OUTER BANKS FISHING REPORTS - 2017

We had a spectacular Thanksgiving Outer Banks offshore charter with Doug and Jonah Trueman from West Chester Pa, Noah, Benjamin and Anna Szporn from Morristown NJ and Bob McVicker from Columbus Ohio. I was told this was the first time offshore for these folks. It didn't take long for them to get into the "groove" and start putting fish in the boat. These youngsters had alot of heart and I certainly enjoyed watching them earn each fish. You know there's alot of important stuff that happens out there. Bonds and memories that will last a lifetime, if you just let it happen. It was our pleasure to have ya'll fishing with us. Hope you enjoy that nice stack of fresh yellowfin tuna!

We went offshore with Bill, Nick, Josh and Billy Huebsch from Osage Iowa and Chad Reynolds from Portsmouth Va. Fishing was slower than I was hoping for, but it was good to even get out after this gale Northeaster we just had. Thank you guy's for spending the day with us. Not sure how much fresh Mahi you get in Iowa, hope you enjoy it.

We had a special offshore charter trip with a family crew ready to do some serious wahoo fishing. Today was another "meant-to-be" day on the Wild Card. It is pretty hard to put into words how privileged we are to be apart of days like this. Each of our crew today caught citation wahoo, 78lb, 76lb and 68lb. With us today were Eric and Vincent Carini and Jim (Klink) Klinefelter, all from Suffolk Va. This was a personal trip for me, some 35+ odd years in the making. Jim and I are old "shipmates" serving together in the USCG, back in the day. A special day indeed, spent out on the Ocean that I love so much. Really happy to have had this trip come together. Looking forward to doing it again!

It's been "support your local otter day" around here this morning. They love the green indoor/outdoor carpet put down on the dock for my customers. When the summer starts winding down 5 to 6 of them start hanging around the boat. Something about rubbing on that carpet keeps em entertained. They are really very shy but some times they'll let me get kinda close for a picture or two. Seems silly to be here posting about them, but hey I'm here in Wanchese on a sunny Sunday afternoon putting down fresh otter carpet! Doesn't take much to make me happy! Good Sunday to ya'll!

Inshore charter with a very nice last minute make-up group. We had Megan and Alan Eberle from Charlottesville Va, Buddy Ford from Mechanicsville Md and Pat White from Culpeper Va, with us today. Started out slow with two stops with no bites, pushed further until we hit some warmer water and started getting some bites. The "Full Circle" and the "Poacher" were in the bite before us. There was plenty of fish and room, so we settled in with them, thank you to both. Ended up with happy folks on a beautiful day. Thanks again for spending the morning with us, hope to see ya'll again.

Great offshore charter with Chuck Lapham, Librado Vega, Zach Anderson, James Payne and Carl Decesare all from the Raleigh/Durham area. Today was a day that almost never was. This crew had several weather delays since trying to get out as a group earlier this Summer. Well it finally came together and it was a drop dead gorgeous day out there. Happy to have you guy's aboard with us today. Hope you enjoy the fresh tuna.

We went offshore with Zac Stewart from College Station TX, Mark Stewart from Mena AR and Matt Chovaz from Southern Shores NC. This was an enjoyable father/son/friend trip for us, on a beautiful ocean. Our catch was blackfin tuna and mahi, all filleted heading to the grill. Thank you fella's for spending the day with us. Hope to see you back again.

We had a fun inshore charter with Pat and Brian Smith from Mooresville NC and friends Billy and Vicki Bennett from Parker Colorado. We spent our mornings on a picture perfect beautiful ocean. The fishing was slow to get started, but we scrapped a few out just the same. These were some very enjoyable folk's, I would certainly enjoy their company anytime. Thank you for fishing with us today and enjoy the rest of your stay here on the OBX (Outer Banks).

We had an awesome half day inshore charter with Yancy and Suzanne Patterson and son Wayne Baumgarner from Blacksburg SC. This family really made our day. The fish we caught were just an added bonus. The fishing was slower than I would have liked but, these folks helped remind me that it is also about the experience. Sometimes we need to just sit back and simply enjoy what is around us. Without a doubt it was an extremely enjoyable day. Thank you for spending the morning with us. We hope to see ya'll again here on the Outer Banks.

Inshore charter fishing, sure felt good to get back out after this last blow. We had Chris Golden, Tony Hamm and Stephen Buckner from Raleigh NC with us this morning. Once we found some king mackeral the albacore pretty much moved in. While not our target species they pull pretty dang good on light tackle and make for steady action. Thank you guys for fishing with us this morning, hope to see you again.

What a great offshore charter experience with Jason Brower and Eric Fisher from Alandale Michigan. Jason fished with us last Fall and came back for another day offshore on the Wild Card. The day started out a bit stormy and breezy as predicted, but the wind fell out and we had a beautiful day before us. These guy's were ready to put some meat in the box. Jason ended up catching a really nice yellowfin tuna to cap off the day.

We ended with an engine glitch on the way in, but what a beautiful day to take your time getting back in from offshore. Awesome day with a couple excellent angling friends. Thank you for coming back with us, hope to see you again back here on the OBX. Some great eating there for sure.

We had an Outer Banks offshore make-up charter trip with Chris and Duel Hannah from Osceola Missouri and Scott Wendell with daughter Madison Champagne from Rochester Michigan. We had a great day with this make-up trip, as 3 of the 4 had not been offshore before today. Blackfin tuna and Chris's citation wahoo made for a busy charter. We sent these folks home with some great eating. Thank you for giving us a chance to get you folks out, hope to see ya'll again!

We had a fun inshore charter with yet another enjoyable family group. We had Corey, Ashley, Chase and Tyler Hobbs, also Xavier Mendez all from Winchester Va. As you can see from the pictures this was a complete success. Mr. Chase caught his biggest fish ever as a bonus! This is why we do what we do, making memories. Thank you guys for spending your morning on the Wild Card, a good time for sure

Offshore with a really enjoyable family group. You will see there are some different last names, but trust me they are family. We had Ronny and Daniel Scoggins, Richard Lewis, Matt Townsend, Zack King from NC, and Clinton Hutchins from Va. Kind of a lumpy ride out but the fishing was pretty steady. A mix of mostly blackfin tuna with one keeper yellowfin and some pretty mahi we happened to find. A really enjoyable day with some top shelf folks. Thank you for spending the day with us, you're gonna be eating good for awhile.

Our afternoon inshore charter trip was with Jason and Kaitlynn Antin, also Bill and Jack Fuchs all from Long Island NY. We were supposed to fish the morning of the 24th, but were happy to have waited until this afternoon. We found some willing bluefish and spanish mackerel in a much calmer ocean than yesterday. Thank you folks for being patient with the weather and fishing with us this afternoon. We hope you enjoy the rest of your stay here on the OBX.

Our morning Outer Banks charter inshore trip was with Miguel, Sushma, Gabriela and Vikram Roberts from Baltimore Md. We had a Northeast wind that laid out enough to let us get out and fish a bit this morning. We found some tiger bluefish that were willing and caught enough for some wanted fish tacos. We ended up heading back into the calmer waters of the Sound to just relax and enjoy the morning. Miss Gabriela proved to have "the touch" when it came to feeling a bite. We enjoyed the morning with a very nice family today. Thank you for spending the morning with us.

Offshore with Dave Meredith and James Dwornnicki from Omaha Nebraska. This was Dave's third trip with us. Last year he fished solo with us and got just about ruined with a non-stop action day. Pretty hard to "one up" a day like that, but we it an honest go. We set our lines out right at daylight, we caught a blackfin pretty quick then another with quite abit of whale activity in the area. We saw no more tuna or tuna bites after the first hour or so. We fished further offshore and then made our way into shallower water and found a float that had some mahi hanging around it. Caught a few and Dave said "he heard a big one" calling his name. We picked up and ran a good 10 miles north and set back out on a warmer water rip, but no love. We turned due East to about 47 miles from the Inlet and found a weed line with more dolphin. Started fishing our way back inshore and within a half a mile from where we caught a blue marlin the day, another big "lit up" blue marlin cruised into the spread. The fish came in behind our right middle rigger three times but wouldn't commit. I cranked in our way back center rigger bait as fast as I could crank, thinking maybe it would hit the smaller bait coming in right over it's back. Down went the bait on the strike pulling the ballyhoo completely off the hook, but never came tight! I will be the first to admit that I'm not a billfisherman. But I am 100% fisherman and that was a really nice fish and even I got excited. I would have loved Dave to have "felt the burn" that fish had in store for him, we only had a solid hook-up. We can do no more than play the hand dealt to us every day out there, we played this one hard. It was good to see you again Dave. Enjoy your fresh fillets and I hope to see you next Spring.

offshore with Michael, Dana, Devin and Dylan Newby from Bowie Md. When I recieved a call from Mr Newby he told me that his wife Ms Dana wanted to give him a fishing trip for his 50th birthday. His only request was to catch a "big" fish, no pressure right? We started the day catching some blackfin tuna's until this Blue Marlin crashed the party. Took three hard runs to keep from getting spooled and then we were settled in for process of getting it to the boat. After several short runs we had the leader and bill in hand. Took some pictures and off she swam, with the very fresh memory of what Michael had just experienced. Some days happen as if scripted from Above, I would say this was one of them. Our last bite of the day was in the deep/hot water. It came from a white marlin that hit the bridge pole, then the port flat line. We had a really good look at the fish up on the stern, then with a short hard run it threw the hook. We enjoyed your company today. I would have to say that Ms Dana is some kind of special to have started this day in motion Michael. Hope to see ya'll again soon.

Today was our "Spring Promotion Contest" winner's choice of date and trip. Ms Lara Bentley correctly answered the contest entry questions and was electronically selected from the folks that entered like she did. As her guest's she invited Brad Mismas, Blaire Ward and Alex Nevi. Lara was the first angler for the first bite, Blaire was up for the second bite, then it was the guy's up for a double hook up, with Lara catching the last and biggest fish of the day. We did have a Blue Marlin come in and take our port middle rigger bait making a pretty airborne strike, but we did not have a hook up. A we spent a very pleasant day with these young folk's. Come to find out a few of them are already avid/experienced angler's. It was really my pleasure to meet Ms Lara and fish with both she and her guest's. Hope to see ya'll again.

August 11th offshore trip with Brian Brechbill, Todd McHenry, Ben Gelsinger, Brian Singley and Eric Anderson all from Penn. A calm day for the most part, but it wasn't without some wind and rain. The bite was slow but there were plenty of fish seen, but they just weren't willing to seal the deal with us today. Happy to have you fella's aboard with us today, hope to see you back again.

Our offshore charter trip today was with Keith Tate, Cody Vogan, Rebecca Tate from Sandy Lake and Slippery Rock Pa. Also Nicole Sayers and Matt Dougherty all the way from Anchorage AK. We started off with a handful of smaller tuna and ended up finding where some bigger ones were hiding. Everything was coming together nicely until the storm front that was predicted came through early! Yes indeed, let there be a lot of stormy rain and a lot of wind with it! These folks were a really nice family/friend group that enjoyed the day out there with us. Thank you folks for fishing with us today. We hope you enjoy the rest of your time here on the OBX.

We ran an offshore charter with the father/son team of Ryan and Roy Lupton from St Louis MO and Courtland Va. We had a really nice class of yellowfin tuna, a few blackfin tuna and a couple mahi for the day. We have really been blessed with steady tuna fishing this year and we even have some bigeye tuna hanging around. There isn't much better than a good day fishing and then coming home with the freshest fish possible. Thank you guys for putting in some time with us today. We hope to see you back again.

We ran an inshore make-up trip on the Wild Card. We had James Lester from Alberque NM, Craig Hayden from Burke VA, Jason Lambert and Laura Layport from Annapolis MD. Once we got on the fish it was non-stop "fish"! The weather has been keeping the fish further away than in recent years from Oregon Inlet this year so far. But we are very happy to have this kind of great inshore fishing. Those spanish mackerel are some good eating fish with a mild taste, one that is very high on the "'local's favorite". Thank you folks for fishing with us today.

Variety trip with Troy, Thomas and Sawyer Parks from Kansas, Brent and Brandon Burns from NC and California. The plan was to head out offshore to catch some mahi, that's where Sawyer caught the biggest fish of the mahi. We didn't find the fish like I hoped so we turned to some king and spanish mackerel, with some bottom fishing that produced a few very tasty black sea bass. Once again we had a fun family group aboard with us today, that has been a very nice trend this year. Thank you for spending the day with us, hope to see ya'll back again on the OBX.

Our charter this morning was inshore with Greg, Will, Matt and Jon Beck and Hayden Corley from Illinois. What a difference a day can make here on the Outer Banks! Thanks to Capt Troy on the Marauder, (for finding this nice patch of fish) we enjoyed pretty much non-stop hook up's. Ended up with this morning's catch being spanish mackerel, king mackerel, albacore and moonfish. Thank you folks for fishing with us this morning.

Then we had an afternoon inshore charter trip with Dave, Amy, Jacob, Ruth and Abraham Naber and Howie McQuown from Pittsburg Pa. A very nice family group these folks were on a hot Carolina afternoon. We didn't catch alot of fish, but we did have a good trip just the same. We hope you enjoy the rest of your stay here on the Outer Banks.

Our morning inshore charter trip was with Shane Rycheart, Kevin Wasmer, Brent Bahr and Jarad Kerstetter from South Bend Indiana. It was a slow start for us this morning, in the very same area that was smoking hot the day before. These guy's were a pleasure to have aboard and they definitely enjoyed each other's company. Thank you for spending the morning with us.

Today we had an absolutely incredible PM inshore charter with Miles, Jackson and Hunter Bojanic and Ernie Woolf all from the Pittsburgh PA area. We found a limit of kings and a nice catch of spanish mackerel on today's trip keeping our angling crew happy and busy this afternoon. I really enjoyed Jackson's enthusiasm and quick eye on the bite. Very nice folks we had aboard today. Hope ya'll enjoy the rest of your stay here on the OBX. Thank you for spending the afternoon with us on the Wild Card.

This has been a busy week of both offshore and inshore charter fishing for us. We've had folks from West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, California and right here on the OBX. Our catch has been yellowfin tuna, blackfin tuna, red drum, king mackerel, spanish mackerel and bluefish. The fishing season is moving right along. We hope to see steady fishing for our crews the rest of the summer. Thank you for fishing with us and enjoying just a little bit of what the Outer Banks has to offer.

We had an inshore charter with this father and daughter crew from Rockville Md. Joe and Amanda Pursel spent most of the morning without a bite, with a howling, hot, SW wind that shoved the hot water off the beach overnight. We had a very quick but productive bite for us, that gave us our catch for the morning. We ended up with a few more bluefish and spanish mackerel for these folks, but bites came hard.

Our evening charter trip was with a fun group from Gloucester Point VA consisting of Rhonda, Robert and Sam Mickelborough and Katie Davis. We caught some spanish mackerel, bluefish and a king mackerel on this sweltering hot evening. Hope to be hearing about Miss Sam's upcoming Navy ROTC Leadership Sailing trip!

This was a "first timer's" trip that proved to be a blast with Dennis Sparks, Hazel Selvey, Rachel Greenfield, Kelly, Kennis and David Sparks from Toledo and Columbus OH and Richmond VA. We enjoyed a nice catch while enjoying the Outer Banks sunshine on this afternoon charter trip.

Great half day morning charter trip with Mark and Gale Bream, Katie Bream, AJ Yingst and Jordan Soliday from Gettysburg Pa. This was the Family's second trip with us this week and again we really appreciated another enjoyable Outer Banks fishing experience with them.

We had a very productive full day inshore charter with Dave, Josh, Zach, Matt and Jacob Saghy and Joe Saghy from Sheperdston WV. King mackerel, spanish mackerel, bluefish and albacore were the catch for us today. Plenty of meat for these good folks to enjoy.

Our afternoon half day charter trip was with Mark Bream, Jordan Soliday, A J Yingst, Steven and Holly Bream and Nacilee Romano from Gettysburg Pa. Thank you folks. We hope to see you again next time you visit the Outer Banks.

Today was an inshore morning charter trip with Carter, Charlie, Ben and Ashleigh Holt, Leslie Stoll and Collin. This was a really fun family group that went fishing with us. We had a blast and look forward to the next time.

Inshore fishing charter with Tom, Lucas and Dylan Kabasakalian from Huntersville. King mackerel, spanish mackerel, bluefish and albacore were the catch of the day.

We had an incredible offshore charter experience with the father and son team of Justin and Aidan Petroff from Pittsburgh PA today. I was told these fella's fished back home on Lake Erie and in Florida, so I was pretty anxious to show them how we do it here on the Outer Banks of NC. These guys did a very handy job on some really nice classed yellowfin tuna. I have full confidence that they will both sleep good tonight and be sore tomorrow! Pretty work ya'll, hope to see you both back again with us. It was our pleasure here on the Wild Card to help make some great memories with you both today.

We headed offshore with Tracey Geddis, Bart, Sidney and Jake Brutscher from Chadds Ford Pa. The Capt made the wrong call this morning and we started fishing in what looked like a desert right after sun up. We gave it a good looking over and I said "lines up" and we steamed for an hour and set back out. It took awhile but we hooked one that threw the hook. BUT THEN we had one of the prettiest tuna bites I have ever seen! One long rigger, one middle rigger and two that exploded...

Afternoon half day trip with Gary and Margaret Allen from Southern Shores NC, Liam and Taylor Stuart from Collington NC, Jake and Ava Glisson from Centerville Va. It was fast action when we got on the bluefish this afternoon, three /four/five rods at the time. This was a grandparents and grand kids day if there ever was one. Just about everyone spent some time in the flybridge with me on this trip. Thank you folks for your company, we enjoyed the afternoon with all of you.

Morning half day inshore trip with Chris Darnell and Ethan Ceurvorst from Monroe. We had a pretty batch of fat spanish mackeral, with a few bluefish thrown in for good measure this morning. We had a good time with Ethan catching his first spanish mackeral. Once again a really nice crew with us again today. Hope you get a chance to do some more fishing while you are down visiting the OBX.

We had a half day inshore charter trip with a family/friend group from out West. We had Ron, Kat and Mitchell Copy, with family friend Tyler Smith. We found the inshore ocean water to be warm and full of life. We ended up with a dandy catch of spanish mackeral and tiger bluefish. These folks did a good job of cranking them in. Thank you for spending the morning with us. We certainly hope you enjoy the rest of your time here on the Outer Banks.

We had a half day inshore afternoon trip with Bill Canter and Mike Leibrich from Cincinnati Ohio aboard with us. This family team seemed to really enjoy each others company and just a handful of fish made it that much better. We were happy to have you on this beautiful afternoon. Hope you enjoy the rest of your stay here on the OBX.

Morning half day inshore trip with Lea Allen, Leaman and Harrison Allen, Gary, Luke and Lane Allen from Beech Ridge NC. This was a family fishing trip the day after Luke's 12th birthday, Happy Birthday! This was an enjoyable day with some folks that come from a place very dear to me. Sure was good to have you guys with us on such a windy morning. We were happy to have been able to scrap out a little catch for these very well behaved young men. Hope to see you again soon.

Today's offshore charter trip on the Outer Banks was with a very lively family group from West Deptford, NJ. We had Daneen and Andrew "Puddin" Kressley and Paul Masso ready and willing to take on "any and all comers". The first few bites came fast and our mission for Andrew's first yellowfin tuna was behind us. Once the morning light took hold the bite slowed down. We did end up finding a fresh patch toward the end of the day. That little piece of water gave us another yellowfin tuna, a couple of mahi, a boat load of sharks that gave us a tasty blacktip for the grill and a "Hail Mary" sailfish, that earned Paul a catch and release Citation. This was another really enjoyable group, that I certainly hope to see again. Thank you for fishing with us today, we really enjoyed your company.

Offshore charter with Bill Moorehead and Michael Kramer from Canton Ohio. Once again there are fishing trips that are simply "meant to be", this was definitely one of them. Michael started off the day with a fat yellowfin, then it was Mr. Bill on deck for most of the day's action. He ended up cranking in a couple more yellowfins, mahi and a really nice sized white marlin earned him a catch and release North Carolina Big Fish Citation. Beautiful fish with a very memorable day spent with our folks from Ohio. Thank you guy's for spending the day with us. Hope ya'll enjoyed it as much as we did.

Offshore with Bill and Josh McCann, Syd Gordon from York Pa, David and Jacob Printz from Va. To say that it was a rainy, "snatchy" day would describe it pretty well, except the tuna were willing to bite. A really nice class of fish they were too, found a few gaffer mahi willing too! Plenty of those great big "endangered" sharks around too, pretty hard to imagine them being any thicker. We had a good day with some second to none fresh tuna loins and mahi fillets. Thank you guy's for spending a soggy day with us. We hope you enjoy the rest of your time here on the OBX.

We had an AM half day inshore with "Best Friends" Krish Desai and Andrew Viscusi. I'm not sure I can add much more than this photo already shows. Memories is what this charter business is all about and I believe this was Andrew's first day on the ocean. We had Hetal and Krish Desai, Michael Quinoses, Jenna Christensen and Andrew Viscusi all from NC with us today. Thank you for spending the morning with us today, hope to see ya'll back again.

Our AM half day charter was inshore with Chad and Kolten Dolloff, Matt Dolloff, Eric Dolloff from Ohio and Steve Hoffman from PA. Guess who showed up for our fishing trip? A lot of nice sized spanish mackerel! We had a good time watching Mr. Kolten school us on reeling in some pretty mackerel. It was a blast a foggy morning. I hope we helped plant a solid fishing seed in that young man. It was a pleasure, thank you for spending the morning with us.

We had an offshore charter trip with Keith and Kaleb Schevlin, Casey Adams, Kyle Bullard and Josh Williams as our anglers today. We steamed offshore early and found the tuna literally jumping out of the water which was a beautiful sight indeed! We caught three pretty ones quick then just like tuna do the bite was over. No worries, we ran inshore a few miles and found a current rip with some mahi that were more than willing to bite. We had a good time with this crew from Canton Ohio. Sorry that this Captain didn't know where the Pro Football Hall of Fame was guys. Hope to see ya'll again, enjoy the rest of your time here on the OBX.

We had a full day inshore charter trip with Kristina, Alex and Jeremy Scott, Tanner and Troy Hufhand and Paul Henry from Tipton Indiana. Had some premium pulling from some feisty amberjacks on spinning gear, then put out some trolling gear inshore. Once again our inshore bite was disappointing. These Northerly fronts we have had lately has really mixed our inshore water up temporarily. Just one of those things we have no control over, we have to work with what Mother Nature gives us as fishermen. Thank you for the work you guy's put into catching these fish. We hope this is just the first of many trips back here to the Outer Banks

A half day inshore morning trip with this group of guy's on what they called their "offshore preparatory" trip. The fishing could have been better for sure, but the company was very good even with the slow fishing. We had Raymond Hite, Ronny Jordan, Jerry Barnette from Kembridge Va and Mike Gorman from North Chesterfield Va, with us today. Thank you folks for spending the morning with us, hope to see you back again.

Our charter trip was with Vince, Nick, and Ethan Royalty, Sam and Ashton Schoemberg from Raleigh NC. We had a good day with another nice family group. They have chosen to come back and fish with us for the third year. I have to say that this group of fella's were gun-ho and very polite indeed. Thank you for fishing with us again, hope you enjoy some fresh grilled fillets!

Amazing offshore Outer Banks fishing charter with Carroll Howard, Eric and Luke Christensen from NH, and Greg Clark from TX. This group of friends joined us today to try and bring home a fresh supply of yellowfin tuna and mahi for the grill. Looks like someone needs to light the charcoal! It was good seeing and fishing with ya'll again. We hope the to you guy's again in the Fall.

The inshore fishing was a little slow today but it was a beautiful day for fishing. Our late afternoon charter trip found the spanish mackerel willing to bite and they were some nice fish too. We enjoyed the company of some really nice folks aboard today, thank for spending the day us.

It was a great day for an Outer Banks offshore charter with Steven and David Miller, Larry Pence and Bill Brough from Dover Delaware. The bite for us today was quick and early again. We had two single hits and one triple and that was pretty much all she wrote with the exception of a missed gaffer mahi that came in twice and a mystery fish that nearly snatched the teaser from our starboard outrigger. Beautiful ocean again today, with some fresh tuna loins too boot. Really can't argue with that. Thank you guy's for putting up with us for the day. We hope to see you back again soon.

We had a full day offshore and once again day's like today keep you humble! Went back to the area we finished up in yesterday and had a double with a dangling outrigger bite right off the bat. The tunas' were cutting the water pretty and when we got those initial three in the boat, the rest obviously just flew away! We did catch one free range gaffer mahi, but that was "all she wrote" for the rest of our day. I am pretty sure we found out what the problem was on our way back in. The Mate found a banana peel in the garbage can. Say it ain't so. Sure enough there it was ! OK, they didn't know any better this time. The old superstition goes that bananas bring bad luck on a fishing boat. So even if you don't believe in old superstitions, please leave the bananas at home! Today we had Tony Sherer, Chad and Carsen Stevers, Adam Sherer, Todd Stewart and Brandon Deck (banana smuggler) on board. We had a really nice day weather wise and did manage to catch dinner, so I guess it could have been worse. Thank you guys for sharing the day with us, hope to see you back again.

Inshore was just a fun, beautiful day spent with a family charter. The day started out catching spanish mackerel, bonita mackerel and some nice sized bluefish. We had with us Steve and Becky Barnes from OBX NC, Charles Mushett from Chesapeake Va, Drew and Jenna Lewis from Melbourne Fla. Miss Becky is showing off her tasty bonita mackerel, that made for some excitement on deck, heard by some other charter boats in shouting distance. Happy to see you folks again, looking forward to next year. Thank you for spending the day with us.

Some fishing trip's are just "meant to be" and this was one of them. The day started out with us catching some dandy yellowfin tuna right out of the gate. We started working on a scattered bite of yellowfin tuna and mahi then broke off a blue marlin and next we found some bigeye tuna willing to bite. We ended up with two bigeye tuna and we pulled the hook on another. It just so happened to be Adam Shanklin's 30th Birthday fishing trip and he ended the day with his 120 pound Citation bigeye tuna! Today was a family and buddy group from Glenburnie and Essex Maryland. They were Dave and Adam Shanklin, Steve, Nick and Ryan Oldewurtel and Dave Mills. Guys this was an absolute pleasure! Hope to see ya'll again soon. Enjoy that tuna!!!!

Offshore fishing started out pretty slow as expected after the weather we had for the past previous days. We finally saw the water and fishing start to come together in the early afternoon. We had a slow but beautiful day, that produced a "Hail Mary" bigeye on the last bite. We had a very enjoyable group of guys from New Jersey with us today; Mike, Ray and Mike Klaus, Jim Rafferty, John Klaus and Andy Yizzi. Men, we really enjoyed having ya'll aboard and look forward to our next day out together.

I've been really busy, staying up late and getting up early, so FACEBOOK FISHING REPORTS are a bit behind right now. This picture was from yesterday (5/28) with our offshore family crew from Maryland. Awesome day with an awesome family group. I will get caught up shortly with our FACEBOOK FISHING REPORTS. Charter fishing inshore and offshore is excellent right now. Thank you for following us!

Today was a pretty rainy/nasty day that kept us inshore with the Gabriel Family from Willoughby Hills Ohio. We had to make a long run down the beach to find some spanish mackerel, but we ended up with a catch of fish regardless of the weather. Miss Gail was "all in" and didn't let the liquid sunshine dampen her spirits. Thank you folks for spending the day with us. Hope that the rest of your stay here on OBX will have more sunshine than today.

We had an offshore makeup charter fishing trip. Like 99% of our makeup trips this was a lot of fun, even if the weatherman missed his mark a wee little bit! It's all good though and these folks are taking home some "fresher than fresh" tuna loins. A pretty nice class of yellowfin tuna today with quite a few more of those "endangered" sharks we keep hearing about! I know they have to eat too, but my land they are far from scarce where we fish. We had Lisa Confer, Shane Babcock both from Penn State, Dick Wilkins from Lynchburg VA, Ken and Kyle Bright man from Dayton Ohio with us today. Thank you guys for making the charter trip with us, we hope you enjoy the rest of your stay here in the OBX.

We went offshore fishing with the Hershberger Family from Apple Creek, Ohio. We had Mr. Allen, Leon, Erma, Daniel, Steven and Johnathan onboard for a beautiful day catching some fish. We had yellowfin tuna, several large sharks and a sailfish to keep us with something to do today. Enjoyed having ya'll, hope you enjoy the rest of your visit to the Outer Banks.

Makeup Charter Trips, yes we do a lot of them. We know that money is tight and gets stretched just as far as it can these days. That is why we welcome makeup charters on the Wild Card. Yes it is a lot more work for us, but we get a chance to get more people fishing. All you have to do is give us a call, let me know what kind of fishing you would like and your honest budget. From there I have a start to get "like minded/like pocket book" folks together to enjoy a day out on the Ocean.

Pretty simple formula here folks, divide the cost of the trip evenly by the people onboard. The fish filets and mate tip are also divided the same way. It's really that easy! Makeup charter trips are a very solid option to share expense and meet new folks with the interest that brings us all together, FISHING!

May 6th Inshore trip with a bunch of enjoyable North Carolina fella's, hanging out before "Wedding Day". We started to look for cobia, but the water temperature and conditions took a beating from this gale of wind we've had the last few days. We ended up heading South to a little warmer water and started catching a few bluefish and spanish makeral. These were our first of this seasons inshore fish and we were happy to see them. We had Allen Cartrette from Chad Bourn NC, Brian Williamson from Evergreen NC, Grant Hoff from Cerro Gordo NC, Omar Said from Greenville NC, Davey Simmons from Whiteville NC and "Frog" Polston also from Whiteville NC. Thank you guys for spending the day with us. We enjoyed your company.

Offshore on the Wild Card revealed some leftover swell and some sweet mahi. We had Ken Turbyfill from Asheville NC, Ronnie Wrenn from Goode Va, Blake and Allen Edmonson from Lynchgurg Va and Charlie Beard from Bedford Va, with us for our first crack at the mahi for 2017. We had a pretty torn up ocean for most of the morning, but things started to come together early in the afternoon. We covered a fair amount of surface today before we found something to settle down on. The sea laid out like the original forecast for the ride home, but we earned that ride in for most of the day fishing. Thank you guys for spending the day with us and giving us a fresh start of mahi in the box for this year. Hope to see ya'll again.

We had an awesome group of guys from Spotsylvania, VA with us today for our first offshore trip of 2017. It was a bit breezy but not too much for Mike Morris, Chad Morris, Phillip Ventro, Mike Pendleton, TJ Waller and Ed Clarkin. The tuna were liking he breezy weather and our anglers are headed home with some fresh tuna fillets for their efforts. Thank you for spending the day with us. Now get the grills hot!

We enjoyed a last minute half day charter trip this Easter Sunday afternoon with a really nice group of anglers from Charlotte NC. Tommy Daniel, Wesley Daniel and Daumnic Som found some good pulling with a couple light tackle albacore. We saw several whales and a load of bottlenose dolphins today as an added bonus. Really good to have you aboard today. Enjoy the rest of your time here on the OBX. Hope to see ya'll back again.

Some days are just "good"! Our first trip this season was with a really enjoyable family from Interlaken NJ. We had Paul, Joan, Matt, Sean and Julia Hallman with us for half day bottom fishing for some dogfish. Not very glamorous but we had a beautiful day on hand and they just wanted to go fishing! Turned out to be the perfect group and trip to start out 2017 season. Sometimes I find myself wondering where "our" future generation will come? I can tell you that this Capt was really impressed with the three youngsters this Mom and Dad brought with them today. What a really solid impression they left. Thank you folks for the great company. Hope to see ya'll again your next time back to the OBX, cause once really isn't enough!

I honestly don't know a better feeling than having a boat under my feet underway. It's a sickness that most true waterman simply can't explain, but are driven against all odds (and we'll meaning advice against it) to just live it anyway. I'm afraid I have had that sickness since the first day my Grandfather Vin, took me out "deep sea" fishing at the age of 12. It was that day that pretty much changed the course of my life. I cannot tell you how many times when I am out there, that I softly mutter "Thank You, Grampa Vin". It is my pleasure to try and give our folks the chance to have the same kind of "life moment" experience, out there. There simply so many sights, smells and experiences that are impossible to see on the Beach. Yes I freely admit that it's a sickness. But so far I still can't get enough after 46 years since my first solid taste of salt water. We are back in the water and should be back in Wanchese in the next week or two, all shined up and ready to roll! Thank you for following us, God Bless, Capt Frank.

Finally this old tiger has her new stripes! One more item is complete on the long list of things "to do", that started when I bought this boat 6 years ago this May. Holy Cow at the work I have done on this old Classic. Ok baby, it's gonna be your turn make all of that work shine. We are scheduled to go back in the water this Friday, a couple more days of little stuff then back to our slip at OBX Marina in Wanchese. I am so ready to get this season started. I thank the Good Lord, that He has given me the skills to improve and keep a rig like this up. Then after all of that comes the fishing, God only knows how much I love the fishing!!!! Thank you for following us and we hope to see you all soon! God Bless, Capt. Frank

"It's almost time to go fishing Dad"! Even my BFF Shadow know's what time of year it is again. There's been a pile of work done on the Wild Card this past winter. Interior painting done, engine maintenance, hull/shaft/prop work done, compound and waxing done, all rods and reels serviced, bottom is painted and we are just about ready to go back into the water at the boatyard. All the work done was with this coming season and years to come in mind. We are right on schedule to be back at OBX Marina in Wanchese the first week of April. Good Lord willing we are looking forward to a solid start for this coming season. If you are looking for a family friendly (you serious types are welcome too!) Charter boat to fish on, give us a shout. You can always expect a clean/well maintained boat and fishing gear, good "old fashioned" manners and a Captain/Mate that are focused on giving you the best experience possible. God Bless and hope to see ya soon! Capt

Phase Two winter 2016/2017 project's on the Wild Card, began this morning with a haul out and blocking up in the boat yard. The past month or two past with quite abit of interior work, now starts the exterior grunt and strain. This coming May will make six years owning and working on this rig. After owning several boats since 1982, it looks like I would have learned my lesson long ago. Some habits (ok, addictions) die hard, but I swear this is the last one! There is just something about the water/fishing and boats that just won't turn me loose yet. Looking to be on schedule so far for this coming season, I sure do pray it's a busy one. Thanks for following our page and work. Hope to be putting up some fresh pictures of big smiles and big fish very soon. God Bless and tight lines, Capt Frank

I guess it's official, I'm starting to move back in! The interior is painted and shiny. Mounted my favorite picture back up on the berth bulkhead. That picture is very special to many that make their living on the sea. Most of us that have done it for awhile have been there, felt it and know that it's real. I remember seeing it as a kid, then I lived through it my whole adult working life out there. A little bit of engine maintenance and hopefully new carpet. Alot of work, but it's taking shape!

The epitome of a "one sided love affair" right here! There has been alot of work going on around here on the Wild Card. Copious amounts of sanding and painting, trying to get ready for this upcoming season. Looking so much forward to getting this pretty work done and putting some nice catches in the fish box! I'm still hard at it, trying to make her good as I think she is. Lots of elbow grease and love being given to her this winter. Now if she'll just give me a little love in return. But she's still a boat, so I know the drill after all these years! Thank you folks for keeping up with us on here, we'll be ready very soon and on schedule. Good Lord willing, can't help but think He had a strong hand in all of this. Extremely Blessed to show folks what I love so much, watching that sun break the Eastern horizon on the way out. Still gives me goosebumps, seriously! We are getting calls, looks and bookings daily. Very excited for this coming year. God Bless all, Capt Frank.

Happy 2017 to all of our Wild Card Charters customers and friends! Just like sunrise of a new fishing day, we find ourselves at the start of a New Year here on the Outer Banks. Looking forward to another enjoyable year, with some great fishing and eager folks. Thank you for following us! God Bless, Capt. Frank