[Shawn Kimbro]

Somewhat out of the area, but thought you might find this interesting. I was fortunate enough to be invited in on a jigging expedition this past weekend. Jim Hensley organized the trip. Jim has a friend with a house on Roanoke Island and the plan was to leave Thursday evening and fish all weekend with the highlight being a tuna jigging charter out of Cape Hatteras. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate. The charter was rescheduled to Sunday and Saturday was a blowout. The rest of the guys fished Friday. I couldn't get off work so drove down late Saturday night. We left Sunday AM fishing with Captain Andy Piland. The crew was Jim, Hillbilly Boater, Rattletrap, Terpheels, Timbo & me. Winds were stronger than expected and steadily increased throughout the day, but we had a great time and non-stop action butterfly jigging amberjack, false albacore, lesser amberjack, tuna, and a few more species which I can't remember. This was my first experience in the Gulf Stream. I was very pleasantly surprised to see the blue 70 degree water. We had hoped for more tuna, but they turned out to be hard to catch. I was amazed at the strength of those amberjacks though. On a whim I took one of my Steve F. rods and a 300 series calcutta to see if it would hold up. The rod held up and the reel survived, but I almost died. Way too much work! Timbo had the hot hand. I think he landed the most fish and the biggest as well as the only blackfin of the day. The video tells the rest of the story. What a blast! I hope it looks like chaos because it was! Thanks to Jim and everyone for a great time.

Note: For better quality picture & sound start the video then click the up arrow then the HQ button.

 

[smellslikefish]

Looks like some fun catching.......I've never seen someone Butterfly Jigging, in real time....looks like that could get tiring:yes:

So you did'nt break out the Powell:yes:?

 

[Roger T]

Shawn,how deep did ya have to drop those jigs?Looks like a blast all right.:yes:

 

[rocksteady]

Nice job fellas ! Man , you can really hear that wind howling .

 

[Hillbilly Boater]

Shawn, That's a great video. I think you missed your calling, you should be out there making a living doing videos. Glad you could make it down, but man you missed a great Super Bowl party in the evening. And for the record, the only reason Tim had the hot hand is that he was the only one crazy enough to try to catch more than 5 or 6 of those reef donkeys. That boy is just one wild, back breaking, cranking fool. Man those things kick your butt. It was a great fun day. Next trip is jigging for 100#+ Blue Fin. Interested?

 

[spynet000]

Shawn that looks pretty SICK man!! Wow! Gonna have to get in on that sometime. Looks like a great time. Nice catching guys:yes::thumbup: And outstanding video! We need more of that kind of footage on the board:yes::clapping2:

 

[skipperwork]

That looks like a blast. I going to try to make it the South Tower this summer and tango with AJ.

Did everybody have to bring there own rods or were they supplied by the boat?

 

[Jay F.]

Wow! Its amazing how close hatteras is and the fish you can catch there in Feb

 

[catman]

Whow! My back is hurt'n just watching):clapping2:...........

 

[Virgil Poe]

Sure put a smile on my face from beginning to end :clapping2:.

 

[Hillbilly Boater]

Shawn,how deep did ya have to drop those jigs?Looks like a blast all right.:yes:

A times we were dropping to 280'. Many times the fish were suspended at 100-150 even though the water was much deeper. We tried to get the jigs to that depth. The rods that where on the boat had color coded line so that you knew how much line you had out.

 

[Shawn Kimbro]

Anywhere from 100 to 200 feet deep or more. Most of the guys brought their own outfits but there were 4 boat rods. Yes, it's tiring as can be. To make matters worse, I was afraid I would get seasick so took a pill that made my arms feel like rubber anyway. Stamina is the better part of valor in that kind of fishing and the spoils go to the strong. Next time I'm in a bar fight I want Timbo on my side!

Oops - Jack and I answered at the same time.

 

[Timbo]

Really great video Shawn! Thanks for putting it together. I enjoyed fishing with you and look forward to our next trip.
I have your rod and will bring it to Tri-State Flea Market next Saturday morning.

This was my first tuna jigging trip and I wanted to make the most of it. I had caught an amberjack once before in The Keys but had never been on this kind of consistent AJ bite so I decided to take advantage of it. And hey, like Whalen says " Pullage is Pullage!" After a few of those reef donkeys I drank one of those little energy drinks and went back at it in the hope of hooking something bigger.
Believe me, I was happy to at least hook the one blackfin. Rob filleted it last night and we seared some of it after we got back from the Superbowl party. It was delicious!

Aaron, the mate said we caught all three local species of jack - amberjack and one each almaco and lesser. We caught many false albacore too. They were all fun!

Special thanks to Jim Hensley for making all the arrangements. I can't say enough about his kindness and generosity.

Many thanks too go to Hillbilly Jack for doing all the driving and bringing his boat down so we could striper fish on Friday. I hope I have his energy when I get that age.

 

[wrenchturner]

So you all ate those jacks?
I have never tried them as their reputation for table fair isn't much, but you never know...

Now if you ate that False albacore, you are a tough cookie!

 

[Scott McGuire]

Awesome Report... and great tune.

I saw Metallica a couple of weeks ago, and they played "whiskey".

 

[TerpHeels]

2 be followed up w/my new video...The DEAD ocean. Man, tuna bites r just hard to find as the mate and I discussed. He said the last 2 yrs down there has been just as bad as up here for a yft bite. We fished in the vacinity of the 240 rocks, probably due to both the wind and water conditions, it was 68 and blended. Typically good for a tuna bite. Perhaps the donkeys r just too thick.

 

[buckle7]

All I can say is WOW!! It doesn't get much better than that! That is exactly the type of trip I hope to go on this year. Great Report Shawn!

 

[JoshKaptur]

Man oh man oh man. I'll be there tomorrow if someone wants to arrange another trip.

Watching those jigs sway in the breeze on the way out was enough for me... and then watching those donkeys horse you guys around. I feel faint.

 

[buckle7]

I second that Josh!!!

 

[twiskman]

Pretty slick Shawn... looks like you guys had a nice time out there!