Cape Hatteras - July '99
Cape Hatteras has become one of my favorite destinations. The reasons are obvious...great fishing! You can fish 13 miles offshore, a very short trip, for wahoo, sailfish and jumbo dolphin. A little further out and we're talking marlin and tuna. This time my good friend, Matt Sparks came fishing with me. We had been trying to hook up to go fishing for the last couple of years, but you know how it gets sometimes...work and family obligations, so on and so on.
Well the day finally came around and he was stoked. I, on the other hand, was worried that this would be the fishes day off. I looked up and said, "Saint Peter, we could use a little help down here." We left at 5 AM on the "Harper's Folly". Last year was an unbelievable trip, so I had to get that trip out of my head (it's hard to beat 4 marlin in one day). The seas were definately rocking and rolling...translation, sit down or be bounced down. Matt was definately sea worthy, he was chowing down and asking me how long before we could fish. I told him not long at all...and no sooner did I say that, when the engines slowed down and we were trolling.
There wasn't a single bite for the first two hours, welcome to fishing! We were trolling a weed line where dolphin and other critters like to hang out. Matt started to look at me cock-eyed. I was saying to myself, "This happened to me last year." I ran out of conversation and fell asleep inside. Then I heard my favorite sound in the world...a reel screaming! I jumped up and saw Matt on a monster bull dolphin and another rod was being fought and then another. Matt fought that fish like a pro, smiling ear to ear as the dolphin jumped clear out of the water.
After that we were on fish for the rest of the afternoon. A little while later Matt had a nice wahoo on and smoked his butt. The Captain knew just how to fish this weed line, which is a tough job on the mate. While it is most productive, you constantly have to clean the weeds off of the lures, this becomes very tedious, but it is very rewarding fishing. Matt was staring out over the waves and told me that he kept seeing a very large fish off of the back of the boat. I thought that maybe he was getting a little to much sun, but foot in mouth...he was right!
It was a sailfish nosing the last lure being trolled. The others were saying, yeah right, you two have lost it...when wam, the mate had a smoker on...a sailfish! One of the other customers had the honor of reeling in this magnificent fish as he jumped and danced the Hatteras dance. That fish made my day! Now for the hard part...releasing a sailfish is not like what you see on TV...as you may know, it can be quite dangerous. But this mate has seen every situation come around and this was a "situation." The hook was in a tough spot and had to come out. We got the fish on board without hurting him, I wish that he felt the same about us! Some fish just have no consideration! No respect, as Rodney Dangerfield would say. He started doing a punk slam dance on the mate, who came very close to having his ears pierced. But he managed to get the fish under control and released him.
No sooner did that scenario play out when we had a bull dolphin hook up, who came in easily and went berserk on the boat. This sucker was bouncing four feet up and down until the mate had enough of his little routine and put him to rest quickly. Sorry Charlie, you're dinner. A little lemon butter grilled to perfection. It turned out to be another great trip. We lost alot of fish but that's fishing! Harper is a great Captain...a full time charter captain, who will put you on fish and who doesn't give up. He has a great sense of humor, which is always a plus for a captain...everyday is a new day, not a bus tour for your money. He loves fishing and so does his mate. Put the two together and fish, be scared, be VERY scared, these guys mean business! As for Matt, Dude, great start to the sport! Thanks Captain, for making this story possible, once again! The "Harper's Folly can be reached at (919)995-3905...be sure to tell him that Dave from ScreamingReel sent you!
As for the road trip out, it was very hot this year and I mean HOT. We had a fantastic house on the beach and yours truly went body surfing for the first time in ten years! The waves were incredible! All my buddies got together on this trip. There were some mean poker games going on at night...stories being told and lots of catching up with each other. Alot of fresh seafood to eat and some down time. We had a five bedroom house on the beach which we rented once again through Outer Beaches Realty. It included a huge living room on the top floor with the bedrooms all on the floor below, which kept them quiet from the people hanging out upstairs.
There was alot to do for my son, who is the next Tiger Woods of miniature golf. On my wife's birthday, which was on July 9th (I have to tattoo that date on my arm if I plan to stay married), she spent the morning hang gliding and that evening went for dinner on the pier where a waiter sang her the Italian operatic version of "Happy Birthday." He blew us all away, we all wished that we had a voice like this guy. Anyway, the Fourth went off with a BANG and the week was a success. Hatteras is a great family vacation place. Economical, so that you can save the money to spend on dinner, fishing and the kids...not necessarily in that order!
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Well the day finally came around and he was stoked. I, on the other hand, was worried that this would be the fishes day off. I looked up and said, "Saint Peter, we could use a little help down here." We left at 5 AM on the "Harper's Folly". Last year was an unbelievable trip, so I had to get that trip out of my head (it's hard to beat 4 marlin in one day). The seas were definately rocking and rolling...translation, sit down or be bounced down. Matt was definately sea worthy, he was chowing down and asking me how long before we could fish. I told him not long at all...and no sooner did I say that, when the engines slowed down and we were trolling.
There wasn't a single bite for the first two hours, welcome to fishing! We were trolling a weed line where dolphin and other critters like to hang out. Matt started to look at me cock-eyed. I was saying to myself, "This happened to me last year." I ran out of conversation and fell asleep inside. Then I heard my favorite sound in the world...a reel screaming! I jumped up and saw Matt on a monster bull dolphin and another rod was being fought and then another. Matt fought that fish like a pro, smiling ear to ear as the dolphin jumped clear out of the water.
After that we were on fish for the rest of the afternoon. A little while later Matt had a nice wahoo on and smoked his butt. The Captain knew just how to fish this weed line, which is a tough job on the mate. While it is most productive, you constantly have to clean the weeds off of the lures, this becomes very tedious, but it is very rewarding fishing. Matt was staring out over the waves and told me that he kept seeing a very large fish off of the back of the boat. I thought that maybe he was getting a little to much sun, but foot in mouth...he was right!
It was a sailfish nosing the last lure being trolled. The others were saying, yeah right, you two have lost it...when wam, the mate had a smoker on...a sailfish! One of the other customers had the honor of reeling in this magnificent fish as he jumped and danced the Hatteras dance. That fish made my day! Now for the hard part...releasing a sailfish is not like what you see on TV...as you may know, it can be quite dangerous. But this mate has seen every situation come around and this was a "situation." The hook was in a tough spot and had to come out. We got the fish on board without hurting him, I wish that he felt the same about us! Some fish just have no consideration! No respect, as Rodney Dangerfield would say. He started doing a punk slam dance on the mate, who came very close to having his ears pierced. But he managed to get the fish under control and released him.
No sooner did that scenario play out when we had a bull dolphin hook up, who came in easily and went berserk on the boat. This sucker was bouncing four feet up and down until the mate had enough of his little routine and put him to rest quickly. Sorry Charlie, you're dinner. A little lemon butter grilled to perfection. It turned out to be another great trip. We lost alot of fish but that's fishing! Harper is a great Captain...a full time charter captain, who will put you on fish and who doesn't give up. He has a great sense of humor, which is always a plus for a captain...everyday is a new day, not a bus tour for your money. He loves fishing and so does his mate. Put the two together and fish, be scared, be VERY scared, these guys mean business! As for Matt, Dude, great start to the sport! Thanks Captain, for making this story possible, once again! The "Harper's Folly can be reached at (919)995-3905...be sure to tell him that Dave from ScreamingReel sent you!
As for the road trip out, it was very hot this year and I mean HOT. We had a fantastic house on the beach and yours truly went body surfing for the first time in ten years! The waves were incredible! All my buddies got together on this trip. There were some mean poker games going on at night...stories being told and lots of catching up with each other. Alot of fresh seafood to eat and some down time. We had a five bedroom house on the beach which we rented once again through Outer Beaches Realty. It included a huge living room on the top floor with the bedrooms all on the floor below, which kept them quiet from the people hanging out upstairs.
There was alot to do for my son, who is the next Tiger Woods of miniature golf. On my wife's birthday, which was on July 9th (I have to tattoo that date on my arm if I plan to stay married), she spent the morning hang gliding and that evening went for dinner on the pier where a waiter sang her the Italian operatic version of "Happy Birthday." He blew us all away, we all wished that we had a voice like this guy. Anyway, the Fourth went off with a BANG and the week was a success. Hatteras is a great family vacation place. Economical, so that you can save the money to spend on dinner, fishing and the kids...not necessarily in that order!
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Fishing |
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Dock |