Obsession Fishing Charters Outer Banks North Carolina
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SPRING/EARLY SUMMER ON THE OBSESSION 2019HIGHLIGHTS ON THE OBSESSION FISHING OUT OF OREGON INLET
Last year, from late April thru early July, we had excellent tuna fishing, with the the best giant yellowfin tuna fishing we have ever seen around here. There were also plenty of Bigeyes and Blackfin Tuna mixed in. Consequently, at this time, I am booked through June and most of the first half of July,. After July 20, I have plenty of days available for late summer & fall fishing. Late July and early August are always a great time for families, with a mixed bag of dolphin, wahoo, tuna and billfish available. Last year, on July 4, Keith Maminski & crew boated a limit of Dolphin, a 50 lb Yellowfin, and two out of three Bigeye Tuna (sharks got the other). A few days later Richard Morgan's group caught their limit of Dolphin, a Sailfish and a 450 lb Blue Marlin which was Allen Berry's first ever! In mid-July, young Logan Marley was top angler with 50 lb Yellowfin and a Sailfish. To end the month, Tom Palmer released a 375 lb Blue Marlin while his partners released White Marlin and boated a 35 lb wahoo for dinner. August and September are our peak season for billfish out of Oregon Inlet. Last year was an off year for white marlin in North Carolina waters, though we still had some good action and there were plenty of Dolphin along with Blue Marlin, Sailfish, Tuna and Wahoo to keep things interesting.
We had an exciting Pirates Cove Billfish Tournament. The first day a boat weighed in a 911 lb Blue Marlin....at 2 points/pound, that gave them a pretty insurmountable lead. On our first day, Charley Townes caught a Blue Marlin giving us 150 points. Our second day, Robert Crowder, Charley and Charles Townes did an awesome job catching a triple header of White Marlin. With overall slow fishing for the fleet, that gave us the second place daily prize. The last day, we started quickly with 3 White Marlin releases. We needed one more to move into second place, but never raised another fish. Nevertheless, we won the first place daily prize for that day as well. We ended up winning around $85 grand and a trophy for overall fourth place finish. Great job by mates Joe Bonvetti and Michael Calabrese along with my crew Robert, Charles & Charley. In September, Madison Kimbrell caught a personal 'Grand Slam' in early September along with a nice catch of Dolphin. Late in the month, Les Winner's crew released 5 White Marlin along with a boxful of 10-20 lb 'gaffer Dolphin'.
October is a great month on the Outer Banks for fishing, but from day to day you never know what you're gonna get. Charley Lillis & crew started the month with a limit of Dolphin and three White Marlin. A week later, Tyrone Ashton & crew boated a limit of 20-50 lb Yellowfin Tuna with a few Blackfin Tuna mixed in. The next week, Steve Miller's crew started their day with a good Blackfin Tuna bite, than boated a bunch of 30-50 lb Yellowfin, and ended the day with a double header of White Marlin!
Good Tuna fishing continued in November. Jose Torres-Vorshirm & crew boated a box full of 30-45 lb Yellowfin, including 3 quadruple headers and a few Blackfin tuna to fill in the cracks. Overall, 2018 was our best year ever for big Yellowfin Tuna and excellent for Bigeyes and Backfin Tuna. It was one of the slowest for White Marlin, due in part to a hurricane in the middle of September, and a large number of White Marlin staying north of our waters during the time I had Marlin trips; they showed up in early October when my customers wanted meat fish. Every year is different around here!
Folks fishing on the Obsession earned a total of 150 North Carolina Citations last year, including: 27 for Yellowfin Tuna (Lisa Frandock's 124 lb fish the largest); 25 for Bigeye Tuna (James Feorino's 150 lb fish the largest); 12 for Blackfin Tuna (Tyrone Boweman's 27 lb fish the largest); and two for Wahoo (Kenneth Mansley's 77 lb Wahoo the largest). Folks earned 62 citations for releasing White Marlin, 12 for Sailfish and 10 for Blue Marlin. SAILFISHING ISLA MUJERES MEXICO 2020Oh Mexico!
My plans are to once again bring the OBSESSION to Isla Mujeres, Mexico for the light tackle Sailfishing season in winter 2020. This will be my 20th season fishing in Mexico, and 16th season fishing from Isla Mujeres. Last winter, due to unexpected circumstances, Joe Bonvetti, the one only Rosenberg and I travelled from North Carolina to Isla Mujeres the entire way alone for the first time..... a long, lonely 1350 miles. Fortunately, weather was beautiful and seas were calm the whole way. As always, the demanding trip was well worth the struggle once we got there. Winter 2019 was the best fishing we've had in 5 years. A nice mixture of good trolling, good bird action and not a lot of boats. On our first trip Jan 6, Steve Hinchcliff & crew released 26 Sailfish 12 miles from the island.... and it was 'game on' the rest of the season!! We caught 10 or more Sails most every day right thru to our last day the second week of March. Tom Noonan and Mike Eakins caught 29 and Bill Harriss & crew released 31 for our two best days in January.
In early February, Mike Chenault and crew caught 30 and 31 their two days fishing with us. Big John Knight, Tony Cameron, Jean & Barclay Laborde released 50 one awesome day of great trolling action combined with one fantastic spot of birds. We caught 112 the four days Big John & Tony fished with us! Randy Salyer & crew released 31 one day in mid-February. Wes Yandle and crew released 38 one day the last week of February. We caught better than 10 every day we fished in March but one. For the season, we released 738 Sailfish in 43 trips.
We fished the Island Times Sailfish Tournament in mid February. Both days were extremely rough, but Robbie and Kim Sink, Rick & Joanne Schall, Larry Holland & John Lancaster did fantastic under the circumstances, catching 13 Sailfish each day, which earned us a second place finish overall in the tournament. The OBSESSION will be available for charter from JANUARY 11 thru MARCH 15, 2020. You can reserve dates by e-mail or phone 252-480-0094. AT THIS TIME, MY AVAILABLE DAYS IN MEXICO IN 2020 ARE: JAN 11 & 12 The cost of chartering the OBSESSION out of Enrique Lima Marina, Isla Mujeres, Mexico in 2020 will be $2400 (fuel was $4.25/gal last year and will be higher next year). This fee covers 1-6 (flexible) people and this includes all bait and tackle, along with food, munchies and beverages for the day. If you're thinking of fishing off Isla Mujeres on the Obsession, now is time to make your travel arrangements!! The island is a wonderful place but has become a popular tourist destination. The more convenient rooms close to the boat that I recommend fill up early. Contact me for a list of lodging recommendations and other travel issues by e-mail or phone 252-480-0094. The local populace is extremely friendly and the island's growth has included many expatriated Americans, Canadians and Europeans who have moved to Isla Mujeres and opened up a diverse and eclectic mix of excellent restaurants, boutiques & galleries while maintaining its small town, tropical island atmosphere. Although the cartels are a problem throughout Mexico, Isla Mujeres has remained a peaceful, safe vacation spot that if anything is becoming too popular. None of my customers or guests of other boats had any problems this past year. My wife has traveled to the island for 15 years and navigates its streets alone day or night with no worries! Many of my customers, who originally came down just to fish a few days, now come for a week or two or even more; they fish a few days and enjoy the island lifestyle the rest of the time... and they come back year after year!!
Thanks again to all of you who have fished with me once or 20 times.... I have often commented to other captains about the great group of anglers I have been privileged to fish with on the OBSESSION over the years.... I appreciate your business! We are looking forward to seeing y'all in the upcoming year. As always, I guarantee 110% effort to show you a great time and hopefully catch you a bunch of fish and maybe a fish of a lifetime! My wife, Ruth Ann, and I are always glad to offer any assistance and/or recommendations for your travel, lodging and dining on the Outer Banks or in Mexico. Best wishes and tight lines....Capt'n Jeff Ross Check out the fishing reports section of my website for pictures of fishing out of Oregon Inlet and Mexico ABOUT THE OBSESSIONThe OBSESSION is a 55 foot custom 'Carolina-style' sportfishing boat, the last and largest in a long line of vessels built specifically for charter fishing by Capt. Sheldon Midgette (for Capt. Sheldon Midgette). You will not find a more comfortable, seakindly boat when the ocean gets rough. This is one of the dryest boats ever built, and with a large keel, she is extremely stable when trolling. The OBSESSION was repowered in 2010 with a 1000 hp 3412 Caterpillar. The OBSESSION carries state of the art electronics including radar, color fish finder, and two GPS chart plotters. Its large salon features: heat/air, microwave, stereo, VCR and a refrigerator. Enhancing your fishing comfort, the hugh cockpit has a 130 lb class giant tuna chair, 2 additional fighting chairs, and a large built-in bait box, ice chest and fish box. The OBSESSION has a ladder to the flying bridge to allow customers/guests to join Capt. Jeff on the bridge for a different perspective.
OBSESSION T-SHIRTSI have S, M, L, XL & XXL T-Shirts with front pockets and the original Obsession T-shirts design in bluish, greenish, blackish & white with short sleeves for sale for $20 (+shipping approx. $7). I also have some long sleeve DENALI sun shirts in blue with the 'Mexico... sails, tails & margaritas logo' design for sale for $35 (+shipping approx. $7). If you would like to order Obsession t-shirts, you can do so by email or phone 252-480-0094. Shipping is approx. $5.00 for 1 shirt, $6.50 for 2, & $7.50 for 3 shirts.
Obsession Sportfishing ChartersOuter Banks - North Carolina Captain Jeff Ross 252.480.0094 |
