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12-19-08
I did a seminar at Bass Pro Shops in Charlotte,NC and we raffled off a 1/2 day fishing trip
and today we ran that trip.
We were fishing with Hugh Patton and his son Jason from Kannapolis,NC and with them was Nathan
Barnhardt from Salisbury,NC.
I was dreading having to tell them about not being able to leave Friday morning due to the
heavy fog, but it had lifted enough where visibility was not bad, so we were able to leave on time!!
The spot I had in mind to start is usually pretty good this time of year, but this morning
there wasn't anything on these rocks.
I came down from the helm and discussed the fact that I would rather they get to fish less
time in waters that had fish than to fish longer where there were no fish!!
But, just because I find fish doesn't mean they will bite, but at least finding fish will give
them that option to bite!!!
Everyone was in agreement with that concept, so, as I do when I have to, I threw the fact
that it was a short day overboard, and we headed farther offshore to around 85 feet of water.
It turned out to be the right decision!!!
Check out the big 44 inch Red Drum that Hugh fought and was victorious. For this he will be
recieving a "NC CITATION" award for a catch and release.
He and the guys also caught several Gag Grouper but they were all just short of the 24" legal
size so we released those as well.
A lite line was no good on this trip, the water was too cold, but the bottom
fish bit pretty good until the tide went slack and by that time the winds had picked the seas up to 4 to 5 feet so we headed
to the marina to clean fish.
Another great day on the water with great people!!! Till next time, Blessings!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
12-18-08
Today was not as much a fishing trip but more of a fishing adventure.
I was fishing with some home town guys today. Kieth Yokley from Lexingon,NC who owns "YOKLEY
AUCTION" with him was Marvin Johnson and his son Marvin from Lexington,NC as well.
We ran out to the SW of the Tower and got set up for some bottom
fishing and lite lining and
was rewarded with co-operative fish and good seas. The full moon currents were strong, but we prevailed!!
Captain Chris was mating for us today and even though he has not
been with me for a couple
years now, he still has the old "blue thumb" ability to get you fish hooked up on a right regular
basis.
A lot of you that have fished with us know the story of the "Blue
Thumb"!!!
Bottom fish and King Mackeral were coming in the boat from all
corners!!
I am so glad he has decided to join me again to work the cockpit
of the boat this year, there
is not a better mate or captain that I know of!!!!
These guys can say that they were on an fishing/adventure today.
We got in the worse fog I
have ever been in.
I truly know what "0" visibility means now!!! Until you get into
what the "old salts" call
a "fog bank", you will never know what it is, and I hope you never do!!!
Believe me, you don't ever want to experience this!!!
The fog was so thick, you could NOT see the Light House at all,
FROM AN|YWHERE!!! We thought
they might have had a power failure, they didn't, you just couldn't see it!!!
Had we not had "RADAR" on the boat, it could have been bad!!!
Especially with the Tug boat that was pulling a barge right
in the middle of the river
channel and the Bald Head Ferry's running. But we do have "RADAR" and all is well!!!!
It was truly an adventure and Captain Chris made the comment about this
is what makes it fun!! That's
the younger side of his reckoning!!!
I knew he was growing up and got tickled a little later when he
made the comment "You know,
this isn't funny anymore"!!
Son, you are a fine Man and a great Captain and we Love you very
much, WELCOME BACK, it's been
too long!!!!
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
11-30-08
Can you believe this, it's the last day of November.
I know I have let you down lately with being slow on the reports and I
do apologise!!!
It is the time of year when I don't seem to have enough time to get everything
done.
You have to get everything ready for the next season this time of year,
reel and tackle maintenance
and shows and seminars.
Which reminds me I will be at "FIRE MOUNTAIN STEAK HOUSE" in Kernersville,NC
tomorrow evening around
6:30PM with a Grouper/Bottom fishing and chart reading seminar. Come on out if you can make it!!
Also, I am doing the "Cape Fear Report" again for the "COASTAL CAROLINA
FISHING REPORTS TV
SHOW". Go there to get all the fishing hot spots and how to's.
Also, don't forget the shows this year at Greensboro,NC Raleigh,NC and
Richmond, VA. I have a link
to the shows right here on this fishing reports page, check them out and attend some seminars!!!
As you can see, I have a lot going on right now, but I will try my best
to keep at least my website
more up to date.
OK, let's get caught up here on what's been happening with the fishing
the past week.
Tuesday, 11-25-08 my wife and I went Speckled Trout fishing. We never
got a bite!!!!
I was thinking that I should give up the inside fishing but felt better
after talking to several
other Trout fishermen that are known to be pretty good and they had the same results.
Wednesday, 11-26-08 I had a "BIG" treat this day!! My son Captain Chris
came down to fish with me.
We went again after the Speckled Trout. We had one of those days that
you could do nothing wrong.
I was throwing a YO-ZURI Crystal Minnow in a Blue and silver and Capt.
Chris was using a 17MR MIRRO
LURE one in red and silver and the other in blue and silver.
We were putting on a show Wednesday for everyone else, we caught 11 Speckled
Trout up to 3+ pounds
in just a couple of hours.
Like I said, one of those days that whatever we did was right, or thinking
back now I am beginning
to believe my wife just might be the "fish jinx"!!!
Thursday, 11-27-08 I couldn't believe it, Capt. Chris was coming to our
house again to spend Thanksgiving
with us. My wife and I were ecstatic. A whole day with our son together, something that just doesn't
happen anymore.
And as close as Capt Chris and I were when he was growing up, well, Thursday
I felt whole again even
though it was for only a day.
All though these days are very few and very far apart, at this point in
my life I now live for those
days!!!!!
Now what does two Captains do when they spend time together, they go fishing.
This time we took the "YEAH RIGHT II" out for some near shore bottom fishing.
We were hoping to hook
up with some of those big red drum that are out there this time of year but we
didn't get any of those. We caught plenty of Black Bass!!!
Friday 11-28-08 I ran a trip with Casey Cronan from Charlotte & Oak
Island, NC, Keith Cronan
from Chesterfield,VA, Neill & Lauren Goslon from Durham,NC and Rob & Alicia O'Brien from
Midlothian,VA.
We were scheduled for a full day trip but the weather didn't co-operate
offshore so we did a 1/2
day close in and we also got into the Black Bass and Blue Fish.
And yesterday it rained like a frog strangler off the beach. How do I
know that?
Because we were fishing with Bob, Brian, Jay Bostwick from Greenville,SC
and with them was Mark Prak
from Raleigh,NC.
This was another 1/2 day trip and the rains and winds had slowed the bite
some from the day before
but we had a great time and caught all the Black Bass, sea bream, pig fish, and Blue Fish we wanted.
Looks like the winds are going to blow for a few days now, but it is that
time of year you know!!
Till next time, God Bless All!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt Butch
P.S. We got a "Gremlin" in our computer, as soon as we get it out, and
Capt. Chris is hard at work
trying to figure it out, we will have the pic's up here!!
November
7, 2008
Capt Butch has been really busy lately so I thought I would
at least let you know
the fish are still there. Joe, Pam, and Candi Small along with David Naundorf and Donald Blalock
of Charlotte, NC went out
and filled this cooler with an assortment of bottom fish. Capt Butch will give you a better rundown
of the types of fish later.
Saturday and Sunday the wind blew and blew and blew and...
you get picture. Hopefully
it wil calm down soon. Till then take care and God bless!! Barbara
11-2-0
Today we fished with Attorney Kody Jones, Kody brought
with him his brother
Kevin. Kody and Kevin are from Greensboro,NC. With them were Joe Coker and Ned Johnson from Fayetteville,NC.
If you need any assistance with Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights
or Unfair Competition give
Kody a call @ (336) 273-4422 or Email @ kjones@maccordmason.com
We started off on the WOFES looking for some Grey Trout and Red
Drum but didn't find any there.
We moved from there to AR-420 and after a little looking around
I stopped the "YEAH RIGHT II"
on what I thought looked like trout on the bottom, and yep, that's what they were.
I had to find some fish, with the anchor not holding, these guys
I think were starting to think
I didn't know what I was doing, I was beginning to wonder myself.
I've got to get a bigger anchor for this boat, this boat's heavy!!!!
Although we didn't hook up with a Red Drum, which is unusual
this time of year, I
don't think anyone was too upset.
We were hooking and catching Blue Fish and Grey Trout about
as fast as you could drop.
I said hooking because we probably lost as many or more than we
caught.
Then the winds got up, the fish shut off, but that was OK, we had
our limit, had our fun and
fresh fish dinners and it was time to head to the marina, clean the fish and go home!!
We had a great time fishing, catching, and just enjoying the beautiful
day and the great fellowship
we had today.
Till next time, God Bless All!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt. Butch
11-1-08
It's been a tough three months,
but it looks like I am finally
back in the running again...
Just ask Leland Land, Larry Land,
Paige Blakley, and Leland
Harley from High Point, NC.
The seas were a little "sporty"
going out today and everyone
was talking about how bad the weather man had missed the forecast.
Although I know he does miss at
times, and sometimes pretty
bad, but I think he was right on today. He had said 15 to 20 knot NE winds deminishing to 10 knots
N in the evening, and that's
what it did. The ride home was great!!
Back to the fishing. I always
hate to be the one that says
it's time to go home.
But I know I have done my job
when I bring the subject up
and everyone is in agreement that they had had all the catching they can handle for one day.
These guys had limits of Grey
Snappers, sharks, B-Liners,
Black Bass, Triggerfish, Amber Jacks, Joltheads, Silver Snapper, Almaco Jacks, Calico Bass, and
grouper.
Yep, looks like the "YEAH RIGHT
II" has sucessfully
taken over the duties of the original "YEAH RIGHT" and she is doing it in comfort and style!!!
So, come on to Southport and enjoy
a fishing trip at a reasonable
rate on a comfortable boat with a Captain who only wants the best for you and your family.
Just ask Leland and his group,
they had a great time catching
fish ( in some tough fishing conditions,
to say the least)
to the point that they are probably going to be sore tomorrow, but it's the good kind of sore!!!
Till next time, May God Bless
Everyone!!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt. Butch
10-31-08
The calmer winds that the weather man talked about this
morning never happened offshore
today.
The fishing was good but the seas were rough with a 15 to 20 knot
NE wind. Yeah, NE!!!
I kept waiting for the 8 second buzzer to go off up on the bridge
of the "YEAH RIGHT II".
I was fishing with Doug Davis from Lexington,NC, Jonathan
Davis from High Point,NC,
and Gary Horan from Asheboro,NC
I started the day off at a ledge in the 340's. The fish were there
and they were biting if
you could get past the Sharks.
I made an anchor adjustment and got away from the sharks only to
get into the tomtotes.
From that point on for a while it was tomtotes galore. I made the
decision to go to deeper
water.
The next 6 spots I went to had nothing on them. These places have
fish on them always, but
not today.
I was heading to the 7th spot when I marked a new ledge stacked
up with fish.
And they were not sharks or tomtotes. We immediately started catching
Grey Snappers, Joltheads,
Grouper, (though most were too small to be legal, we did manage two keepers), however, we did have
a couple bigger grouper get
in the rocks and break off, not good!!
Caught some nice Black Bass, (I may have found a good ledge for
Black Bass), Triggerfish,
got a King Mackeral off the bottom, Some big ol' B-Liners, Silver Snappers, and of course, Sharks!!!
It was rough today and the predicted calmer conditions never materalized,
but I can say this,
I was impressed at the rough sea handling capabilities of the CHRIS CRAFT.
I have always heard that CHRIS CRAFT built fine boats, and I now
believe this to be true.
We are proud to have CHRIS CRAFT as our new addition to our Charter
Boat Business.
Come fish with us on the "YEAH RIGHT II" and I think you will be
as impressed as we are with
CHRIS CRAFT BOATS!!
Till next time, God Bless All!!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt. Butch
10-27,28,29,30,31-08
No, I don't think I have gone number crazy. I am just trying
to catch up this weeks
reports here at one time!!
Monday the 27th the guys from DC and Maryland came down on the
weather mans report of good
weather. WRONG!!!
They drove so far that I hated not to try to get out, but it was
just too rough to go so we
aborted that trip.
Tues and Wed the 28th and 29th the winds howled, so these trips
had to be cancelled as well.
Now Thursday the 30th we went on the beach on a 1/2 day trip and
as expected, the winds from
the first part of the week had the water dirty and stirred up real bad.
But, I did find Ray Liotta from Wilmington,NC, who by the way this
trip was for his upcoming
marrage, with him was RJ Liotta from New Orleans, LA, Kris Ponnequin from Houston, Texas, Keaton
Hayenga from Seattle, Washington,
Juan Espinoza from Wilmington,NC and Tim Hamulack from York, PA.
Like I said it was tough but I kept searching until I found some
Grey Trout that would bite.
It was fast and furious for a little bit but they soon moved on and we just picked at the fish
the rest of the morning.
To be honest, with the water in the shape it was in, we did better
that I figured we would
do!! Still we had fun and got to spend some quality time together with others!!
Good luck Ray, I hope you and your wife live a long and happy life
together, I will pray God
Blesses you two well!!!
Till next time, Blessings to all!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
10-21-08
The winds have blown out most trips this week but not all of them.
This has been a special week for me and my wife, We got to make
a couple of fishing trips with
Dale and Ella Foster.
Dale and I go way back. In fact, we were talking about some of our
earlier duck hunting trips
when we were a lot younger and apparently a lot dumber.
We recollected one trip where we made our way to Hog island in Pamlico
Sound one morning in
a 14 foot jon boat in heavy seas with the boat loaded to the brim with decoys, dogs, and all the
normal ducking paraphernalia.
Let me say that God does look after his own. If not, I would not
be writing this and we would
not be here to go fishing.
I recalled many memories the past few days and they were all great
ones of times past fishing
and hunting with a great friend and it was an honor to get to share some more great time in a boat
with Dale, Ella, and my
wife Barbara.
The first trip we made was offshore fishing for bottom fish.
The weather was beautiful, but, unfortunately we were in the pull
of a full moon and the fishing
was tough.
The current finally got so strong I could not get a 24 pound plow
anchor to the bottom in 85
feet of water, that was a "screaming current" impossible to fish in.
But before it got that strong we did manage a few bottom fish,
although the catch was not
as good as the day before, Dale, along with assistance from Ella, did fight and bring to boat
side a citation size shark.
The next trip we went on was to
see if the Grey Trout and
Red Drum were on the near shore reefs yet.
My answer to that is,YES, THEY ARE HERE!!!!
Now, It was fun fishing today with friends but there were so many Trout
coming over the
side of the boat at one time, the natural instinct of a charter captain made me throw my own fishing
rod down and start taking
fish off hooks.
Like I had a choice, I looked up and there were three Trout hanging
on the ends of stingsilvers
waiting to be unhooked.
Oh well, that is my job you know!!!
We even caught some Spanish Mackeral while jigging the Trout and
some nice croakers as well!!
It was fast and furious catching, plus, my wife lost a Grey Trout
at boat side that would
have definitely got her a citation, and qualifying size for Grey Trout is 5 pounds or live release
of fish 24 inches or longer.
As for the Red Drum, we were wanting to get a citation for a Red
Drum and had two chances.
Both Dale and Ella hooked one up, but the fish managed to pull free before we could get them to
boat side, maybe next time
will be our time.
Speaking of citation size fish, Dale and I were talking and he
came up with a great idea that
I am going to employ into "YEAH RIGHT CHARTERS" fishing trips from now own.
North Carolina has a great citation program in place and I am going
to issue all the citation
certificates for qualifying fish that are caught on our boat from this point forward.
This will be a very nice addition to our services and something
that you will remember for
a lifetime and pass on to your children and grandchildren.
Dale has helped me a lot by letting me know from a customer's point
of view things that would
help me out, and this is another great idea Dale has thought of. Thanks Dale, you have always been
a great friend and help!!!!
The fall fishing is under way pretty good at this time. The King
Mackeral bite is hit and
miss lately.
The Spots seem to be having a time getting by all the nets on the
beach lately, come go fishing
with us, we will go where the fish are instead of waiting for the fish to come to us!!!
Got to go for now, this week is booking up almost full so if weather
permits, we should have
reports of what's happening on line again to help you plan your own fishing trip.
Yep, it's been a battle the past few months, but God knew what was
best for me and now we are
back better than ever before with a very comfortable fishing boat for your enjoyment!!!
One other thing, Dale asked me last night if staying at the same
price would hurt my business.
I know what he is saying.
Some people will probably think that by me not increasing my rates
that we are not any good,
and I won't be able to change their minds, I experienced this when I was in Taxidermy, some people
think the more they pay
the better it will be, and in a lot of cases this is true.
But this is not "rocket science" this is fishing, and all charter
boats fish in the water!!!
To those that think that more is better is your right for living
in a free country, there are
plenty of charter boats out there that charge a lot more than I do. So, if you want to pay more,
you have that right as well!!
But, I have had to work hard all my life and I know how hard it
is to make a living and still
have the money to enjoy life a little.
And in today's economy, it's more important than ever to give someone
a break.
So, with that, I try to keep my rates where it will help my fishermen,
I hope you appreciate
all we do and I hope you realize that we don't do what we do just for the money, if it was just
for the money, we would be
a lot more expensive than we are and with a lot less customer service!!!
Till next time, Thanks for your continued supoport, I love you
all, and I hope God Blesses
you as He has me!!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
10-15-08
Let me try to catch up a little here. I know I haven't been as
punctual here as I need to
be, but I can see the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel" now, I think!!
As in fishing everyone that fishes offshore knows that every
day is a different day
out there.
Just as the fish didn't bite well on Tuesday, they did just the
opposite on Wednesday.
We made our way some 40 miles out and stopped on the first spot
and never had to mave all
day. I was fishing with Matt Creighton from Over Land Park, KS and Randy Vaughn from my hometown
of Lexington,NC.
I don't know how many grouper they caught with a lot being too small,
but they got their limit
of Gags, and rather nice ones at that and a nice Scamp.
Also with those they had Black Bass, Triggerfish, Grey Snapper,
American Red Snapper,Vermillion
Snapper,Joltheads, and yes, Sharks. always sharks!!
The bite was on all day long. I have never fished an area before
that had so many American
Red Snappers as this hole has.
With the legal size being 20 inches we only caught one keeper. We
had several more close, but
not close enough. I lost count somewhere around 28. Hopefully with proper management and respect
for the resource, this fish
will make a comeback in our area. I am going to do my part to bring them back now that I have found
some!!
The fall bite is doing good at this time, so come on down and catch
some fish!! You don't
have to charter a boat, They have been catching some fish on the piers I have been told.
But if you do want to charter a boat, we now have a much
bigger boat and my rates
are still the same, just what you have come to expect from us here at "YEAH RIGHT CHARTERS"!!!
Till next time, Blessings to all!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt. Butch
10-14-08
The word on the inshore bite today was not good. The full Moon
and East winds along with the
cloudy water has taken its toll.
We figured the Gulf Stream might be a little better, and it was,
but just a little.
I was fishing with Michael Ragland and his wife Melissa today. They
are from Reidsville,NC.
Just as we got to the 100/400, a Mahi-Mahi around 15 lbs. jumped
all over a black and purple
Boone Feather. This was one of Melissa's birthday presents.
Michael, you got a gal there who is happy to get trolling lures
as birthday presents, I sure
do hope you know how many guys are jealous of you!!!
We thought that today was going to be filled with bunches of fish,
but it wasn't to be. We
trolled for a while and did get a very hard knock down on the starboard outrigger. We don't know
what it was, but we do know
it hit the black and purple Blue Water Candy Lures JAG 3 like a big fish.
We finally gave up on the stream bite and tried bottom fishing.
Here too the East wind and
full moon was doing its damage with ripping currents and lock jawed fish.
Melissa caught a nice rasp and Michael had a bite from a fish that
bit like a grouper. That
too we don't know for sure, but it liked to took the rod out of the boat, just like a grouper can
do.
The weather looks better for the next few days, hopefully, the
fishing (catching) will get
better as well. Time will tell!!
Still a day fishing is better that a day at work. Till next time,
God Bless All!!
Fish On!!!
Capt. Butch
10-10-08
While some of us are stuck here in windy/rainy Southport,
NC, William Deal and his family
of Asheville and Oak Island,NC are enjoying a five year anniversary trip to Cabo San Lucas.
He emailed me these pic's and said the fishing was great down there
with Roosterfish, Billfish, and
Yellowfin Tuna.
He hooked up with Marlin and after a 25 minute fight he was cut
off by another fish. Like William
said, "that stunk"!!
Over the years William has become a great friend to me and my family
and I can't think of anyone
else that is more deserving of a trip like this for their anniversary.
Only problem I can see is that I don't see his wife holding up a
fish, sometimes that's not
a good sign. William, how do the couches sleep in Cabo,LOL!!!
Also, William reminded me that when times are tough we all can turn
to "Phillipians 4:13" which
reads "for I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength
and power"
Amen William, with Christ's strength and power laid upon me, I now
have a much bigger and better
boat for my fisherman, and as long as fuel prices don't go crazy, I won't have to increase
my rates.
Just goes to prove "Our God is an awesome God, just ask and you shall
recieve"
Thanks for sharing the pic's and scripture with us and have
a great time!!!! God Bless
You and your Family!!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt Butch
Wednesday, October 1st
Captain Butch had a half
day trip today with
John Cornwell, Raleigh, NC, Hugh, William, Julia Cornwell and Michael Bell of Chester, SC. They
were on a half day charter
and Capt Butch did his best to find fish for them. They found quite a few at the Shark Hole but
most were to small. You really
have to be able to move around sometimes and get further offshore to find a lot of keeper fish
and 1/2 day is not long enough.
As soon as Capt Butch
gets the Yeah Right II ready
he will put more reports on. Please be patient, he's really working hard right now to get everything
going.
Wanted to let you know
the Kings are definitely
on the beach. Ocean Crest pier has had several landed this week and I think one of them was 30+.
With the king mackeral tournament
this weekend a lot of fish should be brought to the dock. Oh and the weather looks perfect. Offshore
the fall fishing is going
strong.
Hope to see you soon,
'cause the weather at the
beach is just about perfect right now.
9-22-08
Went on a 1/2 day trip with Dennis,Gary, Nick and Suzye Colay from
Rural Hall,NC.
As I reported yesterday, the Spanish Mackeral can be stubborn this
time of year.
We had them jumping at the boat, running bait out of the water,
all the classic signs you
want to see, but they were reluctant to bite our lures.
Gary is pictured with the biggest one we caught today, a good three
pounder.
You King Mackeral fisherman rejoice!!! The kings are on the beach.
The past two days have had a good bite going on and the bait has
been in the area of Yaupon
Pier.
I saw several Kings sky today as we were trolling for Spanish. They
seemed to be from Lockwood
Folly Inlet (where I seen the biggest one sky with a mullet in her mouth) all the way to the Cape
Fear.
The winds are blowing, but as long as they stay out of the North
the beach should stay calm,
and the beach is as far as you need to go now to catch some Kings.
As for the Spanish Mackeral, they are there as well, just have to
hit them when they want to
bite!!!!
Till next time, God Bless!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
|
| click on pic to enlarge |
| The Yeah Right II |
|
9-9-08
Ran a fishing trip today with Tim Mock and his kids Trisha, Tamara,
Tyler, Troy, and Travis
from Lynchburg, VA. we were on the heels of Tropical Storm Hanna and it had made an impact on the
fishing.
All the normal "rocks" that usually hold fish were bare today so
we had to keep working farther
offshore today to deeper water until we found the fish.
How far offshore you ask?
Well when we found the fish I punched the nearest waypoints on the
GPS and I was only 1.75
miles from a bottom ledge I have saved that is in the area of the Steeples, and that's in
the Gulfstream.
Sometimes you have to do what you have to do, and doing this today
made for a good ending
to a great trip that didn't look good in the beginning as far as catching fish was concerned.
Hopefully, we will be back in full action before much longer!!
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
8-31-08
It was nice to be back for a day of fishing. It was really extra
special being able to
spend the day with the guys from the Fayetteville,NC area.
They were Tim Holland, Gregory Potts, Howard Moore, from Spring
Lake,NC and Eugene
McPhaul from Cameron,NC.
I was afraid that after being out of service for a month that I
may have lost contact with
the fish offshore,"naw" I had everyone begging me to come to the dock before their fishing time
was up!!!
They said that they were so tired of catching fish that they could
not catch another one.
That's what I like to hear!! That way I know I have done my job
for the day!!!
These guys caught Black Bass, Sharks, Amber Jacks, Silver
Snappers, Grey Snappers, Vermillion
Snappers,Triggerfish, King Mackeral, White Porgys, Scamp Grouper, Kelp Bass, and Strawberry Grouper.
Dang, I got tired just writing them all down!!!
It was great to be back for a day, now, let me explain this!!!
The Devil is working hard on me lately, but he does not realize
that he or nothing else can
cause me to loose my faith in God.
And, with God on my side, nothing or no body is going to stop me,
and even though I haven't
needed to go to the bank lately with all the cancelled trips, you can take the first sentence to
the bank every day!!!
The new power head ran better than when the engine was
new. Now, I guess you are
wondering why I am not fishing today.
A little $60.00 part broke yesterday in the lower unit, and even
though I could have left it
in forward gear and run it that way, it wouldn't be safe, and safety is our #1 goal.
I will not take you out fishing if it's not safe, your money or
fish are not worth taking ANY
CHANCE !!!!
So, hopefully, this part will be more available than the power head
was and if so or not, it's
just another part of being in business and depending on mechanical man made machines.
THEY ARE GOING TO BREAK!!!!!!!!
If you haven't experienced these problems yet, don't worry, keep
fishing and sooner or later
you will!!
Just keep your faith and keep moving forward, don't let the Devil
get you down!!!
Till next time, soon I hope, God Bless You All!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
8-1-08
We went fishing Friday on an evening trip with Richard, katey,
Jacob, and Lisa Roe and
with them was R.D. Herdman all from Wheelersburg,Ohio.
We went out about 10 miles to some cleaner water where the Spanish
Mackeral were holding.
Only problem was the Barracuda's were holding there as well and
were hungry.
But we still managed to get a few away from the hungry cuda's and
into the boat.
There were a lot of juvenile King Mackeral being caught out there
as well, so be sure to look
for the two colors on the Spanish Mackeral's dorsal fin, a positive way to identify it's a Spanish.
Till next time, God Bless!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt Butch
7-31-08
Today we were fishing with Rick, Kristen, Cassie, and Richard Buxter
with them was Jennifer
Drover and they were from Monroeville,PA.
I advised them the winds and seas were to rough to go into the ocean
but they still wanted
to go fishin' so we trolled the rip for Spanish Mackeral.
The bite was slow but we caught a few.
Pictured is Kristen with her first Spanish Mackeral, Cassie is holding
her first ribbon fish,
Richard caught a Lady fish and a Spanish, and Jennifer got her first Spanish and a Lady fish as
well.
It just goes to show that it's not always about how much you catch,
but the quality time you
spend with friends and family.
Cassie and Jennifer even did a duet for us about the fish, I tried
to get a video of that but
was too far away at the helm, and it didn't pick up the song over the engine noise.
Enjoyed it guys, you all were a pleasure to fish with!!!
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
7-29-08
Today we were fishing with Alexander, Isaiah, Sammy, Michael, John
W., and John T. Smith from
Hamlin,WV.
We ran out to the 440 where there was some cleaner water for the
Spanish Mackeral and the
bite was slow but there were some being caught.
Alexander and Sammy caught their first ever Spanish Mackeral today.
Isaiah got an Atlantic Sharpnose shark and Alexander also got a
nice Bull Shark.
The seas were kicked up some and the fishing is still sorta tough
on the inside.
It means a lot right now about "being at the right spot at the
right time" on the inshore
bite.
We worked on out to the Shark Hole and the 18 Mile rock with several
other boats, no one reported
any king mackeral bites and I never marked the first sign of any bait at those places.
Pogys have been around and to the west of the hothole and at the
Grey Condos on our end and
some have been at Lockwood inlet.
Till next time, Blessings!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
| Isaiah holding an Atlantic sharp-nose shark. |
|
| Alexander and Sammy caught their first spanish. |
|
| Alexander with a nice bull shark. |
|
7-28-08
Today we were fishing with Bill, Russell,Jim,William, Aaron, and
Tony Arno from Stokesdale,NC
and Minnesoto.
It was rough on our beach and the Spanish Mackeral bite has been
happening for the past few
days up at Carolina Beach.
With the SW winds, the beach up at Carolina would be calm so we
headed up there.
The beach was calm just as expected, but, after a few phone calls
I was informed that the Spanish
Mackeral bite that was going on was not going on today.
Well, there was a few shrimp boats out up at Carolina, the sharks
had to be biting better that
they were yesterday.
At least we did catch one today.
William Arno was the "rod man" when this Atlantic Sharpnose" took
the bait. His helpers were
Aaron and Tony Arno. The threesome fought the beast to the boat where they had their picture
taken with their catch,
great job guys!!!
We only had a few more bites but no takers and not a Spanish Mackeral
in sight!!
Yeah the reports are not pretty, but, "It is what it is"!!!
Scott Blevins, a good friend and great fisherman has been doing
real good on the Speckled Trout
lately with limit catches.
Don't know what he's using for bait or where he's fishing, but if
he says he's catching them,
then he's catching them!!!
The Spanish Mackeral were reported to be around five miles off the
beach today and the King
Mackeral are in the ten mile range.
The water is slowly clearing up and as soon as it does the fish
should be back on the beach
again.
There are some pogys slowly getting back on the beach, and the fish
will have to follow them,
eventually!!!
It's tough running 1/2 day trips these days with these gas guzzling
boats we have to have
to go offshore, and getting to the fish when they are offshore like they are now is very expensive!!
And a lot of you know I still go to the fish and sometimes go "in
the hole" just to get you
fish when I have to do it.
And I will continue when I have to and the conditions warrant!!
But the past two days it has been too rough to get offshore even
if I wanted to go, it's not
worth the risk!!!
Got another "close in" trip tomorrow, I sure hope the pieces of
this puzzle starts falling
into place better soon.
I can handle the physical part of this charter fishing, but this
mental part of the fish not
biting and trying to figure out how to make one bite is much worse than the labor part has ever
been.
Combine the two, and it can be a nightmare, but everyone knows that
when you get to "fish"
everyday, you got it made, "YEAH RIGHT"!!!!!
Till next time, God Bless!!!
Fish On!!!!!
Capt Butch
7-26-08
Today we left South Harbour Marina with Billy Brown, Doc Holloway,
Jessie Holloway, Charles
Williams, Charles Brannon, and Robert Johnson from Charlotte, NC.
It was hot today the winds were still and the ocean looked like
glass, almost spooky!!
We started off like "gang busters" then the sharks found our baits
and we had to move to "try"
to get away from them.
Every where we went it was the same, start off good then here comes
the sharks and when they
arrived you could not even get your baits to the bottom to catch a bottom fish.
But we kept moving, in fact, I ran a circle of nearly 30 miles to
get the fish we had. Sometimes
you got to do what you got to do to get fish!!!
Although the sharks dominated the fishing holes today, we still
ended the day with Grey Snappers,
American Red Snapper, Black Bass, Almaco Jacks, Silver Snappers, Joltheads, Calico Bass, Triggerfish,
Vermillion Snappers,
Grouper, Mahi- Mahi, and yes, sharks, all we could legally keep and all you ever wanted to catch,
and then some!!!!
I think if the sharks had not been on a rampage today, we would
have done again what we did
last time we fished with these guys and that is we would have limited out before lunch, but not
today, the sharks made it
nearly impossible to fish for bottom fish but we were persistant and we prevailed!!!!
Also, the "PABCO Power Buoy" was a very real asset today with the
slick seas, I was able to
get my anchor coarse with ease using the buoy while marking the fish holding structure.
If you bottom fish you need to get one, get yours by calling Mike
at (843)665-5613, tell him
Capt Butch sent you and save $50.00 per marker.
Till next time, God Bless Everyone!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
7-25-08
Today was one of those fun fishing trips. Let me explain!!
I was fishing with Don and Debbie Wyatt, with them was Eddie Steev
and Dianne Reeder, all from
Lexington,NC which just happens to be my hometown.
Now as to what I meant by "fun fishing trip"!!
They just wanted to catch something, didn't matter what, they were
out of the office away from
the phone and if a fish bit, that would just be an added bonus.
We set out on the beach to catch dinner with a few Spanish Mackeral.
As we were fishing, the conversation came up about Dianne wanting
to catch a big fish, a "blue
whale" as she put it.
Don't know about a "blue whale" but I did have an idea.
We ran just west of Yaupon pier and netted a few pogys and headed
to the wreck just off the
horse shoe.
Everyone got a turn at a big fish today, and most were successful
although the fish won a
couple battles by either breaking the line, biting the wire, or diving into the wreck.
But Debbie got a nice 'cuda while Don and Dianne got a great
fight out of some AJ's and
were able to boat them. Eddie had bad luck with the AJ's breaking off and coming un-hooked,
but still got a nice 'cuda.
But the real big story today was the fact that Dianne, her first
time offshore fishing, got
her "Blue Whale" today, it just looks like a huge African Pompano and she single handedly fought
the fish all the way to the
boat, and what a battle it was on King Mackeral Tackle!!!!
And I had a very nice suprise and dinner this evening with my wife
as we enjoyed the "world
famous Lexington Bar-B-Que" these guys brought us. Thanks so much, you were very kind, and it was
great fishing with
you guys today!!!
Till next time, Blessings to all!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
7-24-08
Today we decided to stay at the dock, just too many thunder storms
offshore and the Spanish
Mackeral haven't been doing that well on the beach so we opted for a better day.
Yesterday's offshore trip was scheduled to be run with the guys
from DC but we cancelled due
to rough conditions, and rough off shore it was!!!
It wasn't pretty on the beach, but fishable so we ran a 1/2 day
trip with Mike and Nate Nemic,
Mike Smith from Boiling Spring Lakes and also Ken Skilton from Mentor, Ohio.
We started off trolling for Spanish Mackeral but the Spanish bite
was terrible.
All the boats trolling were reporting pitiful catches for
this time of year. Like one
fish to no fish for everyone.
Buster, on the SEA HAWK III, who in my opinion is the best Spanish
Mackeral fisherman on the
East Coast, only reported 14 fish from the west end of the Island. 14 fish yesterday was quite
a catch!!!!!
With the reports we were getting we decided to go shark fishing.
This too started off slow.
Most everyone else gave up and went in early or just didn't get
the bite to happen.
We kept moving and trying different areas and bait sizes. That's
a tip, I have seen times
when they want a big bait and when they want smaller baits.
The smaller baits, about golf ball size was the answer.
It didn't take long with the small bait until Mike Smith was hooked
up. It was a Black Tip
around 90 to 100 pounds.
But before we could get it to boat side to get a picture it made
a charge towards the back
of the boat and the line hit the prop on the motor, Shark won that battle!!!!
Next up was Nate Nemec, didn't take long for another Black
Tip around 85 pounds
to pounce on the small offering.
It was a hard fight but Nate did everything perfectly and before
long he was in the boat doing
a photo shoot.
We saved the best for last!!!
With the winds and seas picking up, I decided to make one more drift,
it was a smart move.
Ken Skilton was up next so I moved over to some deeper water, set
the lines, and just as I
set the second line the first rod doubled over, it was a "monster"!!!
Ken was locked into the fishing fight of his life. This was a big
shark.
He worked the fish like a master fisherman, even though for a long
time the only one that was
gaining any line was the shark.
Ken finally got the shark up to the boat close enough
that we got to see him.
Black Tip, Nine+ feet at least!!!! I reached for the camera and
the fish just swam away as
the hook pulled free.
It was a well orchestrated battle between man and beast, the man
proved that he could "tame
the beast" to the point of identifying his quarry, and the hook pulling out to free such a beast
was a just and honorable
ending to a great battle.
Both man and beast came out victorious in this battle!!!!
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
7-22-08
We finally got a calm enough day to head offshore. Supposed to
blow back up again tomorrow
so I have cancelled my offshore trip for Wednesday.
Today we were fishing with Ronnie Harvey, and his two son's Ron
and David, also with them
was Javan O'Neill all are from Dunbar,WV.
We made the run to the high 360's today so that the South winds
would be behind us this evening
and also because this is a great place to bottom fish.
The plan all worked out as good as you could expect. The fish that
wanted to bite was a little
hard to locate this morning but we kept looking.
The 5th rock I checked proved to be just what we were looking for,
we couldn't keep the lines
in the water for a little while, fish were flying in the boat from all directions.
It was like that all day, bite good here, no bites there!!
David Harvey caught his first King Mackeral today and we ended the
day with a good haul.
We limited out on Reef Complex species that included Grey Snappers,
Joltheads, Triggerfish,
Golden Tile Fish, we also had Grouper, Silver Snapper, Vermillion Snapper, Sharks, and King Mackeral.
Ronnie, you guys be careful on the way home and we hope to see
you again next year!!!!
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
| David Harvey with his first king. |
|
| You name it they probably caught it. |
|
7-21-08
Today I had a offshore trip with some guys that have become regulars
with us here at "Yeah
Right Charters".
They are Pat Kee and his two sons Ben and Hayden also Jim Parrish
and his son Kyle and their
friend Andy Minsker, all are from Charleston,WVA.
I called this morning and cancelled the trip!!
I hated to do it, but you have to play the cards you are dealt when
it comes to the ocean,
and you need to know when to play your hand and when to fold your hand.
It was 3.9' every 5 seconds at the tower buoy. That's just too
rough to have any fun.
Well, about 7:30AM the phone rang and the voice on the other end
asked, "can we just go out
on the beach and fish"
My reply to that was "yes, but after the passing of this
tropical storm, that's probably
all we will do is fish", the reply to that was, let's go anyway, so we did a 1/2 day on the beach
today.
It looked just like I figured it would. Water dirty, void of bait,
and still a little rough
on the beach.
I set out to do my best. Called another boat and asked about the
Spanish Mackeral Fishing,
reply was "caught 3 yesterday, nothing today".
Oh well, that rules that out. The boats that did venture out to
the 390/390, Shark Hole, 15
Mile Rock,etc; reported not having a single bite, this don't look good, pressure to find some fish
mounting!!!!
Only option left, and that was no guarantee, Shark Fishing!!
Lucky for us there was one shrimp boat out and the action was decent.
Got a keeper Black Tip around 80 to 90 pounds and a few more in
the 60 to 80 pound range which
we released.
We got there a little late and when the shrimp boat left to return
to the dock, he took the
bite with him, we got only one more bite after that and he didn't hook up.
Never seen the first sign of a Spanish Mackeral today. Didn't see
but two terns all day long.
But things will be on the mend very soon and the bite will be back
in full force.
Have another full day tomorrow, if we get out there will let you
know what happens right here!!!
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
| The fight is on!! |
|
7-18-08
After last years weather of no storms and rain and being
able to just go fishing this
time last year whenever you wanted to go has made it tough to re-adjust this year to all the winds
and rain we are having.
But, Thank God we are getting some rain, I definately am not complaining,
and hope we get
even more, barring hurricanes, we don't need those!!!
It was too rough to get off the beach so we just ran a half day
on the beach.
The stiff East winds we had made the fishing and catching
very tough, Even though
I had my doubts I didn't stop searching and (Thanks to the Captain on the boat "Fishing Shack"
who steered us in the right
direction) we did manage to find some nice Spanish Mackeral and we finished the day with
a couple sharks.
In the last report I was kidding about my websites getting
fisher people from "mars"
and I quess that was expecting a little much.
But today's trip shows that it's really a small world. I thought
when I placed my website in
areas like Australia, Scotland, Ireland, United Kingdom, France, etc; that I was wasting my time,
maybe not!!
Today we were fishing with Laurie and Doug Jordan and their two
kids Gabby and Ben from Waybridge,
Surrey United Kingdom.
It was a total thrill for me to be able to show our overseas neighbors
a little sample of
the fishing here in the USA.
I just wish we would have had better weather to fish in, but regardless
of the weather, we
all had a good time and we made some memories for all to take back to England to share with friends.
Capt Chris and I too have some great memories now of some
new "Yeah Right Fishing Family
Members" from overseas!!!
You guys were great, it just goes to prove that no matter where
you are from, people that fish
all share a love that makes us all bond from all over the world to enjoy something together,
and that makes
it all a great and wonderful thing!!!!
Laurie, Doug, Gabby, Ben, and the little one, May God Bless you
all and see you safely home!!!
Till next time, Blessings to all!!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt Butch
7-16-08
I must say that when I set out to build a charter business, I never
thought I would build
it to this point.
I spend quite a bit each year doing shows, seminars, and just general
advertising and marketing
my service.
Today I finally realized that all my marketing efforts have paid
off, big time!!!
You will see what I mean here in this description: Today I was fishing
with Lou Duke from St.
James,NC and with him was Greg White, Garrett White, Tess White, Lauren Slivosky, and Elliott Woodword
from MARS, yes, I said
Mars!!!!
Well, maybe my efforts haven't been quite that good, but, they
are from Mars,PA.
We were going offshore today for Grouper but about 4 miles out the
NE winds and the fact that
it wasn't 100% safe and I had some "first timers" on board, I decided to abort the trip.
We went from there for some King Mackeral at a better and
calmer location like 15 mile
rock.
Every boat today was talking about the non bite that had emerged
today after a good bite just
the day before at the 15, 18, and Shark Hole Areas.
It was like the "dead sea" out there today. Yesterday's bite was
just a memory now.
Everyday on the ocean is a different and unique day with its own
characteristics.
The seas and winds kept building and we had trolled for nearly 1
1/2 hours without the first bite
so we decided to go back on the beach and do some shark fishing.
As I was heading in I ran up on birds working about a 1/2 mile to
the west of Light House Rock
#2. I thought finally, some signs of life, I can now redeem myself, finally I won't look like I
didn't have a clue as to what
I was doing, yessss!! and they were big spanish too!!!
Spanish Mackeral were jumping everywhere, 75 to 100+ birds were
fighting over bait fish run
to the surface by the ravageing spanish mackeral, they were diving into each other, Spanish
Mackeral were jumping over
one another, it was a beautiful sight to see in an otherwise dead sea.
I turned to my group and said look at all the Spanish Mackeral!!!
They are everywhere!!!!
That's when the "BIG BLOW" came!!!!!
Todays crew didn't care for spanish mackeral fishing, so with tears
in my eyes, and holding
back a total break down, while at the same time hiding a severe case of the "shakes", I
kept going, muttering to
myself, "why me"??
With the NE winds, the beach at Southport was real calm.
We put the lines in and soon we had a hook up with an Atlantic Sharp
Nose which was soon brought
to boat side by Garrett White.
Since this was a legal fish to keep and good table fare, they decided
to keep it for dinner.
Next Shark on was fought to the boat by Elliott Woodword.
This shark was a little bigger but not the right species or length
to be legal so we took his
picture and put him back.
We thought the shark bite was going to be on, two lines in and two
sharks pretty fast.
Don't try to figure out the fishing, you'll go nuts!!!!
The winds shifted to the East and a already dead sea now looked
like the "Burmuda Triangle"
no signs of life anywhere, not even a bird!!
We did get 3 more runs from sharks, pulled the drags good but no
hook ups, remember, it's fishing
not catching!!!
The other boats were still reporting not a fish or bite in sight,
so at that tme it was 12
noon so we called it a day knowing full well there will be better days in the future.
It wasnt the best catching trip but the kids weathered the rough
water well so now they can
be pretty sure that when the winds permit, they will be ready for an offshore trip.
The bait today was gone from the Southport beaches. The only bait
found this morning (that
I know of) was at Shallote Inlet on the west side.
Seems like here lately things start to get good then all of a sudden
it goes to pot.
Surely it will get back to normal before long, if it doesn't soon,
all us Charter Captains
here in Southport are going to either be on Valium or in the nut house, or both!!!!
And to answer your question as to why I would choose to put a report
like this on here is simple,
We strive to be the best and bring you reports you can believe in!!!
You wouldn't know if I went fishing today if I didn't tell you.
If I told you we caught a pile of fish but forgot the camera, so
I don't have any pictures,
you wouldn't know that was a lie either!!
But I would know it was a lie!!!
And if I didn't tell you and tell you the truth then you would
not know how the fishin'
actually was right now.
And if I lied about the fishing and didn't tell
you the way it really was,
then that wouldn't say much about me as well, no, I'm wrong, that would say a lot about me,
just not very good!!
You have come to expect the truth from my reports, and that's what
you will always get here
"It is what it is" and I truly hope I have earned your respect
and trust!!!!
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt Butch
| Garrett White's Atlantic sharp nose. |
|
| Elliot Woodword's shark |
|
7-15-08
Today we were fishing offshore with Steve Baker and his son Sam,
Bryan Baker and his
son Robert, and with them was their brother David Baker and his fiance' Karine Lefebure all from
Kings Mountain,NC.
The bottom bite started off good today and slowed as the day progressed
and the winds shifted
to the NE and the current picked up.
But before the winds and current all but shut everything down,
we managed two fish boxes
full of fish.
We had quite a smorgasborg of fish today.
Some big sharks were hooked up today and the AJ's were biting very
good as well.
We ended the day with Grey Snappers, Triggerfish, Almaco Jacks,
B-Liners, Triple tails, Jolt
Heads, Scamp Grouper, Silver Snappers, Amber Jacks, Strawberry Groupers, Squirrell fish, ring tails,
and a load of sharks
in which all were released but one legal sized that was kept for the grill.
I overheard some of todays fishermen talking about where their
arms were hurting, that's what
I like to hear.
That way I know I have done my job that day!!
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt Butch
7-14-08
Today the winds and storms of last week were forgotten!!
We were fishing with Ken, Courtney, and Nick Mariani, with them
was Ben Homan all from Charleston,
WVA.
We were doing a 1/2 day trip today and after talking to Buster on
the Sea Hawk III, I had high
hopes of catching some Spanish Mackeral.
He said they did real good on them yesterday, but today was a different
day and the signs didn't
look good!!!
There was not the first sign of them anywhere, no diving white terns,
no fish jumping, nothing.
There is plenty of bait (Pogys) on the beach though, hope they stay
a while now, we will see!!!
There was a good tide line about half way from the river to Yaupon
Reef, and this is a good
place to hold Spanish and bait, but not today.
Some others were talking about the shark fishing and saying that
they were biting good but
todays group said they didn't want any sharks.
They said they had already been on one of those trips and that
wasn't for them.
So, after an hour of hunting for the spanish and with no results,
I did the only thing I could
do!!!
On days like this, when you are in the customer service business
such as I am, you have to
sometimes forget about the cost of operating and make your customers happy if you possibly
can.
Of coarse you can't head offshore all the time on a 1/2 day trip
due to the rediculous fuel
mileage these boats get.
If I did I wouldn't be in business very long, but you must remember
that this is a fishing
trip and you have to try your best not to make it just an expensive boat ride, if you
can!!
Sometimes you have to make exceptions when the fish are not close
in and do what you have
to do, and that's just what I did!!
I headed offshore!!!
I told them I would rather have them fish for two hours where the
fish were than to fish for
four hours where there was nothing!!!
We left out for the Shark Hole, It was the only right thing to
do today, and it was the
right move to get some fish!!
All they wanted was enough fish for dinner this evening and each
one got a king mackeral and
Nick even caught a 3 to 4 pound Spanish Mackeral.
We had several runs that never hooked up and lost a couple of kings at
the boat and everyone
had a good time!!
When we were getting ready to head in, Ben hooked up with an Atlantic
Sharp Nose Sharp, the
only shark we caught today, finally!!!!
Got reports that the offshore bottom bite was real good over the
weekend and the weather was
beautiful.
Capt Ricky Holden who operates the "Reely Miss-behavin'" told me
today that where he was at
Saturday was absoulutely covered with Cobia!!!
He said he had never seen that many before, big schools all around
the boat!!
Please don't ask where he was at, I won't reveal his spot,
just as I wouldn't tell yours
if you sent a report!!! It's called "Professional Courtesy"!!!!!!
But when you are offshore bottom fishing or trolling, keep
an eye on the surrounding
water, especially the "prop wash"you may be suprised at what shows up looking at you!!!
Manning Outen, from Raleigh, NC on the "'Bout Time II" called
me Sunday and
told the King bite was hot this weekend where he was at.
He said he was trying to bottom fish and boats were hooking up kings
all around him.
Finally he couldn't stand it anymore and went to king fishing as
well!!!
The water is clearing up nice and the fishing is getting better
every day. If you can make
it, now's the time to catch a fish or two, or three, or four, you get the idea!!
Till next time, God Bless!!
Fish On!!!
Capt Butch
7-9-08
This morning I met Robert and Sean Faulkner from Copley,Ohio, Scott
Faulkner from Cary,NC
and Ryan Faulkner from Cincinnatti,Ohio.
I stopped just off BHI this morning and asked if they wanted to
call it quits now or head
on.
I knew the "YEAH RIGHT" could handle it fine, I just wasn't sure
about us.
The decision was made to go on, I'll have to give credit where it's
due. I never heard the
first complaint all day, these guys are pretty tough!!!!
Today was a little sporty to say the least. The weather man this
morning reported that the
winds would relax as the day went.
YEAH RIGHT, it got down right nasty this evening!! Easy 6
to 8 feet crossing the shoals
and 4 to 5 every where else!!
The winds were blowing a good 20+ MPH from the SW. Not a good wind
for Southport if it's over
10 MPH!!!
We were fishing in the tower area and I can't ever remember
the current running as hard
as it did today.
This made bottom fishing extremely tough, all but impossible... It
got to running so
hard that we moved up into shallow water (40 feet) and we could not get to the bottom with two
(2) 16 ounce weights.
Yeah, 2 pounds of weight would almost float on top!!!!!
I tried stopping the boat on top of the fish and used both engines
in reverse to hold the
boat, but by the time I stopped and went from foreward to reverse I would be 3 to 5 tenths off
the fish.
I think today was the toughest day I have ever tried to bottom
fish, as I said earlier,
I have never seen the current this strong!!!!
The King Mackeral were biting some around the South Forty and we
caught two Mahi-Mahi and
a King Mackeral on the lite line, but these guys were more interested in bottom fish.
I did all I could to get some fish and we did get some despite
the terrible conditions I had
to work with. Perseverance pays off again!!!
I am not sure if perserverance is the right word here. With todays
conditions the old saying
"I'd rather be lucky than good any day" sorta comes to mind!!!
Scott caught the King Mackeral we got on the lite line today, and
Sean caught a Nurse Shark
today around 50 lbs.
Robert thought he had hooked the south end of a north
bound VW but it turned out
to be a nice Amber Jack. Now he knows why they are called "reef donkeys"
The rest of the catch was comprised of Grey Snappers, Silver Snappers,
Joltheads, Calico Bass,
Mahi-Mahi, Sharks, and Black Bass.
As I said this morning before we ever left the Marina that I figured
today would be an adventure,
if I got nothing else right today, that part I nailed down perfectly!!!
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
| nurse shark |
|
7-7-08
The SW winds still have the beach water dirty and this makes catching
fish on those near shore
trips next to impossible.
We were fishing today with David Wharton and his two sons Harrison
and Colin from Johnson
City, TN. With them was Edwin Burnett from South Harbour Marina here in Southport,NC.
Talked with another captain today who fished the beach today all
day and only caught one Spanish
Mackeral and his shark fishing excursion was actually worse than ours.
The beach bite has got to get better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Harrison Wharton had a Spanish Mackeral but we used
it for bait to catch some sharks
after we figured that this might be a better bet to catch something.
Well, the shark bite was better than the Spanish bite, but
that wasn't saying much either.
Edwin caught the biggest shark of the day, a Black Tip that
was not big enough to keep
but it would not give up the fight and we had a time getting a picture of him and keeping everyone
safe from all those teeth.
We did get two Atlantic Sharp Nose sharks for the grill that night.
A little butter and lemon juice basting on the grill with
some grilled shrimp on the
side and a fresh green salad, it doesn't get any better.
Just be sure if you are going to keep a shark to "field dress"
it just like you would do a
deer, and pack it good in ice and it will be good to eat.
Just throw it in the fish box on ice and it will make for a stinking,
strong fish that will
turn you and your appetite off!!!
Yes, it was a slow bite but everyone had a day to rejuvinate with
friends and a day away from
the office on a cooler than normal day in summer with a breeze to keep it nice.
It's not always about what or how many fish you catch but the quality
time you spend with
family and friends, and if you catch a few fish, that's ok too.
Till next time, Blessings to all!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt. Butch
|
| Edwin Burnett holds the black tip shark that he caught. |
|
| Harrison Wharton with his Atlantic sharp-nose shark. |
7-4-08
Today we were fishing with William and Will Snellgrove from Charlotte,NC,
Bill Snellgrove
from Columbia,SC and Josh Threatt from Lancaster,SC.
Todays trip was originally scheduled for the first of the week
but we were having a terrible
SW blow then.
I figured moving it to later in the week would be better, and the
weather was, but the remaining
dirty water on the beach from all the winds made for nearly impossible conditions to get fish
on a 1/2 day trip.
With the dirty water on the beach, I tossed the fact that what
I was fixing to do was more
than likely going to cost me more in fuel than what I charge for a 1/2 day trip.
So be it, my job is to try to find you fish to catch and I knew
that the dirty water on the
beach was not the place so I headed offshore.
The fish were there offshore and a few were being caught here
and there. For some reason,
the guys that are going to the trouble to catch live baits are finding out that frozen baits have
been producing more bites
lately.
Two weeks ago, I know of two anglers, one had live bait and and
couldn't get a bite at the
Light House Rocks while the other fisherman with frozen cigar minnows couldn't get all his
lines in the water.
I don't know why, that's why it's called fishing and not catching!!!
But from the amount of boats that were there Friday July 4th, and
the reported hookup's,
it was slow at best.
We did get Will Snellgrove his first king Mackeral and had
a couple baits bit off at
the hook.
On the way in I ran across a school of birds working a bait pod
that Spanish Mackeral had
up on top. The Spanish were jumping but I guess the water was to dirty for them to see the spoons.
However, we did have one Spanish commit suicide and we got
Josh Threatt his first ever
Spanish Mackeral.
I have run some type business nearly all my life and I have learned
that when you are in business,
you can't always make a profit.
Sometimes you have to sacrifice to keep your customers happy, or
at least do all you can to
make them happy.
With $4+ gas and 1/2 mpg motors, somedays we go in "the
hole" trying to make
that happen, but at days end at least I know I have tried and I don't have to hold my head
quite as low if I know I
did the best I could do with the time I had to do it in!!
It was a tough day of catching. Seems like the 1/2 day trips get
harder every year to produce
fish consistently, but we tried our best with the sea conditions we had to work with.
Yes, it's Saturday and yes we had to cancel todays trip. The relentless
SW winds this year
have been a nightmare.
It doesn't look any better tomorrow. In fact as soon as I finish
all the reports to the news
papers and magazines this evening, I am going to call tomorrows party and will most likely have
to cancel that one as well.
And yes, we have a storm brewing off the coast of Africa that's
expected to become a hurricane.
No, I'm not a negative person, it's just that I don't want
to tell you to come on down
the weather looks great, when I know it is not.
I won't tell you the fish are "biting like bulldog's" when I know
they are not!! With the
cost of everything these days, if we all don't work together and try to fish smarter, the economy
may very well do PETA's
work for them!!!
If you don't want the truth about the weather and the fishing then
you are on the wrong fishing
website!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What you get here is, no hypes, no sales pitch, no false
promises, just the truth,
and yes, the truth hurts sometimes, but "IT IS WHAT IT IS" and the way it is is what you get here!!!
I truly hope you can appreciate that!!!!
Till next time, God Bless!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
7-3-08
Today we were fishing with
long time friends Dale
and Ella Foster from Lexington,NC. As far as we know, we just share the same last name but
from different origins.
They fish with us every year and Capt Chris always tries
to get off work so he can
go with us. He made the trip again this year.
We started off on the east side and worked our way around
to the SW. The fish were
there but were not aggresively feeding so we had to stay on the move picking up one here and a
few there.
By the end of the day the tactics payed off as we had a
load of fish to show for our
efforts. Remember, if one thing doesn't work, keep experimenting until you put together a plan.
Also remember that some days, nothing might not work great,
but just keep pecking
and at days end you will have something for your efforts.
Even if you can't put the fish bite together, you will
still have a day of fishing
and away from all the stress that's in the world today.
Unless you are the Captain and it's your job to find
fish that will bite, then
you are stressed to the end!!!
Dale and Ella, as always we were very happy to see you
again. I keep trying to get
to Lexington long enough to go crappie fishing with ya'll on High Rock Lake or just have dinner
one evening.
It's amazing how fast the years go by now and how little
time you have left to get
things done.
Capt Chris and I went to High Rock Lake, I'm thinking
about 4 years ago now,
maybe longer and put in about a dozen crappie brush piles in deep water for fishing in the winter
and we still haven't been
able to fish them.
I am going to do my best to show Dale where they are this
winter. Hopefully I can
since I am toying with the idea of cutting back on some of my shows and seminars this year.
We had a great day visiting and fishing and a good
day of catching as well. We
ended the day with Grey Snappers, B-Liners, Grouper,Silver Snapper, King Mackeral, Black Bass,
Almaco Jacks, Triggerfish,
Jolt Heads, and sharks...
You guys tell family we all said hi!!! Be safe and leave
a few crappies in the lake
for seed.
Hope to see ya'll again soon. May God Bless You All!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt's Butch & Chris
7-2-08
Today was one of those weather days we as fishermen dream about.
Cooler temps, lower humidity, and calm seas. Plus the fish were
biting!!!!
We were fishing today with Bryan Detandt from Greenville,SC Ray
Wiggins and Justin Miller
from Fountain Inn,SC Trevor Castlebury from Donald,SC, and Darrell Koon from Grey Court,SC
It was a busy day all day with the bottom fish in the high 360's.
The lite line only produced
one King Mackeral and one Mahi-Mahi, but we didn't really mind because there wasn't much time
to work a lite line anyway.
We ended the day with several limits of different species and complex
species. We had Joltheads,
B-Liners, Black Bass, Lizard fish, Grey Snappers, Triggerfish, Barracuda, Amber Jacks, Almaco Jacks,
Grouper, Mahi-Mahi, Ringtails,
Squirrell Fish, Sharks, King Mackeral and Tripletails.
I didn't see any Spanish Mackeral on the way out this morning or
on the way back in, but I
did hear another Captain say he had seen some jumping about 5 miles out of Lockwood Folly inlet.
The water is cleaning up fast and I would expect things to
be back on schedule real soon...
Will let you know what I see and do tomorrow. Will be back offshore
again. May go east, not
sure yet, only thing, if I go south again I will have that following sea on the way in tomorrow
evening and that is so nice
after a long day of fishing.
What ever I do, you can bet it will be a great day, I am fishing
with great friend's
Dale Foster (no kin) and his wife Ella and to top that off, Capt Chris is going to help me tomorrow.
Yep, I'm going to be in heaven on earth once again tomorrow!!
Till next time, God Bless Everyone!!!
Fish on!!!!
Capt Butch
7-1-08
Today I had two 1/2 day trips. But due to the past four days blow,
I figured to move the mornings
Spanish Mackeral trip to another date and give the seas inshore time to settle and clear up.
From the reports I heard this morning it was the right move to
make, that way I didn't take
my fishermen on an expensive boat ride.
And a boat ride was all it would have amounted to in the dirty
water on the beach, Spanish
Mackeral can't handle all that sand in their gills, so knowing that, I wasn't going to go and just
take their money knowing
that the chance to catch some Spanish Mackeral would be nearly impossible this morning.
The beach water is real dirty and the boats that were
spanish mackeral fishing
reported not a bite. Things will clear up soon and the fishing will resume on the beach as before
the blow.
Since we were Shark fishing the second trip we went ahead and ran
that trip. Sharks don't
particularly like dirty water, but they can tolerate it and will hang around and bite.
I was fishing with Anita Alexander from Asheboro,NC and her son
Austin was with us from Farmington,
KY.
Austin put a legal keeper Black Tip in the boat and caught another
one as big and maybe bigger.
But before we could get a picture of that one he managed to escape.
The offshore bottom bite is still as good as before. And the
King Mackeral are biting
offshore in the cleaner water.
I would keep a look out while heading offshore, the Spanish
Mackeral have backed out
to the cleaner water somewhere.
A sharp eye will find them jumping out there in the cleaner water while
they are feeding.
We are going to try to head offshore tomorrow in pursuit of the
bottom dwellers, will let
you know for sure what's happening right here!!! If I spot any Spanish on the way out I'll let
you know where!!
Till next time, God Bless!!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt Butch
P.S. Admiral Bodie (RET.)"the fish dog" say hi and he still remembers
all you guys and gals!!!!
6-25-08
I would have given just about anything yesterday to have seen the
schools of Spanish Mackeral
I seen this morning when I was heading offshore.
About three miles from the #10 Buoy on a 173 degree heading, they
were jumping everywhere.
But we didn't stop today. We were heading out to the 350's with
Chris Hybarger and his two
sons, Cole and Garrett.
Don't let the size of these little guys fool you, they can hang
with the best. In fact, I
do believe that most of the 250 + pounds of fish we had were brought on board by Cole and Garrett.
They did let dad (Chris)
catch a few!!!
A lot of "first's" were done on the "Yeah Right" today. Look at
Garrett's big grouper he hauled
up from the deep, that is a challenge for a grown up, but Garrett got the job done perfectly!!!
Cole, not to be out done, had his share of big fish on board today
as well. Cole was fighting
a big King Mackeral when the fight went slack. He then reeled in about a 10 lb. head from
a King that looked like it would
go in the 40's.
We don't know what eat the rest, but we had a Tiger Shark around
the boat that was 7 to 8
feet long, plus we had a Hammer Head shark circle the boat that was a good 12 to 15 feet long.
We ended the day with a limit for all on the Reef Complex species
that included Grey Snapper,
Triggerfish, Black Bass,Joltheads,Almaco Jacks, Amber Jacks, Strawberry Grouper,Ring Tails,
King Mackeral, Silver Snapper,
Red Grouper, Vermillion Snapper, and sharks.
Thanks guys for fishing with us, hope you had a great time, I know
I did!!!
Till next time, Blessings!!!
Fish On!!!!!
Capt Butch
6-24-08
It comes back to the old addage of "what a difference a day can
make"
Yesterday we were fishing with Kelley Stidham from St. James,NC
and her two good friends Chelsea
Schmidt from Charlotte,NC and Jenny Benitz from Greensboro,NC.
We were just to close on the heels of that terrible blow over the
weekend and things were
still stirred up and the fish didn't want to do much biting.
But Kelley still got herself a NC Citation Red Drum that morning
on a diamond jig.. We caught
a Spanish Mackeral or two, got some sharks and a King Mackeral.
The girls had a great time and I know Capt Chris had a great time.
We all ended the day with
a late lunch at the "Provision Company" where we talked about the days fishing and fun.
We are going to have open bids for Capt Chris's mating job next
year. The highest bidder can
help fill in for him occasionally, but whether you get one of these days like he just had will
be between you and him!!!
Kelley, Chelsea, and Jenny you guys were great fun, I haven't seen
Capt Chris smile like he
did yesterday in a long time!!!
Till next time, Kelley, keep up the good work, I'm proud of you,
I knew all along you could
do it, Chelsea and Jenny, ya'll can do it to if you set your mind to it!!! May God Bless you
three girls always!!!!
Fish On !!!!!
Capt Butch
&
Capt
Chris
6-20-08
We were headed offshore today with Tim Greene, Kevin Stanley, Eldon
Hinegardner, Jerry Fredell,
Olin Huffman, from Marganton,NC and Mike Greene from Lenoir,NC.
We found the fish in the 350's area to be biting pretty good. The
highlite of the morning
was a big Hog Nose Snapper and a big Almaco Jack that gave a great fight all the way to the boat!!
On the lite line the first King Mackeral we had was big enough
that she bit through the #6
wire. We almost got her into gaff range before the wire parted and estimated her in the 30's.
The next king was just above "snake" barely but then after that
the current started backing
up into the wind and that made running a lite line impossible for us as we anchor to bottom fish.
We tried drifting so we could run the lite line but then everyone
was staying tangled
so we scraped that idea.
We ended the day with the cart 3/4 full of fish for the crew, that's
around 250 to 300 lbs.
of fish. That should make a nice fish fry for everyone!!
We all had a beautiful day even though the winds and seas picked
up in the evening making
the ride home a little "sporty" in the 3 to 5 foot seas, but the "old Mako" made short work of
them as she challenged each
and every one at a crusing speed of 30 knots and a dry ride!!!
We didn't go out today, the weather was unstable and it looked
like trouble was in the
mix. As I have said so many times in the past, if you are not sure go with your first instincts!!
As it would happen, strong storms developed on the coast. Reports
of at least two boats capsizing
and one drowing so far. Guy's, it's a grim reminder that a fish is not worth the chance.
Just think what would have happened if these storms had taken an
offshore path instead of
going up the beach.
Our thoughts and prayers go to the victims and their familys!!
As for fishing tomorrow, I haven't decided yet. But you can bet
that if there is the slightest
chance of bad weather, we won't have a report on the fishing because I won't have my fishermen out
there unless
I know it's safe!!!
Till next time, stay safe, fish smart, and God Bless!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt. Butch
6-19-08
This morning I met Doug Hunt and his
two boys August and Casey
from Simpsonville,SC and Daniel Greene and his two boys Van and Coby from Greer, SC at the Bald
Head Island dock for a 1/2
day of fishing.
Reports of the spanish mackeral bite was that they had not recovered
from the front
that passed through two days ago so I headed offshore.
If they were not on the beach they could have only gone South,
North would have put them on
the beach and why would they go east or west, they might as well stay where they are as to go that
way.
My premonition paid off!!!! About 8 miles out there they were!!
They looked like silvery "popcorn"
jumping everywhere.
One of the guys said "well I'll be, Capt. you found 'em",
I say "better to be lucky
than good any day!!!"
We caught a couple limits rather quick and then went Shark fishing.
Even after using some
for bait we still had plenty of Spanish Mackeral left for everyone the eat.
First Shark line in and Casey Hunt soon found himself hooked up
with a very stout Black Tip
Shark that gave him quite a workout!!
It was legal size and they wanted some shark steaks for the grill
so we retained one for that.
The next rod went off and Doug found himself one on one with a shark
that was very powerful
and relentless!!!
The battle went on for some time!!! Too bad it didn't get loose.
That way we could have conjured
up "fish tales" of the monster shark that got away.
But bringing it to boat side it was a Black Tip around 100+ pounds
hooked in the tail. That's
a fight not for the weak and meek!!!
All the boys did great and had a good time. These young men know
how to catch a fish!!!
Tyler, I think my mate this year, didn't call or show up
again today so Casey Hunt
earned a tip as I tipped him for helping me with the duties on the boat today of hand lining in
the Spanish Mackeral and setting
the lines back out. Thanks Casey, you did a great job helping out!!
Doug and Daniel, cherish every moment you have with those fine
boys, the day will come all
to soon that it will all be just a memory, I know all to well from experience. Till next
time, God Bless You All!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
6-18-08
This morning I picked up Jeff and Wayne Street from Ravenwood,W
VA. With them was Chris Higgins
from Raleigh,NC and Zachary Smith from Vicksburg, MS.
The front that went through yesterday with the storms and cooling
trend had a negative effect
on the bite today.
The hot Spanish Mackeral we had going on had cooled down and you
had to work to get them today.
We caught a few then used them up shark fishing. The shark bite
had been slowed by the front
as well. But some, just like the Spanish Mackeral, were willing to bite.
We mostly found Atlantic Sharp nose but there was a smaller (40+
lb.) black tip caught that
was short of the legal size and Jeff had a big shark hooked up but he pulled the hook when he made
a hard run at the boat.
The working terns and schools of bait and Spanish we had a
few days ago and the pogy's
we had on the beach front has dissappeared. Fishermen were looking for bait today from below
Holden Beach all the way
to the Cape Fear and none could be found anywhere.
Hopefully when the pressure stabilizes again things will get back
to the way they were last
week. Only time will tell!!!
Charter fishing is kinda like a lottery ticket, you select a date
to go and hope weather and
conditions will be in your favor.
Sometimes it is, sometimes it isin't, but if you don't book a trip
it will never be in your
favor!!!
We had a beautiful day and spent it fishing with some great people,
and yeah, we even caught
some fish and we were thankful for what we had!!!
Till next time, Blessings to all!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
P.S. Got my first sponsor/product
support shipment
of BERKLEY GULP SALTWATER and other offshore baits/lures from BERKLEY and PURE FISHING today.
Look for upcoming
reports soon on how these baits perform in the offshore waters where we fish!!!
6-16-08
No, I didn't forget the weekend reports. I don't have any.
Saturday was turned into a maintenance/service day for the "Yeah
Right" and Sunday I didn't
think it was safe to take my fishermen out in the stormy weather, So I called it off.
From what I have heard I didn't miss anything!!
But today was a different story. We ran two 1/2 day trips today.
The first was with Zach Ritenour,
Justin Ritenour, Rocky Ritenour, and Brandy Putman from Fort Valley,VA.
This mornings hot Spanish Mackeral bite was at Holden Beach
west of the inlet. However
we got there too late and the bite was over.
So I made my way back to the Hot Hole and this is where we put 35
Spanish Mackeral in the boat
before we quit and went Shark Fishing.
The Spanish bite was so fast a few times I just sat and watched
in amazement that no one got
a hook or two in them!!
But the Shark bite was slow today. We had several runs with no
hook up's but we did manage
two Atlantic Sharp Nose.
Zach and Justin both caught a shark and everyone had their hands
full with the Spanish Mackeral!!!
The second trip was with good friends and long time "Yeah Right"
fishermen Martin, Mark, and
Bierson Shaw from Greenville,NC
The tide had started to fall when we got back out on our second
trip but the Spanish
Mackeral were still in a feeding freenzy.
Immediately, we started having bird rigs hit, planers tripped,
and weighted rigs bent over.
Again, Spanish Mackeral were flying in the boat from all sides.
It didn't take long before we had almost limited out but the tide
now was spreading things
out and the bite slowed but we persisted and did limit out with 45 Spanish Mackeral.
From that point we hoped that the evening shark bite might be better
than earlier in the day,
but it wasn't.
Martin did get one Atlantic Sharp Nose and we missed several more
hits.
By this time the SW winds had picked up and the seas were getting
rough so we headed to the
hill to clean the fish and talk about memories of some past fishing trips.
It's always special when you get the chance to fish again with
friends you have made by fishing
together and today was one of those special days!!!!
Till next time, God Bless!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
6-13-08
Today we were fishing with Ronald Sunderland, Deb Sunderland, Joe
Baxter from Raeford,NC,
Becky Bahama, Shannon Martin, and Rodney Martin from Cameron,NC
We headed offshore to the 300+ line to fish some live bottom areas
in around 90 to 100 feet
of water.
The first stop was slow so we pulled anchor and moved to the west
about 5 miles and at this
stop we never moved all day.
The action was nearly non stop all day. Even when the tide dropped
out I kept adjusting the
anchor rope and kept the bite alive.
We all were give out at time to head back. We ended the day with
Black Bass, B-Liners, Joltheads,
Silver Snappers, Grey Snappers, Triggerfish, Squirrell Fish, Mahi- Mahi, African Pompano, Almaco
Jacks, Grouper, and of course,
Sharks.
I know you have many Charter Boats to choose from to take you fishing,
but I want you to know
that I really do appreciate you choosing "Yeah Right Charters" to fish with.
We will continue to try hard to earn your trust and respect and
we have been asked to continue
with the BBB again this year.
Thanks to you all!!!!! Till next time Blessings to everyone!!!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
6-12-08
Today we were fishing with Richard Thomas, Ryan Shrum, Marty Shrum,
and Joe Prater all from
Lincolnton,NC.
We were on a 1/2 day trip and after a little searching we found
the Spanish Mackeral willing
to bite.
Captain Chris was helping me today so those that have fished with
us know that when Capt Chris
is with me things go like a well oiled machine!!
Today was no different. The lines were placed perfectly so as not
to tangle when we would
turn and all the little things Capt Chris knows how to do to make a trip successful was enjoyed
by all today!!!
And with just a little instruction from Capt/1st Mate
Chris, Ryan joined
Capt Chris and the Spanish Mackeral were coming over the gunnels with regular frequency.
Son it is truly one of the greatest moments in my life now
when you can join us on the
boat.
It just fills me with so many great past memories of
our earlier fishing days
that I miss more than life itself!!!!
We did our best today around AR425 and at the Water Tower at Holden
Beach.
They seemed to prefer #2 Planers and gold 00 Clark spoons
trolled a little slower than
usual around 5.5 to 6 knots.
Till next time, just remember that "God loves you so much that he
gave his only begotten Son
for your sins so that you shall have the opportunity to live in Heaven for eternity just by believeing
in Him"!!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt Butch
P.S. Check the "GUESTBOOK" Jim has given a report on the Speckled Trout
he had the other day!! Thanks
Jim for letting us know. We appreciate guys like you!!!!!
6-11-08
Things didn't exactly go in our favor today. Ever had one of those
days that it all goes wrong?
If you haven't you have not been fishing very long or you are on
borrowed time!!
We were fishing today with Joseph Conners from Wilmington,NC, Kyle
Davis from Virginia Beach,
VA., and Dameon Dixon from Willow Spring,NC
First stop we hooked up with a big AJ and it dove head first into
the wreck and busted off!!
Second hook up was another big fish and this time it threw the
hook.
Third hook up was on a King Mackeral rig and this fish spit the
hook.
On the way out, the Spanish Mackeral were jumping everywhere and
the sharks were on fire just
east of the river channel.
The radio talk about all the Spanish and sharks was more than we
could handle so we headed
for the hill to get in on the action.
Well, when we arrived the Spanish Bite had slowed to a crawl and
the Shark bite was over.
We finally caught enough Spanish to have bait to try for some bigger
sharks and we caught
a couple of those.
You had to be at the right place at the right time, and today we
were at the wrong place at
the wrong time, although we all like to be a "hero" all the time
and some say they are.
Even though 99.9% of the time we put the puzzle together.
But I am just a Captain and not God and sometimes I don't
get all the pieces put together
at the right times.
Hey, I'm only human and I tell you the way it actually is
and I want to Thank all the
people that have recently come up to me letting me know that they love our website and appreciate
the truth about the fishing.
Isn't that really the way it should be????
You'll never know how much that means to me!!
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt Butch
6-10-08
Today we were fishing with Ramsey Frazer from Homer,Ohio, Jay Bonnette,
Tony Belcher, Matt
Belcher, Judy Belcher, and Tammy Belcher from Little Hocking,Ohio.
We fished for Spanish Mackeral until we got enough to go Shark
fishing.
The Spanish were jumping again west of Yaupon Reef and here is
where we quickly got enough
for bait.
The "hot hole" was the "hot spot" for todays sharks.
Talked to Jim Bickerstaff today at the Wildlife Ramp. He said the
Speckled Trout were biting
good on live shrimp.
I know it's true, he showed me some nice Trout he had caught today.
Makes me want to take a break from ocean fishing and hit the creeks
with a bucket of live
shrimp.
If you get the chance, take a kid fishing!!! Till next time, God
Bless you all!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt Butch
6-9-08
Today we were celebrating Michael Mewherter's Birthday ( who is
from Fayetteville,NC) by
doing a 1/2 day of Spanish Mackeral fishing.
With Michael were Harry and Chance Mewherter from Clear Lake,
South Dakota and Jamie
and Trey Mewherter from Bowdle, South Dakota.
Michael is a military career man with 21 years to his credit. If
you see him wish him a Happy
Birthday and Thank him for all the sacrifices he has made for us all to keep our country free.
The seas were a little sporty this morning on the beach but we
persevered and finally found
the Spanish Mackeral just west of Yaupon Reef.
A little bit of info you may be interested in!!!, we were bringing
a Spanish mackeral to the
boat a good sized one close to two pounds..
All of a sudden a silver missle shot through the prop wash and
all that was left was the head
of the Spanish Mackeral.
I won't try to estimate how big the King Mackeral was,
but if I were fishing a two
day tournament and caught her on the first day, I would just sit out the second day and see if
she could be beat!!!
Take a look at the Spanish Mackeral Trey and Chance are holding
in the pictures, they don't
have a lot of those in SD but I am told they are quite the fishermen when it comes to those big
walleyes!!!
Till next time, God Bless Everyone!!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt Butch
6-8-08
Today we were fishing with an all local crew. They were Kevin and
Ralph Richheimer, Pete Deluca,
Mitch Loaz, and Michael Vantassel from Southport,NC
We started in the low 300's today and worked to the Tower and a
little to the South.
We trolled a little, bottom fished a little, anchored a little
and lite lined a little. Nothing
seemed to work great today, but we kept "pecking" away at it and ended the day with a good catch.
We ended the day with Black Bass, Sharks, Kelp Bass,
Grouper, Mahi-Mahi, King Mackeral,
Vermillion Snapper (B-Liners), Ring Tails, Grey Snapper, Triggerfish, and Silver Snapper.
We had some sharks hooked up that the guys couldn't even turn,
much less stop.
And there are a few big grouper laughing tonight about the way
they stole our baits and hooks.
But that's what it's all about!!!!
Till next time Blessings to all!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt Butch
6-7-08
The fish were not feeding as aggressively today as they were yesterday.
Good thing, if they eat all the time like they did yesterday, it
wouldn't be long before your
boat would be just a big top water bait to them!!
But they still bit today, you just had to look a little harder
for them.
We were fishing today with Bobby Craig,SR from Rock Hill,SC, Bobby
Craig,JR from Lancaster,SC,
Ricky Cotton from Waxhaw,NC, Al Berry from York,SC, Shannon Preslar from Monroe,NC and Paul Haymaker
from Wingate,NC.
We went to the 350's area and there were plenty of fish there.
We ended the day with Black Bass, Triggerfish, Grey Snapper, King
Mackeral, Sharks, Bonito,
Mahi-Mahi, and an American Red Snapper.
The weather man totally missed it today, so if you didn't make
it offshore today, don't feel
too bad, there will be better days for you to go!!
Till next time, God Bless everyone!!!
Fish
On!!!
Capt Butch
6-6-08
Last August I did a bottom fishing seminar for the "Triad NCW Chapter"
and donated a 1/2 day
trip to be raffled off for the proceeds to go to a worthy cause.
Well today we ran that trip, but the guys paid the difference and
we made it a full day trip
bottom fishing.
I think the truth is they wanted to see if all the stuff I was
telling them really works.
I'll let the pictures answer that one!!!
I was fishing today with Capt Mike Kilgarifl who runs "RED HAWK
CHARTERS" from Kernersville,NC,
Capt Dewy Edwards who is a Striper Guide on Kerr Lake and he is from Clarksville,VA, with them
were Mike Cope and Scott Davis
both from Lexington,NC.
The first stop to the last stop was pretty much action today. We
ended the day with both boxes
full of fish and some tired fishermen.
We had Black Bass, Grey Snappers, (Sharks, of course), Vermillion
Snappers, Pinkies, Triggerfish,
King Mackeral, Mahi-Mahi, and some right respectful groupers.
It was another great day on the water with some great people and
again, we caught some fish
as well!!!
Till next time, May God Bless You All!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt Butch
6-5-08
You got to love it when a plan comes together, I know I sure do!!!
Well today we were fishing with Mark Mann from Macon,GA with him
were great friends Custer
and Pam Mayo from Smyrna,GA.
The plan was to head to Carolina Beach since we had a 10 to 15
mph SW wind. You see,
the main land blocks the SW winds at Carolina Beach and it's not as rough up there.
We were going to troll and catch enough Spanish Mackeral to use
for bait so that everyone
could catch a big fish like a big shark.
So far the plan is going great, we got the Spanish Mackeral for
bait,then it happened, there
was not a shrimp boat in sight.
Carolina Beach and no shrimp boats, that tells you the fuel situation
is starting to take
its toll!!!
We tried drifting at the inlet and picked up a small Atlantic Sharpnose,
but these guys wanted
a big fish. A BIG SHARK!!!!
I was not planning on having to run back down the river with a
falling tide and a SW wind,
that is no good!!!
As luck would have it, I looked at my tide watch and the tide
was 1/2 way on the fall,
that's really no good!!!!
I heard "Dickie" on the radio who operates the charter Boat "GET
REEL" I called him and he
told me the Shrimp Boats were back off Southport again today like they were yesterday.
Well, I had to go back anyway so I chose to run the ocean and cross
the shoals at Bald Head
Island, it was bound to be better than the river, and I believe it was the right choice.
We made it to the Shrimp Boats and it wasn't but just a few minutes
until Mark had his wish
come true. He was victorious in getting a nice Black Tip Shark to the boat.
He wanted to keep one for the grill, but this one was short of
the 54 inch minimum length
to be legal. We took his picture and let him go.
It was only a short time until we were doubled up with two sharks.
Mark and Custer were on
the reels again.
Got some more pictures but one was too short and the other one
pulled the hooks.
We put the baits back out and this time Mark hooked up with a real
Beast. This shark was huge,
much more than the 80 lb. test line could handle.
Next line in Mark was hooked up with a shark that just about did
him in.
The battle went on and on. I haven't ever seen a Black Tip Shark
of 70 inches fight this
long and hard.
He would not quit, but Mark wouldn't quit either and tonight
he is trying some shark
steaks on the grill for dinner.
A just reward for the sore muscles he is going to have in his arms
in the morning!!!
I was amazed at Mark, he is a true testiment as to what you can
do when you Thank God for
what you have and not dwell on what you don't have!!!
Mark is visually impaired, but do not think of him as handicapped,
let me tell you this, He
handles a Fishing Rod Better Than some I have seen that can see perfectly well..
Mark, Thank You for reminding me not to take things for granted.
And for reminding me to Thank God for what I have and for what
I am about to recieve.
Mark, I want you to know that you are my Hero and I know God will
Bless you well in the future!!
Custer and Pam, it was Great meeting you as well, you all were just
Great people!!!
Till next time, God Bless Everyone!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt Butch
6-4-08
We were to go offshore this morning, but the SW winds had different
plans for us so we stayed
inshore where it was as rough!!
Today's trip was a special one for me, I'll explain..
We were fishing with Fred Martin and Tim and Crystal Cash from Craigsville,VA.
with them were
Stephanie King and Susan Lockhart from Leasburg,NC.
Fred was the winner of this trip after Susan sent in a picture
of a 65 lb. catfish that he
caught that beat out other great catches to win the top prize at a contest that "Yeah Right Charters",
"Bass & Saltwater
Fishing Expo", and "Radio Station 94.7 QDR" put on last winter.
We started out Spanish Mackeral Fishing and then went Shark Fishing.
Everyone got to land several Spanish Mackeral and when we got all
those we wanted we went
after the Sharks, and everyone got a chance or two at the sharks as well.
Some found the fight these "well oiled" predators produce was just
a little more than they
had bargained for.
We kept a 6 foot Black Tip for the grill to go along with the Spanish
Mackeral.
Tim Cash caught the first shark then after that they became pretty
much, "here you take it
a while" fishing as they were just too much fight for only one to endure for long at a time!!
It was another great trip with some more great fisherpeople. I
truly meet the best people
in my line of work and I pray everyday that the "oil barons" don't put us all out of work!!!
Will be heading offshore tomorrow if the winds let up... Check
back to see what happens!!!
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!!
Fish On!!!!
Capt Butch
6-3-08
Today was about as beautiful as you will ever see it on the ocean.
Two feet every 8 seconds, now that's my kind of seas!!!
We were fishing a short day today with Meredith Moore and her dad
Tom. Also with them was
Joel Sax.
These guys were from the Ground Hog Capital of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
We started at the Raritan in hopes of a King Mackeral or a Mahi-Mahi
but we were soon inundated
with AJ's.
They were everywhere and jumping on the trolled cigar minnows we
were using.
I'll make this report short and simple, Meredith caught the first
fish, the biggest fish,
and the most fish, end of story!!!
The first AJ she caught had us all figuring for a trip to the certified
scales with a monster
AJ. The battle went on for over an hour.
Meredith would gain a foot or two and the AJ would take back ten!!!
When it was finally brought to boat side, our visions of a monster
was dashed to just a big
one, you see, it was foul hooked in the side at the pectorial fin, and an AJ hooked there has some
more kind of pulling power
and pulling leverage!!
We finally left there and went to the bottom where the crew picked
up some nice Black Bass,
Triggerfish, B-Liners, and Grey Snappers.
We didn't have long to fish as they had to get back to attend an
evening birthday party so
at 1:00 we headed back to the dock where Tyler and I quickly cleaned their catch for them so they
could get back to Holdan
Beach and not be late for the party.
For you King Mackeral fisherman, the radio talk today was that
the King Mackeral were not
available.
A couple good fishermen I know reported no king bites at all.
Did hear of a few, but very few being caught in the 15 mile rock
area.
Tomorrow is another short day, we will see what we can come up
with and put it here for you
to see!!!
Till next time, may God Bless you all!!!!!
Fish On!!!
Capt Butch
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