Monday 3-13-06: It looks as though the 2006 fishing season has kicked off here in Southport,NC. The water at the Tower was 68 degrees this past weekend and the King Mackeral were hungry. The weather was too nice for me to stay here at the house. So with Capt Chris gone to Lexington,NC to visit with his girlfriend Michelle, that left me to run a commercial trip by myself. If I had known before the last minute I was going I could have called and rounded up some help!! But as it is most of the time in the fishing business, you have to play the weather and most of the time you don't know if you will be able to go until the last minute and calling someone at 4:00AM to ask if they want to go fishing is probably not a good idea.
Now, I have recieved some comments from some other Captains saying that they think I should not be posting pictures from a commercial trip since I am a charter service. I don't understand the reason behind this. I am a Charter boat Captain, but I am also a commercial fisherman. I have purchased all the license and permits and fill out all the log books and reports on a by fishing trip and monthly basis, and by posting the commercial trips we run helps you know what is biting where and when. Sure, there have been some rude and critical remarks about all the fish we catch sometimes, and that's to be expected from people that don't understand how it works. There are quotas set, and when those are met, then a particular season will be closed to prevent over harvest, and when I am asked if we can do a commercial trip on a charter, the answer is no, it is illegal to combine a commercial trip with a charter trip. I fish for a living, so why not share the results with other fishermen. Good info. on fishing can be hard to find sometimes!! And as a lot of you already know, I do not have to know who you are, if you want to know where a particular fishing spot is or any kind of info. all you have to do is ask!!!
I will tell you one thing, spend a day on the water in the middle of a bunch of hungry King Mackeral by yourself, and if you are my age, they will tell you the next morning that you are not getting any younger!!!
This weekend as of this point doesn't sound as though it is going to be good for fishing. They are predicting it to be windy, but it is still a week away, and we all know how fast it can change. So let's all keep our fingers crossed that the front will either speed up or slow down and the winds won't be here Saturday as predicted now!! If you can get out to the Tower area, the Kings are "chewing down" on frozen cigar minnows or you can troll Drone spoons at about 5 knotts behind a #8 planer. Either one will work, but, if the spoons slow down, try going to the minnows, they will usually hit those when they won't hit the spoons.
The bottom fish are stacked up out there also. If you are interested in those just go out there and get anchored up and go at it. You may have to move though when the sharks find you!! The fishing season is under way, and remember, if you keep putting it off to go fishing, another year will pass you by, and you will still be wanting to go. Life is too short to not do some of the finer things in life, so give us a call and let's go catch some fish!!!Check out the picture on my site under the report, just click on "FISHING REPORTS & CATCH PHOTOS!! Till next time, FISH ON!!! Capt Butch Foster, Capt Chris Foster, and "Private Bodie" the fish dog, says HI!!!!!. YEAH RIGHT SPORTFISHING CHARTERS, Southport,NC (910)845-2004 www.yeahrightcharters.com