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Fishing Reports & Photos
BILLFISH FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!
Kevin Eipp Sr, from Syracuse NY, with daughter Ashley & son Kevin & their friends Ellen Gerard & Shawn all earned citations for catching & releasing 4 white marlin and one sailfish......pulled off a blue marlin and 3 other white marlin in an action packed day.....marlin fishing starting to heat up and should get better and better towards a mid September peak.
Richard and I will be heading up to Virginia Beach tomarrow after dropping our charter off at Pirates Cove.....we will be fishing the 2 out of 3 day Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament competing against 75 other boats.
NEED ANGLERS TO FILL UP BOAT!!
ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY AUGUST 23 & 24 I NEED 3-4 MORE ANGLERS TO FILL UP THE BOAT. SHOULD BE GOOD MARLIN FISHING AND DOLPHIN AND TUNA HAVE BEEN SPORADIC BUT WILL BE A GOOD POSSIBILITY.... CALL ME (252-480-0094) or EMAIL (captjeff@mindspring.com) IF INTERESTED IN JOINING THE GROUP. 
WHAT A BUMMER!!!
Along with a number of other contending boats, we headed to a new spot and it turned out to be the days hot spot.... for most everyone but us!!! Top boats in the area caught 3-5 billfish all around us, while we saw one lazy window shopper all day! Two boats that were behind us at the start of the day passed us, so we ended up in a tie for fifth place, out of the money while a boat that caught three and had less then us to start the day took third place and a pocket full of change home...... Very frustrating being in good position, the right spot and in contention and coming up with nothing.... maybe next week in Virginia tournament things will go our way.... been close the last two tournaments but no damm cigar!!
IN THE HUNT FOR SECOND OR THIRD PLACE
We took a lay day on Wednesday, and then fished on Thursday..... Mike Flower, from Medina, NY & Peter Zeliff from Batavia, NY caught a double header of white marlin in the morning, and then in torrential rains in a thunderstorm, Michael LaFramboise, from Canton, MI released a white marlin in the last half hour to put us in a tie for third place with one day to go!
FIRST DAY OF PIRATES COVE BILLFISH TOURNAMENT
Larry Waite was our allstar today, catching 2 sailfish and a white marlin. We pulled the hook on a second white marlin near the end of the day and then pulled the hook on a small blue marlin..... One boat found a honey hole and caught 7 white, all between noon and 2 PM to put him in first, 4 boats caught 4 and 3 or 4 more including us caught 3 billfish for the first day.
ON day 2 we took a lay day so we will be fishing the next two days....have our work cut out for us.....Today the fishing was a little slower.
ON day 2 we took a lay day so we will be fishing the next two days....have our work cut out for us.....Today the fishing was a little slower.
A GREAT FIRST OFFSHORE FISHING TRIP!
Scott Reese & family, from Farmington, NY had never been fishing offshore so Monday was a great introduction......weather was sunny & seas were calm....we set out in shallow water and soon got hit by the yellowfin tuna.....hooked one on a big bait and two on very light tackle white marlin rigs..... pulled the hook on one, but Franklin Reese did a great job boating one on light tackle which weighed 65 lbs, while Scott boated one that earned him a citation as it weighed 70 lbs. Bradley Reese and Franklin Reese each caught and released white marlin later in the day, and we also got jumped by a school of nice size dolphin. 
ALICE KELLY LADIES MARLIN TOURNAMENT!
Some days just don't go your way. The winning boat saw 5 marlin and caught 5 marlin. The first white marlin we raised I had jumping but the hook pulled while I was passing the rod down; the second white marlin we raised I just flat out missed....BOOOO!! The third marlin we raised was a small blue marlin and I hooked that and we fought it for 5 minutes when the line went slack.... leader came back with no hook.... bit or cut off! The fourth marlin we raised was a white marlin that Monica Witt, from Nags Head NC caught and released.....finally!!; The fifth marlin we raised came to a teaser but would not switch off.... the next marlin Richard hooked and after 15 minutes we had it 15 feet from getting the leader and the hook came out...... OH WELL.... the weather was beautiful, the girls had a great time and were rather drunk by the time we got back to the dock!!
THREE WHITE MARLIN FOR THE MAKEUP GROUP
We put a group together for today and released 3 white marlin and boated some dolphin and two yellowfin tuna. Rawly Penny, from Georgia, Matt Miller from Virginia Beach, and Moby Chaudhary all earned release citations for white marlin releases on light tackle
NEED TWO OR THREE ANGLERS FOR TOMORROW!
I HAVE 3 GUYS FISHING TOMARROW AND ANOTHER TWO DROP OUT, SO WE HAVE ROOM FOR 2 OR 3 FOLKS FOR TOMORROW SATURDAY AUGUST 7.....CALL ME (252-480-0094 H; 252-473-8487 C) OR EMAIL (captjeff@mindspring.com) IF INTETERSTED IN JOINING US.....BOAT LEAVES DOCK AT 4:30..... WEATHER LOOKS GREAT AND MARLIN FISHING AND DOLPHIN FISHING HAS BEEN VERY GOOD!!
FIRST WHTIE MARLIN FOR HUSBAND AND WIFE!
Scott & Margaret Smith, from Goshen, KY each caught their first white marlin during a double header, and latter, Scott caught a second fish as well. We started the day off setting out along a slick, saw a single dolphin jump, put out the spinning rods and the one turned into about 300 dolphin behind the boat.....Scott, Margaret & their young'uns caught their limit, and I called a few other boats over and all three of us got the dolphin we needed! Not a lot of Sargassum around but when you find one dolphin, often there is a hugh school of them somewhere.....day before the board I found had over 300 around it.....five boats came there after we finished with it a caught close to a limit each. 
ANNAPOLIS FAMILY BOATS DOLPHIN AND CATCH MARLIN!
Phillip Ross and family from Anapolis, MD had beautiful weather & moderate seas. Started the day with Kelsey Derby catching a white marlin. We found a large board and everyone got in the action, boating 45 large school dolohin on spinning tackle. We hooked another white marlin that after a 15 minute battle, pulled the hook 30 feet from the boat, and then to end the day hooked another white marlin which Phil battled for 20 minutes, fish put on a great arial display and then damm if the circle hook didn't pull with the leader 10 feet from the boat. OH WELL!! Everyone had fun anyway!! 
MARLIN FISHING PHOTOS
GOOD PHOTOS from the fishing trip of Grover & Paul Bowers, from South Carolina and Robert Fischer, from Virginia, the other day when they each caught white marlin.
TUNA SURPRISE!
With a northeast wind blowing we headed offshore with expectations of good marlin fishing and hopefully some dolphin for dinner.,,,, Set out around some birds and bait and expected marlin to get after us.... within 10 minutes we had explosions behind a bunch of baits and ended up hooking 3 big yellowfin, two on very light tackle and managed to get them all .....50-60 lb class fish. Fished around a while and Heath Byerly, from Trinity, NC captured and released a 60 lb white marlin, while the second one we had hooked broke the line somehow. Later we got hit by 4 more tunas, 2 on light rods, one of which got tangled and broke, but still had 2 on heavieer rods, one on a light rod and were clearing other lines when a white marlin chased up a teaser..... put the boat in gear to try to get a bite out of the marlin, and by the time it left us, we had pulled the hook on two of the other tuna, and only boated one of them.... thats what you get for being greedy!!! They guys caught about 20 dolphin around a float to end the day. 
NEED TWO OR THREE ANGLERS TO FILL BOAT NEXT SATURDAY!!
We caught 3 white marlin today that I will report on tomarrow with picture.
MARLIN fishing and DOLPHIN fishing was good today....I have 3 guys that need 2-3 more to join them next SATURDAY AUGUST 7 for a marlin & dolphin fishing trip. If interested contact me by email (captjeff@mindspring.com) or phone 252-480-0094.
MARLIN fishing and DOLPHIN fishing was good today....I have 3 guys that need 2-3 more to join them next SATURDAY AUGUST 7 for a marlin & dolphin fishing trip. If interested contact me by email (captjeff@mindspring.com) or phone 252-480-0094.
TWO GREAT FISH MAKE THE DAY!!
John Hannell and crew, from Lynchburg VA, fished with me last year and had a slow day, so I was bound and determined to get them on some fish, so rather than risk going north for a few quality bites, we headed south where dolphin fishing had been pretty dependable..... till today..... got out there and no good changes were to be found to start the day.... I set out in hot water, wishing I had gone north marlin fishing...... started in hot blue shallow water and worked out to the 100 fathom curve.... was on the radio singing the blues with another captain when a fin appeared behind the right teaser.... damm if it weren't a blue marlin..... I kept the teaser away from the fish as Richard brought up a small ballyhoo.... which it went on immediately..... HOOKED UP BLUE MARLIN on 30 lb line.... 13 year old Will Morris grabs the rod and with no big fish experience does a great job fighting the marlin standing up for half an hour.... didn't jump for the first 15 minutes but when we got it close to the boat it took off on an exciting series of jumps.... anyway got the release on a 225 lb blue marlin and Will earned his citation for a great catch! Not long after that, we had a big hole and a bent pole .... John Hannell jumped in the chair and 10 minutes later boated our biggest wahoo in 2 years.... a 70 lb, citation earning lunker!!
DOLPHIN SAVE THE DAY!
We went up north looking for marlin but did not see anything in the morning....good conditions and some other boats raised some fish but we did not.....found a piece of float and Art Rea and his crew from Georgia, Pennsylvainia, & Utah went to work on light tackle spinning rods boating a nice catch of school dolphin..... Nicholas Lewis boated his biggest fish ever, a citation earning 35.5 lb dolphin. Late in the day we missed shots at two white marlin. 
SUMMMER DOLDRUMS
Went back to where some boats had a good day on the tuna yesterday, but as so often happens on calm summer days, they did not bite.....nor did much else in the morning so we ran inshore and Chris Johnson and crew, from Pennsylvania boated their limit of tilefish. A few boats went up north and had good marlin fishing..... wish I had gone that way, but we all had tuna on the brain..... need to forget about them things till the fall!!
MEATFISH SLAM BUT SAILS A NO SHOW!
Miller Trevvett & crew from northern Virginia and Pennsylvania wanted sailfish, and the conditions were great.... finally a light north east wind.... found plenty of bait but no sails......fished around some rocks and caught a few blackfin tuna, then along a color change and picked at the dolphin, all the while looking for a sailfish.... then we ran up north when a few tunas were being caught, put our long baits out and sure as sh$# a sail ate a few long baits which of course we couldn't do much with it, then we caught a wahoo at 3:10 and called it a good end to a pretty day!
SAILFISH ON A HOT, STEAMY ROUGH DAY!!
The southwestern wipped us out today.... rough and hard fishing but Tom Groce from Virginia Beach, VA and Paul Kemner, from Quincy, IL each released sailfish, which was our target species today..... we jumped another one off, and caught a blackfin tuna and a dozen or so dolphin.
HARD LUCK TO START AND END THE DAY!
We started the day with Robert Bonvini fighting a sailfish, but after 5 minutes the hook pulled. Not a great start, but then we had a steady pick at the dolphin with a mixed in blackfin tuna and a 20 lb BARRACUDA, and then Bill Kupec, from Middlefield CT caught a sailfish. Late in the day a school of tuna popped up and we got one good pass and hooked a nice one, at least a 60 lb fish, which we got right to the boat and even had the gaff in it but it ripped off and got away grrr@*#^#!!! OH WELL, some days go better than others!! 
For older fishing reports and photos please go to our archives
BILLFISH FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!
Kevin Eipp Sr, from Syracuse NY, with daughter Ashley & son Kevin & their friends Ellen Gerard & Shawn all earned citations for catching & releasing 4 white marlin and one sailfish......pulled off a blue marlin and 3 other white marlin in an action packed day.....marlin fishing starting to heat up and should get better and better towards a mid September peak.
Richard and I will be heading up to Virginia Beach tomarrow after dropping our charter off at Pirates Cove.....we will be fishing the 2 out of 3 day Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament competing against 75 other boats.
NEED ANGLERS TO FILL UP BOAT!!
ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY AUGUST 23 & 24 I NEED 3-4 MORE ANGLERS TO FILL UP THE BOAT. SHOULD BE GOOD MARLIN FISHING AND DOLPHIN AND TUNA HAVE BEEN SPORADIC BUT WILL BE A GOOD POSSIBILITY.... CALL ME (252-480-0094) or EMAIL (captjeff@mindspring.com) IF INTERESTED IN JOINING THE GROUP.
WHAT A BUMMER!!!
Along with a number of other contending boats, we headed to a new spot and it turned out to be the days hot spot.... for most everyone but us!!! Top boats in the area caught 3-5 billfish all around us, while we saw one lazy window shopper all day! Two boats that were behind us at the start of the day passed us, so we ended up in a tie for fifth place, out of the money while a boat that caught three and had less then us to start the day took third place and a pocket full of change home...... Very frustrating being in good position, the right spot and in contention and coming up with nothing.... maybe next week in Virginia tournament things will go our way.... been close the last two tournaments but no damm cigar!!
IN THE HUNT FOR SECOND OR THIRD PLACE
We took a lay day on Wednesday, and then fished on Thursday..... Mike Flower, from Medina, NY & Peter Zeliff from Batavia, NY caught a double header of white marlin in the morning, and then in torrential rains in a thunderstorm, Michael LaFramboise, from Canton, MI released a white marlin in the last half hour to put us in a tie for third place with one day to go!
FIRST DAY OF PIRATES COVE BILLFISH TOURNAMENT
Larry Waite was our allstar today, catching 2 sailfish and a white marlin. We pulled the hook on a second white marlin near the end of the day and then pulled the hook on a small blue marlin..... One boat found a honey hole and caught 7 white, all between noon and 2 PM to put him in first, 4 boats caught 4 and 3 or 4 more including us caught 3 billfish for the first day.
ON day 2 we took a lay day so we will be fishing the next two days....have our work cut out for us.....Today the fishing was a little slower.
ON day 2 we took a lay day so we will be fishing the next two days....have our work cut out for us.....Today the fishing was a little slower.
A GREAT FIRST OFFSHORE FISHING TRIP!
Scott Reese & family, from Farmington, NY had never been fishing offshore so Monday was a great introduction......weather was sunny & seas were calm....we set out in shallow water and soon got hit by the yellowfin tuna.....hooked one on a big bait and two on very light tackle white marlin rigs..... pulled the hook on one, but Franklin Reese did a great job boating one on light tackle which weighed 65 lbs, while Scott boated one that earned him a citation as it weighed 70 lbs. Bradley Reese and Franklin Reese each caught and released white marlin later in the day, and we also got jumped by a school of nice size dolphin.
ALICE KELLY LADIES MARLIN TOURNAMENT!
Some days just don't go your way. The winning boat saw 5 marlin and caught 5 marlin. The first white marlin we raised I had jumping but the hook pulled while I was passing the rod down; the second white marlin we raised I just flat out missed....BOOOO!! The third marlin we raised was a small blue marlin and I hooked that and we fought it for 5 minutes when the line went slack.... leader came back with no hook.... bit or cut off! The fourth marlin we raised was a white marlin that Monica Witt, from Nags Head NC caught and released.....finally!!; The fifth marlin we raised came to a teaser but would not switch off.... the next marlin Richard hooked and after 15 minutes we had it 15 feet from getting the leader and the hook came out...... OH WELL.... the weather was beautiful, the girls had a great time and were rather drunk by the time we got back to the dock!!
THREE WHITE MARLIN FOR THE MAKEUP GROUP
We put a group together for today and released 3 white marlin and boated some dolphin and two yellowfin tuna. Rawly Penny, from Georgia, Matt Miller from Virginia Beach, and Moby Chaudhary all earned release citations for white marlin releases on light tackle
NEED TWO OR THREE ANGLERS FOR TOMORROW!
I HAVE 3 GUYS FISHING TOMARROW AND ANOTHER TWO DROP OUT, SO WE HAVE ROOM FOR 2 OR 3 FOLKS FOR TOMORROW SATURDAY AUGUST 7.....CALL ME (252-480-0094 H; 252-473-8487 C) OR EMAIL (captjeff@mindspring.com) IF INTETERSTED IN JOINING US.....BOAT LEAVES DOCK AT 4:30..... WEATHER LOOKS GREAT AND MARLIN FISHING AND DOLPHIN FISHING HAS BEEN VERY GOOD!!
FIRST WHTIE MARLIN FOR HUSBAND AND WIFE!
Scott & Margaret Smith, from Goshen, KY each caught their first white marlin during a double header, and latter, Scott caught a second fish as well. We started the day off setting out along a slick, saw a single dolphin jump, put out the spinning rods and the one turned into about 300 dolphin behind the boat.....Scott, Margaret & their young'uns caught their limit, and I called a few other boats over and all three of us got the dolphin we needed! Not a lot of Sargassum around but when you find one dolphin, often there is a hugh school of them somewhere.....day before the board I found had over 300 around it.....five boats came there after we finished with it a caught close to a limit each.
ANNAPOLIS FAMILY BOATS DOLPHIN AND CATCH MARLIN!
Phillip Ross and family from Anapolis, MD had beautiful weather & moderate seas. Started the day with Kelsey Derby catching a white marlin. We found a large board and everyone got in the action, boating 45 large school dolohin on spinning tackle. We hooked another white marlin that after a 15 minute battle, pulled the hook 30 feet from the boat, and then to end the day hooked another white marlin which Phil battled for 20 minutes, fish put on a great arial display and then damm if the circle hook didn't pull with the leader 10 feet from the boat. OH WELL!! Everyone had fun anyway!!
MARLIN FISHING PHOTOS
GOOD PHOTOS from the fishing trip of Grover & Paul Bowers, from South Carolina and Robert Fischer, from Virginia, the other day when they each caught white marlin.
TUNA SURPRISE!
With a northeast wind blowing we headed offshore with expectations of good marlin fishing and hopefully some dolphin for dinner.,,,, Set out around some birds and bait and expected marlin to get after us.... within 10 minutes we had explosions behind a bunch of baits and ended up hooking 3 big yellowfin, two on very light tackle and managed to get them all .....50-60 lb class fish. Fished around a while and Heath Byerly, from Trinity, NC captured and released a 60 lb white marlin, while the second one we had hooked broke the line somehow. Later we got hit by 4 more tunas, 2 on light rods, one of which got tangled and broke, but still had 2 on heavieer rods, one on a light rod and were clearing other lines when a white marlin chased up a teaser..... put the boat in gear to try to get a bite out of the marlin, and by the time it left us, we had pulled the hook on two of the other tuna, and only boated one of them.... thats what you get for being greedy!!! They guys caught about 20 dolphin around a float to end the day.
NEED TWO OR THREE ANGLERS TO FILL BOAT NEXT SATURDAY!!
We caught 3 white marlin today that I will report on tomarrow with picture.
MARLIN fishing and DOLPHIN fishing was good today....I have 3 guys that need 2-3 more to join them next SATURDAY AUGUST 7 for a marlin & dolphin fishing trip. If interested contact me by email (captjeff@mindspring.com) or phone 252-480-0094.
MARLIN fishing and DOLPHIN fishing was good today....I have 3 guys that need 2-3 more to join them next SATURDAY AUGUST 7 for a marlin & dolphin fishing trip. If interested contact me by email (captjeff@mindspring.com) or phone 252-480-0094.
TWO GREAT FISH MAKE THE DAY!!
John Hannell and crew, from Lynchburg VA, fished with me last year and had a slow day, so I was bound and determined to get them on some fish, so rather than risk going north for a few quality bites, we headed south where dolphin fishing had been pretty dependable..... till today..... got out there and no good changes were to be found to start the day.... I set out in hot water, wishing I had gone north marlin fishing...... started in hot blue shallow water and worked out to the 100 fathom curve.... was on the radio singing the blues with another captain when a fin appeared behind the right teaser.... damm if it weren't a blue marlin..... I kept the teaser away from the fish as Richard brought up a small ballyhoo.... which it went on immediately..... HOOKED UP BLUE MARLIN on 30 lb line.... 13 year old Will Morris grabs the rod and with no big fish experience does a great job fighting the marlin standing up for half an hour.... didn't jump for the first 15 minutes but when we got it close to the boat it took off on an exciting series of jumps.... anyway got the release on a 225 lb blue marlin and Will earned his citation for a great catch! Not long after that, we had a big hole and a bent pole .... John Hannell jumped in the chair and 10 minutes later boated our biggest wahoo in 2 years.... a 70 lb, citation earning lunker!!
DOLPHIN SAVE THE DAY!
We went up north looking for marlin but did not see anything in the morning....good conditions and some other boats raised some fish but we did not.....found a piece of float and Art Rea and his crew from Georgia, Pennsylvainia, & Utah went to work on light tackle spinning rods boating a nice catch of school dolphin..... Nicholas Lewis boated his biggest fish ever, a citation earning 35.5 lb dolphin. Late in the day we missed shots at two white marlin.
SUMMMER DOLDRUMS
Went back to where some boats had a good day on the tuna yesterday, but as so often happens on calm summer days, they did not bite.....nor did much else in the morning so we ran inshore and Chris Johnson and crew, from Pennsylvania boated their limit of tilefish. A few boats went up north and had good marlin fishing..... wish I had gone that way, but we all had tuna on the brain..... need to forget about them things till the fall!!
MEATFISH SLAM BUT SAILS A NO SHOW!
Miller Trevvett & crew from northern Virginia and Pennsylvania wanted sailfish, and the conditions were great.... finally a light north east wind.... found plenty of bait but no sails......fished around some rocks and caught a few blackfin tuna, then along a color change and picked at the dolphin, all the while looking for a sailfish.... then we ran up north when a few tunas were being caught, put our long baits out and sure as sh$# a sail ate a few long baits which of course we couldn't do much with it, then we caught a wahoo at 3:10 and called it a good end to a pretty day!
SAILFISH ON A HOT, STEAMY ROUGH DAY!!
The southwestern wipped us out today.... rough and hard fishing but Tom Groce from Virginia Beach, VA and Paul Kemner, from Quincy, IL each released sailfish, which was our target species today..... we jumped another one off, and caught a blackfin tuna and a dozen or so dolphin.
HARD LUCK TO START AND END THE DAY!
We started the day with Robert Bonvini fighting a sailfish, but after 5 minutes the hook pulled. Not a great start, but then we had a steady pick at the dolphin with a mixed in blackfin tuna and a 20 lb BARRACUDA, and then Bill Kupec, from Middlefield CT caught a sailfish. Late in the day a school of tuna popped up and we got one good pass and hooked a nice one, at least a 60 lb fish, which we got right to the boat and even had the gaff in it but it ripped off and got away grrr@*#^#!!! OH WELL, some days go better than others!!
NEED A FEW ANGLERS FOR UPCOMING DAYS
I have several groups of people in the next few weeks that need a few more to fill up the boat so they can go fishing......FISHING should be excellent for sailfish and dolphin with some wahoo, white & blue marlin mixed in.
NEXT WEEK..... for either WEDNESDAY OR FRIDAY JULY 28 & 30 I have 2-3 people looking for 3-4 to fill up the boat.
THE FIRST WEEK OF AUGUST, for both THURSDAY & SATURDAY AUGUST 5 & 7 I have 3 people intereseted in hooking up with 3 more to go fishing one or both of those dates.
IF interested in joining one of these groups, call me at 252-480-0094 or send me an email Jeffrey Ross 
NEXT WEEK..... for either WEDNESDAY OR FRIDAY JULY 28 & 30 I have 2-3 people looking for 3-4 to fill up the boat.
THE FIRST WEEK OF AUGUST, for both THURSDAY & SATURDAY AUGUST 5 & 7 I have 3 people intereseted in hooking up with 3 more to go fishing one or both of those dates.
IF interested in joining one of these groups, call me at 252-480-0094 or send me an email Jeffrey Ross
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR!!
We needed a quick start to get in the chase for the lead, but instead we could not raise a fish till late morning.....around boats catching a few fish but we did not see one till around 11 AM and then we had steady action, but with only one singles coming in the spread and only one time where we raised two fish, and the other top boats raising a doubles or triples, we could not catch up.....Peter Zeliff, from Batavia NY, Larry Waite from Dumfreies, VA & Vince Cocciolo from British Columbia, Canada caught everything that was hooked, 5 sailfish for the day, with only one fish pulling the hook 20 feet from the boat.....that would have put us in a tie for third, but oh well....and then to add insult to injury, when time expired and we cranked in the teasers a sail followed up and we hooked and caught it for six sailfish for the day, 5 sailfish for the tournament on Saturday, 10 for the tournament overall , and 5th place overall.
SATURDAY....LAY DAY!!
We headed out at 5 AM, but with 7 ft seas where we were going, and moderating conditions slightly called for on Sunday, we turned around and decided to go tommarrow......only 3 boats did fish today.
FRIDAY.....FIRST DAY OF THE DARE COUNTY BOAT BUILDERS TOURNAMENT
As seems always to be the case for this tournament, which we fish 2 out of 3 days.....the forcast for all three was windy and rough!!! So we headed out on Friday, beat our way down to south of Diamond Shoals Light tower and set out in shallow water lookin for sailfish which are showing up.... In spite of the conditions, fishing was good and Peter, Larry and Vince caught 5 out of 6 sailfish, all singles, to up us in forth place out of 20 boats....two boats have 8, one has 6 and we have 5......have our work cut out for us, but one cubby rise and we could be back in the game.
CITATION DOLPHIN BUT THE BIG ONE GETS AWAY!
Peter Zeliff & crew fished on Thursday as a warm up for the tournament. We found a school of dolphin in the morning, so we broke out the spinning rods and baled them for a while.... then we worked north looking for a marlin. Water was beautiful, but no changes or edges or anything to concentrate fish.... finally found a small edge, turned on it and the long shot gun had a bite, but as I got to it, the fish come off.... I was looking around for whatever, and getting ready to change the bait when a 400+ lb blue marlin appeared on the right teaser..... I got to it the same time the marlin grabbed hold of the teaser and we had a tug of war for a minute till it let go, then it wheeled around quickly and went on the short rigger big bait..... Richard fed that to it..... locked it up.... HOOKED UP BLUE MARLIN..... got the rod in the chair to Peter just as all hell broke loose.... marlin shot across the spread right to left, dissappeared, then reappeared jumping under the starbord rigger, then jumpinig 100 yards ahead of the boat, then the hook come loose....GONE all in about 20 seconds!!!
Never could come tight the damm thing was moving so fast, dammitt!!!!
Anyway, we put the baits back out, got back on the change and a big old dolphin starrted chasing the other teaser around..... we hooked it and Vince Cocciolo, from British Columbia where he is a hunting guide, boated his first citation sized 37 lb dolphin.
Never could come tight the damm thing was moving so fast, dammitt!!!!
Anyway, we put the baits back out, got back on the change and a big old dolphin starrted chasing the other teaser around..... we hooked it and Vince Cocciolo, from British Columbia where he is a hunting guide, boated his first citation sized 37 lb dolphin.
RON HOUSEHOLDER's BLUE MARLIN PHOTOS
THIS FISH WAS ESTIMATED AT 550 LBS.
ROUGH AND RAINY WHITE MARLIN
We discussed not going today....wind 20-25 and seas 7 ft with RAIN.....went anyway and Ben Machielse, from North Potomac, MD released a white marlin, but around noon we headed in as seas had built and rain was persistent.
FAMILY AFFAIR
Barry Finkelstein and family from Yardley, Pa had a beautiful day on the water, but the fish did not cooperate.... we found a beautiful change with sargassum that we fished for miles that should have held dolphin but none of the fleet found any. Chased schools of bonitos and marked tunas for a few hours, but only got one bite..... college student Mike Finkelstein did boat a 63 lb yellowfin tuna to save the day!
BACHELOR PARTY FISHING TRIP!
They looked a little ragged this morning as the stumbled onto the boat a half hour late, but most of Alex Von Seigesar, from New York City and his crew recovered in time for some hectic light tackle action as they boated their limit of mahi-mahi. After that, we trolled around and we jumped off a sailfish and to end the day, Alex boated a 40 lb yellowfin.
BUSCH CUP SERIES CREW GOES FISHING!
Mike Anderson and his crew from central North Carolina took the day off from working on race cars for Busch Cup Series to go fishing.... unfortunately it was less than an banner day as only a few boats were lucky to hook a few tunas, and with the increased current the billfish did not bite either.... the guys did boat some school dolphin at the end of the day on spinning rods to go with a pair of 20 lb wahoo. 
GOOD LUCK AND BAD LUCK!
My crew for today wanted meatfish, so we headed to tuna grounds as the mahi fishing has fallen off a bit...... we set out and instead of tuna hooked a white marlin which John Burgess from South Carolina caught..... set back out and hooked one of a double of white marlin, which Brian Ramsey from Ohio caught and released..... then we hooked a 50 lb tuna on light tackle and after an hour pulled the hook right at the boat..... later we hooked a big wahoo, close to 60 lbs and damm if that son of a $^@*&^ didn't bight the hook off just as Richard was reaching for it with the gaff. John Burgess caught another white marlin later in the day and just as we were getting ready to call it a day, we hooked and caught a 40 lb yellowfin.
IF YOU DON'T CATCH MUCH, CATCH BIG ONES!!
Yesterday a boat up north hit the tunas twice out in the deep, and elsewhere tuna fishing was slow so we rolled the dice and headed up there.... caught a gaffer dolphin off the teaser right out of the gate, then never had another bite for three hours.... mate Richard and I were looking hard for birds or whales or some sign of tunas when the right teaser line ripped off the reel.... I grabbed the teaser line just as a big blue marlin grabbed it.... then it disappeared.... then reappeared on the other teaser..... Richard fired out the pitch bait out as it chased the teaser to the boat.... I pulled the teaser out of the water and the fish disappeared, then reappeared under the pitch bait, then lit up and lunged on it 10 feet from the boat.....what a bite!! Richard fed him then put it in gear...... HOOKED UP BIG BLUE MARLIN.... Dr. Ron Householder from North Tazwell, VA hopped in the chair and the fight was on..... marlin pulled about 300 yards off the spool then started jumping...... Ron worked on it for a half hour.... had it 50 yards from the boat when it come up jumping again... then it stayed on the surface and Ron got the leader on the reel for the release.... we messed with it for a while till we got the fish right beside the boat for some great photos that I will put up when Ron sends them to me....ANYWAY, CONGTRATULATIONS TO RON HOUSEHOLDER FOR CATCHING AND RELEASING A 550 LB BLUE MARLIN !!
We only had one more bite the rest of the day... missed a white marlin... never did catch a tuna!
We only had one more bite the rest of the day... missed a white marlin... never did catch a tuna!
PENNSYLVANIANS SAILFISH
GREGORY STEINMETZ, from Lititz, Pa released this sailfish yesterday, his first one ever!!
FAMILY AFFAIR
Gary & Jerry Coffman brought their grandchildren out for a day on the ocean and it could not have been better with very calm seas and good dolphin action on very light tackle.
DOLPHIN AND SAILFISH!
Our early start paid off today as we landed first on the "Jellyfish" line and found a few bunches of school dolphin, and Nick Smith and crew from Pennsylvania put their limit of 60 dolphin in the boat with the first hour....we then stayed in relatively shallow water all day and caught two out of three sailfish......Nicholas Smith and Gregory Steinmetz each captured and released sailfish their first sailfish, both caught on standup light tackle.
MEATFISH SLAM AND A BOX FULL OF FISH!
J P Hill and crew from the Yorktown, VA started the day off by catching a limit of dolphin on light tackle around a temperture change loaded with jellyfish. After that we headed offshore and as soon as we set out hooked and boated a 30 lb wahoo. Fished some beautiful conditions the rest of the morning expecting to see a billfish but did not, but in early afternoon we were in the right spot at the right time and the tunas come up jumping everywhere and the boys boated 5 out of 6 bites, fish ranging from 15 - 55 lbs. 
DOLPHIN ON A JELLY FISH LINE!
It was a hot sunnny calm day and we found a temperture change loaded with jellyfish on the way out and stopped on it, and immediately had a big school of dolphin around the boat, which Mike Hall and crew worked on and in half an hour had their limit of school dolphin caught on light tackle spinning rods.....a great start but the rest of the day we rode around but never could find the tunas on the surface. 
BIG WHITE MARLIN
PAUL LANG AND HIS OCEAN CITY SIZE WHITE MARLIN CAUGHT A FEW DAYS AGO. 
MAHI MAHI MAYHEM!!
Long time customer Sam Hardersty, from Richmond, VA was hoping for tuna, which were becoming harder and harder to come by, but we lucked out and caught 2 out of 2 40 -50 lb fish, and then while looking for more schools of tuna were attacked out in the open by a huge school of dolphin which the crew worked on for a half our using light spinning rods, boating their limit and releasing a lot more. Unfortunately, we pulled the hook on a sailfish.
EVERYONE CATCHES A TUNA!
Keith Sneed and crew each boated a 30 -50 lb yellowfin tuna. 
GREAT PHOTOS OF SAILFISH
THANKS TO JOHN MARTIN FOR PHOTOS OF A SAILFISH CAUGHT LAST WEEK BY JOSEPH ENGERS, FROM MARYLAND.
ANNOUNCEMENT FOR BOOKING DATES FOR SAILFISHING IN MEXICO IN 2011
My plans are to again run the OBSESSION to Isla Mujeres, Mexico for the light tackle sailfishing season in winter 2011. The waters off the northern Yucatan Peninsula hold the world's greatest seasonal concentration of Atlantic sailfish, and provide some incredible light tackle billfishing (http://www.obsession-charters.com/mexico.asp). Last year, fishing from January thru mid March was outstanding....the best I have ever seen.... We caught 10 or more sailfish 11 of the 13 days we fished in January, 24 of the 26 days in February and 7 of the 10 days in March, averaging 19 sailfish/day in January, 24 fish/day in February and 17 fish/day in March. We ended up catching 1048 sailfish.
Regarding the OIL SPILL, the currents in the Gulf of Mexico go from west to east, and from around the Yucatan Peninsula to Florida, thus there is no impact expected around Isla Mujeres.
The OBSESSION will be available for charter from January 13 thru March 20, 2011. You can reserve dates by email (captjeff@mindspring.com ) or phone 252-480-0094. If you do not have a full group and are looking to split some days with a few others, let me know....in the past I have had good luck putting groups together.
I am presently starting to take bookings for dates. At this time, I have the following dates available for charter:
JAN 9 - JAN 16;
JAN 22 - JAN 31;
FEB 1 - FEB 6;
FEB 9- FEB 28;
MAR 1 - 20;
The cost of chartering the OBSESSION will be $2000/day (unless diesel exceeds $4.00/gal). A 50% deposit will be needed to secure your fishing dates. If you set your dates now, I will need to have the deposits by September 1. If you prefer, as many did last year, you can pay the full amount ahead of time, and not have to deal with it in Mexico. The deposit or full payment can be sent to: Captain Jeff Ross 3102 S. Ocean View Ct. Nags Head, NC 27959
The OBSESSION will again be docked at Enrique's Marina, on the island of Isla Mujeres. To get there, you fly into Cancun International Airport. From Cancun airport, you take a half hour cab ride (should be no more than $40) to Puerto Juarez, the port where you take the new ferry to ISLA MUJERES (tell cab driver want to go to "Puerto Juarez.... new ferry to Isla Mujeres"). The ferry ride is 25 minutes, costs $5 and runs every half hour (6AM-11PM). The ferry lets you off a stones throw from my boat. Grab a cab (always at ferry dock) to drop your stuff off at your hotel and you can walk everywhere from there on....to boat, town, restaurants, beaches, ferry, everything within 5-10 minutes.
The lodgings I recommend are a 10 minute walk to the boat and surround the festive downtown area. Rooms range from $70 - 300/nite, depending upon what you are looking for, but for $70-$150/nite you get a very nice room for two people. Most everything on the island is clean and well kept. Do not wait too long to make your reservations! February & March are peak season for tourism and fishing, the island is small, and the nicer places fill up! To find information on the island, including places to stay, check out: http://www.isla-mujeres.net/home.htm
The lodgings I recommend are:
http://www.cabanasdelmar.com/ great place for the guys...close to swing bar
http://www.hotelsecreto.com/ exceptional, first class, impress your lady
http://www.playamedialuna.com/ beautiful ocean views, first class, impress your lady
http://www.isla-mujeres.net/hotelrocamar/ economical, ocean views, basic but nice
http://www.bucaneros.com/ economical, great location in town
http://www.nabalam.com/ beautiful, expensive, really impress your lady
http://www.nautibeach.com/ first class condos....good for families
The OBSESSION provides all bait and tackle. We use Shimano TLD 20's with 25 lb line on light action stand-up trolling rods. We encourage angler participation and enthusiastically work with everyone interested in hooking their own fish. We use exclusively circle hooks to reduce injury to the sailfish. We will leave the dock at 6:30 AM and return around sunset (6 PM). We provide lunch, including sandwiches, munchies, fruit, yogurt, and drinks including a case each of water, soda and cervezas! All you need bring is polarized sunglasses, sunscreen, rubber soled shoes, hat, camera, and good luck!
I would be happy to provide more details upon request by e-mail (captjeff@mindspring.com ) or phone (252-480-0094).
Check out the fishing reports section of my website for pictures of fishing in Mexico this past season:
http://www.obsession-charters.com/
Best wishes and tight lines....Cap'n Jeff
BIGEYES AND MARLIN!
With the southwest wind blowing the weed line apart, we started on the edge around some birds and soon one the boats close by hit the bigeyes, so we circled the area and another boat hit the bigeyes, and we kept circling and then we went over the mark on my fish finder and we all started jigging the lines, and the next thing ya know the water erupted with explosions like depth charges going on and we had 5 poles bending and line peeling off the reels.....one came off kinda quick, but the others all stayed attached and after an grueling hour and a half Greg Carter, John Houck, Michael Levenson, and Paul Hartman, from tidewater Virginia, all boated bigeyes ranging from 116 - 130 lbs, each earning their citation. Later in the day Joe Kennedy released a white marlin to earn his citation, so everyone got a citation earning fish today!!
WHOPPER BIGEYE BLAST!!
Carl Wallace & crew from Geogia & S. Carolina started a beautiful day off picking a limit of school dolphin along a weed line..... after that we trolled around looking for a marlin with not much success when a boat nearby hooked some big tunas, so we trolled around that vicinity when all of a sudden we went over a good mark and then the bigeyes whammed us.....big holes and bent poles everywhere...when the dust settled, we had 5 bigeyes hooked up and 5 anglers.....one came got burned off as lines got tangled, another the light leader broke with the fish close to the boat, but then we put Juston Smithson's 140 lb fish in the boat, then Paul Casey's 145 lb bigeye tuna in the boat and after an hour and 45 minutes finally put Carl Wallace's 182 lb lunker bigeye in the boat!
THATS THE WAY TO START OFF THE DAY!
We set out in deep water and trolled around trying to find a grass line for some dolphin.... hadn't been fishing a half hour when a blue marlin lunged for the left teaser, then jumped on the short rigger big bait...... Richard dropped back to him, put it in gear and HOOKED UP BIG BLUE MARLIN!! Bernie Barron Sr., from Lumberton, PA hopped in the chair and the fight was on..... a couple of wild jumps right out of the gate then a tremendous long run..... a half hour later Bernie had the fish close enough to the boat for Richard to get the leader and Bernie get his release of his first blue marlin ever, a 400 lb fish. We found a weed line a while later and Bernie Barron & sons and crew, all from PA and New Jersey boated their limit of dolphin on light spinning rods.
Obsession Sportfishing Charters
Outer Banks - North Carolina
Captain Jeff Ross
3102 S. Ocean View Ct.
Nags Head NC 27959
252.480.0094
©2005-2012 Obsession Charters, Inc.