Fishing Reports
2008
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Live Line Fishing Report 11-22-2008

Went on a quick 1/2 day grouper trip on Sunday. Just my self and a buddy. The ocean was flat and we caught a few live baits and went looking for Gags. Stopped around 85 feet and the 1st bait was on the bottom for 10 seconds before I got smoked. We had a great time a limited out but needless to say we lost more than we caught. It is amazing even with 80 to 100 lb braid and 150 lb leader you still can't stop a large Gag when they want to get to the rocks. We also had a lot of AJs that wouldn't leave the live bait alone.
 

Gulf Stream 11-17-2008

Headed out to the Gulf Stream for a try at some Wahoo and late steam action. The weatherman gave us a short window so we headed off shore in a NW 3 foot chop. Started putting lines out and got to the 3rd line and the long port rigger went off. A large Wahoo took off for the horizon slashing across the surface. After a 20 minute battle and a lot of head shaking he came up and threw the hook 20 feet from the boat. We put the lines out again and before we got 2 out another drag started screaming. This turned out to be a over achieving Bonita. We worked the area but the water was very dirty. We picked up a few more fish and decided to move South to cleaner water. The bite was slow in the middle of the day so we jigged Jacks for a while. No large ones but triple headers kept us busy. We ended the day trolling a good rip line with weeds and caught a nice 61 inch Sail and a few small Mahi. Headed back in and cleared the inlet at dark.

Fishing Report 11-07-2008

Took the day off with a couple of friends and when grouper fishing. We finally got a weather day and took advantage of it. Caught live bait before heading out 25 miles. Starting fishing ledges in around 85 feet. Set the anchor and before we were tight on the anchor we had 2 nice gags on while still trying to get set up. Both were very nice fish. I did manage to take a couple of pictures of the largest fish. We had steady action all morning. We moved around a little after the action slowed. Tried moving off shore looking for Reds but everything shutdown except for the sharks. We had a few kings in the light line but all were small fish. The final count was a limit if gags 6 keepers, we released 6 to 8 shorts and a could of scamps. We broke off at least 10 fish but that is Gag fishing. It is hard to believe that with 80 to 100 lb braid you still can't stop them but it is fun trying. If you want to get a good day of grouper fishing in before the season closes Jan 1st give me a call you won't be disappointed with the grouper fishing this time of year.

Fishing Report 10-21-2008

Had a full day live bait trip for kings today. Started catching bait in the dark since no pogies are around Wrightsville have to catch Blues and Pins. Picked up the guys around 7:30 and started heading off shore. As usual the light 10 mph west winds were 10 to15. Started around 10 miles and before I got the 2ND line in the water the 1st line went off. 14 lb king. Continued to work the area with good success we had a double on and had more strikes that shredded the Blue but missed the hooks. We watched the fish slash the bait several times and then left. Then around 11:00 the wind pick up and the sharks moved in. After several double headers of sharks we moved to another spot. The winds let up a little but the fish did not eat. Shortly after lunch the crew was not feeling well and decided to call it a day. We had plenty of fish for all to eat. Sorry I forgot the camera so no pictures.

Fishing Report Deep Jigging 10-05-2008 and 10-0-2008

We finally got a small break in the weather and I was able to take Sami from anglerproshop.com and 3 other great anglers from all over. We have been trying to set up a 2 day trip for a while and the weather would not cooperate. We fished Sunday and had a great day deep jigging for giant Amberjack. This was the goal of the trip was to catch triple digit fish. The fishing was all quality fish all but one fish on Sunday was over 50 inches. We had fish between 53, 55, 56, 57, 58 and the last fish of the day was the monster 61 inches and 38 inch girth well over 110 lbs. As always we released all to fight another day. The weather was not so nice on Monday but we had to give it a try. Left early to try to get a window with about 5 miles to go the ocean looked like a washing machine but we fished until 12:00. The fishing was great with a large fish strike on every drift. The largest on Monday was a 57 inch fish caught by Dave. Sami was just short of catching his largest fish but had multiple fish over 55 inches. Rob from Florida and Dave from England both landed their largest AJ both in triple digit weights.

Tournament Report US Open KMT

We fished the US Open KMT on Friday and Saturday with 450 boats entered. The weather was great and the fishing was very good. The fish were in South port as they always are during the tournament. We had our best day on Friday and fished a live bottom area 5 miles off the beach. We had 15 kings 5 over 24 lbs and the largest was 29.05 lbs. Saturday was a little slower but had 10 fish and most of the boats fished the same area so it was a little crowded. It was a good two days of fishing and we ended up 32nd out of 450. The fall kings bite is on in South port so give me a call if you want to experience some of the best king fishing of the year.

Live Line Fishing Report 08-31-2008

Had a 3/4 live bait trip on Sunday with 3 couples from out of town. Caught plenty of live bait at the inlet and headed out to play with the AJs. The fish were shutdown and would not eat with the east wind and front that move through. After catching a few Barracudas we moved to some ledges and tried trolling. It wasn't long and the short line went off with a nice Mahi but after a dozen jumped it broke free. Things were a little slow but we eventually had a couple of small kings. Then the long line started going off and then we had 2 Sails behind the short bait. I dropped it back and we hooked one of them and off to the races. The long line went off and we had a double on Sails but the long line spit the hook. The other fish went crazy and jumped multiple times. We ran it down and after 30 minutes we got a good look and the fish has spit the hooks and foul hooked itself in the tail. Needless to say we had no control over the fish and we eventually pulled the hooks. Things we slow in the afternoon with a few strikes and sharks. Sorry I didn't have time for any good pictures.

Fishing Report 08-29-2008 Gulf Stream/Deep Jigging

Took a family group from Wilmington and Indiana on Friday for a late season Gulf Stream and Deep Jigging trip. The ride out was good except for trying to avoid the thunder storms. When we got to 120 feet we decided to start trolling since the storms looked bad off shore. The long line went off which was a small tuna. Continued to work off shore and when we got to around 170 feet the port long rigger went off and a nice sailfish started jumping on the horizon. The ocean was flat calm and the fish put on a great show. We landed it quickly a couple of pictures and measurements and she swam away in good shape. We trolled a while longer and it was slow so we decided to do a little jigging. The 1st 2 drops and 1 lift of the rod and we had 2 nice AJs. After a long battle both fish were over 55 inches and 36 inch girth (over 80 lbs). We released them and doubled up again with more jacks. The guys had enough after a couple of fish so back to trolling and finally found a good Wahoo bite in around 150 feet. We had at least 8 to 10 strikes and one fish took 400 yards before throwing the hook. We ended up with 2 nice Wahoo and big King Mackerel.

Fishing Report 8-15-2008

Had a great group of guys from all over in town for a work meeting and took a day to do some fishing. The weatherman was nice with a light NE wind and calm seas. The guys wanted to get a work out so we went out 20 miles to play with the AJs. The 1st line in the water was a nice Cuda that was hooked in the corner of the jaw so he didn't cut through the mono. We worked on the AJs most of the day with live bait and jigging. Had a couple over 40 and one pushing 50 lbs. Then the dive boat took our spot so we went off shore and tied another spot that was slow and even slower when we tried trolling. Finished out the day jigging more large AJs until everyone had their fill. Between the full moon and east wind the other species didn't seem to be cooperating by the radio talk but we had fish most of the day. I almost forgot we hooked a 250 lb shark while jigging on my 760 spinning set up. The problem was that we hooked it in the peck-fin and got it with in 10 feet of the boat before the leader broke but a great battle.

Live Live Fishing Report 8-10-2008

Had a return group of local clients with some out of town relatives for a full live bait trip. Headed out to the 23 mile area with live bait caught at the inlet and started trolling. It didn't take long before the long line went off with a nice Mahi but it jumped the hooks. Then the short rod went off with the same result but the school came to the boat and we started throwing them live baits and we ended up with 4 nice Mahi. The largest was a 18 lb Bull that went crazy chasing and live bait for 30 seconds before he caught it. We continued trolling several spots with no more action and decided to change tactics and anchored. The light line went off and started screaming for the horizon and then came back toward the boat. The lady angler did a great job and we had a 20 lb Bonita. Then went I started jigging we hooked a nice AJ. Moved off shore and started grouper fishing and the action was none stop but most were short Scamps. We kept working at it and ended up with 8 nice keeper grouper. Headed back home with plenty of Mahi and Grouper in the box.

Tournament Report 2008 Industrial KMT

We fished the 2008 local KMT on Saturday with 35 other boats from GE/Corning and DuPont. The weather was great and we had the old crew back together. Fishing partner Mike Savage and my son David. We caught bait quickly and had plenty to chum. Headed out around 25 miles to a live bottom area that looked promising but after 2 hours with nothing but sharks we decide to move off shore and bottom fish while chumming and light lining. We had plenty of grouper but no kings. Moved back into the 30/30 around 2:00 and decided finish there. At around 2:30 Mike was adjusting the short bait and it went off. The fish only ran 50 feet and went straight down like a AJ or Barracuda. We finally got a look at her after about 15 minutes and new it was a king but foul hooked. We battled the fish fro 45 minutes before I finally got a gaff in her and she almost pulled it out of my hands. It was a short and fat fish that weighed 27.8 lbs and good enough for 2nd place in the overall tournament.

Fishing Report 8-05-2008

Had a full day live bait trip on Tuesday with great group of guys from Raleigh. The weatherman was wrong as usual and it blew hard SW in the morning. We headed out 20 miles and tried drifting for AJs but the wind and seas made the drift too fast so we anchored up. The only way we could get the AJ interested was to fish over top of the wreck but with only 40 feet below the boat needless to say they won every battle. We did catch a nice 25 lb Cuda. Decide to start trolling and could keep a down rigger down for more than 60 seconds with out a AJ or large Cuda . Everyone caught a nice AJ and a lot more won the battle to break us off. After everyone had their fill of AJs we went looking for kings that did not cooperate. The ocean was flat in the afternoon so we had a nice ride in.
 

Bottom Fishing Report 8-02-2008

Had a group of experienced anglers come down from Raleigh. The weatherman was nice for the ride out. The guys wanted to bottom fish and they brought some nice custom rods made by one of the anglers beautiful gear. Caught plenty of live bait and had fresh pogies on ice from yesterday. Started around 25 miles looking for gags but not much action. Moved out to 35 miles and after a few moves finally started catching Reds and Scamps. We picked at fish all day and worked hard. Caught a couple of AJs with the live bait. We ended up with 17 keepers and at least 10 shorts released. We had a few Reds around 15 lbs but no monsters. We did have a couple of better fish win the battle and broke off. Headed home in a hard SW breeze and 4 to 5 footers it was a wet ride but the boat ran 25 mph in the slop.

Fishing Report 8-01-2008

Had a group of guys in town from Charlotte for a live bait trip. Caught some of the best looking pogies I have seen in a while some looked like Harkers Island baits. Headed out 12 miles with a SW breeze. Tried for a while but no action or activity. Moved out to 18 miles to play with the AJs. We hooked a few and broke some off in the wreck but they weren't very aggressive. The dive boat showed up so we moved off the wreck. Tried trolling again at 20 mile ledges and could only find sharks. Decided to run out to WR4 to see if the water looked better but another dive boat was on top of the wreck. Trolled around the outside and had a few good strikes. Landed a nice 25 lb Barracuda but the swells were a little large and the crew didn't fell good so we move in closer to the beach. It was a tough day with no ling strikes which was amazing with the baits.

Fishing Report 7-26-2008

Took Chris Lee and the guys out from Fish Busters Tackle shop in NY on Saturday. The weather was calm (actually too calm) which was the 1st time I can say that this year. We had a little current in the morning which allowed me to anchor. Started around 25 miles and caught a couple of Reds, AJs and a short Cobia. Moved out to around 35 miles and found a couple of good spots and had a few good Reds but around 11:00 the ocean went too flat and no wind or current. We moved around a lot and scratched out a few fish in each spot. Ended up drifting and found a few Mahi. Moved out to 50 miles and the ocean looked dead so we moved back into 100 feet and fished until 6:30 with a few more fish. Chris did catch a nice Red on a new custom jig he has been working on from the shop. Ended up with 12 keeper Reds, Mahi, AJs, Cobia (released) and a few short Scamps. We worked hard all day and ended with a decent box of fish.

Fishing Report 7-16-2008

Had a live bait trip with a great group of young men and Dad in town on vacation. As usual the weatherman was wrong and we had a NE wind 10 to 15 mph most of the day. Started by jigging up live bait still no pogies around Wrightsville Beach and headed off shore. Started around 14 miles and trolled for a while. We had a couple of strikes and landed a nice AJ on 20 lb tackle. It took a lot of effort with the wind and waves to get the AJ landed but a good job by a youth angler. The kings did not want to cooperate due to the east wind and by the radio everyone had the same problem. Switched tactics and started fishing with the large rods with live bait for the AJs on the wrecks. We caught fish for 5 straight hours and everyone had a blast. The 2 largest were 50 inch length x 28 inch girth and the youngest angler (11 years old) caught the largest of the day 52 inch length x 32 inch girth a 60 lber. Late in the day the wind slowed and we moved in around 10 miles and fianlly had a double header of kings.

Fishing Report 7-12-2008

Had a return group of guys from the area for a full day live bait trip. Found plenty of herring and pin fish but no pogies around Wrightsville. Headed off shore with a 10 to 15 mph NE breeze and large swells from the storm. Started around 10 miles and picked up a small king but didn't mark any bait so we moved out to the 23 mile area. The water looked god with plenty of flying fish but still no bait holding on the ledges. Trolled for a while then we picked up a nice Mahi and while bring in another bait a large school of small peanut Mahi came to the boat. I quickly set up the spinning rods with cut squid and the fun began. We caught 50 plus peanuts and released more. Moved to another ledge are and picked up a couple more kings. Decided to move back inshore because the waves were building. Found a good king bite with nice fish around 4:00. We had double headers of teenagers and 5 or 6 more strikes. Ended up with 6 nice kings and plenty of Mahi. Sorry no pictures I forgot.

Fishing Report "Bottom Fishing" 7-05-2008

Had Chris Lee from "FishingBusters Bait & Tackle" come down from NY with a group of guys on Saturday. We left early but a stiff SW winds did not make the ride as nice as we had hoped. The fishing turned out pretty good with a lot of variety in species. Started around 26 miles looking for Gags and we had a few good chances but a couple broke us off in the ledge. We did land a nice 15 lber. Moved out to around 30 miles and found a couple of good Reds. Then one of the guys brought up a 7 lb spiny lobster. We spent the day moving around various ledges and picked at the grouper all day. Towards the end of the day we got on a small ledge and for 30 minutes we had a great Red grouper bite 2 and 3 on at a time. All were very large fish 15 to 20 lb class. The largest was 22 lbs. We also had a large trumpet fish, Octopus and 4 moray eels. We headed back in around 5:30 and the wind inshore was like when we left in the morning. The final count was 2 Gags, 15 Reds, 1 Spiny Lobster, 4 morays, 1 trumpet fish, 1 octopus and various grunts, pinkys and sea bass.

Fishing Report 7-03-2008

Took a family in from Texas visiting for the holiday weekend on a live bait trip. The nice thing for a change I caught a few nice pogies for live bait. Headed out 20 miles in 2 to 3 foot seas and decide to start the day with a AJ work out. It took a little while to get them interested because the ocean was flat and a lot of bait around. Hooked a lot of fish but broke off more than we landed. The lady angler did a great job on a nice 25 lb Cobia. We also had a very large AJ eaten by a 200 lb shark next to the boat which was exciting. We dropped what was left over the side and watched the shark finish it off. The ocean went flat and the AJ fishing slowed down so we move off to some ledges and tried slow trolling. The kings were not in the mood to eat. We moved in shore around 10 miles and found a few kings but still relatively slow. Looks like the hard SW wind moved the bait schools around but things should settle down the next couple of days with light winds.

Tournament Report "Jolly-Mon" Ocean Isle

We fished the 1st tournament of the year for us on Sunday. Started the morning looking for bait and it was not pleasant. We started at 4:30 and finally settled for very small pogies around 0800. Headed out to the Shark Hole off South port. There were only a couple of boats and we immediately had action but everything was 10 lbs or less. Decide to anchor up and try chumming since the baits were a little small. We did watch a nice fish get boated (found out later it was the tournament winner 39 lbs). We had plenty of action but nothing of ant size. Late in the day we moved in off light house rocks and the long line started taking drag off slowly. I thought it was most likely a Cobia but when it started tail walking David had his 2nd Sailfish. We brought him along side the boat and released the fish. A nice 60 lb Sail in 40 feet of water. Not what we wanted for the 1st tournament of the year.

Fishing Report 6-21-2008

Took a group of guys out in town for the weekend. As usual the weather man was not helpful we had a 3 to 4 foot SW swell and wind. Headed out 10 miles and caught a couple of sharks before the down riggers started screaming off line. The angler did a great job with the fish but a shark eventually cut off the fishes tail. Then we saw a 12 foot Manta Ray that followed the boat for a while. Things slowed down so we tried to move off shore for AJs. The problem was that so did a thunder storm. We hooked but lost 2 AJs before the perfect storm was upon us and then we had to ride it out. Not much fun but made it back in safe and called it a day.
 

Fishing Report 6-19-2008
 

Had a great group in town for a family reunion from all over. The weatherman was very kind with a calm ocean so we headed out 20 miles. Started off with a good work out and we caught AJs (20 to 30 fish lost count) with live bait and poppers. Everyone had a great time and while were caught the AJs we caught 2 nice Cobia (20 and 25 lbs). After everyone had a break we started slow trolling and quickly a line started screaming 300 yards off the spool in a short period. After a short battle we out a nice 26 lb king in the box. We had multiple kings strikes during the next few hours and ended the day with plenty of fish for everyone. Headed back to the inlet at 40 mph in flat seas. A great day to be on the water and the fish cooperated most of the day.

Fishing Report 06-16-2008

Took a father and son in law out for a father's day fishing trip (1 day late). We started around 10 miles and the bait had all moved from the previous day most likely from the storms/front that came through. All the areas we caught fish at 24 hours earlier were dead. Moved out around 20 miles and started the morning work out with the AJs. To say they were hungry would be a understatement. When I shut off the engines and looked over there were 12 to 15 fish under the boat waiting to be feed. It took us a couple of fish to get the system down and keep them from breaking us off. We caught and released 15 to 20 fish before we had enough. In the process we boated the 1st 2 Cobia of the season for Live Line and they were boat nice 20 to 25 lb fish. We also hooked a couple of large Cudas for some light line acrobatics. Ended the day slow trolling and picked up a couple of Mahi and kings.

Fishing Report 6-15-2008 3/4 Day Live Bait Fishing

Took a local father a son out with a couple of friends and went in search of kings. Headed out 10 miles and it didn't take long to here the 1st reel screaming with a king. We stayed busy all day with multiple hook ups and we had a Mahi on that threw the hooks. There was bait everywhere in the area and a lot of life. Most of the fish were around 10 lbs but then the reel went off and dumped 300 yards and nice 20 lb fish. The thunder storms put a end to the day a little early but we had 10 fish in the box and lost a few more. We all put on the rain jackets and drove through 5 miles of heavy rain all the way to the dock.

 

Fishing Report Gulf Stream 6-14-2008

Took a group of local return clients to the stream on Saturday and what a flat ride out. The problem is that the ocean was too flat and the fish didn't seem to want to cooperate. We picked up few Mahi inshore of the break and then I hit all the areas that were productive last Sunday with no success. Moved to the north but got hammered by the Barracuda. Finally got a nice Bull and then we had a Wahoo strike no doubt. After 300 yards melted off the reel the line broke (bummer). Things slowed in the middle of the day to the plan was to troll out to do some jigging. I put out a large set up for Marlin just in case. After 30 minutes the long rigger clip released and when I looked back there was a 10 foot splash. I grab the rod and he missed the bait and turned around and ate it again. I set the hook and watched a 500 lb plus Blue Marlin start walking across the water. The line melted off the reel and we swung the boat around to chase her but after 8 or 10 jumps the line parted and we all were in awe. This was like bringing a gun to a knife fight with 50 lb tackle but none of us will forget the event. We also has another strike that was a Sail or White which we saw on top but could keep the hook set. Ended the day with a lot of Mahi mostly small fish but a great day. (sorry once again no time for pictures)