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TUESDAY10-31-06
The weather threw everyone a curve last weekend, but, the recovery has been fast!!! The king mackeral are biting
real good at areas like the Shark Hole, 18 mile Rock, 15 Mile Rock. Cigar minnows seem to be their preferred bait of choice
at this time. Frozen are working good, but, jig up some live ones and these are working GREAT!!!! Offshore the bite for grouper,
kings, amberjacks, various types bottom fish is doing good,and there is still the possibility of hooking up with a Mahi-Mahi.
The Gulfstream is producing some Wahoo, although, you may have work a little harder than usual to find some, but, find them
and you will be very busy!!! If the weather
stays like this, look for the fishing to just get better!!!
SUNDAY10-29-06
The high winds have dirtied up the inshore
waters and it's too rough to get offshore. As soon as things settle back down we will have some more fishing reports!!! Mother
Nature is boss, and all we can do is wait her out. To be continued--------------- FISH ON!!!! Capt Butch and "Private
Bodie".....
In the "GUESTBOOK" Steve asked the question::
Our question is this - when you are bottom fishing what baits do
you use and how are they rigged? Also, do you use wire or rather how do you keep from getting cutoff by the toothy critters that
are encountered offshore?
OK, as for the wire, no, we just get bit off from time to time
and just retie when we do.
Now, as for the other question on bottom fishing, wow, I could
write several pages on this one!! I will try to get you started!!
We tie a double dropper bottom rig in the line, we use 50 lb. line,
this works better than light line, using 4/0 circle hooks and either 8 ounce or 16 ounce weights on the bottom depending
how hard the current is running and how deep. Use the lightest weight you can get by with.
Grouper fishing we use a "modified" carolina rig or a 3 way swivel
set up. I don't exactly know how to explain these rigs in writing.
As for bait, squid and cutbait is good for bottom fish.
Live bait usually better for grouper, Pinfish, Pogys, Cigar Minnows, etc. The trick to grouper fishing is not so much the
bait as anchoring on the structure!! Not close to it but on top of it!!!
If you can get away, I will be doing Seminars on bottom fishing
at both the Raleigh and Greensboro Saltwater Shows in January. I also do them for BOATERS WORLD in Wilmington. And, on February
3rd I will be at Brunswick Community College with SALTWATER SPORTSMAN MAGAZINE SEMINAR SERIES covering bottom fishing. I tell
you about these not trying to put you off!! At these sessions you can learn in one day what it could take you years otherwise.
Hope I helped some, I know I most likely didn't, but, that's a
hard question to answer in writing. Things such as this is better shown!!!
FISH ON!!!
Capt Butch
FRIDAY10-27-06
As the old saying goes, "what a difference
a day can make". Today we were with Joel, Brent, Bruce, and Aaron Somero along with them was good friend David Samuelson.
We were supposed to do a full day trip today and I was going to cancel, but, the guys wanted to fish some, so, I advised them
that it was not supposed to get bad until later that day and we could stay close in and do some fishing. I let them know the
outlook wasn't too good with the weather we had to work with, but, everyone wanted to do what we could.
The strong front that was approaching had definately
messed with the fishes minds and equilibreum. The bite we had the day before had been blown away with the winds that had roughed
up the water from the day before that was flat calm to a good 2 foot chop this morning.
OK, we are going to try it until the swells get to
3 feet, then we are out'ta here I said. Everyone agreed. Suprisingly, we were able to fish longer than I figured we would.
But, the bite was definately slowed way down by the low pressure. We caught a big lizard fish, and we promptly deployed it
on a downrigger at 25 feet. We had not trolled too far when something big tried to tear the rigger off the boat. It stayed
deep like a tuna would do. Brent was the man on the rod but it didn't last too long, the fish proved to be just too much for
the 20 pound class king mackeral tackle we had him on!!! We will never know for sure what it was, but, we do know it was "BIG"
and "HEAVY".
By this time the seas were cranking up and we moved
back inshore to a live bottom area, here, we also found the fish to be a little lethargic. After moving up and down the live
bottom that is a ledge that runs to the east, I finally found a few fish.
We were catching some Black Bass that would have been
keepers just a week ago, but were now a 1/4 inch short of the new size limit, along with those we were catching a few bluefish,
some sharks, Aaron caught a real nice flounder,(of which I forgot to get a picture), maybe they will email me one!! But, again
Brent was the "rod man" when the big red drum hit. We all thought it was a big shark since we had caught several but when
it came to the top it was a 60 inch red drum, which I estimated at 45+ pounds, we did get that picture, since it was too big
to keep!!
Guys, we did the best we could today with the weather
we had to work with and had to call it quits around lunch time. The seas didn't want to cooperate past mid day, maybe we will
have better weather next time, don't think it will be any worse, unless there is a hurricane!!! Till next time, FISH
ON!!! Capt Butch and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, what was my final score for the "swan dive" I did off the transom!!!!
THURSDAY10-26-06
Today "Private Bodie" and I were in the
great company of some local fishermen and fisherwomen. We had with us today Kim Ann Russ, that's right, the Kim Ann Russ from
Southport reality, with her we had the "birthday girl" Jane Astoske, who told her age but I don't think she looked a day over
20, with those girls were Kai Nielsen, and Kid Caison.
We started off on a King Mackeral mission and
found some at the Shark Hole and Coral Bottoms. The bite was not on "fire", but, it was steady most of the morning. As with
all fishing, some of the fishermen had put together the right combination of colors along with the preferred trolling speed,
you know, all the "right little things" that make the difference, while others were just "picking" at them. We would have
limited out if we could have kept all that hit on the hook. But for various reasons, several were "quick released" to fight
again another day.
We got all we wanted by lunch time and we went bottom
fishing. The bottom fishing was a little tougher. The new size limits that went into effect this past Monday has made keeper
size fish a little tougher to come by. But, we kept moving and moving until we found a school of fish that were keeper sized
and wanted to bite.
We were catching Triggerfish, Spanish Mackeral, yeah,
Spanish Mackeral on bottom rigs, I would say there were several where we were at, Black Bass, and of coarse, we were
catching some sharks. But, I must say that the fun really began when a big school of Bluefish moved in. They were catching
them two at a time as fast as they could drop down, and quite a few were good size fish.
Kim, Jane, Kai, and Kid I hope we met and passed your
expectations of what you expected on a fishing trip!!!, I know that Bodie and I enjoyed fishing with y'all!!!!! Till
next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says HI!!!.
WEDNESDAY10-25-06
This is a call for all fishermen and fisherwomen!!!
"Private Bodie" the fish dog and I need your help!!! The fish, all types of fish, inshore fish, offshore fish, all kinds of
fish are on the attack here in Southport,NC. Grab your rods and reels and come help us catch these fish, IT IS TIME TO FILL YOUR FREEZOR FOR WINTER, NOW!!!!
TUESDAY10-24-06
I am thinking that
someone e-mailed me about some numbers to the 390/390, etc. or something like that. Please, if I didn't answer you, Please
e-mail me again, I am thinking it got deleted by accident
TUESDAY10-24-06
All I can say is that until all these fronts
cool the water down too much, the fish are biting. Right now, it seems like everything is biting somewhere. Too many fish,
Too little time!!!!
INSIDE: Redfish, Speckled Trout fishing is real good,
especially the Red Drum!! Also, the spot bite in the river at Southport and Lockwood Folly is cranking up!!
INSHORE: Blues, Whiting, Flounder, Spots are starting
to make some strong runs. Between the inshore and offshore, areas like 15 mile rock 18 mile rock, shark hole, this is where
some of the king mackeral have moved to. However, with the bait making it back to the beached and the spots starting to run,
look for some to make it back to the beaches to feed on these. On the way out to these spots, look for big schools of spanish
mackeral and blues that are popping up on top. Grouper bite is good now in these areas.
OFFSHORE: There have been some Black Fin Tunas spotted
and caught around areas like the Horse shoe's 1 & 2. Some king mackeral are also in these areas also as are some Mahi-Mahi
still hanging around. I caught a Mahi- Mahi last Saturday at 18 mile rock, and Capt Chuck Gambino on the "FISHBUSTER"
caught a Sailfish around 70 lbs. last Saturday around the 15 mile rock area.
GULFSTREAM: I have not been or heard from there, but
would expect it to be doing well with Wahoo's and it is time for the Yellowfin Tunas as well.
Weather permitting, I will be fishing sometime
this week. Have had to cancel all my trips so far this week. Hoping that I will be able to get Thursday, Friday, and Saturday's
trips in, not looking to promising at this point, but, it is that time of year.
Also, remember, we have had some regulation changes that
went into effect on the 23rd of this month: SNOWY GROUPER: Possession limit to one per person in the 5 grouper
per person per day aggregate recreational bag.
Golden Tilefish: Same as above, 1 per person in the grouper limit.
VERMILLION SNAPPER (B-LINER): Size limit increased from 11 inches to 12 inch
total length.
BLACK SEA BASS: Size limit increased from 10 inches to 11 inches total length
and to 12 inches next year, and bag limit reduced to 15 fish per person.
RED PORGY (PINKIE) Increase the bag limit from 1 to 3 per person per day.
I have compiled the above fishing report for
you to help you decide what to do this weekend if the weather will cooperate!! Worse case scenerio, you can always go spot
fishing on the piers, it really is fun, and although they are not one of my favorite fish to eat, they're not too bad!! Hope
this wil help!!! FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and (soon to be promoted )"Private Bodie" the fish dog, say HI!!!!.
SATURDAY10-21-06
I cancelled Fridays trip due to the winds,
but, Saturdays forecast was for 10 to 15 out of the NE with 2 to 3 foot seas. Well, lets see, 10 to 15 if you add those together,
that's 25, throw in an occasional 30 knott gust, OK, that's pretty close. Now, let's see 2 to 3 foot seas, if you add those
together you get 5, throw in an occasional 7 to 8 footer, yeah, that's pretty close too!!!
OK, that's enough picking at the weather
forecast, we are all only humans, and we all do and will make mistakes as long as we live here on earth. So, we had to make
the best of what weather we had to work with.
We decided to go fishing because the
forecasted NE winds at 10 to 15 would have the beach laid down and we were looking for some kings, grouper, and bottom
fish, which are all now in reach closer to the beach. We had another group of fishing guys from Fayetteville, NC.
These were Troy Ham, Marquail Flemings, Mark Flemings, Kerwin Steele, and Vic Impemva.
As we reached our first destination, the Shark
Hole, we were greeted with high winds and high seas. We and the weather made it there at about the same time. We were there
and was going to have go back in a 5 to 7 foot head sea, so we decided to make the best of it and it might possibly lay down
some later that evening, Wrong!!! Hey, it's the weekend, isin't it supposed to blow on the weekends?
We started off bottomfishing and light
lining. The current was running strong, real strong, this made it hard to grouper fish and bottomfish, but, we managed to
put some fish in the boat. Troy Ham caught his first grouper ever, even though it was too small to keep, he said that's fine,
I have always wanted to catch a grouper. Don't ask him about the other three he hooked up with and liked to took the rod out
of his hands before they broke off!!
Also, while bottom fishing, a small school
of Mahi-Mahi came by the bost, I grabbed a spinning reel baited with a cigar minnow and pitched it to them. They would look
at it and turn away. I pitched it back out and as they run up to it and started to turn away, I reeled it as fast as I could
and that was more than they could stand. One of them charged the bait and hit it in a mad rage. We left it in the water, but,
after a bit, we never seen the rest of them again.
Marquail was the rod man on the dolphin,
this guy handled the rod that was loaded with light line like a pro. He and the mahi-mahi went head to toe for several rounds
back and forth and on both sides of the boat, later, I was very impressed that this was his first time fishing in the
ocean on a boat. You couldn't tell it by the way he handled that Mahi-Mahi!!! I will have to say that I believe he is
a great fisherman headed for many more great days on the hi seas!!!
The kings were biting today, as we heard
from other boats on the radio. They were not "on fire" by no means, but they were catching some. We never got the first king
mackeral bite on our lite line, we did get several sharks on it though!! The King we caught was on a Drone spoon
we pulled as we moved to different spots to fish, too rough to run fast, so we fished while we were moving!!! The bottom
bite and lite lineing included today, Black Bass, Grouper, Bluefish, Flounder, Grey Snapper, Mahi-Mahi, King Mackeral,
Sharks, eel's, Ringtails, Pinfish, and Lizardfish.
All in all, we had a great day on the
water fishing. The weather was not like what we would have preferred, but, you have to sometimes make the best out of
what you have, and today we did just that. We caught fish, exchanged some fish tails, talked about past fishing trips, told
some jokes, had a lot of laughs, got some lines broke, had some fish get off, put some fish in the boat, and just had another
great day of fishing with some more of our customers that have become our friends through fishing!!!!!! Now, can you improve
on that, I don't think so!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!!! Capt Butch Foster and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, WOW!!!!
those were some big waves!!!!!
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FRIDAY10-20-06
The king mackeral
bite has moved a little off the beach, but, some can still be caught in the areas of lighthouse rocks and the reefs. The best
bite has been in the areas around the 18 mile rock, 15 mile rock, sharkhole, etc; The grouper have also moved into these king
mackeral hotspots. They come in closer to shore this time of year, and they are here!! Try live bait or frozen cigar minnows
on the kings, live bait is usually better for the grouper, however, that is not written in stone!! The black bass will and
are also moving in closer this time of year. The same areas as for the kings and grouper should hold some schools of black
bass very soon!! Closer to the beach, there have been some pompano, whiting, flounder, red drum and black drum caught. The
grey trout should be here as should be the spots, but I haven't heard much out of those lately. Also, the spots should make
their fall run soon!! The strong SW winds we have been having will have the water dirtied up, but, it should clear up
fast. On the inside creeks and such, the Red Drum and Black Drum bite has been on fire. live mullet minnows and the berkly
gulp baits are doing very well!! The Gulfstream has been a little slow, there are some Wahoo's and Sailfish reported from
there, but that's been about it for now. The Yellowfin Tuna's should show up any time and when they do, that's where you can
find me, around the 100/400 or the Black Jack Hole!! Tomorrows weather looks pretty good, maybe we can go fishing again!!
Till next time, FISH ON!! Capt Butch and "Private Bodie" the fish dog, says HI!!!!.
TUESDAY10-17-06
I have taken a few days
off to get some much needed repairs done on the "YEAH RIGHT" and to start getting ready for the up coming Bluefin Tuna season!!
We are also starting to prepare for the Greensboro and Raleigh Saltwater Shows, and we are trying to get our loose ends tied
up so I will be ready to go when the SALTWATER SPORTSMAN SEMINAR SERIES comes to the east coast, I was asked
by George Poveromo himself to join up with them this year and I accepted his offer!! Two days from now, on Thursday, I
will be doing a fishing trip and shoot a video for AMERICAS OUTDOORSMAN. We may do King Mackeral or bottom fish, and we may
do two shoots, one on each one!!
I have gathered a fishing report in the middle
of all this for you so it will help you plan your next outing. I didn't include the "inside" report, but, I was told today
that the Speckled Trout and Red Fish were biting like bulldogs and a lot of the Red Fish are big enough to fit into
the required slot limit to make them legal size. That means some "Blackened Redfish" for dinner!!!! Even a few flounder are
mixed in as are Black Drum also!! If you would like to go catch some Red Fish and Black Drum and flounder
on the "inside" give Capt. Marty Wright a call at (910) 200-7801. He operates "WRIGHT OF PASSAGE" charters and you will
get the same type of quality customer service you have grown to expect from "YEAH RIGHT CHARTERS".
Here's the report::
King Mackeral fishing is still good to great. They
have moved out a little, but, areas like Shark Hole, Jungle, 390/390, 18 Mile Rock, etc; there seems to be quite a few still
here, and some are big ones!! Live bait is getting harder to obtain with them going deeper and getting more scattered.
Look more for "mud balls" now than "flips" on top. Grouper fishing has picked up with the fish moving closer now to the beach.
Try the above areas with live bait, you may get a big suprise!!! The black bass are also moving in closer now, find a
good school and expect the action to be fast and furious!! Offshore, the bottom fish are willing to bite as they always
do in the cooler months. Winter is some of the best bottom fishing to be had offshore here in Southport,NC. with the usual
being vermillion snappers, grouper, triggerfish, porgies, silver snappers, grey snappers, and various other species. The false
albacore should be here very soon and Bluefin Tuna fishing is just a few weeks away!! Wahoo are reported in the Gulfstream,
WHERE ARE THE YELLOWFIN'S???? Inshore reefs are producing some grey trout and red fish along with some bluefish. Spots
should arrive in big numbers anytime now, but, a few are being caught now!!! Inside the Red Drum and Black Drum are biting
real good!!Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and "Private Bodie' the fish dog says HI!!!!.
SATURDAY10-14-06
A question was asked in the "Guestbook" of what size fish
won the US OPEN KING MACKERAL TOURNAMENT and how much they won? The winning fish was 39.30 and they won over $39,000.
We had a trip today with the guys from Fayetteville,
NC. They are regular fishermen on the YEAH RIGHT, but, today the weatherman and mother nature could not agree on things,
and as usual, mother nature won again, as always.
The King Mackeral's were biting all around
us, but, we were wanting bottomfish, and not being able to get offshore made that task rather difficult, but, we did find
some black bass and some sharks. The bite was slow, with a lot of juvenile fish in the mix, but we fished as long as we needed,
to make sure everyone had a good amount of fish to show for their efforts.
It was a tough weather day and a tough fishing
day, but everyone worked together and we kept moving till we found what we were looking for, as James says, "GET THE HOT SAUCE"!!!!!
Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch & "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, HI!!!.
Here is a report of what's happening now!!!
The King Mackeral are biting at the old sea bouy and the Cape
Fear river channel, best bait here is live pogys. Cigar Minnows are doing good on the kings around the 18 muile rock
area. A sail fish was caught and released at the 18 mile rock by Bayne and Becky Hobbs on the boat "Bubble Gum" this
past weekend, The trout and drum bite has been hit and miss on the inshore reefs. Expect this to improve as the water
cools a little more. Spots, well, it's "spotty"!! I talked to several "spot fishermen" and got mixed reports as to some being
caught to a lot being caught and some wanting to know where they were. I guess you got to find the right "Spot" now at the
right time!! This will improve as well very soon!! There are lots of Bluefish in the area now and the Spanish Mackeral are
scattered, but, run into a school and you can catch them. Best place for them lately seems to be around AR-440. The grouper
are moving in closer to shore now as they do this time of year. The bottom bite offshore is real good, actually, some of our
best bottom fishing occurs in the winter months offshore. Haven't heard from the gulfstream, but the Yellowfin Tuna bite should
be anytime now!! FISH ON!! Capt Butch & Bodie.
FRIDAY 10-13-06
Today we went in pursuit of Flounder
and trout but they were not aware of it, or, maybe they were!! I went to several spots and we were met by some nice size bluefish,
but, no flounder or trout. The King Mackeral bite was happening around the "old sea bouy" and the river channel. From the
radio talk, it was doing well!!! Even a friend of mine, Bayne Hobbs on the boat "Bubble Gum" reported that he had just
boated a Sail Fish, got pictures and released it to fight again another day!!!
Now, it was hard to keep fishing for
these but, Bill Young, Gwenn Young, David Haney, and Jeannette Haney, from VA, and MD did not want any King Mackeral,
so, we kept looking for some trout and flounder. Every where we went it was either Bluefish, trash fish, or nothing at all!!
I had another place I needed to check. It
always has something on it, it may not have trout and flounder, it has in the past, but if not it will have something on it,
and today was no exception. It was loaded with black sea bass and a few sharks. We decided to get a mess of these since the
other fish were playing hard to find. I put 4 hooks on Jeannette's line and she even caught 4 at a time. There were a lot
of small fish (9 1/2") but there were quite a few good keepers here also. We even caught a gag grouper that was too short
also.
I had a time finding fish today, but,
again determination and the desire to not give up pays off again. No, we didn't get any trout or flounder, but, when the cold
winter winds are blowing up in Virginia and Maryland, and you curl up by the fire place with a bowl of "Fish and cheese soup"
(found on the recipe page on this site) trout and flounder will then be the last thing on your mind!!! Till next time,
FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says,thanks David for the ginger snaps, they were real good!!!
THURSDAY10-12-06
I am sitting here at this "tireless tube" instead
of fishing today. We were going to go, but, the 15 to 20 knott SW winds had other ideas. Yesterday was a pretty day and to
recap a little of what is happening when you can get out will follow.
We are getting back closer to that time of
year when you need to be able to drop what you are doing and be able to go fishing at a moments notice, such as yesterday!!
The king mackeral bite was good on cigar minnows at
the 18 mile rock yesterday as was a report from Capt. Ron Farnsworth on the "Shes Slick" that the Spanish Mackeral were on
the AR-440 everywhere and they were hungry and were biting 00 Clarke Spoons. I know he is telling the truth, he and Admiral
Helen are bringing some to the house tonight for dinner.
Capt. "Dickie", on the "Get Reel" had a good
day yesterday on the bottom fish SW of the Tower. He was fishing with my todays charter, in which we were headed out for a
day of flounder fishing, but, the winds said other wise!! All of us had to cancel todays trips!!
This front is supposed to pass through this
evening and tonight. It is going to feel more like winter than fall, but, after things settle down, I look for the great Fall
fishing that we have down here to get into high gear. This cold front should "fire off" the spot run and get the kings to
"chewing" everything in sight!!! You can also look for the grey trout and Red Drum fishing to improve on the inshore reefs. There
have already been some grey trout being caught on the reefs along with some "BIG" Red Drum hooked up and caught.
While I am here, I would like to take a moment
and again thank all of you that have either signed, left a comment, or asked a question on our "Guestbook" section. This
helps us to know that you enjoy and like what we do. I am working hard at being your "one stop" on the web that will keep
you informed as to what is biting when and where here in Southport,NC. It is a lot of work to keep all this up and keep a
boat up and run charters too, and the only reason that I can physically and mentally do this is because it is a "Labor
of love" for my fishermen and fisherwomen family!!!! So y'all enjoy this site, it is here exclusively for all of you to enjoy,
and THANK YOU again for letting me know how you like it in the "Guestbook Section"!!!!
We are going to try it again tomorrow, if we
get out,You can find out what happened right here!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster and "Private Bodie"
the fish dog says, dang wind, I wanted to go fishin'!!!.
In the "GUESTBOOK" Tyler asked
about stopping an anchor from dragging. First, THANKS for visiting our site and for asking your question!! You didn't
say what size boat or anchor you are using, but the system I use will hold a big boat (45 ft.+) or so and will allow you to
anchor right the first time.
When the current is running
that strong, it is usually to strong to bottom fish anyway.This used to happen to me as well, sometimes I would
go to all the trouble to get anchored up then the anchor would "drag" through my grouper hole, a fluke style anchor
was the worst for me to do this, and this will spook everything. To stop this, I now use 50 feet of 5/16 chain and a 22 pound
Plow Anchor. 300 feet of rope will be enough rope in most cases, however, I keep twice that much on my boat, (just in case).
I strongly reccommend, unless you look like "HULK HOGAN" to incorporate a windlass with this chain and anchor set up, or in
a few weeks, you will look like "HULK HOGAN"!!!! Hope this helps, I know this in most cases is "overkill" but in my business,
I can't use an anchor that drags!!! When this rig hits the bottom, the boat is anchored. If you go to this, be
sure to hook up the chain to the back of the anchor and tie the chain to the front where it will break loose and pull
the anchor out backwards if it gets "hung up"
SUNDAY10-8-06
Todays weather was predicted to be NE 10 to
15. Well, it wasn't. We went to try to get some more kings and when we got back to the old sea bouy area the winds picked
up to 20 to 30 out of the SW and the bite was non-existant except for a couple of sharks, one was an Atlantic sharpnose and
the other was a hammer head.
Gave that up after a couple of hours and moved
to some rocks that were loaded with fish. Here we hooked up with some big fish several times that broke our 50 lb. test line.
We caught a lot of small fish, a few black bass, and a few more sharks. The fish that broke the lines, some acted like sharks
and some of the others acted like some big red drum.
It is time for the big red fish to be here,
so, I am fairly sure that a few were red drum, this is the time of year for the big boys to get on the rocks and reefs just
off the beach. It was a very tough day, but, we had fun and managed a few fish for the frying pan!! Till next time FISH ON,
Capt Butch & Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, man, that jerky hit the spot!!!
SATURDAY10-7-06
This was a "wild weekend" with the US
OPEN KING MACKERAL TOURNAMENT and trying to figure if the weather was going to be as reported or not, and it was not. We had
beautiful weather to fish the tournament, only thing, to get that beautiful weather meant the passing of a cold front and
the awesome king mackeral bite that was going on on Thursday was slowed way down by the full moon and the front that went
through.
Now, it didn't shut it off completely, but,
it was slow for most and some didn't get a bite. Capt Chris came home this weekend to fish with me and Andy Smith of Charlotte,NC.
Our day started off capturing live pogys at
58th Street and then we headed to the old sea bouy, just like everyone else, because the day before the bite there had been
awesome!!! We found it to be slow, Around mid day we checked out WOFES and the rocks off Lockwood just to see, we found
nothing, so we went back to the bouy.We ended that day with a "teenager" and one 22.40 and another 24.10. when we weighed
in we were in 13 place. The next day we had trouble getting bait and Ricky Holden saved the day for us again by floating
us a bucket full. We went back to the old sea bouy and we found the bite to be REAL slow today for us. We caught one around
15 lbs. and a little later one "crashed" a double pogy rig in the prop wash. Everyone that King fishes knows that this
bait is a "Big Fish Bait".
This fish tried to leave the country!!
Now I know that my "fish tale" is like many others, but this one did happen to us today!!!
This was a heavy fish, it made a couple of long runs and Andy
was working him slowly and gently to the boat. We were getting anxious, we had half the leader on the reel. We run about 50
feet of Trilene XT to help prevent the "tailing" of a big king mackeral, and it does a great job!!! But, when the line
goes limp and you pull back in two hooks and you only had a slight bend in a live bait rod it means only one thing, today
was not your day. Capt Chris and I have come so close so many times, we are past due!!!
Now, we know it could have been a big
shark, but it sure acted more like a big king. We never saw it, so, we will never know. We do know this, whichever it was, it
will be bigger next time!!!
Congratulations to those that placed and a
special congrats goes to good friends Bill Sears and his wife Barbara for taking 2nd place, WAY TO GO BILL & BARBARA!!!!!
Andy, Capt Chris and I could have not had a
better team mate for this tournament, you were great and you handled the rods like the professional fisherman that you are,
we will get him to the boat next year!!!! FISH ON!!! Capt Butch & Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says,
don't forget the treats!!!
This is Andy Smith with his daughter Madison, holding
the King Mackeral we boated the second day of the tournament
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THURSDAY10-5-06
THE KINGS AND BAIT ARE ON THE BEACH,
THE BITE HAS BEEN AWESOME, INCLUDING SOME "BIG" SMOKERS 40+ LBS.
WED.10-4-06
The fish are biting but I have taken
this week off to get ready for Thurs, Fri, and Sat. This week is the week of the U.S.OPEN KING MACKERAL TOURNAMENT!!!!
Here is the fishing reports that I have
at this time, this is the one that I sent to all the newspapers and magazines that I report to weekly, when I can't go get
it first hand,these come from very reliable sources!!!Let's go fishing!!!!FISH ON!! Capt Butch.
The fall fishing is upon us. The problem with making
a fishing report
> now is trying to decide where to start!!! I'll
do my best!!
>
> INSHORE: The spots made a little run a few
weeks ago, just enough to
> get a spot fishermans adrenlin flowing then they
seem to have stopped
> or slowed down a lot. Rest assured, the "BIG
RUN" is just around the
> corner!!! Whiting, Spanish Mackeral, Grey Trout,
Speckled Trout, Red
> Drum, Bluefish, Some Black bass, Flounder, King
Mackeral, all these
> are biting inshore now!! As the water cools,
the trout, Black
> Bass, and Red Drum fishing will get
even better.
>
> OFFSHORE: The bottom bite is good with Vermillion
Snapper, Grey
> Snapper, Grouper,, Amberjacks, Triggerfish.
The KIng Mackeral are in
> the South 40 area and to the west, they have
been biting in the Jungle
> area. Bait (pogys) are starting their fall tricks
of "Here comes a
> boat, RUN"!!! They are getting hard to catch
and scattered and real
> spooky as they do this time of year.
>
> GULFSTREAM: The word from the stream is a few
Wahoo with a King
> Mackeral mixed in once in a while, as well as
a few Blackfin Tunas.
> The Yellowfin Tuna should show up anytime, I
hope!!!
SUNDAY 10-1-06
Can you believe it!!! October is already here.
And this month means great fishing along the Southport, NC beaches, and today was no exception.
We left South Harbour Marina with Willie Spivey
and his son Alex, along with Brandon King, James McNeill, Alvin Chriscoe, and Gene Turner from Asheboro, NC.
We decided since the King Mackeral bite
had been so hot the day before that we would just go out and load up on those and then go bottom fishing. Let's see, isin't
there some kind of saying about counting chicken before the eggs hatch or something like that,well, it should pertain
to fish eggs. Every one was finding that the King bite from the day before had vanished. There were some being caught
but pale in comparison to Saturday.
We started at the Shark Hole, the bite there
was slow, I did see one boat hook up with a fish, don't know what it was, it pulled the hooks before they could
ever see it. There was very little bait there. Left there and went to the 18 mile rock, same scenerio, 22 mile rock, same
thing. I decided to head to the Gary Ennis, on the way out, we decided since the King fishing was so slow we would try
bottom fishing.
First stop the Vermillion Snappers were biting
like bulldogs. The guys were pulling in 2 to 4 pounders as fast as they could get to the bottom. Next thing we knew, we started
getting only the heads in. Sharks and 'Cudas moved in and took over, And just as I would have done, the Snappers
left!!! We moved to several more places only to find the bottom fishing to be slow also. I went to place to place in
my search and marked plenty of fish but they were reluctant to bite.
We decided to call it and head in. As I
was cruising back towards the Cape Fear, I told Willie I got one more place I want to check. I haven't fished it in a couple
of years, it has always been my "Ace in the hole" so to speak. I altered course about 30 degrees and set out for my "hot
spot".
Upon arriving, The fish were there, now
will they bite, or be like the other spots. It has been a good while since I got my fishermen into Black Bass that were biting
like these were. Two at a time as fast as you could drop and crank them up!!! It was no time until we had a five person
limit of Bass in the boat and these were the big ones. There is no telling how many smaller ones we threw back. Not only that,
the guys pulled two nice Flounder off the spot and limited out on Atlantic Sharp Nose Sharks at the same time.
I must say, I tryuly thought that today was
going to be one of those days that I was going to be ashamed to report on as far as the catching is concerned, but again,
perserverance and the drive to not give up paid off once again.
Oh yeah, Alex, who is 8 years old, well, I
won't tell you put right about all the big fish and big sharks he caught, but, I would like too tell him to be sure he
doesn't spend all those guys money at one place. He did so good, I even paid him also because I was on the boat!!!!
Willie, It has been a while. Seeing you
again brought back memories of the old Striper fishing days on Badin Lake. Thinking back makes me realize how fast time on
this earth is slipping by. Hope to see all of you again soon!! Hope everyone had 1/2 as much fun as we did!!! Till next
time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, don't forget the dog treats!!!
SATURDAY 9-30-06
We went fishing again today with Dave
Gorsline, Bobby Williams, and Jeff Noyes. Even though the King Mackeral are biting very well on the beach, we wanted some
Grouper and bottom fish for the freezor.
The passing low pressure and the high that
built in fast afterwards had the fish a little disorentiated, but we kept on looking until we finally found a "rock" that
had some fish that wanted to bite.
Now that may not be why everywhere we
went we had trouble catching anything but tomtotes and ringtails, but that's the best excuse I can come up with on such short
notice. But, I didn't give up and perserverance finally paid off with a nice catch of Red Groupers, Black Bass, Grey Snapper,
Sharks, Silver Snapper,Triggerfish, and a few B-Liners.
We finally had a beautiful day to go
fishing. Dave and his gang have had a bad run of nasty weather everytime we wanted to go fishing in the past, but this
time he hit it perfect, light winds and calm seas. We all had a great time and caught a bunch of fish. Till next time, FISH
ON!!!! Capt Butch Foster and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, Capt Chris we love you and miss you very much, and I will
second that one!!!!
THURSDAY 9-28-06
Today we went on a bottom fishing trip with
Ronald Grubb, Jerry Lester, and Crystal Holloway from West End, NC. We started on the Raritan wreck in hopes of getting
an AJ. They were there but would just look at the live pogys we had and then turn away, guess they were not in the mood.
We hit several Grouper rocks with fish on them
but they didn't want to bite, so I moved to fishing ledges and this was the ticket. On the first one, Crystal hauled up a
nice Red Grouper and as we worked up and down the ledge, they were putting Silver Snapper, Black Bass, Vermillion Snapper,
Grey Snapper, Trigger fish, and even got an Amoco Jack and an Amberjack.We all had a good time and even caught some fish too!!!
In other news, The King Mackeral and
Spanish Mackeral have finally invaded the beach. As I was heading out this morning, I heard Capt John (QB)of the boat SEAWITCH,
and Capt Chris on the boat LIQUID ASSET report they had put some nice King Mackerals in the boat off Yaupon
Reef and that they were "skying" all around along with Spanish Mackeral jumping every where. So, it sounds as though
the "FALL BITE IS GOING DOWN NOW ON THE BEACH"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Weather looks good for this weekend at this
time,(but,it can change) so come on down and catch some Kings and Spanish!! Till next time, FISH ON!!!! Capt Butch Foster
and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says HI!!!!.
TUESDAY 9-26-06
Today we had a late evening trip with the gals
from COASTAL LIVING MAGAZINE, they were Jean Allsopp, Elizabeth Beeler,Kay Fuston, and Keri Payne. We started off Spanish
Mackeral fishing after Capt Buster on the SEA HAWK III gave us some #'s where he had caught some Spanish and Blues earlier
today.
It was obvious that a bite had been there
earlier. Birds were sitting all over the water and the bait had gone back down deep, not on top as they are when the fish
are feeding in them. We caught a few, about a dozen Spanish Mackeral and a few Blue fish and I overheard one of the girls
say lets catch something big. With this in mind and some blues and Spanish for bait we set out for some sharks.
With the girls having plans for
the evening, I didn't have a lot of time to work with, so, we rigged up a 50 lb. class outfit and went to an area that is
known to hold sharks. From this point on it went from fishing to catching!!! Elizabeth,Kay, and Keri all caught a 30
to 40 lb.+ Sandtiger shark then it was Jean's turn. A little apprehensive about catching a shark, it didn't take long after
the bite until she was fully involved and determined to land the big Black Tip shark see had hooked up with. We finally
brought it into the boat and it was just an inch short of being the legal size of 54 inches, all the sharks were released
to fight again another day.
Now, these girls are going to e-mail me some
pictures to put with this report. I was so busy helping get the fish into the boat I didn't have time to get any pictures,
however, I did get some video of Jean fighting her big shark and hope to have it on the CD we show at the fishing shows!!
It was a pleasure and an honor having
you lady's on board today and fishing with us!! We hope to see you again soon!!! Till then FISH ON!!!! Capt Butch Foster and
"Private Bodie" the fish dog says, "come on back and get another big shark, I KNOW I can whip one, I'll show you next time"!!!
MONDAY 9-25-06
The word of the day lately has been "Cancelled
for winds" and that continues today. Tomorrow we have a 1/2 day and with a N wind, we will be able to get this one done. Will
let you know what we do, don't know what they want to fish for yet, maybe kings, maybe trout, maybe spanish, what ever we
do, I'll let you know right here. Also, the spots are starting to show up!!!
SATURDAY 9-23-06
Winds blowing the seas up to 5 feet plus today,
so, we cancelled todays trip offshore. Tomorrow doesn't look much better at this time, but, it can change fast, if we go you
will know right here!!!
GEORGE, The "slabs" you refer to are skate wings,
there is a recipe for these on the "recipe page" on my web site, and, they are REAL GOOD. If you like scallops, you will like
this!!!
RICK, My opinion that the inshore King Mackeral
bite has been delayed by the rains from hurricane Ernesto. All the fresh water that flooded the Cape Fear river ran into the
ocean lowering the salinity of the water so this dirty and fresh water pushed everything back out to sea. The water
is getting back to normal, slowly, the bait is returning and the inshore King bite should happen at any time. This scenerio
of lots of rain is actually worse for our fishing than a full moon and an East wind, and the latter two are pretty bad and
all three are a charter captains nightmare!!! FISH ON!! Capt Butch
FRIDAY 9-22-06
Today we were fishing with Amy, Steven,
and Capt. Austin Surrett also along were Brian Oldham, and Bradie Hayes from Lexington,NC, the Silver Valley area. These were
some "hometown" folks, I being from the Lexington area myself, was wanting to get them offshore SW of the Tower today,
but, when I reached the Horseshoe #1 area I knew this was the end of the line so to speak!!
We would have to try to get hooked up here
or go back in. The seas were not as they were predicted to be today, now isn't that hard to believe!! There I couldn't
find much of anything, so I went about 8 miles to the SW to a little number, that move would also give us a better ride back
with the East wind. Yeah, I know, East wind, fish down here don't bite on an East wind, but, I had to get these guys some
fish, somehow!!
Here we found some fish on the bottom and a
little bait suspended. There was enough bait to hold a decent King Mackeral that we landed and had another run but missed
that one. " Bet there were some FLW TOURNAMENT fishermen today that would like to have had that King Mackeral, remember,
East wind!!!"
Steven was hot on the trail of Amoco Jacks
today, and his wife Amy, helped him with some of them and she also helped with some sharks also!!. Now,Bradie, she was on
a mission to catch all the sharks in the ocean, and was doing a good job of it.
Now, I promised I would not tell who
got the "bug" but, we were reduced down to one fisherman before it was all over with. Now I didn't tell who the one was who
was still fishing!!! It's nothing to be ashamed of, it happens to us all eventually. Besides, it turned rough enough
today that most anyone would get the "seabug" today. Suprised I didn't!!!
The fishing was tough to say the least, but,
"Private Bodie" the fish dog pulled it off again and got them some fish to eat for dinner and some to pull on their string
so they could have some fun catching and not just fishing!! Till next time, FISH ON!!!! Capt Butch Foster and "Private Bodie"
the fish dog says, tell Capt Austin Surrett I said HI!!!.
THURSDAY 9-21-06
Nothing to report lately, waiting for
the winds to settle some. Just like in the spring, the fall and winter is a transition time, meaning fast changing weather
patterns which means winds, which means rough seas, which means trip cancellations, Yep, it's time of year again!!!! Hopefully
we can get out Tomorrow, time will tell!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch.
MONDAY 9-18-06
Fished today with Jason and Larry Blackburn
and Reverand Roger Radcliff from Pikeville, Kentucky. We started off looking for King Mackeral. The first stop was at
the South 40. We put the lines in and in short order we had a King Mackeral screaming the drag. Then we had another run, missed
him, had another, missed him, then missed a few more and had several short strikes. We thought we had found the "mother lode"
of Kings that have been so elusive for so long!!! Don't ever think you have fishing figured out, it will bite you!!! Then
the bite for us and the other boats that were there just quit. We had King Mackeral "skying" around the boat with bait fish
in their mouths, but, our baits were not to their liking, so, we quit trying to figure them out and went bottom fishing.
Now, the bottom fish are biting. We caught
Black Bass, B-Liners, Triggerfish, Yellowtail Snapper, Grey Snapper, Silver Snapper, Grouper, and sharks. If you see Jason
ask him about wishing for a big fish and what can happen. He wanted a big shark all day. We were getting ready to call it
a day around 3:00PM that's when it happened. Jason got a bite, then nearly 3 hours later, he had his big shark at boat side
for a photo shoot. Congrats Jason, we were glad you were able to get your shark fishing with us.
Fishing tales and memories made again today!!
I THANK YOU, all the men and women of the armed forces for keeping our country free so we can have the opportunity in this
country to do what we want to do and I THANK the LORD for giving me the health and drive to do what I do and I THANK all the
fine folks that have chose us to fish with, MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!!! Capt Butch Foster and "Private
Bodie" the fish says, man, I got a workout today, where did all those fish come from????
SUNDAY 9-17-06
Didn't go fishing today, had a cancellation!!
But, I recieved a "Guestbook" comment that all you Spanish Mackeral fishermen will be interested in. I have copied and pasted
it here for your convience, Please be sure to let Cary Kearns know that we all appreciate his generosity in sharing this info.
with us. This is the way it is supposed to work!! Cary, if I can ever help you let me know, I'll do my best!!! Enough talk,
here is where the Spanish were at the other day!!
Comments:
Yesterday I decided to go out of Lockwood Folly.
I headed towards the beach on Holden beach to get bait. I saw very few birds diving. So I decided to go on to the Horse
shoe. On my way there I saw lots of bait and spanish. I made a stop to try to net bait and my boat wouldn't crank back
up. so there I sat waiting for Sea Tow to give me a jump.Disgusted, I went home to polish battery terminals and charge batteries.
Anyways, my reason for posting was that the clear water line is on the east side of Holden beach from shore on
out. Also the spot where all the schools of spanish were passing was N 33 50.28 / W 078 10.86 . The schools
were one after another. Hope this helps.
SATURDAY 9-16-06
My report is running a little late today. Had a 1/2
day trip, but, when I got back I worked the rest of the day until 11:00PM on a new windlass that I just put on the boat.
It is a shame that you have to pay an arm and a leg for items like these then have to machine out parts to make them work
right. Guess I should be thankful that the Lord gave me the talent to do these kind of things, and I am!!!!
Now, to the fishing. We left South Harbour
Marina this morning on a 1/2 day trip with, Richard Turner, Cerrie Turner, Lisa Ramirez, Marro Ramirez, Gilberto Cruz, and
Julueta Cruz. We dropped the Spanish Mackeral lines in at the Hot Hole where there were a few birds diving. After a few circles,
it was evident that they either were not there or if they were, they were not biting.
I kept watching and saw nothing
that represented a Spanish Mackeral or the bait fish that they would feed on. OK, time to go to plan "B". You don't have a
lot of time to put it together on a 1/2 day, especially when the water is as dirty as it is right now. However, it is clearing
up, the cleaner water is getting closer to the beach day by day.
I asked if they wanted go to some rocks
I have about 8 miles out and see if we can get some bottom fish, they did, so we did!! As I pulled up to the rock ledge, the
fish were stacked up. I dropped anchor and immediately they started hauling in some nice grey trout, some mixed sizes of Blues,
and a few Black Bass. Even hooked up a few sharks.
Just as it started it stopped, the fish
were there but the bite turned off. I checked my tide watch and sure enough, the tide had gone slack, dead low, and that usually
means the bite will shut down until it turns again. But, only problem, when it turns today, we will be already back at the
dock!! We still picked up 1/2 a cooler of fish, more than likely a whole lot more fish than we would have had if we kept on
Spanish Fishing!!
Today, we were able to put the puzzle together.
What's the saying, "Someday's you get the bear, and someday's the bear gets you". Thankfully, we have managed so far to stay
one step ahead of the bear!!!
The arrival of the grey trout is a sure sign
that the fall fishing is about to kick off. So, if you have been to busy to go fishing yet, you have just been too busy, it's
time to go!!!
In closing this report, I would like to share
a suprise with you that I recieved the other day. I was at dinner, and the phone rang, and I answered it as usual, but, on
the other end was George Poveromo. Now George is the man at SALTWATER SPORTSMAN MAGAZINE that does articles for the
magazine, he also has a Saltwater Fishing Show on ESPN, plus, he heads up the SALTWATER SEMINAR SCHOOL that travels the country
each winter teaching people how to fish. I have been honored by being invited to join their seminar sessions this year
and I have accepted their offer.
And with this invitation I must thank all the
people that has made this possible, for without the blessings of the Lord, and the people that I have had the honor to
take fishing, this would have never been possible. THANK YOU ALL for fishing with us and the comments that you put on our
"Guestbook". As I have said before, "without all of you, what I do would be useless" THANKS AGAIN!!! Till next time, FISH
ON!!! Capt Butch and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, Man, I sure love them trouts!!!!
FRIDAY 9-15-06
Today we finally were able to get back
offshore. It wasn't the calmest day I've seen, but, it wasn't too bad. Mostly in a big swell. We had one of the crews
from Washington, DC with us today and when we left the dock they said we want to catch some grouper. So, off we went
to the East side with, Reuben McNair, Clifford Stone, Rev. John Myers, Donald Stancell, James Hunter,and Samuel Cole.
Upon arriving at the first grouper rock, they
were there!!! We got the boat anchored on top of them and only had to move a couple more times all day. We caught Grouper,
Reds, Scamps, Gags, we also got Triggerfish, Grey Snapper, Amorings,(Amoco Jacks), B-Liners, Silver Snapper, Bigeyes,
Sharks, and we hooked some BIG sharks,Black Bass, Porgys, and be sure to look at the BIG Hog Nose Snapper that Clifford
Stone caught, I wasn't sure just who was going to win that battle, but Clifford came out victorious!!!
Finally, after two weeks of being landlocked,
we got back offshore, and I think we started off the weekend pretty good. I bet these guys won't have to be rocked to sleep
tonight, they stayed busy all day. As always, another good day of fishing with some great guys!!!!
Got a 1/2 day tomorrow, we will see if the
inshore bite has gotten any better!! Till next time, FISH ON!!!! Capt Butch and "Private Bodie' the fish dog says, I stayed
home today and got some rest!!!
TUESDAY 9-12-06
Today we had an offshore trip that I
cancelled due to the winds and predicted 8 to 16 ft. seas. I hate to cancel trips, some people wait all year and drive long
distances to go fishing, but as I have said before, you have a gamble that the weather won't cooperate when you book a trip
and NO fish is worth risking a life over. You can always go again later.
Well I want to thank you all that have e-mailed
reports and fishing experiences, I enjoy reading them all and I will eventually get them all posted on here for all to see.
It sure helps when the fishing is slow, plus, it is interesting to read what others have experienced on the water.
KEEP 'EM COMING!!!
Check this one sent to the "GUESTBOOK' I pasted
it here for you. It sure brings back some memories of me and my son. Capt Chris that I will cherish the rest of my life and
into eternity!! Time is too short that you have with your children, It's over all too soon!!!! But, anyway, check this one
out from David Sasser from Atlantic Beach, He has had some awesome days on the water!!!!!!!!
Comments:
found your website in an online search for fishing
info about 6 mos. ago and read it every day. Would love to come and fish with you sometime. We fish out of Atlantic
Beach with a friend who has a private boat and usually get offshore about a dozen or more times a year. My son, now 16 has
made every trip for the past 10 years; On one of them that he missed, we caught a 278 lb. bluefin. He said he'd never miss
another! I wanted to tell you a sailfish story. You seem real close to your son and I certainly can relate to that. Four years
ago when he was 12 we were coming back in from offshore with a boat full of kings, wahoo,tuna and dolphin (a really awesone
day). Just as I reached for a rod to stow away, the drag started screaming and a sailfish jumped. I asked my son to take the
rod but he refused. Long story short, we caught and released 82 inch sail. I asked him why he wouldn't wind it in and he responded-you
are older than me and I'll probably get another chance later. Well it came 4 years later. This summer, i'm proud to tell you
that Grayson caught and released a 83 inch sail at the 14 bouy off Atlantic beach. I couldn't even talk for 2 hours. I was
and remain a very proud Dad. Thanks for all t
MONDAY 9-11-06
Even though the fishing has slowed and the
winds have picked up for now at the beach, I would like to share a couple of fishing reports sent to me by e-mail; Thought
you might like to read what's happening at other places, let me know if you like to read these along with the regular saltwater
reports. Thanks in advance: you can e-mail me at captainbutchf@earthlink.net
The first one is from John Reams who fishes
the boat out of Holden Beach called KINGSWILD II
Captain Butch as I read and have experienced those BIG BAD WINDS down east I can only imagine how it must be affecting
your industry. I read your reports daily and have always looked forward to reading the events of your adventures and gleam
green with envy wanting to be there. I guess we kind of forget how good things can be at home. I went fishing the other day
for Big Blue Cats and I have caught many fish in the 45 to 50 pound class but I may have missed the state record Thursday
night. I fought the fish for 25 minutes on 20 pound class outfit, by myself the fish come up beside the boat and made a beeline
back for the 45 foot bottom. When he returned to the surface he almost took me and the rod under the boat. Trying to trim
both motors up he got tangled in the rear anchor line and broke off. The impressive thing about this was there I stood soaking
wet from the thrashing, a limp and hook less rod as I watched a fish turn and swim away. This fish tail section had the girth
of a 5 Gallon bucket. I did boat a 38, 27 and my brother next to me boated a 63. Not to bad of a day. If you ever have the
desire to lower your standards of fishing and want to just do some POWER CATCHING give me a call.
Lake Gaston
KINGSWILD II
This one is from John Gallo from Raleigh, NC. This sorta
reaffirms that the fishing is slow now, but, these were some "BIG" Spanish Mackeral!!!!
Butch,
I read your fishing
reports on a regular basis even though I fish out of Topsail Island. I enjoy seeing how your charters are going and
the fish you catch. I fish in the SKA tournaments as much as we have time for which has only been 3 times this year.
We fished in the CCSA tournament last weekend and needless to say the fishing was poor after the storm. No kings but
we managed to put two citation spanish mackerels in the boat. 8 lbs and 10 lbs. This was pretty good concidering
the conditions. Hope you have continued success, and the fishing will get better!!!!!!!!
Tight Lines
JG
John K. Gallo
SUNDAY 9-10-06
I had the honor today to fish again with
some GREAT people. Cheryl and Willie Ford from Lincolnton, NC have fished with me in the past and they are some very
fine folks. Their sons Brian and Chandler fished with us last time, but like Capt Chris, they now are in college. I talked
with Mr. Ford on Saturday evening and discussed the fact that the fishing was not good inside at this time due to the recent
storm that we have had. They talked it over and decided that they wanted to give it a shot anyway.
Now, as most of you now know, I report
the good "catching" and the "Bad" Catching days and today fell into the later category. Capt Ron had found some Spanish Mackeral
and a lot of bait a few days ago around Shallotte inlet, well, today as luck would have it, it was gone. We did manage a few
Spanish and some Blue fish, and we lost more fish than we put in the boat. The reports from other boats around the Cape Fear
end were about the same, a few fish and that was all!!
After a honest to goodness try to catch
Spanish Mackeral without much luck, we decided that maybe we could pick up some bottom fish on the rocks out of Lockwood.
The fish were there but were just reluctant to bite. We picked up a few Black Bass, one nice Grey Trout, a few sharks, and
caught a lot of Black Bass that were too short.
I am embarrased to post pictures of so few fish, but
this is all we got on a 1/2 day trip. And as I have said before, you will get it straight from me, be it a good catch or
be it a not so good catch. I can't fill the boxes up with fish every time, but, those that have fished with me know I will
try my hardest too and won't give up trying to find some fish until the last minute!!!
Until this dirty and fresh water gets flushed
out of here and the bait gets back in here the fishing is going to stay tough on the inside. Anyhow, we had a good time. It
was nice to sit and talk about things to some people I consider as friends, and we still caught a few fish. Willie and Cheryl,
it's been a while, it was good to see you both again, tell your sons HI for me!!! Till next time FISH ON!!! Capt
Butch and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, I love those Spanish Mackeral!!!!
SATURDAY 9-9-06
At this rate, I need someone to send
me a fishing report!!! Today's charter wanted to go offshore, but, with 4 foot plus seas at the Tower Bouy no one would have
had a good time today out there. Spanish Mackeral fishing on the beach was about all you could do today, and a report I got
from another fisherman was that they were not biting today either. I wonder, let's see, NE-E winds, Full moon, maybe, I don't
know for sure, but that sounds good to me right now until I can think of a better excuse!!! When all this fresh and dirty
flushes out of here I think the fishing will explode because the bait is getting thicker and there is a lot of bait to the
west. And my guess is that this will take place in a week or less. Lets hope so!!!
I have a 1/2 day tomorrow and they want to
catch some fish. I am going to let them know that the fish aren't biting very well right now so we may not have a report tomorrow
either. I just can't take someone out fishing knowing that the fishing has been slow without letting them know that their
chances are slim of the fish biting. Now, that's different than when the fish have been biting and then slow up
while you are out!!!If they want to try their luck, then I will let you know how it goes right here.
Next week, we have finally been able to finalize
a date for some video to be made. We will be shooting video for two days next week for the "AMERICAN OUTDOORSMAN". Also,
if you are free at 7:00PM on Wednesday, Sept. 27th. call BOATERS WORLD or drop by and sign up (it's free) and come on
by that evening, I will be doing a seminar on FALL KING MACKERAL FISHING!!
Also, while I am on this type subject,
mark your calenders for the saltwater/fishing shows this year: The first will be at Greensboro,NC on January 5 thru 7th.
The seacond will be January 12th thru 14th at the JIM GRAHAM BUILDING in Raleigh. We will be at both shows doing
seminars again this year, be sure to come out and join us and if we don't know you, be sure to introduce yourself, we would
be honored to meet and talk fishing with you!!!!
If you have had a
good day fishing lately, please e-mail me and let me know. All this wind is causing me to have withdrawal pains!!! Till next
time, FISH ON!!!! Capt Butch.
FRIDAY 9-8-06
The SW winds of summer are starting to give
way to the NNE winds of fall and this is the scenerio every year about this time. It makes our business of deciding when to
go fishing and when not to go a lot harder. We have been locked into the SSW winds of summer and don't want to give in to
the fact that it's starting to get where we are going to have fewer days coming up that we will be able to get offshore. But,
the sooner we decide to realize this, the better off we will be!!!
Today was one of those days. We had a
two boat charter today offshore but the weather was predicted to be NNW 10 to 15 with gusts up to 25 knotts. Offshore in that
is not a pretty place to be.So, we decided to try it again at another date. It was being predicted to be the same all
weekend, but, I checked the offshore forecast just before writing this and now they are saying that we might salvage saturday.
Be sure to check the forecast again often, it can change fast down here and often does!!! You can find all the weather info.
right here on the "FISHING REPORTS" Page.
If the weather holds, we may get out
tomorrow, only time will tell, it's that time of year!!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch.
THURSDAY 9-7-06
Today we had a 1/2 day from Bald Head
Island with Brent Belch, Tom Fultz, Chris Kennedy, and Andy Cooper. Capt Ron Farnsworth of the boat "SHE'S SLICK" helped me
today. Capt Ron and I go back farther than we both like to think about!!!The water on the beach was and is dirty. There is
some bait starting to show back up on the beach so look for the fishing to improve on the beach, most likely, daily.
We did manage two decent keeper Spanish
Mackeral, a half dozen "throwbacks," a few got off, and a few Blue fish. Another boat said he had one flounder off the
reef and when I left, the King Mackeral bite had not happened yet.
Let's all hope this other hurricane stays
away!!!!!!!!!!!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!!! Capt Butch and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, now, this is my kind of weather!!!!
WEDNESDAY 9-6-06
We almost had a report
today!! We went to Bald Head Island today to pick up our charter group but the threatening weather just would not go away,
so, we opted to wait till tomorrow. So, maybe, just maybe, we will have something to report on tomorrow. It will be a 1/2
day trip, and as much fresh water that is coming down the Cape Fear and as dirty as the water is, well, I hope I get a big
surprise tomorrow and the fish are biting real good. We will find out, weather permitting!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt
Butch and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says: this was the shortest fishing trip I've ever been on!!!!
MONDAY 9-4-06
Didn't go fishing today!! Took the day
off to get ready for the rest of the month. We will be back at it tomorrow. I hope I have the camera fixed, if it's not I
guess I will have to get another one. will know tomorrow for sure!!
We will be going offshore tomorrow, weather
permittimg, this will be my first time offshore since the storm. I will let you know if it's as dead out there as it was in
the 18 mile rock area Sunday. I don't see how it could be!!! But, you never know. Check back, I will try to have everything
up here before too late tomorrow night. Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and"Private Bodie" the fish dog says; Capt.
Chris, we all miss you!!!
SUNDAY 9-3-06
Today, we went fishing with Casey
and Keith Cronan, and as I expected, the storm's rains had dirtied up the water and the bite was all but non-existant. All
we could come up with were a few sharks. All boats were reporting the same results, slow, slow, slow!! Did hear
of a good Spanish Bite at the jetties at Little River inlet, but, that was all I heard of biting today. Haven't heard of what
went on offshore yet, we were in the 18 mile rock area and it was dead there. Hopefully in a few days the fresh water will
flush out of here and the fish will get back on track!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch
THURSDAY8-31-06
OK, the weather guru's down here
are saying that the weather is going to be just fine for the Labor Day Weekend. I'd check with the Highway Patrol, call (*HP)
and find out if the roads are open where you are going. We are supposed to have mainly trouble from localized flooding. Ernesto
has speeded up and is supposed to be out of here tomorrow. If things change for the worse. I will post it here, but now it
looks as though the weekend will be salvaged!!!! FISH ON!!!! Capt Butch...
WEDNESDAY 8-30-06
OK, we have a hurricane/tropical
storm heading this way. But, it looks like it just might be out of here in time for the weekend. Let's keep our fingers crossed
that it won't be too bad. I am sure we will have to deal with some dirty water on the beaches with all of the rain that is
expected. Just another "fly in the ointment" so to say, but, all will be back to normal soon!! Till next time, FISH ON!! Capt
Butch.
TUESDAY, 8-29-06
OK, Here's the deal!!
All that rain we had last week that flooded Wilmington has finally gotten down the river to the ocean. the water on the beach
is dirty and the winds are blowing. Like it or not, we have got to get through "Ernesto's" winds and rains before the fishing
will get back to normal again. This may take a week or so, time will tell for sure!!
No, we didn't get
any Fishing articles made today, we will try again when things settle down and clear up. This is a good time to get your mainteance
done on your boat and tackle to get ready for the fall run we will have soon!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!!! Capt Butch.
MONDAY 8-28-06
Didn't fish today, took a break, tomorrow
we will try to do several Fishing Magazine articles in one day. Not real sure what species we will be after or how many we
will be able to cover in a day. The weather (winds)may not let us do any. Hopefully, it will hold off till Thursday!!! If
it does we may get Wednesday's fishing in also, but, after that it looks downhill for a few days until this proposed hurricane
gets out of here!! Till next time, FISH ON!! Capt Butch.
SATURDAY,8-26-06
Today the saga continues!!! We picked
up Larry Housand, Kyle Saburn, Gary Saburn, Chris Pruitt, and Eddie Hollifield, and again we were cursed with a ENE wind.
This is the "fish bite stopper" wind here in Southport,NC. I don't know why a E wind "turns them off" but, it does.
Maybe someone can enlighten me on this, I have my theories, but that is just what they are, my theories!!!
As we were leaving the dock, I called
Capt. Buster on the SEAHAWK III and he said the Spanish Mackeral were biting so we decided to try for a few of those. It wasn't
long before we spotted a school up on top chasing bait out of the water, then it wasn't long before the long awaited call
of "FISH ON" was heard!!
We were picking up Spanish on a regular
basis then the decision was made to go bottom fishing. I knew that my work was "cut out" for me from that point on!!! Remember,
I said in the beginning, "The saga continues" we were still dealing with an East wind. The first several places we hit revealed
real slow action. We had to get to deep water, so I headed South, this way I would have a little trough to come home
in this evening!!
We couldn't go to our regular places
due to the time we used Spanish Mackeral fishing, but we ran out to 80 feet plus water and here Larry Housand found himself
hooked up with a real nice Gag Grouper to go with the Spanish Mackeral that were caught earlier. They also added Black Bass,
Grey Snapper's, and some good size B-Liners
Another good day on the water, although
it was a little rough, we had a good time with some more great people. I am very fortunate to be able to do what I do and
get to meet so many Great people, you know they are great before you ever meet them, how could they not be? They are fishermen
and fisherwomen, need I say more!!!! Till next time FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and"Private Bodie" the fish dog says, I had to rest
today, two days in a row is hard on these little bones!!!
***** We took pictures,
but when we tried to download them from camera, they turned out pink and you couldn't see them, we are in the process of resolving
the problem*******
FRIDAY 8-25-06
Today we were fishing with
Billy Owens, Fred White, Albert Craig, and Joe McMillan. Our destination this morning was to start in the 350's and work our
way to the 360's. The bite was tough and staying on the fish was even tougher with the building NE winds that were predicted
to be 5 knots and variable, "YEAH RIGHT"!!!! they were more like 15 to 20 steady!!
But, just the same, we found some fish
and kept aggravating them till they bit. Our creel today consisted of Grouper, B-Liners, Black bass, Grey Snapper, Triggerfish,
and some sharks!! We even had a few fish hooked that we couldn't turn or stop, some acted like Big sharks and some acted like
Big Grouper!! All we can tell you for sure is that what ever they were, they were more than the electric reels could handle!!
Although we didn't have the numbers of fish
we usually have, we all still had a good trip, and these guys are always a pleasure to fish with and we always have a good
time, Thanks for the memories!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch & "Private Bodie" the fish dog says HI!!!!.
THURSDAY 8-24-06
Can you believe this month is almost
gone, where does the time go? This week has been a week of improving conditions. It started off with some rough conditions
on Monday, got worse on Tuesday, was a little better Wednesday, and was fairly nice today. We will see what tomorrow brings.
To start the week off, we tried to bottom
fish on Monday, that was a "bust". The weather was just too bad to do any thing!! Tuesday was so bad we cancelled everything!!!
Wednesday, we ran two 1/2 days. The first half found the fish not wanting to cooperate at all. Everyone was looking
for fish, with not much luck being reported. I had Douglas Rogers and his three sons, Colin, Brendan, and Quinn Rogers. We
tried for some Spanish Mackeral, as did everyone else, no luck.
We had a report of some Black
Bass caught on the rocks just off the beach. I and another charter boat went there only to find a bunch of small undersized
ones, but we searched on without much success. We did manage a few sharks and a few Black bass and a Blue Fish. Now, I was
really down on myself for not being able to find more fish that would bite. Well, I was humbled very much and brought back
to earth to realize that it isn't always how much you catch and how easy it is to forget that sometimes even a bad
day for me is considered a great day for someone else. Don't believe me, look at the smiles of joy on these kids faces!! So,
in their eyes, just maybe I did do my job after all!!! Thanks guys, you were all GREAT!!!
Now, that evening, things were improving a little. I had called Jeremy Hall,
Regina Brooks-Hall, and Josh Ort, to let them know about the slow conditions. Their decision was to go fishing, they knew
there are no guarantees on catching and besides, he said, it sure beats sitting on the beach.
This afternoon we had some good conditions to try for some sharks.
These will give you a good fight, and if you catch one in the "slot limit" they are good to eat also!!! Only problem, I wish
someone had told the sharks the conditions were good, end of that story!!!
Let's go see if the bottom fish were
doing any better, ditto on this one also!!! I was running to another spot, a last resort type of place, if you fish, you know
the type place. I was about three miles from the next place when my 1st mate, Eric Ross said, look, they are on top over there!!!
Yes, there they were, those elusive
Spanish Mackeral that everyone had been looking for all day, finally, here they were. They were jumping and running bait fish
every where and in just a short period we boated 35 Spanish Mackeral. The action was fast and furious and we soon had all
we wanted and called it a day!!
Now, we are to Thursday. We went offshore today to
the Grouper grounds with Davis Troxler, Rick Troxler, Joshua Troxler, Joseph Troxler, Matt Kutz, and Jim Maness.
The grouper were there and were biting, but
they were all to small to keep. We must have thrown back a fish box full of 19 1/2 inchers, 1/2 inch short of legal size.
We did get a keeper Speckled Hind. The Grey Snappers, Black Bass, and B-Liners were biting pretty good and we did
get a mess of those. we also caught a fish that I have never seen before, I looked it up in my book of fish and it is called
a "BIGEYE" and the book said it was good to eat and it was a tropical reef dweller. I took a close up of it for you to look
at!!!
There is something new out there just
about every day!! The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend, but who knows, it can change overnight or even hourly,
and often it does, and not always for the better, but, if it is bad, it will be nice again, shortly!! Till next time,
FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says HI!!!!!!!!.
WEDNESDAY 8-23-06
Had two 1/2 days today and
the fishing was slow at best but we found some fish. It's after 11:00PM, you see, when I got in today, I had to replace two
batteries and a mascerator pump and a wash down pump that all went to the bad all in the same day. I will try to get caught
up tomorrow night, Now, I said I would try, I have a 10 hour trip grouper and bottom fishing tomorrow so check back, hopefully
I won't have to replace everything on the boat again tomorrow night!!! FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and "Private Bodie" the
fish dog says HI!!!!!.
SUNDAY 8-20-06
I could
go on and on about this fishing trip!!! But,I will say this, when we were through, Joe West, John Sharpe, Ralph Crowe, Mike
Tollins, Larry Bowles, and Bobby Sharpe had a pile of fish for their fish fry back in Sanford,NC and Charleston,SC!!!
We caught various species of Grouper,
Sharks, Triggerfish, Joltheads, Grey Snapper, King Mackeral, B-Liners, Black Bass, Pinkys, well as I said earlier, I could
go on and on, but I think the picture of this trips says it best!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch.
FRIDAY 8-18-06
Everything wouldn't come together
for todays trip. Weather early, trip plans delayed,etc. So we got another day to finish up some needed tackle repairs.
Tomorrow, Saturday, we will be leaving
out on an overnight bottom fishing trip. This will be our last one!! Capt Chris has lost interest in the charter business,
and you have to have two Captains on board to run overnighters, plus, I am not as young as I once was so the decision to give
up the night trips was made!!
To all those in the past, they were fun,
and a lot cooler in the hot summer months,and the fish bite well at night. But, as my late mother always said, "The only thing
that stays the same is that everything changes". And it's time for a change in the overnight trips!!
Check back later, when I have regained
my composure after being up all night, I will post the results here. Till then, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch.
THURSDAY 8-17-06
The last two
days have been offshore trips that we couldn't run due to the winds, and no one was interested in fishing on the beach
for, Kings, Spanish Mackeral, Flounder, Spadefish, Sharks that are usually available on the inside when we have a NE wind.
Our south facing beach is calm when the wind blows from the North direction. So, if you want to go fishing and we have a North
wind, all is not lost!! Fish the inshore reefs and surrounding areas, you will most likely catch some fish, and wait
for calmer winds from the South SW, SE, to head offshore!!
Will be back at it tomorrow and every
day next week,(weather permitting) so, I will have some reports here again soon!! Till then FISH ON!!! Capt Butch.
TUESDAY, 8-15-06
With the day we had Monday, we were excited
to go fishing this morning with Ray Pahl, Dave Pahl, Andy Reinhart,Terry Hemrick, Brian Hemrick, and Dave Lagrou. The report
on the beach was that the Spanish Mackeral was biting decent, but, we wanted some King Mackeral, so, since we had just a 3/4
day trip, we took off to the Horseshoe.
It was dead, no bait and no fish.
Went to the Raritan, here there was some bait and some fish marking on the color scope, but, they refused to bite our baits.
They have got to bite, I thought, there's to much bait and to many fish not to bite!!!
"YEAH RIGHT" they showed me what they
thought about my thoughts. We were running out of time, so we decided to run back to the beach and get some Spanish Mackeral.
"YEAH RIGHT", by now they had stopped biting!! We wound up with 8 Spanish Mackeral for today's trip. I guess we should have
stayed inshore and fished for what was biting at the time!! What's it called? "Hind site is 20/20"!!!!
I know this is no excuse for me not catching
much, but, in my own defense, All the boats that were on the radio were reporting the same results as we were having.
Boats on the East side were reporting "Not a bite". A boat at the Tower reported "Not a bite", Boats at the Horseshoe reporting
"Not a bite", even had another charter boat farther offshore report that this was the worst he had ever seen it!!! He couldn't
even get the bottom fish to bite!!!
I guess this just re-affirms the old
saying' "WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY CAN MAKE". But, I want to THANK the guys that were fishing with me today. They were from
Ohio, and they were fishermen that understood that the fish don't always bite when you want them too!!! Even though we didn't
load the boat down with fish, we still had a Great trip with some Great Guys!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and
"Private Bodie", the fish dog took the day off today!!!!.
MONDAY, 8-14-06
OK,
I'll admit it, I got lazy and didn't put yesterday's report on last night. In fact, after the day we had, I was too tired
to put it on last night. So, I'll see if I can get caught up here.
We had the pleasure and honor to be able
to fish again with Joe Davis and Terry Goyer from Toronto, Canada. We went after Grouper, bottom fish, and what ever else
would bite!! We went on the East side and were greeted at our first stop with Grouper, black bass, Grey Snapper, Sharks, "BIG
SHARKS, Joltheads, Pinky's, King Mackeral, even had Mahi-Mahi all around the boat but they refused to hit anything we threw
at them!!!! The next stop proved much of the same. We threw at least 40 Grouper back in the 18 to 19 1/2" range.
The fishing was fast and furious all
day long. There was something pulling on a line just about constantly all day!! Good to see you guys and fish with y'all again!!!
Hope to see you again next time you're in town. Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster and "Private Bodie" the fish
dog says, HI!!!.
SUNDAY,8-13-06
Today was another windy day and
our offshore trip was pushed back to a 1/2 day inshore trip that proved to be a beautiful day, just too windy to head offshore.
In my previous report I mentioned that the Spanish bite was improving, well, it was, but todays ENE winds had it shut down
nearly completely. Out of all the boats that were Spanish Mackeral fishing, there probably was not a dozen fish total caught.
I know my contribution to the tally would have been only one about 6 inches long!!!
We decided to try some shark fishing.
This was not hot by any means, but, it was better than the Spanish bite!!! We caught two that we put into the boat, had
one to break off and had two that missed the hooks.
Now, please forgive me for not getting
everyones name that went with us today, I didn't even get a picture!! You see, yesterday, Capt Chris left to go back too school
and may have given up the fishing business for good, and I am having a hard time adjusting to him being gone and the thoughts
that he may not be back. He plans on helping me from time to time, but very possibly not full time anymore.
I have a new mate, his name is Eric Ross.
I have known him for more years than I want to talk about. You will find Eric to be very knowledgable about the tactics
and ways of fishing, he will also give you that personal attention that we are known for, and I feel very lucky to have him
to take over and help me out in the charter business, but, Capt Chris is my only son, and my only child, and I am going to
miss him dearly as will a lot of our past fishermen that have become more than our customers, but, have also become our
friends. We are still going to give you that personal attention that you have come to expect from our charter service, but
there will be an empty place in our hearts as we move on with the business!!
The weather is supposed to improve by tomorrow,
and we may possibly be able to get back offshore!! If so, I will try to pull myself together a little better and remember
to get names and photos. Till next time, FISH ON, Capt Butch and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, we're going to miss Capt
Chris, even if he does aggravate the stuffings out of me!!!
FRIDAY, 8-11-06
Today we were going
offshore but with the forecast of severe weather possible this evening we decided to stay close in and do some Spanish Mackeral
fishing.
We were fishing today with Steve Greer,
Lynn Parker, Laura Parker,Jenny Parker,Jordan Parker,and Harrison Parker. The seas were a little "bumpy" on the beach this
morning, but it wasn't too bad of a ride down the beach to the area off of Lockwood Folly where there were some Spanish
Mackeral being reported.
We started trolling the area and were
picking up one here and one there, and then the birds started working the area and the bait was pushed up to the top and the
Spanish were jumping every where, we were hooking up one, two, three at a time everyone was getting into it and the fishing
was getting hotter by the minute , then it happened!!!!
The most feared and dreaded thing in
a ocean fishermans world!! Yes, that's right, seasickness!!! Don't laugh, it can happen to anyone at anytime. And when it
does, all the fish in the world are the last thing you want to see, all you want to see is some dry and solid ground.
So, that is where we headed, to solid
ground, but we did manage 22 nice Spanish Mackeral for the short time we were in them today!! It was a pleasure meeting
you all and having the opportunity to share a part of my life with yours today. Till next time, FISH ON, Capt Butch &
Chris Foster, "Private Bodie", the fish dog says HI!!!.
THURSDAY, 8-10-06
Fished with some locals and some
from Raleigh today!! They were Jason Hunt, Cassie Hunt, Sharon Hunt,Doug Hunt, David Hunt, and Steve Shirley.
We went back to the Tower area
today in search of some more King Mackeral. Sorta wanted to do some Grouper fishing, but with the Full Moon Current we have
now, it would have been tough.
The Kings had moved about 5 miles North
of where we were at yesterday. The bait had moved, and the King Mackeral followed them!! The bite was not as good as yesterday,
but it was good enough to suit everyone, and keep us relatively busy.
We didn't have any shark or barracuda
trouble today. We did hook up a few 'cudas just to have them jump and throw the hooks! We even lost a few kings
due to premature hook removal!!Another great day on the water with some more great people!! Thanks, guys like y'all keep me
doing what I am doing!!! Till next time FISH ON!!! Capt's Butch & Chris Foster and "Private Bodie" the fish dog has "crashed
and burned" on his bean bag bed!!!
Jason asked about Buster
and how he was doing?
He is doing as good as anyone
could with what he is having to deal with!! He is taking treatments and hopefully later will be able to undergo surgery and
get well. We all sure hope so!!! Just keep him in all your prayers and he will make it if it's GODS will!!
Lee asked if we had
a guess as to what kind of fish we lost to the hammerhead? The most accurate guess we have is it was a "BIG" fish that
encountered a "HUGE" Hammerhead!! Out there it could have been a lot of things, but, our guess was a large African Pompano
or a large Amberjack. But, your guess is as good as ours!!
WEDNESDAY,8-9-06
Today Capt Chris and I picked up Tom
Storrs, Thomas Storrs, and John Storrs, from Greensboro,NC at the dock at Bald Head Island. We were headed offshore to
catch some King Mackeral. The first stop we made was a little short of our first destination to wait out a storm and let it
move on out of our way. The bait was there, but we didn't get a bite.
The storm moved on offshore so we left
and went to the Horseshoe. The bait was there along with a few fish. We picked up one king around 8 lbs. but that was it.
We moved on to another spot, much the
same results, plenty of bait,but, no fish. From here we went to the Tower. Again, plenty of bait, but couldn't get a bite.
I was almost getting ready to take the easy way out and blame it on the Full Moon. I know there are some fish out here that
will bite, and I AM GOING TO FIND THEM!!!!!!
Let's move over to one of our "old Faithful"
spots, I told Capt Chris. We went there and it happened. First line in and " FISH ON!!!" Got that one in the boat, a
good 14 pounder, then we got a bite and the drag screamed and the fight began. Tom was the first on on the rod!!
He fought a long brutal battle with a
fish that did not want to be landed, and he was making it known. Tom would gain a few feet of line, then would loose it. This
went on for around 30 minutes. Tom finally got the fish at boat side but could not get him up, it was a stand-off.
At this point, I think it was John who
took over. He worked the fish up a little then he would go down a little. It was getting obvious that the fish was tiring.
We had not seen the fish yet, It didn't fight like a big shark, but, we knew what ever it was it was big!!! John was in a
stand off with the fish, slowly working him up inches at a time.
All of a sudden, to everyones suprise
the fish took off like he was just hooked!!! How could that fish regain that much strength we were all thinking, then the
line went limp, yes the line was broken, we couldn't believe what just happened!!
All of a sudden, Tom yelled, LOOK!!!
The fish that we had on was attacked by a BIG Hammerhead Shark. It had it on top of the water and the water was red with blood.
We still could not tell what kind of fish we had, but the water was red enough to have been a cow!!! And it took a good 12
foot Hammerhead shark 5 tries before it ate it all!!! This was an awesome sight to see happen right in front of your eyes,
and just as soon did it happen, it was over, and we sat just amazed at natures wonders and the survival of the fittest in
it's true glory!!
After this was all over, we got back
to the job at hand, finding some King Mackeral that would bite! And, we did just that!! We found a school and we had trouble
getting more than one line in. We were a couple miles SW of the Tower, and the King bite was ON!!! We limited out in
short order, everyone was wore out from all the king Mackeral, Spanish Mackeral, Barracudas, and the "BIG" one that got away, so
we called it a day.
Another good day on the water catching
some fish, enjoying some of natures ways and getting to do it while in the company of some GREAT people!!! Enjoyed it guys,
we hope you did also!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt's Butch & Chris Foster and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says HI!!!
TUESDAY 8-8-06
Today
we were fishing with Kim Jackson, Christopher Lester, and Dylon Lester from Lexington,NC. This is my old "stomping grounds"!!!
The day didn't start off as I had hoped
or planned. In fact, this morning at 4:00AM the wind was already blowing some, this usually is not a good sign. We had
hopes of going offshore and doing some grouper fishing, but, this was not going to happen today.
The winds by 7:00AM were blowing
a steady 15 out of the SW. Everyone that fishes much down here knows that the best thing to do in this situation is head to
Carolina Beach. All we had available today was shark fishing and Spanish Mackeral.
We elected to go Spanish Mackeral fishing,
and they were biting fairly well, but, just as they started, they also stopped!! The bait that they were feeding on was still
there, they were still there, they just got full or tired of feeding, only they know for sure why they stopped, but they did.
With the forecast for evening storms
and the skys looking more like they may hit this forecast, we all decided to end this trip at a 3/4 day. All in all I would
say we had a "reel" good day of fellowship and fishing. Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt's Butch & Chris Foster, and "Private
Bodie" the fish dog said hello!!!
SUNDAY, 8-6-06
Today I was "between a rock and a hard
spot" as they say. I had Doug Lewis, Darryl Henderson, Dennis Dunston,and Edward Robinson from Raleigh, NC. The problem was
that we had a 1/2 day trip and the fishing has not been that good in the areas you normally fish on a 1/2 day.
I made the choice to travel to
a spot offshore where the fish were known to be biting. You see, fishing for a couple of hours where the fish are biting is
better than fishing four hours where not much is happening. We had flat seas so I could make the run fairly fast, which made
it possible to do this!! Most times on a 1/2 day, you don't have the conditions that will provide you this opportunity, but
today we did!!
Most that hit either cut the wire
or got off or short striked. The biggest King Mackeral got cut in half by a big barracuda. We had him on for a few seconds
until he jumped and threw the hook!!!
Not to bad a trip when you consider that
in an hour and a half we boated 3 and 1/2 King Mackeral, missed about 10 more, and hooked up with a 40 lb. plus Barracuda
and this was a new experience for some of them!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt's Butch & Chris Foster, and "Private
Bodie" the fish dog says FISH ON!!!
SATURDAY,8-5-06
We had the Fayetteville guys fishing
with us again today!! they were Tony Cameron, Herb Campbell, Benny McDonald, James Williams, and Clyde Brooks.
These guys know how to "get-R-done"... We had
numerous black sea bass,Grey Snapper, Joltheads, Vermillion Snapper, Triggerfish, Scamp Grouper, Red Grouper, Strawberry Grouper,
Almaco jacks, Pinkys, King Mackeral, and even got another big Hog Nose Snapper!! I think I got them all, there
was so many we had trouble keeping up with them all!!! As usual guys, it was fun!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt
Butch & Chris Foster, and of course, "Private Bodie" the fish dog sat this one out, Too Hot!!!
THURSDAY 8-3-06
Today we had SW winds in the 15 knott
range, this had our beach kicked up 3 to 4 feet. So we headed up the river to calmer water at Carolina Beach. Here Bald Head
Island would block the SW winds. When we got there, just as I had figured, the beach was flat!!!
We went to the Dredge wreck and
was pulling for some King Mackeral. The action was slow when about that time Capt. Mike, on the Salty Dog called me and told
me he had just run into a bunch of Spanish Mackeral on the East side of Bald Head. Thanks Capt. Mike, hope I can soon return
the favor!!!
Spanish Mackeral have been a rare
commodity this year. I checked the mileage, we were only 16 miles from there and todays group, which consisted of Mike Lair,
Margery Dalton, Karen Dalton,Dan Dalton,and Brian Mitchell, from Mechanicsburg,PA were very interested in catching some Spanish
Mackeral!!!
With the seas a little rougher
than I like, we put up the curtains we designed over the winter, we had a strong cross wind, and these curtains keep the
water out of the boat real well, got the bean bags out of the cabin,everyone got comfortable, and off we went.
Upon arriving, there were birds
and bait and Spanish Mackeral jumping everywhere. And as they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words" we even picked up
a King Mackeral by pulling a long line with a cedar plug on it while we were Spanish Fishing.
The Kings and a few Mahi-Mahi are
available on the normal King Mackeral areas. Look for the Mahi on the offshore spots. Spanish can be anywhere
at anytime. The bottom fish and grouper offshore are usually always ready to attack your baits.
So, come on down and catch yourself some fish to put
in the frezor, they will be mighty good this winter when it's cold outside and you fix yourself some "fish and cheese soup"(found
on our recipe page), that will warm you up in a good way, much different than the hot weather we are experiencing now!!! Till
next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, Too Hot for me right now!!!
Pete was kind enough
to offer Jason some fishing info.
Hi Pete,
I wanted
to thank you for helping out my readers with some local fishing knowledge, this is the way it is supposed to work!!!! Thanks
Again,
FISH ON!!!
Capt Butch
K.V wanted to know why I didn't post on NC
SPORTSMAN anymore?
Hi K.V.
I will post
on NC Sportsman as soon as I have the time again. My charter business has me running 15 to 18 hours a day. I barely have time
to post on my own web site. When I get in at night, I usually answer 30 to 50 E-Mails about fishing, send fishing reports
to local papers, and keep my site up. When we have time off or bad weather, we have a list of repairs for the boat and
equiptment that get broken in daily use. Sometimes, we work harder on the days off!!!! I agree, NC sportsman is a great publication,
but there are only so many hours in a day, and this time of year(peak charter season) 24 hours sometimes is not enough.
But Please know, I THANK YOU for asking, it lets me know that what I do is appreciated, and for that I Thank You!!!! FISH
ON!!! Capt Butch
Jason needs
some places to get started fishing.
Hi Jason,
You
have to be patient, it will come. You will have to put your time in just like we all do and did. You will learn, and
you will prevail!!!! It takes time. I can remember when I thought that there were not any fish in the ocean, and sometimes,
that thought passes by my mind again when the fishing is tough!!
These
numbers are some tried and true, the up coming fall season should prove to make these better. The bottom fishing will be better
right now on the ones the fartherist out. In the winter months they can all be good for bottom fishing. They are all good
for King Mackeral. I hope these get you started off on the right track, and build your confidence. Remember, patience!!!
AR-425
33 53.06 78 06.52
AR-420
33 51.03 78 06.59
AR440
33 49.80 78 13.08
Horseshoe #1
33 31.93 77 58.18
Horseshoe #2
33 30.70 77 52.63
12 mile ledge
33 40.98 78 08.98
15 Mile Rock
33 38.41 78 11.71
18 mile rock
33 35.76 78 15.55
light house rock
33 46.17 78 05.90
These
are just a few, they are not magic numbers, sometimes the fish are there, sometimes they are not. But, I think these will
get you started off in the right direction. Pay attention to how you are rigging your baits, make them look as natural as
you can, and remember to try to fish around bait, find the bait and the predators will be close by(99% of the time). I
hope this will help you and maybe some others!!!
FISH ON!!!
Capt Butch
MONDAY 7-31-06
Today we had a full day trip and
after explaining the situation with the charter they still wanted to try to catch something. Offshore was not an option
today, too rough. With the SW winds predicted to be in the mid 20's, I figured our best bet would be go up to Carolina Beach
where Bald Head Island and Fort Fisher would block most of the winds.
It was the right choice. The beach was flat
as a pancake up there. Being tied to the beach with the winds supposed to blow didn't leave much to choose from. We had all
the ingredients for shark fishing, except the sharks were not aware of this. Other boats were there and the only report I
got was one had had a hit, but, no hookup.
We tried this for a while and soon realized
that the shark bite was not going to happen today. OK, we will try some Spanish Mackeral fishing. These results were not much
better. Only three Spanish to show for our efforts.
I had saved a number up there last year
that was not too far out and I felt that the winds would not be a factor no farther out than it was. I was right and the fish
were there just as they had been there when I found it last year!! Thank goodness I logged that number when I found it, it
saved the day today!!! At this spot, we caught Grey Snapper, Black Bass, Sharks, one "BIG" shark, Three nice Flounder, Amorings,
triggerfish. Not to bad for a windy day!!!
We were fishing today with Troy Ham, Victor
Imtemda, Mark Flemings, Ron Ferguson, and Kerwin Steele from Fayetteville. Hopefully, our next trip in October will give us
better weather and we can get offshore next time!!! Till then, FISH ON!!! Capt's Butch and Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie"
the fish dog says HI!!!!!.
P.S. Jason, be patient, I am going to post some numbers where you and my readers can
catch some King Mackeral soon. A lot of these places will offer good bottom fishing this fall as well..... I will try to get
it on here tomorrow!!!
SUNDAY 7-30-06
Today we had an offshore bottom trip and after checking the Tower Bouy and the forecast, and discussing the options with todays
charter, we decided we would give it a try another day when we had better weather.
Here
I will answer a few questions I have recently gotten::::
Matt,
wanted to know when I thought the Kings would turn back on!!
I sure wish
I had the answer to that one, we have had some great king fishing this year, a lot of it has been in spurts, you can look
for it to get better as fall season approaches. We are in the hot dog days of summer now and things are always a little slower
this time of year, but it won't last long and things will fire up again.
Cary,
Thanks for the information, FISH ON!!!
Pat needs
downrigger parts!! Don't feel bad, if you live long enough it will happen again sometime!!
A real
good, FIRST CLASS, TOP OF THE LINE, downrigger repair facility is in ; Cobbs Creek, VA; it is QUEENS CREEK OUTFITTERS,
P.O. Box 900, intersection Rt. 3 and 198, Cobbs Creek, VA 23035. Phone # 1 (804) 725-3889. FAX# 1
(804)725-5510. Internet Address: www.queenscreek.com E-MAIL queenscreek@ccsinc.com
These guys can and will help you out!!!!!
SATURDAY 7-29-06
Today the weather was as
predicted and I had called the evening before to cancel todays trip but Kenneth Fain from Raleigh,NC and Sam Fain, John
Reeves, Tim Jones, and Stine DeRossett, from Bluefield, West Virginia decided they wanted to go to Carolina Beach where we
would be somewhat protected from the SW winds.
I explained that the fishing was not
that good this year on the inside. That we would be locked on the beach fishing for Spanish Mackeral and possibly sharks.
They said that was fine, so away we went to Carolina Beach. We started out fishing for sharks and it wasn't long until a rod
was bent with an Atlantic Sharpnose shark on the other end.
We hooked up with four sharks total and
was able to land them all. Oddly enough, which is most unusual, they were all Atlantic Sharpnose sharks!! Most of the time
we catch more Black Tip Sharks, but not today!!
But that was OK. The Atlantic Sharpnose,
like the Spiney Dogfish Shark, does not come under the 54 to 84 inch regulation as other sharks do, and on a Charter Boat,
you can keep one per person instead of the one per vessel rule for recreational fishing. There is no creel or size on the
Spiney Dogfish Sharks. And believe it or not, sharks are rather tasty on the dinner table as well. Be sure to check the recipe
page here on this web site, I do a lot of cooking and have some real good recipes on here for sharks!!
The winds picked up to the 15 to 20 as
predicted and the bite turned off just as quick as it turned on. we made several more drifts to no avail, and with a couple
of the crew not feeling the best anyway, we decided to cut the full day trip to a half day.
As for the Spanish Mackeral, we never
tried for any of those and I didn't hear anyone say that they were biting. There were several of our locals up there
fishing for King Mackeral, some were in the tournament, some were fun fishing. From the radio talk, they were few and far
apart also.
It's been a good year for fishing
in general, but things are not normal, or as normal as they have been in past years. The fish are just hard to find and figure
out a lot of times this year. But, we keep on searching and scratching our head, and so far, I have been able to fill in a
few pieces of the puzzle each time we go out. I think that the fish making me think about what they are doing and what they
want will in the long run, actually make me better at finding and catching them in the future!!
The Weather doesn't look too good for
tomorrow. Haven't talked to tomorrows charter yet. But, if we go, it will most likely be the same deal as today. We can't
control Mother Nature, no matter how much we would like to!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch & Chris Foster and
"Private Bodie" the fish dog says HI Cheryl!!!!.
THURSDAY 7-27-06
Today we had a new crew from the
Washington,DC and Maryland area, even one, Hollis Hall was from MS. The DC guys were, James Hunter, Ruebin Mc Nair. Sam Stewart
and Clifford Stone were from MD.
Today we were just plain old bottom fishing.
Be sure to check out Hollis's catch, this was her first time ever offshore and the first fish she has ever caught in the ocean,
good job Hollis!!!!
To all who might be wondering, yes, the
curse has been broken, Mr. Stone has finally gotten his grouper!!!! Hey guys it was a lot of fun. Some great fellowship, and
several fish frys are coming up soon I am sure!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch and Chris Foster, and of course, "Private
Bodie" the fish dog says HI!!!!.
WEDNESDAY 7-26-06
We shared the boat today with some
great guys that fished with us last year. You may remember them also, they were Brett (Jello) Parliman, Joe (Bait) Thompson,
Mark Hayes, Shawn (Trigger Happy) Johnson, Timmy (the Grouper Man) Champion, and Brandon (Sleepy)Hayes. These guys are from
Haw River,NC.
We had a blast, not only did we
catch fish, we had a day of laughs and fun. The weather was perfect, the bite was a little slow due in part to the New Moon,
but we found the grouper!!
We went to the SW side today, the winds were
predicted to shift to the SW this afternoon and this would give us a following sea to bring us home in. And it did just that,
we left the 150/350 area and was at the dock in less than an hour, we cruised in at 38 knots. That doesn't happen too
often in the ocean!!! Not for my boat anyway!!!
Shawn did something today that I don't
know of ever happening before. He caught two Queen Triggerfish from the same hole . This is one beautiful fish!!!! I have
no idea as to how many grouper we caught today. We threw back a load of 19 to 19 3/4 inch fish. Next year should be a banner
year for grouper!!!!! We did however have some nice Scamp grouper, Red grouper, Strawberry grouper, and other various species
of bottom fish along with several Mahi-Mahi we caught "lite lining" while Grouper Fishing.
Weather permitting, we will be
at it again tomorrow. Check back, we will let you know what we did!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch & Chris Foster,
and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, I had to have a day off today!!!
TUESDAY 7-25-06
This morning we left out on a fishing
trip with Ronnie, Ron, and Adam Harvey from West Virginia. With the threat of thunder storms still hanging in the air, I decided
to stop at the South 40 for a spell. The bite there was slow, lots of bait and fish markings on the scope, but reluctant to
bite very much.
We fished there until the threat of storms
had let up. The report from another Captain at the Tower was that the King Mackeral bite was off also. Well, with the knowledge
I had gained at the South 40 and from another boat King fishing, I knew what I had to do.
Let's head East to deep water. Fish in
deeper water are not affected by the moon phases as much as fish in shallower water, (now, that's my opinion), now it may
not be so, but it has always worked for me!!! We arrived at the first rock, got anchored up and things started almost
immediately.
We caught and released at least 30 Grouper
that were 19 to 19 3/4 inches. Just shy of keeper size. They were not all too short though. We had several nice Red Grouper ,
a few Scamp Grouper, a few Strawberry Grouper, another nice Hog Nose Snapper, and a good mess of Black Bass, Grey Snapper,
and B-Liners.
Another great day on the high seas with
some great people!!!! And we even had a cooler full of fillets at days end!! Now, how can it get any better than this??? Till
next time, FISH ON!! Capt's Butch and Chris Foster, "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, HI Caroline Baker!!
MONDAY 7-24-06
Today we started off with a 3/4 day trip so we headed to the Shark Hole.
We got there and dropped the lines in and at about the same time a BIG storm started building off to our west. We hooked up
with a small king mackeral, but, the storm was moving in fast. I thought I could go around it but as I traveled it was soon
evident that it was going to wrap around us if we didn't get out of there.
We took off back for the hill, and not too soon!! There was a lot of lightning
and rain and wind in this one, but I managed to avoid all but a rain shower for about a mile. Once we crossed through that
it was a lot better. Then we stopped to do some shark fishing, got a bite and he pulled the hooks just as another storm built
and came from nowhere. This time it was time to call it quits. Hopefully, next time Richard Hess and his wife and two daughters
will have better weather. It couldn't get much worse!!!
I called to cancel the days evening shark trip, but we decided to wait until
time and see how the weather was then. Turns out, the storms had passed by then so we went in search of "JAWS"!!! We had with
us Pat Kee and his son, Jim Parrish, Kyle Parrish, Megan Minskr, and Kenny Harper.
Upon pulling up on our first stop Kyle Parrish was soon hooked up with a Black Tip
shark. we got some pictures and then released him as he was too small to be legal to keep. The bite was slow this evening,
but we did manage to hook up Kenny Harper with a bigger Black Tip that was also too short to put in the box. So, another picture
session was in store before releasing this one also.
Weather permitting, we will be heading offshore tomorrow. If we make it we will
give you the results here, good or bad!!! July is almost gone, fall is around the corner, if you have not had time to go fishing
yet, then you need to take a break and go soon, or you will have to wait until next year to go. In other words, "If you are
too busy to go fishing, then, you are just to busy"!!!!!
Be sure to check out the way "Private Bodie" the fish dog keeps cool when
it's hot, you can't call him a "dumb dog"!!
Till next time, FISH ON!!!! Capt's Butch & Chris Foster,and of course, "Private
Bodie" the cool fish dog, says HI!!!!!!!.
P.S. Check out the 42 plus pound King Mackeral that was caught off the beach this past
Friday by Michael Applebee, who was home on leave from Iraq, fishing with Captain Ron Farnsworth on the boat WATER
BOY a.k.a. SHE'S SLICK. Congratulation on a trophy King Mackeral. Michael is married to Capt. Ron and Admiral Helen's daughter,
Michelle.
SUNDAY,7-23-06
Didn't go fishing today, Tower Bouy said 7 ft. seas at its location
this morning. Did get a lot of "nit-picky" repairs caught up on boat today and finally got all my e-mails answered-
up to this point, I see I have some more that has come in this evening, keep 'em coming, that lets me know that you like what
I am doing, and I love what I am doing!!!! But remember, I am only human and this time of year I seem to run out of time and
energy, so, it might take me a little bit to get back to you, but, I WILL!!! Please be patient with me. Weather permitting,
we will be back out in the morning, and doing a shark trip tomorrow evening. Hope I catch somr fish so I can give you a catching
report instead of just a fishing report!!!
FISH ON!!!!
Capt Butch
SATURDAY, 7-22-06
We have had some good fishing days lately, but, as the old saying
goes "all things come to an end"!! The winds are blowing again for a few days, so, maybe we can get caught up some and
answer some of our e -mails and questions!!
About the African pompano at the Tower and using Pogys for bait, you are right on both
cases. Some African Pompano have already been caught and Pogys are as good a bait as you can use!! They should hang around
until mid to late August.
Jed, I use the book "GUIDE TO FLORIDA SALTWATER FISH" This book covers a lot
of the fish species we catch off our coast. I am sure there are others!!
The dolphin are thinning out, the Kings can be caught at most any of the usual
king spots, shark hole,tower, 18 mile rock, 90/90, horseshoe, etc;.
Joe, there is a launch ramp off of Fish Factory Road. Come down LONG BEACH ROAD
and turn left in front of CLEMS SEAFOOD, ramp is 1/2 mile on left. There is a pay ramp in downtown Southport also.
FRIDAY 7-21-06
This has been a very special
past two days for the "YEAH RIGHT CREW" Yesterday, we had Adam and David Hugo, from Richmond,VA, and
today we had the honor of meeting and getting to spend the day fishing with four more GREAT young fishermen and fisherwomen. All
these kids have been fantastic!!!!
Today's group consisted of Caroline
Baker, Elizabeth Baker, Sam Baker, and Robert Baker. They even let their dads come along, they were Bryan and Steve
Baker. These guys were from Kings Mountain, NC. I was impressed at these little guys, they could hold their own against most
grown ups when it came to fishing!!! I know I speak for Capt Chris too when I say, today and yesterday was absolutely
fantastic!!!
These guys were (at times),pulling
in Grouper two at a time, catching Mahi-Mahi, King Mackeral, Trigger Fish, Grey Snapper, Pinkys, Sharks, B-Liners, Black
Bass, Elizabeth even had a "BIG" Tiger Shark try to eat one of her Groupers, that was unexpected!!!
What a GREAT day I had by having the
honor of sharing the boat again today with some more young men and young ladies that just happen to be some real good fisherpeople
also. The last two days I won't forget for a long time, hopefully, I will never forget them!!
Jay, (from yesterday) Bryan and Steve,
(from today) you guys I know are very proud of these kids, and you should be, I know I sure am!!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!!
Capt's Butch and Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says HI Caroline!!!
THURSDAY 7-20-06
Well we finally got back out today after being down a few days with engine
problems. And no there are not any pictures of todays trip, Somebody, like me, left the camera in the truck this morning!!!!
We left out from Bald Head Island this morning with Jay,Adam, and David Hugo from Richmond,
VA. We went to the tower area only to find the king bite a little slow. I thought maybe it was me, but, everyone else was
reporting that the bite was slow for them also. The Mahi-Mahi bite was good when you found them. They don't seem to be as
thick as they were!!
The bottom fish were biting well, good sized black bass, white porgys, grey snappers,
triggerfish, B-Liners, even caught a Jack creville!!! Reports are that the kings are biting well to the West but I haven't
tried it myself, yet!! When I do, I will let you know!!! Till then, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch
WEDNESDAY,7-19-06
WE ARE BACK!!!!! Tim at SUPPLY BOAT CO. pinpointed the problem today.
He found a loose connector on the injector,fixed that and the engine runs again. SOOOO!!! we will be back at it tomorrow morning,
so check in for a "hands on" report tomorrow night!!
Have been told the bite is on at nearly all the King Mackeral hot spots. Was told
by another captain today that they(kings) were everywhere!!! Will be leaving out of Bald Head Island in the morning, don't
know yet what we are going to be fishing for, but, you can find out what we did right here tomorrow night. Till then, FISH
ON!!! Capt Butch
TUESDAY,7-18-06
Talked to the Captain that took out my charter today and they did OK on
the King Mackeral and Mahi-Mahi today, along with some bottom fish to go with them.
It looks as though we will be up and running very soon now. I want you to know the
type of person Mike Coffelt at SUPPLY BOAT CO. is. This man has just had surgery, but he knew that I use my boat to make a
living with and that I had taken it to another dealer and I would be put on the "back burner" so to speak!! He called me this
morning and said I am at the shop, bring your boat up here, we will find out what the problem is and get you back on the water!!
You can never say enough or do enough for someone like that. Mike, you are an amazingly careing person, and it shows you do
not do your job just for the money, but instead, you truly care about others!!!! What can I say, I am humbled and beholding!!!
What Mike found with the engines:
Number 5 cylinder was not fireing. Spark was there, so was fuel, but, there was too
much fuel. A fuel injector had stuck in the open position, allowing it to "dump" fuel into #5 cylinder at a rate it could
not burn it, therefore, flooding the cylinder. Now, with the fuel flooding the cylinder and not being burnt, it only had one
place to go. Into the oil. when it did this, it was diluting the oil to the point it had lost a LOT of oil pressure. When
it lost the oil pressure, the engine would go into "shutdown safety mode", therefore it wouldn't run. Put fresh oil
in and the oil pressure jumped immediately to over 100 lbs. A 70+ pound increase. This will keep it out of safety mode. We
ordered a fuel injector and was going to have it "overnight" delivery, but, upon ordering, we were informed it was on "back
order". It should be here in a few days!!!
Mike, you are amazing on these Honda and Yamaha engines, the best I have
ever seen!! I'm telling you guy's and gal's, need a motor fixed, Mike's the man to do it and he truly cares for you and your
engine problems!!! Honda should thank the dealers they have like SUPPLY BOAT COMPANY and Mike Coffelt, It is my opinion, that
these dealers are what keeps Honda selling boat motors.THANKS MIKE, YOUR ONE OF A KIND!!!!
FISH ON!!!
Capt Butch
MONDAY, 7-17-06
I don't know how long it
will be before my motors are repaired. The mfg. has voiced it's stance on the problem, and I am left to handle this on my
own with no further help from them. The motors were bad from the start, and all they have done has been to put me off
and when they finally did do something all they did was "put a patch" on the problem. When that didn't work, they informed
Mike to "patch it up" and let it go, that was all they were going to authorize him to do!!! If they don't do what's right
about these motors, I will never recommend again or buy another Honda engine, ever!!!! I have never experienced any company
so insensitive to their customers problems. If they produce a bad product, they should have the gumption to make it right!!!
OK, enough of my complaining. I am going
to try to compile a report from different sources so you will have an idea of what's biting down here to help you plan your
weekend or weekly fishing trip. I will do the best I can until I am back on the water myself.
Thank all of you who have called
and emailed me with your concerns about my engine troubles. Thank You all that I have had to cancel trips for understanding
that I hate it as much or more than you do. I feel like I have let you down, but, my hands are tied!! Man made mechanical
things break down, especially, when the were never right from the beginning!!!!
The emails and calls have reinforced
why I do what I do!!! As I have said in the past,"Without all of you, what I do would be useless"!!! I appreciate all of you!!!!
About all I have right now is that the amber
jacks are biting well. The king mackeral and Mahi-Mahi bite is still from 20 miles on out to around the tower and other offshore
structures. There have been a few African Pompano caught in the tower area lately. The inshore bite still remains slow.
There have been a couple of comments
put in the "Guestbook", please, let's not make this site a place to air these type things. I appreciate your defence, but
lets just let "sleeping dogs lay still"
Jed, I will give you the name of the book to
identify fish and sharks with, it is in the boat and I can't remember the name of it. The sharks we had, if I remember correctly
were sandtiger.
Thanks again for all your support and
concerns. Fishermen and women are the best people in the world, bar none!!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch.
SATURDAY 7-15-06
No report today, weather was too bad for us
to go out. Just as well though, one of my engines has decided it doesn't want to run anymore anyway. It is a sad case when
a particular motor company preaches about "customer satisfaction" then puts one of their customers through what I have been
through for the past year and a half. It has been a nightmare!!!!
Hopefully, I will have it fixed before too long, will have to wait and see. Till then,
FISH ON!!! Capt Butch
P S: I have had a "bomb" go off in my computer, If I have been putting reports on your
site, please email me so I can get it going again, I have even lost all my e mails. I have lost EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday July 14, 2006
Fished with Jeff and Layton Turner and Brad, Brandon, and Miller Boyles today. We arrived
at the dock with the weather report of 10-15 knot winds out of the southwest so we decided to head to Carolina Beach to avoid
the rough seas off of Oak island beach. However, 10-15 knots ended up to be 25 knots out of the southwest and the water
became rather sloppy. We couldn't go offshore, that was definetly out of the question.
The Spanish Mackerel report out of Carolina Beach has been that they are biting GREAT!! Once
again not the case, the Spanish Mackerel bite had shut completly off and we found ourselves left with only one option, shark
fishing!
If you've never fought a 100-150lb shark on 20lb test line then you are in for a huge light
tackle treat, just ask any of todays crew! After about an hour fight the first 100lb shark was boarded and iced....
then about 30 minutes later we were hooked up on another 150lb monster on 20lb test!!!!!!!! Talk about an awesome 1 1/2 hour
fight!!! No doubt the sharks were a blast and serve to be great on the dinner table.
Fish ON! Capt. Butch, Capt. Chris, and Private Bodie
THURSDAY, 7-13-06
Not much to report today. We went to South Harbour marina this morning
but due to the winds, we decided to stay on the hill today and try again when things settle down some.
Have heard that a few Spanish Mackeral are finally starting to be caught again off
our beach. Have also heard that the Spanish bite is red hot at carolina beach.
FISH ON!!
Capt Butch
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Headed out this morning with Bill May, Michael May, Heather May, and Tarrell May to an area
offshore of the Tower to find the fish hungry and willing to bite!! The weather was nice with overcast skies and
seas around 1-2 feet and a soft southeasterly breeze keeping it from getting TOO hot! The fishing action however was
just that HOTTT!!
We arrived at the first stop around 50 miles offshore and sent the first Grouper lines down
to the bottom! Within seconds the first few RED GROUPER were in the boat and we were sending the lines back down....
the first rock resulted in several throw back grouper and 4 nice keeper Red Grouper and 2 Scamp Grouper and a Strawberry
Grouper! To add to the catch was an AWESOME 26lb. King Mackerel off the lightline landed by Bill May and another
18lb King Mackerel landed by Michael May! 3 Mahi Mahi and a slew of Gray and Silver Snapper!
With the action beginning to slow at the first stop we decided to pull anchor and move to
a new rock. As we approached the second rock we sent the lines down and immediatly came back to the surface with several
throw back Red Grouper! As Bill and Michael dropped to the bottom the result were two grouper bites that
wrapped the 6/0 50-80lb class rods in double and the guys found that they had hooked into something that had as much power
as they did. Needless to say both of these monsters got back in the rocks and refused to let go until the lines broke.
With these two rocks behind us, fish in the boat, a couple of the crew not feeling to good,
and storm clouds on the horizon the crew decided that it would be best to start making our way back to the dock. All
in all we had a great day in great company and caught lots of nice quality fish!!!!
Always a Great Time!
FISH ON! Capt, Butch, Capt Chris, and Bodie
TUESDAY 7-11-06
Today we had a 1/2 day trip with Jody Dean, Trish Ean, Emily
Dean, Arthur Goudey, and Carol Arbogast. Now, usually a 1/2 day trip is on the beach for Spanish Mackeral, Sharks, and King
Mackeral when they are there. For some reason, the beach bite is slow, real slow, almost to the point of no bite at all!!!!
Knowing this I decided to head to the Horseshoe so these guys would be able to
get some fish. I figured it would be better to fish two hours where there were some fish than fish four hours and more than
likely not get a bite.
Now, I can't do this all the time, but I will do what I can if I have the time to get
anyone some fish in the boat. I enjoy what I do and even though it takes money to operate any business, sometimes you have
to throw away the rule book and make things work!!!
We caught a few Mahi-Mahi, didn't have a king bite, all Mahi's. We left soon
enough to get back to the beach to try for some Spanish Mackeral and for a Shark. And just as I had figured earlier, we did
not get a bite on the beach.
This was the first time out for several of my fishermen and women today, but,
when the fish was on the line, you would have not known it. They all fought those fish and brought them to boat side just
like seasoned pros!!!
Guy's we enjoyed a beautiful day on the water today, and just good people
like you all is one reason I love what I do!!!!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!!! Capt's Butch and Chris Foster, and of course
"Private Bodie" the fish dog, says HI!!!!!!.
In the "GUESTBOOK"
David asked about a fill in. Very seldom do we have such a spot available.Most all charters now are private charters. What
I try to do is get your name and phone number, then, when I get four that are interested, I contact you all and try to set
up a trip. Seldom does that work because hardly ever does everyones schedule work where thay can all go at the same time.
It is hard to put one of these trips together, but, I try to help everyone that wants to go fishing try to find a way they
can go. David, I have your name, give me a call so I can get your number and I will try to get you a trip worked out. You
can also look at this way, if you were to book a trip by yourself, you would get many many thousands of dollars worth
of equiptment, and experienced Captain for the day, all for less than one boat payment!! Plus, you will be able to do
what you want to do!!Not a bad deal if you think about it!!!!
FISH ON!!!
Capt Butch
MONDAY 7-10-06
We went fishing today with Chris Barbee, J.P. Baumann, and Charlie
Lloyd. We started off on the South 40. There was plenty of bait at the 40 but not too many fish. We picked up one "peanut"
Mahi-Mahi. After a couple more passes with no results we decided to move on.
From there we went to the Tower. Here we had about the same results. Picked up
a couple kings and Mahi, but still slow for us. I made a call that would be sorta "Feast or Famon". I went to a wreck that
I found last year some 15 miles SE of the Tower. Not being there yet this year, I knew it would be a gamble. Well, as it turned
out I was dealt a straight and the fish had a full house.
Capt Chris looked at me and said, "Now what are you going to do"? I looked back at
my crew and all their faces were asking the same question. And, to top it off, I even asked myself that same question!!! I
had run and gunned for some 45 miles and didn't find any fish to speak of.
I know, let's go grouper fishing and lite line. That was agreeable with everyone and
I had some "Grouper Rocks" not far from where I was at. This was the "Rabbit in the hat" I had been trying to get at all day.
We had trouble keeping a lite line in for a little while with the Mahi-Mahi and Kings. And the Grouper were hungry. We
fished two rocks and caught several grouper that were too small to keep!!! I was going to another rock when I ran across a
rock, a "BIG" rock. I told Capt Chris to look at this one!!! We got set up on it and it started, Charlie even was catching
keeper sized Red's two at a time on a double drop rig. But, J P pulled off the big one for the day when he boated a "BIG"
Hog Nosed Snapper. Well, I don't know, two big keeper reds at one time, I will have to say that either one ( the hog snapper or
two reds at a time) is quite a deal!!!
It was fun guys. Sorry it took me so long to figure out what was biting and where.
But, we did it!!!! Chris, keep them all straight, OK!!
The bait is starting to show back up on the beach again. Hopefully, the Kings
and Spanish will follow them. The Spanish fishing on the beach has been tough here lately!!! The Mahi-Mahi bite continues
offshore, I am having my best luck out in the blue "stream" colored water. Pull frozen cigar minnows on Hank brown Heads or
jig up some live cigar and sardines and deploy these on king mackeral live bait rigs, either one will work. At times, we are
also doing good on cedar plugs pulled around 7 knotts.
Just go out there and if what you are doing isn't working, don't be afraid to experiment.
You just might discover the next hot trend in fishing!!! Till next time, FISH ON!! Capt's Butch and Chris Foster, and "Private
Bodie" the fish dog says, come on, let's go fishing!!!!!!!!!!!
In the "GUESTBOOK"
section, Steve Alcala asked if we could post our available dates? We checked into that at one time, but, we book up fast enough
that by the time I got the dates posted, most of them were already gone. The best way is to call (910) 845-2004 when
you have an idea when you want to go, and if we have any available dates open then most people will hold that date with
a Visa or M/C number for your deposit. A deposit is the only way we can hold a day for you!!
SUNDAY,7-9-06
Today we had Attorney Niles Elber from Washington,DC and Attorney Richard
Pellack from Charlotte, NC and Nile's brother-in-law Michael with us on a Grouper mission.
We caught 7 keeper sized grouper, although one was "quick released" at boat side.
There were as many or more that were not legal size that we had to return to the sea.
We managed several Black Bass, Grey Snapper, King Mackeral and 22 Mahi-Mahi on the
"lite line" while grouper fishing. And on top of that, the current was running so strong, we had to drift, now, if we could
have anchored, who knows how many grouper we may have caught!!!
Another greay day of fishing with some even greater friends!!! It is always a pleasure
to share a day on the water with these guys!! Till next time FISH ON!!! Capt's Butch and Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie"
the fish dog says, cooler days and hot fishing, how can it get any better than this? Oh, I know, cooler days, hot fishing,
and you sharing some of your sandwich with me, Now, that's the life!!!
In the"GUESTBOOK" Billy asked what kind of boat is the 'YEAH
RIGHT". It is a MAKO. There is a full description on the HOME page on the web site.
Jason asked about the suprise: The surprise is in
the boat slip at the marina. We are waiting to finish getting it equipped for fishing and all the permits necessary to charter
her out. She is a CHRIS CRAFT SPORTFISHERMAN, twin diesels, fly bridge, 12 foot beam fishing machine. It takes a while to
get one ready to put into service, please be patient, it is near completion.
FRIDAY7-7-06
The winds have kicked up things around here for the next few days so we have
put the fishing on hold until things settle down some. Got to get these lows and highs to settle down before we can get back
out. The inshore bite on the Spanish is slow at best!! The sharks are biting well if you get your baits in the right spots.
Today, I couldn't find that "right spot". You know the feeling, "some days a hero, some days a zero"!!! There was plenty
of bait today around the "hot hole" area. The reports from the other boats today were slim to none. The fishing has really
slowed for now. Well, if they had kept eating like they did last week, they would all have exploded!!! We have had a streak
of great weather, this is mother natures way of giving us a reality check. We cancelled this evenings and Saturdays trip due
to the winds, don't know about any others yet!! When things pick up (or get worse) we will let you know right here!!!!
Till then, FISH ON!!! Capt. Butch Foster
WEDNESDAY 7-5-06
Today we caught "Pogys" at the "condos" on the beach and we left out for the Horseshoe
area with Jay and Mike Snapp.
The King Mackeral and Mahi bite had slowed there. Weeds were still a problem also. We
didn't stay there long before we picked up and headed to the tower area. This still seems to be the best overall place for
the bite!!!
Now, if you are wondering why there are not a "BIG" pile of fish today, well, there could
have been, but we lost a "PILE" of fish today. It was one of those days, you know the kind if you fish much. If it didn't
jump and throw the hook it would break the line. If it didn't throw the hook or break the line, then a Barracuda would only
leave the head. We even had around a 18 lb. King eat by a big shark.
We still had fun and were in GREAT company. It's not always about how much you catch
or kill!~!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt's Chris and Butch Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, YEEESSS, I went
fishing again today, just love that "people food"!!! I'm wondering, is it the goodies or the fish, or the fisher people I
like. I know, I LOVE them all !!!!
TUESDAY 7-4-06
I am running a day behind at the moment, but, I do see the
"light at the end of the tunnel" as they say. Should be back on schedule in a few days.
We went after Grouper today with Bud Cunningham and Mindy Killion from Morristown,TN. today.
We went to some "holes" on the East side of the shoals, and sure enough, we found some nice Grouper. Mostly Reds and Scamps,
pretty good sized one too!!! We even had a couple that we couldn't get up off the bottom before they broke us off!!! And we
caught a load that were just an inch or less from being keeper size, so, those we released.
We also caught some nice Vermillion Snapper, Grey Snapper, Black Bass, and Triggerfish.
We didn't catch a lot of those because we were mainly after Grouper today.
Mindy, we enjoyed your and Bud's company fishing today. Be sure to come back next time
so we will have enough fish to take pictures of, if you know what I mean!!! Till then, FISH ON!!! Capt's Butch and Chris Foster,
and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, I had to rest today, was too give out from fishing the day before, I will see you next
time Mindy!!!
Monday July 3, 2006
Jason Burkhart and his dad, Martin Burkhart and Daniel Crouse of Thomasville, NC caught 4
Mahi Mahi, some King Mackerel and had several more on that pulled and threw the hooks. A few Barracuda also and a 38lb Amberjack
tally up today's catch.
There are lots of weeds coming together forming up some nice weedlines and the water temp is
about 82-83 degrees and the fish are in the area. Looks like the fishing is going to continue to be good for the next
few weeks!!
Til next time... Capt. Butch, Capt. Chris, and private Bodie, saying FISHON!!
Sunday July 2, 2006
Today we were honored to have the company of James West, Billy Ford, Tim Holland, Lisa & Paul Ford and
Mary Horne aboard the Yeah RIght for a day of wonderful offshore fishing! They ended up landing 4 Mahi Mahi, 11 Grouper (scamps
and speckled hind and strawberrys) Triggerfish, Grey Snapper, Sharks, Almaco Jack and King Mackerel and a few other species
of bottom fish.
A lil excitement while we were out there, an eight foot Hammerhead Shark was behind the boat nearly all
evening!!!! Talk about a sight, he was even hooked up for about 20 seconds, just to scream off the 50lb test and break it!
Catches of Mahi mahi and king mackerel were reported around the Tower area as well as some larger Mahi around
the 18 mile rock area.
The fish seem to be biting good.
From Capt. Butch, Capt. Chris and Private Bodie, FISH ON!!!
SATURDAY 7-1-06
We had our good friends with us today from the DC and Maryland area. They were
Vander Covington, John Blakely, Tony Fouch, and Edwin Brown. It's always a great day when these guys are in town!!!
Today we went after bottom fish. And after the "dust settled" we had quite a
good day of catching bottom fish. It would most likely be easier to tell you what we didn't have today, but I will try!!!
We had Groupers, 15 to be exact, even caught a few that had the "head &
tail disease" and had to be thrown back. We had Joltheads, B-Liners, Amoco Jacks, Black Bass,Triggerfish, Grey Snapper's,
Sharks, we even finished up the day with some King Mackeral and even caught a Cobia.
Another great day on the water with some GREAT people!!!! It was fun, Let's just
hope the weather and fish hold on until next Saturday, see you then!!!! FISH ON!!! Capt's Butch & Chris Foster,
and "Private Bodie" the fish dog say's, I had to stay home again today, to hot, can't wait till the fall season!!!!
FRIDAY, 6-30-06
Today we went to the Tower area with our friends David Thornton, Perry Carter,
and Steve Marler. We actually started at the Raritan then went to the Horseshoe, but, the action was slow there for us so
we moved on towards the Tower. When we got there, things started off real well. First line in resulted in a "FISH ON"!!!!
From that point on it was a busy day of catching fish, quick releasing fish,
landing fish, and just a good day of having fun with some friends we have made while in the fishing business. I couldn't see
myself doing anything else at this point in my life!!!!
Today's catch consisted of King Mackeral, Mahi-Mahi, Sharks, we even stopped
for about an hour on one of our "rocks" and picked up a good mess of Black Bass, Grey Snapper, and Vermillion Snapper before
coming back to the dock.
Guy's, it was an honor to have you on board today, Chris and I along with "Private
Bodie" enjoyed your company today. Hope the fish fry's go well!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!!!! Capts. Butch and Chris Foster,
and "Private Bodie" the fish dog say's , I went fishing today, I had to take a nap while lying on an ice bag covered with
a towel, I stayed real cool. Capt Butch sure does take good care of me!!!!
THURSDAY 6-29-06
Today was a special day for us here at "YEAH RIGHT CHARTERS". We had the opportunity
to take a special young man out on a deep sea fishing trip. His name is Shane Moe, he was fishing with his mom, Sharon Goff
they are from Richmond, VA.
Knowing that Shane wanted to catch some bigger than Spanish Mackeral we headed to the
Horseshoe area. We figured that 2 hours fishing where there were some bigger fish would be better than fishing all morning
on the beach for the smaller Spanish. It proved to be just the ticket.
After about an hour and a couple of King Mackeral, a shark, and a big Bull Mahi-Mahi,
Shane and his mom were worn out and said that was all we can catch. I think the Mahi-Mahi was the clincher, he did not want
to come to the boat and put up a battle all the way!!!
Sharon and Shane, we were honored to have you two with us today. It was definately
our pleasure!! Hope to see you both again real soon, till then, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster, Capt Chris Foster, and "Private
Bodie" the fish dog says, I messed up, I could have went fishing today, it was cooler, how was I to know? All those goodies
eat on the boat and I missed them!!!
WEDNESDAY,6-28-06
The weather has settled back down some and we are able to get out again!! This
mornings conditions were not so good at the Tower so we elected to stay inshore and fish for some Spanish Mackeral. Well.
it wasn't long listening to all the other boats and from our own experience, that the Spanish bite was not going to happen
today. Too much dirty water from the recent storms!!
I didn't want to head to the East side and cross the shoals with the winds we
had, so, I elected to head due south. This would give us a good ride with a following on the way home. Let's go find
clean water and some bait and we should find some fish!!! Well, we did and we did!!!
Today we had Bill Bryant and his son, Jeremy. Also, along with us today was Peter
Malec, from Charlotte,NC. The fishing was tough to begin with and we all had our doubts from the beginning, but, perserverance
and the will not to give up paid big dividends again today!!! We ended the day early with three limits of King Mackeral and
a good sized Mahi-Mahi. Not to bad a start for the first day after the storms!! As the weather settles more and the water
clears up more, expect fishing to get back on track soon. Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster, Capt Chris Foster,
and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, it was a tough day for me since it was so hot, I had to stay home in the air conditioning
today, maybe tomorrow I can go!!!!
SATURDAY 6-24-06
Today we headed to the Tower area with Tim, David, and Andrew Leonard from Churchland,
NC. The fishing conditions were not the best with a 6 foot plus SE swell. But the swells were far enough apart that is was
fishable. We rigged up the 50 lb. class tackle gulfstream style and set the "YEAH RIGHT" on 7 knotts and it wasn't long until
someone yelled "FISH ON!!!"
The fight was on, the Mahi-Mahi were there again today and were hungry. We repeated
this scene all through the day with more Mahi-Mahi, King Mackeral, Barracudas, sharks, and we even stopped later that
evening and picked up a few bottom fish.
There have been a few African Pompano already been caught this year. They were
thought to migrate by here in July and be gone around late August, now it has me thinking that maybe, just maybe some might
hang around all the time. Now that's just what I am thinking, I didn't say they did, it just has me thinking they might.
Looks like the weather is going to be a little rough for the next few days. I
have had to cancel today and Mondays trips, will see what Tuesday brings.
Tim, David, and Andrew, we hope you guys enjoy all those Mahi steaks on the grill.
It's making me hungry just writing about them!! Take care, and hope to see ya'll again soon. Till then, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch
Foster, Capt Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, it was cooler Saturday, so I got to fishing again, and I
love it, or let's see, maybe it's the food I love. maybe the people, shucks, I LOVE IT ALL!!!!!!.
FRIDAY 6-23-06
OK, I will try to get caught up a little. Sorry this report is late, just not enough
hours in a day this time of year, plus, I am definately not getting any younger either. On Wednesday, we went to the Tower
area with Eddie Czarnetzry, Greg Alemain these guys were from DC. Chris Barnhart, you know him, he was the one getting married
today, he was from Raleigh, then the other guy, Jason Hewitt, he made it here all the way from California. I sure hope
we made the trip worth all their trouble!
We started off with some "jacks" after a couple of rounds each, that was enough
of that. If we had kept on everyone was going to be too tired to fish the rest of the day. They don't call these fish "Reef
Donkeys" for nothing!!! Now we moved off shore of the Tower a little and hooked up with some King Mackeral, then it happened!!!
A reels clicker screamed in mercy, Eddie, if I remember right, got the rod, and the fight was on. After what seemed to be
an eternity but was only around 45 minutes, the rod flew up and the hooks had pulled loose from a "BIG" fish. There was all
kinds of guesses as to what it was. We will never know, we never had a chance to see what it was, but it was "BIG"!!!!!!
We licked our wounds and pushed on!! The rest of the day was active with
King Mackeral, Mahi-Mahi, and various bottom species included in the creel along with several more big fish and average fish
earning their freedom as they would manage to wiggle their way off the hooks. But hey, you can't catch them all all the time,
that's fishing!!!
Now, on Thursday, 6-22-06 we went back to the same area with Martin Shaw and his
son Mark. These Guys were from Greenville. The fish were not as active in that area as they have been in the past few days.
It sounded on the radio that the best activity was to the West of the Tower. You have to make a call in this business as to
where to go, sometimes your a hero, sometimes your a zero!!
Even though the fishing had slowed, we went to work to figure out what we needed
to do to get some fish. First, we tried for some "jacks". Today they weren't interested!! Next we limited out on King
Mackeral, then we went after the Mahi-Mahi. We threw the live bait back in the tank, put the cigar minnows back on ice. We
fired up the stream tackle with CAPE LOOKOUT LURES SKIRTS and Ballyhoo's. We run a modified diamond spread out behind the
boat and set the speed on around 6 knotts and started trolling the line of "Grouper Rocks" we have on our LORAN, knowing these
would most likely have bait around them. IT WORKED!!!!! Before long, we were having "BIG" Bulls crashing our baits. The 50
lb. class rods would bend over and the 50 lb. class reels clickers would scream!! If you don't get excited when that happens,
you need to check your pulse!!!!!!!!!!! We watched as several Mahi's crashed the baits several times, jumping out of the water,
trying to get the baits, over and over but never hooked up. We had one big bull, around 40 lbs. get just inches from the gaff,
the hooks pulled out and we all gave him a "standing ovation" as we watched him swim away. He looked as though he was saying,
not today guys, maybe next time!!!
Now, as for the pictures. A camera for some reason will not work with dead batteries.
I don't know why, but it won't. We also stopped a little before we headed back in and picked up a bucket of black bass, trigger
fish, Vermillion Snapper, and Grey Snapper.
The bait has been hard to find. Mostly it's been in the river around Sunny Point. There
were some around Battery Island yesterday, these were bigger than what we have been getting up the river. Who knows where
they will be tomorrow.
The ocean is being predicted in a SE Swell, if it holds true, we will have
a "good ride" at least Saturday. The last report I heard has me doubting Sunday.
Last report I got on the Spanish Mackeral was that they are starting to bite again
on the beach.
The fishing in general is good now. It's that time of year. The southern areas are
starting to get a better bite now, 18 mile rock, Shark Hole; etc;
Just talked to Ocean Crest Pier,(no I didn't talk to the pier) I talked with
Melinda. The Kings have been biting all week. If you have live shrimp, you can literally murder the trout!!!! The Spanish
are starting to show back up and the Pompano are biting as well. You can reach them at (910)278-6674.
If you don't have time to go fishing, then you are just too busy!!! Come on down,
take a break, and take a kid fishing!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster, Capt Chris Foster, and "Private
Bodie" The fish dog says, it's too hot out there for me now, will seen you when it cools down!!!
TUESDAY,6-20-06
Today we headed back offshore with Peter Malec, J D Grose, Andrew Long, from
Charlotte, NC and Bill Bryant from Ohio. I mentioned something earlier in the week about being shocked back to reality, well,
today the electricity was turned on. Yeah, the flat calm ocean we had grown to love was a little on the rowdy side today.
Still not too awful bad, but not as nice as it has been!!!
We headed to the Tower today to troll for some King Mackeral and were soon
rewarded with our quarry. Mixed in were some Mahi-Mahi as well. The shift in the winds seemed to have slowed the bite a little,
but not a whole lot. Our biggest problem today was fish screaming the reels and then shortly after a brief fight, would come
unhooked!! We probably lost as many or more than we boated!! We even bottom fished for a little while and they bit good until
the tide went slack.
Got some reports that the flounder are biting good on the inshore reefs. That's all
I have heard about though, been offshore most of the time. The Spanish Mackeral bite on the beach has been slow, don't know
if it has picked back up yet or not, but it should anytime if not already!!
The weather prediction looks good for the weekend at this time, but as you know
it will change several times before the weekend gets here. Let's hope it changes for the better!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!
Capt Butch Foster, Capt Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says, come on wind, I need a break!!!
MONDAY6-19-06
All I can say is FISH ON!!!!!!. I am here to tell you the fish are biting!!!!
Today's trip was a FULL DAY and we limited out on bottom fish. Never once did we troll for any Kings or Mahi-Mahi. These were
caught on a "lite line" while anchored up bottom fishing!!! Doug, who is pictured far right brought the "BIG" Shark up from
the deep to have his picture taken then released to fight another day!!
All these fish gave Michael, Tom, Doug, Max, Frank, Capt Chris, and
Capt Butch a workout today. You can set back and imagine how the fishing was today, but you have to had been there to
live it in real life. Look at the pictures, you will know then it was a good day with some GREAT people!! Hope you had half
as much fun catching these fish as we did putting you on them!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster, Capt chris
Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog is give out from attacking all those fish!!!!
SUNDAY,6-18-06
The fishing, weather, catching, biting it's all just getting better and
better. I said yesterday that I had a short trip and would not be out as far. Well, three hours of fishing where I know the
fish are is better than five hours fishing barren grounds. So, with this way of thinking, we took back off offshore.
We had with us today Don Cable, Debbie Carter, Geri Preslar, and Deanna Baucom.
When we got to our fishing spot things started happening quickly. Before Capt Chris could get all the lines in we had a good
sized Mahi-Mahi on, around 20 pounds. While Don was fighting this fish, a King Mackeral hit another line. Things slowed for
a few minutes after this until we moved a little more to the SW. Then it was on!!! A Chinese Fire Drill, extroidnaire.
We lost as many fish as we boated due to multiple hook ups and lines getting crossed and tangled,"what a problem to have"!!!
I think everyone on the boat hooked at least one fish that they could not turn
around or stop, and some of the big ones we just about got to the boat before they either pulled free or broke the leader.
Don had one real nice Cobia almost in gaff range, estimated to be in the upper 30's and he sounded and broke off.
For a short fishing day, I don't see how you could ask for more than what
we had today!!!! GREAT people to fish with, a GOOD bite from the fish, and one of the most beautiful days you will ever
see on the ocean, till next time "tomorrow" FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster, Capt Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the
fish dog says HI!!!!.
SATURDAY,6-17-06
This morning we left out with James Braswell, Phillip Turner, and Glenn
Callaway in search of mostly bottom fish. Since we had fished some of our spots fairly heavy the past few days, we decided
to hit some different ones in the same depth zone of around 70 feet. This turned out to be a wise decision.
Not many times can you bottom fish and limit out on King Mackeral and catch Mahi-Mahi
while fishing a "light line" while anchored up. Right now this is happening!!! To say the fish are biting is an understatement.
It's as good of a bite as I have seen in a long time!!!!
Once again I will let the picture do most of the talking. Have a 3/4 day tomorrow,
check back and see what we find a little closer to shore. It will be a challenge for me also because I have been offshore
and have no idea what is biting inside. Maybe the Spanish Mackeral are biting again by now, will find out tomorrow possibly.
But, if you can get to the area around the tower, pull some frozen cigar minnows or live bait if you have it, and you too
will catch some fish!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch, Capt Chris and "Private Bodie' the fish dog says I'm
tired, all this fishing is hard on a little guy like me!!!
FRIDAY,6-16-06
Today things went a little better.
We left the dock this morning to go get some bottom fish. With us we had Karen Cashion, Herman McGill, Walter Blue, Ronnie
Moore,Andrew Burton, and Jim Laufair. We stopped on several places on the way out, but the big payoff was to the SW of the
Tower about 5 miles.
There is a ledge out there that I found
a while back and it has a BIG rock pile on it. The ledge is in 70 feet of water and the rock pile comes up 35 feet off the
bottom. This spot has proven several times to hold a lot of quality fish, and today was no different!!! All I can tell you
is, is to look at the picture below. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, well, maybe in this case two thousand words.
Check out the "Hog Nose Snapper" that Karen caught, somewhere in the 22 to 25 lb. range. Congrats Karen, that is a rare trophy
in our waters to catch on a rod and reel!!!
There is a good King Mackeral and Mahi-Mahi
bite at the tower now. Live bait works well, as does frozen cigar minnows. Bottom fishing is good now also, the best way to
put it is THE FISH ARE BITING, GO FISHING!!!!!!!
Keep checking back often, if the weather
holds up and the boat and motors hold up, we will be fishing every day now for a while, and I will do my best to keep you
informed as to what I find out about what is biting where. FISH ON!!! Capt Butch
THURSDAY,6-15-06
We almost made it out today! We were looking for bait on the beach and
couldn't find any so we decided to just jig up some live cigar minnows offshore. So, we pointed the "YEAH RIGHT" towards the
tower and pushed the throttles to around 4500 RPM's. Everything was fine, then suddenly, she dropped to 2000 RPM's.
Man made and mechanical, they are going to give trouble from time to time. We had to abort the mission and haul her to the
shop. Turns out it was an oil pressure switch mal function. She is fixed and running again. Should be offshore tomorrow on
a bottom fishing excursion. Will have the results here ASAP!!!. Had a call this morning from Saturaday's charter, all his
guys have backed out on him, so, we now have Saturday, the 17th open if you would like to go fishing. It would make a GREAT
fathers day present!!! The next available saturday I have open after this weekend is on August 26th!!! Come on down, the storms
are gone, the weather has gotten beautiful and the fish are biting!! FISH ON!!! Capt Butch
TUESDAY,6-13-06
I got up this morning at 4:30
and monitored the weather until around 5:30AM. the radar on the "Intellacast" showed storms approaching our area with more
behind them, so, I called todays fishing party and in the best interest for every one's safety, I called the trip off.
Well as it turns out, it looked
as though we could have fished today, all this forecast bad weather never materialized!! It is a real pain in the rear end
trying to de-code all this weather mess and trying to make the right decisions with everyone's safety in mind. Well guys,
it looks as if I made the wrong call today and I am sorry you missed your fishing trip. My call to cancel was with the information
I had to work with and your safety in mind. And if there is any doubt about your safety, I can not and will not risk anyone's
life for a fish. If I make the wrong call, I have to live with the consequences.
OK, with that decision, I don't have
a fishing report for today!! I won't have one for tomorrow either, it is supposed to be real bad tomorrow, strong winds and
storms from Alberto!! But all is not lost!!! I do have a report that Capt. Jeremy on the "HOOKED UP" sent to me about a Gulfstream
trip he went on Sunday, if any of you have a good day, send it to me and I will "TRY" to get it on here so fishermen and women
will have more than one report to help them decide what's happening in the World of Salt Water Fishing!!! THANKS for your
report, Capt. Jeremy.
We will be back at it as soon as the
weather breaks again later in the week!!! Till then, check out Capt. Jeremy's report below , they had a GREAT day. It's the
time of year for the Mahi-Mahi and you don't have to book a Gulfstream trip now to get them. They are eaisly accessed on a
Full Day Trip now!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!!! Capt. Butch
P.S. No, Capt. Jeremy, I have not heard anything
else about the boat that capsized this weekend!!
Capt Butch,
Just to let you know, I motored the Hooked Up to the
Tower on Sunday, where we found a hot Mahi bite. We had 15 strikes, boated 8,( 3 over 20 lbs), and lost a few at the stern.
Even had 2 strikes that snapped 30 lbs test after a 200 yard run!! It was a good day!.
The boat you mentioned that capsized at the tower was
about a 24-28" boat. We are unsure of the details, but we saw those men suiting up as if they were diving. They had a dive
flag atop their T-top, and were very closer to the base of the tower. Then I believe it was like 2 hours later, we saw the
v- hull sticking up out of the water, and around the hull looked like a yard sale!! There was stuff everywhere. Another boat
was already at the hull, and I believe that they assisted the guys. I am unsure of the situation, and we could never raise
anyone on the radio. Did you get any more information on that? If so, I would love to know. Anyways, I just thought I would
give you our fishing report. Thanks
Jeremy
MONDAY,6-12-06
Today we were greeted with rain
and storms so we waited until around 8:30AM before we left the dock. We had with us today Ricky Stevens and his daughter Katharina, Bill
Newberry, and Markus Von Linden and his daughter Cordula, and son Kai. These guy's were from Germany. It was a pleasure to
have you here in the USA and to go fishing with us!!!
Now, as for the fishing, it is being
hit hard by the recent low pressures and storms lately. Up until the past couple of days it has been real good fishing. With
the stiff SW winds we have been limited to heading up the river to fish out of Carolina Beach where it is somewhat protected
from the SW winds. It has been too bad to go off our beach lately!!But, even at that, we are limited to mostly Spanish Mackeral
fishing, which has not been the best up there at Carolina Beach lately.
Today we were able to get out to the
dredge wreck but there was not any life around it anywhere!! The winds started building later so we came back inside and resumed
Spanish fishing. Talked to some other boats in the area and the reports from them were anywhere from no fish, to
one fish, to a few fish. I think we were one of the higher catches today, we wound up with eight fish. To give you an idea
how the bite has slowed, eight fish work out to about 1 1/2 fish per hour. Now don't even ask how you catch that 1/2 fish,
that is definately a "trade secret"!!!
Even had a report from a flounder fisherman
that had a hot bite yesterday only to find the bite very slow today!! So, this weather is taking its toll on all the fish.
Look for things to heat back up as soon as these storms and "hurricanes" get out of here. Give it a couple days for the water
to clear back up and things should be getting good again!!! The offshore bite is most likely still good as ever, but you can't
get out because of the winds.
Guys and Gals, take this wind and ocean
for what it is. A friend of mine told me that a boat, around 25 foot went to the Tower yesterday. Now yesterday, we had some
strong winds, and he told me he saw it upside down out there around the Tower. What was my friend doing out there
you ask, well he was in a 65 foot Viking. A little more boat than a 25' center console. PLEASE be careful, the ocean has no
concience!!! By the way, they had a good day in the Stream on the Mahi-Mahi, think he said they caught ten!!!
If the weather is decent, we will be
going back to Carolina Beach tomorrow. I called tomorrows charter and told them about the slow bite and the fact that Carolina
Beach is all we can do with the conditions we have. They told me "even if we don't get a bite, we are still going to
go and have a good time"!! So, hopefully tomorrow I can report that the Spanish Mackeral are on fire at Carolina Beach, you
never know, that's why it's called fishing and not catching!!! But, catching or not, we are going fishing and we are going
to have a good time!!!!
Sorry we don't have any pictures
for today!! I left the camera at the house again!! As I have said in the past, this is most likely a report you don't want
to hear!! It definately is one I don't want to report, but, this is "real life" in the world of fishing!!! Like it or not,
we have to play the cards that mother nature deals us and sometimes we hit an inside straight and sometimes we have to fold.
I am dedicated to giving it to you "straight" no matter how bad it hurts. You know the old saying"you have to weed out the
bad to get to the good". The good days will return again soon, but till they do, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster,
Capt Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says HI!!!!.
Sunday 6/11/06
Today we were given the pleasure of treating Archy Kress, Josh and Rocky Hager, and Bill Gluck
to a day of fishing! What we were origionally hoping for was to make it to the Gulf Stream today in search of some nice
Mahi Mahi and Wahoo and Tuna but it seemed that the wind had other plans for us. With the forcast predicting increasing
winds to 15-20 knots and the seas building up we all decided to make the day into a Spanish Mackerel fishing trip off of Carolina
Beach.
We made our way up the river to Snow's Cut (Carolina Beach Inlet) and after getting out of
the breakers found a slow start to the action. We picked on them all day and finally ended up with a mess of 45 decent
sized Spanish Mackerel! They seemed to be on every color clarkspoon and #00 and #0 on #1 and #2 planers and using a
4oz trolling sinker.
We had a great day on the water and really enjoyed our crew's company! Hopefully next
time we are going to be able to get out to the Gulf Stream and the winds will be nice to us!
Till next time. Capt Butch, Capt Chris, and Private Bodie....Saying FISH ON!!
Saturday 6/10/06
We had two trips today, an all day offshore trip and an evening shark trip that I will
detail secondly.
We started out the morning with Josh Seiferth, Chuck Booth, Bill Newcomb, Mike Moretz, Hikishima,
and Ima. Making our way offshore was out of the question with the weather that Mother Nature was dealing us so we decided
to troll the beach for a little while to see if the Spanish Mackerel action was turned on. Reports all up and down the
beach were that the wind and systems had the fish shut down and there were none to be found. We trolled for awhile with
no success on the spanish mackerel as well. So we decided to begin to try to venture offshore. Althought it was
a little bumpy we knew the only way that any fish were going to come on board was to continue to venture out slowly as the
seas were seemingly becoming more and more calm.
We made our way to some bottom fishing number a little bit offshore and found that a few vermillion
Snapper and Black Sea bass, Grey Snapper, were willing to bite as well as a few Sharks! We fished the area for a few
hours and managed a box of fish and then were greeted with a somewhat decent following sea on the way back in.
For the Evening shark trip. We took Brian, Pat, and Kim Morgan out for what we hoped
to be an adventure of a lifetime. We dropped in the lines a little after 6p.m. and with less than 30 minutes wait the
first fish grabbed the bait and wrapped the Penn 6/0 60lb class stand up rod under the boat peeling off the line!!!
Harnessed in, Brian took hold of this fish and after about a 30 minute battle we saw a 75-90lb Blacktip Shark about 58" long
come up.
It's a shame, we left our camera in the truck this morning but we are supposed to be getting
a picture of the day's catch sent to us and I will post them under this report as soon as I get them.
Until next time, Capt. Butch, Capt. Chris, and Private Bodie....telling you FISH ON!!
Friday 6/12/06
Today we took Randy, Ryan, Ronnie, Phillip and Phillip, and Holly out to some bottom
fishing numbers. The bite was kinda slow to begin with the current screaming and not the optimal conditions... however
by the end of the day the crew pulled out a load of Nice Black Sea Bass, some Vermillion Snapper and Grey Snapper and Silver
Snapper and all the sharks you could want!! A Gag Grouper was also caught but he came up short on the measuring board
by about one inch. He'll be bigger next time :-)!
Throughout the day there were several fish that were hooked that ripped off line just to find
that they would break the lines in the rocks. First thought either Large Grouper or some really nice sharks in the area.
Not to be let down, as the day was beginning to wind down one of these monsters struck again and the battle was on.
After about a 1 1/2 hour fight a Bull Shark in the 250 pound range was brought to boatside. As we were perparing for a picture
of this amazing fish he decided to sound once again and broke the 50lb test line. Talk about one heck of a fish!!
Overall we had a great trip offshore with this crew and can't wait until the next time we
have the pleasure of adventuring offshore! Capt. Butch, Capt. Chris, and Private Bodie reminding you.... FISH ON!!!
Wednesday, 6-7-06
OK, I have one
more day of not fishing, then, we will be at it every day from here on out, weather permitting!!! I want to touch base about
the suprise I told you about coming to "YEAH RIGHT CHARTERS". I still can't tell you what it is, but, the thru hull transducers are
in and the bottom has been repainted. Both diesel engines have been throughly checked out and the props are being tuned now.
I should be able to reveal what it is in a week or so, as soon as it is in the slip at SOUTH HARBOUR MARINA. Stay in touch,
it won't be long now!!!! FISH ON!!! Capt Butch
Have taken a couple days off to get all my permits and paper
work caught up. I will answer a couple of questions that I have been trying to get to:
Daniel asked abot Cobia, chumming, and Dolphin. The
Cobia's are here. A live bait ptched in ones face is nearly a quaranteed hook up. Live eels are a treat they can not refuse,
if you can find some!!! A big buck tail tipped with a squid is a good "pitch bait" to keep rigged up and have ready at any
moment. Keep a watch around the boat, they are a curious fish and you will often find them checking you out in the boat!!
Chumming, we grind our own chum. Pogys ground and frozen
in gallon zip lock bags is as good as you can get. We use a commercial electric grinder so it won't take all night to get
a good bunch of chum. We put a block in a chum bag and just hang it on a cleat on the boat where it is in the water. Don't
forget to pull it in when playing a big fish at boat side. Also, easier and less work is Menhaden oil dripped from a dispenser.Both
are good, I like the ground chum better myself!!
Dolphin, yes June is a good time to hook up with the Dolphin
on the closer in areas. Already some been caught at 18 mile rock area and Tower.
DEVIN, If you are limited to 8 miles out, you are going
to have a tough time this time of year getting many keeper black bass. Winter time, you can do good out this distance. you
would be better off targeting King Mackeral, Cobia, Flounder, and Spanish Mackeral this time of year with your distance limit.
MONDAY,6-5-06:
Today we woke up to thunder storms and heavy rains. We were to go fishing with
Orvin Severeid, Kyle Severeid from Montana, and Joel Herrmann from High Point. We waited until 9:00AM before we left the dock.
By this time the "Intellacast" on the computer showed it to be moving on up the coast with clearing behind it. By the time
we get to where it is it will be gone!!
It was, and after a 2 foot sea ride out this morning, the seas laid out flat
for the evening ride back. But before we came back, we gave Orvin, Kyle, and Joel a sample of deep sea fishing off the coast
of Southport,NC.
The first stop was instant action, the bite was non stop for a little while before
it slowed up some. Being from Montana, we wanted them to experience a little of all of it if we could. We next went fishing
for a few King Mackeral. It wasn't long before we had a double on!!! Also, we got a few grouper, but they were all too small
to keep. But Joel made up for that when he landed a Hog Nose Snapper around 15 lbs.
Would be nice if I could get them a Mahi-Mahi I was thinking to myself. Well,
I must be living right, for about that time one "skyed" with the pogy. Now, it was a "peanut" but it was a dolphin. Next time,
I'll think about getting a big dolphin!!! We continued to troll the area aroung the Tower and pulled out another decent sized
King Mackerel off of a dead Cigar Minnow; but for some reason once again the action slowed and we decided that it would be
worth a try to see if we could get an Amberjack from around the legs of the Tower so that these guys could experience the
awesome power of these 40-60lb mosters! No luck on the Amberjacks but Chris did manage to hook up on what we believe to be
an African Pompano that resulted in a broken line :-/! Maybe next time
After awhile of Jack fishing we decided to try for some more bottom species. Capt. Butch located
another ledge and we dropped anchor, soon after to find the 3-5lb Triggerfish and Silver and Grey Snappers coming over the
side. On the way in we stopped at a rock just offshore of the South 40 and found there to be many NICE sized Black Sea
Bass that were ready to feed, except one problem... the Sharks were there too! What a "grand finale" to the day
exclaimed Kyle and Joel!!! "We catch all these good eating fish and then we get to hook into some
that can REALLY pull back!!"
All in all despite the later start and the bands of rain and storms this
morning we had a great day on calm seas and were even able to get out of the rain. The fish were hungry and willing
to cooperate and the Captain and crew of the Yeah RIght experienced another Great day on the sea!!
Capt. Butch, Capt. Chris and Private Bodie...Fish ON!!
Sunday June 4, 2006
The winds died down last night and gave us an awesome day on the water
today!! Cobia, Gag Grouper, Scamp Grouper, Red Grouper, King Mackerel, Triggerfish.... you name it, it was caught today on
board the Yeah Right! Carroll Lupton and Russ Peck of Charlotte, and Bill Rigsbee and Troy Kassab of Wilmington found
themselves on not only a fishing trip but a workout today! The fronts moved through yesterday and the fish were HUNGRY
today and wanting to bite!
We started the day off to some King Mackerel fishing just offshore of the Tower and found
some action, not hot and heavy but some scattered fish were anxious and ready to scream some line off the reels! So I deployed
the dead cigar minnows and two hours later the results were several decent Kingfish! With things going kind of slow the decision
was made to make our way to some grouper rocks a little further offshore! So Capt. Butch maneuvered the Yeah Right over the
spot and we droped anchor. No sooner than we got there the crew were hauling up nice 3-5lb Triggerfish and Carrol even managed
to find a BEAUTIFUL QUEEN TRIGGERFISH!!
Before we made the trip to the bottom a good friend of ours, Ricky, on Reely Miss
Behavin was kind enough to lend us some fresh pogies and they most definetly proved themselves to be the golden ticket!
No sooner had i put out the lightline and a King Mackerel hit and a 30lb Cobia surfaced beside the boat, I put another live
pogey on and BAM!! the Cobia was on and Carroll found himself in for the fight of a lifetime! During the fight w/ this Cobia
Russ managed to pull in an Amberjack and a couple more King Mackerel were boated! Not to mention that during this entire
FRENZY of fish catching mayhem Bill and Troy were consistantly pulling in 3-4lb Grey and Silver Snappers and Troy even wrestled
up a 16lb Gag Grouper and an 8lb Scamp Grouper!
No sooner had Carrol landed his Cobia and I had gotten the lightline back out, another 28lb
Cobia nailed the live pogey and Bill suddenly realized why Carroll was so worn out after his fight! Bill's Cobia was landed
and they crew went back to bottom fishing, pulling up more nice Grey and Silver Snapper, a couple of Black Sea Bass and some
Triggerfish! A little while into the bottom fishing Carroll finally hooked up on a nice 12lb Red Grouper to go with
Russ's Red Grouper from earlier in the day!
Finally things slowed down for a few moments and everybody got to take a drink and Capt. Butch
and Carroll began to joke about "well we haven't caught a toadfish today and we haven't caught a Mahi today...." and about
that time a NICE MAHI-MAHI skied on the lightline! Bill skillfully landed this nice Dolphin! As we were putting up the
rods and things to head to shore Russ pulled up on the rod only to find that it didn't come up, but rather straight back down
and the drag started to SCREAM off the reel!!! About 30 minutes later Russ muscled up a Nurse Shark that would weigh about
300+ pounds! ON 50LB TEST LINE!!! WAY TO GO RUSS!!
Carroll, Bill, Russ, Troy, I really enjoyed your company today and I am glad that we were
able to get offshore on these numbers. Capt. Butch did a great job of boat manevering and knowing where to go and in
the end we had a blast, caught lots of quality fish, and had an all around GREAT TIME!! Till next time, FISH ON!!!
Capt. Butch, Capt. Chris and Private Bodie...FISH ON!
SATURDAY,6-3-06: OK, I can now put in yesterdays report.
The winds would not let us get offshore today, and the SW winds had dirtied up the beach again so the Spanish Mackeral is
on hold again for a day or so until the water cleans back up!! So. to make a long story short, Today Saturday the 3rd was
blown out and below is Friday's report!!
We were on a bottom fishing mission Friday,
6-2-06: We had with us today Wes, Jon, and Luke Heafner, with them were friends Emery (Butch) Rahars, Ryan Thomas, and
Donnie Johnson. We went to the East side of the shoals where we found the Bottom Fish willing to bite.
Now, the current was as strong there
yesterday as I can remember in a long time, so we had to do a drift. We pulled up on one spot over there and were in only
34 feet of water and anchored up with a 16 ounce weight you could not keep it on the bottom, so we had to drift!! But, that
was not a problem, all of todays fishermen were seasoned pros and very few tangles occured!!
We caught a wide variety of fish, but
when the sharks moved in you would have to move to another spot or catch sharks 6 at a time!!! We had some big grey snapper,
B-Liners, of coarse, SHARKS, trigger fish, jolt heads, Black Bass, Tau-Tog, silver snapper, King Mackeral, I think that's
all, Sure I missed something!!
Tomorrow, along with the next few days
looks like it is going to be decent weather. So, If you can get away, come on down and catch some fish, or at least go fishing!!!
Don't know yet what we will be doing tomorrow, but what ever we do, I will put it here. Till next time, FISH ON!!!! Capt Butch
Foster, Capt. Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog, say's HI!!!!!!.
THURSDAY 6-1-06: Today was tough. The SE winds didn't
help any either but we finally put it together. The live pogys were not on Bald Head this morning like they were the other
day so with having a short day we could not spend a lot of time looking for them. We decided to head out with cigar minnows
instead. Chris Barbee, Chip Trotter, and Fred Weigel from Greensboro, NC were on board today. I don't think it would have
bothered these guys if we didn't catch a fish. They were having a blast as it was. But, it is my job to try and find and catch
fish for you and I am not doing my job if I don't!!!
It wasn't long before we figured out
that they didn't want the frozen cigar minnows we had. So, we jigged up some live ones!! Guess what, they didn't want those
either. Now, long about this time, I heard a call for me on the radio. It was Ricky Holden on the "REELY MISBEHAVIN" doing
any good, he asked. My reply was no man, they don't want what I am using for bait. Well, being the kind of guy he is, he said
we are doing well on live pogys we found this morning and I have plenty. Come on over here and I will give you some. I would
like to take credit for todays catch, but actually had it not been for Ricky's good nature, more than likely I would not have
done much!!! THANKS Ricky, hope I can return the favor one day!!!
OK, now with the proper bait, we set
up shop on a ledge and it wasn't long before things started to happen!!! Let's see, the first fish was an Atlantic Bonito,
I don't know what it was doing still here, they are supposed to have been gone a long time ago. I guess this one hadn't heard
that yet!!! Let's see, I think the next one was a King Mackeral, then we hooked into a big fish, this one finally broke the
leader. Then we hooked up with a Mahi-Mahi, put him in the boat, then we lost a few Mahi-Mahi. Then we hooked up another King
Mackeral. After that, another big fish hooked up, this one broke the wire leader!! Then we hooked up and landed a nice Cobia.
Had another King Mackeral on but he turned into the bait we used to land a big Barracuda. Yeah, he ate the King and we
caught him!!Let's see, we caught a Amoco Jack, had Amber Jacks around the boat by the dozens, they would not hit anything!!!
I think that's all, But I am sure I missed something!!!
Reports from fishermen coming back from
the Gulfstream was that the bite had shut off out there. Talked to two fishermen that went to the Stream. Both are good fisherman,
one said he caught nothing, the other one said he had three "knockdowns" from the Steeples to the Blackjack Hole and from
there to the 100/400, and what he did catch were 'Cudas!!
If the winds will let us, we will be
bottom fishing tomorrow. Check back and see what we did!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster, Capt Chris
Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says HI!!!!!.
TUESDAY, 5-30-06: Today we went out to get some bottom fish with Richard Drum, David Drum,
Will McCrary, Brian Greer, Clayton Deviney, and Chad Moore. I knew it was going to be tough today because it was a short trip
and if you fish here you know that the good bottom fishing has mostly moved back well offshore this time of year and for the
best fishing you really need the time to get offshore 30 to 40 miles.
We figured we could get some bottom fish and finish the tally with some King
Mackeral or possibly a Mahi-Mahi on the light line around the 18 mile rock area. There was a Mahi-Mahi and some Kings
caught there yesterday. Well the thing we didn't figure on was the wind coming around to the East and stalling out there
until time to leave. Well, it did, and most of you know that fish here, an East wind is like putting a force field around
your bait or something to that effect. It shuts the bite off!!!!
As for the bottom fishing, there's no telling how many under sized fish
we caught and had to throw back. The bigger fish are farther offshore now!!! When we would get set up on some fish and start
catching a few decent sized ones the sharks would crash the party. When that happens, it's "GAME OVER"!!! We marked some good
schools of fish, be they big or be they small, who knows, the East wind had the bite turned off. The only bites we had on
the "light line" was two sharks.
The reports from the other boats were not good either. The King bite was not
as good as the day before!! A boat in on the beach reported a "HOT" Spanish Mackeral bite going on, that is, until the winds
went East and that was the end of that!!! He reported that since the wind shifted, he had not had another bite!!! Believe
it or not, that's what kind of effect the weather/winds can have on the fishing down here!!!
The Gulfstream is still "ON FIRE" when you can get out there!!! Cobias
are starting to be caught off the piers and by King Mackeral fishermen! Most of last weeks dirty water that was caused
by the winds has moved on out. I am thinking that in the next few weeks we are going to see some good weather and great
fishing come together. But now I have been thinking this now for over a month, we have the fishing we just need the weather!!!
The Mahi- Mahi had made a showing at the Tower this past weekend. So now you
can possibly get some dolphin now with out having to make the long run to the Gulfstream. WE JUST NEED THE WEATHER TO CO-OPERATE!!!!
If it does we will let you know what's happening right here, so stay in touch. Till next time FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster,
Capt Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says HI!!!.
OK, This report and the two below this one I
will try to get caught up some. Now, before you look at a couple of these and laugh or say "This Captain is crazy" well, yes
maybe I am!!! But, my commitment to you as a captain, is to report it to you "STRAIGHT" as it really is, not some built up
hype. No one, including myself can go out every day and load the boat. I have to deal with the elements dealt to me and my
charter crew. If I tell them what to expect and they still want to go and the fishing is bad due to conditions, I WILL report
it to you as it is happening. I CAN NOT and WILL NOT just report the "GOOD" days. Yes, I am embarrased
at some of the bad trips, and if I wasn't, then I wouldn't be much of a charter captain!!! I would rather not put
them here, but if I did that, then how could I look in the mirrow at myself after I tell you to "Check out our web site for
up to date fishing reports"!!!! You will always get it straight from me as it is, we may not like it, but that's the way it
is!!!!
So now you understand why I have
posted these couple of reports that I have posted!!!
Now, to get started
with the first one!!!!
Capt Chris and I met up with Matt,
Josh, and Tony Breitbach and Wes Pollard from Montana. These guys wanted to go out on the ocean for they had never been. That
Friday morning, the 26th of May, the winds were blowing quite strong from the SW. I informed them that the ONLY option we
had was to go up the river to Carolina Beach where most of the SW winds would be blocked but we would have to stay close to
the beach and I had not heard of anything being caught up there.
They opted to do that!! Well away we
went and the only thing to try to catch was obviously Spanish Mackeral. Well, the fishing was great but the catching was horrible!!!
So, we knew at a 1/2 day it was not going to happen today!! But you know what, we had a great time, told some good
and interesting stories, made a few new friends, gave some guys from Montana the chance to see and experience the Atlantic
Ocean, and hey, we even caught a few fish!! I was reminded that day that sometimes a great fishing trip has nothing
to do with how many fish you put in a fish box, but if you do get a few, they are just an added bonus!! Thanks guys, Capt
Chris and I really enjoyed sharing part of our day and a little part of our lives with you. It was fun!!!! Till next time,
FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster, Capt Chris Foster,and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says HI!!!.
Saturday, 5-27-06 This day was a total "BLOW OUT".
The winds were HOWLING and no fishing or catching was happening today!!! Steve, Cyndi, Josh, and Jessica Honeycutt and
I were dissapointed with the weather, but what can you do!!! Till better weather, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch
Sunday 5-28-06: The person that coined the phrase "What a difference a day can make" must
have been a fisherperson!!!!
This morning we met up with Dale and Ella Foster from my hometown of Lexington,NC.
Now, Dale has the same last name as mine, but as far as we know, there is no kin involved. However, as we were talking about
the times we used to hunt and fish together, we suddenly realized we have known each other far more years than we wanted to
admit and had had some great times together in the past.
The past couple of times we had fished together, since I totally dedicated myself
to saltwater fishing, were rough!!! But not today. We finally got a good day to go fishing that got better as the day went
on.
Now, the past couple of days had been tough on the conditions it left for us,
the fisherman. We wanted bottom fish today, especially Black Bass. I told Dale of a rock that I had found last week that
was loaded with fish in nearly 100 feet of water. That is deep enough I thought they would still be there. We set the "YEAH
RIGHT" on a course to the rock, 39 miles to go, get a "bean bag" and get comfortable. The ride out was a little "rolly" but
not bad at all. In fact, rather pleasant compared to what we have had to deal with most of the past three months!!!!
Upon arriving, I circled and circled, just my luck. They are gone, I said!!!
I didn't give up, I kept circling getting wider at each circle. They aren't gone, they have moved over here!!! We set an anchor
course, drove past the rock they were on and dropped anchor. As the boat settled and swung around, we were on top of the rock
and the fish were in between us and the rock!! Let's drop down and see what's down there!!
Now, in my mind I was already seeing those Black Bass in the 2 lb. range coming
up two at a time like they did a week ago. The baits hit the bottom, FISH ON!!! was the reply, and Ella pulled over the gunnel
of the boat one of the biggest Vermillion Snappers I had seen in years. The Black Bass were gone but what they
were replaced with NO ONE was complaining!!! These were some "BIG" B-Liners!!!! It didn't take too long before we were limited
out on these!!!
Now, we were off to find some Black bass!! The next stop we went to didn't
have B-Liners on it, it also didn't have Black Bass!! What it did have was some of the Biggest Grey Snappers I have seen in
a while. We were catching these and listening to most of the other boats that were bottom fishing talking about that every
where they went all they could get were sharks. So far, we had been lucky, and had avoided the sharks. About that time, Dale
set the hook and I said "OH NO" we have been blessed with the sharks. The fish was fighting hard. When Dale got it up we were
suprised to see it was not a shark, but instead, another American Red Snapper. This was our second one so far this year!!!
Shortly after that the tide went slack and the bite dropped off.
Now this was a good time to start searching for the Black Bass. We had one fish
box full of B-Liners, Grey Snapper, Trigger Fish, Silver Snapper and the likes, but still no Black Bass!! Now, we weren't
ungrateful for what we had, but, Dale and Ella really like the taste of Black Bass and their freezor was empty of those. So
we would pull up on schools of fish and drop a bait, no Bass!!! This went on for a couple of hours!!!
OK, I said. I have been every where they should be and have not found one yet.
Get comfortable, I got a spot about 13 miles from here and if there is a Black Bass in the ocean still, some of them will
be here, I think, I hope!!! Let's go!!! Well we get there, My heart sank, nothing!! I noticed that the current was running
parallel with the ledges I was looking at, hold on a minute, I said. Over here about two miles are some ledges that run the
opposite of these!! I took off over there. As the Color Scope signal went from the high mark and as it dropped off, down there,
hanging on the current break, was a school of fish!! I told Capt Chris, see what those are. He dropped a bait down and
the hard jerk was evident that they were good fish. And they were BLACK BASS!!!!!!!!!
We got the boat anchored on top of them and in an hour we had limited out
on some nice Black Bass. Catching them two at a time nearly as fast as you dropped!! Now, don't give up in your search for
your quarry. I hope you noticed the key factor here that put us on the fish!! Don't get frustrated in your search for the
fish you are after. Stop and think if things are not adding up. I was searching ledges that were running parallel with the
tide/current, this does not provide a current. The key here was to go to ledges where the current was going across, providing
a current break for the fish. Most of the time, it's the little details that can make all the difference!!! I knew if I could
find the fish, Dale and Ella knew how to help put them in the boat, and they did!! You guys were fun as always. Dale, I really
enjoyed reminissing about some of our past times, they are good memories!!! You two take care and may GOD BLESS both of you!!
Tell every one HI for me!!! Till next time FISH ON!! Capt Butch Foster, Capt Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" said thanks
for the deer jerky!!!! Chris too!!!
MONDAY, 5-29-06 Today we were going to re-run the trip we couldn't make Saturday due to the
bad winds and weather. I checked the winds and waves at the TOWER BOUY and they were decent. Winds were predicted to
be 5 to 10 and 2 to 3 foot seas. A good day!! This provides another opportunity to use the name of our charter boat"YEAH RIGHT"!!!
We left the dock at 7:00AM and it looked as though they had hit the weather right.
We were going to the Black Bass hole we fished the day before!! I wanted Steve, Cyndi, Josh, and Jessica Honeycutt from Lake
Norman to catch some of these fish!! The farther offshore we got, the worse it got, not too bad to fish, but, definitely not
what they were saying on the weather. Talked to another boat up in front of us and he reported that it laid down some after
you crossed the shoals!!
OK, I was about 1/2 way across the shoals, it will get better as
I get too the deeper water. The other boat was going to the Gulfstream. Now, by the time I got to where the other boat had
said it was better it was 3 to 5 feet. Now that is fishable if you are there, but I wouldn't go out in it. By this time the
other boat had aborted his Gulfstream trip and we were only two miles from the Bass Hole!!!
Now, we got there and the Black Bass were there!!! But, "Houston, we have
a problem"!!! To get to them you first had to get past the sharks. Now, if you get past the sharks and get a Bass on,
if you didn't crank like a "mad man" you would come up with a head, or, your Bass would turn into a shark!! It was worth the
trip too me, we got a few Black bass, some B-Liners, even a few sharks for the dinner table plus, we had a couple of gals
on board that had never done this before. I may be wrong, but I don't think this will be the last time you will see them on
the ocean!!!! By the way girls, the water sometimes is calmer, it really is, and sharks don't always bite or eat your fish,
they really don't!! Thanks for going fishing with us, we enjoyed our time with you all!!!! Till next time, FISH
ON!!!! Capt Butch Foster, Capt Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog, says HI!!!!.
Thursday,5-25-06: We were headed to the Gulfstream
this morning. But, on our way up the intercoastal water way, I was discussing the forecasted winds with Capt. Chris. Didn't
sound too promising, I told him. Let's ease out and look at it. Well, it wasn't bad "YET"!!! But, with the predicted winds
and the predicted wind gust and the predicted thunder storms we decided to just maybe try to go out about 20 or so miles and
do some bottom fishing. Well, by this time, the winds were picking up,"Now can you imagine that" so we decided to just see
if the Spanish Mackeral were biting on the inside. We dropped the first line in and immediately had a "FISH ON"!!! the bite
was good, our first line went in at 10:15AM and I looked at my watch as we were heading in with 3 limits of nice Spanish Mackeral
and it was 12:05NOON. 45 Spanish in 1hour and 50 minutes. Yes, the Spanish Mackeral are here and biting!!!
We looked for some bait to
do some King Mackeral fishing but could not find any. Now I know I said yesterday not to worry about bait and use cigar minnows.
But, that was at the offshore structures, there cigar minnows work fine, but for some reason we don't do much inside with
them. Not sure if it's a bait out of it's natural territory, or if it's a confidence thing. Which ever the case may be, we
want live bait for the inside king mackeral fishing. the bait has been here, who knows where it is now. Does this every year!!!
There were some good fishermen looking
for bait while we were Spanish Mackeral fishing and they did not find any either, and these guys are good at finding bait
and fish!!! I was watching while I was Spanish fishing and never marked any "Pogies." I am sure it is still here, more
than likely scattered now that the kings are here, there have been several caught off the piers in the past
few days. They have been good sized kings, 20+ pound range, most likely they are the run that comes in on the heels of the
Spanish Mackeral to feed on them!!
As for the weather, right now it's anyones
guess. One day they report it to be good. Then overnight it is completely turned around, then the next day it is worse, then
the next day it is supposed to be fine and calm, then the next it is supposed to blow again. It is a nightmare trying to tell
people that want to go fishing that it's going to be good, then that night it changes!!! It's also hard to believe that it's
rough offshore when you are at the dock and not a leaf is moving!!! But, when the TOWER BOUY says it's blowing and rough offshore,
you might as well believe it, it hasn't been wrong yet!!! OK, I'll quit fussing about the weather, but, this year has been
something else!!!
As it was today, you may not be able
to get offshore, but I believe you will still have an opportunity to get out on the beach at least sometime this Holiday weekend
and get some Spanish Mackeral. Now, I know it's not the fight and glory of a big Mahi-Mahi or Yellowfin Tuna. But, it sure
beats working or sitting on the couch wishing you could go fishing!!! So you see, it could be worse!! Also, this is a great
time to take the kids out and introduce them to some fine saltwater fishing, plus, I guarantee you will forget about the offshore
fishing when they start biting. But, if you don't then, you most certainly will when they come off the grill!!!
The weather could be better, I know,
but it also, could be a lot worse. So come on down and take advantage of what we have to work with, and forget about what
we would like to have. I am still "sticking to my guns" the weather/winds WILL SOOOoooon get better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Till next time, FISH ON!!!! Capt Butch Foster, Capt. Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog, says HI!!!!.
FISHERMEN, This weekend looks decent. Now, I didn't
say great or good, I said decent. It looks like decent is the best we are going to get to fish in this year!!! The Gulfstream
bite is on!!! If it stays through the weekend as it has been, you will have trouble getting all your lines out in the stream before
a Mahi-Mahi, Wahoo, Yellowfin Tuna, Blackfin Tuna, or even possibly a Bill Fish as a Sailfish, or even a Blue Marlin crashes
your bait and you will have to yell those much treasured words "FISH ON"!!!! Don't forget to watch your scope in the stream
and mark a few good bottoms and when you get all the Tunas and Mahi,etc.etc. you want, drop down a bottom rod on those spots.
You may get the suprise of your life. Those fish out there grow big and don't get much pressure!!!
Don't forget about the Spanish
Mackeral and Blues. This is a delicious fish for the dinner table, the Blues are OK if eaten fresh, but really make better
King Mackeral bait!!! Also, if you have a young fisherman that you need to have a little more action to hold their attention
the Spanish mackeral is a good one, they are usually fairly eager to bite when you find a school, and when you find a fish
or two, circle that area a few times before moving on. Usually a Spanish on means there is a school there. Not always, but
a LOT of times!!! These fish are fun to catch and will provide a youngster with a fish he can handle and have the joy of saying
he caught them him or her self. When you are young, if you will remember back, it doesn't take a big fish to get the adrenalin
flowing. What the heck, I am nearly 60 years old and I still love to catch Spanish Mackeral myself!!! Just remember, when
the action heats up, the limit is 15 fish per person with a minimum of 12 inches fork length. Also, raise each dorsal fin
on their back. If it is two colors, a bluish/white and black, that is a Spanish Mackeral. If it is a solid opaque color, it
is a juvenile King Mackeral and their size limit is 24 inches fork length. Now, if you are checked by the Marine Fisheries,
they will check the dorsal fin on each one, so be sure it's not a small king, and this is the best way to be sure. Two colors,Spanish,
One color, King.
The King Mackeral bite is good at the closer in spots like the 15 mile rock, 18 mile rock, Shark Hole, 390/390
etc; I Wouldn't worry about losing fishing time to get live bait. The Hank Brown Hookup Jig Heads are working just fine with
frozen cigar minnows. We have always used the 2 ounce size with good success. You can experiment with different weights, just
because I use the 2 oz. size does not necessarily make that the best. It works for us, so we stay with it!!! Also, keep your
eyes open for a curious Cobia investigating your boat. It is getting time for those to show up also. If you can find some
live eels somewhere, grab a few, a Cobia CAN NOT turn down a live eel!!!!
Pier fisherman, Just talked to John at
OCEAN CREST PIER, he said this morning two King Mackeral have already been caught, a 21.8 and a 26.8. That pretty much tells
you the Kings are on the beach also. He also says there are spanish mackeral and blues biting on Gotcha Plugs. They are also
catching BIG Whiting(virginia Mullet) and some small flounder. A good tip for the whiting; try to get the FRESHEST SHRIMP
you can find. Fresh is the secret to catching more whiting!!! CLEM'S SEAFOOD is a good place to stop to get
your fresh shrimp!! So, if you have been putting off your trip to the beach, now is the time to go. And if your main objective
at the coast is to get some fish for the table, looks as though now would be a great time for that also!!! If you would like
to charter the "YEAH RIGHT" this weekend, we only have Monday left open for charter, so do it now, that day will be gone soon
also!!! And it will be a couple of weeks before we have another available day open!!!
The winds look as though they are finally starting
to settle enough we can go fishing and be fairly comfortable. The fish are here, there has been plenty of bait inside to bring
them in and hold them here, the only thing missing is you!!! Come on down, IT'S FISHING TIME!!!!!!!!! Till I get back off
the water, FISH ON!!!! Capt. Butch
In the Guestbook section Josh asked if any Kings, Spanish, or cobia
were biting on the inshore reefs? All I can tell you is that the winds have kept us off the water for a while now. The
bait is here, and before the winds set in solid, there were some Kings and Spanish Mackeral being caught. It is time
for the cobia to start showing up anytime now. So, I would say yes, all we need is some decent weather so we can get out there.
Also, there has already been an African Pompano caught around 30 miles offshore!!!! Good Luck and FISH ON!!!! Capt Butch Foster.
SUNDAY,5-21-06: If you can get to the 100/400 area, Blackjack
Area, the Gulfstream is as HOT as I have seen it in a while. Mahi-Mahi, a few Yellowfin Tuna, Wahoo's, the bite is on!!!!!
The Mahi-Mahi's are on "fire" with 4 to 6 fish hooked up at a time. These are the reports that are coming from the boats that
are going out in the rough conditions.I have chosen not to carry my fishermen out in these conditions, better to be safe than
sorry!! The sea conditions have not been good lately, in fact, they have been down right "sloppy". But it looks like if you
are going to fish this year you are going to have to get used to these seas!!!! Man, if you ever wanted to catch some fish
in the Gulfstream, then you don't need to wait any longer,according to the boats that have been there, the bite is on!!!!!!!!!!!!
The weather looks as though it is starting to settle some, and when it settles enough we can go and be safe, we will be out
there also!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt. Butch Foster.
FRIDAY,5-19-06: They say practice makes perfect, well,
I have had a lot of practice lately cancelling fishing trips. I can't ever recall the winds blowing this steady this late
in the spring but they sure have this year. Sunday, right now looks as though it may turn out half way decent and about mid
week next week it's calling for a break in the winds a little. Could this possibly be a changing trend in the winds??????
I know I speak for a lot of other fishermen when I say, I sure hope so!!! But, only time will tell. Will have some more
reports as soon as we can get back out, had to cancel tomorrows trip also. Hopefully we can all go again soon!!!!
The suprise I talked about two weeks
ago is almost a done deal. It will be unveiled here on my web site most likely in the next week or so! Keep in touch!!!
Also, we have launched a new West Coast Web Site that is proving to be a real success. It has been overwhelming at the charter
request from the West coast we are recieving!!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster.
The question in the "Questbook" section was asked
if a Fishing License was needed to fish at the coast? This is to go into effect January 1st, 2007. However, we at "YEAH
RIGHT CHARTERS" will have a "Blanket Liscense" that will cover anyone that fishes on our boat!!! That is, if the winds will
ever settle down enough we can go fishing!!!!
Richard Harris asked
in the "GUESTBOOK" section: Why do you use electric reels if you are sportfishing? At one time I would have asked the same
question!! 99.9% of the time we do not use electric reels. But as you get older and arthritis sets in your arms and shoulders
and hands, it becomes virtually impossible to crank up two big bottom fish from 100+ feet of water. The electric reel opens
up a fishery for most people that are in their later stage of life. I, myself, am in that group. I hope you never have
to experience the pain of arthritis, but if you do, you will one day appreciate an electric reel!! Some fisherman use them
anytime they deep drop, however we use them when they are requested.
Sunday,5-14-06; The winds are blowing again so I finally got a break long enough to catch
up on some of my "paper work". Yesterday we met up with the gang from Fayetteville, NC. They were Tony Cameron,Fred
White, Billy Owens,Clyde Brooks, and James Williams. We went after bottom fish and we found a wide variety that wanted to
ride to the dock on the "YEAH RIGHT" and so we welcomed them aboard!!!
We had some big triggerfish, some big silver snapper, some big vermillion snapper,
some big Black Bass, some very nice grouper, some big joltheads, some big grey snapper, but Fred White's big American
Red Snapper was the rarest catch of the day!! We don't get a lot of those off our coast anymore and when you get one it is
a real treet and a big surprise, not to mention some great fillets on the grill!!!!
We got these fish at only three stops, two were some of our usual places but
one I found as I was moving to another place. I seen it on the color scope and turned around and got it "pinpointed" on the
GPS, pulled up current from it, dropped anchor, drifted back on top of it and we dropped the baits down. Now let me tell you,
from that point on, it was on!!!!!! These guys had the electric reels "smoking". We even hooked two fish that took the gears
right out of two of our 4/0 reels. I mean you could not stop these two fish!!!!!
The last two days, first in the Gulfstream slamming big Mahi-Mahi, busting off
big Wahoo's then the next day catching bottom fish till your arms ache, I love it, I could not think of doing anything else,
and when you get to fish with the kind of folks like the guys from Fayetteville, why would you want to do anything else?Till
next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster, Capt Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie' the fish dog says HI!!!!!
P.S. Fred, we saved you a few for the next time.
The other guys didn't want too, but I made them!!! Sure hope Mrs. Brown is doing better!!!
Thursday,5-11-06: Am I dreaming or did I spend a BEAUTIFUL
DAY in the gulfstream yesterday with Mike, Sherry and Brian Gould and Brian's fiance Kim Smith. The weather and seas were
gorgeous. We got a late start, so we set a course to the 100/400 to start our day. We left the dock at 7:15AM and we reached
our destination at 9:05, yeah, it was CALM SEAS!!!!
Upon arriving, there were several other
boats already there. The reports were a very few fish bing hooked up. An occasional Mahi- Mahi, an occasional Wahoo, but no
reports of a Tuna. We thought maybe we could be the one to start the Tuna bite so we put our lines in and set towards the
Blackjack Hole. Between the 100/400 was a slightly formed weed line. Looked like what was left after the day before 10 foot
seas had busted it up, but was enough there to pull the baits around. We tried and had no results!!
After reaching the Blackjack, the reports
were still that the bite was slow. Thirteen miles to the Steeples. Let's pull the lines in and run to there. Capt Chris, who
was mating today, picked up the first rod to bring them in, and we had a double hook up of Mahi- Mahi. OK, we will stay here!!
Another 30 to 45 minutes of pulling our Ballyhoos proved fruitless. OK, Let's go, I have got to try to get some fish in the
boat and I don't think this is going to be the spot today.
Upon reaching the Steeples, the water
was a deeper blue and the temps. were 3 degrees warmer. The bait was not as thick as it was a few weeks earlier, but there
was some. We fished the rest of the day here, never got a Tuna bite, but had a good day on the Mahi- Mahi. Mike even fought
a big Bull Dolphin that we seen several times, even on the International 50 wide reel, Mike would take in 10 yards of
line and he would take back 15. This battle back and forth finally was more than the 50 lb. line could handle and it finally
parted leaving Mike with only a memory of a battle well fought with the Mahi winning this one. We don't know how much he weighed,
but, it was a very large bull!!!! Now, as for the Wahoo's. Somedays, no matter how hard you try, sometimes nothing goes
right. We had plenty of chances to get a Wahoo!!! We had lines cut, baits bit off, fish get off, lines broke, we had
the Wahoo bites, but that was it for the Wahoos, could not get one in the boat. Today was their day, but there is an old saying
something about the sun not shining somewhere all the time.
We thank the LORD for giving us a beautiful
day to spend in the Gulfstream with some good friends!! These are the times you cherish and remember back on as life goes
on. A good day on the water with some GREAT friends.
As for the weekends weather, right now
they aren't talking in our favor, but they may change it as the weekend gets closer, let's hope it gets better!! Till
next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster, Capt Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog says HI!!
Tuesday, 5-9-06: Boy did the weather man ever miss
todays forecast. I thought that the light winds predicted were going to hold true. That's what I get for thinking!!! About
the time we reached the Tower area this morning the winds had picked up and they were building a sea with their N NE direction.
Now, If you fish the Tower, you know what that means for the ride back!!!
The King Mackeral bite had diminished
from the good bite to near nothing today. Only report from Kings was that they were not biting, one boat had caught a couple
and that was about it. We went to the bottom, only to find the bottom bite responding some what sluggish due to the NE winds.
Some of the Black Bass, B-Liners and Grey Snapper we caught were good sized ones though. Every spot we stopped on would
be hot for a few minutes then they would stop just as quick as they started, so we just kept hitting other spots one after
another.
Around 12:00noon, the seas had built to a good
5 to 6 feet so we decided since we had a long run back in almost a head sea, to call it a day! I was feeling bad about not
being able to get as many fish for Edwin James(FAST EDDIE), Bruce Miller(BRUNO) and Jay Dean(SNAKE) as I wanted
too, but arriving back at the dock, we discovered we had actually had a real good day when compared to other catches coming
in!!
We would probably have had several more
fish, but, we were reduced to two fishermen!! I'll not say what happened, but one of our fishermen got side tracked for a
while!! We all had a Great time and got to enjoy some fishing as well! Speaking of "well," I sure hope snake is feeling better!!!!
Till next time, FISH ON!! Capt Butch Foster, Capt Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog, says HI!!!!!.
Monday, 5-8-06: Today we were to head to the Gulfstream,
but with the forecast of 15 to 20 knot NW winds, we decided it would be a lot nicer conditions to just stay on the beach and
fish for some Spanish Mackeral then slip offshore a few miles in search of some Black Bass.
We came out of the Cape Fear River and
I headed to the West. I was looking for birds working the water and for possibly a Spanish "skying". As I arrived at
the "big hill" area I had not seen any of the above yet. Knowing this is a good place for Spanish Mackeral to congregate,
we decided to put out the lines. The bite was slow for us this morning but we put the pieces together and discovered they
wanted the 00 Clarke Spoons in gold color run a little slower than normal.
Now, we usually pull them at around
6.5 knots, but this morning we were doing better when we slowed to around 5 knots. As usual, the slower speed also meant
we were going to get more bites from the Blues, and we did, but hey, these are fun to catch also and are not bad to eat if
cooked fresh. We elected to release all the Blues, of course, "Private Bodie" had to inspect a few before they could
be released!!
After catching a good mess of Spanish
Mackeral, we set out to find some Bottom Fish the last part of the day. We marked several schools of bottom fish but they
were reluctant to bite very well!! We did get a few, but, didn't have the results I was hoping for. If we had stayed after
the Spanish we just might have totally limited out on those for we heard another boat report that the bite was a lot hotter
this evening than it was this morning.
But as always when Wesley Gross and his
crew, which consisted of Chaz Elam, Chase Williamson, Chris Inscoe, and Nathan Owens are on the "YEAH Right" we have a great
time, the fish are just an added bonus!!!!!!
Get on out and get started in the fishing
that is beginning off the coast. The winds are starting to recede some and conditions seem to be getting better!!! Till next
time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster, Capt Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog, says HI!!!!.
Sunday 5-7-06: There are reports coming in that there
are more Spanish Mackeral being caught. The King Mackeral bite is still good offshore and the Gulfstream bite is on
a hit and miss pattern for now. But the GREAT NEWS is that as the forecast is updated, it keeps getting better and better.
Maybe, just maybe, we are going to finally get the break in the winds we have been waiting for. We at YEAH RIGHT CHARTERS
are working on a new addition to our charter. We can't say yet what it is, but, it is nearing the final stages and looks as
though it is going to be a "go". Stay tuned, as soon as it is finalized, you will hear about it here first!!! Till next time,
FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster.
Saturday, 5-6-06: Well as it happens in these days
from time to time, todays charter never showed up this morning. Too bad, looks like they may have missed a good day. But for
me, it is sorta good. I haven't had the time to talk about any fishing, and this gives me the opportunity to cover what's
going on and what we can expect in the month of May. Only problem, I don't know where to start!!!!!
I will start with OCEAN CREST PIER,
talked to Dave Cooper at the pier and he says that the Big Blues have been the main ticket at the pier lately. Also, along
with those have been some pompano,flounder, whiting, and today there was a legal sized Spanish Mackeral caught. There have
been smaller ones caught, but a 12 incher is a good sign they will be here in full force any day now!!!!
I was on the beach a few weeks ago and
the bait was thick, (pogies) with the ever warming temperatures, the King Mackeral can't be far away!!! May is when we usually
start seeing Kings showing up on the near shore structures such as 18 mile rock, 15 mile rock, Shark Hole, Lighthouse Rocks
and those areas. they are in persuit of the bait fish and the bait is here, the determining factor will be the water temperature,
and it is nearly at that magic 68* temp.
Don't forget, the last of May, or some where
in this time period on, we will see some Sail Fish start showing up closer to shore. Every year there are several usually
caught at the same places where you are fishing for King Mackeral!!
Also don't forget the arrival of the
Cobia's this month. They usually come in on the heels of the King and Spanish Mackeral. Although, they are here in more numbers
later in the month and into June.You can fish for the cobia's just like you do king mackeral. Live bait is best!! In fact,
I would say that most likely most Cobia are caught while King Mackeral Fishing. A super bait for Cobia, if you can find some
are Live eels. A Cobia can't refuse one of those!!!!
The Gulfstream, when you can get out
there, has been producing some good catches of Yellowfin Tuna, Dolphin(Mahi-Mahi), Blackfin Tuna, and Wahoo's. The Blackjack
would be a good place to start your hunt. If flying fish are present, pull your standard Ballyhoo rigs. If you don't see any
flying fish, I would use the faster paced Cedar plugs!!
The inside fishing will or should be good.
Drum, Trout, and especially Flounder should get more active to the warming water!!
The Blues should be on Jay Bird Shoals
now at the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Just watch for diving birds, the white terns and seagulls will be a better locator
than Pelicans. If the Blues are there running the bait up, they will be having a fit!! You can cast small spoons and various
lures or you can troll for these . Which ever way is your favorite, most likely will work!!
The Grouper will be making their way
back from the spawning grounds way offshore this month. The same areas as the Black Bass call home now should start producing
some Grouper. These will include various Rocks, Ledges, and other bottom structures that will provide current breaks and ambush
points, These areas are where you will find your Grouper!!
Bottom fishing is good in the 30 - 35
mile range. The Black Bass, Snappers, Triggerfish and various other bottom dwellers that feed offshore all winter long will
still be there hungry and ready to provide you with some fresh fish dinners.
I hope I have not left out too many species,
I am sure I have missed some!! Hopefully the winds will soon die down some and we can get back out on a regular basis!! May,
one of our many great months to fish here in the Southport area. If you have not tried the fishing off our coast, you may
find it quite surprising as to what you can catch!! Till I see you on the water. FISH ON!!!Capt Butch Foster www.yeahrightcharters.com
Saturday, 4-29-06: We haven't been able to go fishing in so long that against my better
judgement we tried to fish the beach today. Boy was that ever a mistake!!! The winds are still howling down here. The water
temp on the beach is 68* so things should start happening before long on the beaches. I heard friday that a few spanish mackeral
were caught at AR 425 last week. Didn't see them, but was told they were!! The forecasted NE winds turned more East than NE,
then they soon built up to nearly a steady 20 to 30 knotts pushing the seas up to a good 6 feet. Of coarse, our MAKO BOAT,
being the seaworthy queen she is, handled them with ease but it was too rough to try to fish so we called it quits. Figured
we might as well with the winds we had, if you fish out of Southport,NC then you know from experience that East winds
are bad for fishing, and today was no exception!!! If you have the urge to break the "cabin fever" might as well wait it out
until the winds die out some or you will do what I did, burn a lot of fuel for nothing!!! I think the winds will lay again,
sometime, maybe, I think, I hope, till then, FISH ON!! Capt Butch.
Captain James "Buster"
Gunter, a fellow FLW member and Captain of The Sea Horse has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. If you would like to
help contribute to the medical expenses we have set up a PayPal fund with Bank of America to accept the donations. It is under
the James "Buster" Gunter Fund, account # 002374555373. You can make donations at any Bank of America in the country. If you
do not have one convenient to you, you can mail it to Scott Buff 701 West West St. Southport, NC 28461. You may also
contact Scott at the Southport Fishing Center for details. His numbers are 910-454-4000 and cell 910-294-1463. Thank
you for your help and prayers for a fellow fisherman.Get well soon Buster!! Capt Butch
Also, you will notice that a lot
of people and business are donating items for a raffle. Call Capt. Scott Buff above for tickets. The donations for this
raffle will go into the account for Buster to help him and his family pull through these tough times. Hey guys, we need your
help, Buster is a good man and the proceeds are for a good cause. If you can donate, any amount will help,PLEASE do, if not,
PLEASE say a prayer for Buster and his family. With the fraturnity of fishermen and the good LORD on our side, we can all
help out a fellow fisherman and his family when help is needed most. Hang in there Buster, we are all pulling for you!! GET
WELL SOON!!!! Capt. Butch and Capt Chris Foster.
Seahorse Raffle Prize List
Items will be added throughout the Season
- Jolly Roger Charter boat ½ or full day
- Chum Grinder Reel Gator fishing team
- Spray on bed liner www.bedliner.com Team Cool Profits
- RV unit air cond. Team Offshore Carolina
- RV unit air cond. Team Offshore Carolina
- Landscape package valued at $2,500 Landscape Solutions
/ Team Germinator
- Raymarine Auto Pilot Capt. Danny Ashley
- E-Searider 1 bean bag of choice
- Hilton Head Boating Center Penn Downrigger
- Penn Downrigger Rod mount Libra fishing team
- 12 Ribbonfish turbo rattler rigs Capt James and
turborattler.com
- Capt. Marks Chum gift certificate
- Realtime-Navigator 1 full service subscription Tom
Hilton
- East Coast Got-em-on classic1 free tournament entry
Ty Cobb
- Cobb’s Corner $300 gift certificate Ty Cobb
- Tackle package from kingfishgear.com
- Greater Wilmington King Mackerel Tournament 1 free
entry Tom Aberle
- FLW Kingfish series 1 free tournament entry Chris
Hoover
- 4 Speedmasters Team SEAMENT
- SPRO extendable gaff Team Younguns
- Custom Entertainment Center Team Donna’s Worry
Ernie Diloreti woodworks
- 2 5lb marine fire extinguishers with brackets Team
Mainevent
- Rumble in the Jungle 1 free tournament entry Sport222
- Flowmaster cat-back exhaust system www.SaltandBatteryfishingteam.com
- TKA tournament 1 free entry Team Lured Away
- Ocean Isle Fishing Center
$100 gift Certificate Brant McMullen
- 4 Dave Workman Series Kingfish rods
- KINGFISHKOFFIN courtesy of Team KINGFISHKOFFIN
- Grove Slam Tournament entry Team HeaVEEweight
- 2 bottles of Dewar’s 12 Premium Scotch Team
HeaVEEweight
- 1 dozen Hook and Tackle shirts Team HeaVEEweight
- 1 Free entry to the King of the Cape Classic Jerry
Dilsaver
Any item that is won by someone that is regional specific...ex spray on bed liner or the landscaping
package, or a tournament entry that you cannot make.....I have a person who is interested in the possibility of buying some
or most of the prizes back....or the possibility of reselling them so a winner will not be getting a prize that is of no value
to him or her. I agree with that and it will also open up the ticket sales to many different categories of people and not
just fishermen...Just food for thought...you will not hurt anyone's feelings selling an item you have won. Thanks
Wednesday,4-26-06 I have not gone on vacation or
left the country!!! As soon as the winds break we will be back out fishing!!! Maybe it won't be much longer!!!!
FISH ON!!!
Capt Butch
Saturday 4-22-06: Sorry this report is late, don't
have an excuse, I just got lazy and am just now getting to it. We left the dock Friday morning with Bill Roberson,Chris
Brafford, Joe Arthur, Jon Caton, David Arthur, and Joe Cotton. We were to start off king mackeral fishing. I figured this
would be easy enough. Just two days before we were catching kings to the SW of the Tower.
I set our MAKO "YEAH RIGHT" on
course to the spot we were at the other day. I told our crew to get comfortable, the first stop was 35 miles out. At around
8:00AM I pulled the throttles back on the HONDAS and was suprised to find that the area looked like "The Dead Sea". I made
several circles to find nothing. The water looked good, the temperature was almost 70* but there was no fish or bait.
No need to start here I said, let's move
on to another place. I put in some more numbers and off we went. As we got closer I realized another boat was already there.
Not much happening here, was the report!! OK, I got a spot about ten miles from here. The way things are looking, I believe
these fish may have moved to a little shallower water. We will be going with the swell so we can make short work of the 10
mile run.
By this time I was thinking to myself.
I bet todays charter thinks they are on an expensive boat ride. I hate to have to ride like this, but if you make a bad call
and don't find the fish, then regroup and don't waste time at that spot and go try to find them. We left the second place
and now the pressure was on me!! Was I going the right way? Should I go farther offshore? Should I go to the East? maybe West?
I got to find these guys some fish and not take all day!!
I arrived at the 3rd place. By
not wasting time at the areas where we marked no fish or bait it was only 9:00am. Not bad for running 35 miles offshore then
another 5 miles then another 10 miles. Upon arrival, I told everyone this looks good!! Capt. Chris baited up the rods and
put them out, I set the trolling speed at around 1.1 mph on the GPS. As we crossed over the high spot, I said, these fish
are feeding. No more did I get that out when the first rod went off, FISH ON!!!! someone yelled!!!!
The bite was starting to heat up, we
put 5 kings in the boat rather quickly, then just as it started, the bite went off. We trolled on and kept circling the bait
to no avail. The reports from the other boats were that the bite for them had also shut down. So, with this info. we decided
to quit wasting time and go bottom fishing. We were in luck, I was real close to some of my favorite bottom structures. We
got anchored up and the bite was on!!! We hit four places and at each one the bite was fast and furious but they didn't last
real long, maybe an hour and a half at each one. But as the bite would taper, we went to another place. That evening, the
tide went slack, the bite shut down and we came home, but, not before we had a good catch of fish for everyone!!!!
Another good day of fishing with a great
bunch of guys!! Thanks for being patient with me while I was hunting the fish!! Sometimes they seem to not want to play fair!!!
Goes back to the old saying "it's called fishing, not catching" But we did find some of them, they can't all hide all the
time!!! Enjoyed it guys, looking forward to our next trip!!! Todays Gulfstream trip was blown out, tomorrows trip has
been blown out, Mondays Gulfstream trip is in question right now. The weather forecast does not look good for a week at this
time. If we get to go we will let you know how we did right here. I am beginning to wonder if the winds are ever going to
settle down where we can get back offshore more consistantly. Yeah, they will eventually, but until they do, just make the
best out of what you have by fishing inside and just be glad we are free and can go fishing, period!!!! Till next time, FISH
ON!!! Capt Butch Foster, Capt Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog, says HI!!!!!.
Mr. Funderburk,
From Wrightsville Beach, Got your email, can't get my server to deliver a response, Please give me a call and I will
help you!!! FISH ON!!(910)845-2004.
Thursday,4-20-06: Yesterday we went bottom
fishing with Joey, Patty,and Seth Vines from Granite Falls,NC. We found the fish biting well and all three stayed busy all
day. If we could have kept all the fish that were caught, we would have run out of room to keep them. Most were black
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