New PB!!! - 52#

I took a mini-vacation from work and came down to fish.  I met up with JWFish (Jerry) and his daughter, who are from Ohio, at Hooters where we enjoyed a good meal and shared some fishing stories.  The trip got off to a terrible start with tough bait, high winds, and no big fish.  I also lost my gill net.  I set it on a flat, and drifted downriver as I setup my poles. When I came back to get it, it was gone. I trolled some rods behind my boat trying to snag it for about an hour, but no luck.  Jerry spent extra time each morning getting fresh bait for me, and bait was tough all week.  I hope I can repay the favor some day.

With high winds nearly every day, it took away alot of spots I normally fish. It was a continuous game of hide-and-seek with the wind. Tuesday was so windy, I didn't fish at all and went shopping instead at BPS, Greentops, and Boaters World.

Got back on the river Wednesday armed with a dozen fresh cutters and it was ON! I started off in a new hole with a 21, then a 26, then one of my rods slowly bent over and the fish was running sideways.  I had to weave my pole over and under the other poles and got him to the side of the boat. After a great fight consisting of some drag peeling runs and alot of hooting and hollering on my part, I boated a new PB bluecat of 52 lbs!  It was great to finally break 50 pounds and it's something I've been wanting to do for a long time:

I hit a few more spots throughout the day, and managed two more 40 lber’s: 

It turned out to be a great final day, and turned the trip from a good one into a great one.

Final tally for the trip: 52,40,40,30,30,26,22,21,20,14,13,8,5,3,3

Can I get a HO?

Went out aboard Mike Avery's "Seaduction" with a crew of HO's, looking to score a little offshore action.  We mixed up the deep dropping and trolling throughout the day.  Our deep drops produced some nice sized blueline tilefish and black sea bass, and trolling produced decent sized dolphin.  We found a nice weedline from which we bailed dolphin left and right.  Bailer dolphin are like the bluegills of the ocean.  They are a blast to catch and when you find them, you can catch alot!  Good crew and good action!  A great way to use a vacation day from work!

You can see we had plenty of meat to go around!  The tilefish were wonderful, and I'll eat one over a dolphin any day:

This is the weedline we trolled and later bailed dolphin from.  They act as structure in open expanses of water and are known to hold alot of fish.  The weedline was alot longer than could fit in the picture:

OBX Offshore - We are using hooks, right?

Went offshore out of Oregon Inlet aboard the Fin Galley.  We started out fast, catching our limit of dolphin rather quickly.  They are a fun fish to catch and put up a better fight than any freshwater fish of comparable size.  I saw a huge Bull Dolphin shadow underneath a weed line we were trolling but by the time I spotted it, it was out of range for me to try to cast to and entice.  I would love to catch one someday.

After catching our limit of dolphin, we began to troll topwater for tuna and billfish.  I drew #4 out of 5, so I wasn't too optimistic about my chances of hooking up with something.  It was an unlucky day to say the least.  The first three got to fight tuna, all of which got off, some after rather long fights.  A good two more hours of trolling went by after my turn came up, and I was in and out of sleep, when all of a sudden I heard alot of commotion and the captain yelling "BILLFISH!".  I was up in the blink of an eye and in the fighting chair.  You could see the bill coming out of the water attacking a bait on top.  Not sure exactly what was done, but the mate casted another rod out, and that's what the fish took.  When I got the rod, there was nothing I could do but watch the fish peel line from the huge Penn reel like it was nothing.  Then, a pretty amazing sight, the fish breached twice and it became clear I had a sailfish on!  But, today was not our day.  After the second breach, the fish got off.  We trolled a little while longer, and finally returned to Oregon Inlet to conclude the day.  One of guys on the boat took some nice pictures of the sailfish in the air, but I never got them through email as promised.

OBX Offshore - Tuna! Wahoo!

Headed offshore again aboard the Capt BC during our weekly OBX vacation in September.  We drew #'s and I got #1.  Not 15 minutes into our troll, a rod goes down and I'm in the fighting chair doing battle with a fish.  I had no idea what it could be, but it was a strong fish and was pulling drag at will.  After cranking and burning my forearms for 10 minutes, a nice 20# Wahoo came onboard.  The next guy boated a 40# class tuna.  Kim's dad boated a 65# tuna.  And the next guy fought and fought and fought and fought a fish for about 30 minutes, and his perseverance was rewarded with a 130# bigeye tuna!  (Oh to draw #4 that day!).  I came prepared with seasick meds and avoided a repeat of the previous year.  Kim's dad wasn't so lucky, and had to be given a bucket. lol.  The pics at the end of the day wipe away any ill effects quickly.

OBX Offshore - Dolphin, with a side of vomit!

This was my first time aboard an offshore charter, and I was eagerly anticipating the trip!  Before we left, the captain asked the crew if we wanted to troll first and then go for dolphin, or go for dolphin and then troll.  We decided on option #2, a decision we would later come to regret.  We made the 2+ hour run offshore, and about 1 hour in, I started feeling a little bit odd.  Surely I couldn't be seasick, I'm tough as nails right?  WRONG.  The feeling hit me pretty hard, and I was making a mad dash to the rest room, an area I would become all too familiar with that day.

We began to troll for dolphin, and began catching bailers left and right.  We had a nice rotation where if you had a fish, you would slide under the person next to you so the mate could remove the fish and rebait you, then you moved back to the outside of the rotation.  It worked well, and we stayed busy.  It was my first dolphin action of any kind, and I loved it!  We caught our limit quickly, and I remember catching 19. (So we may have gone over by a few.  It's hard to keep accurate count when the action is fast and furious!).  I would excuse myself every few fish to go throw-up, then come back and partake in the catching.

After getting our limit, we began to troll.  I laid down in the cabin and woke up when we were almost back to Oregon Inlet.  Not a bite on the troll!  As soon as I stepped foot on terra firma, I was feeling 100% and no longer wished for God to kill me to end my misery!  We unloaded our catch and watched the other boats unload theirs.  The boats that had trolled in the morning caught a bunch of tuna with scattered wahoo, and still caught their limit of dolphin in the afternoon.  Those that began their troll later in the day found a non-existant bite.  That's how it goes sometimes.  It was a great trip and my first taste of offshore action.