that I've had enough bad luck. Maybe I'm due for something really good to happen to me. Also, hopefully someone will help me to a Citation Bluefish in the next couple of weeks.... And a couple of Cobia. I'd like to put some meat in the freezer myself..

Capt Chris is here and I'll be home until at least May 22nd, so I am open for business. Capt Chris is perfectly capable of leading a successful sight casting charter. Call me at 252-241-8350. Open May 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21

May 5 Cobia Strike Out #1

Capt Joe took a trip today. The wind was a little higher than normal and all the Menhaden schools disappeared overnight. Make for a tough day. After a 50 mile ride looking for bait and looking to sight cast in poor conditions, the crew finally settled in at Cape Lookout with some old bait and gave it their best try. Looking at the fleet, there was very little happening. The boys did lose a 15lb Cobia under the boat after a brief battle on light spinning tackle and a plastic jerkbait. They also caught and released a 7 lb Sharpnose Shark. Tough Day.... Total Catch for the Day: 1 Sharpnose Shark

May 1 Bonito, Spanish Mackerel, & Bluefish

Bob Becker was on it today. 2 Atlantic Bonito out of a fleet of nothings. Lots of Bluefish. Killed a few and released a bunch. Then we ended up in a Mackerel flurry to the east. We also saw the first Cobia of the year. A small one that hauled but when we fell off a wave before we could fire away... We also saw a grown Leatherback that had NO escorts... Weird. Total Catch for the Day: 12 Spanish Mackerel, 2 Atlantic Bonito up to 24", and 30 Bluefish

Apr 29 Chasing Bonito

Tuggy and I went for a little boat ride today. He did all the work, I was an observer. We chased the Bonito schools around for a while. They were under great pressure and they never stayed up long enough to get a good shot at them. Unless, you were in the right spot at the right time. Unfortunately they were not keying on structure today at all. Made the whole operation a crap shoot. Actually, trolling was a better bet and the few I saw landed were caught by trollers...... Anyway, nice to get on the water. We did manage to catch 30 Bluefish while casting and jigging. Neither of us ever hooked a Bonito. Total Catch for the Day: 30 Bluefish

Apr 23 Spinal Injection #2

Lots of people in my "outer circle" are not doing good. Lots of them are clearly doing it to themselves... Others are just getting blindsided by doctors and other "real problems". It is a very depressing world right now. I never thought I'd have to worry about anything other than a crumbling relationship with a girlfriends (and I'm going back 20 years, no one in particular) OR which way to got out of Beaufort Inlet, east, south, or west! Then, a month ago, I got a MRI result that was a life changer. In one day I went from an over grown adolescent punk to a middle aged man with a bad back.  Its all about the Back now. Steroid Injections, exercise, stretching, and physical therapy. I HAVE GOT TO GET OVER THIS!!!! I am trying to avoid surgery. I miss fishing. I miss the Ferry. I miss being happy. I feel an attitude change coming and the depression that I've been hiding is being pushed away by anger and fear... I HAVE GOT TO GET BACK TO THE WATER. I am sorry for all of you that love to follow my reports. I am very focused now on getting it back together. I've had my dose of KARMA and I'm done with REGRET also. There is an old saying, "When Life Kicks Your Ass, Make Sure It Kicks You Forward..."  Not sure where I read that, but that's my new attitude. I had a steroid injection today and my physical therapist said I was moving my toe better this morning.... Physically, it was a good day and tomorrow is going to be better...

Apr 17 Killing the Cownose Rays

Capt Tuggy sailed on the Top Water Boat today and it was too windy and sloppy for the Shoals where the giant Red Drum schools reside... So, only looking for big fish, he took the best game in town and caught 6 Cownose Rays from 25 to 35 lbs. Honestly, blindfold a fisherman and the consensus will agree on one thing......  Cownose Ray kicks a Red Drums ass... No comparison. A 35 lb Cownose Ray on 10# spin requires a chase and several circles around the boat at the end of the game... Total Catch for the Day: 6 Cownose Rays up to 35 lbs

Pics Some Fishy some not, from Washington DC

I had to get away, so I went to DC and saw a Baseball Game and a lot more......

Apr 11 Steroid Injection Today

41 Days after I suffered my Injury, I finally began treatment today. A Steroid Injection into the area of my Bulging/Herniated Disks and Blown Disk. My back feels great and hopefully I will soon be back at work and back on the water. I'm afraid that some things will never be the same. The phone call that I recieved on Monday March 26th was a world changer... Right up there with Dec 19th when Robin drove herself over to the Hospital... I didn't have no Crystal Ball. Those 2 days changed my life and things will never be the same. But, like Steve Austin who became the 6 million dollar man (Remember that Show!) I can rebuild myself. Bigger, Faster, Stronger.... so far bigger, damn steroids!!! Don't worry fishing fans... I will be back. As soon as the Doctors says "Go For It"...... Come On Cobias, they better come quick. In the meantime, Im headed to Washington DC to recooperate. Besides, I might already have the next "bikini girl" lined up!

Apr 7 White Perch Revolution

Two Buddys invited me along to watch a Pond Fishing guarantee become THE TRUTH. Best White Perch fishing in the World? Not sure.... In North Carolina? Not Sure.... In the Central Coastal Area? ABSOLUTELY.... Two dudes casting and it WAS EVERY CAST, caught a White Perch for 90 minutes straight. I looked over some of the ones kept this morning and counted 18 NC Freshwater Citations. Many were released. Two seperate loads of them were hauled away. My cooler had 39 White Perch in it. My Aquarium has 4 White Perch in it! Including Citation-sized brutish twins named Stacy and Tracy (The Mills brothers), and sexy little gals named Robin and Ashlyn. Honestly, they are a little too big for their new home. I plan to release them soon to the Mung Hole. Hopefully, they will get it on and start a breeding population of delicious White Perch just across the street from my house. It was tough to watch fishing this good. I got to participate with instructions and moral support. I love to be the Fishing Guide when instructions such as "Hit the Water with your Cast" results in an immediate bite! Before yesterday, I had never caught but 1 White Perch in my life! Honestly, I never fished for them, and never fished alot in "Perch Water". I know they are great eating and hard fighting. First cousin of Striped Bass, that says enough right there.... Total Catch for the Day: 80 White Perch up to 1 lb 4 oz and 2 Longnose Gar up to 8 lbs