OI May 15/16th Gotta love May in NC

[HIT N RUN]

Fri crew: Bert,Johnny,Till,Joey,Howard & me.

Sat crew: Bert,Brian,Howard,Mike & me.

Fri we fished the 780-800 in the pretty blended bubble of water to the east. Water was 68-71 with little to no tide depending on how far out you were. We had our Tuna bites in the NW corner of the water in 100-200 fathoms. Our Dolphin came from the E/W change rip also on the northern end of the eddy. Best for us was out deep around 650 fathoms. All day action with a great crew. The inside area (100-250 Fa) is full of life. Pilots,Dolphin,chick birds,slicks galore etc.:thumbup: The area has been hit pretty hard & has produced a good # of Tuna but on Fri they were kinda hard to find. Dolphin along the E/W rip were all you wanted. We cut it off at 30.

Ended Fri with 5 Yellowfin & 30 Gaffers.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l52/ReelFancy/IMG_0131.jpg?t=1242568096

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l52/ReelFancy/IMG_0128.jpg?t=1242567924
Sat we fished the 628-608 starting in the colder green 63-66 degree stuff & ended up just inside the change along the northern end of the Point in the 70-71-6 stuff. Hit the Tuna first in the cold dirty water on the 622 in about 300 fathoms & went along to the southern from there with our best fishing around the 620-608 around 200-300 fathoms. Fishing was about as good as you could want. Steady action again all day. One time it would be gaffers & another it would be all your flats going off. Ended with 13 out of 16. One broke off of our pink chain that had been crushed 2 days straight by the gaffers & had been chaffed pretty bad. This area was also full of the same signs we saw up north except no Pilots. It's such a great sign to see more & more good fish showing up. The Tunas from both different areas all had big old bellies full of some sort of Bonita looking stuff in them. That explains all the flat line bites on the bigger sized baits near the teasers all day. Every time both days we would have all 3 flat lines go off together + an occasional short rigger with it. Very little action from my bridge poles above except from the dolphin. It was quite bumpy in the warmer stuff & I was tired so we gave in around 3:00 pm. Good talking with Conner & Taylor out there. Glad you guys had a great day also.:clapping2:

Man I love May. Next week coming up is my favorite. I hope our annual Memorial bash brings calm seas & more great fishing for all. The signs are great & lots more Sargasso grass is coming from our south. See ya then.:fishing2:

Sat catch: 13 Yellowfin & 13 gaffers

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l52/ReelFancy/IMG_0134.jpg?t=1242568231

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l52/ReelFancy/IMG_0132.jpg?t=1242568641

[lmontagnaj]

WTG Bill and Funk Crew!!!

I NEED A FIX SOON!!!

[Rebel]

Congrats on a great couple days fishing...doesn't get much better than that:rockingreport:

Ed

[foxwind]

Yeah baby, that is what I am talking about. Thanks for the report and great job to you and your crew. I will be down Thursday-Tuesday, hope the blow lets up. Ben


DEVIOUS

[striper_on]

WTG Bill and crew! Bill call me 757-404-1819.
I called you Friday around 5 or 6 no answer. Are the reels in Great Bridge?

[torquetowers]

Nice job Bill way to clean up.

[capttim]

Man you wacked em, nice work.

[jfish]

BIll, Boy thats good stuff there pal! Now if we can just get Mother Nature to work with us next weekend we can make a few days of it. Good Job!

[Finfever21]

pretty work guys congrats...

[TAT-TUNA]

DAM NICE JOB GUYS.:thumbup:

[Mike Avery]

:clap: :clapping2: :thumbup: :yes:

[alby man]

:rockingreport: dang that is a couple of nice days fishing there

[PlaynHooky]

AWESOME JOB GUYS!!! Nice mess of fish!!!

[Fishboy OV8]

Great fishing w/ everyone this weekend, had a great time. Sporty conditions on Sat made it tough all around, but not losing any fish @ the gaff was almost surprsing considering. It's been a while since i've been out in the blue and it's just as fun as I remember, thanks again Bill.

I was hoping to break out my new camera on Saturday and get some good action shots, but w/ all the rain showers and salt spray, i didn't want to take any chances, get 'em next time.

[Here We Go]

Now that's a good fish story...Congrats Guys!

[want dem reds]

Of twenty great pictures i had...these are the only two i didnt erase on accident.

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3783/20/121/1552753553/n1552753553_267571_1066423.jpg


http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3783/20/121/1552753553/n1552753553_267572_109661.jpg

It was a little snotty on saturday. While sleepin on the leather sofa eating an egg biscuit doin 29 knots i felt three or four bumps on the way out....

[capehaze]

VERRRRY Nice!
We went out Saturday in my Albe 24, didn't get skunked, but nothing like that! ...Just 4 dolphin. Had a nice YF on, but after a 15-20 minute fight, and just about to gaff, it ran to the side and cut the leader on the trim tab. Might have done a bit better but we got off to a slow start. Encountered a delay just before the hard port turn leaving OI. Admittedly, I was going slow. The channel is narrow, it was dark, and I don't get to OI often enough to know the way well. A "big boy" was in a hurry so I moved to the starboard edge of the channel. When he blew past me at flank speed, his wake took us over to a near capsize list, raised us up, moved us over, and dumped us in 18" of water ( I draw 3'). Got underway again after one of the crew went over the side and pushed the stern back into deeper water. As we got underway a kinder captain hollared "follow me" and we did. All was then fine except we got beat up pretty badly with Sat's waves. By the time we got near the Point, 2 of the crew (only 4 of us) were doing some serious chumming. My experienced mate (other 2 were greenhorns) never gets sick, but this time he was not so lucky and rigging went a lot slower than usual. All in all, however, we had a good time and are ready to hit it again. A little flatter seas would be nice for a 24 footer - we were all pretty sore this morning ;)

Tight Lines,
Woody

[jengel]

Well done boys! Looks like all had a great time and well run ops as well!! Hopefully Bill I will be able to make a weekday trip in the next two weeks should you be looking to skeletal a crew...keep on posting, it makes the pain(yet fun) task of T-Ball and Cub Scouts that much more enjoyable.

[surfperch1]

Nice work Bill and Crew! Can't wait to get back out on my boat.

[bobdu11]

That's the kind of report I'm looking for in Mid May..congrats for a great day !...I had a feeling it was going to be good....Bob

[Shaun Biddiscombe]

Nice work Bill and crew!

[hd232]

Man I am sore , tired ,hands cut up. Now when we going again:D

Great 2 days of fishing Bill ,with great crews. Thanks again for the invite. Fancy sure is running sweet and producing some great flatline bites. Nothing better then to be jigging a line and have it torn from your hands. Maybe will even let you eat a piece of chicken this coming weekend.

[TerpHeels]

Now that's what I'm talking about and a troll bite 2 boot...lets pray it holds.

[Aquatrax]

Way to go Bill-I knew you'd get 'em. Dave

[Peddler]

Nice job Bill. Once again you have proven your ability to keep up with some of the best fishermen in NC. You really should be ashamed of yourself for going over the Tidalfish limit for Yellowfins ya dang meat hog! Just kiddin, great catch.

[Mike Avery]

You really should be ashamed of yourself for going over the Tidalfish limit for Yellowfins ya dang meat hog! Just kiddin, great catch.

That is actually funny because the guy who started that thread about offshore limits was on this trip. :D

[Fishboy OV8]

I must be rubbin' off on 'em, day one they cut it off on the gaffers at 30 @ only 5 per person , see that ain't so bad :rolleyes: and went lookin' for tuners. Believe me they had the opprotunity for alot more....gaffers galore out there. It's strictly a volunteer thing, I'm not pushin' it on anyone, if the Capt says keep catchin', so be it. :D

[mbo1971]

Whacked and stacked again. Pretty work Bill. Im in your neighborhood collecting the completed SeaCraft. You down this weekend?

[HIT N RUN]

Nice job Bill. Once again you have proven your ability to keep up with some of the best fishermen in NC. You really should be ashamed of yourself for going over the Tidalfish limit for Yellowfins ya dang meat hog! Just kiddin, great catch.
Thanks Pete. It means an awful lot coming from you. Guess it's about high time I take you up on your offer & get over to the Full Draw & have a couple beers & bury the hatchet. I really appreciate your kind response. You of all people know how hard it is to fish from a small boat. This is by far the hardest sport I've ever played & it's constant challenge is what keeps me intrested more than anything Iv'e ever done. I love being out there & bless my lucky stars every chance I get to join you guys. You are also welcome to come over to my place in Collington if you like. We have some seroius cookouts with good folks most every weekend.


As for the TF poll limit reduction thing. I don't buy the fact that we are the problem out there. I think these seasons cycle. One year it's world class Billfish/Dolphin ect due to hotter water/wind direction conditions ect & then the next might bring better blends & bait for Tuna conditions. OI always seems to have some sort of world class bite every year. Heck thats what makes these OBX captians so bad ass is the fact that they always have to shift gears to the ever changing conditions & target species avl at the time. OI IMHO is the best of the best because of it's location on the east coast. We can reach cooler or warmer waters year around & is the convergence point of the Gulf & the Labrador currents which makes it one of the richest places on the east coast for offshore life. Just very grateful to be a part of it all.

Thanks & I hope to meet again soon.

[Persistence2]

Kick-a$$...

Awesome job guys, just awesome

[J_MAN]

Nice work Bill.
Maybe some time I can get down with you. I have my every other weekend off now with my visitation with my son.

I'll give you a call soon.

[Shady Grady]

Sweet Bill
Glad you got'm as ususal
Been a while since this MD boy has been down that way.
How is the PAD.. Finish'd I am sure.
Hope to see you soon if I can get terp off the flatties and out to the blue water again
J