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Fishing Report 2016
- 2016
- 26MondayDecember 2016Their Christmas...The boys wanted to try some tuna jigging today, and boy did we have action. A lot of it was albacore though, the conditions seemed fairly good but the albacore wouldn't leave us alone. The Sharks were manageable for once but they still claimed many victims and jigs. We did end up with a handful of tunas. These guys are hardcore and some of the best jig fisherman we have on the boat all year. And pretty good with a go pro too!
- 24ThursdayNovember 2016Happy Thanksgiving!!!Down south we went looking around to see what we could find - box full of bottom dwellers. We started off looking for triggers and moved south and found some vermillions and sand tiles. The first few spots we hit today a 500lb tiger shark kept following us around and we just couldn't get rid of him I bet he has 10 bottom rigs in his mouth. If you want some excellent fish for the freezer triggerfish it is.
- 23WednesdayNovember 2016Slow start but a great finishWe set out looking for kings today and boy did we ever look. We ended up picking up and running about 15 times the whole way up to the 300 line and after lunch time ran back to the 180 and found some feeeesh! Bo caught a 40lber and of course Sarah showed everyone up again with her skills!! And Jay took 45 minutes to reel in a 10lb King Mackeral. But we had fun and in the end the box was full. Brought in 10 kings and some amberjacks finished up the day.
- 19SaturdayNovember 2016Kings Kings and KingsBait was super easy to catch this morning and I was a little scared because when it's that easy to catch the fish don't cooperate. But we found enough action to stay busy, it wasn't fast and furious by no means but we ended up with a even dozen kings and a Blackfin. Lots of fish marks on the screen all day but they just didn't wanna bite very good. We had quite a few short bites and missed bites.
- 16WednesdayNovember 2016Bottom fishing was great and then on to trollingBack to the south again to triggerfish with Tam and the boys. Man were they biting. We started off bottom fishing for about 30 minutes and the guys said 10 each was enough. I trolled the rest of the day to the northeast and found a few trolling bites when we got to the rockpile. Put some wahoos and tunas in the cooler before we finished up jigging around some wrecks .
- 15TuesdayNovember 2016Nice 75lb Wahoo todayWe decided to go south today and bottom fish but I kept marking a lot of bait on the break so out went a few ballyhoo rigs and to my surpruse they were wahoo!! Dr. John caught a 75lber and a few more really nice fish around 50lbs. The second half of the day we spent catching triggerfish. And they were snapping! 4 at a time. I know what I will be eating for dinner!!!
- 09WednesdayNovember 2016Swordfishing todayWe set out to swordfish this morning in a rather sporty ocean. I beat my way down to the 900 line and as soon as we hit bottom in 1500 ft on the first drop we hooked a big girl. After a long fight she came off right at the boat. The wind picked up and so did the current after that, which just makes it hard to fish in such deep water but we stuck it out until 3:00 and only had one more bite that we didn't connect with.
- 08TuesdayNovember 2016Catching bait was easy, not so for the KingsWell bait was easy to catch this morning, and we headed to the 170's to look around for kings again. The only problem was the water was chocolate milk. From yesterday's big winds, we caught a king and bounced around on a few wrecks and caught some amberjacks. It was slow but the guys had fun pulling on something.
- 06SundayNovember 2016Great choice in bottom fishingWe caught live bait this morning and went looking for the Kings and tunas again. Only problem was the water was dirty and I knew we were in trouble. The bait marks were there and the net boats were seeing some fish in their nets, but with the dirty water and no bites at 11:00 we diced to bail out and go looking on the bottom around the 000. The triggers were hungry thank goodness!! Plan C worked, we caught a strange fish that I didn't even know what it was, and ended up with about 100 triggers. The boats that stayed live bait fishing each caught one fish. So I feel like we made the right call.
- 03ThursdayNovember 2016Non-stop actionWhat a crew today!! That's about all I can say! Dan the tuna man and Leon threw down the smack on plenty of kings. One stop with a cast net this morning and we were set with plenty of live bait. Non stop action all day from the time we set out. It was constant fish catching all day. Dan caught a 31lb Blackfin. And Dave caught a 45lb King. They were the trophy fish of the day.
- 02WednesdayNovember 2016Kings and blackfins on live baitTim and April took over today, and from the looks of it they had plenty of action. Some days during live bait season, bait can be difficult to find Tim said it took a lot of looking but they found it, and set out on the 170, in 100' of water. The bites came easily with 4 giant blackfins and a dozen kings. Nicole fished in high heels all day and I would have to say that's a first as I've never seen it before. Glad it was a slick calm day. With plenty of bites.
- 29SaturdayOctober 2016Packing the box with Kings and BlackfinWith the marks I was starting to see yesterday afternoon I decided to set out in the same area. First live bait in the water was eaten by a tuna and we had non stop action until 12.30. That's when the fish box lid wouldn't close. We caught a 52lber today, the biggest king of the season for us. There was a tournament today and I bet I saw 100 center consoles. I'm sure it took a big fish to win it, but this 52lber would have been in the money!!
- 28FridayOctober 2016Winds were howling todayRicky and the boys braved a windy day. It started off howling from the SW then switched to the NW. We went live baiting but the Kings didn't wanna cooperate. We did catch 5 big ol' fat blackfins and 1 King. At the end of the day things started to really come together and we had a few bites but couldn't hold on to anything. Thanks for the sinkers Ricky.
- 26WednesdayOctober 2016Limit of Kings on live baitWell Tim and my favorite time of the year has finally gotten here. Live bait season! We found live menhaden this morning and it didn't take long to find the action. The Kings were hungry but the tunas kept eating the baits also. They almost got to be a pain in the ass because it takes about 45 minutes to catch one on 20lb test but we are due and found a limit of kings. Annette caught a 58lb wahoo as well. If you've never live bait fished before it's totally different that trolling ballyhoo. We almost drift the live menhaden over the fish. It's exciting and I love it!!!
- 21FridayOctober 2016Filling the box againWell the mahi were plentiful this morning!! We found a change with grass on it in 80 fathoms that was holding a real nice class of dolphins with some gaffers mixed in as well. The Jeffs and Russ and his wife put the smack down on them. I fished up over the rocks but there were no tunas home so we finished out the day king Mackeral fishing on the 180 in 100' of water. The Kings showed up today lets hope they stick around!!!
- 16SundayOctober 2016Looked for tuna but found mahiWe headed up the beach this morning looking for tuna. The conditions were good and I thought we would get wammed at any time but 2 singles and a Blackfin is all we could muster up. I went offshore looking around and found a grass line with mahi in it!! Thank goodness they were thick and willing to bite. We ended up on the 400 line as the current was screaming but we did get 60 and a few gaffers too.
- 15SaturdayOctober 2016First time out since Hurricane MatthewWell Hurricane Matthew destroyed Hatteras village. It blew 100 mph and we had 6' of saltwater on the entire island. Many homes got destroyed and lots of damage was done. We finally got back out today and found a rough ocean but there were some bites to be had. Some yellowfin, mahi, wahoo, and a sail rounded it out for us. The channel is a mess instead of getting deeper it got shallower.
- 08SaturdayOctober 2016Hurricane MatthewAlthough Hurricane Matthew was the first Category 5 Atlantic Hurricane in 2016, by the time it came to the Outer Banks it was transitioning from a Category 1 hurricane to a post-tropical depression. Here is a picture of the surf at the Frisco pier this afternoon. Since the boats haven't been able to get to the Gulf Stream to fish the last few days, we look forward to getting out there soon to fill the box. Although this was a Category 1 hurricane, the storm still brought a significant amounts of water onto Hatteras Island and into the villages. This storm will be remembered for decades to come.
- 04TuesdayOctober 2016Mission accomplishedSteve and Liz braved a rough one today. They are from Idaho and wanted to see what the Gulf Stream looked like. Well it was blowing 25 out of the northeast and rough as a corncob. We checked in around 8:00, and headed home around 10:00. They said they had enough fish to eat for dinner. They saw the Gulf Stream and were happy! Mission accomplished.
- 03MondayOctober 2016Hide and seek with the tuna todayWe hooked a left this morning and headed up the beach looking for tuna. We looked and looked and looked. Without any bites by lunch time, I picked back up and headed south to the 280 and found some birds where the yellowfins covered us up. We caught 4 and the next few circles the big skipjacks and Blackfin found us. We were out in 300 fathoms and started toward home . We found a tree at 2:30 and finished off the day with 1/2 a limit of dolphins.
- 30FridaySeptember 2016A sailfish on the wallThe day started off with lots of action. The first bait out was eaten by a wahoo, the 2nd bait out was eaten by a mahi. We fished along a current edge on the 140 for awhile and caught another wahoo and some more mahi but then it started to slow down. We worked offshore and Jean caught her first sailfish! She got it mounted and it's gonna look great in the wall!! We finished the day off with another wahoo and some storms were moving in and we made it to the dock just in time.
- 28WednesdaySeptember 2016Make-up dayCheryl, Steve, Dave, and River joined us today on a makeup trip we put together. The weather was nice and the fish were biting! I started off on the 230 and fished up to the 300 and could barely get a bait out without a Blackfin tuna eating it. We caught 20 or so and then fished around some wrecks and found silver snapper, sea bass, and amberjack. There was a grass line in 20 fathoms on the way home that had some mahi on it. We caught a few but ran outta time.
- 26MondaySeptember 2016This is how to fill a $1,000 coolerTam and the gang joined us today. He had 2 guys fly in from Vietnam as it was their first time offshore and boy did they crush it! It seems like every time Tam comes he has to go to the hardware store and buy more coolers well he showed up today with the biggest Yeti cooler they make. Bigger than his truck bed! I told him that was a jinx and we probably wouldn't catch anything. We picked away at the tunas this morning and got lucky and found a makeshift boat on the way home home with mahi on it. And yes we filled up the new $1,000 cooler!!! Gonna hafta get a special order to have a bigger one next time Tam!!! We ended up with blackfins, mahi, and amberjack.
- 25SundaySeptember 2016Rough day but we still filled the boxThe ocean was rough as hell today! A northeast wind and current is never good, but we managed. It was so rough that we never made it to the blue water but there were enough bites in the green water to keep us out there until 2:00. An overall consensus today was it was rough as shit!!!!
- 23FridaySeptember 2016Triggerfish and snappers were chewing todayDown south we headed this morning in search of wahoos. I set out on the 900 and we caught one as soon as we set out, but that was it. We made it down to the 800 and the current was minimal and a lot of bottom marks kept coming up on the machine so we tried it and the triggerfish and snappers were chewing!! Cedric and the boys started bailing them 2 and 3 at a time. The guys were wore out after a few hours so we went back to trolling. On the way back up the beach there was an edge with some mahi on it and we bailed enough to finish off the fish box.
- 22ThursdaySeptember 2016Trophy sailfish todayThe current was screaming this morning up to the east. We never crossed a change so I just set out on the 230 Rock. We picked away at some single tuna bites and a pack of sails jumped up as well. We hung on to 1 out of 3. We ended up with a catch of tunas. But the trophy fish today was the sail!
- 21WednesdaySeptember 2016Blackfins are on the menuNo boats have been out the last 2 days due to strong south east winds so no body knew what to expect. As good as the wahoo fishing was I expected it to be the same but the hot 83 degree water and current pushed in over the bottom. Either the wahoos high tailed it somewhere else or they just wouldn't bite. We found a few mahi in the grass this morning and finished up on the 230 Rock in 3 knots of current this afternoon picking away at the blackfins.
- 17SaturdaySeptember 2016Fishing again for wahooBack after the wahoos. We started on the rockpile and there were tons of bait marks,. I kept thinking we would get covered up by wahoos but that was not the case. A few bites this morning then a long dry spell until 2:30 when we caught a double header and 2 singles in the same circle. It seemed like a slow day but we ended up pulling the rabbit outta the hat at the end. We had 2 citations and a lone gaffer as well.
- 15ThursdaySeptember 2016Finishing off with a sailfishThe water we've been fishing in moved up to the east and hot water with current pushed in down below. But that's ok because up to the eastern we headed. We ended up fishing around the 350-400 and caught 5 single yellowfins, a few blackfins, and also 2 wahoos. The suprise of the day was a sailfish eating the teaser as we sat still fighting a wahoo. Yep we caught him too.
- 13TuesdaySeptember 2016Mike was back again to swordfish with usMike was back fishing with us again. he wanted to swordfish all day today. No mahi fishing, no tuna fishing, and no wahoos he said!! We had a bite on the first drop but pulled him off. Well that was the one bite we had today. But he did win a consolation prize of 15 mahi off a pallet.
- 12MondaySeptember 2016Tunas filled the box today with a few mahiI had an uneasy feeling about the wahoos today, so Tim and I decided to try tuna fishing. Glad we did because the wahoo weren't biting all that great from what I could tell on the radio. Yellowfins and blackfins filled us up today. And a few gaffers off a tree stump. Great catch guys!
- 11SundaySeptember 2016We missed the kick-off but made up for it with the fish in the boxToday was a no brainier...back to the rockpile and see if the wahoos wanted to bite. We set out on the 080 and they were there!! Doubles, singles, and a triple header to end the day. A few really nice ones as well. We had 2 that went 50lbs and the rest were over 30!! As Tim put the last one in the boat Jeff said lets go home and watch football! I think we missed kickoff but we made it before the first quarter ended!
- 10SaturdaySeptember 2016One off of a trash can slamBack down south again this morning looking for wahoo. It started off slow as everyone set out where the fish were yesterday. Well they moved about 15 miles north and by the time we got on them at noon they were snapping. We caught an easy limit and Michael almost finished off his trash can slam with a barracuda, albacore, just missing his amberjack!! Maybe we will get him next time. The fish ended up being around the rockpile. Let's hope they stick around again tomorrow.
- 09FridaySeptember 2016Wahoo are snapping to get in the boxWe headed pretty far south this morning in hopes of finding cleaner water. The change crossed over in about 50 fathoms with pretty water on the outside and the wahoos were snapping! We caught a sailfish and a few mahi. The best of the wahoo fishing was around the 930. I sure hope they are there in the morning!
- 08ThursdaySeptember 2016The blue water edge was at the 150 fathomsThe green water pushed out farther today and wiped out the wahoo fishing on the rockpile. So we kept on going until I found the blue water edge in 150 fathoms. It looked good with grass and bait but we only found one school of mahi with a few gaffers in the mix. A lone yellowfin and a Blackfin found the fish box also.
- 31WednesdayAugust 2016Great day to end tilefish/grouper seasonBrian and his son joined us today and Liam caught 5 limits himself! We started out to the east with 28 mahi, and fished to the south. Nice with 3 wahoos finding us on the way to the tilefish grounds. With today being the last day of grouper/tilefish season I made sure I killed getting the last limit I could this season. That makes almost a perfect tilefish season. We caught a limit every day it was open this year except 2. And those 2 days we didn't even try it. We ended the day with Liam catching an amberjack!
- 29MondayAugust 2016Beating the stormWe tried to sneak the day in before the storm swell got too big. Twila has been fishing with us for quite some time and it doesn't bother her how rough it gets, but the swell was building a lot faster than I expected and I wanted to get in the Inlet before the tide turned and started going out against the swell. We fished for about 2 hours and caught 2 wahoos. And no the picture of her and her daughter is not from the ocean, haha. I slowed down in the sound and took it. Looks like we will miss the next few days due to weather.
- 28SundayAugust 2016Rough bottom fishing but still able to place 'em in the boxThe day started off with a bang as we hit 3 wahoo first thing this morning. One was a citation 45lber. The boys really wanted to bottom fish so we ventured offshore and looked around on the bottom. There was a ton of current which made for a difficult situation, but we still managed a dozen with a few over 10lbs. With 4 knots of tide makes bottom fishing nearly impossible. But we made the most of it!
- 27SaturdayAugust 2016Gotta be where they are to catch themDown the beach we headed this morning in search of wahoos! Well that was the wrong decision. For the first 20 minutes I had to listen to the radio talk of all the wahoo bites to the northeast. So we cranked them up and ran 25 more miles. If your not in the fish, I guarantee you'll never catch them. We got set back out on the 200 line and started to get bites immediately. We caught 5 out of about 8 bites and saw a sailfish as well. It was flat calm and cool for a change!
- 26FridayAugust 2016Double header catch on the salefishToday my daughter April worked as mate on the Good Times with Tim as the acting captain. Figured to see what they could find. They started off where the wahoos were yesterday but Tim said it was dead so he worked south and had quite a few bites but just couldn't hold onto them. They did find 3 though. A few Blackfin tunas and some tilefish. But they highlight of the day was a double header sailfish release they caught around 1:00.
- 25ThursdayAugust 2016Great day for hauling in wahoo, tilefish, and mahiJason and the boys from Fillsburg wanted to catch wahoos and tilefish! So we started out shallow up on the edge of the shoals and started to pick away at the wahoos. A few singles and 2 doubles kept us busy most of the morning. We boxed 9 and headed off to look around in the bottom for tilefish. There was a strange SE current that may have had them not biting but as we were drifting a school of mahi swam up to the boat. We did pretty good for having 4 bottom rods out in 700feet. Bailed about 30 before the tilefish got up. Not a bad day. That's why you fish, never know what you'll catch. We picked up to come home from 30 miles!
- 24WednesdayAugust 2016Love it when a plan comes togetherWell today's plan was to head up above the 300 line where we can keep 15 sea bass per person. That changed when we rounded the shoals and it was blowing 25 out of the NE! So we put out the trolling spread and headed offshore to look around. Luckily I spotted a pallet that was loaded up with mahi!! We bailed 60 and kept looking but didn't find much other than a few Blackfin tunas. The wind decided to fall out around noon and we caught a limit of bluelines. Funny how a plan can change so fast.
- 23TuesdayAugust 2016Our Tuesday was Trigger day!!!Team accurate joined us today for some bottom fishing. So way south we went! It was a steady bite most of the day with a few very big triggers up to 9lbs. The triggers just haven't been close to Hatteras and we ended up picking up from 50 miles to come home. Sometimes you just gotta go where they live!
- 21SundayAugust 2016Slick calm with nice wahoo and a sailfishMike and Stacy have been fishing with us before but they brought their friends this time! The day started off slick calm and beautiful. I set out on the rockpile and I wouldn't call it red hot action but enough to keep us interested in staying there. A scattered wahoo which filled the box throughout most of the day. A triple header sailfish around noon was the icing on the cake. Stacy wanted to get her sail mounted. If there's any fish that deserves a spot on the wall it's a sail for sure. We are a gray taxidermy mount representative so Stacy was in luck!! I know it will look great on the wall.
- 20SaturdayAugust 2016Wahoo made it hard to fish the bottomWe set out in search of bottom fish this morning, but the water looked pretty around the 060 so I decided to dip a few ballyhoos and the wahoos ate 'em up!! We circled around and put 8 in the box before noon. I kept trying to get to the bottom and we finally did just in time to catch a limit of tilefish. Ten more days left in tilefish season, so we might as well make 'em pay while it's open!!
- 19FridayAugust 2016Mahi to finish the dayWe stuck with the marlin fishing today until about 2:00 out in the deep with not much to show for it. Only 1 jumped off sailfish. There were a few marlin bites around today though. At 2:00 we bailed a limit of mahi and that was it for the day. There were some grass patches well offshore thankfully they were holding!
- 18ThursdayAugust 2016And the wahoo thought he was a marlinWhat a struggle today was. We set out on the rockpile and fished straight off into the deep. Around 100 fathoms a 55 lb wahoo smoked a long rigger. At first I thought it was a blue marlin, but he calmed down and came in perfectly. We caught a few tilefish and picked around grass patches that should have had mahi in the but only caught one. I decided to troll back inshore and look around and we caught a double header wahoo to end the day.
- 17WednesdayAugust 2016Limit of mahi and blueline tileWith the current falling out I was sure the wahoos would bite today up around the shoals. Well wrong on that guess. We picked up and ran 20 miles south to where some grass patches were spotted and low and behold were holding mahi! We bailed a limit, and then without much else going on decided to put some more meat in the box. Blueline tilefish up to 12 pounds rounded it off nicely. Most of the boats caught a limit and headed home. Tim and I just like to catch more fish I guess. The boys ended up with enough fish to fry up back in Minnesota during the Packers game!!!
- 16TuesdayAugust 2016Calm day and great fishingRoss and his family joined us today and it was about as calm as it gets. I started up on the edge of the shoals this morning where the wahoos were yesterday but the water was gord green and 4 knots of current, so we picked up and ran 20 miles south. We managed to find 3 wahoos and some tilefish. A few giant glass eye snappers as well. It was slick calm beautiful day for the lil guys and everyone earned a citation blueline tilefish.
- 15MondayAugust 2016Tough day hooking the wahooWe headed south to try some bottom fishing this morning but the only problem was a current edge with 5 knots of tide. Well that pretty much threw that idea out the window. A boat was getting quite a few wahoo bites up on the shoals so we jumped in the current and headed that way. Well it seemed as if we had rubber hooks because we pulled 2 off on the leader and had a few more bites we didn't hang on too. But that's how wahoo fishing goes sometimes. I guess we were lucky to catch two!! Wahoo have a real bony mouth and are about as difficult to hook sometimes as a blue marlin.
- 14SundayAugust 2016Filled the box todayAfter the condition I saw yesterday starting to make up at the end of the day I knew there was going to be some mahi around today. Sea Creature was fishing a tournament today and before lines in he found a big school of fish so we ran straight to him and fished down a pretty grass edge. They wouldn't bite real good but we did capture 50 to take back to Hatteras! A few nicer ones and some jigging around a wreck on the way home finished off the box. Glad to see my little blue and yellow friends today!! Let's hope they stay around. That's why you never know what you'll find — wahoos one day, mahi the next!
- 13SaturdayAugust 2016Rough day with a great catchIt was a sloppy ride south this morning but it was worth it. I set out on first base and the wahoos were biting!! We picked around scattered bait marks and caught 5 out of a few more bites. It slowed down around noon so I figured not to troll for the rest of the day and catch nothing. So off to the bottom we went and caught some tiles and a grouper. When the trolling bite is over we just don't have the patience to stick with it knowing that we won't get any more bites, and in case you didn't know tilefish is the best fish to eat in the ocean. There was a pretty grass line making up at 3:00. I hope it's loaded with mahi tomorrow!
- 12FridayAugust 2016Slow morning with some bites this afternoonCurrent! Current! Current! Currents is no good especially 5 knots of it. We set out in the shallows this morning as there were very scattered wahoo bites but we never got lucky. There was a pretty edge with grass on it but somebody forgot to tell the mahi to show up because we didn't have any bites in it either. Around lunchtime we decided to get the skunk out of the box and caught a few tilefish. We jigged around a wreck and added a few amberjack. Just as I thought we may go all day without a wahoo bite, at 2:00 we hooked one on the long rigger, and at 2:15 one ate the teaser and switched off to a short rigger thankfully!!
- 11ThursdayAugust 2016First bait in with a nice wahooThe first bait in the water this morning was eaten by a wahoo. We caught him and put another bait out and a sailfish was all over it. I figured at that point the day was going to be on fire. Well that was it for the trolling bites. We did loose a pretty big mahi. The afternoon was spent bouncing around some wrecks and tile fishing.
- 10WednesdayAugust 2016The fishing was hot todayHot!! And hot fishing as well! We set out in a dead looking ocean this morning on the triples. Without any bites I decided to head offshore and at least catch some tilefish for dinner before the season closes at the end of the month. A pretty good size blue marlin ate our teaser but never switched off and disappeared. Not long afterward a few sailfish jumped us and we caught 1 out of 2. He put on quite a show all lit up. The tile fish didn't seem to wanna bite very good but we did catch a limit plus a snowy and yellow edge grouper. At least we caught enough for dinner. As I trolled back inshore through the dead looking water we passed on the way out it came alive with bait and wahoos. We caught 3 outta 6 bites. Crazy how things change. As we were wrapping things up for the day I spotted a float that was loaded with mahi. A great way to end the day. Thanks for the fish guys!
- 09TuesdayAugust 2016Great catches for 2-half day chartersWe had 2-half day charters today so instead of sticking close to to the beach with bluefish, we ventured off about 6-8 miles and found some nice fish on live bait. Some amberjack, 2 kings, and a gaffer rounded out the morning session. This afternoon young Colton put the hammer down on some big fish as well. And his brother caught a giant barracuda! Thanks guys!
- 08MondayAugust 2016Great day trolling and bottom fishingWe were the first boat out this morning and not knowing which way to go we headed to the weather buoy, It wasn't holding much but 8 mahi was better than none. I actually think we caught the only 8 in the fleet. I fished up the beach and had 5 or 6 wahoo bites catching 4 of them. A hungry sailfish found us as well in the upper 300's as we fished in the deep to find some tilefish. We haven't tile fished in the 300's since they opened the season but there was no shortage of them that's for sure. A couple 10lbers and plenty of small ones as well. Some blackfins and amberjack rounded out the day. The conditions were perfect today for swordfishing I just wish there was more time in a day of fishing. There's just so many options here and we try our best to catch everything. I think we need more hours of daylight!!!
- 06SaturdayAugust 2016Bottom fishing was great as alwaysIt was blowing harder this morning than they forecasted to blow, but the guys wanted to give it a try anyways. I set out on the weather buoy and it was holding some mahi. Bigger than Bailers, I think Tim gaffed a few of them. We trolled down the beach and picked a few more up, but the radio chatter was slow with hardly any trolling bites so we went to the bottom and loaded down on some gigantic blue line tiles. If there's not much going on trolling I will not waste the whole day catching nothing. The 300lbs of tiles, grouper, and lesser jacks kept us busy for the afternoon. The wind started really breezing up around 2:00 and we headed home.
- 05FridayAugust 2016Grass line and bottom fishingWe decided to head way south in the lower 800's and look around on the bottom. Not many boats ever get that far down south from Hatteras, and it's a pretty good run out of Moorhead city so the bottom fish should be hungry right? Well we crossed an edge with some grass in it on the way down and messed around with the mahi for quite awhile this morning. By the time we finally got to where I wanted to fish it was getting late but they were there. The fish finder looked like a Christmas tree with all the marks and it didn't take long to catch an assortment of triggers, vermillions, and silver snappers.
- 04ThursdayAugust 2016Giant squirrel fish, glass eyes snappers and moreI headed down south this morning on an all day bottom fish trip. The tiles came easy and we found a limit rather quickly. We moved a little deeper and caught some gigantic squirrel fish the biggest I've ever seen. A snowy grouper and some glass eye snappers in the mix as well. It seemed like the crew was getting worn out from 800 feet so I moved shallower to look for triggers and vermillions. The catch of the day was a beautiful streamer bass. We haven't caught one in a few years. Tim has one mounted on his wall. They are just awesome looking! We ended the day catching some amberjack.
- 02TuesdayAugust 2016Fishing after the stormThere was a massive lightning storm this morning here in Hatteras and most boats bagged it for the day. Pauly wanted to try and leave around 11:00 after the storm passed so we snuck on out and found enough fish for dinner. A few tunas, tilefish, a grouper, and a sailfish!!
- 30SaturdayJuly 2016Blue marlin and bottom fish on the list todayYou know you got the day made when your first bite is a blue marlin! A 250lber popped my shotgun bait out of the clip but disappeared. Tim drop back a long rigger and he ate it, only problem was it was the smallest Rod in the spread with a 60lb leader and 20lb main line. Well he put on quite a show and after an hour we got the leader on him. A beautiful healthy fish. The radio chatter seemed slow so we went to the bottom catching a stud snowy grouper and some blue line tilefish. A few rare ling were also brought up. We made it in just in time before a lightning storm hit.
- 29FridayJuly 2016Salty southwestern with good returnIt was a salty southwester today, but we headed out about 150 degrees and hit some current thankfully. When you have a big southwest sea the gulf stream current can play a major role in determining sea conditions but thankfully there was 4 knots of tide and it laid down nicely. The first two baits in were attacked by big gaffers, almost thought it was May again. We picked away at the Dolphins as best we could and even found some fat tilefish as well.
- 28ThursdayJuly 2016Nice day including a blue marlinWe hooked a hard left at the inlet and headed up the beach towards the 400 line. There was an eel grass line in about 25 fathoms that's was holding some mahi and we picked away at them 2-3 at a time, including a few really nice gaffers for July fishing. We pulled a blue marlin off on the planer and finished up catching a few blue line tiles.
- 25MondayJuly 2016Bottom fishing is where the biting was todayMeat! We set out around the 080 this morning in hopes of a wahoo bite but that never happened. So with very little current and the conditions in favor of a swordfish drop we tried that. Well no bites on that either. I didn't give it much time but felt pretty confident in getting a bite. So plan B was to try the bottom in shallower and we found some giant blue line tiles, and a 43lb grouper. There was a pretty grass edge with some mahi on it but they just didn't want to bite anything. The 3 we caught we used a trout rod with 30lb test leader. They would come up and check us out and not eat anything-pretty strange for a mahi. Guess they are getting smarter than I think.
- 23SaturdayJuly 2016Trolling and bottom fishingWe made our way down south this morning and found a few mahi on a weed line. It was pretty and loaded with bait. There should have been more but we still managed to catch 9. The radio chatter was slow so we ventured offshore to look around on the bottom. Yellow edge and snowy grouper as well as tilefish and rose fish found their way to the surface.
- 22FridayJuly 2016Blue tile citation dayI headed up the beach today too look around in the 400's. The first bite of the day was an acrobatic blue marlin that put on quite an air show. He took 400yds of line and broke us off. I hate it when that happens. He must have gotten tangled up in the main line because Tim had her hooked on 400lb test leader. We picked up a few mahi and found some giant blue line tiles. Everybody earned a citation. Some of the prettiest tiles I've seen in a long time.
- 21ThursdayJuly 2016Found a log with bailers and gaffersI'd rather be lucky than good! The fishing was slow on the radio this morning so we decided to go offshore and try swordfishin. Well as I approached the spot we found a log loaded up with bailers and some gaffers. Larry and the crew made short order of 25 and we started swordfishing. We never did get a bite but the conditions were good for it. A few quick stops and a limit of tilefish and a grouper found their way home to Hatteras as well.
- 20WednesdayJuly 2016Citations again, way to goI was out of town again today and Tim and my daughter April decided to throw down the citations again!! The report was - first thing this morning they hooked a 300lb blue marlin and 13-year old Justice did a great job on the rod. A great healthy looking fish and it was Justice's first day offshore! She was a season pro on the penn 70w. Tim said he thought she had caught 50 before! They decided to go to the bottom where Tim has been finding some giant blue line tiles and everyone earned a citation. Little 8 year old Jacob caught a 50lb grouper!! Way to go li'l fellers!
- 19TuesdayJuly 2016Great day pulling in tilefishThe guys today wanted to try out their new electric reels so I figured what better way than to stop on one of my favorite deep tile spots that I haven't fished in a few years. They were there and they were big ones too. Everyone caught at least 1 over 10lbs - by tilefish standards that's big. Li'l man caught a citation grouper and we trolled back inshore where the rest of the fleet was catching wahoos and managed to find one as well. A few nasty squalls came through around 3:00 and we headed home.
- 18MondayJuly 2016HOT but great catchWe set out on the rockpile this morning to a dead ocean, no bites and no bites for the rest of the fleet as well. We started trolling offshore around 10:00 when captain Buddy called us on the radio and said he had found a barrel loaded up with mahi so we picked up and ran. When we got there he was just finishing up and we bailed about 40 and caught a gaffer. We trolled offshore again and found a limit of tiles and a grouper. It was a nice day but HOT!! Thanks Mike and crew.
- 17SundayJuly 2016They filled their coolersThe boys today all brought their own coolers and separated their fish as they caught them. I think everybody filled their cooler!! Even Larry made a comeback at the end of the trip with some triggerfish. We caught tilefish, amberjack, silver snapper, and sea bass.
- 16SaturdayJuly 2016Zack's gafferWe set out on the rockpile this morning, and the gaffers attacked us right away. Young Zack did a great job with this 25lber on light tackle. A few more mahi bites and we ventured offshore and found a limit of tilefish. We bounced round on a few wrecks and found some amberjack. Zacks dad ended the day with a citation wahoo!!
- 14ThursdayJuly 2016Limits and a citation for the dayI've been out of town the last few days so Tim has been running the boat, and my daughter April has been mating. In the last 3 days they had 10 citations and they threw down the meat again today. Tim said he started out shallow and caught a 45 pound King Mackeral on a jig trying to find some amberjack. That's a heck of a king for this time of year!! A limit of tiles, a 55lb snowy, a limit of mahi, and a wahoo rounded out the day. I was up north visiting my other daughter and her boyfriend. I'm glad the Good Times was in good hands.
- 13WednesdayJuly 2016Opening day for blue line tileWell marine fisheries opened blue line tile season today for us! So that's where we went!! They bit pretty good for 3 knots of tide pushing us up the beach. I think everyone landed at least one citation blue line and a 45lb snowy as well. We did have a 14lb blue line tile that was a stud!!!
- 12TuesdayJuly 2016No mahi but a nice citation grouperBack to the south today! Not many mahi around on the radio so I decided to hit the bottom again. It sure beats trolling around like the rest of the fleet and not getting any bites. For some reason we have not had any grass for the Bailers to hide in, but that's not a problem. We still had a great catch-vermillion snappers, triggerfish, amberjack, tilefish, and a citation 57lb snowy grouper! One heck of a fight on stand up tackle. A lot of people are saying the fishing is slow right now because there are no mahi. Well I'd say the fishing is great if you know how to adjust, change tactics, and do something other than troll!
- 10SundayJuly 2016Citation Sunday!!!Citation Sunday!!! We headed down to the south this morning and found a current edge with some mahi on it. The surprise of the morning was a 42lb wahoo that was chasing a pod of bait as we were sitting still reeling in mahi. Two sailfish releases and a citation snowy grouper rounded out the day. It was slick calm and beautiful today!!!
- 07ThursdayJuly 2016Rough southwestern wind todayRough! Rough! Rough! That was the story today. A rough ass southwestern blew today about as hard as it could have. We beat our way down south and then continued down the beach. It was rough but we stuck it out and Mike got a 48lb grouper and Steve caught a sailfish. Plus a few mahi for dinner. The ride home was beautiful as the waves were at the stern coming home from the 900 line.
- 04MondayJuly 2016Fishing on the 4th!!!Awesome way to spend the 4th!!! We headed down the beach again today as I assumed the mahi fishing would be slow again. I feel like we made the right call because most of the fleet didn't fare well trolling. The triggers and snappers were chewing and we caught enough for dinner. At the end of the day I made a pass in an old grouper rock I haven't fished in years and it had a nice 35lber on it. The crew wanted Steve Bailey to clean and vacuum pack the fish so we pulled into Oden's dock this afternoon. If you have never had Steve Bailey's famous steamed shrimp your missing out. We ended up with a limit of snappers, and plenty of triggerfish. Today's crew asked if the snappers were good too eat? Tim told them you'll never want to fish for mahi or tuna again!! Haha.
- 03SundayJuly 2016Found the mother loadAs we headed out this morning nobody was finding any mahi, so we kept running south. We ended up down in the 800's and decided to start with snapper fishing until someone found some mahi. The current was strong and Tyler, Hunter, Jeff and the guys hung in there as we bounced around to about 40 different spots with a fish or two at each rock. We finally found the mother load at about lunch time. Citation triggers, sand tiles, yellow eye snappers, vermillion snappers, glass eye snappers, and a few amberjack rounded out the catch. If you don't like snapper then I'd say you don't like to eat fish!!!! The boats who trolled all day didn't catch anything, so we made the right call with heading south. Some times you gotta fish for what you think is gonna fill the box the quickest!!!
- 02SaturdayJuly 2016Nice catch with 15 mahi and a snowyThe ocean was a bit choppy this morning from the southwest wind so we took the easy ride up to the east. There was a faint grass edge behind the buoy and it didn't take long to find a school of mahi. We boxed 15 real quick and I figured I'd find another school to finish off our limit. Well five hours later and no more mahi bites I figured there was only one school of fish in the grass, the one we found. The wind fell out and the day ended up being beautiful. We found a 40lb snowy in 900 feet and finished the day off with a few triggerfish and sea bass.
- 30ThursdayJune 2016Snappers and triggers with a citation grouperBill and the crew stuck it out until lunch time looking for a Marlin, but he never found us. We did find a few mahi around some grass though. We stopped at the end of the day and caught enough snappers for dinner as well as some triggers too. The highlight of the day was a 50lb grouper!!! From the chatter on the radio the mahi fishing was slow overall today.
- 29WednesdayJune 2016Great day for gaffers and bailersJay and the family enjoyed a nice day with plenty of mahi bites. We set out behind the buoy in some scattered grass and the bailers and gaffers found us. Sarah and Debbie were the high liners today catching most all of the big gaffers. Great day for all and good eating to come.
- 28TuesdayJune 2016A day of reel screemersThe mahi made a little better showing today, so we stuck with it most of the day. There was a rip with current on the outside and some gaffers and Bailers were on it. It was a scattered pick most of the day but we did find a grouper and stopped at a wreck at the end of the day.
- 27MondayJune 2016Calm day and great bottom fishingWith the lack of mahi bites again this morning on the radio we decided it was best to load her up with bottom fish. The vermillion snappers were chewing, and we also found a big old fat snowy grouper. We burnt up an electric reel fighting a sea monster from 900 feet deep. It ended up being a big old shark!!!! But regardless the sea was slick calm for once and a beautiful day.
- 26SundayJune 2016Bottom fishing including a reef donkeyBack down the beach this morning looking for mahi again. Only one problem there weren't any in the whole ocean from the 800 to the 150 line. So we switched over to the bottom. A limit of vermillion snappers, some triggerfish, silver snappers, amberjacks, and a snowy grouper rounded off the day. We did catch a real reef donkey at 75lbs! What a fish, Stephan did a great job of keeping him out of the wreck!
- 25SaturdayJune 2016Color in the waterDown south we headed this morning in search of mahi. There was a color change on the 950 with some slingers, bailers, and gaffers on it. Will's crew made quick work of boxing 20 before we headed offshore to look around. There were a few Marlin bites in the deep but we never saw one. A snowy grouper rounded off the day. Today was Ben's first time offshore and he caught his first mahi!
- 24FridayJune 2016Back out after missed days due to rough windsWe've missed a few days recently due to a howling SW wind, well this morning was no exception. A rough boat ride in a 6' sea out to the Gulf Stream was about all we wanted this morning. Overall the fishing was a little slow for the fleet but we found enough fish for our make up group. Blackfins, mahi, and amberjack rounded off the box with 380lbs of fish.
- 16ThursdayJune 2016Three great days for the gang from OhioTom and the gang from Ohio fished with us the last 3 days. Tom loves to catch a big grouper and we took care of that rather quickly with a citation 50lber right off the bat. We also found a yellow edge as well. With the mahi fishing being slow we still managed to load down the box with plenty of other species. Vermillion snappers, triggers, amberjack, a wahoo, and a few mahi. Tim has taken a few days off with another member entering a his family a baby girl. That makes three girls for me and two for him. Some of you may know my daughter April she works with Tim when he captains the boat.
- 14TuesdayJune 2016Back out with a good catchWe stayed up pretty late last night changing out a transmission on the motor but we got her in and hooked up just in time before Matt and his dad showed up this morning. A few small adjustments on the way out and she ran smooth!! The gaffers found us a few times this morning and we caught a 42lb bull. The largest we have caught this year so far. A snowy grouper, blue line tile and some jacks finished out the day. Good eating!!!
- 08WednesdayJune 2016Tropical Storm ColinTropical storm Colin sure did mix up the water off shore today, there was still a pretty big swell this morning but we all made it out the inlet as that was hard enough. The fish were even harder to find. The boys from Tennessee have had some awful good trips in the past including a day we caught 3 blue marlin. But all we could find today was a snowy grouper and a few gaffers.
- 04SaturdayJune 2016Working the shallows for mahi todayThe thunderstorms were terrible this morning and it was a chore just to not get hit by lightning. We stayed in the shallows today 25 fathoms and shallower in search of mahi and found about 10 nice gaffers highlighted by this beautiful citation dolphin 35 pounds. We had a few sailfish bites today but they somehow seemed to outsmart us and jump off. We wrapped up the day with a few amberjack on a wreck.
- 03FridayJune 2016Caught dinner for the fryerTom and his girls wanted to look out in the deep for a blue marlin and that's what we did most of the day. We stayed out behind the rockpile in a few hundred fathoms and looked and looked and looked. We did see one swimming around but he was not interested in anything skipping behind the boat. We pulled big baits on 80's until 2:00 and ran into the shallows to catch dinner. A few mahi and a grouper will be good in the fryer.
- 01WednesdayJune 2016White marlin, nice grouper, and mahiTermite and his regular crew have been coming down a long time and always have great success but Termite has never caught a Marlin and wanted to try today. We spent most of the day in the deep and saw a big blue marlin first thing this morning that wouldn't eat. A while later we got a white and Termite went in for a swim with it. Bear caught a 50lb grouper and we finished off the day with some mahi.
- 29SundayMay 2016Fish were scarce for the fleet todayDiana and her boys fished with us today. The weather was rather snotty with a big SE swell. The first line in this morning was eaten by a gaffer and I thought it was going to be a good day. Well three hours later we had our next bite, another mahi. The fishing was rather slow today with 5 knots of current it made it impossible to bottom fish so we ended the day catching some blackfins on the 230 Rock.
- 27FridayMay 2016Today was bottom fishingThe gaffer fishing finally slowed down for the fleet today, blended hot water with lots of current up to the east , and very few fish. We ended up fishing way south to try and get out if the current and we finally did but there still weren't many mahi bites. We did find a big grouper some amberjacks and some triggers as well as vermillion snappers.
- 26ThursdayMay 2016We need another freezerBill and his wife usually bring the family but this year it just the two of them. We started the morning off with a fast start with 7 gaffers in the first 20 minutes along a weed line. They were biting pretty good for the most part of the morning but the action slowed down as the sun came out and the 100 outboards fell in line on the change. But that's Memorial Day weekend for ya. We caught a sailfish and a few more Mahi in the afternoon before Bill was ready to head to the fish cleaners.
- 25WednesdayMay 2016Bottom fishing to finish the third dayPorter and the guys had enough mahi after the last two days of posting over 1,000lbs. So we went down the beach to look around on the bottom. The triggers were playing hard to catch but the snappers were chewing! A citation grouper and a few mahi rounded out the day. Not a bad 3 days for the guys with over 1,400lbs of fish!!
- 23MondayMay 2016Porter and his crew cleaned house on the Gulf StreamPorter and his crew are pretty dire hard fisherman who come down from New York City. We were greeted by a hard Gulf Stream edge this morning and the first 2 lines in the water had fish on. The action was fairly constant most of the day with 2-3 fish at a time. The guys brought all their own tackle and I must say their Accurate reels were nice! We did some jig fishing around a wreck to finish off the extra space in the fish box.
- 22SundayMay 2016Lots of gaffers wanting in the boxDevin brought his daughters today, and they laid down the smack on the mahi. There was a hard change up to the east and the gaffers rushed us right from the start. We lost a blue marlin and Taylor caught a white. We stopped out in the deep and caught a few golden tilefish as well. Tom was on fish box duty today and let a 50lb golden tile jump out of the box and back overboard! Guess we should have let Taylor or Ashley take your job Tom!! All in all a great day with good people.
- 20FridayMay 2016Great day catching gaffersWe pointed her about 120 degrees this morning hopping for a hard change. Well we found it, the water went from ugly green to dark blue and the mahi were there. Any time you can find a color change in the Gulf Stream it usually has a lot of fish associated with it. About half way through the day we hooked a giant blue marlin but he didn't stay hooked long, a few jumps and he was outta there! A few bottom drops in the afternoon resulted in a snowy grouper and some rose fish.
- 18WednesdayMay 2016Great day packing the boxToday's forecast was suppose to blow a gale around 11:00 but Ross decided to give it a try and it worked out! It started blowing before 11:00, but the fish didn't seem to mind! It was non stop action with mahi from the time we set out until we picked up at 1:00 to come home. Packed the box with 6 tunas, 25 mahi and a sailfish rounded out the day. It was so rough on the way home a wave popped the fish box lid open and we lost the biggest dolphin of the day. First time I've ever seen that happen. It's a good thing the fish were biting and we caught extra.
- 17TuesdayMay 2016Great day with 510lbs of fish in the boxTeresa said they had a big family to feed at the rental house this week, well I think 510lbs of fish should last at least a night or two. There was a faint grass edge up to the east this morning in 30 fathoms and the gaffers kept it interesting with a few bites every 15 minutes. We heard a report on the radio of a few tunas being caught by the trolling boats so off we went to check it out. The fish were small so I put the kite up which always catches bigger fish, and it did today! 8 tunas fell victim to the flying fish with 1 being a citation. On the way off the rocks a white marlin found us as well. I'm not so sure it wasn't a spearfish as colorful as it was, lit up purple and blue. A few rain squalls were starting to bear down on us around 2:00 and we called it a day!!
- 16MondayMay 2016Slick calm day fishingBack up to the east this morning but without any condition to fish on. We picked at the mahi in the shallow water. We never got out past 25 fathoms this morning. About midday we ventured offshore and found a grouper. The ocean was click calm today, about as pretty as I've seen it this year!
- 15SundayMay 2016Great day catching these gaffersIt was pretty windy this morning with gusts out of the North up to 25 but Jeff and the boys wanted to try it. The north wind pushed the cooler water up against the Gulf Stream and made a beautiful color change that was loaded down with gaffers. We found a stray wahoo and fished around a wreck on the way home.
- 14SaturdayMay 2016Gaffers biting hard to get in the ice boxWe set out up to the east this morning on a shallow color change, and the gaffers attacked us right away, Richard and the boys picked on them for most of the morning then we ventured off to find a grouper. It took a few drops but we finally found one!
- 11WednesdayMay 2016Swordfishing at its bestMike has been wanting to try day time swordfishing for awhile now but he always brings 5 other guys who wanna fill the box. Well today he showed up alone, we caught some mahi this morning and a big grouper then ventured off too look around in the deep abyss. A few bites and a pulled hook took up the better part of the morning but we managed to put a nice one on deck in the afternoon. 2,500 feet is a long ways down so it is a very patient kind of fishing, Mike compared it to leopard hunting in Africa. You gotta put your time in and be patient!
- 10TuesdayMay 2016Another great day of awesome fishingMaurice and his boys fish a few times a year with us. Today we landed in the fish! The Gulf Stream edge was alive with gaffers today, and by 8:30 they were jumping out of the box!! For an hour straight we had 4 fish or more on. Tallying in at 550 lbs of mahi was the finished product. Glad to see some great fishing! Check out the gaffer video on the video page.
- 09MondayMay 2016Game on for the MahiWe set out on the change this morning and it was game on right away. First bait in the water had 3 gaffers after it!!! A really nice class of fish bigger average than we have been catching. They bit pretty good for us until the fish box was about full and the boys from the other side of the sound were ready to head to the cleaning station. Finished with 550lbs of mahi which should last them awhile.
- 08SundayMay 2016Quiet day fishing a wreckWe set out up to the east looking for the tunas this morning. Well that didn't work out as they seemed not to be hungry this morning. We went back inshore looking for a color change with some mahi bites on it. We jigged a wreck and caught some jacks and flew the kite at the end of the day for 3 tuna bites!
- 07SaturdayMay 2016Nice day trolling and bottom fishingWe went down the beach looking for mahi today where we found a condition with some gaffers, but it quickly ended. We went offshore looking for a grouper and found one. Gary and the boys ended up catching a few triggers to end the day.
- 05ThursdayMay 2016Too windy for Tuna but nice WahooIf the weatherman ever was off today was the day. The North wind howled today and 4 knots of current made it impossible to fish on the tuna rocks, but we snuck around the waves inshore of the air rent and were able to put together a nice catch. Jason was high hook today with a 40, and 42 lb wahoo!!
- 04WednesdayMay 2016Tuna on the kite and greenstickJason and the boys from twizzlers laid down a pretty good coach of mahi and tuna. We headed back up to the east after the tunas but crossed a color change this morning that had plenty of mahi bites on it. We ventured out to the rocks with a ballyhoo spread out but the tunas were small so up went the kite and the fish tripled in size with everyone earned a citation! The rain decided to bring the kite down so we ended the day with the Greenstick! You gotta have every tool to catch if you wanna play!!!!
- 02MondayMay 2016Gaffers filled the box plus some tuna on the kiteRandy and Andy fished with us today. We headed up to the east in search for tunas, but the mahi wouldn't leave us alone, that's a good thing!! 18 gaffers found the fish box and we flew the kite at the end of the day to capture some finicky tunas as well.
- 01SundayMay 2016Great day bottom fishingToday was the opening day of grouper season and it sure didn't take long to get a bite. We stopped out in 150 fathoms and before the rig even hit the bottom we had a 51lber on. We bounced around on the bottom today and ended up with a good catch of vermillion snappers, triggers, silver snappers, and amberjacks, plus a few gaffer Dolphins. The fish box was about level and we came home a little early.
- 28ThursdayApril 2016Second day was a charmBoozie, Seth, and Terry fished with us yesterday and today. Today we set out ballyhoo fishing without any bites, after a few hours of boredom we tried the Greenstick, another hour of boredom, well we tried the kite and bingo!!! It worked!! Tunas! This just goes to show you hafta be a versitile fisherman. When the tunas get finicky you better have the right gear to get bites!! Everyone earned a citation today.
- 27WednesdayApril 2016A Rough SouthwesterIt was another rough southwester and the tunas just wouldn't bite for us today. Guess some days your the bug and some days your the windshield. We did manage to find 7 gaffers, and one dumb tuna who must have been blind. The conditions today were just too poor to get bites on the Greenstick and too much wind for my kite. But we made it back without breaking anything!!
- 25MondayApril 2016Caught tuna with big northern swellsBack up to the east again after tunas. We had a big swell out of the North today with the tunas playing hard to get for us today. They would come up busting on top troll over them, they would cover you up and come off, they just weren't eating the bait good. Guess the full moon had an effect on them. We did manage to catch a dozen and a nice gaffer.
- 23SaturdayApril 2016Another great day with the GreenstickBack up to the east this morning after tunas. It was a slow start for us as we watched the fleet catch smaller size fish around us on birds and green machines, we did switch over but the fish were just small. Around 11:00 they started chasing flying fish and it was game in with the Greenstick!!! The Greenstick sure does weed out the smaller fish, everyone caught a citation and we even found a 40lb yellowfin as well. A great day on the water with some great people!
- 22FridayApril 2016Greensticking for tunaThe southwest wind decided to blow again today, but fortunately the tunas snapped!! We set out up to the east with a ballyhoo spread, but the size of the fish was smaller so in came the ballyhoo and out went the Greenstick. The fish doubled in size and everyone went home with a citation Blackfin tuna. We also found 3 stray mahi as well. When the tunas are eating flying fish there's no better way to catch them than using a rubber squid or flying fish skipping from the Greenstick. They just can't stand it, and it weeds out the smaller fish. For some reason the bigger ones just don't seem to like a ballyhoo. That's why you gotta have as many tools as necessary to CATCH! A golfer doesn't carry just one club right?
- 20WednesdayApril 2016A good day bottom fishing with stiff windsThe weather man was way off today! We headed down the beach this morning looking for bottom fish, We started around the 940 and worked our way south hitting small rock piles. The fish were there but the wind and current were a problem. The 15knots quickly turned into 25knots of stiff NE wind. We managed some triggerfish, and vermillion snapper, we lost quite a few snappers as well most likely from the snatching of the boat up and down in the swells, vermillion snapper have a very soft mouth and the hook tears out awful easy. We did a little jigging around some rocks and found some jacks.
- 19TuesdayApril 2016Great day bottom fishingThe crew wanted to go south this morning and try bottom fishing. The triggerfish were biting pretty good, but we had a lot of throwbacks, a few glass eye snappers also ended up in the mix. We moseyed on up to the east after lunch looking for some tuna action and found a few Blackfin, and yellowfins that wanted to eat the squids. We didn't have much time left by the time we got up there, but they were airing it out in every direction! A pretty sight to see!
- 12TuesdayApril 2016Great day bottom fishingTom , Ronny, and his daughter wanted to try some trigger fishing I'd say they fared well, even though Ronnie was sick most of the day he had no problem posing with the catch!! Triggerfish, amberjack, sea bass, and vermillion snappers rounded out the day! Tom asked for a bag of ice on the ride home thinking it was for his cooler, nope he put it on his shoulder!!
- 11MondayApril 2016Blackfins and sea bassThe light south west wind today decided to let the tunas bite!! The blackfins were chasing flying fish first thing this morning and we caught 4 right away, they shut off until 1:00 for some reason but then decided to have a late lunch and we caught 18 to round out the day and caught a few sea bass as well.
- 10SundayApril 2016Good catch with rough seasMichael and crew joined us today as we set out this morning in a Northerly wind blowing 30 knots!! The forecast was to fall out early in the morning but that didn't happen until 3:00. Imagine that the weatherman was wrong. The tunas bit a little better than I expected with the sea as big as it was. We caught 8 blackfins and everyone caught a citation!
- 06WednesdayApril 2016Sushi to take homeThe NE wind blew way later than the weather man forecasted it to and seem to not make the tunas hungry today. We caught a few blackfins and a nice yellowfin, but overall I think they had lockjaw. Plenty of tuna marks but mostly all down deep. Thanks guys !! Y'all got some sushi to take back to Michigan
- 04MondayApril 2016Everyone came back with a citationThe boys from Kentucky wanted to try some shark fishing today. Well I think they bit off more than they wanted. Constant non stop action from sharks. We started off catching tunas for bait and didn't take long for the sharp tooth critters to find us. Everyone got a citation shark plus a citation tuna as well !!
- 30WednesdayMarch 2016A few big ol'e yellowfin todayMoo, Kil, Jon, and the boys wanted to give bluefin fishing a try again. We left early and returned late. The bluefins decided to hibernate today but we did find a few big ol' fat yellowfins. Moo made his specialty for lunch-noodles! See you guys again this summer.
- 27SundayMarch 2016Bluefins on ballyhoos, poppers, live baits, and jigsKil wanted to try the bluefin fishing today! We departed the marina early and had some epic fishing!! Bluefins on ballyhoos, poppers, live baits, and jigs !!! The boys were worn out by 2:00 and we pointed the boat back to the south! Thanks guys.
- 24ThursdayMarch 2016Great day with tuna biting and citation catchesKen brought Bryson and his friend down for some offshore action today. We had an iffy forecast but decided to give it a try anyways. Once we got into the current the waves laid out and the tunas started to bite!! We managed 20 Blackfin tuna and a few amberjack, both the boys each got a citation for their blackfins, and Bryson also caught a HUGE shark !!
- 22TuesdayMarch 2016Loaded for bearRaymond and the guys always seem to need more coolers when they show up with so they came loaded for bear this time!! A U-haul and a freezer!! Well we filled up the freezer with tunas bass and amberjack, but we didn't find enough fish to fill up the coolers even though it was a great day had by all!
- 19SaturdayMarch 2016Tuna and the first mahi of the yearThe boys from Georgia didn't take long to figure out how to jig the stick baits today!!! We set out in 76 degree water with giant blackfins hungry. Caught 10 citations and a yellowfin rounded out the box full of tunas. We also found the first 3 mahi of the year today as well.
- 17ThursdayMarch 2016Great sea bass fishingWe set out this morning with Henry and crew looking for sea bass. Henry, Trey and Constantine came down from New York City and as usual with their trips we found what they wanted. As they were sea bass fishing Tim caught some by catch as well on jigs, Blackfin tunas. A few silver snappers and a lonely old triggerfish made their way back home in the fish box as well. Everyone caught a citation of at least 4 pounds today!!
- 12SaturdayMarch 2016Brought them in on the green stickThe plan was to go back to the rocks and try jigging again after the success we had on Thursday. Well we were greeted with 76 degree water and blackfins chasing flyers. We tried jigging but the water was just to clear, so out went the green stick! Bingo!! We ended up with 10 fat tunas and some sea bass as well as some stud amberjacks, thanks Raul!
- 10ThursdayMarch 2016Nice day of blackfin and a sole amberjackMike and Fred wanted to try some Bluefin fishing today, but with the weather forecast to blow SW this afternoon we opted to try some fishing closer to Hatteras . Thankfully the blackfins decided to bite the jigs!! We ended up with 12 blackfins and an amberjack. The Sharks weren't so bad today so hopefully their on the way out!
- 09WednesdayMarch 2016Good haul of bottom fishing todayGary, Steve, Fred, Mike, and Betty wanted to switch it up and try the bottom fishing, so down south we headed, and scored big with a catch of triggers, vermillion snappers, amberjack, and one lonely sea bass. The current was screaming at 4 knots but the guys figured it out rather quickly and it paid off! Hope you brought an extra knife sharpener Mike!!
- 08TuesdayMarch 2016Down to the wire on this yellowfinGary and his son sure did bring the bluefin luck. We set out on the 450 this morning but quickly picked back up and ran to the 540, very few marks and a few scattered bites by the fleet. By 9:00 the marks all disappeared and the wind picked up, as we fished back down the beach we got lucky and drove over 2 hungry fish, releasing one and Keeping this nice 64"er. Gary went on an elk hunt last year and he killed his bull in the last 5 minutes on the last day of the hunt, I told him he was down to the last 3 minutes today.
- 07MondayMarch 2016Some nice tuna todayBack up the beach after the tunas again today! We set out on the 450 right in the middle of fish swimming everywhere. It didn't take long before Gary and his son were hooked up with a double header. One 62" found his way into the fish box and the other one we released, hopefully we will catch him tomorrow!! A yellowfin found us as well for the ride back to Hatteras.
- 01TuesdayMarch 2016Steak and shrimp for lunch but few bitesWell Ricky and the boys had plenty of bottom fish so we pointed the boat to the east and went looking for a bluefin. There were a few bites by the fleet but we never did get lucky. I'd say the best part of today was lunch, shrimp and steak!!
- 28SundayFebruary 2016Ended a great day with meat fishWe went south today in search of some groceries, and we found some!! Triggerfish, Rose fish, amberjack and golden tilefish rounded off the fish box. If your lookin' for a meat trip with some of the best eating fish in the ocean this is it!
- 27SaturdayFebruary 2016Us vs. the sharksWe set out to the rocks with Al and his crew. The fish were there but so were the Sharks. Tim finally landed the first tuna of the day around lunchtime. The Sharks were terrible, eating everything at times I think they were even eating the jigs. We caught another citation tuna, and a lot of amberjack, Bonita mackerel, and false albacore. Also donated about 40 jigs to the Sharks as well.
- 12FridayFebruary 2016Tuna and a 200 lbs bull sharkNick, Dave, and Jeff braved a cold day of Tina fishing today. We started off bottom fished in a few areas but the cold water had the Sharks thick! Didn't take long before we changed gears and went tuna fishing. We fared a lot better with Nick, Dave, and Jeff all catching citation Blackfin tunas. We did troll for a little while but with all the marks being deep it didn't take long to know dropping jigs was going to be the ticket today. Last time Nick fished with us he caught a 450lb hammerhead shark. Well today he caught a 200lb bull shark!!
- 30SaturdayJanuary 2016Jigging BlackfinWe decided to give the black fins a try on the jigs. The water temperature jumped from 55 to 75 degrees as we crossed into the Gulf Stream and the current was screaming at 4 knots. The boys did manage some nice black fins but the Sharks had their way with us as well. I've noticed that in my time spent jigging for tuna the current plays a major role as to where the fish position them selves on the rocks, and with a lot of current sometimes I think they hide in a hole. Haha... Plenty of bites though as well as amberjack and albacore.
- 16SaturdayJanuary 2016Golden Tile FishingRoy and his crew finished up a two day trip out in the deep golden tile fishing. A true trophy fish that lives at 900 feet deep and they hand cranked all day. We didn't end up with as ma y as we hoped for but we did manage to catch 3 up to 45lbs.
