Fishing Reports
2007
Contact us


Fishing Report 12-28-2007

 
Finally got a nice day to go fishing when the wind wasn't blowing 25 mph. We headed off shore to do a little bottom fishing. Couldn't believe the water temps are around 25 miles  they were in the high 60's and at 32 miles it was 74 degrees. The 1st ledge was good and we had 5 keeper Reds around 10 to 14 lbs. I put out a light line for kings and didn't even get it 20 feet behind the boat and it started going off. There were plenty of kings 8 to 10 lbs. The surprise of the day was when the light line went off and it started jumping. We caught a 12 lb Mahi in late December at 32 miles. Moved to several other spots with some action. At 40 miles the water was 78 degrees. Overall a great day especially for December 28th 10 grouper, 12 kings, 3 AJs and a Mahi and the normal grunts/sea bass etc. I also caught a 250 lb shark on cut bait. Sorry I forgot the camera so no pictures.

Annual Bone Fishing Trip

We took our annual trip to Miami to visit the in-laws and slipped away for a day of bone fishing around Biscayne Bay with Captain Joe on the “FunnyBone”. The weatherman must have followed me from NC with the winds because it blew 25 mph NE. It helps when fishing on the flats to have less wind but we still had a blast. Had shots at a lot of fish on the flats but very spooky and no takers until around 2:00 in the afternoon. We staked out and chummed a few shrimp and started catching fish. In 2 hours we had 10 strikes with 6 fish in the boat. My son David actually caught and previously tagged fish. The University of Miami funds a bone fish tagging program. We had 2 double headers and as usual Joe made us laugh all day long. If you are ever down around Miami and want a great flats fishing guide give Joe Gonzalez a call at 305-642-6727.

           

         


Fishing Report 12-08-2007

 
Had a king/grouper trip on Saturday. The weatherman was kind for a change with light winds and 2 foot seas. We caught bluefish and then jigged up sardines before heading out 35 miles. The guys wanted to catch kinds 1st so we slow trolled around the ledges. We had plenty of action but had a hard time keeping the hooks in the fish. We put 3 in the box and missed at least 12 strikes in about 2 hours. Decided to bottom fish. We had a lot of action with Scamps (all were short), Reds and some Gags. We had 2 large Gags that pulled the rods to the gunnel with some knuckles scrapped up and the fish won the battle. One of the guys brought their own bottom rod and while battling a large Red the rod broke at the butt. The top of the rod went down the line and the angler reeled the fish to the boat with just the reel. I think it was the biggest Red of the day. Had plenty of action and fun and the guys brought home some good grouper fillets.

 


Fishing Report 12-01-2007

 
I took Wade Moore from NCCoastalfishing.com and friends out on Saturday. This was the only day we had available due to schedules so we had to take a chance with the weather. Unfortunately, the weatherman did not do us any favors. Headed out planning on trying to get out 30 miles for some kings and grouper. The winds were NE 10 to 15 on the way out but started picking up at about 15 miles. I decided to try at some ledges around 20 miles. Set up on the ledge with no problems and the 1st live bait in the water was eaten before it got to the bottom. There was no doubt a grown Amber jack as it stripped line off the reel with the drag locked down. It eventually broke us off. A few more missed fish and finally a good grouper bite 12 lb Gag in the box. We had a couple of other fish we missed and then Wade hooked another large AJ. After a good battle we took a few pictures and let her go back to the ledge. We decided to cut our loses around 11:30 when the waves were 5 ft every 5 seconds and the wind showed no signs of letting up. We took our time getting in and hopefully we will get a break next time with the weather.

     


Bottom Fishing Report 11-16-2007

 
Headed out on a bottom fishing trip on Saturday. We caught live Bluefish,Pin fish, Cigars and Sardines and started with flat calm seas and no wind. Started trying to fish around 25 miles but because we had no wind or current it was impossible to anchor so we tried drifting. Could not get any grouper bites but plenty of grunts and large sea bass. We had a school of about 100 AJs come up to the boat. Went out another 10 miles and finally found some current. Made a couple of drifts and then set the anchor. Started catching large grunts, bealiners and short red grouper. I decided to put a live Cigar on a light lines that was in the rod holder about 10 seconds before it started screaming off and we caught a nice king. I put out a large Bluefish and watched a large king chase it in circles and it ended up cutting the mono. We picked through a few short reds and caught 4 keepers. The wind picked up later in the afternoon so we went back to the 23 miles ledges looking for some Gags. Once we got the anchor set up right it didn't take long when I put a live Bluefish down. I had 2 nice 18 lb Gags and lost 3 others. The end of the day was a very large AJ and we headed in with a stiff SW breeze and a setting sun.

   


Fishing Report - Gulf Stream 11-12-2007

 
Decided to take a trip to the stream with a couple of friends since we haven't been able to go due to weather. Headed off shore at sunrise to a gentle NE swell and ran 40 mph the complete 60 miles. The water was still 78 degrees but not blue it still has a little green murky tint because of all the bad weather. Put lines in at around 150 feet and started seeing birds working with small 2 to 5 lb albacore jumping and then started seeing very large Yellow fin feeding on them. After about 20 minutes the short port rigger went off and 300 yards melted off the reel. The fish came back to the boat after 20 minutes and then made 3 more long boat runs. With 30 feet to go one quick head shake and he was done. Worked the area around the Same Ole for a while longer but only a few knock downs. Headed north and found a good weed line and we picked up a few small Mahi. Once we were about 1/2 mile from another ledge area in 180 feet we saw hundreds or maybe thousands of Flying fish everywhere. They actually looked like large flocks of birds. We picked up a couple of nice Black fin tuna but still no Wahoo. We went back to the weed line and picked at the Mahi with a couple of doubles. Then at around 2:00 the long line went off and finally a Wahoo was on with no doubt as line streamed off the reel. It turns out the other long rigger was cut off by another Wahoo at the same time. 20 minutes later we sunk the gaff into a nice 45 lb fish. We had a few more Mahi and Tuna strikes. Headed back in and cleared the inlet at dark. Overall a great day for November with Mahi, Black fin,Yellow fin and a Wahoo. Hopefully the water will clear up because we saw more bait than I have ever seen at the stream.

   


Tournament Report - Fall Brawl

 
Myself and son David fished the last tournament for the year as a father and son team. As usual the weatherman was not too kind. We could fish either Sat or Sun. I woke up Saturday morning at 3:00 AM walked outside to 20 mph winds and rain and decide to fish Sun. We woke up Sunday to no ran but 25 mph NE winds. Caught some bait in the dark and headed to Southport. Most of Saturday's fish came from around Lighthouse Rocks about 7 miles offshore so I decided to give it a try. Once I got to the numbers the waves were 5 to 6 feet every 5 seconds and the water looked brown with no bait. I moved back to the beach around Lockwood Folly inlet and started catching fish. The 1st fish was around 20 lbs which turned out to be the biggest. We stayed pretty busy but no larger fish. Caught fresh bait on the beach around 12;00 and fished off Youpon Pier but still could not find a bigger fish. We finished 30th place (4 places out of the money) but David won 4th place Jr. Angler and 1st place SKA Jr. Angler. Lets hope the weatherman is a little more helpful in the 2008 tournament season. It is now time to gear up for the fall grouper fishing stay tuned. 

Fall Fishing Heating Up 10-13-2007

 
Headed out on Saturday for a little fall fishing with some friends. Started off in the morning finding live bait and ended up off Holden Beach. Fished around Lockwood Folly inlet and had a couple of fish. Fished a couple of areas around Southport but fishing was slow. Headed to the east side and around 2:00 the kings went off in fall feeding frenzy. We had a blast with double hook ups and fish skying on baits behind the boat. We caught out limit of 12 fish in a couple of hours and headed in leaving the fish feeding. The fall season is just getting started so give me a call if you want to experience some of the best fishing of the year.


Tournament Report - US Open KMT Southport

 
I have been off the water for the last couple of weeks due to knee surgery but I am back on the water and doing well. We fished the US Open KMT Friday and Sat with 400 boats. The NE/East winds kept most boats closes to the beach which is where the fish are anyway. It was a very strong field of fish caught and you had to have a 30 lb fish to be in the top 20. We fished both days close to Lockwood Folly inlet and caught nice fish both days. The largest was 28.1 lbs which put us in 28th place. Hopefully the winds will let off and the fishing should just keep getting better so drop me a line if you want to try fall fishing at its best.

Tournament Report FLW NC Series Atlantic Beach

 
We fished the last FLW series KMT on Saturday in Atlantic Beach. Pre-fished Friday and found a lot of fish just no king mackerel. Saturday morning we woke up to rain, lighting and a nice hard wind. Caught bait before check out and went out the inlet into 6 to 8 foot seas. Jumped the shoals (what fun) and headed to the east side to the 1700 Rock. Fishing was very slow all day and finally at 12:00 the sound we were waiting for when the short line started screaming. We made short work of the fish which was very long and skinny. We did catch another fish around 18 lbs. The fishing was slow due to the front that had move through and our fish was good enough for 4th place 28.8 lbs. This also qualified us to go to the championship tournament in Alabama which was the good news.

Fishing Report 8-26-2007

 
Had a full day live bait trip with guys that have fished a couple of times this year. Headed out in a slight SW swell but still able to run 30 mph. Stopped on a great looking weed line at 20 miles with flying fish and bait everywhere but not takers. Continued out to 27 miles and the seas started laying down and the bait came up everywhere. The 1st fish was a small cuda then we hooked a big AJ on the 20 lb tackle the angler did a great job landing the fish which was 45 lbs. While he was fighting the AJ on the light tackle I hooked 2 more on the big rods and we has a triple header. All the fish we landed and released and we were done with the AJs or tried not to target them. We caught 2 nice Mahi and had more AJs hit the 20 lb tackle. Around 12:00 we had to run from some bad looking storms and moved South to some 20 mile ledges. As soon as the lines were out we had a double header of kings solid teenagers. At the end of the day we went by the 18 mile wreck and played with more very large Cudas that jumped and put on a great show. Stayed busy all day and headed back with a stiff SW breeze.

   

 

Tournament Report 2nd FLW North Carolina Series KMT

 
We fished Saturday the 2nd leg of the FLW series out of Southport. I had a light crew fishing, myself and buddy Jammie Ezzel. We caught bait in the dark and ran to Southport to check out. Headed out 38 miles to deep water. The 1st line in the water was hit but missed the hooks but the 2nd line went off quickly. We stayed very busy for the 1st 2 hours. The middle of the day slowed down and we did pick up a small African Pompano (see picture). It was very cool with the long trailing fins. Then at the end of the day I was dropping back a bait that was smoked out of my hand by a 20 lb Wahoo. We had a great day with 12 to 15 kings, many AJs and Cudas, African Pompano and a Wahoo. We weighed in a 20 lb 12 oz. fish that put us in 12th place in the tournament.

Fishing Report 22 Aug 2007

Had a 3/4 day with a return family from Pittsburgh, Pa. This time they brought a couple of lady anglers that did great. The weatherman gave us a break for a change and the ocean was not bad with a west wind. That was the good news the bad news is that the ocean looked dead everywhere. We started at the inlet and caught a nice 75 lb lemon shark caught by the 11 year old lady angler. Moved off to 10 miles and caught a large Spanish and a large Cuda. Headed out 20 miles looking for better looking water and we found the bait everywhere and caught 2 small kings and a nice AJ. Moved out to 28 miles and had a lot of Cuda strikes but had a hard time staying connected. Finally ended the day at a 12 mile wreck and caught a very large Cuda that skied 20 plus feet into the air. Overall a busy day with a lot of species but we had to work for it by running around. The water color just didn't look right and I heard the other boats fishing had a same problem.

   


Fishing Report 8-19-2007

 
Had a 3/4 day with some guys from Australia. The wind was not helping with 10 to 15 from the E/SE with 3 to 4 footers. Headed out 18 miles and fished a wreck loaded with bait and activity. 1st line in the water was a health 26 lb Barracuda. Tried to get the AJs to eat but nothing doing. Also tried for large sharks with the big rods but no takers. After the dive boats showed up we moved over to some ledges and live bottom. We had a good king strike immediately on the down rigger but bit through the leader while ripping out 250 yards of line. We had another small king and large Baracuda. Moved into around 10 miles and finally the downrigger went off with a nice 18 lb king. Then the long line started screaming and after 15 minutes and 3/4 of a mile pulling the boat we had a very large Bonita 20 plus lbs.

    


Fishing Report 8-17-2007

 
Had a 1/2 day with a family in town from NY. The winds started blowing hard NE but it was reasonable fishing ta 10 miles. Had a good king on but the line was cut when a Baracuda ate the king. While I was putting out a fresh bait I saw what looked like a submarine coming up behind the boat. It was a 12 foot Tiger shark who swam behind the boat with his dorsal fin out of the water and ate my pogy on 20 lb tackle. The was like taking a knife to a gun fight but we fought him for 25 minutes and got a couple of good looks around the boat but once he decided to go down it was all over. I would estimate him at 12 ft and over 600 lbs. Had a few more kings strikes but the Cudas were hungry.
 

Fishing Report 8-08-2007

 
Had a 3/4 day with a group from Raleigh with 3 Jr anglers. Headed out 10 miles with a 15 mph SW breeze. I put the 1st line in the water and it started screaming. The 12 year old boy did a great job with the seas and wind and put a nice 16 king in the box. We had a few more strikes but the crew started feeling bad so we moved in a little closer to the beach. We caught 2nice black tip sharks and then to end the day a 30 lb Baracuda caught by the (2) 9 year old girls.It was exciting with a lot of jumps and screaming reel.
 

Tournament Report - Sneeds Ferry KMT

 
We fishing the Sneeds Ferry tournament on a friends boat Reel Greedy on the east side of Morehead. The weather was OK in the morning and we had plenty of action. The largest was 23 1/2 lbs which had us in 2nd place after the 1st day but the weather was better than predicted on the 2nd day and we fell to 13th place. Overall a good tournament and we had a lot of fun.
 

Tournament Report Industrial KMT

 
We fished a small local tournament on Sat with about 30 other boats. Caught bait early and headed towards the shoals. Once we got 15 miles south the wind picked up to SW 15 to 20 mph. Started fishing early but still very rough. Managed a large Spanish 1st thing but no kings and the water color didn't look good. Moved off shore and the wind let off and the ocean started to lay down. We found the kings and the bait and stayed busy for a couple of hours. Had a nice fish sky on the long bait but the cuda ate him before we could get him to the gaff. Also had a Sailfish in the baits but could get him to a take a hook. Finally later in the afternoon we put a good fish 23 1/2 lbs in the boat in one piece. We finished 3rd in the tournament and had a fun day fishing.
 
Fishing Report 8-05-2007
 
Had a full day live bait trip. The winds were light and headed out 10 miles to a area that others did good on Saturday. We found the bait and the Spanish mackerel on top 1st thing. The 1st fish was a small king and then every fish we caught kept getting larger. We had a nice 15 lb Mahi hooked but he through the hooks at the boat before we could get a gaff in him. Then around 10:00 the ocean came alive with large schools of bait on top with Spanish and Kings skying on the bait. We had 2 Sailfish come by the boat but not interested in the baits. This was one of the best king bites I have been on this year with double headers and 20 lb fish skying on the prop wash baits. The final count was 9 kings (2) 27 lbers, (1) 25 lber, 3 other between 20 and 25 and then solid teenage fish.

       

   


Fishing Report 7-26-2007

 
Had a 1/2 day in shore trip with a family from Mass in town. Started around Carolina Beach looking for sharks around the shrimp boats. We had a couple of hits and finally hooked up with a nice 100 lb Lemon. Everyone felt OK and the 1 shrimp boat was getting crowded so we headed out 12 miles. The water looked good but very little action. Finally the medium line started screaming and we had a nice king in the box. Headed back to the inlet and fished the tide line but no takers.
 

Fishing Report 7-27-2007

 
Had a 3/4 day with a group from Ohio in town. Started at the 18 mile wreck looking for AJs but could not hook up on the big rods. They were chasing bait all over the top but would not take a pogy. Started slow trolling and caught a nice Barracuda 1st line in the water. Then of course a large AJ hit the double in the prop wash and with 20 lb tackle she broke us off in the wreck. Moved over to some ledges at 20 miles and got into a kings bite for about 1 hour. The downrigger was the hot rod and we couldn't keep it down for more than a few minutes. Then the sharks moved in and the kings shutdown. Moved out 25 miles and had some good action with Cudas then the downrigger went off and headed for the horizon. After and very long 60 minute battle and we followed the fish for 3/4 of a mile we gaffed a 33 lb African Pompano. This was a great angling job on 20 lb tackle. Moved back to the area we hooked up with the Pompano and the downrigger went off again. Another African Pompano 22 lbs. Headed in in flat seas at 40 mph with a full fish box.

    

     


Tournament Report - Greater Wilmington KMT

Fished the GWKMT on Saturday with nice weather for a change. We caught bait early and had lines in the water by 6:15. We fished around the Cabbage Patch area all day. We had a lot action but could not find a large fish. We did manage 2 kings around 22 lbs and 4 other teenagers. We also had over 12 large Spanish all over 4 lbs. It was a great day fishing and a little excitement coming in through thunder storms with 50 plus mph winds at the end of the day. We finished 15th out of 190 boats so heading the the right direction


Fishing Report 7-13-2007

 
Had a 3/4 day live bait trip with a 3 generation group from NY/Conn. Tried for kings at around 10 miles but not much happening. The hard winds all week moved the bait so the kings were a little hard to find in the morning. Headed out to try our luck with the AJs. We caught a few before the dive boats showed up. We moved to another wreck and hooked a small king that soon became bait. A 200 lb shark took 1/2 the king then 2 40 lb Barracuda finished the job. I dropped the head back over and hooked one of the Cudas. Moved back inshore and managed to catch a king for dinner.
 

 Fishing Report 7-14-2007 

 
 We had a large group from out of town that did a 5 boat charter. After everyone loaded up we headed offshore 10 miles. The kings were back and we had action all morning. Most of the fish were crashing the baits on top which was exciting. Around 1:00 everyone wanted to try their hand at the AJs. We pulled up just ahead of the thunder storms and managed to catch 2 monsters before running from the storms. One was over 40 lbs and the 2nd over 50 lbs. Finished the day at the inlet with 3 nice kings that all skied on the short baits. Everyone got a thrill watching the kings come 5 feet out of the water chasing the baits. Final count was 10 nice kings, 2 monster AJs, 2 Barracuda and a couple of sharks.

   

   


Tournament Report Got-Em-On KMT

 
We fished Sat in the Got Em-On KMT. Decided to fish down south and headed to South Port. Caught bait no problem on the beach but it was a little small. Went out to the Shark Hole and caught 8 to 10 lb fish all morning. Headed back in the the river channel to fish hero or zero. Had a couple of strikes but no hook ups. Finished up at the Cabbage Patch and while emptying the live well at 4:25 a fish skied on the medium bait. We made short work and headed to the scales for points. With only 3 minutes to spare we checked in and weighed a 17.9 lb fish.

Fishing Report 7-08-2007

Had a 1/2 day trip with clients from Calf and NY. The ocean was flat and we went out 10 miles. The area looked good with a lot of bait and we had fish skying on the baits but could not hook them. We had 4 strikes but no solid hook ups. After about a hour I saw the short bait get nervous and then the reel started screaming. After about 100 yards the fish went into a high gear and with 400 plus yards off the reel I finally got the boat turned. After a 20 minute battle I gaffed the fish and it weighed 36 lbs. Needless to say this would have been nice to have in the tournament yesterday. After a few pictures I started putting out lines and the 1st line in the water the reel started screaming again. This time it was our young anglers turn and he did a great job. After a 15 minute battle this fished weighed 29 lbs. 2 great fish in 30 minutes. We headed in a weighed in the large fish for a citation

     

 


Fishing Report 7-01-2007

 
Had a full day live bait trip with a group that went to the Gulf Stream earlier in the year. The wind was blowing out of the west in the morning with 2 to 3 ft seas. Caught plenty of live bait in the morning and headed out to a 10 mile area. It didn't take long by the time the 3rd line was in the water the shot gun line went off. We stayed busy with a couple of double headers for the next couple of hours. All nice kings and some sharks mixed in. The bite slowed so we went over and played with the AJs at the 20 mile wreck. Caught a few and then started slow trolling. The wind started picking up from the NE and the bite slowed in the middle of the day. Moved offshore to another wreck and the wind let off and the fish started eating again. We finally caught a nice Cobia 34 lbs. The kings and barracuda were eating and most of the time only 2 lines fished before we had a strike. Had a double header and the 2nd fish was a very nice king around 25 lbs. Headed in around 4:00 with 2 ft seas. Final count was 10 kings, 34 lb Cobia, 6 or 7 AJs, 4 Barracuda and a few small sharks mixed in. We also had plenty of missed strikes. 

   

   


Tournament Report "Jolly-Mon" 6-23-2007

 
We fished our 1st tournament of the season out of Ocean Isle Beach on Saturday. There were 361 boats fishing Sat or Sun Captain's choice and we fished on the beach going "hero or zero". We fished to the north and had plenty of bait and the area looked good but only could manage a 12 lb fish. Moved another 15 miles north to a area that had produced some nice fish on Friday but the wind was blowing hard NE due to the front crossing the area. We did hook a decent fish but decided to move south due to the wind. Finished the day at Carolina Beach inlet with plenty of strikes and fish but all were small. The best we did was 20.9 lbs which was 43rd out of 361 boats. Not our best finish but OK. The next tournament we fish will be in a couple of weeks at Carolina Beach.

Fishing Report 6-22-2007

 
Had a 3/4 day bottom/live bait trip with a group of guys from Raleigh. The weather was nice with a west wind in the morning. Headed out to catch a few AJs to warm things up. They ate good for the 1st few drifts but they would take a bait. I think we landed 5 and lots a few more. Did a little slow trolling around the wrecks and had a couple of king strikes but they missed the hooks. Headed off shore for some bottom fishing and anchored up. Finally started catching some sea bass and large grunts but no groupers. The kings start hitting the live baits behind the boat and one finally skied out of the water with the bait in its mount. Also caught a nice Mahi on the light line. After the bottom fishing slowed and the winds picked up we slow trolled for a little while and ended the day with a nice double header of Mahi. Headed back in a stiff SW wind but had plenty of fish to clean for the guys.

   


Fishing Report 6-18-2007

 
Had a full day live bait trip with a group of guys in town for a wedding from Atlanta and Pa. The weatherman was kind in the morning with light 10 to 15 mph SW winds. Started at a 12 mile wreck and had some action from kings. Caught 1 nice fish but lost 3 other strikes. Moved off shore to try our hand at Amberjack tug of war. They were not disappointed with double hook ups on every drift. We broke off a lot of fish off but everyone landed their share until they were worn out. We did manage a very large 50 plus lbs fish that we released to fight another day. Headed off shore to try some bottom fishing but between the current and I heard from some divers about a thermocline just off the bottom the grouper fishing was slow. We did have a lot of action from various other none eatable species. After 3 different ledges I decide to go back to slow trolling live bait and before the 3rd line went in the water we had a nice king in the boat. Stayed busy for the next hour with Mahi and kings before heading with a good SW breeze.

     

     


Fishing Report 6-09-2007

 
Had another 3/4 day with a group from out of town all over. Had plenty of live bait before we left at 6:30 and headed out to the 20 mile AJ honey hole. We were the 1st boat there because it was a little rough with a stiff 15 mph SW wind. The AJs were hungry and we had multiple double headers. Everyone had multiple fish and the sharks got one also. We finally got them up next to the boat and watched them eat the live bait on top. It is amazing to watch once they get aggressive next to the boat. Could not find the kings around the wrecks slow trolling and the wind started laying down so the area got crowded. Headed off shore to some ledges at around 26 miles. The water was blue and clear. Started slow trolling and could not keep the down rigger out for more than a few minutes and the AJs were all over it.
Finally had a Mahi hit the top line and started jumping unfortunately he threw the hook at the boat. Had a few king strikes and another Mahi. The bite slowed again in the afternoon but a good day and nice ride home.

   

           


Fishing Report 6-08-2007

 
Had a 3/4 day live bait fishing trip with a father and son. One throw with the cast net and I had plenty of nice pogies before picking up the guys at 6:30. Headed out to the 20 mile wreck area and started off the morning with our Amber jack workout. The 1st fish turned out to be a nice king hooked in the belly with a single hook on straight mono. This was a nice surprise so we started slow trolling for kings. Had a lot of action in the morning with kings and cuda then the AJs got hungry. Had multiple hook ups on 20 lb tackle with the AJs and then we hooked a 300 lb shark on 20 lb tackle. The angler did a great job and brought her to the boat after about 20 minutes. We took a couple of pictures and cut her loose. Then we hooked another AJ on the 20 lb tackle and a 200 lb shark ate it right next to the boat. I tried to get a picture while it was happening but too slow. I did take a picture of what was let of the AJ. We broke out the big tackle a caught more AJs until everyone was done. The bite slowed down in the afternoon but we had plenty of action and variety in the morning.

         

     


Fishing Report 5-12-2007 Gulf Stream

 
Finally, the weatherman gave us a 1 day window to head to the stream. The problem was going to be finding the fish after a week of hard winds/waves. The water temps are in the high 70's all the way in 30 miles. Had a nice ride out in a SE swell. The first strike was a nice Wahoo around 20 lbs. Then it seemed that the fish were there but too many boats had the tuna very hard to strike. We saw several fish jumping moved away from the boats inshore and finally had a tuna strike on the short spreader bar. A small Yellowfin but he took a lot of line. In the middle of the day things got slow so we moved out to the deeper water and found the Mahi. We ended up with a lot of strikes and fish over a couple of hours. At the end of the day we trolled in and at 135 feet of water we had a triple headers of big Mahi. The down rigger rod screamed off 200 yards and spit the hook. The 2nd fish fought his way free and we landed the last fish. An exciting way to end the day. We did manage a Carolina Slam with Tuna, Wahoo and Mahi. Things should only get better once things settle down after the storm. 


 


Fishing Report 5-04-2007

 
We were supposed to go to the Gulf Stream today but the weather man had other ideas. Decided to try to do some king mackerel fishing a little closer to the beach. Headed out around 20 miles in NE swell/wind but not too bad. We fished just a few minutes before the down rigger went off. We stayed very busy all morning and only fished 1 to 2 lines for a while. Although they were not monsters we had plenty of action with reels screaming. The other thing we found was that the sharks are already around after we reeled in 2 heads of kings after a short fight. Headed back in around lunch when everyone had caught a few fish. The final count was 7 fish in the box, sharks ate 2 and we had another 6 to 8 strikes/pulled hooks. Not a bad day for a few hours of fishing.


Fishing Report 5-02-2007

 
Had a 3/4 day king fish/bottom fishing trip. The weatherman gave us a break and the hard SW wind did not come all afternoon. It stayed 10 to15 mph with a 3 ft swell. Stopped at around 18 miles to try for kings and before the 3rd line was in the water the long line went off. It was nice to hear a king reel screaming. We stayed very busy for about a hour and it started slowing down. We ended up with 4 fish boated and 3 more strikes or pulled hooks. Headed out around 30 miles to look for grouper. We found plenty of action all afternoon but the hard part was finding a red grouper that was over 20 inches long. All were between 19 and 19 7/8 inches. Caught plenty of other species grunts, large sea bass, sharks and even a moray eel. At the end of the day we did manage one good keeper red and plenty of other fish for the table. Headed back in the late afternoon with a good SW breeze.

 

Fishing Report 4-22-2007 Gulf Stream

 
Finally, a weather report with out wind. Headed over shore to the stream in search of Yellow fin. We went to the north to the Swansboro Hole area because there was a large back flow off the gulf stream. Nice ride out and lines in the water by 7:30. The problem was that the fish did not want to eat. We worked around the drop and no one was getting strikes. Decided to head go straight off shore to try to find the break but at 1000 feet I turned around because the water actually started cooling off. We did pick up a nice 20 plus lb Bull Mahi in 600 feet. Move back in towards the break and had a double header of Mahi. That seemed to be the only fish that wanted to eat. We picked at them all day and later found a pocket of warmer water. We had a schools around the boats but would not eat the squid offerings. Ended the day with a nice triple header of Mahi. Overall it was a very slow day up and down the stream but we worked hard all day. Final count at the end was 10 nice gaffer Mahi with 3 nice Bulls 15 to 25 lbs.

          


Fishing Report 4-08-2007

  Took a family from NC in town for Easter weekend. Had a 3/4 day to try some bottom fishing. Left a little later in the morning to try to let it warm up but still had ice on the deck. Headed off shore 30 miles in a light NW wind. We stopped at 20 miles but no sea bass just a lot of small fish stealing the bait. Once we got out 30 miles the water was blue and 72 degrees. The 1st ledge I dropped 1 line to the bottom and the young girl wrestled a nice 10 lb Red grouper to the boat. We stayed busy at all stops. We fished 4 different ledges and had action at all of them. Final count was 3 keeper Red Grouper (12 to 15 shorts), 3 short Scamp Grouper, Sea Bass, 25 to 30 Grunts and various other bottom fish. Headed back in the afternoon with a strong West wind. 

   


Fishing Report 4-03-2007

 
Went on a 3/4 day bottom fishing trip with a group from Raleigh and Indiana. Also a young man visiting from Germany. The ride out was a little bumpy but the ocean was flat by the end of the day. We had lots of action all day. Moved around ledges at the 30 mile area and caught fish at all spots. We had 2 keeper Red Grouper, 2 keeper Gags, 15 to 20 nice sea  bass (a few large 2 to 3 lbs), a lot of grunts, bee liners and pink snapper. We must have released 20 short reds (all 18 to 19 3/4 inches) and 2 short scamps. Also caught a small AJ, moray eel and a couple of small sharks. Everyone had a good time with plenty of action. Headed back to the dock at 40 mph in flat calm seas.

   


Fishing Report Gulf Stream 3-31-2007

 I had another opportunity to head to the stream with my son David. He wanted to catch his 1st Wahoo. The weatherman was right on again with a light NE swell in the morning and flat by the end of the day. Started off with a nice Mahi and then David caught a good Black fin. The bite slowed down in the mid morning and the water temp was a little off so we trolled north looking for warmer water. We found water 3 degrees warmer about 6 miles to the north and blue colored water. We immediately caught a 30 lb Wahoo and then 2 more nice gaffer Mahis. The bull was around 15 lbs. There was some boats to the north about 3 miles that had some Yellow fin so we headed in that direction but no tuna. Ran back to the warm water and trolled over a 150 ledge and the down rigger rod went off. David had his Wahoo on and it came to the top and slash white water everywhere and then put it in high gear for 350 yards. David angled him back to the boat and to the gaff. The fish was 48 1/2 lbs 60 inches long and 24 inch girth. His 1st Wahoo and a citation. Final count was 3 nice Mahi, 2 Wahoo and 1 Black fin tuna. We headed back at 40 plus mph. Another good day of fishing and it is still March. The stream is hot so give me a call if you want to spend a full day at the stream.

   


Fishing Report 3/25/2007 Gulf Stream

I took a few friends out on a Gulf Stream trip yesterday to do a little exploring and make sure everything was checked out and ready to go on Live Line. The ocean was beautiful in the morning with a east swell and we ran 35 mph the whole way. The gulf stream looked like it normally does very early in the year with very little bait and structure. We did find a couple of good size King mackerel in the morning but not too much other action. Headed north and finally found a area with activity. The down rigger rod finally went streaming off and we landed a nice 60 lb Wahoo. Also caught another small Wahoo. Then the long line went off and we had a very nice 25 lb plus Blackfin tuna but the sharks too half before we got him to the boat. The wind blew up SW in the afternoon and we headed in around 5:00. The final count was 2 20 lb King Mackerel, 2 Wahoo and 1 Blackfin Tuna. We had a couple of other strikes that we lost that seemed like tuna. The Yellowfin were not around and I heard not reports of any caught around us.

 
Give me a call if you are ready to head offshore for some Gulf Stream fishing it should only get better by the day.

   


Fishing Report Update 3-04-2007

 
It looks like it is going to be a early Gulf Stream season this year. There are reports of a good Yellow fin Tuna and Wahoo bite last week when a few boats headed out during the weather window. I am completing the winter work on Live Line and will be ready to go in about a week. If you are looking for a full day of Gulf Stream fishing give me a call.
 
I went on a fresh water Sunday fishing trip with a friend his son and David my son. We fished a small private pond with live bait and the boys had a great time. Both had a couple of bass each 2 to 4 lbs and then David caught a bass he will not ever forget. She was at least 8 lbs 22 1/2 inches long with a 17 3/4 girth. We took the measurements and a few pictures and let her swim free to make more babies. This was the fattest bass I have seen in NC.