Had charters Friday and Saturday and a cancellation Sunday. Friday we had a group that have never been fishing. With no experience in the crew it made for an interesting charter. We ended up with a few dolphin then they wanted to bottom fish. Caught a very nice amber jack jigging at AR 302 and some nice sea bass at 14. We had a bill fish enter the spread but not able to get a hook up. On Saturday we had just the opposite type of crew. all good fisherman. Man was it rough. I had Herb Houdini as the mate and he did an excellent job. We ended up the date with 10 or so nice gaffers and the guys had a lot of fun. The funniest incident of the day occurred when a bill fish attacked our teaser. Houdini had just put in a mouth full of M&M's when the fish surfaced on the teaser. Herb was on the other side of the boat. He got excited and spit M&M's all over the boat and just about broke his neck getting to the reel. We did not get a hook up but watching him was... [Read More]
What a gorgeous weekend!! Had charters Friday, Sunday, and Monday. Did not fish Saturday so that I could spend at least one day with family. Caught plenty of dolphin each day. On Friday landed a 20+ wahoo and released a 60+ sail fish at the boat. We got bit off by some wahoo each day. Monday I had some of our finest, pilots from New River. They were just back from Iraq and it was very special to have them on board. While at the Rock we had a low flying jet pass over tip his wings and shoot us some flares. What a special Memorial Day trip. That is what it is all about ladies and gentleman. Busy June coming up.
I have had 3 offshore and 1 near shore since my last post. On May 12th I had a nice crew from Rocky Mount. For a change it was a beautiful day on the water. The fishing appeared slow for everyone on this day. We ended up with 5 nice gaffers. On Wednesday the 16th I had a near shore with some guys from Ohio. Started fishing at Big 10 and fished out to 240 Rock and AR 305. We limited out on small to average kings. On Saturday May 19th I had a guy his wife and two small boys. I really enjoy helping and watching small children catch fish. We had a great day and it sounded like everyone was having a good day with the dolphin. We ended up with 12 gaffers, 1 king, 1 wahoo, and 1 20 lb yellowfin. We fought a huge yellowfin for about 45 minutes before losing it. On Sunday May 20th I had a great crew of guys from Raleigh and Elizabeth City. They were excellent in the pit and did a fantastic job. It ended up being very rough but very productive. We caught 17 gaffers and 1 60 lb. yellowfin. The... [Read More]
I had offshore charters Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday and an inshore on Sunday. Started offshore Saturday in very rough seas. Tried to talk folks in to not going but they wanted to give it a try. by the time we got to the Knuckle one was very sick. We ended up turning around and coming home. On Sunday the inshore was with a very nice family. We caught a bunch of sharks, small trout, blues and sea mullet. Did catch enough of a decent side for them to take some home. The kids had a ball with the sharks. Monday was gorgeous for a change. I had only two customers, Vinny and Debra. Debra had given Vinny a trip for his birthday. Now that is a nice wife! We had a great day catching 10 nice dolphin. Tuesday was suppose to be similar to Monday but that was not the case. The wind blew 20+ knots and the seas were 6-8 feet. Turned out to be a very slow day as we ended up with 1 wahoo and 1 dolphin. Suppose to have trips this weekend and the first of the week but it appears it is... [Read More]
This has been one terrible April for weather and fishing. Over the last couple of weeks we have caught a few tuna, a very nice wahoo, and many kings. Today we fished the NE Corner and finally got a good bite from 11:30am till 2pm. During that time we caught 3 nice yellowfin-30+, a small yellowfin, a small wahoo, and 2 dolphin. We lost a very nice bull dolphin at the boat and lost a couple more tuna. I will tell you this we earned them because the seas were 6-8 and the wind never did lay down even though the weather man said it would. Hope all you guys do well in the wahoo tournment this weekend. The weather does not look the greatest. Be careful and safe.
Fished the NE Corner of Big Rock on Tuesday. It sounded loke the fishing was slow for everyone. I think all this cold weather has hurt the fishing. There was no real temp break and there was hardly any current. We had several knock downs but no hook ups until our center rigger went off. The fish hit the green machine behind a bird. The fish peeled off a bunch of line on a 80 and it felt like a big fish. While fighting the fish another fish, probably a big wahoo hit the bird and cut off the bird which was rigged with 400 lb mono. We did end up the day with a 51 lb wahoo and citation for Zach. Jeff and Zach are doing a rigging school with me today and said they learned a lot about setting up a spread and fishing offshore. Suppose to have charters Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and the way the weather is looking I may not get any of them in. I was afraid the pretty March we had would result in a terrible April and so far it has been true.
Our crew was some of America's finest from Cherry Point. What a beautiful day on the water. March has really had some pretty days just hope the weather holds out for April. I don't know if the wahoo are spawning or what but the water was full of them saturday. We ended up with only 3 small hoos but I can't tell you how much takcle I lost from bite offs some even with wire. As usual we lost what I considered the bigger hoos. Finally found a few tuna and ended up with two. We had a four hook up but ended up with only one because of some slack lines. All in all a great day on the water. You know when you are fishing sometimes you win and sometimes the fish wins. On this day the fish won more. As well, good talking to everyone.
Fished Friday and Saturday and both days were beautiful. Fished the Swansboro area Friday and the fishing was slow. We had an early bite and caught 2 small tuna and wahoo but then that was it. Saturday was better for us but it sounded like a slow day again. Put the lines in on the 500 line and had a small wahoo in the boat by 8am. We trolled down to 485 line and started back up the beach with no luck. At 11am on the 519 we had 5 lines start screaming and were able to boat 4 nice yellowfin tuna. A little later we got wrapped up with big chopper blues. They really made a mess of our tackle but we did manage to get two to the boat to release them back. Started to work our way back home when the planer rod went off and we boated a 46# wahoo. We had it weighed and got Brandon a citation. Sure thought the fishing would be better for everyone but that is fishing.
I worked with Hunter and Brandon today, 3-17 on rigging and preparing ballyhoo. Hunter will graduate from ECU in May and will be getting his uncle's 25' Grady White CC. They wanted to learn how to fix their own rigs and prepare ballyhoo for offshore fishing. They were excellent students and caught on really quick. I will also be assisting them on their purchase of rods and reels. They are really excited about getting on the water and trying out their newly learned skills. We were planning on getting out tomorrow, 3-18 but the weather is not going to cooperate. We will set up a time for them to go soon.
When fishing for Yellowfin I use mostly sea witches-blue/crystal and pink/crystal on a 20 foot wind on leader of 80# flurocarbon. My leader is connected to the main line with a 150# Spro swivel.
Here are the remaining materials:
The hook is a sharpened Mustad 7/0 Tuna hook. The 1/4-1/2 ounce egg sinker is located under the hook. The pin wire is 10/0 and is used to assist in rigging the ballyhoo and for protection from Wahoos. The pin wire is above the hook.
Here is the finished product:
Hope this helps. If you have any questions, let me know... [Read More]
Do you want to learn how to prepare and rig ballyhoo for offshore fishing? Do you want to learn how to make-up your own rigs? Are you just getting started with offshore fishing or do you want to learn some new techniques? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you may be interested in taking my Rigging School.
The sessions will be 4 hours in length and you can take as many sessions as you feel necessary. The cost of a session is $250 and you can include 1 friend. That means for $125 each, you and your friend can learn how to prepare and rig ballyhoo and make-up your own rigs. I will provide the ballyhoo and materials needed to teach you how to prepare and rig ballyhoo. You will need to provide the materials needed to make-up your own rigs. We should be able to cover the basics in one session and go beyond basics in a second session if you would like.... [Read More]
Thanks Randy for the opportunity to be on the NC Angler site. The spring has arrived and the Tuna and Wahoo fishing are heating up. I enjoy sharing my knowlwdge of fishing with folks and look forward to sharing information with everyone. I am retired high school principal living the dream of taking people fishing. I really enjoy meeting my customers and watching the excitement in their faces when the reels go off and a nice fish is put in the box. Thanks again and let's get this blog cranked up!
06-03-2007 09:08 AM
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