HOLDEN CHARTERS
SOUTHPORT NORTH CAROLINA
12/19/06
Had 2 very good friends come down from
The fish were chewing the Dead Spanish Sardines as fast as they would hit the water for the last 3 days. Tons of live bait around the Tower to Jig Up if thats what you prefer. Some were saying on the Radio they were catching Bigger Kings with the Live Bait. We caught a mixed bag with several bumping the High 20s.
Gonna take the rest of the week off to study for my Captains License Test on Friday.
If you Love to hear the reels scream and get the chance - Take a Tower
Trip for Kings and for everyone fishing this week be safe.
12/18/06 Today was the prettiest day I have been on the water in 2006. The seas were excellent and the bite was hot again. This weather for the past couple of days has been insane, mid 70s and flat seas. 12/17/06 Got to keep this one short, going again tomorow morning. 11/01/06 Had the pleasure to fish with an old friend of mine at the Tower today. Tim (Lucky Timi) Horner on his 21ft Triumph Boat. They dont make many days offshore much better than today. Flat seas and a hot bite. 10/27/06 Had 2 good friends drive down from 10/19/06 Thursday was one of them days that makes you glad to be alive and a be a Fisherman during Indian Summer. Me and my buddy Mark Albert went out on his boat for some King Macks. Caught Bait at South Beach of Bald Head it was thick there, 1 throw and loaded down the net. TURBO POGIES and 10/15/06 Had the pleasure Sunday to take 4 young people that are temp. stationed at Sunny Point fishing. They wanted some fish for a fry and wanted to try some Top Water for Kings so we set our course for the Tower area. 9/17/06 Started out the day by catching some awesome turbo pogies about 2 miles offshore of Ocean Crest Pier, and started makin way to the Tower. 08/26/08 Had a great trip on Friday. Fished on the east of Frying Pan Shoals. Our target was Grouper and man they are thick. We hit 4 ledges on this trip and we all started to worry because we caught 23 undersize Red Grouper before we ever caught the first legal one. 08/20/06 Went to the Tower today and took a real beating. It was a very confused and rough sea. 3-4 with the occasional 5ft on top of each other. 07/22/06 Me and Dale Adams struck out this morning to find some Kings and Dolphin. 07/09/06 07/06/06 The weather has been great for the past week and I cant wait to read about everybodys trips. 07/05/06 Me and 2 friends made the trip to old faithful the seas were decent. Started out a little slow then we hit a monster school of bailer Dolphin. That was the first time I ever limited out the boat in Mahi. The Kings were scattered only caught (2) teenagers all day. Again we got into the Bottom Fish and had some very good ones. Didnt get any pics today. 07/03/06 Made a trip to the Tower with 5 very good fishermen, and perfect fishing conditions. We limited out on Kings. Had (1) very nice Dolphin. It was almost like the Dolphin had vanished, so we got serious on the Bottom Dwellers. Caught the nicest Black Bass and Pinkies that I have had this year and a couple of legal Gags. Almost all the top water fish caught on Pogies, they were not interested in dead bait. Had the pleasure of fishing with 2 very good fishermen today. RAC (Richard Clark) a guy from the FPT site and Emmett Banks. We are fishing the Jolly Mon Tournament tommorow and were doing a little Pre-Fishing. Had another Great Group of 4 friends from the 06/16/06 Gotta make this a quick one as I am walking out the door Saturday Morning. 06/05/06 The fish are still piled up at the Tower. The bite is not on fire but steady, and most of the fish are quality 06/01/06 If the weather will allow any of you guys to get to the Tower it is as fun as it gets right now. Started out Thursday morning and ran up the river across from Sunny Point, loaded up on live pogies. There was tons of them but they were smaller than I like however the fish didnt mind the small size at all. Live Bait was the only thing they would hit. 05/07/06 A friend of mine from the site (POMOLAS) called me this past weekend and asked me and Dale to fish with him and his family on his boat Simple Interest, which by the way is one beautiful Viking. We couldnt go on Friday but made it out with them on Saturday.
Took a friend of mine (Tommy Brown) on his first ever King Trip. Got the Pic of his first ever Kangfish, I think he had a blast.
Going for one more day tomorow before it blows up. If you guys get the chance - Get Out There.
Hey Bob, I did some serious damage to the last of my Pirate Plugs today, I will be calling you on Thursday for some fresh soldiers.
The December Christmas Kings are thick at the Tower. Dead Bait + Green Pirate Plugs = Tired Arms.
Started the day off a little different, 1st time I have ever seen every store, tackle shop, and fish house in Southport and Oak Island completely out of Frozen Cigar Minnows. They say they cant get them right now and dont know when they will get anymore, so if your coming this way this weekend and that is your preferred bait, you may want to bring some with you. We caught some medium pogies in the back of the
The King bite was RED HOT at the Tower Today but they were all small 8 to 15 pound fish. I gotta tell you though they didnt know they were small they were running and gunning like Big Fish. That cooler water has them in another zone.
We limited out in no time on the Green Pirate Plugs and then rigged them up with the J hooks and only 1 treble for a easy release and wouldn't have to handle them and trolled the rest of the day.
(Note) Offshore Bob when Tims calls you do not let him have all the Greens. He is a believer now.
If you like to hear the reels scream with doubles, triples and the ever famous (Chinese Fire Drill Quads) nows the time to grab a buddy set the lines and:
Go Gettum Boyz
The Pogies are getting hard to find. Started looking for them at Bald Head went to the Shoals found nothing. Searched
A couple of boats said they found bait east of the Pier at
We started at the 15 Mile Rock and trolled to the Shark Hole. The bite was pretty steady and the seas were perfect. You could go 15 to 20 minutes with nothing and then they would hit 2 and 3 at a time and just quit. This went on all day. The dead bait did ok but the boats fishing livies stayed real busy.
All the Kings were about the same as last week 12-18 pound fish. Did see one get caught on another boat that looked high 20s to low 30s. The water temp. dropped about 8 degrees from saturday it was 69 to 70 today, so the fish fought more aggressive in the cooler water and were a ton of fun to catch.
If you get the chance Go Gettum Boyz.
We stopped off at the Old Sea Buoy dropped in the lines and caught nothing. Heard about half the Boats were running East of the shoals and to the Horse Shoes, and the others were going to 15, 18, and Shark Hole. We went to 15 Mile Rock. The bite was long and strong. The only downfall they were not real big Fish 12-18 pounders and we limited out in with 6 in about 45 minutes. Caught all our fish on Live pogies on Double Pogie Rig in the prop and the Green Pirate Plugs on the outside lines. I like all the Pirate Plugs Colors but the Kings seem to go crazy over the Green.
We ran on out to 18 Mile Rock and tried the Grouper but couldn't find any keepers all undersized but they are there and the bigger ones are on the way.
It was a little cool running out in the morning but warmed up nice when we got offshore. The seas were excellent at 1-2 ft.
We set out lines and tried the Kings at the south 40, trolled for about an hour. 1 strike on the downrigger. Pulled up lines ran to the Tower trolled for about an hour. Nothing.
Moved off shore about 5 more miles and started bottom fishing. They were chewing really good, Big Black Bass, B-Liners, Pinkies, Red Grouper, Jolt Heads and Grunts. They got about 2 boxes of bottom. Had a BIG BARRACUDA smack a grunt as he was getting reeled up and got hooked on the bottom rig. The fight was on for a minute or two then he did an aireal display and on about the 3rd jump he threw the hook. It was fun just watching them guys get excited about that.
On the way in we stopped off at the Tower again put out the lines and it was game on with the Kings on the Pirate Plugs. They caught about 6 before we ran out of time. All the Kings were small 10-12lb fish.
Having these guys on my boat was an honor for me and it made me realize if it wasnt for them doing what they do we might not have the freedom to do what we do. These kids were Top Notch and our Country is well represented having them.
If you get the chance take some of our Military Guys out fishing. It could make their day when they are long way from home.
Word is they started catching Kings at the Old Sea Buoy area, 15 Mile Rock and Shark Hole on pogies again this weekend, but the bite was not as strong last weeks. Hope to get out there one day this week and try them inshore if the weather holds.
The wind kicked from the NE about 1/2 way there, but we bit the bullet and went on. The water was filthy all the way to the Tower and we never even seen the first flying fish on the way. The scattered grass was every where. You needed a hay bailer behind the boat. Not very good signs for Top Water Trolling. Had absolutely zero strikes trolling or on the downriggers for about an hour.
Gave up and went about 5 miles SW of the Tower to bottom fish. Caught the usual Pinkys, Black bass, Grunts, B-Liners and a undersize Grouper. With the current and the swell it was kinda like trolling for Bottom Fish but we managed to catch some nice fish.
Got ready for a LONG ride home and decided to round the Knuckle Bouy to see if the shoals would knock down some of the side swell. As we got there the wind and sea laid out and made for good conditions, so we fished the Raritan Wreck for awhile and caught some Amaco Jacks, Amber Jacks and a smoker Sand Bar Shark. My friend wanted to keep him so we gaffed him and got him in the boat. He bent 2 gaffs and left some special teeth marks on the lid of my fish box. I have new respect for those guys fishing that Shark Tournament on ESPN.
All in all a decent fun day but it was WAY ROUGH.
Maybe one day the Kings and the few hitchhiker Mahi will return to eat all the bait thats out there now.
It all worked out, at the days end we caught 38 throw back Grouper, 9 keeper reds, 80 pounds of Grunts and assorted bottom fish. 1 nice 26 pound King Mackeral and 1 peanut Dolphin.
Oh yea we also had 5 wore out fishermen with very sore arms.
If you guys go Grouper Fishing use your live small B-Liners and Junk Bottom Fish for bait. Almost all of our keepers came off the live baits.
One of them days when nuthing goes right. Didnt load up on pogies, wind started howling on the way out, had a seasick son, a very very slow trolling bite and scattered grass everywhere. As soon as you would get the lines out and set, you would have to reel them back in and get the grass wigs off.
Did manage to get 2 very nice gaffer Mahi on cigar minnows, some good B-Liners and Black Bass off the bottom. (FREEZER FISH)
Maybe it will clean up and we will get some pretty days next week and the grass will go away.
The Seas were less than favorable, so we fished around the River Channel for awhile. As the seas let up we eased out to 15 Mile Rock. Caught a Big Barracuda to start then a few small Kings.
The sea went almost completely calm so we went on to 18 Mile and got 2 big knockdowns. We lost the first fish it came up with a big wad of grass and broke the line. We landed the second one a 31.08 pound King.
Like I told Dale that fish would have won the FLW on Saturday.
Some days they are worth thousands of dollars - Some days they are worth $1.30 a pound. Oh well we will get one in the King of the
No dolphin all day, we also rode to the Horseshoe later that afternoon. Couple of small Kings. All fish caught on Dead Cigar Minnows. They wouldnt touch the live pogies.
Had a good bunch of guys fishing Sunday in very bumpy but fishable seas.
Phil Leonard and his son Jason, Sam Spencer, Brian Willetts, and my son Carleton.
Just one of them days when it seems like you lose as many fish as you catch. But it all turned out good after we broke the ice and got one in the boat.
The little Bailer Mahi are super thick all around the Tower. And there is still a good King bite. We wound up with (16) Mahi and (3) decent Kings. Jason had a real nice King that broke off at the boat.
We dropped to the bottom but between the current and the wind we were trolling for Bottom Fish. We made a few drifts and got some of the usual suspects - Black Bass, Grunts, we had a couple of nice Football B-Liners. Wish we could have set up on them and caught some more of them. We will get um next time.
Phil and Jason it was a pleasure fishing with you guys. Whatcha gonna do with all them Mahi??????
Made a trip to the Tower with 5 very good fishermen, and perfect fishing conditions. We limited out on Kings. Had (4) nice Dolphin (3) nasty old Barracuda (2) Amberjacks. Lots of tasty bottom fish. The top water fish would not hit the live pogies today, they were on the dead cigar minnows.
Hope to make 1 more trip on Sunday if the weather breaks. If you guys get to go take live and dead bait cause you never know what they will hit that day.
06/23/06
We fished around the Tower / South 40 areas, we wound up with 6 Kings biggest about 14 pounds, not really what your looking for tournament contenders but fun to reel in.
We had a problem, we couldnt keep those pesky dolphin off the lines long enough to catch a King. We had 8 good Gaffers, 1 bailer and 1 big Amberjack. God only knows how many short strikes and bite offs.
I know that the weather is not suppose to be good for a couple of days but if you guys get the chance get out there and boat some Dolphin. They are thick and its as good a bite as I have ever seen on them.
For all you guys fishing the Tournament Good Luck and Be Safe, its suppose to get bumpy tomorrow.
06/17/06
We caught some really good Kings and Dolphin. Wound up with 9 Kings (one 37 pounder) in the box, the sharks slammed 5 more before we could boat them. One of them would have went mid 20s. 7 Dolphin and three 5 gallon buckets full of Black Bass, B-Liners and Grunts. Them Boyz were Rockin and Reelin.
Dont know if the storm shook them up or not, but I did not see a Cobia Friday or Saturday offshore. Saw lots of Jacks following up the Kings.
We are very lucky people to live here and get to do this when the weather allows us. The ocean was beautiful Friday and Saturday.
I had a
Friday took 5 really good fishermen to the Tower today and we got 13 Kings 7 Mahi and one nice Reef Donkey. Bait was incredible thick around the Tower and the fish were starving. Every boat around us stayed hooked up most of the day as well. Got some good pictures and will post up tomorrow.
This is why fishing is so addicting.
Good size pogies are in the River between Sunny Point and the ADM Dock.
5 nice Kings, 1 Big Jack, 1 Big Cobia, 5 Very good Mahi Mahi. Broke off 3 Cobia theat we fed the baits to behind the boat. I cant remember ever seeing as many Cobias as we have seen the last 2 trips. They are THICK in numbers and THICK in size.
My Buddy had his video camera and we think we got some good footage of some of the lands. Also took some stills, will post some pictures when we get the film developed.
Suppose to be some real good days this week, if you get the chance go get them muscles burning.
The ride out and in was very good and we wound up with 7 dolphin, 11 School Kings, 3 very good Cobia and 1 big Reef Donkey. My buddies were a little tired as all were caught on the King Rods. The Cobia and the Jack were all they wanted on 20 pound test.
They had went to the stream on Friday around the Steeples and caught some YF Tuna one Mahi about 20 pounds and lost a SMOKER at the boat. They also had 3 Wahoo bite offs.
Saturday they wanted to try some King and Bottom fishing. We started at the Tower and the bite was so strong we never had to leave the area. If you can catch the pretty days the next couple of weeks, start at the Tower. We only fished 3 lite lines you couldnt get the 4th in the water. I had heard rumors that nice pogies were being caught at the end of the Wildlife canal, however we loaded up on dead cigar minnows and the kings acted like they were starving to death for them. Unless you just want live pogies for Grouper I wouldnt waste alot of fishing time looking for them. After we limited on Kings we went to the bottom and found some very decent Black Sea Bass, B-Liners and all the Grunts you want to clean in one sitting. The sonar was lit up on the ledges next to the tower with bottom fish but we found the better fish about 4 miles SW of the Tower at the Snapper Charlie Rocks.
SPRING HAS SPRUNG: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN LET THE GAMES BEGIN.
