Ali and his crew booked an 8-hour day for Memorial Day. The weather was looking a little unsettled for the Monday, but Sunday was looking amazing with light winds and slight seas. Fortunately, we all had some flexibility and rescheduled the trip to take advantage of a gorgeous day on the ocean. The weather forecast was dead-on, and we rolled out into a gentle, 1-to-2 foot seas which allowed us to run at a comfortable speed out to one of my spots about 28 miles offshore. I've been itching to try this spot this season, but the weather hasn't been too accommodating. The water temps are still in the low-mid 70s, which is perfect for kings, cobia, and other early season fish. I figured it's still a little cool for dolphin (mahi), but you never know! There weren't many signs of life when we arrived on the site. I didn't see birds or baitfish, and the sonar wasn't showing much underneath us either. Nevertheless, I got some cigar minnows out on the light lines and settled in to start working the area. Ali and his crew are experienced pier fishermen, but were eager to extend their experience to offshore trolling. Like most of my offshore customers, they were really focused on the possibility of mahi, so I tried to keep their expectations realistic. I guess Mother Nature thought it would be funny to prove me wrong, and the first solid strike turned out to be a nice, slinger dolphin! Ben was first up, but after a couple of minutes, the fish threw the hook. Just as it did, though, another line went off. Ali grabbed this one, and after a sensational battle, the mahi came aboard and into the ice. Dolphin move in schools and feed together, and no more had I put the baits back out, we picked up a third fish. Seth took this one, and it was a tough fight. I'm guessing this was a hefty, male dolphin by the way it fought. Unfortunately, after plenty of sweat equity, the hooks came out and the fish took off. Things slowed down after that. The school must have moved off and I could not pick them up again. I kept us in the general area, but eventually spread out to the series of ledges hoping for a king, cobia, or even an amberjack. As I was watching some boats bottom fishing nearby, the downrigger rod started screaming. This had to be a king mackerel! Ali was first to the rod and I could tell when he lifted it up that he was in for a fight. However, the fish wasn't acting like a king anymore. It was thrashing some, but Ali said it felt like he was pulling dead weight. I was afraid we'd traded the king for a shark, but told him to keep at it until we got it in. After some time, Ali reeling and me moving the boat to close the circle, the fish finally came to the surface... sideways. The hooks had slipped out of the king's mouth and dug into his belly. I held my breath as Ali pulled him closer, hoping the hook would hold until I could get a gaff into him. Thankfully, it did! After that, things really slowed down. Most of the boats that had been in the area were leaving by this point, but I wanted to keep at it. I won't deny, I was hoping to get some more mahi action. That didn't happen though. After we'd covered several miles of ocean without so much as a good strike, I asked if the guys wanted to relocate... possibly moving close to the beach to put some meatfish in the cooler. The Spanish mackerel are running hard, and I figured this would be a nice addition to a mahi and a king. They agreed and we made a long, fairly smooth run back to the beach. The guys wanted to try jigging for the Spanish, so I set them up near the inlet. There were fish everywhere, but they did not seem to be interested in the jigs. Ali even tried a Rapala, but it was no go. Finally, I offered to set out the Clark spoons and do some trolling. By the time the lines were out, I was deeper than I wanted to be, but before I could turn the boat one of the rods went over hard. It looked a lot stronger than a Spanish, and when Ben got it in closer, I could see it was an Atlantic bonito. I was surprised to see that so late in the season.. and then surprised again when Ali pulled in another one. I made a few circles hoping for more, but the school must have moved off. There was no time to think about it, though, because suddenly we were into the Spanish. I was only running three lines, and two of them were constantly hooked up. After boating an even dozen Spanish, Ali said they had enough and were ready to go. That's always a good sign! Overall, we had a heck of a day and the season is just getting cranked up!

It's always a tough call when the weather is sketchy. Do I go out and risk a beating, or do I cancel the trip and hope the customers have flexibility to reschedule? The first consideration is safety, of course. I will always cancel for conditions such as extreme winds and seas or thunderstorms because they pose a risk to the fishermen. It would just be irresponsible for me to go out on those days. But it seems like it's becoming more and more common to have marginal forecasts, where the fishing is still safe, but it's not always so comfortable for the fishermen. In these cases, I try to base my decision on what I've learned from talking to the customers ahead of time. What is their experience level? Are they hard core fishermen, or is this their first time on an offshore boat? Are they nervous about going out on the ocean? Are there kids or older adults who might not be able to tolerate a bumpy sea? And then, of course, there's always the question of trusting the forecast. Can you count on the wind to diminish or the seas to subside? Will the wind shift to a favorable direction (never trust a north wind down here)? You have to err on the side of caution, but if you wait for perfect conditions you may never go out. This past weekend is a good example. Jeremy and his crew booked a half-day for May 10, and the forecast kept changing all week. Finally, on Friday the 9th, it called for rougher seas at first light, subsiding throughout the morning to a lovely, calm day. The wind was shifting a bit, but mostly out of the north and northeast. This is not my favorite wind. I made a judgement call and let Jeremy know the trip was on. On the 10th, over my morning coffee in the wee hours, the real time buoy data showed three and a half-foot seas on a four second period... which is just what the forecast had called for. Now, a note if you don't know, but what you like to see generally is a period (the time between swells) that is at least twice the wave height. So, in this case, I would hope for a period of seven seconds or more. I knew it was going to be rough, and this was confirmed when I reached the marina and all the wind socks were standing straight out. With the crew aboard, we hit Topsail inlet and I could see we'd be in for a treat. The inlet is usually the roughest part of the trip as the inland waters and ocean compete through a narrow channel... but this morning we had a favorable current to take us out. We bashed through a couple of steep waves in the inlet mouth and hit the open water. The wind drove the spray across the cockpit, and I'm afraid everyone back there got a bit of a chilly shower, but everyone stayed in great spirits.Those of us in the pilot house were, of course, warm and dry. With the wind pushing straight down the beach and stacking up the seas to well over four feet, the approach I always go to is to fish straight into the wind for part of the day, and then to turn around and fish downwind for a more comfortable ride home. Ordinarily, I would run zig zags and then circle or figure-eight over structure or schools of bait, but in these conditions, I didn't want to be broadside to the seas. I wasn't worried about the boat, but taking that beating from the sides makes it hard to keep your feet under you. We started catching fish after a bit, and while I checked in constantly to make sure everyone was feeling OK, they all agreed that they were having the time of their lives... although one person started to feel a little green a couple of hours into the trip. He wanted to tough it out, though, because everyone else was having so much fun. In regards to seasickness, here's a tip for folks who don't know... if you're feeling a little queasy, stay out on the open deck with the fresh air. Do not go down below. One more tip is, at least on my trips, if you or your crew are seasick you are welcome to ask me to cut the trip short. However, understand that I can't refund your fee if you do. What I will do instead is offer alternatives for the rest of your time, such as taking a tour along the Intracoastal Waterway or anchoring up in Topsail Sound for a swim. The forecast had promised that the wind and seas would subside and I waited for that to happen, but it never did. Still, everyone aboard was making the best of it and we were catching fish so the time slipped right on by. We did not find any Atlantic bonito, but the Spanish mackerel were there... including a couple of nice, chunky ones. We rolled back into the inlet a little beat-up, but smiling and laughing with 18 delicious fish for the crew to take home. So the season has started with some rougher conditions, and it looks like it's shaping up to be another windy summer. I do hope you'll call to book with us, and you can count on me to let you know (as best I can) exactly what kind of conditions you can expect during your trip.

The first charter of the year was the trip that almost didn't happen. Ricky booked the kid's fun trip on a Thursday afternoon, hoping to make it for Saturday morning. I'd been watching the weather, and Saturday was looking really questionable with winds forecast 15-20 and seas running 3 feet on 4 second intervals... which is really sloppy stuff. I really thought about declining, but after careful review of the conditions I saw an opportunity. We could run down to Wrightsville Beach (about a 40 minute ride) and go out of Masonboro Inlet, then ride with the wind back up to Topsail. That gave us a relatively smooth ride... or at least manageable. With the spring bite just turning on, I felt like it was too good to pass up. So that's what we did. I put out the Clark spoons on planers, initially just running two lines because of the wind, and because the two young men were brand new to fishing. It's just easier to manage less lines. We were off to a slow start, until the first big hit a few miles off the beach. I was hoping for Atlantic bonito, and with the water temps still in the lower 60s, I was shocked to see a fat Spanish mackerel come to the surface. The boat traffic around the artificial reef was a little too much, so I let the wind carry us up the coast. We continued to pick at the fish all the way, with six more Spanish and once bonito before we reached Topsail inlet. With the wind really kicking up the seas, and a good bit over the 3 hour mark, it was time to pick up and get them back to the dock. Big fun with a great group of fishermen! Looking forward to a great spring season!