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Fishing Reports for Local Area - Location |
    
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 67
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 07, 2009 - 12:49 pm: | |
Had a 1/2 day trip today with Jean Church and Chris Wright of Midway, NC alongside his dad, Gene Wright from Quinwood, WV. We left the dock in search of any fish that would bite! First stop was on the Blues and quickly the crew landed about a dozen or so and then as soon as the tide went "slack" they quit biting.
Next up was a search for some Grey Trout. They marked up on the AR 425 and AR 420 but all that would bite were a few small Black Bass here and there. Capt. Butch navigated the Yeah Right II to another spot known for Greys and sure enough after a little searching and lure testing the combination was put together and the Greys started coming aboard.
With a mess of Grey Trout and a few Spanish Mackerel mixed in accompanied by a nice catch of Blues we decided to head in before the front that is forecasted to move through this evening got here. Another great day of fishing with a great crew! |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 66
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 12, 2009 - 2:51 pm: | |
9/11/2009
Capt. Butch and myself started the day out with skepticism due to the persitent NE-E winds and the transitions in the weather and temperatures with the coming of fall!
We were joined today by Stephanie Woods, Stacy DeShields, and their brother, Blake Cogdill; alongside Jeremy Teague, Seth DeShields, and T.L. Owens in search of the "Captains' Choice" as long as it was big fish that pulled hard and something to eat.
After much searching the south beach on Bald Head for some pogeys, the Mullet Minnows were abundant, we finally made our way almost to the shoals and in deeper water where we located the Pogeys and after one solid cast the livewell was full and the Yeah Right II was underway to the offshore grounds in search of big fish.
Thankfully our crew did not want any one particular type of fish and was able to leave it up to Capt. Butch because the reports indicated that the Spanish and King Mackerel were not biting AT ALL this morning. After anchoring up and beginning to chum the water for Amberjacks, soon the crew found themselves hooked into the "ReefDonkeys" and trying to hold on to the rods for dear life as the line was ripped off them! They successfully boated 9 Amberjacks in the 25-40 pound range, we released 3 and the only bite on the lighline was a Remora.
Soon after we opted to try to catch some bottomfish. After trying for a couple hours and pulling out some Black Bass, a Pinky and a Triggerfish, Capt. Butch decided that it would be best to move back inside and try to find some Spanish Mackerel that would bite.
On the way to the beach Capt. spotted the schools of Spanish all over the top in the bait about 8 miles offshore of Bald Head Island, and the bite was fast and furious as long as we could stay in the schools of Spanish!
It was a great day on the water with a group of really great new-found friends!
FISH ON!!!
Capt's. Butch and Chris Foster |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 65
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 16, 2009 - 3:53 pm: | |
Had two half day trips today and we decided to stay on the Oak Island beaches. After hearing that the Spanish were not wanting to show their faces on the beach, Capt. Butch decided to venture to new waters a little bit further offshore and soon we discovered the Spanish (and some nice ones) were there! Pink and Gold #00 Clarkspoons behind #1 planers seemed to be the colors of choice today and the cloud cover and rain seemed to help the bite as well. This morning we were joined by Capt. Jim Noel and his two sons, Jeremy and Jason of Madison, Conn. along with Neil Condon and his son, Seamus from Centerville, VA and John Collins of Davidson, NC. We were soon in search of a nice Shark after we had secured about 15-20 Spanish Mackerel in about 30 minutes. Not long after setting the lines we had a double hookup with a Lemon Shark of about 50 lbs and a small 25lb Blacktip Shark. Then Capt. Jim, Neil, and John found themselves hooked into a BIG 100+pound Stingray!~! This was a great crew and we enjoyed having them aboard.
On the second half of the day Capt. Butch and I were joined by Gary Carpenter and his son Kyle of State Road, NC along with Brandon Seal from Dobson, NC in search again for some Spanish Mackerel and a big Shark. We headed back out to the Spanish grounds and shortly had about 2 dozen in the box --a few nearing 3 pounds or better. We then decided to go find a big Shark. I deployed the baits and soon after the crew was hooked up on a 50-60 lb. Lemon Shark and several other hits and landings of smaller sharks. We hooked another 100lb Stingray and landed it. About 20 minutes later the day ended with the hooking and leadering of one last 100lb Stingray! The crew had a great time and I know we really enjoyed having Gary, Kyle, and Brandon's company on board today.
Capt. Butch and I were blessed with 2 great crews and an ocean with fish that were willing to feed today! Everyday on the water is a great day! Come on let's go fishing!
FISH ON!
Capt. Butch and Capt. Chris Foster
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Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 64
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 30, 2009 - 6:25 pm: | |
5-28-09
Today started out as a regular day of fishing in the Gulfstream, but, that's where it all ended, just after it started.
The first thing started when I was at the mouth of the river and I remembered I had left the camera in the truck. OK, I'll just take the pictures when we get in, right, well Yeah Right, you'll see what I mean as this unfolds.
We were fishing today with brothers, Bill Argenbright from Harleyville,SC Sherman Argenbright from Roanoke, VA, and Will Argenbright from Sneeds Ferry,NC.
We had a very nice calm ride to the Blackjack hole where we deployed the lines and almost immediately we had a "Green Machine" destroyed by what looked to be a big Wahoo. I mean literally destroyed, cut up by sharp teeth and broke in half.
I'll sacrifice a "Green Machine" anytime for a hit like that was. Only problem, we can only speculate what it was, it pulled the hooks before we could see it!!!
Shortly after that, the starboard outrigger clip snapped and the fight was hard into a 35 pound bull dolphin. After that we hooked up a smaller cow and a barracuda.
Little did we know we were about to spend the rest of our fishing time mostly on one fish. (remember the forgotten camera)
It was sight you see on "National Geographic" or "Fishing Costa Rica" . We put the lines back out and the water on the far rigger bait turned white, and the reel was nearly emptied of topshot line and braid in a matter of seconds!!!
I started backing down hard to regain the line when on the horizon a gigantic Blue Marlin jumped and someone yelled, I think that thing's on the other end of this line!!!!!
Now, I can't say this was a 1000 pound Blue Marlin, but I will say everyone agreed that it was somewhere between 900 to 1100 lbs. This was a huge fish. Her eye at boat side was as big as a coffee cup saucer!!!
Turns out, who ever yelled out that it was on the other end of the line was right!! For the next 21/2 to 3 hours it was man against beast and on Penn IGFA 50 lb. class rods and Penn International 50 STW, it was the fight of a lifetime.
(I know some guys that are glad we weren't fishing the Bald Head Island Rodeo!!!!)
All three brothers "harnessed up" and took their respective turn with the fish as one by one the big Blue Marlin wore them down. A Blue Marlin fight on stand up tackle is awesome!!!
The decision was made that since Sherman was the rod man when the fish hit, that he would be the one to try to bring the fish to "leader".
Capt Chris leadered the giant Marlin and set her free. Not all was a complete loss, we did get some shots from a cell phone camera, not very good ones, (the nature of phone cameras) but better than I got with the camera back in the truck at the marina.
After the Marlin was released I presented Sherman with the windon leader, (that I make myself, what a test for durability) and the Pink and White Ailean Lure (that I also had custom worked) to make a better "smoke trail") as a souvenier for the catch to go with the citation he will be receiving!!!
I did get the pics of the mahi and things when we got back to the marina. I'll have all the pic's on here hopefully by tonight.
All I can say is if there was ever a fishing trip of a lifetime, this has to rate at the top of the list. Congratulations to Sherman, Bill, and Will for a fishing trip I know I will never forget, and never want to forget!!!!!
Till next time remember, You have "old captains" and you have "bold captains", but there are not any "old bold captains", Blessings to all!!!!
Fish On!!!!!
Capts Butch & Chris Foster
www.yeahrightcharters.com
 |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 63
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - 8:22 pm: | |
5-18-09
What can I say but yes, I have been a little slack lately with the reports. But, I can't take all the blame, the weather (winds) has had a hand in it as well, a lot of cancellations going on this year due to rough conditions. I won't go if I don't feel it's 100% safe and I hope you can respect that.
However, we did get to go offshore on a bottom fishing trip on the 16th with Andy Edger, Bill Edger, Drew Edger, Kirk Rankin, Bart Rankin, and Brian Hall from Saint Marys, Maryland.
We caught a lot of fish, however, the new size limits that were imposed last year made a pile of them undersized. Plus, If Drew Edger would have had time to instruct the rest of the guys on how to catch fish we would have had a lot more.
Drew was the youngest one in the crowd, and obviously the best fisherman. It was his first time offshore and he showed everyone how it was done with catching Mahi-Mahi, king Mackeral, and most of the keeper bottom fish.
The Black Bass that were big enough were very respectable and were some of the biggest we have caught all year. We also had some nice Grey Snappers, Triggerfish, Silver Snappers, and the "lite line" produced some nice Mahi-Mahi and a King Mackeral.
It's been tough getting out this year with the windy weather, but when you can go, the fish are there. You may have to do like we did today and keep moving to find feeding fish. We marked a lot of fish today. but only a "handful" of spots had fish on them that were actually feeding.
I knew it was going to be tough today by the radio talk, everyone was having trouble finding fish that were feeding, so I "threw in the towel" and headed to my Gulfstream numbers, that's what saved the day for us. Sometimes you gotta' do what you gotta' do, and that's what we did today.
My promise to you is this, "If there are fish out there to be caught, we will do what we have to do to try and find them" and again, we found them!!!
Thanks Guys for fishing with us, it took several tries but we finally got a break in the weather. Hopefully, it will be calm again next month when we do it again!!! God Bless All!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt's. Butch & Chris Foster
www.yeahrightcharters.com
 |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 62
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 26, 2009 - 1:01 pm: | |
Today we headed to the 100/400 and the Blackjack. With us today was Neal Johnson and Lee Essick from Wilmington,NC, Frank Hendrickson from Southport,NC, Jon Wolfe and Matt Cranford from Raleigh,NC.
This trip was an adventure to say the least and upon arriving at the 100/400 we found the cooler water had pushed into the area so we headed more to the Blackjack where we found warmer water.
Today, it was more being in the right place at the right time. By this I mean the bite was erratic.
We did get two Blackfin Tunas for our efforts and before we headed in we stopped on a bottom rock and picked up some nice bottom fish to finish out the day.
The new engines in the "Yeah Right II" are purring like a kitten, load up the crew and come on down and let's go fishin'!!
Till next time, Blessings!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt's Butch & Chris Foster
 |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 61
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 14, 2009 - 5:53 pm: | |
We headed offshore in what was a little different conditions that were experienced on land today. I don't know exactly why, but it was a little more "sporty" than expected or predicted.
It was a tough way to start the new charter season off, but it "whipped" me into shape real fast. I was challenged with finding biting fish in not only rough seas but also in cold water.
The warmest water I found yesterday was 53 degrees and I was well past the Tower on the SW side.
Capt Chris and I were fishing with Troy Hamm, Victor "Papa Vic", Kerwin Steele, Randall Knapp, Mark Flemings from Fayetteville,NC and Bryan Gedeaux from Maryland.
Not only was the conditions less that preferable, (rough seas and cold weater) I was also faced with a "screaming current".
I guess going fishing offshore more years than you want to admit has its advantages, we caught some limits of the biggest Black Bass of the year, Grey Snappers about as big as they get, Huge Pinkies(silver snapper), two "door mat" flounders, sharks out the ying yang, and as for the grouper, today they all won the fight.
There were some big grouper hooked up. Some got back to the rocks and some others came unhooked about half way up.
The ones that got back to the rocks, there is no way to tell how big they were. But, the ones that came un-hooked about half way to the surface had the 50 lb. class rods bent almost doubled over.
Just a short note as to how the new Chris Craft did in the seas yesterday.
I was riding in yesterday evening thinking about the way she was handling the 3 to 5 foot cross sea. Everyone was comfortable and dry, and with that, I realized that all the money and work I put into her the last 5 months will soon be forgotten and we will be fishing this year, as Ed Griffin put it, "In a new caddy"
Yes, I had a tough and extremely expensive year last year. But by the grace and favor of God we are back bigger and better than before, still at the old rates, and ready to go fishing with you.
I and my wife Barbara along with Capt Chris will keep all of you in our prayers that God will lighten these tough times we are in right now and place His favor on you all!!!!
Hopefully you can go fishing soon, till next time remember, God Loves You and wants you to prosper, just give Him a chance to show you!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt's. Butch & Chris Foster
www.yeahrightcharters.com |
Johnny Horner (Fishintopsail)
New member
Username: Fishintopsail
Post Number: 6
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 - 12:12 pm: | |
Hello from Surf City! Fish On! Thats what we are hearing on all the piers on Topsail Island. Kings, spanish, and big chopper blues are being caught everywhere! So many spanish were caught at Surf City Pier today that anglers were giving them away! The pier house almost sold out of gotcha plugs. Flounder, Spots, Black Drum, Jack Crevalles, Pompano, some Mullets and Pinfish are also biting everywhere. Seaview Fishing Pier anglers caught three cobia right in the surf! Gas up the fishing buggy, buy that train or buss ticket, stick up your thumb on I-40 East and catch a ride to the beach! Just get here! The bite is on! Go to Surf City Pier website and check out the pictures!
Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny and Donna
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Johnny Horner (Fishintopsail)
New member
Username: Fishintopsail
Post Number: 5
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 9:27 pm: | |
Hello from Surf City! Donna and I walked out to the beach today. We saw a huge blue caught on a carolina rig and cut bait. I think it was at least five pounds, maybe six. I have been hearing about the large "chopper" blues for weeks now. Mostly from the island's three piers. This one put up a good fight. I hope to get out there soon. I am recuperating from oral surgery, so I can't be out in the wind until my mouth heals. Surf City Pier is reporting lots of blues and some spanish on gotcha plugs. Check out their website for pictures. Sea View Pier reports some really big Hatteras chopper blues caught by the king anglers at the end of the pier, along with some nice spanish on gotchas. Likewise for Jolly Roger Pier in Topsail Beach. All piers are catching blues during the day, and black drum and mullets at night. Fishing is picking up. Come on down and gettum!
Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny and Donna
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Johnny Horner (Fishintopsail)
New member
Username: Fishintopsail
Post Number: 4
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 08, 2008 - 9:36 pm: | |
Hello from Surf City! Spanish! Blues! Sea Mullet! Take your pick. All these were biting today at Surf City Ocean Pier. Spanish and blues on gotcha plugs, Blues on gotchas and bottom rigs, and Sea mullets on shrimp. I also had a report of a couple of those spotted pinfish being caught on the pier. Shhhh! You know what I am talking about. I heard that Yogi, (I am sure all of you know Yogi!) caught a nice spotted pinfish this week, but I can't tell you where he caught it. Yogi says if he tells me where, he'll have to kill me. Don't want that! But I will tell you where I catch most of my spotted pinfish......... IN THE MOUTH!!!!
Sorry.
Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny and Donna
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Johnny Horner (Fishintopsail)
New member
Username: Fishintopsail
Post Number: 3
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 26, 2008 - 10:59 pm: | |
Hello from Surf City on Beautiful Topsail Island! Seaview Pier at North Topsail Beach reports blues, mullet, small flounder, a few trout, and of course, plenty of sharks. Off the end of the pier, anglers were hauling in some big Hatteras blues! I also hear huge blues are biting from the surf near the New River Inlet. Surf City pier reports sea mullets, blues, pompano, and even a few small spot! Vinita says it's no spot run, so don't get too excited. Down south, at Topsail Beach's Jolly Roger Pier, it's more of the same. Some blues, pompano, and sea mullets at night.
Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny and Donna
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Johnny Horner (Fishintopsail)
New member
Username: Fishintopsail
Post Number: 2
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 20, 2008 - 5:55 pm: | |
Hello from Surf City! I have a fishing report from my nephew Dan that some 16 inch blues were caught from Jolly Roger Pier today along with lots of smaller snappers. He also saw one pompano. Got a report from Surf City Pier that lots of small blues were caught today along with a few small gray trout, and plenty of mullets at night. Surf fishing is still slow, with most of the action near the inlets. Blog Inlet pier website shows plenty of sea mullets, blues, pompano over a pound, and large black drum. A couple were over five pounds. Inside Topsail the speckled trout are still providing a lot of action to boaters in the creeks. A few schools of reds have been reported but they are not biting well. Offshore bite is still good offshore of Topsail, up to the OB, with catches of gray trout, bonito, big grey snappers, silver snapper, vermillion snappers, triggerfish, black sea bass, and plenty of groupers.
Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny and Donna
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Johnny Horner (Fishintopsail)
New member
Username: Fishintopsail
Post Number: 1
Registered: 4-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - 5:34 pm: | |
Fishing Report: Topsail Island anglers have been catching sea mullets for several weeks now. The bite is mostly at night, with a few during the day. The piers are producing better than the surf. Sand fleas seem to be the bait of choice, but they are still hard to find. Cut fresh shrimp is also doing well. I have news that an surf angler fishing with cut shrimp in the surf, landed a keeper speckled trout today. A few small "snapper" blues have also been landed from the local piers. Anglers fishing the inside, [creeks and flats off the intracoastal waterway] have been catching keeper specks all winter, some really nice ones up to 5 lbs. But with the warmer surf temps and the recent rains, the speckled trout and the red drum are starting to move out of the creeks and towards the inlets. The water temps in the area average about 64 degrees. With a few days of full sun and some southwest wind, the water temp should rise and with the warmer water, expect to see lots more blues, flounder, sea mullets, speckled trout, black drum, and red drum.
Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny
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Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 60
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - 7:01 pm: | |
4-14-08
Let's try this again!!! I typed it in once today and just as I went to publish it to the website the internet lost connection and I lost it all, so here we go again!!!
Yes, believe it or not the winds did let up enough to get offshore today although I was a bit paranoid to the point where we cancelled first thing but an hour later the seas were getting better so we gave it a shot.
As the day progressed we were rewarded with a beautiful day offshore with hungry fish and great fellowship from Jeff Russell, Tom Gardner,Charles Matthews, Melvin Wilcox, Mark Bishop, and Kris Churchill from Oxford,NC.
Once we made it to our first stop we got the "Yeah Right" in position on the structure and the "games began".
The bottom bite was hot with Black bass, Grey Snapper, Silver Snapper, Vermillion Snapper, Triggerfish, and sharks.
There were some big fish hooked up today, the first big shark was hooked up by Mark Bishop and for a while there we all thought that the shark was going to win this fight, but Mark finally landed the knock out punch and was rewarded with a nice Black Tip for a photo shoot!!
Everyone got their limit of one Atlantic Sharpnose Shark for the grill and all the rest (that we got in the boat) were photographed and then released alive to fight again another day!!!
Tom Gardner had something happen to him twice today that hardly ever happens, especially twice in the same day.
He hooked up on two big fish and both times the hook broke. Usually it's the line that breaks or the fish justs gets off, not the hook breaks!!
The king mackeral bite that had been happening in the Tower area must have slacked off. We never trolled for any Kings but the lite line never produced a king all day.
But what it did produce was sharks!!! I don't ever recall seeing as many atlantic sharpnose sharks, Blacktips, and Bull sharks as we had around the boat all day. It reminded me of the way the Spiney dogfish sharks are in the early spring.
I mean it was nothing to have a whole heard circling the boat, 50, 60, possibly 100+ sharks in a school, it was awesome.
Had a big schol of AJ's to come under the boat as well, but none were interested in eating our baits, and that's sorta unusual, but that's fishing!!
But nothing seemed to bother the bottom fish though!! I bet I know a few guys that hit the "Ben Gay" hard last night!!!
It was great to fish with these guys, and it was great to finally get some calmer winds so we could go fishing!!
Sometimes I ask myself why I do what I do, and today I was reminded why I do it. As I have said before, Fisherpeople are the greatest people in the world, and spending a day fishing with people like these guys is surely my "Heaven on earth"!!! Till next time, FISH ON and GOD BLESS!!!! Capt Butch.
www.yeahrightcharters.com |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 59
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 22, 2007 - 9:32 am: | |
Capt Chris and I loaded up the International 50 TW's with hopes of bringing a Bluefin Tuna to the dock today. Didn't happen!!!
I only heard of two Bluefin's caught today and both were too short of the 73" limit to sell requirement. We started at the Raritan and worked our way to the Horseshoe. From there we went to the shoals and worked the edge to the knuckle buoy. From there we went to the East side, here we found a large school of trout, could not determine if they were grey or silver trout. If they were grey they were not legal size!! We talked about catching a few for dinner, but not being sure which they were, we didn't!!
This should have been a great place for the Tunas to be feeding. I mean there were a load of trout here, But I quess the Tunas didn't think the way I did.
I don't know if the one's that were here have left or if the approaching front may have had the bite shut off. I would say the front has them turned off right now and as soon as things stabilize a little better, the bite should resume as it was Tuesday and Wednesday.
But, then again, the bite at MHC today was reported to have been "on fire". The "radio talk" was that there were 44 boats out up there and 44 boats were hooked up. Now remember, that was on the radio down here, If you are a fisherman, you know where I am going with this!!!!
Well, I didn't care that we didn't get a Bluefin Tuna today, sure I would love to have got one, it sure would help with the high fuel prices I am paying and not doing anything commercially!! But the reason I didn't care was because I got to spend an entire day in the boat with my son Captain Chris Foster.
Don't ever take the time you spend with your children for granted. I remember Capt Chris and I going everywhere and doing everything together all the time and then one day it was over. How could that happen so quickly? It's called life and sometimes it can be brutal and cruel.
Anyway, today it was Capt. Chris and I along with "Admiral Bodie" the fish dog, and for a brief time today it was like "old times" again. Wish it could happen more often, but I will Thank God for the times we can get together now, cherish every minute, and never take them for granted ever again!!!
Take a look at the big Red Drum we caught today. I out fished Capt Chris on the Reds today, but his was big enough for a NC Saltwater Citation and both of mine were just like the Tunas today, too short!!! Till next time, Capt Butch, Capt Chris, and "Admiral Bodie" the fish dog says, Chris, please come back to see me when you can, we all miss you and love you very much!!!!
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MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 58
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 24, 2007 - 3:08 pm: | |
I am planning an offshore trip tomorrow then I will know if they are still biting out there.
But until then, here's the scoop::::
The rains we have had can only improve the fishing situation. And with the influx of mullet minnows on the beach, Spanish Mackeral here as well as the Blue fish,the King Mackeral will have to be here in full force real soon.
And it may be sooner than later!!!! Today 9-21-07, I was on the pier and about two hours before dark, there were four King Mackeral hooked up.
Another boat caught 14 Kings at the Yaupon Reef and several more boats had King Mackeral there as well.
So, I would say, until the Pogys get back from their vacation up the river, get yourself some mullet and go catch some King Mackeral.
The fall fishing is starting to take shape.
There have been some spots caught in the surf and on the piers, and some have been the "yellow bellies". Try your bloodworms here, a good bait for spots.
The pompano, the small ones (Florida Pompano) have been biting in the surf and on the piers, shrimp is hard to beat, the fresher the better.
Blues are biting as well, they will hit just about anything from bait to lures!!
Spanish Mackeral are hit and miss, various spoons and jigs are the choice here.
The grey trout should be cranking up soon on the near shore reefs and while jigging for these you can most likely expect to hook up with some big red drum, so don't rig up too lite!!!
There are still flounder being caught, although this is slowing down a little from a slower year than usual already.
October should bring the bite back to the Gulfstream with the cooling waters of fall and winter inundating the area.
Wahoo's and Tuna's will most likely be in the area of the Black Jack to the Same Ol' soon!!
The biggest trouble with fall is trying to figure out what you would like to fish for!!!
Sometimes I sit at the mouth of the Cape Fear River where it empties into the ocean and will have to flip a coin to decide if I'm going offshore or staying inshore to fish that day, it's that time of year!!!!!!!!
Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and "Admiral Bodie" the fish dog says, this is my time of year!!!! www.yeahrightcharters.com |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 57
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 09, 2007 - 2:00 pm: | |
With a tropical storm brewing on the offshore grounds our offshore trip was cancelled for today.
I was already planning what I was going to do with the day off Saturday when Bob Mace called to do a 1/2 day Spanish Mackeral trip.
Bob and I have tried to get out before to the Gulfstream but was blown out by bad weather every time.
This time with the winds coming from the NNE, a 1/2 day would work for us because the beach would be calm.
I met up with Bob and Lisa Mace who own MACE ELECTRICAL SERVICE and with them were Joe Zlato, John Smith, and Garry Stamey all from Charlotte,NC.
The Spanish Mackeral started off slow and progressed as the day went on.
I located them about 15 feet of water just west of Yaupon Pier and they were biting best on the gold 00 Clark Spoons on #1 planers.
An occasional fish would come on the 11/2 ounce trolling weight.
We were having a lot of double hook up's on the planers, with some triples thrown in as well.
After 1st Mate Barbara landed a few and the guys seen how it was done, they took over and were putting the Spanish Mackeral in the boat.
We caught a lot of fish, and as in Spanish fishing some of the time they were too short and had to be thrown back for another day, but they were still fun to catch!!
Around 11:00AM the sun was high and the winds shifted to the East, and as the East winds does down here, it shut the bite off!!
We had plenty of fish to eat, had great conversation, and we all had fun catching the Spanish Mackeral, (the added bonus to a "fishing trip")
We wound up with 37 nice keepers, that's 74 fillets for future fish dinners.
The best part of the trip for me today again was the fine people I met today!!
There are still some mighty fine folks left in this world and I do believe that most of them like to fish!!
I do know that the people that fish with us are all some of the Greatest people in the world!!!
See pic's at www.yeahrightcharters.com
Till next time, FISH ON, Bob!! (he knows what I mean) Capt Butch, 1st Mate Barbara, and "Admiral Bodie" the fish dog says, Yeah, I dazzled everyone today with my charm and fish scaling ability!! |
CaptainIDS (Captainids)
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Username: Captainids
Post Number: 59
Registered: 9-2007
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 10:24 am: | |
Are you a Licensed Coast Guard Captain?
This is for you
http://www.captainids.com/ |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 56
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 26, 2007 - 8:48 am: | |
SUNDAY 8-26-07
Had a cancellation for Saturday and Sundays trip was moved to a later date in September.
So, I took advantage of the two days off to do some much needed matenance to the "YEAH RIGHT".
Manning Outen fished Saturday and called me to let me know that the bottom fish offshore were still "chewing down".
A load of fish that included eight keeper grouper and an eight foot tiger shark.
Sounds like a very exciting day out there and several fresh fish dinners are in the future!!
At least he told me after I got all my repairs and service finished!!
Thanks Manning for the "heads up" on the fishing, we will be back at it this week, stay in touch for more reports, Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch www.yeahrightcharters.com
FRIDAY 8-24-07
Well, I finally quit listening to the weather man and went to see for myself what the seas were like.
3 to 5 foot,YEAH RIGHT!!!! It was flat calm out there!!!!
Well maybe not flat calm, but no more than 2 feet at the very most at anytime!!
I had decided that if I kept waiting for a "good forecast" that my fishing career may very well be over for a while!!
Now I'm not saying to disregard what the forecast says, but, 5 knot winds and 4 to 6 seas with no storms in the ocean.
I'm not saying that it isn't possible, and it may happen, but it's not happening at this time!!!
So, I met up with Charles Bennett from Tyro, NC and two friends Donald and Greg Kinley from Lexington, NC.
With the forecast still in the back of my mind, we ventured to the river channel where I could see from there that the weatherman's record was just "stuck"
I made the run some 45 miles offshore in nearly perfect sea conditions. Why wasn't it perfect conditions, I don't know, except maybe that nothing on this earth is perfect!!
Any way, when we dropped on the first school of fish, we got "NO" Bites!!
The next school, NO Bites!!
I was getting concerned, what's up???
I looked at my tide watch, the tide was beginning to make a switch and I figured the fish were relocating for the tide change and that was occuping their attention at that very moment.
So here I adjusted accordingly, and the guys couldn't keep their baits on the bottom!
It was fast and furious from that point on till the next slack tide!!
They had a bet on the biggest fish and Charley went ahead and got that out of the way first thing with the big Amberjack being the first fish he caught.
Now Greg was about to challenge the big fish pot several times, but, just couldn't keep them on the hook!!
Donald held his own and put both groupers in the boat!!
It was a real pleasure fishing with people from my home town area again.
That's the thing I miss most about not being there anymore, it's all the nice folks around that area of NC.
We ended the day with quite a catch for just three people!!
We had Big Black Bass, Almaco Jacks, Amberjack, Shark, Grey Snappers, Triggerfish, Huge B-Liners, Big Joltheads, Silver Snappers, and two Groupers, a nice Red and a nicer Scamp!!
I bet they sleep good tonight, I know I will!! Till next time, FISH ON!! Capt Butch and "Admiral Bodie" the fish dog says, fall is just around the corner, Yeah!!! www.yeahrightcharters.com |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
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Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 55
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 21, 2007 - 4:08 pm: | |
What a week/month we have had. I don't ever remember the winds being this unsettled this time of year. We have had to stay mostly close in to the beach where the bite has been anywhere from real tough to not at all. The first few weeks we were plaged with "grass" everywhere fouling your lines when you tried to fish. But it's now all washed up on the beach!! The only exceptations have been a few times that we have been able to take advantage of the Islands blocking the SW winds where we could run up to Carolina Beach, but, here also, the bite has been real slow with mainly Shark fishing providing some action. The shark fishing has also been sproatic!! The reefs around 10 miles out at Carolina Beach have produced a few King Mackeral, Spanish Mackeral, and a stray Mahi- Mahi or two! The usual fish holding spots off our beach has produced some fish over the past few weeks, the trouble has been finding calm enough seas to get out there. The inshore fishing for King Mackeral and Spanish Mackeral has been about as slow as I have ever seen it. When we were able to get offshore before all this wind moved in we were doing real good with the Grouper and Bottom fish in the areas around the Tower and to the East and South West. The King Mackeral and Spanish Mackeral bite in these areas were fairly good as well. Hopefully when we do get back out there the fish will still be there, but, from what I've seen so far this year, I wouldn't be suprised at anything!! If you are not trying to make a living in the charter boat business, count your blessings this year. We have cancelled more trips than we have run, and the trips we have run has been real hard to produce fish on. This is the best I can come up with at this time, it's hard to provide a fishing report when you are sitting on "the hill" waiting for the winds and seas to calm down so you can get back out!! Yeah, I know, this is not the kind of report you want to be reading here in July, but I am known for telling it like it really is and sometimes the "truth hurts"!! Let's all just hope that by the time you are reading this that things have turned around for the better and once again the word from the back of the boat will be"FISH ON"!!! Capt Butch, www,yeahrightcharters.com |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 54
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 - 3:49 pm: | |
Lets hope this heat and wind doesn't hurt the fishing. We are having to cancel trips this week so far due to rough conditions from a 20 to 30 knot SW wind. The whole week doesn't look good at this time. But, time will tell the full story!!
Before the windy and HOT weather we were having great catches on the Red Grouper. Limits were not uncommon. Baits that were producing were live Cigar Minnows, Live Pogys, frozen Cigar Minnows and hand size pieces of cut baits.
Also, find a spot where the current was not "screaming", the deeper the water the less current. The areas around the Tower in 40 feet of water has had terrible currents lately and I have found that to the East and South West in the deeper water, 80 to 100+ feet the current has not been bad at all. But, by the time you read this, this could all be changed to a different scenerio!!
In the less current areas is where you will have your best luck on Bottom Fish like Black Bass, Vermillion Snapper, Grey Snapper, Triggerfish, Joltheads, etc. Squid, and cut bait will serve well here to get these tasty fish on the hook!!
King Mackeral were biting well at the areas like the Horseshoe's, 15 mile rock, Jungle, 90/90, etc. Here, you will do well to get some live pogys. However, if the live bait is hard to get, they will bite the frozen cigar minnows good as well. I like to pull them on the "Hank Brown" style lead heads, this will make the dead minnows swim to look like they are alive. Just be sure you hook them straight up from the botton through the center between the eyes to prevent them from spinning. I like to check them at boat side for running properly before I send them back in the spread.
Keep an eye open while Bottom Fishing for Mahi-Mahi. We have been having them come up around the boat while grouper fishing. Keep a couple of spinning rods ready, and when you see them, pitch a small quarter sized piece of squid at them on a plain #4 wide bend hook. Keep one Mahi-Mahi in the water hooked up at all times, this will keep the school around the boat long enough to catch several before they move on!!
The Flounder fishing season is here. The inshore reefs are producing with mullet minnows rigged "carolina style". Speckled Trout have been biting well off the piers on live shrimp as have the King Mackeral on live baits!!
Spanish Mackeral fishing is "spotty". The fishing for these have been tough with all the Sargasco Grass that has blown in on the beach from offshore. I have had reports of a lot of Spanish Mackeral action taking place at the 90/90 and Jungle. Try your 00 Clark Spoons in gold and/or silver pulled on #1 and #2 Planers around 6 to 7 knots. Watch for the white terns working the schools of glass minnows that the Spanish chase to the surface, a dead give away that Spanish are in the area, you will also see the spanish jumping out of the water a lot of times when feeding, but, not always.
Spade fish are on the reefs now in good numbers. A piece of "jellyball" will usually trigger a bite from the verocious fighters. Don't rig up to lite here, or you won't land these hard fighters. Keep a few to eat, but please release what you can't eat to help preserve these fish for future fishermen!!
SHARKS, OH YEAH!!!! The Shark fishing is wide open now!!! There have been some "monsters" hooked up lately!!! Some have eaisly broken 150 lb. test line lately. But, some in the 100+ pound range have also been brought to the boat. Baits here include Pogys, Spanish Mackeral or just about any kind of oily, fishy chunk of bait will work here. Just tie a big circle hook 10/0, 12/0, etc on you line, wire leader is up to you, free line it out behind the boat while drifting around the shoals or off the beach and HOLD ON!!!!!!!!!!
FISH ON!!!
Capt Butch
www.yeahrightcharters.com |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 53
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, June 09, 2007 - 7:46 am: | |
Today we were on another bottom fishing mission!!! We had with us Skeeter Midgette, James Midgette Jr., and Margie Midgette from Winnabow,NC and Ricky Midgette from Wilmington,NC.
The day was filled with eventful events. James caught his first King Mackeral, and a nice one at that!!! Skeeter and Ricky caught a little bit of everything, but, the real prize winner was Margie. This lady caught two Kings at one time. She had one on the hook and the other one had wrapped its tail up in the line in front of the one on the hook. I've been fishing a long time, I have never seen anything like that before. To top it off, she wanted a grouper, so she catches one. But not just any grouper would do, she catches a real nice Black Grouper. First one of those I've seen in a long time!!!
We ended the day with limits of Grey Snappers, Pinky's, Black Bass, Triggerfish, Almaco Jacks, King Mackeral, Grouper, and Sharks. The day was another beautiful day in God's glorious domaine. We are so fortunate we have the opportunity to share it with fishermen and fisherwomen and make so many lasting memories!! Check out other reports and pictures at www.yeahrightcharters.com Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch, 1st Mate Landon, and "Admiral Bodie" the fish dog says HI!!!. |
Matt Wirt (Reel_adventure)
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Username: Reel_adventure
Post Number: 20
Registered: 1-2006
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 12:46 pm: | |
The fishing is really heating up! Our Wrightsville Beach fishing and Carolina Beach fishing trips are doing well now that the wind has subsided. Let’s hope it stays that way!
Inshore: We have some nice redfish action going on right now. Try Gulp! or cut bait if you can’t find any live bait. (There is plenty of bait in the dredge pond.) The flounder bite is picking up a bit and there have been quite a few bluefish to play with near the inlets. These guys are a blast to sight cast to with a fly rod or light spinning gear. I expect the inshore fishing to EXPLODE when we get out first run of finger mullet.
Offshore: Right off the beach the Spanish Mackerel have been doing well. The wind has the Spanish bite messed up pretty bad but it is getting back to normal now. We have caught a lot of them sight casting, and trolling with Clark spoons. There are also a few Bonito still around but you better be quick on the cast! Further off shore there are LOT’s of spadefish at the Dredge Wreck along with some nice Spanish and small Kings. At the School house there are also some Kings with some Amberjacks mixed in. WR-4 is producing some nice Kings and Dolphin and the Kings have been a little larger at WR-4.
Check out this week pic’s at http://reel-adventure.com/blog/
Good luck, and I hope everyone has a safe and happy Memorial Day!
Capt. Matt Wirt
Reel Adventure Charters
Next Level Custom Rods
www.reel-adventure.com
www.wrightsvillebeachfishing.net
www.carolinabeachfishing.net
910-540-0570 Wilmington, NC |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
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Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 52
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - 6:14 am: | |
Yes, you read the header right!! It's Saturday and I am at the computer instead of offshore terrorizing the fish.
No, today's charter had complications beyond our/their control and couldn't make it. 1st Mate Landon and I discussed the possibilities of heading offshore and doing a commercial trip since the King Mackeral were biting fairly well, but, we were both tired from yesterday's trip and I couldn't stop thinking about how far behind I am on answering my e-mails so he went home to rest and I will rest after I get all these e-mails answered and get the fishing reports sent to all the Magazines, News papers, and fishing sites that depend on me each week!!
Speaking of yesterday's trip, Landon and I were honored to have with us a fine group of fishermen from the Lumberton, NC area. They were comprised of Carless Lee, Clifton Fulmore, William Satler, Andray Jones, Robin Johnson, and Jimmy Crumpler. A fine group of gentlemen and fishermen!!!!
Our quarry today was to be bottom fish and lite lining for King Mackeral. The current was "screaming" but the fish were there and biting. Problem was, too many species were biting. You get anchored up and start catching nice, big, bottom fish, then here comes the party crashers, the Atlantic Sharpnose Sharks.
Now don't get me wrong, the sharpnose is not a bad eating fish, but, with a one fish limit, six drops and you were limited out. And as for the lite line, they got so aggravating we just pulled it in!!
The fish are biting, but, you have to keep moving away from the sharks, cause when they move in, the bottom fishing is over!!! Also, we don't know exactly how to explain this, but, we only had three(3) guys fishing, the other three on the Starboard side of the boat decided to lay down and take a nap or something like that. Now, I am at the age where my memory is not as good as it was, so, I'll let them tell you about the benefits of taking a mid day nap on a fishing trip offshore!!!! Oh, yeah, I did hear one say something about never eating "pig skins" before you go fishing, that must keep you awake or something???
I had run to the SE of the tower to a wreck in 110 feet of water, hoping to find less current and less sharks. We did find less sharks, but the current was worse but due to the fact that you could get your baits to the bottom before being attacked by the sharks, we were catching some decent bottom fish here!!
Well, it was getting late in the day and the guys had wanted to try to get some King Mackeral, but due to the "shark frenzy" we didn't have any.
About this time Manning Outen, a fellow fisherman that I invited to anchor up behind me this past winter to get some black bass returned the favor!! He called and said he had the Kings going and with NO SHARKS!!!! Now, we had one fish box full of bottom fish and were only about 12 miles from Manning. Upon asking if they would like to finish out the day trying for the Kings where Manning had so graciously invited us to join him, well, in short order we were up and running. Thanks Manning, you are a true sportsman,and you were asking me where the fish were, I think maybe I need to be asking you!!! Thanks again my friend, you "saved the day" for me!!
Upon arriving, Manning was making a circle so we stayed well clear as not to interfere with his fishing and we dropped the baits in. I was marking plenty of bait but was having no takers so after a little bit I suggested we change our strategy. That change in our game plan netted us with 18 King Mackeral, all six guys got their limit of three each.
Another great day, some more GREAT people, but hey, I have come to realize that all fisherpeople are just Great people, but I like to think that the ones that fish with us on the "YEAH RIGHT" are the GREATEST OF ALL!!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch, 1st mate Landon, and of course, "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, man, these guys wore me out yesterday, there were King Mackeral flying everywhere, I didn't know which one to jump on!!!
Check out the pic's at www.yeahrightcharters.com (910)845-2004 |
Matt Wirt (Reel_adventure)
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Username: Reel_adventure
Post Number: 19
Registered: 1-2006
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 30, 2007 - 5:45 pm: | |
Hello everyone. This week has been awesome. Our Carolina Beach Fishing Charters and Wrightsville Beach Fishing Charters have been doing awesome and the season is now in FULL SWING! Now is the time to come fishing!
Near Shore: We are catching lot’s of Atlantic Bonito and the Spanish Mackerel have also showed up and they are big and feeding heavily! My customers have had a great time chasing these guys around and sight casting to them. Please check out our new Bonito Video @ http://www.reel-adventure.com/videos.htm it is another awesome video.
Inshore: We have been doing well with the Speckled Trout and Red Drum and have also had a few Flounder. We are catching live bait now and this action will continue to pick up as the year goes on.
Off Shore: The King Mackerel are at the school house, WR4 and the 23 mile rock and will continue to move in closer. We have had 66-70 degree water right off the beach and the Kings will continue to move closer in with the warmer water.
What you can expect this week: LOTS of Spanish Mackerel slow trolling and sight casting along with more Bonito. The inshore fishing will continue to improve with the warmer water and live bait moving around. The Kings will be closer and closer and will be right off the beach in the next week or two.
This report is a bit shorter than usual…I will let the pics speak for them selves! This is not even half of them!
Again don’t forget the Bonito video @ http://www.reel-adventure.com/videos.htm
View this weeks pics here: http://reel-adventure.com/blog/
Good Fishing!
Capt. Matt Wirt
Reel Adventure Charters
Next Level Custom Rods
www.reel-adventure.com
www.wrightsvillebeachfishing.net
www.carolinabeachfishing.net
Wilmington, NC 910.540.0570 |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
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Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 51
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 05, 2007 - 5:47 pm: | |
TUESDAY 4-3-07
Today we were headed back to the Gulfstream witn Gary Deeck, David Harris, Sam and Zack Lambert. Unlike yesterday, the seas were a little rougher than yesterday, but were supposed to lay out as the day went on, and they did!!!
I had visions of fish boxes overflowing with Wahoo and Tunas. As we got closer to the 100/400 the boats were that already there were reporting trouble finding any fish.
I decided to move a little closer to the Black Jack Hole and a degree or two warmer water. The water color was OK, but not quite what I like!!
We made a few circles around the Black Jack, no action!! I was listening to the other boats on the radio reporting the same results.
With this knowledge, I turned and set a course towards the Steeples. About 1/2 way there, Capt Roger on the Carolina Contender hooked up with a Wahoo. Must have been the only Wahoo there!! We fished the same area (thanks for the #'s Capt Roger), then moved on towards the Steeples.
The bite was real slow today. After yesterday's bite, we had thought that with the calmer conditions we would have to hide in the cabin to bait a hook today. Fishing and fish never do what it's supposed to do, or at least the way we want them to!!!
Arriving at the Steeples, the water was about as Gulfstream Blue as you'll ever see it, I had a better feeling here. Well, it was slow here. I was pulling an assortment of Bluewater Candy Lures and Cape Lookout Lures skirts and heads, and a "shotgun" rod with a cedar plug on it.
Just as we crossed one of the mountain tops, the cedar plug rod bent over, Someone yelled fish on and "Private Bodie" the fish dog came un-wound!!!! It was a Blackfin Tuna!!!
I immediately reeled in two more rods and fitted them with cedar plugs. The old standard in bluewater fishing did it again!! Soon, we were loading up one, two, and sometimes three rods on the cedar plugs with Blackfin Tunas. Tunas were flying everywhere in the boat, Bodie was jumping from fish to fish trying to make them hold still, and suddenly the slow bite was forgotten!!
There are some Yellowfins out there, Capt Roger was fishing two hundred yards to our port catching Blackfins also, when his number was called and he hooked up and boated a Yellowfin.
I think we had a couple of Yellowfins hooked up the day before that pulled the hooks on a diving plug, the reel was "melted down" the hooks pulled and there were no gashes cut in the lure to indicate a wahoo bite, but, we'll never know for sure!!!
The Blackfin bite slowed so we took off to the Tower area to get a mess of bottom fish before heading in. Another good day on the seas with some Great guys!!!
The King Mackeral have finally showed up offshore. From what I hear, they are on the East side. Come on down and let's go fishing, you've waited all winter, and now it's time!!!
I have to keep pinching myself to make sure I am not dreaming. I love what I do and I love to see folks catch fish and have a great time, how could you not love that??????
P.S. To all the e-mails I have, I will try to get them answered tonight or tomorrow. Please be patient with me, I am getting older and slower!!! Till next time FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, finally I can get some rest, the wind blowing is not always a bad thing, at least not for me!!! |
Matt Wirt (Reel_adventure)
New member
Username: Reel_adventure
Post Number: 16
Registered: 1-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 21, 2007 - 12:41 pm: | |
Hello everyone. Our fishing charters out of Wrightsville Beach, Topsail Island and Carolina Beach are doing great. Our new websites www.carolinabeachfishing.net and www.wrightsvillebeachfishing.net are having a great response with our customers and we thank you for checking them out. Our main site www.reel-adventure.com continues to grow and we have added yet another cool video “Topwater Speckled Trout Fishing” which is really cool to watch. Check it out!
This season is off to a great start and we sure have had some great weather. This weekend it is going to be in the 80’s and it is reminding me of the Florida weather I was able to enjoy over the winter. We are doing well on the near shore wrecks with the Sharks, Tautog’s and other bottom dwelling species and we even caught a monster 4 lb ring tail!
Inshore the redfish are biting well on Berkley Gulp! on the warmer days in the shallow water, and they are also biting well in the ICW on dead shrimp fished on a carolina rig. They key this time of year is a slow presentation and patience. The blue fish bite is starting to pick up and the Spanish should not be far behind. We are excited about what this upcoming fishing season has in store for us!
We have also been busy building rods for customers and for the business as well. Each year I continue to get more and more custom with these rods and at this point the “Custom aspect” is getting hard to top. You will be amazed at our new inshore redfish and trout rods that we have mated up with Abu Garcia’s new 804 spinning reel. These reels are giving the Stradic’s and Okuma VS series reels a run for their money and after fishing hard in the Everglades all winter with the new Garcia’s I think they are better than both and are also a few dollars cheaper.
We are starting to get busy with trips but still have lots of good dates open. Come enjoy the Wilmington weather and let’s catch some fish!
Capt. Matt Wirt
Reel Adventure Charters
Next Level Custom Rods
Wilmington NC. 910.540.0570
www.reel-adventure.com
www.wrightsvillebeachfishing.net
www.carolinabeachfishing.net |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
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Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 50
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 19, 2007 - 4:32 am: | |
I woke up yesterday morning with no intentions of going fishing. Not that I didn't want to but the winds have been blowing steady lately and I figured today would be no different.
Around 9:00AM I decided that I might go try some speckled trout fishing if it wasn't too windy.
So, I made my way into the office and went to the weather here on the fishing reports page. The forecast wasn't bad for Monday.
That caused me to pull up the few weather buoys that are still working offshore. At the buoy that is 250 NM SE of Charleston, which is about as close as we can get right now it showed a wave height of 1 foot every 7.7 seconds.
Well, I went numb!! Here it is beautiful offshore and I have messed around until it was nearly too late to go fishing!!
I immediately got on the phone and rounded up a few friends and we put this thing together at the last minute. I met up with John Leach, owner of DUTCHMAN CREEK BAIT & TACKLE, and one of our friends, Richard Croom. As I was at the tackle shop, another friend of mine, Capt. Steve Hinson had just landed his plane at the airport, which is beside the tackle shop, and I told him of our plans and invited him along with us.
We finally got on our way around 12:30PM. I made our way to the #1 Tower reef some 24 miles offshore. As I expected, it did not show much, I never find much on this reef, about 2 more miles is the #2 Tower reef, this one I like best, I nearly always find fish on this one, this time was no exception.
We got anchored up on some fish, I checked my tide watch, and saw that we had about two hours until the tide went slack, that was perfect, that's about all the time we had to fish if we didn't want to come home in the dark, and we didn't want to, because, for two reasons, one, when the sun goes down this time of year it gets cold on the water and second, it's just dangerous to run when you can't see what's in the water that you might run over!!!
We all started off like gangbusters, but as the years have a tendency to do, after the first hour, John and I, the two oldest, were feeling the effects of our years and were forced to take a break from the fishing.
The moral of this report is as I have said so many times before, this time of year you have to be ready to go at a moments notice. You never know when the weather will give you a break!!
For no longer than we got to fish, and we didn't have a mate on board to keep us bait cut up and to take our fish off, we caught some nice black bass and a pile of vermillion snappers which all fell short of the 12 inch size limit and check out the big Tautog that Steve caught and is holding up in the picture.
Steve had just hooked a big fish before that and when he hooked it, he thought he was hung up then it started swimming off. We never got to see what it was before it broke the 50 lb. test line. We figured it a shark, but it didn't really fight like a shark, but, we'll never know!! When he hooked the Tautog, he said, here we go again, but this one was easier to get up.
This trip was just what we all needed to ease a case of "cabin fever". Weather looks bad for rest of the week, but, as it so often does like yesterday, it can change at a moments notice. Now I can go to the FISHERMAN'S POST FISHING SCHOOL this Saturday with a fishing story that didn't happen last year!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, I got to go fishing yesterday for my 6th birthday present and even got some cheeseburger and scales in my hair and fish slime on my face, LIFE IS GOOD!!!! See Pic's on my web site under fishing report www.yeahrightcharters.com |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 49
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 - 11:52 pm: | |
Can you believe this!!! I listened to the weather man again today and the predicted winds of 25 to 35 knotts this evening never came and I missed another great day on the water. But, with this ocean you have to respect the weather and with the predicted forecast it wasn't worth the gamble that they would be wrong!!!
But, the Lord has given us two weeks of unheard of calm seas for this time of year. Although I have had a lot of preparations to be made for all the up coming events and haven't had a chance to fish much, those that have have been having a "field day"!!
I will try to recap some of what's been happening. Notice I said try, there has been such good fishing, I am sure to miss something!!!
INSHORE: Yesterday, I went fishing with my wife Barbara, she hardly ever gets to go anymore and she wanted to go catch some bottom fish but didn't want to go offshore. We went to the Lighthouse Rocks area and here we found the Black Bass, Bluefish, and Grey Trout to be very cooperative. The Black Bass we found were less than the new size limit of 11 inches. Most were 10 7/8" and we put them all back. The Bluefish are out there with a vengence. I bet we caught 200 of those and we threw all those back. We caught a pile of Grey Trout but only wanted enough for dinner, so, we kept five of those and came home. It was nice to just go and fish not caring if you even got a bite!!!
OFFSHORE: Man, this place has been awesome!!!! The King Mackeral bite has been phenominal!!! They are slowly working their way offshore to the normal wintering grounds, but, right now they are a little SW of the Tower,(about 2 miles) Also, if you like the battle of a Bonito, there are plenty of those out there also.
BOTTOMFISH: With the New Moon waining, look for the Grouper bite to get better. It's been a little slow lately, but will pick back up soon!! As for the other botton species, they are hungry and if you drop a bait in a school you better be ready, the bite will be instant. When we were drifting for Kings Sunday, I dropped a bottom rig to the bottom and it wasn't long until my shoulders and arms were aching. I talked to Capt Chris this evening and he said he was fixing some of them for dinner tonight!!
BLUEFIN TUNA: The Bluefins are here, but, you have to find them!! They have been any where from the Shark Hole to the knuckle buoy to the fairway buoy to the 30/30 and anywhere in between!!! Look for the Gannett Birds diving on the bait. Look for the fish to actually be surfacing or jumping while feeding. Also, watch for "oil slicks" these are created when they are feeding. Use your nose, remember when you were a boy and you went bream fishing in the spring and you would sniff the air trying to get a whiff of that musky wetermelon smell that meant a bream bed close by, same thing here, but leave the breambuster at home!!! This past weekend there were some true Giants hooked up. These fish were brutes that were beyond your wildest imagination!!! The guys that were lucky enough, and I use the term "lucky" with mixed emotions, that were lucky enough to hook up these fish could not do a thing with them!! Other fishermen went to their aid to try to help, but, a fish that can pull line from a reel with a heavy drag and pull the boat sideways at the same time is a TRUE GIANT that is to be dealt with. The Giants are here, now will anyone be able to get one in the boat? I know I will be trying a lot more in January after all the shows are over!!!
GULFSTREAM: I have not heard a thing from the stream, but I suspect there would be a wahoo or two hanging around the break!!
INSIDE: The Speckled Trout and even a few drum are being caught. I hope I haven't left out too much!! As you can see, the fish eat in the winter just as you do. A lot of people think that when winter comes the fish quit feeding, when actually, it can be some of the best fishing of the year!!! So, when the weather gets nice again after this front passes, come on down and get rid of the cabin fever and catch you some fish!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!!!Capt Butch. www.yeahrightcharters.com
SUNDAY12-17-06
The fishing lately has been good and today was no exception. Capt Chris came home this weekend to go Pheasant hunting with me Saturday, and today we were joined by his and my friend William Deal to get some more king mackeral quota on my federal king permit so I won't lose it. Federal requirements are that you have got to catch at least $10,000.00 or 25% of your earned income each year of King Mackeral or they will revoke your permit!!!!
We went to the Tower area where we found the Kings willing to accomodate us. We were beginning to have second thoughts though after hearing on the VHF radio of the "Giant" Bluefin Tunas that were being hooked up. We had our Tuna tackle on board, but we knew we had to get some King Mackeral today, the time for me to qualify my permit was running out!!! There were around 8 Tuna hook up's that I heard about this morning, all the way from the Shark Hole to the Knuckle Buoy, and they were big fish, some were so big that they could not even be slowed down, much less boated, and 130 lb. test lines were being broken!!!
Will be going out tomorrow to do a little bottom fishing on a 1/2 day trip. Will let you know what transpires and what I hear on the Bluefin's. Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt's Butch & Chris Foster and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, man, where did all those kings come from!!!! |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 48
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 - 10:15 pm: | |
The fishing here in Southport,NC is about as good as it gets!!! This week so far has been nice offshore and the fish are cooperating real nice!! The story on the speckled trout and red drum continues. Fishing for these are good in the creeks, rivers, bays, inlets, jetties,etc;etc; look for the red drum in the backs of creeks now. If the weather doesn't get too cold this winter, it should stay good for the rest of the winter.
King Mackeral fishing has been hot around the Tower at this time. Be sure to check the Horseshoe area on the way out, you may not have to run all the way to the Tower!! Try cigar minnows,(jigged up alive or frozen) you can also expect this time of year to have some of your baits ambushed while trolling for King Mackeral by the False Albacore AKA: Boneheads, that are here this time in the season. These fish are not good to eat, or, at least that is my opinion, and yes, being that I love to cook, I have tried them!! They do make excellent strip baits though for the up coming spring Gulfstream Fishing!! Also, don't be too suprised if you hook up a lost Mahi-Mahi while out there king mackeral fishing around the Tower, yeah, there's still a few around!!!
Bottom Fishing, what can I say, at around 5 to 10 miles and on out, it's about as good as it has been all year. It may very well be the best right now that it has been all year!!! This IS the time to fill your freezor with usually big Black Bass, trigger fish, Grey Snapper, vermillion Snapper, Grouper, and who knows what else out there may bite!! Before you go bottom fishing be sure to check with the web site www.ncdmf.net as the size limits and bag limits has changed on some of the bottom fish and groupers!!
Haven't heard anything from the Gulfstream, but would expect some Wahoo's to be on the prowl around the Black Jack to the Steeples, somewhere along the break!!
The big news remains the Bluefin Tuna's!!! There have been Bluefin Tuna hooked up from the Shark Hole to the Frying Pan Shoals Slough, and that's the ones we know about!!!This past weekend there were a couple of Bluefins landed in Morehead over 600 pounds each. When these fish make their way down to our back yard, well, you know the outcome!!! Last year Capt Wally Trayah and his crew fought one on the "FISHWHISTLE" for over 11 hours and pulled his 31 foot Contender boat 21 miles before it finally broke the leader. This fish was estimated to be over 1000 pounds!!! No, that's not a "typo" error, that is "OVER 11 HOURS, 21 MILES, AND OVER 1000LBS"!!!!! These fish feed hard and by January they have put on a lot of fat and January is the month when you can expect to have the opportunity to hook up a "REAL GIANT"!!
The weather and fishing is in top form at this time, however, don't expect this weather pattern to last much longer, remember, it is winter time, and when you get a "break" this time of year, you got to move on it, you can't wait around for it will surely change, and soon!!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!!! Capt Butch Foster, Southport,NC (910)845-2004 www.yeahrightcharters.com |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 47
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 04, 2006 - 10:49 pm: | |
TUESDAY12-6-06
We are into the winter fishing pattern now. You have to pick your days between the cold fronts now, but, the fish still bite even in the winter time. On the inside, you can still pick up a stray flounder once in a while along with some speckled trout. The inshore reefs are producing some big red drum and grey trout and you can get some black bass also in these areas. Offshore, bottom fishing is good as is king mackeral in the usual holding areas for this time of year. I'd start my search in the Horseshoe areas to the Tower. But, the big news right now is the Bluefin Tuna that are here. The hot spots lately have been in the knuckle buoy and the fairway buoy areas. Watch for the bait and birds and for the Tuna's themselves actually breaking the water as they feed on the bait. This is a new fishery to this area and if not properly prepared, these fish can be and are a dangerous adversary, don't cut any corners or take any chances with these fish, go "by the book" as they are EXTREMELY POWERFUL!!!! Go have some fun and be safe!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and "Private Bodie' the fish dog says HI!!!. www.yeahrightcharters.com
SUNDAY12-3-06
We went out yesterday to see if we could get some black bass and trout along with maybe big red fish. The small craft advisories and the rough conditions posted were enough for me to stay inshore. With the full moon conditions upon us, I have never seen so much "dirty" water and at the "WOFES" a 16 ounce weight would not hold your bait on the bottom. Also, I use 60 feet of 5/16 chain and a 22 pound plow anchor, and this would not anchor my boat. Needless to say, the fishing conditions were the worst I have ever experienced, so at around 9:00AM we gave it up for a better day. The fishing was so bad, all the birds in the area came to our boat in hopes that if we caught something we would share it with them.When a pelican can't catch anything to eat, conditions are "BAD"!!! Well, it was obvious that we didn't need the bait we had today, so, we broke open the bait cooler and turned our trip into a bird feeding trip. We left the area knowing that because we were there today, a lot of brown pelicans can go to roost that night and not be hungry. It's not always about the fish you catch, It was a unique experience!!!! Till next time,(and better fishing conditions) FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, I always bark at the birds, yesterday, I looked over the side of the boat, I thought I was a goner for sure!!! www.yeahrightcharters.com |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 46
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 11:08 am: | |
Todays fishing trip was an extra special one for me. Today I had on board the "YEAH RIGHT" Rudy Jenkins, Brian Robbins, Darrell Kennedy, Ronnie Hussey, and Steve Blanchard. Now, what made this one so special. Well, back more years than I want to admit, I used to Striper fish on Badin Lake, one of the lakes on the Yadkin River Chain of lakes. Rudy, had a house on that lake and we fished mostly in the winter time when the stripers were schooled up chasing the small shad from the past years hatch.
We would pull "Green Things" this was the name that was tagged onto a bait configuration that I do believe that Rudy was the one that was the originator of this bait that worked wonders on the stripers, especially in the winter months. It was not uncommon to have two stripers on at one time (on the same rod).
Well, it was cold out on the water this time of year and we would meet at Rudy's house around lunch time to get a bite to eat and warm up before the evening fishing started. It was a great time in my life, and as fishing does so many times, it provides you with some great friends, great memories, and makes you realize just how short life on this earth really is so you should make the best of the time you have here, and those years spent fishing on Badin Lake was definately some of the most quality time I have ever spent with friends and my son Capt Chris!!!
Now, as for the fishing. A lot of you fishermen and women have met Rudy. He fishes a lot of the King Mackeral Tournaments here out of Southport and is the owner of R&D AUTOMOTIVE in Asheboro,NC. Seems ironic that two friends that loved to striper fish on Badin went our seperate ways only to wind up back fishing together on the high seas, with a love for a different type of fishing that we both can share again. The only thing missing today was Capt Chris. Had he been able to have made it today, the circle would have been complete. We all missed you Capt Chris, and had you been with us, I bet we would have had more Grouper in the boat. Grouper have a hard time outwitting Capt Chris!!!!
Today we were after bottom fish and grouper, please, no king mackeral!! I went to some of my grouper rocks that I haven't fished in a long time,(you can't fish them too often, or you'll burn them out). The first stop, SW of the Tower showed a good concentration of fish on the rock. We anchored up, baited up, dropped down and it wasn't long until a rod doubled over and the fight was on!!! A nice 14-15 lb.GAG Grouper came aboard. Now, you got to remember, I had King Mackeral Fishermen on board. These guys were not aware of the vicious bite and battle that the grouper can lay upon you with no advance warning!!
The next bite nearly resulted in a lost rod and reel. The comment came the starboard side of the boat, THAT FISH NEARLY TOOK THE ROD OUT OF MY HAND!!!!! Well, if you grouper fish, you know what that means, yep, he was in the rocks, GAME OVER!!!! No more than that happened, the same came from the Port side, well, if you grouper fish, you also know what two fish broke off in the same rock means, GAME OVER!!! It shuts the bite off nearly ever time, this was no exception!!!
We left there because the bite shut off after two break off's. The next rock we anchored up on provided two more grouper bites, but, they were too fast and powerful to get them up out of the rocks, so again, GAME OVER!!!
The tide turned on us and made for a whole different set of circumstances. This time the current was "screaming"!!! The schools of fish I was marking was gone and the few I marked, would not bite. I guess they were holding on to something to keep from being washed to England.
OK, enough Grouper fishing, let's get some bottom fish in the boat for the freezer. Well. with the current running like it was, I decided to make a run towards to shoals and get on the down side of the shoals in shallower water. Here, the current would have a break, and should not be as strong in the shallower water allowing the fish an opportunity to feed.
I love it when a plan comes together, I found a good break, marking a good concentration of fish on the high side (a good position to indicate they are feeding). We anchored up and when we dropped down, this time, FOR THE FISH, it was GAME OVER!!!! With a 20 fish per person limit on "reef complex species" these guys were limited out in less than an hour!! The bite was as fast as you could drop, mostly two at a time!!
Our creel for the day consisted of Black Bass, Vermillion Snapper, Triggerfish, Grouper, Grey Snapper, and a few Silver Snapper. With all the fish on board and the winds building the seas up,we decided to head back since we had a "head sea" of around four feet and building. I put the curtains up I designed last winter to use in these kind of conditions, got out the bean bags, got the "YEAH RIGHT" set and trimmed to a good ride at around 23 knotts, (even in a 4 ft head sea) Man, MAKO makes a fine boat, I looked back after about five miles to see how everyone was doing, but, I couldn't get many answers, those on the bean bags were asleep, so, I figured they were doing OK!!!
Some more great memories made with some GREAT friends, and we even caught some fish too!! Rudy, be sure to tell Deb and Tracy and all the guys in Asheboro,NC I said hello, and I will cherish this trip for years to come, just as I will always remember the striper trips!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, there was so many fish coming in the boat at one time, I thought we were under attack, so I went and hid behind a bean bag!!! www.yeahrightcharters.com |
Butch Foster (Captainbutch)
New member
Username: Captainbutch
Post Number: 45
Registered: 7-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 07, 2006 - 12:09 pm: | |
Let's hope all this rain doesn't mess up the fishing because they are "chewing" real good. And I mean REAL GOOD. The king mackeral bite has been hot at the horseshoe with some mixed in Blackfin Tunas. The bait of preference has been live cigar minnows with the second best being frozen cigar minnows working best early. If the bite stops on the frozen, go jig up some live ones, also, if you can jig up some live Boston Mackeral, count how many you have and most likely, that's how many hits you will have on those also!!!
Have not heard from the Gulfstream, but, if the weather allows, I will be going there this Sunday. I can't hardly wait, I am real excited about putting out one of these new baits from BONEYARD BAIT CO. out there. I know it will be something that they have never seen before, and it should tear their nerves all to pieces!!!!
On the inside, The Speckled Trout are biting about as good as you could ever expect them too!!! Reports are that the spots are still on today off tomorrow. The best bait for the spots has been the "FISHBITES BLOODWORMS". If you have trouble finding them DUTCHMAN CREEK BAIT & TACKLE (910) 457-1221 has them, they are located beside the BRUNSWICK CTY. AIRPORT, just before the bridge that goes on to OAK ISLAND. Be sure to tell them that Capt Butch sent you there, I'd appreciate it!! Whitings, Flounder, and Bluefish are biting as well.
Grey Trout should be on the inshore reefs along with some big Red Fish. Try cut bait, squid, mullet minnows, or jigging spoons such as the "Stingsilvers", or "Diamond Jigs".
The offshore bottom bite, well unless something drastic has happened to the ocean out there, it should be good as it always is. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder from time to time to find them, but, they are there somewhere and will usually bite!!! It looks now as though we may have a decent weekend to fish, keep your fingers crossed!!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch & "Private Bodie" the fish dog. www.yeahrightcharters.com |
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