OUTER BANKS FISHING REPORTS - 2021

Time for this old girl to get some new lipstick and love. Guess I gotta have something else to do this winter. Before anyone adds ”you can put lipstick on a pig, but you still have a pig” I’ll go ahead and get that out of the way. I’ve got my work cut out for me, but I’ve never been the backdown kinda guy at any point in my life so here we go once again.

From the very first day I bought this old boat, I was focused 100% on budget and what we could actually afford. The very reason for that was for the customers that we fit the bill for, mostly family’s and people that didn’t need, want or could afford “sky’s the limit” type of fishing experience. The folks that fish with us for the very vast part are actually just like my wife and myself, honest/hardworking/modest type folks.

That right there has always been and will be the very thing that drives this little boat of ours. No ego, pretense, fluff here, just fishing trips like their Daddy and Grand Daddy’s did. I love the fact that we just simply “go fishing” every day we leave the dock. Just to be able to go out and share the magic of a sunrise at sea, hooking a bucket list fish, taking their family or friends out for their very first time is stuff that memories are made of. It’s really that simple to us, everything else is just a bonus.

For the folks that have fished with us over the years, or those that “follow us” I will post up our progress and headaches just like I’ve done over the past ten years fighting this hard headed boat. There is no such thing as a cheap boat and nothing is ever easy, you have my word on that! Thank you all for fishing with us and keeping us in your hearts, Lord knows we need both! Nothing fancy, just enjoying this one time trip on this Earth and sharing our sickness we call fishing with as many as we can. God Bless, we’ll be checking in with y’all!

Well folks, it looks that “that’s a wrap” for our 2021 fishing season! Left the dock at 9:00am this morning after the fog burned off to get her back close to my home and shop. I’ve got a long list of things to do this winter that will be much easier to get done here close to home. We had a good busy season and I am thankful for every person that came to fish with us. My plan is to be back fishing first week of April as in years past. I just like you, are facing immediate uncertainties with the price of fuel and general “cost of business” steadily going up at the moment. The goal in the coming 2022 charter fishing season will be the same as it has been right along, to give our folks the very best experience we can at as fair a price as possible. I’ll be posting up pictures of our progress like in the years past, please check in with us from time to time. Will be seeing y’all soon!

Wow, what an offshore charter trip with a group of Active Duty Navy friends with us today! We had John Cornell from Alaska, Cory Nelson from Florida and Liam Blevins from Georgia. These guys did an awesome job of making our trip come together the last hour and a half of our day with a pretty strong Wahoo bite. Just goes to show “never give up”! I’m really very happy that these guys are good at taking orders, because they were coming hard and fast! We had no time to waste to get these extremely great eating toothy critters in the box. I really have to hand it to these young men and our mate Jesse on making it happen pronto today. Without a doubt I know that you will find these rascals as good to eat as any fish in the sea. Thank you for giving us a chance to share this beautiful day with you.

We enjoyed a near shore charter trip with a couple from NY, but feel much better at home here on the OBX. We had Bob and Lorri Stage and bluefish/spanish mackerel were what was biting for us this morning. We had an excellent morning with these folks that may well end up being neighbors before it’s over (that’s Bob sporting his 252 area code tattoo). Really nice folks on a beautiful morning, can’t ask for much more than that. Thank you folks and hope to see y’all again!

We had an offshore charter fishing trip and some days it just simply isn’t about the fish. It’s all about the folks you have with you! We had Josh, Andrea, Mackenzie, Mackayla, Jackson and Emily Green with us all from High Point NC. It was a drop dead gorgeous day out there today, but the big fish eluded us. This family group was as enjoyable charter crew as we’ve had. There was a lot of time talking, laughing and just plain enjoying a day chillin’ in the ocean. We saw pilot whales, manta rays, etc… and one BIG shark that swam through our spread right at the back of the boat. When we got some bites the excitement was easy to see and hear, what a pleasure when that happens. We really did enjoy y’all’s company today, please do come see us again!

We had a near shore morning trip with a family group from Charlottesville Va. We had Barry, Larry, Paul, Jackson and Kaila Wood with us this morning. Took a fairly long ride looking for some pretty water and didn’t find a drop of it. We picked up and steamed a few times this morning just looking for some willing fish and we found a few. Thank you folks for spending the morning with us, hope to see y’all again.

Our offshore charter today found us having to make do with what we had to work with, but we stayed busy! We had a family group of four with us today. We had Cliff and Sybil Hyatt from Nashville TN and Ray and Sandy Childers from Winston Salem NC. We had a busy day with the small blackfin tuna, a sailfish on our second bite of the morning, a wahoo and a few albacores that provided some pulling. Not an epic day by any means, but there will be some good eating and our crew hoisted a sailfish flag for their efforts. It was a beautiful day out there and that is always a bonus.

Great near shore charter trip with a very nice family group from Lenoir NC. We had Tim and Elechia McDonald, John, Donna, Rylee and Dylan McDonald on deck today. Started out slow for us trying to find a few king mackerel, but we did happen to secure a very nice catch of some beautiful Fall spanish mackerel and a few albacore. Really nice weather, cool breeze, calm ocean and plenty of bites couldn’t really ask for more. Thank you folks for spending your day with us and we hope you continue to enjoy the Outer Banks while you’re here!

We had an interesting offshore charter with a Newlywed Couple. We had Russ and Shelby Branch, from Rock Hill SC with us today. I believe they said they’d been married four days! Nice folks that have already been through a lot together and you could tell they were just enjoying the day. It was a slow day for us, we started out with a couple blackfin tuna bites right after putting the lines in, then some small “Popeyes” was it for a long while. We finally had a yellowfin tuna bite and the sharks knew all about it! Pretty much a head and a couple inches back is what we got, dang big sharks we saw today up close! We had several billfish bites that didn’t come tight and a wahoo that zipped in and cut the leader. Today our “folks” made the day for us! Thank you for coming out with us today. We wish you both many years of happiness together

We enjoyed a 3/4 day inshore charter trip with a family group from Virginia, had Paul, James & Mick Cutting with us. It was a slow bite for us in some still very dirty water along the beach caused by big surf from hurricane Larry a few day’s ago. We did end up catching some nice sized spanish and a few bluefish pretty much right in the suds. We did have a very nice weather morning trip. I was seeing fish loping along the beach for miles as we fished, a very good sign for this Fall season. We hope you guys enjoy the rest of your stay on the OBX.

We ran offshore, with some folks from Raleigh NC today. We had Tyler and Katie Wiedmaier, Ben Jeffery, Stuart Fitzsimmons and Skyler Bateman. We had a drop dead gorgeous day out there which started out with a flurry of sailfish coming in the spread. But they were little guys and we actually didn’t hook any although they made it exciting. We got a double yellowfin tuna bite. We got one that the sharks took some bites out of and the sharks got the total other one. We got a solid sailfish bite and released it. We then had a double bite from a tuna and a billfish, we got the tuna. Also caught a couple skipjacks. These were some nice folks in a very nice day offshore. Hope you enjoy the fresh tuna and we hope to see y’all again.

Today we had a half day near shore charter trip scheduled with a family group from Up State NY. We had Gary, Carson & Ashton Scofield, Ayden Quinn, Chad Carr and Adam Finger with us. We were supposed to fish outside on the beach, but the swell being pushed ashore by Hurricane Larry made for an easy decision to stay in the Sound's calm waters. We did ride out to look at the Oregon Inlet Bar just so they could see what makes this Inlet famous for its danger. We didn’t get out into the surf but it is surely an impressive place when it kicks up. The fishing was good with a lot of bites. We had maybe a one-in-ten keeper size spanish mackerel bite, with most being just a 1/2 to 1/4 inch short but we did get a lot of bites and action. Thank you guys for fishing with us this morning. Enjoy the rest of your time here on the OBX.

Great offshore charter trip with a couple of Gents from the mountains of Virginia. We had Gordon LaPradd and his friend Dan Reed, both from Roanoke, VA. We left the dock early and our first bite was a five banger and these guys got all of them in! To say there was a little grunting and straining would be an understatement, but they got it done! We went for several hours of looking and did get a double, with one of the “tunas” turning into a rather healthy shark (We did get the final tuna in the boat). Gordon was telling us about all the sharks he had caught over the years fishing, this one tuckered him slap out. Guy’s we really enjoyed y’all’s company today, please do come again!

Quite a memorable offshore charter trip with Duane Clever from PA, Tony and Jay Fontichiaro from MD and Dave Bezick from PA with us today. It was a day of “firsts” for us. We started out with a double sailfish bite and caught both. That was Mr. Dave’s first sailfish, Mr. Duane caught the other one. We then got a double yellowfin tuna bite and Master Jay (9 year old young man) caught his first yellowfin tuna. We ended up getting another single sailfish bite that we caught giving Mr. Duane two sailfish for the day. It was quite a bit tougher than what the weatherman called for out there and our crew said let’s go. When we came in the Harbor our mate Chris rigged up the three sailfish flags as is the tradition, but we had a “special” flag on top. I had a man named Carl Griffith who caught his very first sailfish with us a few years back, something he was really tickled about too. Carl passed away this past year and his wife sent the signed flag along with a thank you note earlier this Spring. Well we flew Mr. Carl’s flag in his honor today! You never know what a day will hold in the memory making business we are in, today was just another reminder of why we keep going. Thank you fellas for spending the day with us, enjoy those fresh tuna loins!

We had two near shore half day trips. First trip we had a family group from Lynchburg VA with us including Corey and Tiffany Rowan, Dale, Floyd and Shane Johns and Cayden Snowman. Fishing was steady but started to slow up later in the trip, but we did have a bonus “white dotter” shark. The second trip we had a friends group from DC. We had Joseph Alexander, Hayes Elkins, John Cole, Sharron Wooden and Kate Miranda. The bite slowed down quite a bit from our earlier trip but we did scrap out some fish for dinner. Nice folks that were with us. Thank you for fishing with us today.

A great offshore fishing charter with some folks from Richmond VA and New York City. We had Travis Long, Fred and Geoff Whitten with us today. We caught a handful of yellowfin tuna and blackfin tuna, but boy we had a time with the sharks today. I really lost count of the fish and gear we lost. Good thing they’re endangered I guess or we could simply walk on them. Thank you for spending the day with us today, please enjoy the fresh tuna loins.

Headed offshore with a group of friends from Indiana. We had Mike Smith, Daniel Terry, Justin Perry and Matthew Lynch. These guys are also all Veterans so we knew we were going to have a good day. It was a scrappy fishing day for us, the blue line tilefish bite we have had slowed way down, but we did end up getting a catch of great tasting tilefish. The tuna fishing was non-existent for us, after a few hours of trolling and looking for them. These gentlemen were an enjoyable group to have with us today. Thank you for coming out with us! Hope to see y’all again.

We ran an offshore charter trip with a beautiful “full moon set” seeing us out across the Bar this morning. We had a family/friend group from Tampa FL with us today. We had Scott, Nick, Marshall, Cayden & Ryan Weaver and Derek Carroll with us. We started out catching some more of these delicious blue line tilefish and then headed out to deeper water to try for some yellowfin tuna. We ended up with one chance pretty quick on the tunas. We had a “four banger” and landed all four! Dang good going by our anglers and our mate Chris today. The four fish bit and came up kind of together making for some quick rod and gaff work, that lead to a bloody mess on deck. As you can see Chris was getting rid of the evidence on the way in. Thank you folks for hanging in there and making the bites count this morning, enjoy that fresh fish. Please do come see us again!

We had a very productive offshore charter trip with April, Bryan & Chase Etnoyer, Braden & Jarod Miller and Mike Shultz from PA and NJ today. It took a bit longer to find a good bite on our blue line tilefish this morning, but they ended up being some our biggest straight run fish of the season. Some very, very good eating and many meals caught today. We ended up trolling after our bottom fishing for the rest of the trip without another fish coming aboard. These were some really nice folks we had today. We hope you enjoy the rest of your stay here on the Outer Banks. Enjoy those fresh fillets!

Today's fishing charter was a half day morning trip with a family group from PA. We had Steve, Matt and Mason Hess, Brion and Austin Worley and Jarrett Gieseler with us. No the fishing wasn’t red hot but we did have a pleasant morning. The two young men in this group spent a little time up in the flybridge with me, where conversation got into how important school and hard work are. These were a couple of really well mannered, nice fellas and a pleasure to talk with. We hope you enjoy the rest of your time here on the OBX before heading back home. Come see us again!

Our offshore was with another group from Frederick and Baltimore MD. We had Gene, Jan and Ashley Ruby, Jim and Ian McNitt and Maddi Gottschalk onboard for hot August day on the Outer Banks of NC. We had a nice catch of great eating blue line tilefish, caught one yellowfin tuna out of three tuna bites (yes the sharks ate well again), caught and released a blue marlin and a white marlin. All in all it was a pretty good day out there for us. Our mate Chris did some good work today too! We got some great eating fish and fish that leave us with great smiles and memories. You folks did a good job today, thank you and do come again.

Today we had an offshore charter trip with the Roses family from Baltimore MD. We had Sharon, Allan, Hannah, Jonny, Zach and Elliott with us. We started out with deep drop blue line tilefish and then went on the troll trying to find some willing tunas, billfish, mahi. That didn’t work out so well, but we did end up catching a few albacore and one barracuda. Our folks were plenty nice and talkative that made for a pleasant day for sure. Thank you for coming out with us today, hope to see y’all back again.

We had a productive offshore/variety trip with the Rouse Family from NC. We had Bobby, Kelli, Tanner, Dillon and Izzy with us today. Caught some really nice blue line tilefish and one yellowfin tuna, the troll bite was very slow for us today. I think this was a new experience for some of this family, but they caught on quick. Thank you for coming out with us today, hope to see y’all again!

Today's offshore charter trip was with a really nice family group from WV. We had Todd, Hannah, Ellie, Conner and Abby White. Pretty sure Miss Abby helped me find those tunas today (young lady in the pink hat and shirt). She spent quite awhile up in the fly bridge looking for whales, dolphins, birds, baitfish and talking about her home in WV. We also had Anthony Christian from TN as a family guest. What a difference a day makes out there sometimes! We actually had more tuna bites yesterday, but weren’t plagued by the sharks today. We had some pretty bites and some good pulling. We had a good time with y’all today, hope to see you again.

We had an offshore charter trip with Silvia and Samson Murphy from VA and Shane Munizza from Philadelphia, PA. We started out catching some of the best eating in the ocean, blue line tilefish. We dropped the outriggers and started out to try for some yellowfin tuna, rigging baits, etc…….. And Then It Happened, their Captain had the worst case of stomach virus hit that I’d ever had. I honestly felt bad enough that I really worried about being able to handle something going wrong out there. Long story short I was the “weak link” today and I felt terrible about it, but we headed back in. This was quite humbling for me, but I’m all checked out and back at it tomorrow. I really do appreciate these folks and their positive attitude under the circumstances and really do hope to see them back. The good fishing continues and we’ll be able to deep drop for these most delicious fish until the end of August, then the fishery is shut back down by The Fed Fisheries. Come see us when you can.

We ran offshore with a group of folks from Fredericksburg VA. We had Nathaniel and Katherine Herndon, Michael Biscula and Stephen Henderson with us on a busy Saturday morning of fishing. We stopped and caught some great eating blue line tilefish and then pushed out to find a few yellowfin tuna. It got busy pretty quick, we found a few hungry tunas and of course our daily “endangered” sharks were close by too. We got a few lucky licks in and headed for the beach. Hope you guys had a good time and we hope to see you again.

Today we ran two half day charter fishing trips with some folks from Canton NC. We had Jim and Levi Morris, Bradley and Savannah Pope, Luke, Daniel and Emily Worley, Tyler Stephenson and Jackson Burch with us for two trips. When life gives you lemons, you go ribbon fishing! We did catch one albacore. We know these are odd looking fish for most folks, but they have white/flaky/mild meat that make great fish tacos from what I am told. They also are in high demand in the commercial market and have been coined “today’s flounder” because of our strict no catch flounder regulations. We enjoyed having you folks, please do come again!

We enjoyed a special offshore fishing charter with a family crew from Fredericksburg VA today. We had Ben, Amber, Chase and Liz Harley with us for a “variety charter trip” and we had a ball! We started with deep-drop bottom fishing for some extremely great eating blue line tilefish. After we put our spread out it was really not much going on until five lines popped out of their clips, we had four rods bent over with reels screaming! We lost one tuna due to lines getting crossed, but got two nice yellowfin tuna into the boat. Our last line coming in ended up being one of these big sharks that have been plaguing us, took quite awhile to get it boat side but we got it and cut the leader. Then Miss Amber ended up catching her “I really wanna' catch a mahi” which rounded out our catch. These were some very nice folks and a pleasure to have with us. Hope you enjoy your fresher than fresh fillets! Hope to see y’all again.

We ran an offshore charter with Roy and Ryan Lupton from Courtland Va. This is Ryan’s third trip in a row catching a wahoo. Both he and his dad Roy have fished several trips with us over the last few years, doing father/son trips. We lost a few tunas to the sharks as you can see. We had a good ride out, good company and a good ride back in. Thank you for spending another day out there with us. Hope y’all enjoy the fresh fillets!

Another great offshore charter fishing trip with a father and son crew from Ofallon Illinois with us today. Duane and Triston Martin came to fish with us as a “surprise” trip from Duane for his son Triston. We started out in the shallower water hoping for a wahoo or a gaffer mahi, but that just didn’t work out. We ended up getting a call from one of our fellow Captains that they had some grass and fish a few miles further offshore. Thank you Capt Jesse on the Biopsy! We tried to fish out but our time was running out, so we picked up and jogged out. Happy we did as we caught fish immediately, but the forecasted winds started picking up and busted up the habitat we were fishing on. We did manage a decent catch for our folks today before the storms made up. We got a soaking squall just a little while after we got back to the dock, so it worked out. Thank you for coming along with us today and we hope you enjoy those fresh mahi fillets!

Great offshore charter trip with a fine group of fellas from Spotsylvania Va with us today. We had Jerry and JR Abel, Robert and Tyler Shelton, Matt Brookman and Dustin Buckley. While we didn’t load the fish box it was a very memorable day. We started out feeding the sharks and I mean very big ones at that! We finally got cleared out from them and started getting some bites that kept us on our toes. Both JR and Tyler ended up catching their first yellowfin tunas today. I believe Jerry was just about whipped after fighting with one of the very largest sharks we’ve had hooked this year.

We had a blue Marlin come in on our port teaser and our mate Chris had him hooked up on a “fed back” short rigger bait and away it went! That reel was squalling and so was our angler in the chair! We did get it pretty close behind the boat when it shoved it’s head up above the surface thrashing it’s bill and throwing the hook. We did not get it close enough to touch the leader, so we couldn’t count it as a caught fish. But I’m pretty sure the man in the chair won’t soon forget the speed and strength of that fish anytime soon. Our last bite ended up being a wahoo that was so very close to getting gaffed, but shook the hook free right out of gaff reach.

One thing that happened today was what a “fellow fisherman” did for our two young men JR and Tyler. Turns out they are “Wicked Tuna” fans and wouldn’t you know Capt Greg “Frenzy” Mayer was fishing right around with us. I made a radio call to him and told him he had some serious fans of his in the boat today. Next thing ya know he had a couple of Fishing Frenzy tee shirts and a sun visor inside of a plastic trash bag clipped onto a float and they tossed it out for us to pick up and give these young fellas. They came up and gave “Captain Frenzy” a proper thank you over the vhf radio for the gifts, how cool is that? Thank you folks for coming and being the great crew you were today with us. Hope to see y’all back again!

We had an offshore charter with a great crew of young men from Maryland. We had Dan Mathews, James (Pinky) McVicker, Phil Linz, Mike Boris and Kyle Hopkins on a drop dead gorgeous day for offshore fishing. These guys came to have fun and hopefully catch some tuna and it looks like both were accomplished. We really had a great time with these guys today, lots of laughs and some very fresh tuna loins! Thank you for spending the day with us. We really enjoyed your company!

Our offshore charter trip was a “windshield or the bug” kind of day for us. We had John, Kim and Tanner Edmonds from DC with us today. Our fishing was very slow on this flat calm July day. We did catch a gaffer, along with a few more assorted species. On the way in our starboard raw water pump decided it was time to quit working, so the last 18 miles to the Inlet was on one engine. We got in just fine, but these boats have a way of showing us just who is the boss sometimes and I guess it was our turn it happens. Thank you folks for fishing with us. Day’s like today keep us humble!

We had an offshore charter trip with Casey and Zack Mitchell, Maddie Faulkenberg and Ray Ross from NC and IN. The tile fishing was slow for us this morning, heavy overcast skies and some strong current. We did catch a few before we turned further east and started trolling. No bites for awhile then we had a double, landing one. Then another couple bites that the sharks got, but we had a tuna bite right beside the boat and were able to get it in. Then we had a “five banger” that the sharks let us get 2 1/2 yellowfin tuna from, bless their hearts! We had a last minute wahoo bite that bite through the leader at the back of the boat. Our folks went home with some very fresh tilefish and yellowfin tuna fillets, so it was a good day. Thank you for coming out with us today, hope you enjoy that fresh fish.

You know, it’s a shame when normal working class folks that save their money all year just to come fishing and even the tilefish aren’t safe from the sharks. Way out of hand how the poor “endangered shark population” has overtaken the entire East Coast. Want science? We can show you science. We’ve gone from one to two shark encounters a year to literally as many as you can afford daily regardless of what species your charter customers are paying for. Way past time to thin the herd!

We had an offshore/variety charter trip with a group of fellows from Central PA. We had Brian Wetzel, Jason and Dylan Seedor, Casey Lenker, Kyle and Ricky Sims with us for some fun on a beautiful ocean today. We found some pretty blue line tilefish (extremely tasty too!) deep dropping and some hard pulling amberjacks to boot. We had a billfish come in the spread, but we didn’t get hooked up. We had a good day with you guys, hope to see y’all again!

Tis’ the season! We have started shifting to more deep drop fishing for blue line tilefish, as we do just about every year once summer sets in about now. These are some of the very best eating fish around here and the tackle we use is just for this type fishing. Light/strong/fast tip rods with higher speed reels, have proven to be our “go to” outfit for these deep water dwellers. We Do Not use electric reels, you catch and earn these fish just like another on here. The plan generally is to steam out and trying get a good catch of these rascals (obviously if weather permits), then put our trolling spread out to try for some tuna, mahi and other hot water fish. Just as any other day we want to give our folks a good time and put as much good eating fish in the box as possible while enjoying the ocean around us. We’re not fancy, just functional! Want to try something different? This has proven to be an enjoyable fishery and has earned many repeat customers for us. Most folks report that “these” are now their favorite fish to eat almost without exception. Come see us, we’d love have ya!

We had an awesome offshore charter trip with a family/friend group from all over. From what I gathered these folks fish quite a bit and we were happy to have them with us today. We had John, Matt and Kevin Campbell, Bob Blackwell, Pat and Michele Smith with us. They hailed from Florida, Virginia, New Jersey and New York. The plan was for some deep drop blue line tilefish and then getting on the troll. The tiles were a very healthy class of fish, caught a couple mahi and skipjacks. But where we found the tuna and mahi was in the middle of a huge nest of sharks. The sharks pretty much cleaned out our entire spread of gear. I know some say sharks are endangered, not here. Thank you for fishing with us today, those tilefish are as good as they come.

“One monkey” can stop a show after all! It amazes me how these boats and engines run as long as they do, in the environment they work in. Had an unexpected saltwater pump issue this morning right after we left Outer Banks Marina. Good thing I keep just about “spare everything” around and a little mechanical background. Never a dull moment owning a boat!

So he had to adjust our plans and turn into an inshore charter instead but we were paid back with a very enjoyable family group. We had Michael, Jack and Laura Perrizo, Ian, Miles and Molly Harris with us. They were from all over it seemed Michigan, Georgia and South Carolina, all here to have some fun. So we had a sea mullet (whiting) smack down inside the Inlet in the smooth waters of the Sound on this windy North East day. I believe a great time was had by all, including me. Thank you all for making our day and please do enjoy those very tasty/fresh sea mullet. Come back and see us!

I’ve got a lot of catching up to do since my last post about our haul out at Bluewater Boatyard the 10th of June. We’ve had some very good day’s catching fish and we’ve had some slow days too. We’ve had family and friend groups from all over the country with us during the last nine days. Folks from Pennsylvania, Utah, Wisconsin, Michigan, Delaware, North Carolina and Virginia. We’ve very steady/very tasty blue line tile fishing deep water bottom fishing, we’ve caught some very nice yellowfin tuna, white marlin, a few mahi, along with our traditional vacation time inshore half day fishing along the beach for spanish mackerel and bluefish. We have some weather forecast for the next few days that looks like will keep us tied up at the dock. Looks like a couple days home, selfishly looking forward to a day or two off with my wife, family and furry children. See ya back soon and will get back to our more “daily” fishing reports. I would like to thank the folks that have spent part of their vacation with us! We hope y’all enjoy the OBX as much as we do.

First week of June has been one of less fish for us, but we sure had some pretty ones just the same. Truth told we came home with a “skunk in the box” on one of our trips, this past week. It’s been a few days that had slow fishing to having citation sized yellowfin tuna and blue marlin hooked up at the very same time. We’ve had folks from Kentucky, Kansas, Philly, Atlanta, Ohio, VA, WV, Colorado and Lancaster Pa with us. The ocean has always had a way to keep us all properly humble, myself certainly included! Thank you folks for spending the day with us, both the good and not as good as we all hoped for.

End of May, first of June kinda post! As y’all can see we’ve been busy the last few days and I need to get caught up on our fishing reports! The fishing business is full of “what if’s” ( what if a bigger boat, smaller boat, faster boat, etc......,) the only thing I am concerned with at the moment is making the folks on “this boat” happy with whatever type trip they have booked with us! We have had folks from Kansas, Virginia, Massachusetts, Florida and Indiana with us in the last few days. Some were seasoned fishermen, some caught their very first fish ever with us just in the last few days. Folks when I say “it’s not about us”, I mean it. It doesn’t matter if your fishing trip is in the Inland waters of the Sound or 40 miles offshore in the Gulfstream, it is all about you and your trip. This has truly been a variety week for all of us and we thank each of you for spending time on the decks of the Wild Card. Please do come back and see us again!

Today we had an eager green crew that figured “it” out and got the job done. We had a make-up crew from NC, NY and Va that we’re moving fast enough to make our Mate Chris come out of his shirt! We honestly had a good time with this “old Dog” showing a few tricks of the trade along the way. This is what fishing is truly about, it’s not about me it’s about our crew having a good time and learning something new. I hope you guys had a good time and enjoy those fresh fillets, come back and see us!

The last couple days have been inshore and in the Pamlico Sound for some meat to carry home. Spanish mackerel and sea mullet (whiting) have been the “go to” for us. We did see a couple of pair of cobia yesterday, but we didn’t have any takers. Make no mistake, fried sea mullet is some kind of good. We had folks from NJ, VA and the mountains of MD with us the last couple days. Guess I never thought about Maryland having mountains, just shows I don’t get out much now I know! Thank you folks for fishing with us.

We had a spectacular offshore charter with a young couple from Vale, NC. We had Colten Gantt and Taylor Payne for a very memorable morning in the Blue Water. We got set out and had a mahi come in on our port teaser, then took a naked ballyhoo. That was a good way to start the morning we thought, then these three nice yellowfins piled onto our baits at once. We had only two anglers so they were sure enough busy. Each got their tuna (80 and 84 pounds) in and ended up tag teaming on the 90 pounder. Three citation fish makes for a very special day. Thank you guy’s for spending the morning with us, this catch won’t be forgotten about for a very long time. Good job

We had a near shore charter with a very nice group from Kentucky this morning and they were throwing down on some spanish mackerel. We had Courtney and Peyton Wren and Shelby Sullivan for this half day morning trip. We started out slow catching, but got the word from a fellow Captain (thank you Benji on the Gal O Mine) that he’d found some fish and it worked out perfectly. Thank you for fishing with us this morning and we hope to see you folks again.

We ran offshore with a group of men from Wilmington NC. We ended up with a buffet kind of a day. Had a pretty ride out, with some king mackerel bites coming right out of the gate. We did manage a few tunas today, as what we were hoping for. It breezed up out of the North/North East as has been the usual for the last several weeks, but that was towards the end of the day so it worked out. Thank you guys for fishing with us today, hope to see you back because that bigeye tuna is still here.

Today was an inshore charter day with a couple of young fellas from San Angelo Texas with us today. We had Sam Knox and James Mayville for some tasty inshore sea mullet fishing and it paid off very well for us. These guys are long time friends and fellow college students. We hope you had a good day and enjoy those awesome eating fillets. Enjoy the rest of your stay here on the OBX and hope to see you back.

Our offshore charter trip was with a family group from Charlotte NC. We had Paul, Joey, Emily, Tommy and David Manuel with us for a "lumpy" day. The weatherman really ought to go out with us sometime! We started out up in the shallows catching some blackfin tuna and king mackerel. We pushed on off in the deep hot water and it did nothing but get tougher with no bites for us. We came back in on the bank and finished out with some more kings, skipjacks, albacore and one big mystery bite. Saw plenty of hammerhead sharks and one really big manta ray close to the boat. We didn’t catch the yellowfin tuna and mahi as we hope for, but our anglers stayed busy. Thank you folks for spending the day with us.

We had lots of fun today on an offshore charter trip with a group of young fellas from Michigan. We had Pawel Kargol, John Powell, Nick Lehman, Alex Walworth, Joe Beckham and Alex Sadovskiy. Rumor has it one of these guys is getting married soon and they were out for a good day together. It was pretty enough heading out until we hit hot water and the breeze was steady from that point on. We ended up with a good time and caught some fish for all the crew. Thank you for coming out with us today!

An awesome half day near shore morning trip with an enjoyable bunch of folks! We had Wales Jr, Allison, Laura & Wales Christian lll and Lauren Torres from VA, NJ and MI. Kind of a breezy dreary morning but the Spanish mackerel were here and willing to bite. This was our strongest catch of Spanish mackerel so far and it sure looks like they have arrived! Thank you folks for fishing with us today and sharing your pictures. It was our pleasure to have you!

We had a full day near shore charter trip with our crew from WV, Dustin Hughes, Brianna Case, Gary & Nikki Justice. We set off hoping to get on a solid cobia bite, but it simply didn’t happen for us today. We went “full send” and found some Spanish mackerel, bluefish and an albacore that bit on our big bait, but never saw a cobia. One of our home team boats caught two nice ones, good on you Hunter and crew! Thank you folks for spending the day with us.

We really enjoyed our half day near shore charter trip on the Wild Card with these two cuties, Mia & Quinn Smolenski who were nice enough to bring their Mom and Dad with them today. We didn’t have much of a catch but we did catch some fish and these five year old twin’s have had their first day on a boat. All I can say is these were some happy, happy young ladies. You could tell they had some fine parents. Thank you for coming with us today!

Another great inshore charter with a very lively bunch of loggers from MI and NC. We had Terry, Blaine and Hunter Abbe, Everette Hersey, Conrad and Nate Weaver with us on what will be a long remembered trip for sure. Well today “IT” happened, the long awaited push of fish showed up and we had just the crew for this day with us! We had our first spanish mackerel, bluefish and cobia for 2021!!!!! This was a very special day for myself, my mate Chris and these folks that came for a good time. Thank you so much for spending the day with us, it was great!

We ran an inshore charter trip with Shane, Lisa and Jim Vavrick from PA and VA respectively. We were hoping to get offshore but the weather was calling for a strong front coming through this evening and I decided it would not be good if it came early. We tried to catch some spanish mackerel and cobia as it is time and the water temperatures are getting in the range to get them moving up here. Well evidently the fish didn’t get the memo, because we struck out on both species. Before the day was over we were able to catch a couple black drum one of which was a citation size fish. We are getting close to this season kicking off at any day now. Thank you folks for fishing with us again.

We had a nice offshore charter trip with a group of friends from Staunton VA. We had Michael Gill, Steve Edwards and Kagen Shiflett with us today. These guys told me they have been trying to do an offshore fishing trip for sometime now and today it happened. We had a catch of some blackfin tuna and king mackerel. We had some hungry sharks around too! Was happy to get these fellas out. Thank you for spending your day with us.

We ran offshore with brothers Jim and John Holliday from Atlanta GA and Millersville MD. We had a yellowfin Tuna bite pretty soon after setting out then it just died out for awhile. We pushed a good ways offshore and found the most “life” (birds, flying fish, porpoise, etc) I have seen this year and it was like a zoo with all the critters around. We had a very nice blue marlin come in and hit several baits without a hook set. First one we have seen this year and it really did get us all excited, even if I admit it myself! We did end up in some fishy water that provided some bites for the rest of the day. We ended up with a 25lb blackfun tuna, that earned a NC State Citation for the wall. Good day all in all, thank you for fishing with us!

We ran an offshore charter with a crew from PA. We had Nick Bagdonis, Buddy Touchinski, Kevin Szczecina and Chad Korell with us. It was a beautiful ride out but breezy in the hot water, much more than I was expecting. We didn’t find the water that I was looking for at all. Left the fleet and ended up fishing a long ways down South and found what I thought would be great water/temp break/color change .... crickets! Ended up fishing back up to the North and finally found some willing yellowfin tuna. We really enjoyed these fellas company today and they have fresher than fresh tuna loins for their efforts. Thank you for spending the day with us!

We had a half day morning charter. When life gives you lemons, you make Catfish! Today was the first time ever for the Wild Card to go catfishin’ but here we are! We had Diana Ketterman, Tammy Hamilton and Terri Flynn from WV with us this morning. These were some honestly nice folks and WE had a good time on a beautiful morning. Thank you Lady’s for fishing with us, hope to see y’all again.

We had an offshore walk-on make-up trip wth Tom Stewart from VA, John and Spencer Dickerson from Wilmington NC, and Greg & Ryan Shorten from Cary NC on board with us today. It seemed like it was uphill both ways today, choppy seas coming and going. We had fairly steady fishing once we got into the groove with four yellowfin tuna, four blackfin tuna and a nice bonus Wahoo. I think for the way the wind has pushed our hot water off the last couple days we did OK. Thank you guys for spending the day with us.

Our first trip of 2021 was a very enjoyable day with some really nice folks from Mt Pleasant Michigan. We had Wesley, Aleisha & Wyatt Wilson and Seth Schafer. These folks did a great job today and their efforts paid off! We really had an awesome start to this season. Thank you folks for spending your day with us on the Wild Card.

Bucket List Fishing on the OBX! Well folks, it appears the Bluefin Tuna bite has turned on very well in the last couple days. If you’ve been waiting “till they’re here”, the time is now. Bailey Boy and I made a trip to check on the boat yesterday and there was a solid line of fish coming to the dock, being filmed by the “Wicked Tuna” folks. Hard core fishing at it’s best, 500 pounds of solid muscle on the other end of the of the line isn’t for the faint of heart. Weather windows are the key here and they can change quickly. Date flexibility will definitely work in your favor if available. Give us a call if you’re up for it. Capt Frank