Fishing on the Outer Banks over the past few weeks has been on the good to great side. In the sound , the Trout fishing has been hot in certain spots on certain tides. Spot and Croaker have been fair, but not any big fish over a pound yet. The Flounder have been on the small side, but a few nice ones over 20" have gone in the cooler. Around the bridge, Sheepshead, Triggerfish, and Black Drum are still being caught, mostly at slack tide. Outside the inlet, Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel are still the hottest bite going on. Most of the Cobia have move north, but a few are still hanging around. Offshore, it’s either in the meat or no meat. The billfish bite has been very good. Now all we need is for the wind to stop blowing 20mph every afternoon. Thanks to all who have fished with me over the past few weeks. Sorry for taking so long to post photos.
The fishing along the Outer Banks has been for the most part , “ Outstanding “. In the sound, trout, drum, flounder, and spot have been going strong. Around the inlet bridge, sheep head, triggerfish, and Striped Bass have been biting good as long as your fishing on the right tide. Outside the inlet along the beaches, Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel have been thick at times with the occasional Cobia caught while trolling. Offshore, the tuna and dolphin has been hit or miss. Some Big Eye’s over 200lbs have been boated over the past few weeks. Bottom fishing for Sea Bass and tilefish has been hot over a few of the wrecks and some of the deepwater rocks. Call or email us for a fun fishing adventure. I do have a few dates open or can recommend other captains if I’m full.
Well, what can I say but I’ve been slack and the fishing has been terrible.
Everyday that I’ve tried to go fishing, either the wind is howling or it’s raining, or it’s doing both. Last Sunday, Capt. Mark, Rock On Charters, and I went looking for some trout or drum, but found neither. He fished his hot spots and mine to no avail. It was very depressing, but that’s fishing sometimes. There has been some trout and drum caught of the Little bridge, but that seems to be the only place. There has been a mixed bag of fish being pulled from the surf, but nothing hot & heavy. The big offshore boats have had some fair catches on the days they can get out. A few tuna, dolphin, wahoo, mackerel, and even a billfish was been boated. With warmer weather on the way, fishing will get better. If you are planning on an inshore or offshore trip, start thinking about a date soon, because there are going fast.
February fishing had a lot to be desired, but I tried to make the best of it. The last few trips out of NC were one fish trips for over 8 hours of trying. On my last trip, I burned over 80 gallons of fuel and covered somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 miles, so at his point something had to change. I made a few phone calls to some buddies fishing out of Virginia Beach and was told it was happening up there, so I called my last few Striper charters and told them the situation. It was decided that we would fish Va. Beach. The first two days, I had Rock and his buddies from Pennsylvania. The first day started out slow, but got pretty hot for about an hour, but it was all catch and release since we were out past the 3 mile line. They did have one nice Striper that they caught inside and had a local restaurant cook it for dinner. The next day was very slow with one fish, ALL day. A beautiful day to fish, but they had lock jaw for us. The following day, I was out with Randy Taatjes... [Read More]
(Eric Naig from Pure Fishing catching Stripers on the OBX trollling & jigging. If your not using the Berkley Gulp products, your missing an advantage over regular plastic lures.)
The Striped Bass fishing has been great this week. Tues-Thur., I had the good luck to take Steve Hoffman from In-Fisherman, has cameraman Dave Penning, & Eric Naig from Pure Fishing out for some stripers. Tueday started slow, but Wed. & Thur. were crazy.
We caught them trolling, jigging, casting, you name it. We used several types of the Berkley Gulp products that made a believer. Most fish were in the low to high 30lbs.
- Capt. Ray
Rusty & Mel had a few hard weather days of fishing, but pulled a few nice ones out the last day. They said the weather here was warm compared to -10 degrees at home.
This was the largest Striper in the ASA tournament in Dec. on the OBX- 42.43lbs.
Dave Penning, the camera man for In-Fisherman magazine took some time off to catch some Stri
The fish finally showed up last week with catches of Stripers from 20 to 35 lbs. and a few Bluefish from 15-20. Our biggest surprise was on New Years day when Evan Verner of Charoltte, NC, grabbed my new Penn Torque 100 loaded with 40lb test Ugly braid when it started screaming. After a 75 minute fight, we hauled in a 74 lb. Bluefin tuna. The day before, they also had 135 lbs in Rockfish. It's only going to get better. I have a few dates open if you want to catch some fish.
Sorry for the delay in posting a fishing report, but I've been fishing several tournaments lately in Virginia. The Striper fishing around Oregon Inlet has been getting better each day, but still is not what it should be. Live eels around the bridge pilings and out on the shoals seem to be the only way to catch one. No one has gone looking for any out in the ocean. At $3.00 or more a gallon for fuel, you don't want to waste any, but I guess I'll take a chance this weekend and go on the hunt. Our biggest so far this year on the boat is 36lbs. but there has been one caught that was 47lbs. and one caught last week in the Chesapeake Bay was 67. The King Mackerel bite down off of Hatteras has been hot. We had them snapping everthing we put in the water and end up we the biggest going over 45lbs. and pulling line off like it was going to the races. The Yellow Tuna bite offshore has been good from what I've been hearing from some of the captains. There has also been some Bluefin and Wah... [Read More]
Sept.& Oct. fishing has been pretty good. There's tons of fish around, but being there at the right time to catch the bite is the quest. AJ's, Albacore, Spanish Mackerel, King Mackerel, have all been biting, but at different times. The Tilefish bite has also been good, when they are chewing. The Rockfish bite has been on the slow side. Sound water is still warm with not much tide. If the cold weather doesn't show up soon, it will be another long boat ride winter. My yearly Ohio crew went Sunday with a great catch of Tilefish & King Mackerel.
Sorry about the past due fishing reports, but when you've been in the heat all day and finally get a chance to sit in the A/C, the last thing you want to do is type a fishing report.
The fishing has been great all around. In the inlet, Bluefish, & Spanish Mackerel have been the ticket, just somedays better than others. Around the bridge, Sheepshead and Red Drum have been showing up in good numbers with a few of the large drum being tossed back for not fitting in the size limit. The general bottom fish, Spot, Croakers, Flounder, and Sea Mullet have been taken, but not in great numbers. Out on some of the wrecks, the Amberjack fishing is been outstanding. AJ's from 15-50 lbs. are snapping away. We also boated some Triggers and Spadefish. While trolling around, we boated some Kings and some nice gaffer Dolphin. Last week while trolling for Dolphin, we hooked a bonus Marlin ,which put up a great fight with several jumps. It just goes to show you that you never know what you m... [Read More]
The usual inshore fishing is happening on the Outer Banks. Bluefish 1-3lb, Spanish Mackerel, Flounder, Trout, and Sheepshead around the bridge. On some of the wrecks and bad bottom, Sea Bass, Triggers, Amberjack, Kings, and a few stray Dolphin. The AJ's have been pretty thick lately, but I'm sure that will fall off soon with the heavy pressure their taking. Here's Mel holding one of many she caught while outfishing the guys. Come on down and go fishing
The fish are here....
Just call me Capt. Slack. I know its been awhile on the fishing report, but its hard to find the time. There just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to do it all, but here goes. In the sound, its been a mixed bag. When the waters clear , the flounder fishing has been great, but not many big fish. The croaker and spot really haven’t shown up good yet, but I feel like it’s any day. Puppy drum and trout are good on day , then its slim picking for a few days. The rockfish have been the same way. You catch them good on either live bait or bucktails, then they stop biting for a day or two. Most of the rockfish we have caught have been over the 28" limit. The most popular fish in and around the inlet has been bluefish. They have been running from 1-4lbs. most days. Outside the inlet, the biggest fish would be the Cobia. Some days you’ll see 1or 2 and the next its 15. You just never know until you go looking. The Spanish Mackerel also have shown up s... [Read More]
I've been busy lately with a few honey-do's, since the Striper season ended. I'm ready to get into the spring season soon and have made a few trips with friends. The sound Stripers are biting fair to good depending on the weather. A few Bluefish and Croakers are showing up at the inlet. Last Sunday, I took John Bryant, AKA Blackcloud, to the gulfstream for some tuna, since they had such great days friday & saturday. Anytime I take Blackcloud, something weird is going to happen. We went to Hatteras since the fishing had been better down there, but of course the water had cooled off, so the fishing was not to good. We did manage to catch one Dolphin and one nice tuna, but thats only after I had to get a jump to get the boat started and buy a battery just in case. I've never had any problems starting before, but the batteries were almost dead. I almost didn't leave the dock. I wasn't sure if this was an omen or not. Off we went, but thank god nothing else happened bad that day,... [Read More]
The Stripers are still biting, the only problem is the long boat ride to get them. Friday, the bite was hot, Saturday slow, Sunday its was too ruff, and today it only lasted for about a hour. I was out with Tom Gillam of Southern Shores casting bucktails. We could have caught more trolling, but decided on the action of casting. Fish were rolling on the surface and hitting everything in sight. These were a nice 30lb class fish. The weather is not looking good the rest of the week. I do have some open dates for Stripers. Give me a call.
Thanks, Ray
With the weather forecast calling for rain, my charter decided to reschedule there trip for a dry day. Around eleven, the sky cleared and the wind fell out, so I told my seven year old to dress warm and we were off. Once we got outside the inlet, the ocean was flat clam. We only had a few hours to fish, so I put the hammer down and we were flying along at 55mph headed toward Corolla. Once we arrived in the area, you could see where the fish were, by the thousands of Gannets diving in the water. I drop two lines in the water and no sooner than I set the drag, both of them starting singing. After 45 minutes of that, my son was wore out and took a breather. I couldn’t keep up with two lines, so both of them came in and I went to jigging. I couldn’t believe it, but I caught bigger fish this way using smaller lures. I’d have to argue with the person that said, bigger bait, bigger fish. I was using 3oz bucktails and catching 35lb plus fish. My son got back into the action when the old... [Read More]
Sorry for being slack with the fishing reports, but after fishing three tournaments back to back, plus making 50 mile runs everyday to catch fish, I’m worn out. I haven’t fished the past several days due to the weather, but the fishing has been great if you enjoy a long boat ride. Most of the stripers have been hanging around the Virginia / NC border. The big fish are staying in that area until the water gets colder up north and makes them move south. We have boated numerous citation fish, but nothing above the 50lb mark. The first place boat during the last tournament had three fish that weighed 147lbs., which one fish was over fifty. There are still a few trout being caught in the surf and some tuna being taken offshore. Here is Jim & buddies with a limit Stripers with one going over 36lbs & most of the fish were caught during the last hour of fishing.
The fishing so far this week stinks. We have to run 25-45 miles one way to find fish because the water is so warm. Come on cold weather. It was 70 today. I guess I have to start bottom fishing.
BTW, Check out our 2005 Fin-Nagle boat for sale in the classified section. We just dropped the price on her for quick sale. First person with a check takes it away.
Well I didn’t plan many trips around New Years because the fishing hasn’t been the best, plus I had a few tournaments to fish. Our last ASA for the year was held down here on the Outer Banks. You would think we would have the home court advantage, but the fish haven’t been here in large numbers. So, we decided to make a 120 mile run up into the Chesapeake Bay. There were reports of 40lb plus fish being caught. We left Oregon Inlet at 4am to make it by our start time of 7am. It’s kind of nerve racking running 40mph in the dark, but we made it with no problems. We setup drift fishing with eels and after several hours we only had a 18lb fish to show for it. We were going to work back towards Carolina and fish along the way. After running to the mouth of the bay, we spotted the fleet. I’ve never seen so many boats in my life fishing at one time. There had to be over 500 boats packed in a small area at the mouth of the bay. Out went our gear, dodging other boats as we trolled along. Z... [Read More]
Just a quick note to wish everyone Happy Holidays and we did catch some Stripers yesterday, the biggest 28lb. I did see a 40lber at the scales. It was caught off the catwalk at OI of all places.
I fished yesterday around the inlet and pulled out a catch. The fish were mid-20lb fish, but not the fatty's we should have this time of year. Maybe after the blow this weekend it will happen. I'm sure keeping my fingers crossed. I do have some open dates in January for Striper fishing. Drop me an email for dates. Happy Holidays to everyone. Ray
My nephew Wooodie Spruill & I fished an ASA- American Striper Association tournament out of Norfolk,Va. and caught the second largest fish,45.65lbs. The 1st place was 46.25lbs. It was so close. Maybe next time.
Just when the Striper fishing was going to take off, it goes flat. We had several banner days of fishing on the shoals and then the Stripers almost disappeared. There are a few around, but it’s been hit and miss catching at best. Last weekend, I fished an ASA Striper tournament out of Virginia Beach and the Stripers were thick. Our biggest was 45.65lbs and was the second largest.
We finished 3rd overall with a 2 fish total of 70.15 lbs being beat out of 2nd by 1/10 of a pound. I’m hoping these fish will be showing up on the Outer Banks within a week. Sunday Woodie Spruill and I caught over 100 Stripers and Bluefish. We got tired of catching fish, if you believe that. These were all 30lb plus fish and catching most of them two at a time.
The offshore tuna fishing has still been unbelievable. Most boats have been limiting out everyday they can get out. We’ll keep looking and wishing for the big Stripers inshore.
The Stripers finally made a good showing this week with most boats catching there limit on the shoals casting eels. This type of fishing is not for everyone. Its like white water rafting and fishing at the same time. You have large swells hitting a shallow bar which make for some breaking waves that can flip a 25ft boat with no problem. Every year, several boats get flipped trying to get the big ones that are in the middle of the shoal. If you don't like swimming in 50 degree water, stay away and start looking for the fish out in the open water. They should be schooling up and feed on bait. Find the bait balls and the fish will be close by. I do have some open dates if you want to catch a big Stripers. Check us out at www.fishingouterbanks.com
07-09-2008 11:42 PM
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