*** Actual fishing reports are given below. ***

4-23-24. Today on our 5 hr charter in the ocean we caught about 50 Black Sea bass and 50 Bonita and the six anglers were thrilled at the catching of these great eating, tuna-like, hard fighting fish. On our 3 hr inshore charter today, the 5 year old told named Hadlee told her mom this has been her “Best Day Ever” as she and her 10 year old brother caught about 50 croakers and a few trout and whiting. The six anglers had a ball catching and releasing inshore fish and more fish.

4-22-24. Just in from a kid’s inshore charter and caught plenty of bluefish, croakers, pigfish, whiting, black bass, and a sting ray. Will be on a 5 hr ocean charter in the morning trying for Spanish, Bonito, Bluefish and Black Bass. Stay tuned for the report.

4-19-24. On a 2 hr charter on our 27 ft skiff this morning the two kids with three adults caught about 80 fish and were overjoyed and amazed and thrilled. Folks, in a day and time now when kids are oftentimes so hooked on video games and inside computer games, we turn them onto the outside world of fishing and catching and catching and learning, and they fall in love with being outdoors on the water and fishing and these experiences are literally invaluable. Capt Fred and Forest love making lifetime fishermen and fisherladies out of young guys and girls, and adults seem to have even more fun than the kids, so folks, if you visit or live in this area, just give Follow Me Charters a try for a memorable great day. Thank you.

4-14-24. This whole week the ocean is going to be calm, so we can catch lots and lots of fish, especially Atlantic Bonito, Spanish Mackerel, and Black Sea Bass. Just give us a call.

4-10-24. Today and tomorrow and Friday we are adding two next 16 inch Simrad depth recorder/radar/GPS units on the 42 ft. Prowler, a $10K upgrade to our electronics, so we can catch even more fish on offshore trips. When you see the dashboard now on our 42 ft vessel, you will see three 16 inch Simrads, two VHFs, a Stereo unit, and tachs and other gauges. We think you will like the new look.

4-7-24. Just in from a 4 hr ocean fishing charter and caught 50 Black Sea bass and 25 Atlantic bonito and a few bluefish. Really fun morning.

4-5-24.  Better bite today on the Inshore Trips, many croakers, with some flounder, sheepshead, and trout mixed in. A bad storm moved through on the 3rd and there was no fishing that day. The 4th the fish were biting so so, but seems the bite has picked back up.

4-4-24. Back from an inshore trip.  We caught several trout and plenty of croakers but also a bonnet head shark and some black bass. Overall it was a slow bite today in 25 mph winds with white caps in the waterway, but a clear sunny day in which the anglers had a great time. Tomorrow we have a 4 hr ocean charter and a 3 hour inshore charter. Will be lots of fun. Just call us when you can join us for some great fishing.

4-2-24. Just in from two inshore charters, a 3 hr and then a 2 hr trip.  On each trip we caught about 12 grey trout and 50 croakers and a few whiting. Each group of six persons including two 7 year olds on each trip were overjoyed with the fun they had. On the second trip, no one had ever caught a fish before going on this trip. Just call Fred or Forest to have a great time fishing. Tomorrow we have one inshore charter (working around the rain) and Thursday we have three trips, and Friday we will be running ocean trips again as the wind settles down.

4-1-24. Just in from a 3 hr. charter inshore and caught 3 grey trout, 125 croakers, 4 whiting, some spots, and a few other fish. The two guys fishing were delighted and caught fish nonstop, and are coming back later this week with family and friends to charter another 3 hr. trip. Just call Fred or Forest to have a great time fishing.

3-30-24. Just in from a 3 hr. charter inshore and caught 5 grey trout, over 50 croakers, some nice whiting, and the pinfish and pigfish are showing up too as the water temp has just reached 60 degrees. We also saw several large dolphin in the waterway. Both the 21 and 27 are US Coast Guard rated for 12 passengers (only 6 paying customers allowed on a charter) so there is plenty of room for everyone and these are extremely stable platforms with zero chance of getting seasick back in the creeks we fish.  Folks, next week is to be great for inshore fishing. Just give Fred or Forest a call. We wish every child in America could go fishing with us and experience catching, catching, and catching more fish. We hope you all have a wonderful Easter too. Thank you Jesus for being who you said you were. Fred will be at a sunrise service in the morning at a local Baptist church.

3-29-24. Just in from a 3 hr charter on our 27 ft skiff back in the creeks and caught 12 gray trout and over 50 croakers. This trend should hold for the next two weeks with whiting also biting. Just give Capt. Fred or Capt. Forest a call. A beautiful weather week shaping up for next week.

3-21-24. Just in from a 4 hr charter. Caught Atlantic Bonito, Black Bass, and Octopus. Plenty for supper. Pretty rough ocean for the 3 and 6 and 10 year old onboard but they handled it great and had a great time catching over 50 fish total. Fishing in our 42 ft Cat is really stable and a great experience.

3-20-24. We have a 4 hr charter in the morning targeting Atlantic Bonito, Black Bass, and Red Drum. Stay tuned for our fishing report.

3-13-24. Just in from an 8 hr charter. We caught big black bass, gray snapper, pink snapper, triggerfish, and grouper but the current was running so hard out 50 miles that a 16 ounce weight would not hold on the bottom, but it was a beautiful day on the water with dolphin playing and turtles looking around and amberjack cruising wrecks at many spots outside of 40 miles.

3-12-24. Tomorrow we have an 8 hr charter. Stay tuned for our fishing report. Thursday and Friday the ocean will be flat calm. Give us a call if you want to go catch a lot of fish.

3-10-24. These next five days are great for fishing in the ocean with calm seas expected and the black bass and red drum biting really good as well as 4 ft sharks. Our 4 hour trip in the ocean is great and even our 5, 8, and 11 hour trips which puts us also then on lots of gray snapper and bigger bass and some trolling for albacore. Just give us a call.

2-25-24.  Go to our Facebook page and see the red drum that we caught yesterday on a 4 hr, charter in the ocean. Just in from a 4 hr trip in the ocean. Caught all the spiny dogfish sharks you want, and 4 keeper big black bass, and a 37 inch red drum, and 70 bass that we released. Lots of fun catching and catching. We have all new electronics on our 42 ft Prowler for this season that actually has already started, so we are happy and ready to go.

2-22-24. We have an inshore charter Saturday and a 4 hr. offshore charter on Sunday. Stay tuned for fishing report postings. Folks are booking trips regularly now for the upcoming Spring and Summer. Give us a call or book online. We are catching plenty of big Black Sea bass and red snapper now on our 4 and 5 hr. charters in the ocean. Give Capt. Fred a call at 910-612-5343 if you want to go ocean fishing with on our big 42 ft. Prowler Cat, catching likely over 100 fish on each trip. Capt. Fred and first mate Charlie will lead all 2024 Follow Me trips in the ocean, while Capt. Forest runs charter trips daily inshore on our 27 ft. skiff. We strive to make every charter a very memorable great time catching rather than hoping to catch, so give us a try whenever you have availability.

1-19-24. Folks are booking trips regularly now for the upcoming Spring and Summer. Give us a call or book online. We are catching plenty of big Black Sea bass and red snapper now on our 4 and 5 hr. charters in the ocean. Give Capt. Fred a call at 910-612-5343 if you want to go ocean fishing with on our big 42 ft. Prowler Cat, catching likely over 100 fish on each trip. Capt. Fred and first mate Charlie will lead all 2024 Follow Me trips in the ocean, while Capt. Forest runs charter trips daily inshore on our 27 ft. skiff.

1-13-24. We are catching plenty of big Black Sea bass and red snapper on our 4 hr. charters in the ocean. Tomorrow (Sunday) and Monday and actually this whole week, the weather forecast is great for nice calm seas, so give Capt. Fred a call at 910-612-5343 if you want to go ocean fishing with on our big 42 ft. Prowler Cat, catching likely over 100 fish on a 4 hr. trip.

1-1-24. We are catching plenty of big Black Sea bass and red snapper on our 4 hr. charters in the ocean. For Wednesday through Friday of this week, the weather forecast is for nice calm seas, so give Capt. Fred a call at 910-612-5343 if you want to go fishing on our big 42 ft. Prowler Cat. Happy New Year everybody.

12-30-23. We are still catching the fish great on our 4 hr. charters in the ocean. Plenty of big Black Sea bass and red snapper. Fishing back in the creeks and river is too slow to go right now. However, this Sunday through Wednesday the weather forecast is for a calm nice ocean,  so give Capt. Fred a call at 910-612-5343 if you want to go fishing on our big 42 ft. Prowler Cat. Happy New Year everybody and thank you thank you for being among our 100+ charters that we took in 2023; if you did not get to go in 2023, our 21 ft., 27 ft., and 42 ft. boats are in the water ready to go anytime.

12-27-23. We are really catching the fish on our 4 hr. charters in the ocean. Plenty of big Black Sea bass and red snapper. Fishing back in the creeks and river is too slow to go right now. Sunday and Monday and Tuesday the weather forecast is great for the ocean so give Capt. Fred a call at 910-612-5343 if you want to go fishing in the ocean on our big 42 ft. Prowler Cat. Happy New Year everybody and thank you thank you for being among our 100+ charters that we took in 2023, and if you did not get to go in 2023, we have 3 boats in the water ready to go anytime that you can give Follow Me a try.

12-24-23. Today we took a 4 hr charter in the ocean and caught plenty of big red snapper plus 10 keeper big black bass and about 100 black bass that we released, plus one grouper. Folks, the fish are out there and we know where they are in the ocean on a four hour trip, so just give Fred a call at 910-612-5343. Thank you thank you.

12-4-23. Give someone a Follow Me Fishing Trip or Cruise via a Christmas Gift Card. Just call Fred or Forest anytime for details. We offer nonstop catching on virtually all our fishing trips. It is the perfect Christmas Gift. You and your group will love fishing on the Follow Me with Capt Fred or Capt Forest who lead every trip. All three of our boats, the 42 ft., 27 ft., and 21 ft. are in the water ready to go on a minutes notice year-round.

11-19-23. Just finished up a 3 hr inshore charter on our 27 ft. skiff and kept and cleaned 19 big croakers and whitings. We released 50 smaller fish. Thursday thru Saturday are looking great for ocean fishing. Call Fred 910-612-5343 if you want to go. Thank you.

11-17-23. If you ever have trouble booking a Follow Me trip online, just call Capt Fred or Capt Forest and you will be good to go. The ocean is going to be really calm this coming Sunday for great fishing.

11-16-23. If you ever have trouble booking a trip online here, just call Capt Fred or Capt Forest and you will be good to go.

11-15-23. For the next few days the ocean will be too rough to fish but we can take you on an inshore charter.  Next ocean good day will be Sunday 4 hr ocean trip to catch a hundred Black Sea bass , a few snapper, and likely sharks. Just call us anytime for nonstop catching, on virtually all our fishing trips, seriously, nonstop catching. You and your group will love fishing on the Follow Me with Capt Fred or Capt Forest who lead every trip. All three of our boats, the 42 ft., 27 ft., and 21 ft. are in the water ready to go on a minutes notice.

11-11-23. Yesterday on an 8 hr charter we caught 18 big keeper black bass and a dozen big snapper and some smaller fish. The six guys had a great time with nonstop catching although most of the fish were released. Our 4 hr trip yesterday got cancelled today..

11-10-23. We are running an 8 hr. ocean charter today and a 4 hr. ocean charter tomorrow. All three of our boats, the 42 ft., 27 ft., and 21 ft. are in the water ready to go. Just give us a call for what usually is nonstop catching fish on Follow Me charters.

10-31-23. Getting ready today for a 5 hr ocean fishing charter Friday.

10-29-23. Just finished up a 2 hr bury ashes cruise off Sunset Beach. Went out of Little River Inlet and came in Shallotte Inlet. Saw many many pelicans diving near OIB pier so pogys are still on the beach.

10-28-23. We ran a 5 hr charter offshore today and caught plenty of red snapper, Black Sea bass, triggerfish, and vermillion snapper.

10-27-23. We ran a 3 hr inshore trip today and caught a lot of black drum, grey trout, flounder, and whiting.

10-22-23. Today we have a cruise that begins at 1pm. Folks, tomorrow thru Thursday, I am pretty sure we can put you on nonstop catching Spanish Mackerel on a 4 hr ocean trip, along with plenty of Black Sea bass and sharks. If you want to go just call Capt Fred 910-612-5343.

10-21-23. Capt. Forest is just in from a 3 hr inshore fishing trip and caught plenty of keeper grey trout and keeper big croakers and many other small fish.

10-20-23. Folks, this coming Monday thru Thursday, I am pretty sure we can put you on nonstop catching Spanish Mackerel on a 4 hr ocean trip. If you want to go just call Capt Fred 910-612-5343.

10-19-23. Just in from an ocean charter out 20 miles and loaded up on big Black Sea bass and trigger fish and vermillion snapper, and then came in and caught Spanish mackerel 4 at a time near the inlet. Folks, the Fall fishing is here and great. Just give us a call.

10-18-23. We are getting the tackle and 42 ft Prowler ready for a fishing trip tomorrow out 24 miles.

10-15-23. Really calm seas all this upcoming week and we are available. The fish are biting great. Just give us a call. Folks, on all Follow Me fishing trips inshore and offshore, we strive to achieve nonstop catching and fun. Give us a try both inshore and offshore for a great time.

10-14-23. We ran a 4 hr inshore fishing trip today up Shallotte River and caught and cleaned 18 puffers and about 50 other small fish. We expect really calm seas all this upcoming week and are available. Just give us a call.

10-13-23. We expect Sunday through Thursday to offer really calm seas. Just give us a call. Today we ran a sunset cruise and tomorrow we have an inshore 3 hr. trip. Folks, my wife of 45 years, Joy, is an excellent Realtor on OIB with Coldwell Banker; if anyone is interested in buying or selling a property just give Joy a call at 910-612-5194. Thank you.

10-12-23. Capt. Forest and Capt. Fred have been in Costa Rica a few days mahi fishing, but now are back here at OIB with our three boats in the water ready to go. We have a sunset cruise both this evening and tomorrow evening. The Spanish Mackerel are biting really good on the beach so give us a call to go get them.

10-5-23. Just in from a 4 hr trip in the ocean and caught another 25 Spanish Mackerel, 3 sharks, several bluefish, and some Black Sea bass. The three adult men anglers from Lexington, Kentucky were thrilled with nonstop catching.

10-3-23. Just in from a 5 hr trip in the ocean and caught 25 Spanish Mackerel, 10 sharks, 2 false albacore, and a bunch of Black Sea bass. The five adult men anglers from Arizona were thrilled with nonstop catching.

10-2-23.  On our 3 hr inshore charter this morning we caught over 120 fish of many different species, including 1 mutton snapper, 28 puffers, 1 whiting, many croakers, the largest pigfish I have ever seen, a sea robin, and probably 60 pinfish. The six adults had a pure blast catching two at a time basically nonstop. Capt Fred took off all 120+ fish and baited up about 250 hooks. Folks, this is what we do on all Follow Me trips to achieve nonstop catching and fun. Give us a try both inshore and offshore for a great time.

10-1-23. We are running two sunset cruises today. Tomorrow we have a 3 hr morning inshore trip and Tuesday we have a 5 hr offshore trip, but we are available Wednesday to fish inshore or offshore; just give us a call. This morning we caught 50 lbs of finger mullet in the ICW for use both on inshore and offshore charters.

9-30-23. We had a 5 hr. charter offshore and two 3 hr. trips inshore charter today. Offshore we caught plenty of Black Sea bass, sharks, and little tunny (false albacore). Inshore we caught over 50 fish of many different species on each trips, including lots of trout, puffers, whiting, and croakers. Flounder season ended today. Tomorrow we have two sunset cruises.

9-29-23. We had a 5 hr. charter offshore and a 3 hr. trip inshore charter today. Offshore we caught plenty of Black Sea bass, sharks, triggerfish, red snapper, and Spanish mackerel. Inshore we caught over 50 fish of many different species. Tomorrow we have two 3 hr inshore trips and a 5 hr. offshore trip.

9-28-23. Today we are getting our tackle and 42 ft. Prowler ready for a 5 hr. charter tomorrow followed by a 5 hr. charter fishing Saturday morning and a spread ashes charter Saturday afternoon..

9-27-23. Just finished up a 2 hr charter with six folks including a 6 yr old and 11 yr old. They caught 70 fish from 5 different species including a big keeper black drum caught by Lila, the 6 yr old who won a free t-shirt. Tons of action and fun, actually nonstop two-at-a-time action. We are available Friday and Saturday for inshore fishing on our 27 ft. skiff; just give us a call.

9-26-23. Today we are making rigs and doing routine maintenance on rods, reels, tackle, and boats.

9-25-23. Just finished a 4 hr. ocean charter this morning departed at 8am on our 42 ft. Cat. Caught a 20 lb king mackerel and 75 Black Sea Bass and an octopus and a big rabbit fish. Lots of fun especially for the 6 and 12 year old but also for the mom and dad. We put the four on nonstop catching. We are available to take you fishing inshore or offshore with our three boats that are in the water ready to go. We have one 2 hr charter tomorrow and an 8 hr offshore trip Friday.

9-24-23. Just finished up a 2 hr. inshore trip on our 27 ft. boat and caught about 60 fish from six species: black drum, pinfish, puffers, perch, pigfish, and croakers. That was a lot of catching this morning inshore and a lot of fun. We cleaned big puffers and black drum for the folks, that included a 1 year old and a 6 year old. The ocean is to be really calm the next few days and we are available to take you fishing inshore or offshore with lots of catching.

9-22-23. No fishing today or tomorrow as the Ophelia storm passes offshore, but we have an inshore trip this Sunday and an 8 hr and 5 hr trip next week and two sunset cruises; our 3 boats are in the water ready to go. Just give us a call. This Monday and Tuesday look great with a calm ocean and we are available for fishing those days in the ocean and/or back in the creeks. (Happy birthday today Capt. Fred who turns 52 (+20).

9-21-23. Just finished up a 2 hr. inshore trip today on our 21 ft. boat and caught about 60 fish from four species: pinfish, puffers, pigfish, and croakers. That was a lot of catching this morning inshore and a lot of fun. The 6 year old said its the best best day of his vacation.

9-20-23. We have been out of town a few days but we have an inshore charter tomorrow. All three of our boats are in the water and ready to go. Just give us a call or book online at this website.

9-16-23. Just finished up a 4 hr charter in the ocean. Caught some Black Sea bass, 1 shark, and 1 trout but no snapper or grouper today. Fish not biting good out ten miles. Water too dingy from Hurricane Lee. Slowest fishing day for us in ocean in over a year.

9-14-23. Folks we are taking a break today from fishing to let hurricane Lee pass by, but please know that fishing on the Follow Me is all about “catching and catching” rather than “hunting and hoping.” This is a huge difference when fishing on the Follow Me vs almost all other charter boats. I think you are going to love going fishing on the Follow Me. Just ask any one of the more than a thousand anglers who have fished on the Follow Me and they will tell you they experienced “nonstop catching and catching” while immensely enjoying being around Capt. Forest or Capt. Fred. Give us a try this Fall if you can for what very likely will become an annual or semi-annual fishing trip you will want to take every year. Just read any of the hundreds of actual fishing reports we posted here to know what to expect. Thank you thank you.

9-13-23. Just finished up a 4 hr charter in the ocean. Caught about 100 Black Sea bass including 1 big keeper, five sharks (we kept 2), a big porgy, a keeper grouper (24 inches), and a triggerfish. We cleaned up the fish and packed and delivered them to the folks, as we always do after cleaning the fish. Tons of catching, actually nonstop catching, again on the Follow Me and tons of fun, anchored by the free Follow Me T-shirt giveaway contests.

9-12-23. Just finished up an 8 hr charter in the ocean. Caught 60 Black Sea bass including 10 big 3 lb. keepers, 8 big 10 lb. red snapper that we released after venting them properly, 6 vermillion snapper, 2 amberjack, a big porgy, and 4 gray snapper. We cleaned up the fish and packed them and delivered them to the folks, as we always do after cleaning the fish. Tons of catching on the Follow Me and tons of fun, anchored by the free Follow Me T-shirt giveaway contests.

9-11-23. Just finished up an 8 hr charter in the ocean. Caught 90 Black Sea bass including 20 big 3 lb. keepers, 25 big 10 lb. red snapper that we released after venting them properly, 6 big triggerfish, 6 vermillion snapper, and 4 gray snapper. We cleaned up the fish and packed them and delivered them to the folks staying on Ocean Isle, as we always do after cleaning the fish. Tons of catching on the Follow Me and tons of fun.

9-9-23. Just finished up a 4 hr charter in the ocean. Only two anglers. Lots of rain. Caught 60 Black Sea bass and Spanish Mackerel. No sharks, snapper, or grouper.

9-8-23. Just finished up a 5 hr charter in the ocean. Caught 180 Black Sea bass, 2 big red snapper, a rabbit fish, and a 70 inch sailfish that put on a 20 minute show for us including five jumps. We released the sailfish at the boat. Tons of catching and tons of fun. Two young men won a free Follow Me t-shirt, one for the biggest fish (the sailfish) and one for the most fish (50 bass) – that we give away on every Follow Me fishing charter. Our next open day is Sunday and the ocean is nice and calm, and the companionship and joy is wonderful.

9-6-23. Just finished up a 5 hr charter in the ocean. Caught 160 Black Sea bass, 2 octopus, 2 grouper, a big red snapper, a moray eel, a huge triggerfish, and 8 false albacore (little tunny). We cleaned up the albacore and packed them and delivered them to the folks staying on Ocean Isle, as we always do after cleaning the fish. Tons of catching and tons of fun. Two young adults won a free Follow Me t-shirt, one for the biggest fish ( the triggerfish) and one for the most fish (42) – that we give away on every Follow Me fishing charter. Our next open day is tomorrow and the ocean is nice and calm, and the hospitality and interaction is wonderful.

9-5-23. Just finished up a 4 hr charter in the ocean. Caught 80 Black Sea bass, 2 sharks, 2 grouper, and a 10 lb. red snapper. Tons of catching and tons of fun. The elderly couple is all we had onboard today, and they each won a free Follow Me t-shirt, one for the biggest fish and one for the most fish – that we give away on every Follow Me fishing charter. Our next open day is Thursday and the ocean is nice and calm.

9-3-23. Just finished up a 4 hr charter in the ocean. Caught 80 Black Sea bass, 2 sharks, 2 big grouper, and a rabbitfish. Tons of catching and tons of fun. Teenagers won both of the free Follow Me t-shirts, one for the biggest fish and one for the most fish – that we give away on every Follow Me fishing charter. Also, we just finished up a 3 hr. inshore trip today on our 27 ft. boat and caught about 60 fish from many different species, including black bass, grey trout, pinfish, puffers, pigfish, whiting, spots, croakers, and more. That was a lot of catching this morning both offshore and inshore. This evening we will run a sunset cruise on the 42 ft. boat and the folks will have a great time. Just give us a call for a blast whenever you are available.

9-2-23. Today we will run two 3 hr charters inshore and tomorrow one 3 hr trip on our 27 along with one 4 hr trip in the ocean on our 42 ft cat. But Monday we can accommodate anyone; just give us a call for lots of fishing action. Thank you.

9-1-23. Just finished up a 3 hr. inshore trip today on our 27 ft. boat and caught about 60 fish from many different species, including black bass, grey trout, pinfish, puffers, pigfish, whiting, spots, croakers, and more. That was a lot of catching this morning inshore. We will be running two of these inshore trips tomorrow, but we are open for a 4 or 5 hr trip tomorrow in the ocean on our 42 ft cat. Ocean will be calm tomorrow and the fish are biting.

8-31-23. No charters today. Just regrouping after Idalia storm, but we are running charters tomorrow and Sunday. The fish are hungry and our three boats are in the water ready to go. Just give us a call now to reserve a really calm ocean fishing trip Monday morning.

8-30-23. A lot of wind and rain here today from Idalia but no damage to our boats with all three boats, our 42, 27, and 21, being still in the water and ready to go. We were fortunate and thankful here. The fish may be hungrier now as the storm passes and calm waters return.

8-29-23. Just finished up two 2 hr trips on our 21 ft boat and caught about 50 fish on each trip, comprising 7 different species on each trip, including keeper croakers and whitings, and nonstop two-at-a-time action as everyone loved the experience.

8-28-23. Just finished up a 4 hr charter in the ocean. Caught 80 Black Sea bass, 2 sharks, 2 octopus, 1 grouper, and 2 big red snapper. Tons of catching and tons of fun. A young lady named Morgan won both of the free Follow Me t-shirts, one for the biggest fish and one for the most fish – that we give away on every Follow Me fishing charter. This evening we ran a sunset cruise on the 42 ft. boat and the folks from Lenoir, NC had a great time.

8-27-23. Our next available day for chartering is Wednesday. Today we are refurbishing boats and tackle.

8-26-23. Right now Forest is running a 6 hr cruise charter on our 27 ft. boat to Barefoot Landing carrying six ladies, but tomorrow and Monday there will be a calm ocean for fishing; just give us a call to fish or cruise.

8-25-23. Forest is running a 6 hr trip Saturday (tomorrow) on our 27 ft. boat to Barefoot Landing carrying six ladies, but Fred is available tomorrow or Sunday for fishing either inshore or in a calm ocean offshore; just give Fred a call to fish or cruise this weekend.

8-24-23. Today we ran a 3 hr trip on our 27 ft boat in the morning and a 4 hr dinner cruise on our 42 ft boat in the evening. On the 3 hr trip the third grader informed th whole boat after she caught 25 fish that this was the best day of the week of her vacation, and on the 4 hr dinner cruise the folks from Troy, NC wrote up a 5 star review for us within an hour of ending the trip. Both charters were fun fun fun as all charters are on the Follow Me.

8-23-23. Tomorrow we run a 3 hr trip on our 27 ft boat and a 4 hr dinner cruise on our 42 ft boat. Both charters will be fun fun fun as all charters are on the Follow Me.

8-22-23. The ocean is rough today, but is going to be calm tomorrow and Friday and Saturday. Give us a call to go catch plenty of Black Sea bass, snapper, and sharks on a 4 or 5 hr trip to experience nonstop catching on the Follow Me. This morning Capt Fred ran two “spread ashes in the sea” charters on our 42 ft. boat and the folks from Pittsburg (6 different folks on each trip from the same family) said “I could not imagine you (Capt. Fred) doing a better job for us. Thank you thank you.” May Jennifer’s spirit Rest In Peace at her ashes site.

8-21-23. The ocean is going to be calm all this week. Give us a call to go catch all the Black Sea bass, snapper, and sharks you want on a 4 or 5 hr trip to experience nonstop catching on the Follow Me. This evening we ran a sunset cruise on the 42 ft. boat and the folks from Kansas City had a great time.

8-20-23. We just finished up a 4 hr. fishing charter on our 42  ft. Prowler Cat and caught Black Sea bass and grey snapper nonstop. We also just finished up a 2 hr. inshore trip today on our 21 ft. boat and caught about 60 fish from many different species, including black bass, grey trout, pinfish, puffers, pigfish, whiting, spots, croakers, and more. That was a lot of catching today inshore and offshore and fun fun fun for all.

8-19-23. The ocean is going to be calm the next few days. Give us a call to go catch all the Black Sea bass, snapper, and sharks you want on a 4 or 5 hr trip to experience nonstop catching on the Follow Me rather than hunting and hoping with somebody else.

8-18-23. We just finished up two 3 hr. inshore trips today on our new 27 ft boat and 21 ft boat and caught about 60 fish from many different species on each trip, including black bass, grey trout, pinfish, 20 keeper puffers, pigfish, whiting, spots, keeper croakers, silver eels, sea robins, bluefish, and more. That was a lot of catching today inshore and fun fun fun for all.

8-17-23. We just finished up a 3 hr. inshore trip today on our new 27 ft boat and caught about 70 fish from many different species, including pompano, grey trout, pinfish, puffers, pigfish, toadfish, whiting, spots, big croakers, and more. That was a lot of catching today inshore and fun fun fun for all. We also ran a 2 hr. sunset cruise this evening that went great.

8-15-23. We just finished up two 3 hr. inshore trips today on our new 27 ft boat and caught about 70 fish from many different species on each trip, including bonnet head sharks, sharpnose sharks, spadefish, pompano, grey trout, pinfish, 10 keeper puffers, pigfish, porcupine puffers, whiting, spots, 20 keeper size croakers, and more. That was a lot of catching today inshore and fun fun fun for all.

8-14-23. We just finished up two 3 hr. inshore trips today on our new 27 ft boat and caught about 60 fish from many different species on each trip, including 5 grouper, 5 black bass, grey trout, pinfish, 10 keeper puffers, pigfish, porcupine puffers, whiting, spots, 20 keeper croakers, and more. That was a lot of catching today inshore and fun fun fun for all.

8-13-23. On our 4 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught 1 octopus and about 100 Black Sea bass including two keepers over 13 inches. No sharks, grouper, or snapper this morning which was very unusual. We had two sunset cruises this evening taking two boats since a group of twelve. The folks switched out boats up Calabash River after viewing Little River from the water. Tons of fun.

8-12-23. We just finished up a 2 hr. inshore trip today on our new 27 ft boat and caught about 60 fish from many different species, including a ten pound butter ray, grey trout, ribbonfish, bluefish, sea robins, pinfish, puffers, pigfish, black bass, porcupine puffers, whiting, spots, croakers, and more. That was a lot of catching today inshore and fun fun fun for all.

8-11-23. On our 4 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught 2 octopus, 4 grouper, 2 red snapper, one shark, and about 80 Black Sea bass. We also just finished up a 2 hr. inshore trip today on our new 27 ft boat and caught about 60 fish from many different species, including trout, ribbonfish, bluefish, sea robins, pinfish, puffers, pigfish, black bass, porcupine puffers, whiting, spots, croakers, and more. That was a lot of catching again today both inshore and offshore and fun fun fun for all.

8-9-23. On our 4 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught 90+ Black Sea bass and a rabbitfish. We also just finished up two 3 hr. inshore trips today on our new 27 ft boat and caught about 60 fish from many different species on each trip, including bonnethead sharks, sting rays, trout, bluefish, sea robins, pinfish, puffers, pigfish, black bass, porcupine puffers, whiting, spots, croakers, and more. We caught three trout on each inshore trip today. That was a lot of catching again today both inshore and offshore and fun fun fun for all.

8-6-23. On our 4 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught 3 sharks, 2 octopus, and about 100 Black Sea bass. The anglers did not want to keep fish so we released everything. That was a lot of catching again today offshore and fun fun fun for all, including the 3 nine year old anglers onboard.

8-5-23. On our 5 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught 1 big shark, 1 small grouper, and 170 Black Sea bass. We filleted the shark for the anglers. That was a lot of catching again today offshore and fun fun fun for all.

8-4-23. Just finished up two 3 hr. inshore trips today on our new 27 ft boat and 21 ft.boat and caught about 60 fish from many different species on each trip, including bonnethead sharks, sting rays, bluefish, sea robins, pinfish, puffers, pigfish, black bass, porcupine puffers, whiting, perch, spots, lizardfish, and croakers. That was a lot of catching again today inshore as the anglers had nonstop fun fun fun for all.

8-3-23. On our 4 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught 2 keeper sharks, 1 grouper, and 65 Black Sea bass. We filleted the shark for the anglers. We also just finished up three (3) 3 hr. inshore trip today on our new 27 ft boat and 21ft.boat and caught about 60 fish from many different species on each trip, including bonnethead sharks, sting rays, bluefish, sea robins, pinfish, puffers, pigfish, black bass, porcupine puffers, whiting, spots, croakers, and more. That was a lot of catching again today both inshore and offshore and fun fun fun for all.

8-2-23. On our 5 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught 2 big keeper sharks, 5 grouper one being a keeper of 24 inches, 1 big red snapper, and 90 Black Sea bass. We filleted the sharks for the anglers and the grouper. We also just finished up three (3) 3 hr. inshore trip today on our new 27 ft boat and caught about 60 fish from many different species on each trip, including bonnethead sharks, sting rays, bluefish, sea robins, pinfish, puffers, pigfish, black bass, porcupine puffers, and more. That was a lot of catching again today both inshore and offshore and fun fun fun for all.

8-1-23. Folks please know that we are running multiple trips every day on all three of our boats, but you always get Capt. Forest or Capt. Fred on the boat. A great aspect on all Follow Me fishing trips both inshore and offshore is that each angler on the boat gets their own fishing pole and fishes nonstop to the extent they want to, –  rather than the anglers basically just watching a first mate and/or captain do the fishing as is customary on most charter boats, and rather than hunting and hoping for fish to bite. This is a huge benefit of fishing on the Follow Me. We have literally hundreds of anglers who go fishing with Follow Me every year for the reason just mentioned, and to catch scores and scores of fish.

7-27-23. We just finished up a 3 hr. inshore trip today on both our new 27 ft boat and 21 ft. skiff and caught about 60 fish from many different species on each trip, including sharks, sting rays, bluefish, sea robins, pinfish, puffers, pigfish, black bass and more. The black drum are biting good says Capt. Forest. That was a lot of catching again today inshore and fun fun fun for all. Folks please know that a great aspect on all Follow Me fishing trips both inshore and offshore is that each angler on the boat gets their own fishing pole and fishes nonstop to the extent they want to, –  rather than the anglers basically just watching a first mate and/or captain do the fishing as is customary on most charter boats, and rather than hunting and hoping for fish to bite. We have literally hundreds of anglers who go fishing with Follow Me every year for the reason just mentioned, and to catch scores and scores of fish. Folks, we bent a prop on our 42 ft. boat and new propellor is to be installed this weekend.

7-25-23. On our 4 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught 1 big shark, 3 grouper, 3 red snapper, and 80 Black Sea bass. We filleted the shark for the anglers. We also just finished up a 3 hr. inshore trip today on our new 27 ft boat and caught about 60 fish from many different species on each trip, including sharks, sting rays, bluefish, sea robins, pinfish, puffers, pigfish, black bass and more. That was a lot of catching again today both inshore and offshore and fun fun fun for all. Folks please know that a great aspect on all Follow Me fishing trips both inshore and offshore is that each angler on the boat gets their own fishing pole and fishes nonstop to the extent they want to, –  rather than the anglers basically just watching a first mate and/or captain do the fishing as is customary on most charter boats. We have literally hundreds of anglers who go fishing with Follow Me every year for the reason just mentioned, and to catch scores and scores of fish.

7-24-23. On our 5 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught 2 big sharks and 80 Black Sea bass. We filleted the sharks for the anglers. We also just finished up a 3 hr. inshore trip today on our new 27 ft boat and caught about 60 fish from many different species, including sharks, sting rays, bluefish, sea robins, pinfish, puffers, pigfish, black bass and more. That was a lot of catching again today both inshore and offshore and fun fun fun for all. Folks please know that a great aspect on all Follow Me fishing trips both inshore and offshore is that each angler on the boat gets their own fishing pole and fishes nonstop to the extent they want to, –  rather than the anglers basically just watching a first mate and/or captain do the fishing as is customary on most charter boats. We have literally hundreds of anglers who go fishing with Follow Me every year for the reason just mentioned, and to catch scores and scores of fish.

7-23-23. Really busy here chartering every day. On our 4 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught 3 grouper, 1 shark, a 10 lb. red snapper, and 90 Black Sea bass, and we released everything except the 40 inch shark. Our next open day on our 42 ft. boat is Saturday and the next open day on our 27 ft. skiff is Friday. We run this week two 6 hr. cruises to Baldhead Island on our 42 ft. cat. Read about the fun on that trip. Just give us a call.

7-20-23. On our 4 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught 3 grouper, 1 shark, and 70 Black Sea bass, and we released everything except a 25 inch grouper, a 40 inch shark, and 2 black bass that we filleted for the anglers. We also just finished up two inshore trips today on our new 27 ft boat and caught about 60 fish on each trip from many different species. That was a lot of catching again today and fun fun fun for all.

7-19-23. On our 5 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught 3 grouper, 1 shark, and 90 Black Sea bass, and we released everything except the shark and 2 black bass that we filleted for the anglers. The gag grouper was 23 inches at our spot 10 miles offshore but gags need to be 24 inches to keep. We also just finished up two inshore trips today on our new 27 ft boat and caught about 60 fish on each trip from many different species. That was a lot of catching again today and fun fun fun for all.

7-18-23. On our 5 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught 5 red snapper, 3 grouper, 2 sharks, 1 gray snapper, and 110 Black Sea bass, and we released everything except the sharks and gray snapper that we filleted for the anglers. We also just finished up two inshore trips today on our new 27 ft boat and caught about 60 fish on each trip from many different species. That was a lot of catching again today and fun fun fun for all.

7-17-23. On our 4 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught 3 red snapper, 2 grouper, 2 sharks, 1 gray snapper, and 120 Black Sea bass, and we released everything except the sharks and gray snapper that we filleted for the anglers. We also just finished up an inshore trip today on our new 27 ft boat and caught about 60 fish from many different species. That was a lot of catching again today and fun fun fun for all.

7-13-23. On our 4 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught red snapper, sharks, and Black Sea bass, and we released everything. One guy named Trent caught 35 bass, 2 grouper, and 1 red snapper by himself as his five family members could not quite keep up with that effort, in search of the two Follow Me t-shirts we give away on every fishing trip. Lots of fun again today.

7-12-23. On our 4 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught red snapper and Black Sea bass, and we released everything except 3 keeper bass that we filleted for the anglers. We are also just finished up two inshore trips today on our new 27 ft boat and caught about 60 fish on each trip from many different species. That was a lot of catching today and fun fun fun for all.

7-11-23. On our 4 hr. charter this morning in the ocean we caught red snapper, sharks, and Black Sea bass, and we released everything except 2 keeper bass and 1 shark that we filleted for the anglers. We also just finished up 4, that’s four, inshore trips today on our new 27 ft boat and 21 ft boat and caught about 60 fish on each trip from many different species. That was a lot of catching today and fun fun fun for all.

7-10-23. Been busy running charters which is great. Just in from a 4 hr. trip on our 42 ft. Prowler and caught a 40 inch red drum, a 20 inch grouper, 3 red snapper, 6 sharks, and about 100 Black Sea bass. Another morning of catching, catching, and catching. Among all those fish, we released everything except 3 sharks which we filleted up for the anglers. Each time we release a fish, he and she fishes say “thank you thank you; we will bite again when you return.” Forest and Fred are running five charters tomorrow on three boats.

7-7-23. Just in from a 5 hr. trip on our 42 ft. Prowler and caught 3 grouper, 5 red snapper, over a 100 black bass, and misc. fish and saw two sharks and two turtles near the boat. For the first time this summer, I saw acres of ocean pogies near the inlet with pelicans diving all over them. Tomorrow we have a 10 hr. charter in the ocean going out towards Frying Pan Tower. Stay tuned for the report.

7-5-23. Just getting in from two 3 hr. trips on our 27 ft. skiff with the 17 ft. top and caught over a 100 fish of ten different species, including bluefish and whitings especially and a 20 pound ray. Also, just finished up two, 2 hr. trips on our 21 ft. boat and caught small fish nonstop. Very exciting day of nonstop catching catching and catching in the creeks, ICW, the inlet, and up Shallotte River.It is our privilege and honor to get to know you and your family and friends on fishing and cruising charters. We would appreciate you clicking the bold link below and writing a review for us if you enjoyed your trip(s) with us. Thank you and thank you.

Google Link Review

7-4-23. Just getting in from two 3 hr. trips on our 27 ft. skiff with the 17 ft. top and caught over a 100 fish of ten different species. Very exciting day of nonstop catching catching and catching in the creeks, ICW, and up Shallotte River.

7-3-23. Just in from a 5 hr. fishing trip on our 42 ft. Prowler and caught plenty of Black Sea bass, red snapper, grouper, flounder, and sharks. Also just getting in from two 3 hr. trips on our 27 ft. skiff with the 17 ft. top and caught over a 100 fish of ten different species. Very exciting day of nonstop catching catching and catching both inshore and out in the ocean.

7-2-23. Just in from an 8 hr. trip on our 42 ft. Prowler and caught 25 red snapper, 45 black bass, a barracuda, an amberjack, a grouper, a triggerfish, a remora, a few vermillion snapper, a few gray snapper, and a few other fish. About 20 of the black bass were over the required 13 inches so we kept and cleaned them for the anglers and we kept the snappers (red snapper season is closed and were released). We released everything else. Lots of steady action all day.

6-29-23. Just in from a 5 hr. charter on our 42 ft. Prowler and caught 3 grouper, 6 red snapper, 12 sharks, a big bluefish, 85 black bass, and the biggest Sea Robin I have ever seen.

6-28-23. Just finished up a 3 hr. charter and a 2 hr. charter inshore and caught fish nonstop of ten different species including several big fish that fought hard for 20 minutes each. We routinely catch big sting rays and big sharks but did not see the big ones today. Could have been big redfish or big bluefish as those are around also.

6-27-23. Just in from a 3hr. charter on our 27 ft. skiff and caught 2 big bluefish and 2 big whiting that Forest cleaned up for the folks, and caught 50 other fish of eight species that we released to swim another day. Tomorrow we are booked for three trips on the 27 ft. boat, but we are available for a 4 hr. or 5 hr. charter in a calm ocean on our 42 ft. big Cat Prowler. Just give us a call. Thank you.

6-26-23. On our 3 hr. inshore trip today on our new 2023 27 ft. boat with 17 ft. top we caught 6 sharks, and a 30 lb. stingray that a guy fought wonderfully on a 404 Zebco, and nearly 100 miscellaneous fish, including many different specifies including porcupine puffers, bluefish, croakers, black bass, pigfish, pinfish, and more. We still can’t get over catching a 30 inch guitar fish a few days ago on an inshore charter. —- On our 4 hr. trip today on our 42 ft. Cat we caught 6 sharks, 6 red snapper, a nice grouper, and 80 Black Sea bass – and we released everything, as per customer request, so the fish can be caught again on the next 42 ft. Prowler trip at our special coral reef spots. Give us a call folks to go to our special spots because as you know, every angler on every Follow Me trip gets their own pole and does the catching catching and more catching, rather than the first mate and captain doing the fishing.

6-25-23. Today we ran an 8 hr. trip on our 42 ft. Prowler and caught over a 100 fish including big amberjack, a dozen big red snapper, some big grey snapper and vermillion snapper, and 24 big keeper black bass. We saw a big sea turtle eating a big floating fish and that was unusual sight.

6-23-23. We ran a 2 hr. sunset cruise charter this evening and the six ladies really had a great time. They brought plenty of wine and cheese. We offer great music, a large clean bathroom, a stable ride even in the ocean, very knowledgeable captain Fred or captain Forest, comfortable seats for six customers (actually 26 but USCG limits us to six customers per trip), and more.

6-22-23. On our two 3 hr. trips on our new 27 ft. skiff with 17 ft. top today we caught about 100 fish including eight species on each trip. On all Follow Me inshore and offshore trips the angler that catches the Most fish gets a free, nice Follow Me t-shirt, and the angler that catches the Biggest fish also gets a nice free t-shirt. Also, on all Follow Me inshore and offshore trips, all anglers get their own pole and go to drift line poles and thus do the fishing – instead of the first mate and captain doing the fishing. This is a really big differentiating factor on Follow Me trips and makes for a ton of fun for All anglers as they catch catch catch a lot of fish on every single trip.

6-21-23. On our 4 hr. Prowler trip today, we caught 3 red snapper, 3 sharks, and 120 black bass with 7 keeper (13 inch) bass and we kept and cleaned up the sharks. Folks, we always on the Follow Me bleed the sharks (Atlantic Sharpnose) and they eat really good. On our 3 hr. trip on our new 27 ft. skiff with 17 ft. top today we caught about 100 fish including eight species. On all Follow Me inshore and offshore trips the angler that catches the Most fish gets a free, nice Follow Me t-shirt, and the angler that catches the Biggest fish also gets a nice free t-shirt.

6-19-23. On our 4 hr. Prowler trip today, we caught a nice cobia, a nice grouper, 5 red snapper, 12 sharks, and 80 black bass.  On our 3 hr. trip on our new 27 ft. skiff with 17 ft. top today we caught about 100 fish including 7 sharks and a prehistoric 30 inch Guitar fish. View our Facebook page to see the Guitar fish. He is a prehistoric ray type fish. Also today, we have two cruises later on the big 42 ft. Prowler with nice bathroom and great music.

6-18-23. On our 5 hr. fishing charter today on our 42 ft. Prowler cat, we caught 33 sharks and released 27 and caught 5 red snapper that we released and caught 90 sea bass and released 88. On our 3 hr. charter on our 27 ft. boat, we caught 6 sharks, 10 sea bass, one eel, 20 croakers, and about 60 small fish; we kept some of the small fish to use as bait on our offshore trips.

6-17-23. Today we ran 1 inshore fishing trip on our new 27 ft. boat  and caught plenty of sharks, pinfish, bluefish, stingrays, pigfish, and puffers. Consistent catching is what we offer on all Follow Me trips, as well as YOU catching with everyone having a pole to fish with – rather than the first mate or Captain doing most of the fishing while you watch. Give Follow Me a try for a unique special fun experience guaranteed.

6-16-23. Today we ran 3 inshore fishing trips on our new 27 ft. boat  and again caught plenty of flounder, sharks, pinfish, bluefish, stingrays, pigfish, and puffers. Consistent catching is what we offer on all Follow Me trips, as well as YOU catching with everyone having a pole to fish with – rather than the first mate or Captain doing most of the fishing while you watch. Give Follow Me a try for a unique special fun experience guaranteed.

6-15-23. On our 27 ft. boat charter today we caught plenty of flounder, sharks, pinfish, bluefish, stingrays, pigfish, and puffers. On our 4 hr. Prowler trip today in the ocean we caught six sharks and kept three, caught 4 red snapper, and caught 90 Black Sea bass. We have availability next week on our 27 ft. boat; give us a call, but only Friday available next week on our 42 ft. boat. Our customers are very very happy with our trips as you see on our reviews. Thank you for the reviews everyone. Thank you.

6-14-23. Today we ran three 3 hr. charters inshore, and caught over a 100 fish and 10 different species, including sharks (10 caught), bluefish (6 caught), pigfish, pinfish, puffers, perch, black bass, croakers, spots, and a sea robin. Very very nice day on the water with many kids who learned how to fish and loved learning and doing which is what our inshore trips are all about, and we love Follow Me fishing and cruising trips. Three more trips on tap for tomorrow.

6-13-23. On a 4 hr. 42 ft. Prowler trip this morning we caught 3 cobia, 90 black bass, 1 sea trout, and 1 shark. Lots of fun with continuous catching. Our 27 ft. boat charters are still out fishing today.

6-12-23. Just in from a 4 hr. Prowler 42 trip and caught 3 red snapper, 110 black bass with 4 being keepers, and 3 sharks with 2 being keepers. Tomorrow we do the same, and also run two 3 hr. fishing trips on the 27 ft. Coastal. Give us a call folks to catch catch catch for fun fun fun for all, including us as we love to show people of all ages a great time. As always, the biggest and most fish caught win free Follow Me Tshirts.

6-11-23. Running trips every day now. Just in from two 3-hr. trips on our new 27 ft. skiff with the 17 ft. top and caught 10 different species of fish and released all 100 fish on each trip. We depart at 7am every morning this week on our 42 ft. Prowler, along with many trips on the 27 ft. skiff. Go ahead and book your charter with us for a great time every time, guaranteed. Give us a call with any questions. Thank you.

6-8-23. On our 5 hr. fishing trip on the 42 ft. Prowler today we caught 23 sharks and released 19 of them, and also caught 150 black bass and released 145 of them, and caught the limit on grey trout. Three anglers mostly used jigs today on light tackle and caught probably 80 fish of all kinds.The other three anglers used squid and cut fish on the bottom, and king mack rigs on spinning reels.  It was an unreal fun day on the Follow Me.

6-7-23. Just in from a 7 hr. cruise taking 12 people to Baldhead in our 42 ft. and 27 ft. boats. The folks were thrilled at the great time they had, and are writing us Google and Facebook reviews they said, and soon are scheduling fishing trips. In fact we run a 3 hr. trip tomorrow with one group of those folks, and run a 5 hr Prowler fishing trip tomorrow also. Stay tuned for fishing reports tomorrow.

6-6-23. Ran a 5 hr. trip this morning on the 42 Prowler. Caught 150 black bass with five keepers and caught 5 sharks and kept 2 and caught a big grouper that was release size. We are running two Bald Head cruises tomorrow taking six persons in the 42 and six persons in the 27 from the same big cottage. Fun fun times folks.

6-5-23. Finishing up the day here having run two charters on the 42 ft. Prowler and two charters on the 27 ft. Coastal. The fish are biting great both inshore and offshore. Also ran a great sunset cruise this evening. Give Follow Me a try folks. You will be very pleased. Thank you.

6-2-23. Just a quick note to sincerely thank everyone out there who reads our fishing reports and to say thank you thank you to thousands of anglers from ages 2 to 92 who have fished with us once or numerous times since 1992. It is among the greatest pleasures in Capt. Fred and Capt. Forest’s life to show kid’s and adults the wonder and beauty of catching (and mostly releasing) fish and showing respect for nature and life itself. It is our privilege and honor to get to know you and your family and friends on fishing and cruising charters. We would appreciate you clicking the bold link below and writing a review for us if you enjoyed your trip(s) with us. Thank you and thank you.

Google Review Link

6-1-23. Just in from a 4 hr. fishing charter on our 42 ft. Prowler cat. Caught over a 100 fish, including red snapper, sharks, and black bass. Six grown men fished hard every minute trying to win the Big Fish t-shirt award and the Most Fish t-shirt award. Lots of fun. Tons of action. One guy caught 20 black bass just on our lightweight jigging rod. Give us a call whenever you want to go offshore, or inshore, to catch, catch, and catch. Thanks.

5-31-23. Just in from a 3 hr. fishing charter on our new 27 ft. Coastal skiff. We spent the whole time catching baby sharks, croakers, pigfish, pinfish, and lizard fish. The 3 yr. old and 5 yr. old and their parents were thrilled. With the 136 square foot top, we fished in the shade the entire trip. Tomorrow we depart at 7am on a 4 hr. fishing charter on our 42 ft. Prowler catamaran. Stay tuned for a report. Thank you.

5-30-23. Capt. Fred is just in from a 4 hr. charter on our 42 ft. Prowler. Caught 6 sharks which were biting spinning rods on top and bottom fishing rods too. Also caught 50 black bass with one being a keeper, one Spanish, a big red snapper, and a few other fish. Saw lots of sea turtles today. Very calm ocean all week. Give us a call to go. Water temp is 69.9 nine miles offshore, a bit chilly still. Also, Capt. Forest right now is on the maiden voyage charter on our new 27 ft. skiff with a 17 ft. white top. Look for him in the waterway and creeks and give him a call to experience that great time. Forest just returned on our 27 ft. boat and reports his group of six including a 3, 6, 8, and 10 year old caught about 100 fish including two flounder and had a ton of fun catching, catching, and catching.

5-27-23. We have charters for tomorrow, Tuesday, and Thursday but give us a call for going Monday or Wednesday. The ocean will be calm then, which means we catch even more fish, and our brand new 27 ft. boat is ready to go too on inshore trips.

5-24-23. We ran a 4 hr. trip this morning on the 42 ft. Prowler. We only went out 3 miles due to high seas. We caught some Spanish Mackerel but the bite was not hot. We expect fewer and fewer Spanish as the water warms up so we switch to more and more outstanding bottom fishing for bass, sharks, and snapper while free-lining for king mackerel on our 4 hr. trips in the ocean. Our two new offerings this summer are becoming very popular: 1) 5 hr. trip on the 42 ft Prowler that features some jigging and king mackerel trolling, and 2) the 3 hr. trip on the brand new 27 ft. Coastal Skiff that features a 17 ft. white top for shade.

5-23-23. Just in from a 3 hr. inshore trip and caught over a 100 pigfish, pinfish, perch, black bass, puffers, whiting, and croakers. The “most fish caught” t-shirt went to the 10-year old named Brayden who caught 33 fish by himself. The “biggest fish caught” t-shirt went to the 5-year old who caught a big whiting and the biggest pigfish. That 5-year old named Emmet went from needing total help to needing no help at all on the trip, as he became a really good fisherman, which is a primary goal of all Follow Me fishing trips. We released all the fish caught today to help the resource and all the fish said thank you thank you and said they would bite again on the next trip, so give us a call folks. Thank you.

5-22-23. It rained most of the time on our sunset cruise yesterday but the six brides maid ladies seemed to have more fun than almost anyone has on a cruise. Fun times. We are running 2 hr. and 3 hr. inshore fishing trips every day this week but we can fit you in too for a trip, just give us call.

5-21-23. We are picking up six adults today at 6pm for a sunset cruise. That will be fun.

5-20-23. Just in from a 2-hr. kid’s trip on our 21 ft. boat and caught all the bluefish, croakers, and pinfish two at a time.

5-17-23. Just finished up spreading the ashes for two people out three miles off Shallotte Inlet. The ceremony went really well. Earlier this morning I attended the funeral for 95-year-old great friend and legend at Ocean Isle Beach, Mr. Al Hooker, who lived on Newport Street and was an avid golfer and fisherman. Rest In Peace Al and thank you thank you for all that you did for Ocean Isle and for being a great friend to so many people here for so many years.

5-13-23. The ocean is going to be calm tomorrow for Mother’s Day and for catching a lot of fish and we have availability; just call Fred at 910-612-5343.

5-10-23. The ocean is going to be calm/beautiful the next few days through early next week. Give us a call if you want to go catch them offshore or inshore fishing, or cruising.

5-9-23. We are getting rigged up today for an 11 hr. Prowler 42 trip on Saturday aimed at trolling for dolphin (mahi mahi), blackfin tuna, and maybe wahoo and yellowfin tuna. Folks we received three more fishing and cruising bookings today for the summer, so pick your day and make your reservation when you can if you can, or give Forest or Fred a call if desired.

5-8-23. Just finished up a 2 hr. sunset cruise. The four adults and two three-year old girls had a great time even though it rained on us a bit. They now plan to book our popular Bald Head Island cruise. We love taking folks on cruises, and on fishing fishing fishing inshore and offshore charters.

5-7-23. Just in from a 4 hr. trip on the 42 ft. Prowler. Kept another 15 Spanish, and released 50 Black Bass, 5 Bluefish, and 3 big Red Snapper. Folks, our new 27 ft. Coastal skiff with a 17 ft. top is available now for booking and is a wonderful experience.

5-6-23. Just finished up a 5 hr. trip on the 42 Prowler. Kept 15 Spanish, 2 Black Bass, and 4 Bluefish, and released 60 Black Bass, 5 Red Snapper, and a few small fish. No Bonito, Sharks, or King Mackerel today but a great day of nonstop catching on the water.

5-3-23. Getting ready here for a 5 hr Prowler charter this coming Saturday morning where we will focus on king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, red snapper, sharks, and black bass. The two men customers will have all the action they can handle we expect, since all this wind recently have the fish hungry at our special spots.

4-29-23. Just finished up a 4 hr. trip on the 42 Prowler. Caught plenty of sharks, Spanish Mackerel, Atlantic Bonito, Red Snapper, and Black Bass. The repeat customers were overjoyed.

4-21-23. Now on our website here, read about our brand new 4 hr. lunch or dinner Cruise offering, whereby we can accommodate up to 12 persons on a cruise, up to six going and up to six customers coming back from the Oyster Rock restaurant in Calabash. Anytime after 11 am is great for us to go there and dock and switch out persons on a Cruise if desired, and have a snack, lunch, or drinks at any of several excellent waterfront restaurants in the area if desired – or just get out there and tour the Calabash waterfront area that has many shrimp boats and fishing vessels and eating places. For inside seating, the restaurant opens at 4pm and requires a reservation by calling 910-579-6875, but before 4pm every day, there is great access to other restaurants from the Oyster Rock dock.

4-20-23. Just in from a short 2 hr not-a-charter ocean fishing trip to test some new equipment, and caught 20 Spanish Mackerel, Atlantic Bonito, and Bluefish, and we saw some Right Whales swimming and blowing near us – all done within 4 miles of the beach. The Black Bass and Red Snapper though are at our 10 mile spot in force. Call me if you want to go get them as well as Spanish and Bonito tomorrow (Fred at 910-612-5343). We release all red snapper (season not in yet) and any undersize fish (to help the resource).

4-18-23. Just finished up a 4 hr trip in the ocean on our 42 ft Prowler. Caught Spanish Mackerel, Atlantic Bonito, 9 keeper Black Bass (13 inches or over), one red snapper, and about a hundred under 13 inch Black Bass that we released. Lots of fun. Actually tons of fun.

4-17-23. Really looking forward to our 4 hr Prowler trip in the morning in the ocean. We’ll catch over a hundred fish with the six customers. Will be a blast. The ocean is laying down very nicely all week. Just give Capt. Fred a call at 910-612-5343 if you want to depart after 1pm tomorrow, or anytime on Wednesday or Thursday.

4-13-23. Just in from a 3 hr. kid’s trip. Caught 80 fish including three 5 lb. black drum. The customers (only a dad and his 8 year old son) had a wonderful time. The fishing is great this time of year both inshore and out in the ocean. They now want to go fishing on our 42 ft Prowler. Just give us a call folks or book here online. Thanks.

4-11-23. Just in from a 2 hr. kid’s trip on our 21 ft. boat. Caught 80 fish including bluefish, spots, croakers, black bass, perch, and pinfish. The two dads and three boys ages 8 to 10 told me ten times they are having a blast. I wish every child that visits OIB or this area could experience a Follow Me trip.

4-9-23. This Wed, Thur, Friday are going to be great to fish offshore or inshore. Just give us a call or Book Your Trip online here. Calm seas and biting fish.

4-8-23. Over the last three days, we ran five charters, including three 4 hr. trips on the 42 Prowler and one 3 hr. trip on the 21 ft boat, and one sunset cruise on the Prowler. We are catching per trip more than 100 fish with an average of 10 keeper black bass per 4 hr. offshore trip. The fish are biting really good and the action is hot both inshore in the creeks and offshore in the ocean. Spanish mackerel and bluefish have arrived in the ocean and pinfish have returned in force in the creeks. Just pick the day you want to go and click Book Your Trip on this website to reserve your day on the Follow Me. Thank you.

3-27-23. This fish are biting great, both inshore (in the creeks) and offshore (in the ocean). We have five trips booked for next week. Pick a day and lets go fishing anytime between now and Christmas. Just put down a $100 refundable deposit by clicking Book Your Trip and see the availability calendar and you can experience a great time fishing or just cruising on the Follow Me 42 ft., 27 ft., or 21 ft. boats. Fishing to us means catching fish, fish, fish, and more fish.

3-22-23. Capt. Fred this morning on the 42 ft. Prowler is taking a group of six to bury ashes at sea. He has done these trips more than a dozen times over the recent years. Fred has a sunset cruise group going on Saturday which is supposed to be a beautiful warm day. But folks the fish are biting really good. Just give Capt. Forest or Fred a call when you would like to go.

3-20-23. The ocean is actually going to be good this week to fish out there in our 42 ft. Prowler for Black Sea bass and our 2 and 3 hr. inshore trips back in the creeks are really producing and are fun for all, so if you are down here and would like to go fishing and catching just give us a call.

3-18-23. Capt. Forest ran a 3 hr. inshore charter trip today and caught a 100 fish, including perch, whiting, bluefish, black drum, puffers, croakers, and spots. The six grown men customers fished hard and all say they are coming back to go again. Folks, the ocean is going to be calm the next few days. Call Capt. Fred at 910-612-5343 to go catch nice Black Sea bass and bunches of them.

3-16-23. Today on a 3 hr inshore trip on our 21 ft. Coastal with a 4, 6, and 8 year onboard with their parents, Capt. Forest caught 5 keeper black drum, 1 big sheepshead, 4 puffers, and misc other fish. Tomorrow we have two, 3 hr. inshore charters, one from 10 to 1 and the other from 1 to 4. Just give us a call to go fishing and catching. Thank you.

3-15-23. The croakers are biting good on our 2 and 3 hr inshore fishing trips. We have a 4 hr trip offshore on Saturday to catch Black Sea bass and octopus. Our boats are in the water ready to go. Just give Capt. Fred or Capt. Forest a call to book a trip or talk fishing, or just book online by clicking on Book Your Trip. Thank you.

3-5-23. Folks the ocean is going to be calm and pretty tomorrow and Tuesday. If you want to go catch 100 fish on the 4 or 5 hr. trip out 10 miles on the big 42 Prowler cat, just give Capt. Fred a call at 910-612-5343. We are in the water ready to go every day. Thanks.

2-14-23. For the last two weeks, Capt Fred and Capt Forest have been making rigs and sharpening hooks and polishing tackle. Check out the three new videos under the Videos icon that reveal how we get Drone Spoons, Jigs, and Plugs ready for ocean fishing, so that in the ocean we have everything ready to go and can focus exclusively on you catching, catching, and catching more. Will be tons of fun.

1-27-23. Folks, Capt. Fred’s opinion is that every child in Brunswick County and NC and the USA should have a chance to go fishing with Capt. Forest on his new 27 ft Coastal skiff that has a 15 ft top for shade because Capt. Forest is wonderful with children and makes lifetime fishermen and fisherwomen out of children the trip is so memorable, educational, and fun. Just pick your day and time right here on this website and book the trip with only a $100 deposit. And when the kid’s get a bit older then the 4 or 5 hour 42 ft Prowler trip is equally a wonderful trip with the same goals in mind and Capt. Fred behind the wheel. Just make your reservation online right here. Thanks.

1-23-23. Watch the video about the 42 Prowler boat under Videos on this website. Book your reservation for a Follow Me cruise or fishing trip on this website. Will be a fun memorable trip guaranteed. We ran close to a 100 trips in 2022 and plan to run more in 2023, especially with our new 2023 27 ft skiff that has a 15 ft top, and our new 5-hr offering in the spacious BIG 42 ft Prowler.

1-13-23. Folks, we just added a new 5 hr. offshore fishing trip on our BIG 42 ft. Prowler. We are excited. Check out the description on this website. Give the 5 hr. trip a try offshore, and give the 3 hr. trip a try on our new 27 ft. Coastal inshore that offers a 15 ft top for shade so that four alternative start times daily are offered for booking the 27 ft boat. All Follow Me trips are great, as you know if you have been with us before, but we really appreciate your business and love to spend time seeing you really enjoy catching a lot of fish, which we guarantee on every trip.

1-8-23. We just revamped our website to better integrate our new 27 ft. Coastal; we now offer four 3-hr kids fishing trips per day on the 27 ft boat. We offer 2 hr kid’s trips on our 21 ft Coastal. For the last 60 trips on both our Coastal boat and our BIG 42 ft Prowler boat we have caught at least 60 fish, and many times 160 fish. Just book your trip online on this website for a great time, or call us to talk fishing anytime. Thank you.

1-3-23. Just finished up a 4 hr trip on our 42 ft. Prowler. Caught 80 Black Sea bass with 8 big keepers and also two octopus. The repeat customers from Fayetteville with their twin 8 year olds had a great time. The fish are out there. We know where the fish are. Just give us a call for a great time catching. Water temp out ten miles is 53 degrees. We saw jellyfish and dolphin too out there.

1-2-23. Today we had a 4 hr Prowler trip and caught lots of Black Sea bass on both squid and jigs. The ocean was calm. We have another 4 hr charter tomorrow on the Prowler with two 8 year olds to be onboard. We are departing at 9am these days seems to work best.

1-1-23. Happy New Year everybody. Hoping all anglers everywhere have a Happy New Year. Thank you for a great 2022 and a wonderful 2023 coming up for fishing on the Follow Me.

12-26-22. Visitation for Mr. Sheffield is 12:30 Wednesday at the Ocean Isle Beach Chapel, followed by the funeral at 2:00 pm in the Chapel, and then followed by burial in the cemetery on Four Mile Road near Hwy. 17. All friends are encouraged and welcome to attend. Capt Fred will be speaking at the funeral in the Chapel, and Capt. Forest is a pall bearer. The David’s are really good, long-time friends of the Sheffields.

12-25-22. It is with great sorrow that we report that Mr. Johnny Sheffield passed away at 5am this morning after a brief illness. Mr. Sheffield was a very close friend of the Follow Me family and a legendary, wonderful, self-made, iconic man at Ocean Isle Beach. Capt. Fred became a great friend of Mr. Sheffield’s in the early 1960’s when the Sea Duck and Sea Hunt docked at his store. More recently Mr. Sheffield always wanted to talk at length in the store with Capt. Forest. We are in mourning. The whole island is in mourning. May you rest in peace in Heaven Mr. Sheffield; one day we hope to “Follow You” there. Our prayers go out to Mr. Sheffield’s close family: Wendy, Louise, Jonathan, Eva, and Kyle. Be assured there is a Heaven and Mr. Sheffield is being well taken care of there.

12-17-22. Merry Christmas from Capt. Forest and Capt. Fred to everybody. Our boats are in the water and ready to go. If you want to book a trip as a gift to someone, we can mail (now) or email on Christmas Day that person a Christmas Card Gift Fishing Trip. The black bass and grouper and snapper are biting now from 10 miles to 50 miles, and December through March is also the best time for wahoo in the Gulfstream. Just let us know when you would like to go. There are also now speckled trout in the creeks and backwaters.

11-24-22. Happy Thanksgiving from Capt. Forest and Capt. Fred to all the fishermen and fisherwomen and fishing youngsters. Our boats are in the water and ready to go on a minutes noice. The black bass and grouper and snapper are biting from 10 miles to 50 miles, and December through March is the best time for wahoo in the Gulfstream. Just let us know when you would like to go. Oh, and December through March is also the best time for speckled trout in the creeks. Just let us know when you would like to go. Thank you.

11-13-22. Just in from a 4 hr. charter on the 42 Prowler. We caught some black bass but the water was too dirty from hurricanes Ian and Nicole. We’ll need to get further than 10 miles off on charters for a couple of weeks.

11-12-22. We completed this morning installing new decals on our 42 ft. Prowler. We hope you like them. We have a 4 hr charter tomorrow on the Prowler. Folks, if you really enjoy fishing on the Follow Me, please click on our Facebook page on this website and give us a review. We will look for your review. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Capt. Fred and Capt. Forest

11-11-22. Capt. Forest just launched today his brand new 2022 27 ft. Coastal with a 200hp Suzuki outboard for inshore fishing. This boat is similar to his 21 ft. Coastal, just brand new, bigger, nicer and with a much larger engine.  Tons of room for 6 people (not including the captain) and as always, no extra person charges. This boat will offer tons of shade too. Wait til you see it. Plan to fish it. Just call Forest (910-473-7219) to book his new boat, ready now for service.

11-7-22. The 2-hr sunset cruise this evening from 3:30 to 5:30 on the Follow Me was wonderful. We went into the ocean through Little River jetties and up Calabash River to Oyster Rock and saw dolphin, bald eagles, and pelicans. The sunset was wonderful and we took many pictures, as the customers drank beer and enjoyed the scenery. It was dark when we returned to dock no problem. Tomorrow we get ready for a 10-hr charter Saturday (weather permitting) or Sunday.

11-5-22. Just in from a 3 hr kids trip composed solely of a husband and wife who have spent their last 5 anniversaries here at Ocean Isle fishing on the Follow Me. We caught a big keeper black drum and some keeper puffers and spots and released 64 pinfish, and a small black drum, and caught some lizardfish and pigfish. After the trip they booked a summertime trip with us.

11-1-22. The 4 hr. trip on our 42 Prowler went great this morning with the 3 kid’s and 3 adults catching probably 100 fish including grouper, black bass, bluefish, red snapper, pigfish, gray trout, and an octopus which we also cleaned up for the folks to eat. Really nice day on the water.

10-31-22. Just finished up a 3 hr. kid’s trip on our 21 ft. Coastal with 3 adults and 3 kids under age 12. All total the folks from Arizona caught close to 100 fish and we cleaned up 8 puffers and 1 big croaker and released all the pinfish, pigfish, lizardfish, sea robins, black bass, bank sea bass, and toadfish. I think the same group is going on our 42 Prowler on a 4 hr trip tomorrow. Stay tuned for report tomorrow because the fish are out there. Give the Follow Me a try folks for a great time catching, catching, and catching more.

10-29-22. Caught about 90 fish this morning on a 3 hr kid’s trip on our 21 ft boat, although the customers were 4 grown men who wanted that trip since their ocean trip on our 42 ft boat was cancelled due to high winds. Among the fish caught were 10 puffers which we cleaned up and the guys took home to fry up. Also caught spots, croakers, black bass, and pinfish. We call it kid’s trip but grown ups love the trip just as much.

10-21-22. Wonderful sunset cruise this evening on the Follow Me’s Prowler 42. Great music wildlife, jetties, shrimp boats, calm ocean, Bird Island, Calabash River and restaurants, casino boat came by us, and took  great sunset pictures. Working tomorrow rigging our new 27 ft Coastal that we will bring add to our fleet by Thanksgiving.

10-18-22. The ocean is calm this week and the fish are biting. Call Capt. Fred 910-612-5343 if you want to go catch them. Great sunsets too. We have a sunset cruise charter Friday. Will be fun. Capt. Forest will be giving a free 45 minute talk this Thursday to the Sea Trail Fishing Club; time and place is 7pm at the Pink Palace in Sea Trail.

10-14-22. Just ran a 2 hr Sunset Cruise on the 42 Prowler. The two couples had a great time. The Prowler has a great stereo system where you can play your own music. We went up the Calabash River to Oyster Rock and then traveled to Bird Island and on out into the ocean passing by the Little River Jetties.

10-9-22. Had a 6 hr Prowler trip on Friday, and then a 10 hr Prowler trip on Saturday. On Friday, caught and released 12 red snapper in the five pound class and kept 20 big black bass and gray snapper. Caught many many other fish. On Saturday, caught the limit on vermillion snapper and gray snapper and caught some big tile fish and black bass and kept all legal size fish with totaled 60 keepers. Caught and released all the barracuda we wanted and released many wrasses’s that were beautiful and we caught and kept 5 strawberry grouper. We are preparing right now for a 4 hr Prowler trip in the morning.

10-4-22. Had a great 2 hr kids trip this morning. We caught flounder, puffers, pinfish, pigfish, lizardfish, shiner fish, and perch. Yes the fish are biting. We caught no sharks this morning but the six folks had a great time.

10-3-22. Capt. Fred is rigging our 21 ft. boat now for a 9 am, 2 hr. kids trip in the morning. Stay tuned for report tomorrow. The 3 and 7 year old want to catch a small shark. We’ll see what we can do.

10-2-22. Folks our 42 ft Prowler and 21 ft Coastal boats are now again ready for action in taking folks fishing, so just give Capt Fred or Capt Forest a call, or book your trip right here on this website. We are running trips this week and booking trips right on into next summer now, but Fall fishing is always best here at Ocean Isle Beach. Thank you.

9-28-22. Our prayers go out to everyone in Florida and to be affected by hurricane Ian. Stay safe.

9-26-22. Just in from a 3 hr trip on our 21 ft Coastal skiff. Caught 90 fish including puffers, pigfish, pinfish, and toadfish and cleaned (kept) ten among 20 croakers. No glamour fish, but nonstop action. Our boats are in the water ready to go on a minutes notice so just pick your day. Thank you.

9-19-22. Just in from a 4 hr trip on the 42 Prowler. Caught a shark, a rabbit fish, a grouper, six red snapper, a triggerfish, and 158 Black Sea bass. The six grown men anglers had a blast. Come on and book your trip for a blast this Fall.

9-17-22. We ran a 4 hr Prowler 42 trip this morning in the ocean and caught 7 red snapper, 127 black bass, one shark, one flounder, and a few misc fish. Lots of fun. We have another 4 hr Prowler trip this coming Monday morning. The Fall is the best time for fishing and our boats are in the water ready to go all year round on a minute’s notice whenever you are ready.

9-12-22. Getting ready right now for a 2 hr kid’s trip in the morning and an 8 hr Prowler trip on Saturday. The fish are biting good folks both inshore and in the ocean, the ocean is to be calm this Wed and Thur so if you want to go get them just give Fred a call at 910-612-5343.

9-4-22. Just finished up a 3 hr kid’s trip on the 21 ft boat, and one yesterday. Caught tons of croakers, puffers, sea robins, black bass, toadfish, pinfish, pigfish, spot tail bass, and shiners. Ocean to be calm this week. Give Fred a call to go ocean fishing on the 42 ft Prowler.

9-2-22. Fred and Forest took a few days off to do some hiking in the Smokies but we now are back to fishing beginning with a 3hr kids trip tomorrow. The ocean is set to be calm for a week so give Fred a call 910-612-5343 or just book a trip online from this website, Thank you.

8-24-22. Just in from two, 2-hr kid’s trips, each with just 3 adults. Each trip we caught whiting, croakers, pinfish, pigfish, puffers, sea robins and bluefish and a spot tail and perch and even a small grouper. Lots and lots of fun. Even adults love nonstop catching fish.

8-22-22. Capt. Fred ran a 4 hr Prowler trip yesterday and will run a 2hr sunset cruise tomorrow and then a 3 hr inshore kid’s trip on Wednesday morning 7 to 10am. Only three adults on the kid’s trip and they are just interested in nonstop catching small fish to release, which even adults enjoy, but I refer folks like that to other captains if they want to focus on trying for a big fish. We do try for big fish on our kid’s trips but that is not the focus and we explain that to potential customers as I did with the three adults. All Follow Me trips are fun, fun, fun catching; rather than hunting and hoping we are hooking and reeling, on both the 21 and 42 ft boats. You might want to give us a try this Fall. Thank you.

8-20-22. This morning we are running a 2 hr kid’s trip charter on the 21 ft boat, and then tomorrow a 10 hr Prowler trip on the 42 ft boat. The ocean is to be really calm this week. Call Fred 910-612-5343 to talk fishing or if you can go this week. Thanks.

8-19-22. Just in from a 3 hr. kids trip. Brandon and Shelly and their 3, 12, and 14 year old fished nonstop and caught about 60 fish including puffers, pinfish, croakers, jacks, whiting, perch, crabs, and toadfish. It was raining about the whole time; I offered to bring them back to the dock but they wanted to fish continuously in the rain, and they kept pulling in the fish, even Millie the 3 yr old.

8-18-22. Just in from a 4 hr trip on the 42 ft Prowler. Caught one shark, three lizardfish, about 90 black bass, and some misc fish. Kind of a slow bite today for us but still lots of action and fun. No snapper or grouper or kings today, maybe attributable to an East wind that old-timers say east they bite the least, west they bite the best.

8-17-22. Just in from a 3hr and a 2 hr kid’s trip. Trip 1 with a dad and his 7 yr old son caught 45 fish including redfish, puffers, croakers, pigfish, and pinfish. Trip 2 with a dad and 3 yr old son caught flounder, puffers, croakers, pinfish, and pigfish. Will be running a 4hr Prowler trip in the morning to our secret spots offshore where the fish are crowded up. Book us when you can for the Follow Me experience.

8-16-22. Just in from an 8 hr Prowler trip. Caught a 25 lb king mackerel, big red snapper, big black bass, a few triggerfish, some gray snapper and vermillion snapper. Very nice day on the water. Tomorrow we have three, 2-hr trips on the 21 ft Coastal.

8-15-22. Today we ran two 4 hr trips on the Prowler. Trip 1 we caught 2 moray eels, 1 octopus, a 4ft shark, a big porgy, 145 black bass, and a few other fish. Trip 2 was slower as we had a 5, 6, and 7 year old onboard but they caught all they wanted to catch including a flounder and 5 toadfish and lizardfish and probably 80 black bass. Tomorrow we have an 8 hr trip on the 42 Prowler to deeper water. We plan to crush big red snapper (can’t keep them) and other big keeper fish. Stay tuned for the report. We are available Thursday and Friday so let us know asap if you would like to experience the Follow Me for a great time.

8-13-22. Yes we are running trips every day on both the 21 ft and 42 ft boats and catching lots of fish on every trip. This morning on the 4 hr Prowler trip for example we caught 125 black bass, 1 grouper, 1 red snapper, and some other fish. As always the person who catches the largest fish and the most fish on each trip wins a free Follow Me t-shirt. Everybody always has a great time on the Follow Me, and you will be fishing with your pole from the minute we stop the boat, and likely you will want to keep fishing every minute of the trip – with your own very nice rod and reel that we supply. This aspect of Follow Me trips is really special and greatly appreciated by the anglers and contributes to our hundreds of repeat customers.

8-9-22. Just in from two 4 hr Prowler trips, and from a 3 hr kids trip. Caught many many fish as usual as we did yesterday too. Tomorrow we have three 2hr kids trip and a 4 hr Prowler trip. Folks, a lot of the time charter fishing is all about who do you want to spend 2 to 12 hrs on a boat with in terms of demeanor, attitude, friendliness, compassion, work ethic, and results. We think you will find that Capt Fred and Capt Forest try really hard to be the best on these dimensions.

8-7-22. Just in from a 4 hr Prowler trip, caught 135 black bass, a grouper, a red snapper, a shark and some misc fish. Folks, please know that on the Follow Me we don’t go hoping and hunting we go hooking and reeling. You are going to catch a lot of fish with us and have a great time doing so. Just book online or give us a call to talk fishing as you see our contact info on this website. Tomorrow, we run two 3-hr kids trips and a 4 hr Prowler trip, and then the same thing on Tuesday. Pick out your day to have fun. Plus, we think this is the nicest and largest charter boat anywhere around here, a Miami vice stable fast pretty new 42 ft Cat. Thank you.

8-3-22. Just in from back-to-back 4 hr Prowler trips. On trip 1, caught 80 black bass and 6 red snapper and 1 grouper. On trip 2, caught 60 black bass and 6 sharks. Will be out there again tomorrow, and Friday.

8-2-22. The fishing gets better and better from now to Thanksgiving so book your 42 ft boat trip and a 21 ft boat trip for a great time. We are running trips every decent weather day with the bite getting better and better each day and the before-noon bite being especially good.

7-29-22. We are running three 2 and 3-hr kids trips today on the 21 ft boat and are catching flounder, black drum, bluefish, lots of puffers, whiting, and tons of pinfish and croakers. Book us now for a great time on the water. I cannot imagine anyone being more kid-friendly than Capt Forest and Capt Fred.

7-27-22. Great News. The Follow Me has done away with the fuel surcharge, likely being the first big charter boat at OIB to do away with a surcharge. We are running three inshore kids trips today on our 21 ft boat and two tomorrow, along with a 4 hr offshore Prowler trip tomorrow and Friday. The fish are biting and everyone is having a memorable time, and the angler gets to hook the fish and catch the fish on our charters rather than the captain or first mate setting the poles, hooking the fish, and eventually giving you the rod to fish. This aspect of Follow Me fishing is special and makes fishing more fun. Plan to stay busy on the Follow Me rather than waiting and hoping. Captains Forest and Fred are looking forward to seeing you soon, for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and sometimes even the 10th time in a row. If you have fished with us before, please write a review for us online and also on our Facebook page that you see on this website, and thank you thank you, and yes we do run charters year-round. The fishing gets better and better in the Fall so pick your day now for something great to look forward to this Fall.

7-24-22. Just in from an 8 hr charter. Caught and released 22 big red snapper and also lots of sea bass; kept a variety of snapper including some big grays and kept two 4 ft sharks.

7-23-22. Completed routine maintenance on boats and tackle today and Capt Fred and Capt Forest are excited to start the week off tomorrow with a 10 hr trip and then many charters already booked all week. We plan to catch at least 60 fish on every trip and perhaps 160. Y’all give us a try and you will see. Thank you. Folks, you always know what you are going to get when you book a trip on the Follow Me – you will get Capt Fred and/or Capt Forest onboard every time and tons of catching, rather than hoping to catch, and you’ll get a free Follow Me t-shirt if you catch the biggest or most fish on the trip of the day. We’ll make lifetime fishermen and fisher ladies out of everyone onboard is the norm on every trip. Stay tuned for exciting, actual, fishing repots this week.

7-22-22. Fred ran a 3 hr and the a 2 hr kids trip this morning on the 21 ft boat and caught 50 fish and 5 pufferfish on each trip and many croakers and a few red drum and bluefish and pigfish. Both groups were thrilled.

7-21-22. Fred ran a 3 hr and the a 2 hr kids trip today on the 21 ft boat and caught 50 fish and 5 pufferfish on each trip and many croakers and lizardfish. He is doing the same thing in the morning with “to be delighted customers.”

7-20-22. Ocean has been too rough to fish in a boat in ocean this week but we are running 2 and 3 hour kids trips all the time. Forest just finished up a 3 hr kids trip and caught 4 black drum and 2 redfish and a bunch of little fish. Fred tomorrow will run a 3 hr and then a 2 hr kids trips and he expects to catch 60+ little fish on each trip. This coming Sunday we have a 12 hr trip and the ocean is forecasted to be calm so stay tuned for report on that one as we expect to load the boat down Lord willing.

7-12-22. Fred is just in from a 4 hr trip on 42 ft boat, caught many sea bass but kept none. Fishing has slowed some in the ocean. To few Spanish out there to try and the shark bite is slow and the red snapper have moved out beyond ten miles. Forest is just in from a 2 hr and a 3 hr kids trip on his 21 ft boat – caught about 50 fish on each trip and a 5 lb keeper red drum that he cleaned at the dock.

7-11-22. Fred is just in from a 4 hr trip on 42 ft boat, caught 8o sea bass and one shark. Kept no fish this morning. Forest is just in from two 3 hr trips on his 21 ft boat – caught about 60 fish on each trip and a 6 lb keeper red drum that he cleaned at the dock. Stay tuned for a report on many trips that we are running this week. Fred and Forest love making lifetime fishermen and fisherladies out of all who go with us.

7-8-22. Forest is just in from another 3-hr kids trip on his 21 ft boat. He has ten such trips already booked for next week. On the charter this morning, they caught and released about a 100 small fish of ten different species. In you are visiting or living anywhere near Ocean Isle Beach and have kids under age 12, going with Forest fishing will be a very memorable trip, and might make them lifetime fishing enthusiasts, which would be a good thing.

7-7-22. Forest is just in from a 3-hr kids trip on his 21 ft boat. The 9 and 12 year old each caught and kept and Forest cleaned two 6-lb black drum and some whiting. Released 60 small puffers, croakers, and pinfish. Folks, on our 2 hr sunset cruises, we have a pet osprey named Filly that we’ll show you as close as 15 ft from her nest. She will be happy to see you.

7-4-22. Folks we just had a cancellation for this coming Thur afternoon and Friday. Book a kids trip for then on our 21 ft boat if you are here with kids since the ocean to be too rough Thur afternoon and Friday, and/or book a sunset cruise. Tomorrow we’ll be taking two 4 hr charters on our 42 ft Prowler and three kids trips on our 21 ft boat. Lots of fun catching. Happy 4th to everybody.

6-29-22. We are running trips all the time now, 2 and 3 hr kids trips on the 21 ft boat and 4 and 8 and 10 hr trips on the42 Prowler and cruises to Barefoot Landing and Baldhead on the 42 ft and many 2 hr sunset cruises on the 42 ft. Just pick your day and time and book online here to reserve your spot for a great time. Call Fred or Forest anytime desired or needed but you can easily book trips here. The fish are biting great, stereo systems is working great, everything is on go, and on all all our charters you know you are going to get Capt Fred and/or Capt Forest as Capt. and/or First Mate, so you’ll be in great hands with many years of experience.

6-26-22. Just in from two 4 hr Prowler trips. Caught grouper, red snapper, and a 100 sea bass on each trip but no sharks biting today and no barracuda either, but tons of action and fun.

6-24-22. Just in from a 4 hr Prowler 42 trip and caught about a 100 sea bass and a red snapper and a couple of sharks. Also just in from a 2 hr kids trip on our 21 ft boat and caught about 80 small fish.

6-22-22. Just finished up a 3 hr kids trip. Caught 12 different specifies of fish including black drum, bluefish, trout, flounder and sea robins, for the second day in a row. Also just finished a 4 hr Prowler trip and caught 150 sea bass with 5 keepers but no red snapper or sharks this morning wanted to bite in ocean. Just so  you know 10% fuel surcharge is on Prowler trips and 20% tip in normal on all trips but we have a ton of fun and catch many many fish on every trip and clean and pack your fish. We have a credit card reader machine on the boat so no problem. The Prowler group that went this morning just booked another 4 hr Prowler trip for later this week they had so much fun. A 9 yr old on the Kids trip inshore this morning told Capt. Forest “this is the best day of my life.”

6-21-22. Forest is on a 3 hr kids trip right now on his 21 ft boat. We are available tomorrow on the 42 ft and the 21 ft boat. Just give us a call. Thanks. A calm ocean and cool mornings are great.

6-20-22. Ran a 4 hr Prowler trip yesterday and today and a sunset cruise yesterday and today. On the fishing trips caught tons of sea bass with a few keepers and a few sharks but surprisingly no red snapper but a few triggerfish.

6-18-22. We are resting today and preparing for next week. We have a 4 hr Prowler trip in the morning followed by a sunset cruise. We do have Monday open for the 42 ft, 4hr trip. Give us a call to take that slot. Ocean to be calm most or all of the week so that is good too.

6-17-22. Just in from a 4 hr Prowler trip. Caught a 40 inch cobia, 5 red snapper, and 120 sea bass with 5 being keepers. Forest caught red drum, flounder, small sharks, sea robins, bluefish, and tons of small fish. Fun fun fun.

6-16-22. Forest and I ran an 8 hr trip yesterday and another 8 hr trip today and on each trip we released 15 to 18 big red snapper and released probably 70 black bass each trip but kept about 12 jumbo sea bass each trip and kept dozens of gray snapper and a few vermillion snapper and we kept two sharks per trip. For the first time ever yesterday a 200 lb turtle bit one of our bottom fishing rigs and we released the turtle unharmed at the boat after about 15 minutes. Tomorrow, Fred runs a 4 hr Prowler trip while Forest runs three 2 hr kids trips. Busy but really fun days.

6-13-22. Today, Forest ran three 2 and 3 hr kids trips on his 21 ft boat and caught over a 100 fish and a few really nice ones as you can see pictures of at the Follow Me Facebook page.

6-12-22. Just in from a 4 hr trip on the 42 Prowler. We caught one shark (kept), one red snapper (released), one cobia (released), and about 80 sea bass (kept 3). Fred has a 2 hr sunset cruise later today on the Prowler. Tomorrow, Forest has 3 trips on the 21 Coastal while Fred has a 4 hr trip on the 42 Prowler.

6-11-22. Forest captained the 21 Coastal today on a 2 hr kids trip and caught the usual 70 small fish plus a 5 lb triple tail which was a very unusual catch (he released him after picture) and two black drum;  Forest runs three of these 2 hr trips on Monday. We have a 4 hr trip on the Prowler Sunday and Monday. Call us to talk fishing anytime.

6-10-22. We are doing routine maintenance today on both the 21 ft boat and the 42 ft boat as next week is packed solid with trips on both boats. Catching, catching, catching fish on both boats is the virtual guarantee. Give us a try when you can.

6-8-22. Just finished up a 4 hr Prowler trip and caught ten sharks, 125 black bass, and 2 red snapper. Then ran a 2 hr kids trip on the 21 Coastal and caught probably a 100 miscellaneous small fish and a stingray etc.

6-7-22. Just in from two 4 hr Prowler trips. Caught all the sharks and bass you want and a few red snapper. Kept two sharks on each trip and kept a few big bass (13 inches or over); tons of catching. Have two more trips tomorrow. Summertime is here and the fish are biting good.

6-2-22. Just in from a 4 hr trip. Released 10 red snapper, 1 shark, 130 black bass, and other misc fish; kept 5 big bass and 1 huge triggerfish. Hugely successful trip of nonstop catching.

6-1-22. Just in from a 10 hr trip. Caught and kept 25 big black bass, 25 grouper, 15 vermillion, 50 gray snapper, 4 amberjack, 1 big eel, porgy, triggerfish, and released many fish. An 800 lb tiger shark stayed at our boat for a minute checking us out as checked her out. Back out there again tomorrow on a 4 hr trip with basically nonstop action catching, just like today.

5-31.22. Just in from a 10 hr trip. Caught and kept many many big black bass, small grouper, big vermillion, big gray snapper, and released many cudas, and more action. Back out there again tomorrow on a 10 hr trip. Will crush the fish but no dolphin likely or kings, but possibly, but guaranteed basically nonstop action catching.

5-29-22. Just in from a 4 hr trip on the 42 Prowler. Released 1 grouper, 1 cobia, 2 sharks, and 6 red snapper. Caught 175 bass and kept 0. Kept 2 sharks. Hugely successful trip. All five customers fished hard and caught a lot. Go ahead and book us here on this website for a great time, on the 42 ft boat. This coming Friday is the only day that we have open for booking for next week. Find an open day and book your day if you can.

5-26-22. Just in from a 4 hr trip on the 42 Prowler. Released 3 grouper and 6 red snapper. Caught 175 bass and kept 9. Caught one Spanish mackerel. Hugely successful trip, again. All six customers fished hard and caught a lot, again. Go ahead and book us here on this website for a great time, on the 42 or 21 ft boats. Thanks. Folks, this coming Sunday is to be very calm seas and is a day that we have open for book for this coming Sunday, May 29 if you can.

5-25-22. Just in from a 4 hr trip on the 42 Prowler. Kept 9 big bass while releasing over 100, and also released 6 pretty big red snapper after taking a picture of each with the angler. All six customers fished hard and caught a lot.

5-23-22. Just in from an 8 hr trip. Released 6 red snapper that were 15 lbs apiece and released many smaller red snapper too and released 10 sharks; we kept 2 sharks, 10 big bass, 10 big gray snapper, and 10 big vermillion snapper – and released about 50 other miscellaneous fish.

5-21-22. Today we have a 4 hr trip on the Prowler 42, and then two sunset cruises also on the 42. Tomorrow we fish in the morning and then spread ashes at sea for a family in the afternoon. We do lots of the spread ashes events as you see on this website.

5-19-22. Just finished up a 2-hr kids trip on the 21 ft. boat. Caught about fifty small fish and a black drum. The two youngest kids tied at catching the most fish at 16 fish each, so each won a free Follow Me t-shirt. Forest and Fred wish every child in the county would have a chance to go with us fishing sometime. We are very kid friendly on both the 21 and 42 foot boats making sure everyone has a great time and catches a lot of fish. Capt. Fred

5-16-22. Back to back 4 hr Prowler trips coming up tomorrow and Wednesday. Lots of 4, 8, 10, and 12 hr bookings for June and July – and 2 and 3 hr kids trips on our 21 ft. boat. Pick a day and lets go catching.

5-14-22. On two, 4hr trips today on the 42 Prowler we caught plenty of red snapper, black bass, sharks, and Spanish mackerel. We have an 8 hr trip Monday; Tuesday or Thursday are only open days next week. Weather to be great all week. Book online or call us to start a tradition you will likely stay with for decades – going fishing on the Follow Me. Thanks.

5-13-22. Just finished up a 2 hr inshore trip on the 21 ft Coastal. Caught about 100 pinfish, cookers, whiting, spots, and pigfish. Was a thrill for all onboard. Getting ready now for two 4 hr Prowler 42 ft. trips tomorrow to catch, catch, catch. Come on and make an online reservation with us to start a tradition you will likely stay with for decades. Thanks. Capt. Fred

5-2-22. Just finished up an 8 hr trip on the 42 ft Prowler. Kept 25 huge black bass and kept a few snapper. We released 5 huge red snapper and released 5 small red snapper. We caught two sharks. No luck trolling for kings or cuds. They are not in yet but will be next week probably.

4-29-22. Just finished up a 4 hr trip on the 42 Prowler. Released 6 red snapper and about 100 black bass. We kept 10 bass, 2 bluefish, and 3 Spanish mackerel. The fish were biting really good. We are available this Sunday if you want to go call Capt Fred.

4-28-22. Folks a couple days ago we ran an 8 hour trip on the 42 Prowler and caught 28 big keeper snapper, and some porgy and grunts and even for the first time ever we caught a big scorpion fish that we carefully released. We also released a six grouper too since grouper season comes in May 1. Nothing was biting trolling. Monday coming up we have a 10 hr. trip. This coming Sunday the ocean is going to be calm and we have availability. Give us a call at 910-612-5343. Actually in the morning we have a 4-hour charter on the 42 ft. Stay tuned for a report.

4-22-22. Folks yesterday on those Kids trips we caught puffers, sea robins, bluefish, croakers, pinfish, pigfish, and lots of them. This coming Tuesday we have our first 10 hr trip of the season on the 42 ft. Prowler and will load the boat down with all kinds of snapper and king mackerel (grouper season is closed til May 1 so we have to release them). We have a 4 hr Prowler trip for Sunday. Pick your day and desire and go with us for a great time.

4-21-22. Folks I am running two Kids trips today on the 21 ft boat, catching fish nonstop. I hope every child under age 16 goes with me on this trip sometime, so I can try to make lifetime fishermen and fisher ladies out or them. Tons of fun. Just book your trip on this website. Thanks. Capt Fred 910-612-5343

4-19-22. Took four folks from upstate New York on a 4-hr Prowler trip and caught 120 black bass with 8 keeper fish and also a huge porgy. No sharks or octopus today that are usually are caught on this trip. Come on and book your trip. This Sunday looks to be calm. We do tons of catching rather than hunting and hoping, on every trip. That is what makes us different, and better. Call Capt. Fred with any questions (910-612-5343) but book online to reserve your spot.

4-16-22. Just finished up a 4-hr Prowler trip. The 10-year old onboard named JJ used the JJ Technique to catch 80 fish by himself, and win the free Follow Me t-shirt.

4-15-22. Just finished up a 3-hr and then a 2-hr kids trip. We caught over 100 small fish, including croakers, blues, pinfish, pigfish, and flounder, and the two days before that, we ran 4-hr offshore trips and caught about 150 black bass and a few red snapper on each trip. Folks, we do not do much “hunting and hoping for fish; we almost always are doing nonstop catching fish.” Give us a try and you will see. We have another 4-hr Prowler trip tomorrow in the ocean. Come join us for an experience of a lifetime; book your trip now to reserve your day and time. Thank you. Capt. Fred

4-8-22. Just finished up a 4hr Prowler trip. Caught 150 Black Bass with 7 keepers, and released one red snapper. No sharks or Spanish today but one bluefish. The six grown men had a great time nonstop catching fish.

4-5-22. We have four charters this week and four next week all on the 42 ft. Prowler. Just book a day with us and we will put you on the fish. The 4hr trip is most popular and the fish are biting good, black bass and sharks and maybe Spanish Mackerel.

3-26-2022. We have completed all out of water chores on the 42ft Prowler and now are ready to go catch all those fish that have been waiting for us to show us to feed them. This coming Tuesday looks great and Thursday and Friday too. Lets go fishing. Call Capt. Fred at 910-612-5343 with any questions but you may book your charter easily from this website to reserve you spot in the system; we guarantee that you will catch a lot of fish and have a great time. Thank you.

3-8-2022. Hello everyone. We expect to be back in the water taking charters beginning 3-15-22. We are so excited about the upcoming year. Just book your charter now for the day you want to go with us and catch a lot of fish. Due to rising gas prices, we have a new policy: For the first time ever, we now have a fuel surcharge that is as follows: 10% if the premium fuel price per gallon on the dock exceeds $4.00 per gallon, and 15% if the premium fuel price per gallon on the dock exceeds $5.00 per gallon. This surcharge applies only to the 42 ft. Prowler boat (not the 21 ft. Coastal boat). The percentage is based on the cost of the trip at the base $175 per hour rate. So, for example, on a 4 hr trip, the base price is $700, but if the cost of premium gas at the dock is $4.80 per gallon, the cost of the trip is $770.

1-9-2022. Hello and Happy New Year to everyone. The 42 Prowler is out of the water for winter maintenance and a new coat of wax and bottom paint. We are ready to start fishing maybe as early as February so call us to book a trip. Online booking is available starting in March.

We have run a few kid’s trips since the last report on the 21 coastal with trout, black drum and sheepshead the main catches. As the weather starts to warm up into Spring, we may still catch these fish on the kid’s trip but mostly the action will switch to little fish as they become almost instant bitters.

February and March should be excellent on the black seabass on the 4 hour ocean tips with April bringing bonita and Spanish mackerel to the mix on the 4 hour. May and on into the Summer will add red snapper (closed unfortunately), sharks, cobia, king mackerel and a lot more on the 4 hour trips.  Grouper season opens May 1 but your best bet on them will be the 12 hour trip until August when the grouper start to move into the 8  hour trip range. We even catch grouper on the 4 hour, but they tend not be of the minimum size of 24 inches on this trip. If you want to do an offshore trip of 8 hours to 12 hours, please call us.  Captain Forest.

10-24-21. Took four anglers out this morning on a 4 hr ocean trip and they caught 211 fish total including one kingfish and three keeper black bass. The four men, all over age 40, kept count to see who would end up with the most fish; each angler caught roughly 50 fish. They had so much fun they booked the same trip for tomorrow.

10-23-21. Took three anglers today on an 8 hr trip and got the limit on vermillion snapper and gray snapper and also caught some triggerfish and jacks and caught some big red snapper.

10-21-21. On our 8 hr trip yesterday with just two anglers onboard we caught and released ten 10 lb red snappers. The two guys caught about 50 fish total and kept 25, including kingfish, gray snapper, vermillion snapper, and triggerfish. A really great time. Just book a trip with us and you will see. We have another 8 hr trip on Saturday and the weather is looking great. By the way, don’t worry about the weather because we never force it out there in rough seas even though we have perhaps the largest, nicest, newest charter boat anywhere in the area. Take career.

10-19-21. Folks we have an 8 hr. trip tomorrow and an 8 hr trip on Friday. The king mackerel and bottom fish are really biting great and this will continue til Christmas. If you can, just book a Fall trip with us for a guaranteed great time, on a great boat (42 Catamaran Prowler), with the most experienced captain combination (Fred and Forest) onboard on any charter boat probably on the east coast of the USA. Stay tuned for our fishing report tomorrow evening. Take care.

10-15-21. We have been running 4 and 8 hr trips steadily and catching more and more fish as the Fall is here now. Today on an 8 hr trip we caught plenty of 15 lb king mackerel and plenty of 10 lb red snapper (released) and more than 60 snapper and bass. The water is really clear out 18 to 24 miles with schools of red drum and albacore and jacks everywhere. Just book a trip this Fall with us if you can go.

9-28-21. We have been out of town a few days but are back and ready to go fishing. Today we took a group of four on a 4hr charter on the 42 Prowler and caught 2 octopus, 3 sharks, 4 keeper Black Sea Bass, and 60 other bass and small fish. We tried for Spanish and Kings a few minutes but caught none. We have another 4 hr trip this Thursday. The ocean is calm this week so give us a call. Thank you.

9-20-21. We are running 4 hour and 8 hour Prowler trips offshore and 2 hr and 3 hr Coastal trips inshore almost every day. The fish are biting good with the exception of Spanish and King mackerel being slow but we do not even try for them when the other fish are biting fantastic – so it is nonstop catching fish on our trips. We know what, when, where, and how to catch fish nonstop. Today we are running a 4 hr dinner cruise on the 42 Prowler; sunset cruises are popular too. Customers love being on the water with Fred and Forest. It is a lot about who you want to spend time with on the water. That is a big part of why we stay booked up even a lot of the off season. We are catching about 20 red snapper on each 8 hr trip and about 4 keeper sharks on each 4 hr trip. Give us a try. Thank you.

9-13-21. Today Fred and Forest ran an 8 hr trip taking four men from Ohio and they caught 30 big red snapper, 8 grouper, 25 big Black Sea bass, some gray snapper, some trigger fish, and some porgys. See the Follow Me Facebook page for pictures. Folks, now is the time to go fishing. We suggest the 8 hr trip, but we will have tons of fun and catching on our 4 hr trip, but mostly non-keepers on 4 hr trip and tons of keepers on the 8 hr trip, even though we have to release all red snapper and we send them back to the bottom on a release tool that is required to be used. We are gentle with fish, we care for the fish, and we appreciate the fish, and we are gentle with fish; its just the way Fred and Forest are. You will see. Love you.

9-7-21. On the two 4 hr ocean trips today on our 42 ft Prowler catamaran (Cadillac) we caught a total of 10 sharks, 100 black bass, one red snapper, one octopus, and lots of small fish. The very calm ocean today was nice. On the 2 hr kids trip today from 5:30 to 7:30 we caught tons of small fish. We have a 3 hr kids trip in the morning that Forest is taking, but Fred had to cancel a 4 hr ocean trip in the morning because his wife fell and broke her arm and has to go to doctor so he is with her tomorrow. The Fall is the best time for fishing down here. Book your charter as soon as you know when you can go. Thank you.

9-7-21. Today we are running two 4 hr trips on the 42 ft Prowler and one 2 hr kid’s trip on the 21 ft Coastal, but yesterday we ran an 11 hour trip and caught 120 keeper snapper and grouper and porgys and tilefish and big black. bass. The customers were overjoyed. But the customers today will be overjoyed too with nonstop catching, albeit it almost all nonkeeper red snapper and black bass likely today. Stay tuned for report. Loving fishing like you.

9-5-21. Ran another 12 hour trip today out 50 nautical miles. We had 6 people fishing and ended up with our limit of vermillion snapper (5 per person), our limit of gray snapper (10 per person) and a few pink snapper, porgies, grouper, tilefish and trigger fish mixed in. The trip was all bottom fishing as was requested by Shawn.  In total, we had over 100 keeper fish. Thank you Shawn for fishing with us.

8-30-21. We are just in from a great 8 hr. trip. We released 12 big red snapper and released 8 barracuda, and kept plenty of gray snapper and big Black Sea bass and vermillion snapper and porgys; we let go about 50 other fish.

8-29-21. Capt. Fred and Capt. Forest just finished up a 12 hr trip. We took five guys out to 120 ft water and caught over 100 keeper red grouper, strawberry grouper, vermillion snapper, tilefish, gray snapper, pink snapper, porgys, big black bass with a few sharks and barracuda too. Wild fun day fishing on the Follow Me. Just book the day you want to go as the fishing is getting better and better as we get on towards Thanksgiving, and now we are running 4, 8, or 12 hour trips. We have an 8 hr. trip tomorrow. Stay tuned for a fishing report.

8-25-21. Capt. Fred just finished up a 4 hr trip catching barracuda, sharks, black bass, red snapper, pigfish, lizardfish, and more, while Capt. Forest just finished up a 2 hr inshore kids trip catching, catching, catching a variety of fish. Fall is here and the fish are biting. Actually tomorrow is to be a calm day on the ocean and we have open both boats, but then am booked on both boats for 4 days, so lets go tomorrow if you are available, or book your trip for whenever you see on our Book Your Trip calendar that we can take you, or give us a call. Thank you.

8-22-21. Just finished up a 4 hr trip offshore. Caught 60 black bass, 3 red snapper, 1 grouper, 1 barracuda, one octopus (about every trip) and some miscellaneous lizardfish etc. Nonstop catching and some great pictures for Facebook etc., but no keepers on this trip, but tons of fun on a rainy morning. This 42 ft. Prowler cat we have is like fishing off the dock even in pretty rough water so seasickness almost never encountered is another plus, plus a bathroom for the guys and one for the girls onboard.

8-17-21. Rainy day today so no fishing but we are starting to catch a barracuda on the 4 hr ocean trip to go with plenty of bass, snapper, and sharks. After Labor Day we will start fishing for king mack regularly on our 8 hr and 12 hr trips, but many Saturday and Sundays are already booked through Thanksgiving, so I hope you can book us for any other days of the week through Christmas time to enjoy a ton of catching. And if you have kids under age 9 then our 21 ft kids trip in the creeks and waterway is a must trip for them during your stay at OIB. Take care and thank you to all the anglers young and old. Whoever catches the most fish on every trip wins a free, nice Follow Me t-shirt, so we always have a little contest going on per trip just for fun.

8-7-21. Fish are still biting great on our 4 hr trips in the ocean on our 42 ft boat. On average we catch 3 sharks, 3 red snapper, and 70 Black Sea bass on this trip (but only 3 keeper size bass) – so lots of action. This coming week of August 7 through 12 is looking great weather wise. Call Capt. Fred (910-612-5343) and he will try to work you in to fish this coming week.

7-30-21. Still running many trips. On our 4 hr ocean 42 ft boat trip we are catching more and more red snapper and a few grouper to go with lots of Black Sea bass and a few sharks. There are fewer octopus this year. On rough windy ocean days, we run kid’s trips and catch a big variety of small fish on our 21 ft. boat. Yes we have gone up on our 42 ft prices a little bit since everything from gas to bait to tackle to oil and tackle has gone up, but I think we still may be the least expensive especially for what we offer. Even though in the online system we are booked up for the month of August call Fred (910-612-5343) if you want to go to see if he can work you in the week you desire.

7-17-21. Running many trips. Catching, catching, catching. Today for example on 4 hr trip offshore caught a 40 lb redfish, a grouper, and 80 sea bass, and more and more rabbit fish (big smooth puffers). Thank you for fishing or cruising with us.

6-26-21. Sorry for the delay in providing reports. We have been really busy running three trips per day, including 4 hr trips on the 42 ft. boat, 2 and 3 hr trips on the 21 ft. boat, and sunset cruises on the 42 ft. boat. We have started to troll about twenty minutes on the 4 hr. ocean trip for barracuda and king mackerel, along with catching on average 80 back sea bass and 4 sharks on that trip. If you can get a day booked with us, it is a huge good time to look forward to. Hoping to see you soon. Capt. Fred

6-14-21. Capt. Fred ran a 4 hr fishing trip on the 42 Prowler this morning and caught 110 bass and 4 sharks. We have 4 hr trips like this every day in the morning for about two weeks, and on many days such as tomorrow and Wednesday we run sunset (or any time) cruises. Folks love riding on this big Miami-vice type catamaran, virtually brand new boat that offers great bathrooms, music, and fishing along port and starboard 42 ft lengths. Hardly anyone every gets sea sick on the boat it is so stable. We also run 2 and 3 hour kid’s fishing trips on our 21 ft. boat; call Fred (910-612-5343) if that is a better option for you.

6-13-21. Just read through the last ten or more fishing reports here, and if you can find an open slot, book us for a  trip. We have plenty of slots left for sunset cruises on our 42 ft. Prowler, and a few slots left this month for our 4 hr Prowler ocean fishing trips. Call Capt. Fred 910-612-5343 with any questions. Thanks.

6-10-21. Just finished up a 4 hr Prowler trip after running two 4 hr Prowler trips yesterday; caught grouper, red snapper and sharks but mostly black bass. Fred is a running a sunset cruise tonight and again tomorrow night. Call Capt. Fred if needed or just book your trip here for an absolute great time guaranteed. We are catching about 100 fish per trip on the 4hr trip, and our stereo system and seating and boy’s and girl’s bathroom are fantastic on our cruises. Book this 42 Cat for fun, fun, fun.

6-8-21. Folks we are running sunset cruises, 2-hr kids trips, and 4-hr offshore trips almost every day now. Just book online if you can or call Capt. Fred at 910-612-5343. Thank you.

6-2-21. Capt. Fred and Capt. Forest will be away from cell phone service through Monday, June 7 (mid-day), but you may book your summer trip online here by clicking on Book Your Charter. Beginning mid-day Monday, June 7, call Fred (910-612-5343) if you would like to talk fishing or cruising or booking a trip. Thank you.

5-26-21. Folks we are running 2 and 3 hr kid’s trips almost every day and catching about 50 fish per trip including usually 8 or 9 species such as spots, croakers, spadefish, toadfish, whiting, black bass, and an occasional red drum, black drum, or flounder. One of the kids on a trip yesterday quit counting his caught fish at 42 fish. And we are running 4 hr offshore trips almost daily catching sharks and black bass and red snapper, averaging 80 fish per trip with 10 keepers. And we are running 2 hour sunset cruises almost daily and these cruises are a ton of fun given our great stereo system, seating capacity, and Miami-vice type relatively new offshore 42 ft catamaran. Just read about all these trips on this website, and book your choice. Thank you.

5-21-21. Wow. Just in from a 4 hr trip on the 42 ft Prowler. Caught a record 22 keeper black bass (13+ inches each) while releasing 130 bass. No sharks. No Cobia, No kings. But also 3 red snapper. Memorable day with Ben and his four friends.  Just click on Book Your Charter and plan your outing with us for a great time catching.

5-20-21. Hello Everyone. We are running three or four sunset or dinner cruises each week, and our 4-hr fishing trips on the 42 Prowler are going well. We average catching 100 fish on these 4 hr trips, mostly black bass,  but cobia, king mackerel, and sharks are available sometimes too. The 4 hr trip is best right now since the king mackerel bite is slow on the 8 hr trips and the tuna/dolphin bite is slow in the gulf stream. Of course for small kids our 2 and 3 hr kid’s trip on our 21 ft boat are great too in the Inland Waterway with on average 50 small fish caught on each trip. Just click on Book a Charter and see our calendar and then reserve your day and time. Thank you.

5-4-21. Folks we are running 4 hr offshore trips often now mixed in with some 2 and 3 hr inshore trips and are catching a lot of fish and having a great time on every trip. We are also are running dinner cruises often. Call Capt Fred (910-612-5343) about a 3 hr dinner cruise to Oyster Rock up the Calabash River. Our 8 hr trip also is great now averaging a dozen big red snapper per trip and many other fish.

4-26-21.  Just finished up a “spread ashes at sea” burial. We have done more than a dozen of these. The one today was particularly moving so let me share the format with you the folks used. Four persons boarded boat with the ashes and large bouquet of flowers. We rode in boat and exited Shallotte Inlet a mile(s). The four persons each read a 1-minute eulogy. Then a couple of recorded 1-minute eulogies from persons not of the boat were played. Then ashes were spread followed by flowers dropped in one at a time; the flowers floated away behind the ashes. This was a very effective format. Call us with questions anytime you or a friend have a loved one who loved Ocean Isle Beach, Holden Beach, or Sunset Beach and desires to have his/her ashes spread in the ocean just offshore.

4-17-21. Today we ran an 8-hr trip and took the six men out 30 miles and caught a dozen 15 pound red snappers (that we released with the proper release tool as the season is currently closed) and many snapper, black bass, and trigger fish bottom fishing, after catching some albacore trolling. The king mackerel were still beyond the 30 mile spot today, but every day now the kings come in closer to shore, so come on lets go fishing.

4-10-21. Busy week for us over Easter with a ton of 4 hour trips offshore and 3 three hour kid’s trips yesterday. Offshore the sea bass are biting great on the 4 hour with catches of up to 12 keepers per trip with over 100 fish total common. In 2 weeks I expect the Spanish and bluefish to show up along with the sharks. We saw dolphins most trips and giant bluefin tuna jumping on two 4 hour ocean trips recently.  Yesterday was the first day I had inshore available for booking in over 2 weeks and booked 3 trips the same day. The 21 foot boat has received a new floor and 5 stages of sanding and waxing the hull so she is looking great.  We caught over 50 fish each of the 3 hour kid’s trips yesterday, with 12 keeper whiting on both the 2nd and 3rd trip also caught a trout, flounder, and a porcupine pufferfish on the inshore kid’s trip. All 3 kid’s trips we saw dolphins right in the calm of the waterway.  I did run several kid’s trips 2 weeks ago with below average results as the water was too cold, so we pulled the boat, made the boat improvements outlined above and are now ready to catch over 50 fish a trip inshore and offshore. Grouper season comes in May 1st and a long term customer has already reserved May 1 for a 12 hour trip.  We generally need to do the 12 hour for a chance for grouper as they are more common 40 to 50 miles offshore.

4-4-21. Hello Anglers. We are running 4 and 8 hour offshore trips every day now and averaging catching 70 fish per trip. Come on and reserve your day and time to fish on our exquisite, big Follow Me. See our 2-25-21 post regarding our low rates. We quickly take off all fish for you to maximize your time catching. I think you will go with us time after time after time after the first time. Whoever catches the most fish each trip earns a free Follow Me T-shirt. Come join the fun.

3-8-21. Hello folks. This Wednesday (3-10-21) the seas are to be calm and the black bass are biting great on our 4 hour trip about ten miles offshore. Come on and book a trip with us this week. I think we can catch a 100 and keep 10 on this trip.

2-25-21. We are staying at $150 per hour for up to six people for fishing on our 42 ft Prowler while other smaller charter boats at Ocean Isle (three 37 Freemans) charge $200 per hour. We are booking trips regularly for the Spring and Summer. Come on and book a trip with Capt. Forest and Capt. Fred who have the largest, nicest charter boat anywhere in the area and offer the most experience. Thank you.

2-12-21.No fishing reports in the last month as the weather has been mostly windy, rainy, and cold. We are still in business though and working on making weights, tying rigs, and getting organized so we wont have to waste time doing what we can do now during your fishing trip.  Yesterday, we stripped and respooled 10 reels with Momoi Diamond Line. Possibly the very best line you can buy. This takes us to over 50 reels with brand new line for this season. So we are getting ready.Thanks. Captain Forest

1-17-21. Fred and Forest have been spending 6 to 8 hours daily cleaning and re-spooling all our reels and making hundreds of new rigs and renewing all our licenses and doing boat maintenance. We are also taking charters when the weather is good. We take charters year-round no problem as both of our boats stay in the water except when we change the oil, paint the bottom, change lower unit fluids, etc. Just so you know, we carry two 8-man life rafts on all ocean trips in the winter and of course we always have two e-pirbs onboard, 4 fire extinguishers, 18 life jackets with lights and whistles, and over the top safety equipment on all trips. Safety is our first priority on all trips all year-round on the Follow Me.

12-2-20. Lately we have been running mostly 4-hour trips on our 42 Prowler. Today on the 4-hr. trip to our special 10 mile spot we caught 130 black bass with 10 keepers, an octopus, and three other species of fish. Only three customers were on the trip today including two retired Army vets. Thank you for your service guys. We plan to go back to the same place tomorrow on a charter. We saw gannets diving everywhere about 3 miles offshore which means there may be bluefin tuna just offshore of Ocean Isle right now. Come on and join us sometime for lots of catching.

11-16-20. Today was memorable because on a 4 hr trip offshore on the Prowler with 4 men fishing in 25 knot winds they caught so many fish they extended the trip to 6 hr and proceeded to catch 236 fish today, including 5 red snapper, 6 giant puffers, 10 keeper sea bass, a huge flounder, 2 octopus, and 200 throw back bass, all inside 10 miles at a special spot. Folks the fishing should stay great right on through the winter so book the Follow Me whenever you an go. We appreciate the business and you will love the fishing, I mean the catching.

10-16-20. Fred just finished up a 4 hr trip on the Prowler with six adults; they caught 8 sharks, 110 black bass, a trout, and many other small fish. They had a blast and did not want to return to shore, but Capt. Fred needed to get back to clean the boat up for a 2 hour sunset cruise this evening. Many folks go fishing thinking they may or may not catch fish but folks you are going to catch and catch and catch with us and we love to see you loving to catch um.

10-14-20. Fred and Forest are just in from a 7 hr charter with a newlywed couple; the couple caught 25 Spanish Mackerel, 4 Sharks, and 50 sea bass. We gave them (Adam and Lindsay) a wedding present – a Follow Me t-shirt to each. The fish are biting near the beach folks so now is a good time to go fishing. Please know everybody that when you catch fish on the Follow Me they are yours all to keep if you want to keep them (unlike some local charter boats that keep half of the fish you catch).

10-10-20. Capt. Fred ran a 4hr offshore trip this morning and caught six sharks, 4 spanish mackerel, and lots of black sea bass. The Spanish are biting; they are fun to catch and they eat good also.  Capt. Forest today ran two inshore trips on our 21 ft. boat and caught black drum and croakers and other fish as usual so everybody was happy. Whoever catches the largest fish on all trips on the Follow Me receives a free Follow Me t-shirt.

10-6-20. On our 4 hr. inshore trip on the Coastal this morning with Capt. Forest, the anglers caught a 9 pound 8 ounce sheepshead (a citation award was earned) along with lots of black drum, one red drum (redfish), and large croakers. As you can see, the fish are biting good on both the 4 hr. inshore Coastal trip and the 4 hr. offshore Prowler trip, so come on and lets go fishing.

10-5-20. Anglers we are fishing almost every day and running cruises. Just book your Fall trip with us here online or by calling Fred or Forest. Yesterday on a 5-hr fishing trip on our 42 Prowler we caught 12 sharks and 75 black sea bass. Forest has a 4-hr inshore trip in the morning on our 21 ft. Coastal. He has been catching lots of black drum, red drum, and other fish. Fishing is good folks. Take care.

9-28-20. On our 11 hr charter yesterday we ended up catching 180 keeper snapper, 3 African Pompano, 4 Tile Fish, a grouper, some amberjack, and many other small fish. This Wednesday Forest is running a 4 hr inshore trip and this weekend we are already booked up solid. Give us a call to reserve your fishing day or cruising day this Fall. Thank you.

9-26.20. Hello fishermen and fisherladies. Capt. Forest is running two, four hour inshore trips today and is catching black drum, red drum and sheepshead, along with many smaller fish. Tomorrow, Capt. Fred and Capt. Forest will run an 11 hour offshore trip on the 42 Prowler. Stay tuned for a fishing report on that trip. Give us a call or book us online while we are fishing. The Fall fishing is here as the yellow butterflies are everywhere telling us. Take care.

8-23-20. Hello folks. We ran a 11 hr trip on the 42 Prowler a couple of days ago and caught many African Pompano, Dolphin, Barracuda, 20 Grouper, 35 snapper (vermillion and gray), and some black bass. Forest ran a 2 hr trip yesterday and caught over 100 fish. We have run 4 hr Prowler trips almost every day. We are taking off most of the next two weeks from fishing in order to do some boat maintenance, yard  work, and academic work but after Sept 14 we will be chartering steadily again through the rest of the year as the fishing gets better and better. We have a 9 hr charter this Wednesday so stay tuned for a report on that trip. Just book us online now for some great Fall fishing. Thank you.

8-18-20. Sorry folks for the delay in fishing reports but we are steadily running trips mostly 4 hour offshore trips and 2 hour and 4 hour inshore trips and the fish are biting really really good. These three trips are the best for the next 30 days since the king mackerel fall run has not started. Book a trip with us and we will show you nonstop catching fish and a great time. Our secure online booking system here on the website is really good and folks are booking us even into october; even as we fish on charters folks book their desired day and time. Take are.

8-8-20. Fred ran a 2-hour kid’s trip yesterday and Forest ran a 4-hour offshore trip today. We caught over 50 fish on each trip. The kid’s trip caught ten different kinds of fish including 6 spadefish. This trip is a must if you have kids age 12 or less. The 4-hour offshore trip caught many sharks and tons of sea bass but today we were skunked on the barracuda but it was fun trying for them with artificial tube worms that usually work. In a week or so, we expect the barracuda to return to the areas we fish on the 4 hour trips as the hurricane probably drove them offshore for a short period of time. We are running several 2-hr cruises this coming week and they are fun too on our almost new, really nice, 42 foot Prowler, center console catamaran – the largest and nicest charter boat anywhere in the Ocean Isle Beach or Holden Beach areas.

7-29-20. Fred is just in from a 4 hr trip where customers caught 50 bass and 6 sharks and an octopus, and, Forest is just in from running a 4 hr inshore trip and caught several really big spot tail bass as well as many other fish. Forest also today ran a 2-hr kids trip and caught 60 fish (10 different kinds). Folks, go online here and book a trip with us; you will have immense fun. Thank you.

7-28-20. Forest is running kid’s trips today on our 21 ft boat. Fred runs a sunset cruise on our 42 ft Prowler many days; these are fun outings; read about the cruises under the Cruises icon on our site here. We hope to see you; book online is all you need to do to make your vacation extra good. To be honest many many of our customers we see year after year after year and this really makes our summer a rewarding time.

7-26-20. Today we ran a 4-hr Prowler trip and caught tons of black sea bass, six sharks, an octopus, and we had a cobia hooked up but did not catch him and we tried for barracuda but caught none of them but the six persons onboard were thrilled at the nonstop catching. We are booked up this week on the Prowler except for two-hour cruises but those are fun to do if you have time.  Tomorrow Forest runs one or two kid’s trips and Fred runs a 4-hr Prowler trip. Call Forest about the kid’s trip or just book online as there are more slots open for this week for 2-hr kid’s trips, and to be honest with you even adults immensely love fishing on the kid’s trips.

7-25-20. Folks our 42 Prowler is now fixed, up and running, so consider booking a fishing or cruising trip this week with us. Sunset cruises of 2 hour are especially popular as we usually see dolphin, go into ocean, and always see shipwrecks down the inland waterway. Bring your beer, wine, cheese, or snacks. We provide bottled waters for all, on all our 21 ft and 42 ft boat trips. We are booked for every morning this week (except tomorrow Sunday).

7-21-20. Folks we are running 2-hr kids trips all the time now and having a ton of fun. If you have kids age 10 or less especially or even older, go online here book a two hour trip with us for a great catching experience on our 21 Coastal. At the moment, on our 42 Prowler we are waiting on a steering part so are down for a few days unfortunately on that boat, but go online and book us on the 21 Coastal if you have any interest. Take care. Capt Fred and Capt Forest

7-14-20. Folks we are running trips everyday and having a ton of fun. For example today, Fred ran a 4-hr offshore while Forest ran a 4-hr Inshore this morning, and then Fred ran a 2-hr kid’s trip this afternoon – and we caught 70 plus fish on each of the three trips, and made lifetime fishermen and fisherwomen out of everyone literally from ages 6 to 80 on our three trips today. If you can find an opening on our online booking calendar, go there and book a trip-of-a-lifetime. Even our cruises are very popular for afternoon and evenings prior to darkness. We will be running two trips tomorrow and then an 11 hour trip offshore on Thursday. On all 4 hour or longer trips, big fish wins a free Follow Me Tshirt!

7-10-20. Today we ran a four hour trip this morning with a dad and seven year old son only and they caught 4 sharks and 40 sea bass and we saw a cobia and caught red snapper. This afternoon I am looking forward to running two, two-hour cruises. These cruises are a lot of fun. Just bring your beer or whatever is fine and check out this Miami Vice type vessel that we charter.

7-9-20. We ran a four hour trip today and then a sunset cruise. Cruises on our 42 Prowler Catamaran are very popular and a great outing for everyone to consider. On cruises I show you ship wrecks and talk shipwrecks and usually go in the ocean and we usually see dolphin.

7-7-20. We ran an 11 hour trip today and caught king mackerel, little tunny, barracuda, red snapper, gray snapper, black bass, porgys, sharks, and more. Lots of fun.

7-2-20. We have caught a cobia on every trip this week, along with tons of black sea bass and sharks. Plenty of barracuda on far off trips. We have openings for next week especially on the 4-hr Prowler vessel. Just book online for a wonderful experience catching and catching. Although we have never asked for a Facebook review, our customers almost always write or email us a 5-star review and we are thankful.

6-29-20. We are running fishing charters every day now and having a blast and catching many many fish on virtually every trip although many of the fish now are either too small to keep or not desirable such as barracuda and amberjack and undersized black sea bass and even sharks. We caught a 56 inch barracuda yesterday. We have a 7 hour trip tomorrow, then two trips on Wednesday, then a 10 hour on Thursday, two trips on Friday, etc. etc. We are so sorry if you go to our booking calendar and see us booked up for the days you want this summer, but give us a six month notice next time please for the cruise and/or fishing experience of a lifetime. We run charters all year round. Take care too in this crazy covin world we live in. We love America and you.

6-24-20. Today Fred and Forest mowed grass at our houses and did routine maintenance on our boats and rested up some to make sure the next two weeks of charter fishing and boat cruising go wonderful. Read the prior report for a funny info note.

6-23.20. Fred  ran a 4 hr trip offshore this morning and Forest ran both a 4 hr inshore and a 2 hour kid’s trip. Lots of fish caught on all trips. And by the way, every keepable fish on every trip on the Follow Me always is your fish to keep after we filet your fish and pack them in ziplocks (rather than us keeping the fish as some local charter boats do). This Thursday and Saturday coming up will be running a 4 hr and 4 hr and 9 hr far offshore trips on the 42 Prowler so stay tuned for great reports. Folks, on the Prowler trips you will always have Capt. Fred onboard, and almost always also will also have onboard Capt. Forest (we kid each other about who is the first mate, thats funny, bottomline is both Fred and Forest will work nonstop to make sure you catch a lot of fish). Forest’s USCG license is 100 ton Masters, a higher rank than Fred’s 6-pak license, but with both you will get 40+ years of charter fishing expertise onboard.

6-22-20. Folks we are running basically two 4-hour charters every day offshore in the Prowler and catching about 70 fish per trip including from one to twenty sharks on each trip. And we are running a sunset cruise almost every other day, even cruises not around sunset. Bring your wine or beer is fine. Everybody that goes will us has a wonderful wonderful time fishing (catching) or cruising. I hope you can find a spot on our online booking calendar to go with us. We are getting booked up rapidly for the summer as you can see. We immensely enjoy making lifetime fishermen and fisherwomen out of everyone that goes with us. Sorry for the lapse in reports but all is well and the fish are biting. Our two hour kids trips inshore are also very popular if you have children age 5 to 7 but oftentimes even on ocean trips we have young kids. We are very very kid friendly.

6-15-20. Folks on our last charter posted this on the Follow Me Facebook page. Thank you Jennifer. See all the great reviews posted there. This Friday and Saturday of this week are open. Book your trip now for a wonderful time catching/fishing/cruising this summer on our almost new 42 ft Prowler catamaran. “Hands down the best chartered fishing experience we’ve ever had! Captain Fred and Captain Forest treated us like family. They were very knowledgeable about the area and we caught SO MANY FISH! Then they battled through a driving rain storm to get us safely back to shore. We always felt like we were in great hands. We cannot wait to come back next year. Thank you guys for a wonderful time.”             Thank you for the post. You are welcome. We are looking forward to you all going again with us soon.

6-12-20. Sorry for the delay in putting up reports. We are running one and two trips per day and catching lots of fish. Just finished up a 4 hr trip on the Prowler and caught 4 sharks and 80 sea bass and other fish such as trout and croakers in the rain. We cancelled the trip for this afternoon due to rain and thunder. The fish are biting good and folks are having a great time fishing with us. Almost always on our ocean trips both Capt Fred and Capt Forest are together and this makes for fantastic efficient effective fun fishing (i mean catching). No octopus caught yet this year but that should begin soon. We have two 9 hour trips next week along with some 4 hr trips, and Forest has a 4 hr inshore trip in the morning and is loaded with newly netted live shrimp and mud minnows so stay tuned for a good report.

6-4-20. We are chartering every good weather day now. Just finished up a 4 hr trip on the Prowler. We caught 20 sharks and 60 sea bass and a few other fish. We see a big sea turtle or two on almost every trip now since this is the season for laying eggs. No octopus caught yet this year on the Prowler but they too will soon be in the spots we fish on all trips. Book now with us for a great time of catching, usually nonstop catching to be truthful.

6-1-20. We just finished up a 4 hr trip offshore and caught all the sharks and black bass and gray trout you could want. Today we fished a 4 to 5 ft sea with no spray, no rock and roll, no hard landings as we motored at 30 mph to the fishing spot. This 42 Prowler is an offshore racing, stable platform, fishing machine and a joy to experience so come on and book a fishing or cruising trip with us. As I am writing this report, Forest is departing on a 2-hour kids trip inshore on our 21 Coastal. Tomorrow, the 2nd, we have two 4-hr trips on the 42 Prowler, and one 4-hr trip on the Coastal 21. Take care.

5-29-20. Ran a few kid’s trips inshore with good catches of smaller fish. These trips are excellent outings on the water.  With the tropical storm, the ocean has been off limits the last few days so no reports.  We just purchased a new wrap around curtain system for the 42 Prowler that will cut off all wind and salt spray on any messy day; it should make for a nice ride out and back. The curtains will be installed mid-June but on this 42 foot cat almost all days on the ocean are fishable and fun and comfortable throughout the trip.

We have booked several trips for a lot of weeks between now and July so if you are planning to go fishing give us a call or go online and pick the day and time you want while you still have a few choices.

Thanks everyone who fished with us!

5-25-20. Hello everybody. We are running charters every day now just have been slow in writing a report. This morning for example we took Brooke and her family of 6 fishing on 4-hour trip on the 42 Prowler and caught about a 100 black bass and as many sharks as the guys and girls wanted. Tomorrow we have two charters scheduled to go, but the ocean is roughing up for the rest of this week, but we are hopeful of getting in all these trips on our 42 foot catamaran center console stable platform beautiful boat rigged with all safety equipment virtually possible including a ten man raft and dual epirb’s etc.

5-21-20. Forest ran a 4 hour inshore trip today on the 21 Coastal and caught Spanish mackerel and black drum and pan fish. Two six year olds were on the boat and when returning to the dock the kids wanted to get out and use the poles to fish off the dock. They had a great time and became lifetime fishermen. Forest is taking a 2 hour kids charter group out this morning (22nd). Stay tuned for update. Also we have opening for offshore trips the next few days and the ocean is to be calm so give us a call for nonstop catching on the 42 Prowler.

5-20-20. We have found some wonderful new bottom fishing numbers in 110 feet of water right near a couple of shipwrecks so our 9 hour and 11 hour fishing trips are now better than ever. We can almost always show you nonstop catching of snapper, grouper, and bass on these trips plus king mackerel (and if you want barracuda) so give us a call to talk fishing or just book a fishing trip on the Follow Me online.

5-18-20. Capt. Forest ran a 4 hour inshore fishing trip today on the 21 Coastal and caught black drum, flounder, and tons of small panfish. Two moms with their four sons ages 11 to 14 had a great time.

5-13-20.  Ran a 12 hour offshore bottom fishing trip 70 miles offshore with catches of tilefish, pink snapper, vermillion snapper, red snapper, grouper, gray snapper, sea bass, amberjack and much more.  We fished in water ranging from 110 feet to 600 feet.  This is a great trip if you are interested in possibly catching some weird fish that live their total life in darkness.  Any bottom fishing past 200 feet is pretty much done with electric reels (which we use), reeling a fish up from 500 feet is brutal enough but imagine the thought of manually reeling up a 2 to 3 pound weight for 4 minutes just to check your bait? But if you want to manually crank one in from that depth, I am happy to watch.

5-6-20. Ran a 3 hour kid’s trip today and caught many small fish, black drum, a 3 1/2 foot bonnet head shark and a 17 pound redfish. Great day on the water. Thank you Harrison, Luke, Mason, and mom & dad for fishing with me.

5-5-20. Today we fished a few hours trolling just outside of Shallotte Inlet and caught some bluefish but no Spanish mackerel. Also we want to let everyone know that Shallotte Inlet is not marked with buoys very well right now and the outside bar is really shallow at low tide; boaters need to be careful in the Inlet anytime around low tide especially until the buoys are replaced/repositioned as needed. We are booking charters and hoping and expecting to have a great Spring and Summer and Fall chartering and catching. We just put on the follow me website an online booking system so use that and/or give Capt Forest or Capt Fred a call to talk fishing.

4-29-20. Today we ventured offshore 30 miles and did not find any king mackerel as the water temp never got above 69.2 but we did get the limit on catching big three pound black bass and two pound gray snapper, and we released some nice grouper and red snapper since those seasons are closed at the moment (grouper opens May 1st), and we caught some nice vermillion snapper. We had a really fun time. Give us a call to go fishing anytime now. We are open and in the water ready to go. Thank you.

4-21-20. Captain Forest is now ready to start up again his inshore charter fishing service, targeting black drum, red drum, whiting, flounder (release only), speckled trout, bluefish, and Spanish mackerel. Forest also runs 2-hour kids trips for croakers, pinfish, whiting, spots, and puffers. On offshore trips now, Captain Forest joins Captain Fred on almost all trips to provide customers with two 30-year salt water fishing veterans to maximize catching on every trip in the ocean.

4-19-20. The Spanish mackerel in close and the spring king mackerel out 20 miles are expected to arrive here this week since they are now abundant off Murrell’s Inlet, so give us a call and lets go try them. Starting this Wednesday, 4-22-20, we will start back taking charters since the virus situation had stopped us for awhile; six persons are fine since Ocean Isle on 4-21-20 at 12 noon opened up the beaches and now allows up to 10 persons in public places. The black bass too are biting great on our four hour trip. Thank you. Capt. Fred

3-1-20. Just in from a 4 hour black bass trip. Caught about 100 bass and kept 10 that were over 13 inches each. No sharks or trout today. Saw dolphin and shrimp boats. The folks had a great time and I did too.

1-29-20. Just in from an awesome 4 hour black bass and spiny dogfish trip offshore. Caught over 100 bass with 15 keepers (over 13 inches) and we let three spiny’s go. We saw five acres of gannet birds on what I think were bluefin tuna. Today we had Don and Dave and Rusty doing the nonstop catching.

1-24-20. The recent windy days I think are ending for awhile so lets go fishing. I have plenty of black bass out at a 10 mile spot. At Ocean Isle when the wind is out of the north, northeast, or northwest it is calm out 10 miles (usually) so this makes for smooth fishing – but with our 42 foot catamaran we will  be smooth anyway. Take care.

1-17-20. This morning I booked three charters for June. Go ahead and call me or email me to book the day you prefer for a fishing trip this Winter, Spring, or Summer. Thank you. Capt. Fred

1-3-20. Happy New Year to everybody. I have been running a few 4-hour offshore trips and catching about 100 bass with 10 keepers, while also trolling some for bonita. Just call me and lets go fishing anytime. I am planning a gulf stream wahoo trip for next week. Stay tuned for the results.

11-3-19. Just finished up a burial-at-sea. I have performed more than a dozen bury-ashes-at-sea cruises. Just call me (910-612-5343) for details if you need this done.

10-12-19. Just finished up a 4 hour inshore fishing trip. We caught some flounder and spot tails and croakers. Fishing was slow for us but everyone had a great time anyway catching small fish that we through back. We let everything go today to grow a bit bigger. Yes I do have the 42 ft Prowler now ready to go. Just give me a call.

9-25-19. Just finished up a 4 hour inshore fishing trip on our 21 ft boat. Had a 6 year old (Allie) and a 10 year old (Luke) onboard along with two dads and a grandad. We caught 5 spot tail bass (redfish), several big whiting, several big croakers, and about 40 small fish. Folks had a great time. I will be running another of these 4 hour inshore trips Friday morning. Also this Friday, we expect to get our 42 ft. Prowler back from being out of the water for maintenance, so give me a call, lets go fishing.  The fishing offshore even within 10 miles of shore has heated up nicely with both king mackerel and black bass biting really good.

9-13-19. Just finished up a 2 hour kids trip with six person onboard including an 8 month old and a 4 year old. We caught probably 60 fish all together, no keepers, plus a crab and oysters and more. Most learned how to cast spinning reels and all have a ton of fun even the 8 month old that smiled the whole time until he finally took a nap. These folks told me they want to go again soon. I had a great time too watching and helping them catch fish almost continuously. We caught no big keeper glamour fish on this trip, but the fun was in the fight rather than the kill, so all is good. Just so that everyone knows, flounder fishing (keeping) is now illegal in NC.

9-11-19. Just finished up a 3 hour kids trip on our 21 ft. boat. Had three adults (mom, dad, granddad) with three girls whose ages ranged from 4 to 9. Each person caught about 20 fish, including black drum, croakers, pigfish, puffers, spots, pinfish, and toadfish. Everyone had a great time. I did too. The girls all learned how to cast spinning reels and zebco reels. This group was from Charlotte, NC and were thrilled to catch so many fish and have such a great time steadily catching fish at six different spots. We let all the fish go so they could grow up to become bigger. PS I am expecting to get our 42 Prowler back this weekend, and am booking Fall fishing trips on that boat now, so give me a call. Thank you. Capt. Fred (910-612-5343)

8-29-19. Folks, our 42 Prowler is going to be out of the water now for about 10 days getting the bottom painted and getting some routine maintenance performed, but Capt. Fred is anxious for the Fall king mackerel and grouper seasons to begin soon. Give him a call too for the popular 4-hr offshore trip that costs only $600 for 6 persons with no hidden fees (except tip first mate). Yes you do get to keep the fish that you catch that are of legal size.

8-27-19. I ran a two hour kid’s trip today with a dad, granddad, and a 7-year old and the three caught fish all morning, and we say two large sting rays in the canal system. The seven year old, Lane, caught the most fish and I think had the best time although we all loved the action from a variety of small fish. We did not catch any keeper fish just releaser fish but the fun is in the fight not the kill as they say in fishing. Thank you West Virginia-ers for fishing with me, and thank you Andy for calling me. Hope to see y’all again when you are in the area.

8-19-19. I ran a two hour kid’s trip today having two seven year olds and two nine year olds onboard along with two dads all from Connecticut. We caught 20 croakers, 20 pinfish, 20 pigfish, 2 puffers, 1 spot tail, 1 black drum, and a crab or two. Nonstop catching on this two hour trip. On our 2 (or 3) hour kid’s (or kid’s at heart) trip, we specialize on catching rather than waiting for a glamour fish to bite, so come on and lets go fishing. On today’s trip we got out of the boat a few minutes at Inlet View to take a picture of the 400 lb. shark hanging there. We made lifetime fishermen I think out of these young guys and girls today, so I was very happy. Downside is, the next time these youngsters go fishing somewhere else, they might expect the captain to show them nonstop catching, but hopefully they will come back and go with me.

8-13-19. I ran a four hour trip again this morning and caught two red snapper, one gray snapper, one grouper, six sharks, four bluefish, four trout, and 75 black sea bass. The folks from Ohio formerly from West Virginia had a great time and I (Capt. Fred) had a great time too seeing the customers hauling the fish in continuously.

8-12-19. We ran a four hour trip again this morning and caught 80 black bass and several sharks. We kept three sharks and cleaned and filleted them at the dock for the customers from Shelby, NC. We always clean and fillet the fish and put the fillets in ziplock bags for customers on these four hour trips. We had three 8 years old boys on the boat this morning along with three adults and they all had a wonderful time with each person catching probably 20 fish.

8-11-19. We ran a four hour trip today and caught about 60 bass with just three customers and we caught some sharks and even caught a genuine red snapper. We have been catching some red snapper and some octopus’s also on this four hour trip. Whoever catches the largest fish gets a free FOLLOW ME t-shirt on every trip and this is a fun contest every trip. No gray trout today surprisingly, but we will be trying for them again in the morning. Every day is different but every day for us is “catching.” Thank you to everyone who fishes on the FOLLOW ME.

8-9-2019. We ran two four hour trips today and again caught about 80 bass and a dozen sharks on each trip along with getting the limit on gray trout on the first trip and catching a few trout on the second trip. We are catching octopus on every trip too, sometimes as many as five, but usually one or two and we have been letting them go. Our trips are mostly “catching” rather than “fishing” so I hope you will book a trip soon as the fishing gets better and better as the Fall approaches.

8-6-2019. We ran two four hour trips today and caught about 80 bass and a dozen sharks on each trip, but no keeper bass. The customers kept three sharks on each trip and reported that the sharks cooked up very nice and taste great. Folks, I (Capt. Fred) am mostly running 4 hour trips now on the Prowler with various first mates other than Forest. Forest is out of town for the next few months.

8-2-2019.  Fish have been biting good on the 11 hour trips but as August rolls around things are starting to slow down. We ran a 11 hour yesterday for 2 people and caught several nice cuda with one 58” and around 80 pounds of keeper bottom fish including 12 grouper. A 9 hour the day before we had 5 on board and caught 25 nice sea bass and many big cudas along with a ton of other fish but the grouper apparently have moved further offshore than the 9 hour trip runs.  2 weeks ago on a 11 hour we ended up with 200 pounds of bottom fish including 24 grouper limit so they are still biting. We are catching multiple citation (special award) size cudas on the 9 and 11 hour trips and even caught a 4.25 pound sea bass on a 11 hour trip which was the first citation size bass (over 4 pounds) we have caught in 30 years of running the boat. We have caught tons of bass over 3 pounds but never quit 4 until last week. What a catch. Closer to the beach, we are doing well on the sharks and bass but the keeper bass are becoming difficult to find.  Still no Spanish and the kings have been slow in the spots we fish. It is a balance of running to where the kings may or may not be or killing the bottom fish in an area that is not as productive for kings on a 4 hour or 7 hour trip. We generally chose the sure thing.  Thanks everyone for fishing with me.

7-12-2019. Of the eight 4 hour trips and one 11 hour trip we had booked this week, we were able to run 5 four hour trips.  With the other trips being blown out due to high seas or storms. All the trips the sea bass were biting very good with multiple keeper fish on every trip except one where we could not find a keeper but still managed over 100 fish that trip. A few sharks scattered in and trout, but no kings or Spanish. Today was suppose to be an 11 hour trip but currently the seas are around 6 foot, so certainly not a day for the ocean.  Thank you for everyone who fished with me. I think everyone this week booked early and  were repeat clients from years past, it means a lot guys.  Big fish always wins a free Follow Me tshirt.

7-6-2019. Super week fishing as we ran multiple 4 hour trips and one 7 hour trip.  The 4 hour trips consisted of black bass, trout, sharks, and little tunny with plenty of keepers of each. 7 hour trip we caught 4 king mackerel along with plenty of nice bass and even some trout.  Note my last post, where I mentioned finding a new spot for 7 hour trips.  It did not let us down! Thanks everyone who fished with me.  We have 9 trips on the books for this week coming up but the weather looks horrible for Monday, hopefully, the wind will die out for us.  There are still openings for the following week, so book soon.

6-29-2019.  Fishing has been red hot offshore lately with 4 hour, 7 hour and 11 hour trips. The best fishing however has been on the 4 and 11 hour trips. We are averaging over 10 keeper bass per trip on the 4 hour trips and 7 hour trips, even a few king mackerel on several 4 hour trips and 20 trout one day along with sharks every trip along with 100 throw back bass per trip.  I did find a few new spots yesterday coming in from our 11 hour trip 18 miles out to try on future 7 hour trips were we caught kings and saw a lot of bottom fish on the depth finder. Offshore on the 11 hour trip, we are catching kings, snapper, bass, grouper, even two cobia over 30 pounds each.  Most of my trips over the past 10 days were from repeat customers, thanks to everyone who fishes with me.

6-18-2019.  Sorry for the late update on fishing. The fish are biting well. We have run several 4 hour offshore and 11 hour offshore trips. On the 4 hour trips the king mackerel, sea bass, sharks, and trout are biting well with plenty of keeper size fish of all types. Offshore on the 11 hour the fishing is also hot. Grouper, snapper, big bass, cuda, kings, big sharks, amberjacks, and more.  Thanks everyone who fished with me.

5-29-2019. Ran several inshore trips, kids trips and one 4 hour offshore recently. Offshore the bass are biting well with catches over 100 but no keepers (on 4 hour trips, plenty of nicer bass/snapper/grouper,etc on 9 and 11 hour trips). The good news is the king mackerel and little tunny are currently in range of a 4 hour trip. We caught 5 nice kings and 1 little tunny recently on a 4 hour trip. Inshore, the black drum and red drum are starting to show up, but it remains mostly little fish.  Big fish always wins a free Follow Me tshirt on the 42 foot Follow Me.  Thanks everyone who fished with me.

Also, I am no longer offering inshore fishing for this season due to extra constraints with my schedule, we are 100% on board to take you anytime offshore on the 42′ boat.

5-19-2019. Took 4 guys on an 11 hour trip today with catches of over 200 pounds of jumbo sea bass, pink snapper, vermillion snapper, red snapper, grouper, and even a 150 pound shark. We had several 50 pound barracuda around the boat but this group had no interest in fishing for them. The group did not want to troll or live bait fish (slow trolling) either  so we only bottom fished however, we leave the dock with over 15 rods ready for any type of fishing that is likely to be available based on the trip/season.  Thanks John (same John from May 1st, he was back again) for fishing with me. Trips are starting to book for the summer so sign up online today.

5-18-2019. Ran a 4 hour inshore trip today for 4 guys from NC. The fishing was slow however we managed many smaller fish but no larger fish today.  I wish they would have bit better for us.  Thanks Mike for fishing with me.

5-16-2019. Took 4 North Carolina guys fishing today on a 11 hour trip with catches that filled 300 quarts of coolers.  Jumbo bass, vermillion snapper, triggerfish, pink snapper, grouper, gray snapper, king mackerel, and a lot more with several Amberjacks we let go. Thanks John for fishing with me. Big fish wins a free Follow Me Tshirt on the Follow Me.

5-10-2019.  Ran a 4 hour trip today for 6 from Maine with catches of probably 200 bass. This number sounds like a lot, but with 6 fishing I am quite certain they caught over 30 fish each. We ended up with over 20 keeper bass as well and around 30 trout with all being legal size but a strict limit of 1 fish per person on the gray trout (weakfish).  We tried the Spanish but no luck. Great day on the water, Thanks Paul and gang for fishing with me. Big fish on the Follow Me, always wins a free tshirt.

5-1-2019.  Opening day of grouper season for our 11 hour charter. We caught over 500 pounds of fish and likely kept 200 pounds.  8 grouper, vermillion snapper, American red snapper, jumbo sea bass, large gray snapper, king mackerel, almaco jacks, amberjacks, squirrel fish, pink snapper, and many other fish including a deadly scorpion fish.  Scorpion fish are native to our area, not to be confused with the invasive lion fish. We also saw a sunfish swimming on top.  Be on the look out for a video in the coming days.  Thanks Jim/John and gang for fishing with me.

4-28-2019.  Boy Scout day today. We took 15 local Boy Scouts out on a 4 hour trip today with catches of over 200 bass. Everyone meet the “field” requirement for catching and cleaning fish. In a few weeks, Captain Fred and I (Captain Forest) will attend their meeting to complete the knot tying, and other classroom portions of their merit badge, leaving only the cooking fish portion as the final requirement for completion of their fishing merit badge.

Seas today were 3.5 feet every 4 seconds. It was choppy with white water out there and out of 20 people onboard nobody got sea sick (1/3 of the boat would have been sick on the old 28 foot Mako, which was not a small boat) and the boat handled very well, never really even needing to hold on.  Captain Fred and myself are excited to offer everyone this season a much nicer fishing platform for offshore fishing trips.

We are limited by the US Coast Guard to 6 people along with myself and Captain Fred (8 total) on charters but being a not for hire trip, the boat can easily fish 20 people. Be looking for the video of this trip on the website in a few days.

4-23-2019. Took 2 guys on a 4 hour offshore trip today. We caught over 100 bass with 9 keepers along with a few gray snapper, silver snapper and 10 bluefish. Thanks Buck and Denny for fishing with me.

4-18-2019. Took 6 ladies fishing today on a 2 hour “kid’s trip” ranging in age from 16 to 80. We caught 2 black drum, a stingray and probably 50 smaller fish. Everyone had a wonderful time. If interested in the 2 hour trip, please call to schedule as the trip is not offered for online booking.  Thank you Astrid and family for fishing with me.

The weather is taking a turn for the worse starting tomorrow with offshore winds up to 50 knots and seas 19 foot tomorrow night.  We can likely resume running inshore trip on Saturday and ocean trips starting Sunday or Monday.

4-16-2019.  Ran a 4 hour inshore trip today for a couple from Virginia. We ended up with 1 trout, 2 black drum, 1 flounder, 1 nice bluefish and a lot of smaller fish.  Also lost what appeared to be a Florida Pompano at the side of the boat or possibly a jack caravelle. Both fish would be a surprise catch this early in the season, but we did get a good enough look to rule most other fish out.  Thanks Dick and Meg for fishing with me.

The big boat is back in the water now, sadly too late for most of Spring Break, but ready to go 100%.

3-25-2019. No fishing to report. Both boats are currently out of the water for Spring maintenance, but will be launched in the coming days.  It should be a great year of fishing inshore as we did not have a fish kill this winter.  Offshore, with the new 42′ boat and the latest and greatest electronics, we are extremely excited to try our luck this season. We are starting to book already on the new online booking system, so check it out or give me a call to talk fishing.  Captain Fred has tied over 300 rigs for trolling and bottom fishing, and I (Captain Forest) have made over 500 weights (check out the weight making video on the website) and tied many inshore rigs.  We have also cut up and salted (so the fish can’t rob your bait) 100 pounds of squid for bait and packaged ready to go.  When you step on our boat, everything from pre cut bait, extra rigs, 10 to 20 (yes possibly 20) rods and reels rigged, and so on is ready to go, no time wasting.  You lose your tackle, simply grab a new pole already baited up, we will repair yours while you fish.    Many guys often say “my wife would have come if she knew yall took off the fish” We routinely take off over 100 fish per trip so don’t let “touching a fish” keep you from tagging along.  Of course, if you want to take your own fish off that is fine also but Captain Fred and myself are machines at getting the fish off and you back in the water fishing.  Also, check us out on Facebook by clicking the link on the top of the homepage. Looking forward to see everyone again and some new faces this season. Thank you.

2-26-2019. Went fishing today for the first time in over a month. A friend and myself went out on a 4 to 5 hour sea bass trip and we caught over 200 on jigs with our limit of 14 keepers. Ocean was calm and the fish were biting. The 42′ Prowler did fantastic.

2-6-2019.  The new Follow Me is here and will splash Friday after a few days of checks while on land. Everything is looking great.  Check out the new online booking system, where you can book any trip at anytime online, all automated.   No fishing for me in several weeks, but inshore reports are the trout are biting good, just difficult to find a keeper.  Offshore the wahoo bite is excellent if you can find them and I am sure the sea bass bite is great on the 4 hour trips.

1-23-2019.  I have not been fishing in the last two weeks. Expecting the new Follow Me (2017 42′ Prowler with 2018 power) to be delivered in a week.

1-8-2019. Fished today just myself and ended up with only 1 trout. Tried the trout and black drum for 4 hours. The water is badly stained but that alone does not explain the lack of fish (or at least why I did not catch them).

1-3-2019. Fished for 1 hour this afternoon just myself with a catch of 4 trout along with a few keepers (let everything go), hopefully the big ones will show up soon.

12-25-2018.  Merry Christmas everyone!  I was out of town for most of December but have resumed fishing and found the small trout 12 to 14 inches biting very good at times with catches over 30 in a little over 1 hour with 2 of us fishing. The larger trout are difficult to come by for some reason. We are catching a few black drum and sheepshead but very slow on these species as of now.

11-14-18. Fished with a friend today for 2 hours. We managed 8 trout but only 1 keeper. The wind was blowing 20 knots out of the northeast. We only tried the trout and only in one location.

11-9-18. Took and and two young guys fishing today with a catch of 10 trout, 3 black drum and a red drum. The red drum was 28 inches and 5 of the trout were nice sized. We also caught several dozen crabs. Thank you Jim for fishing with me.

11-4-2018. No charters the last week or so but I have been fishing myself a few times. Each trip I managed a ton of little trout but no keepers and a few black drum. I normally go exploring when not on a charter looking for new territory to fish.

10-23-18. Back on the water this beautiful Fall day.  We had to work hard for the bite but ended up with 6 trout with 1 keeper, 2 nice black drum, 1 eight pound sheepshead NC Citation size (special award for a fish over a certain size/species) and several croakers to keep things busy.  This was our 2nd citation size sheepshead in as many charters.  I think we could have caught more trout but we kept moving as they were not legal size.  Had one fish pull 150 yards of line off in 60 seconds only to have a space cadet boater run over our line and cut us off despite efforts to get him to slow down or alter course.  What a bad break.  Thanks Drew and gang for fishing with me.

10-19-18. Fished myself today and ended up with 2 black drum and around 15 trout.  Only 2 of the trout were legal and 1 black drum was legal size. Both species must be 14 inches to currently keep.  Still a lot of action on a day most folks did not catch much due to the east wind.

10-13-18. Took a 4 hour inshore trip today and found the bite slow. We ended up with 1 trout, 1 red drum and 1 sheepshead. The sheepshead was very large at 8.5 pounds and was awarded a certificate by the state of NC. Also, we released a 35 pound cow nose ray that we fought on 15 pound line. Thanks Greg for fishing with me.

10-9-18. Ran the first trip in a while today after canceling many due to poor conditions.  Took a husband a wife team today on an inshore trip and we ended up with 9 black drum with 5 keepers and a ton of other fish. We tried the flounder and red drum for a bit but not luck on either. Tons of small fish keep us busy while we waited out the drum. The water remains tea colored but it is big improvement from the black coffee color just a few days ago. Thanks Jim and Lisa for fishing with me.

9-17-18. Returned to OIB today after the storm. We are all thankful for the minimal damage to OIB. Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers and to everyone who emailed or texted their well wishes during this time.

9-5-18.  Sorry for the absence of reports but have only been fishing a handful of times due to other commitments this time of the year. The fish have been biting well though with catches of mostly black and red drum with many of good size and no poor catching trips to report out of the trips run. No real luck on the flounder or trout but we have not tried for them either really.  Thanks all who fished with me.

8-11-18. Fishing was great several days ago with nice catches of bull red drum, black drum and flounder, but the last two days the bite dropped off. We caught fish every trip but it is a hit or miss deal now.  Thanks all who fished with me.

8-8-18. The fish are starting to bite again with catches of black drum, red drum, croakers and other fish. We managed a 15 pound ray recently on a Zebco 404, talk about a hard fight.  Also, have viewed several spotted eagle rays in excess of 100 pounds jump 5 feet out of the water. The water still looks like black coffee so very thankful for the bite that we have. Thanks to all who fished with me.

8-3-18. The rain, wind and rough seas have shut down all offshore trips but we did run 2 kids trips inshore with good catches of croakers, crabs and other fish. Only a few flounder were caught. Hopefully, the weather will clear up for next week.

The Follow Me Two has been sold as of today and a new 31 foot Prowler Offshore Catamaran is on order available Spring 2019. We are still running inshore trips throughout the year. Thanks to all who fished with us this week and over the last 28 years.

7-31-18.  Rains and wind have continued forcing us to cancel offshore trips we had booked. As I write this report, the seas are 4.9 feet every 4.7 seconds offshore which is steeper than the steepness of a speed bump in a parking lot only 5 feet tall.  On the inshore fishing we ran 2 trips with catches of 2 flounder each trip and a good many croakers (when folks wanted to fish for them) and tons of crabs. Our water looks like black coffee now from the heavy rains the last 2 weeks and I have yet to relocate good numbers of fish.  I am even giving folks starting today the option to go or try again another time.  I think the fish are out there, it is just a matter of finding them again.  Thanks everyone who fished with me.

7-27-18. Crazy weather week with high winds, rain and high seas. We have not run an offshore trip. Inshore though the fish were biting good at the start of the week with nice keepers of black drum and flounder, as the week progressed the bite remained good with black drum and flounder but short of legal size. Toward the end of the week, the water became coffee color from the rains and the bite waned to only short flounder but we did pick up 3 over slot red drum (around 10 pounds each) during this period.  Just have to see where it goes in the next few days. Thanks for everyone who fished with me.

7-21-18. Fishing has been okay inshore with good variety consisting of catchings ranging from flounder, red drum, trout, black drum, stingrays, and tons of smaller fish. Good catches of blue crab also. Offshore, the ocean has been too rough most days but on the 1 four hour trip we ran, Captain Fred caught the sea bass well with a mix of keeper size, but no sharks or Spanish. The heavy rains may have pushed the Spanish off the beach. Thanks everyone who fished with us.

7-18-18. Nice day on the water today inshore with catches of several black drum and several flounder; today every fish we caught was of legal size.  Unlike the other inshore charter boats at OIB, who also have very nice boats, we run a 21 foot skiff boat with a 8 foot top that can easily accommodate 6 people compared to other charter boats that are crowded with 4 people and have no top. The top is a life saver for shade and today for a brief rain shower where we all stayed dry. We had to cancel our offshore trips today and yesterday due to rough seas. Thanks Todd for fishing with me today.

7-17-18. Was out of town for a few days but back to fishing again. Captain Fred ran a 4 hour with good catches of bass and Spanish but no sharks and on a 10 hour trip we caught vermillion snapper, gray snapper, pink snapper, tile fish, barracuda and several other species. Inshore the bite has been decent with a mixed bag of flounder, trout, and red drum but we have had difficulty lately inshore finding fish large enough to keep with around 1 fish out of 4 of legal size. Thanks to all who fished with us.

7-10-18.  Captain Fred reported good action on the 4 hour offshore with catches of 12 Spanish mackerel, tons of sea bass, 1 shark, and a few other fish.  Inshore today we caught several black drum and flounder, tons of crabs on a 4 hour and caught 1 black drum and a mixed bag of other fish on a 2 hour kids trip with tons of crabs on the two hour inshore trip as well. No red drum today but we had two on that just beat us.  Thanks everyone for fishing with me.  Big fish always wins a free tshirt on the Follow Me Two.

7-9-18. Ran a few inshore trips recently with a mixed bag of black drum, red drum, and trout with good catches of blue crabs and tons of little fish. No flounder recently even though we have tried a little for them.  My trips are designed around catching fish with glamor fish as a bonus instead of placing all our eggs in the glamor fish basket. We are going to catch lots of fish both inshore and offshore.  Check out our facebook page for updated pictures. Thanks to all who fished with me during this time.

7-5-18.  Four hour offshore trips have been good with catches of many sea bass with a half dozen legal fish, 8 to 10 legal Spanish macs and a few sharks.  Inshore, the crabs have been okay but not great and the fishing in general has been good with black drum, red drum and flounder. One inshore trip we only caught 2 flounder and a half dozen sharks so less than I had hoped for that day.  Thanks all who fished with us.

7-3-18.  Ran  8 hour and 4 hour offshore trips the last two days with good catches both days. The 8 hour we ended up with 8 kings and a dolphin (mahi) and the 4 hour we caught 8 Spanish, a ton of sea bass with a few keepers and several sharks.  Thank you Mark and Dale for fishing with us again this year.

6-29-18. Good trips by Captain Fred and myself today. Captain Fred took a group out on a 4 hour trip with a nice catch of Spanish mackerel and sea bass but no sharks even though they tried hard.  We had an excellent day on the black drum, crabs, and even got a few clams on the inshore trip, and did well on a kids trip in the morning also.  Thanks, Fred, Therese, and Brandon for fishing with us. Time for a short break over the weekend then back at it next week.

6-28-18. We ran a 6 hour offshore trip today with catches of 8 nice size king mackerel, 1 barracuda and over 100 sea bass with 10 keeper bass.  Thanks Chris for fishing with us.

6-27-18.  Captain Fred reported catching a dozen Spanish all keepers and 70 bass with 3 keepers on a 4 hour offshore trip recently. I (Captain Forest) caught a dozen flounder and several black drum today on an inshore trip. Only one of the flounder was legal size but a few of the black drum were legal.  Thanks everyone for fishing with us.

6-24-18. Ran several inshore trips designed around youngsters recently with catches of flounder and a few black drum and tons and tons of smaller fish including a few small sharks and sting rays. Crabs have been good and on one trip that included clams we found around 30 which was less than we hoped for. We even saw dolphin and sea turtles on some trips back in the creeks. One distinguishing factor on my trips (compared to some other charter boats) is everyone gets their own rod, even 4 year olds, and can cast at liberty. We love to bait your hooks, take your fish off and teach you how to cast (if you are new to casting). I even had a youngster that wanted to learn how to cast his cast net recently and he successfully caught us live shrimp for bait. I let you go fishing on my trips. If you want to load the boat with glamor fish inshore or offshore I am probably not your guy (although we catch plenty of nice fish) if you want to be the one holding a rod, casting, fishing, and having non stop catching then you will love our business model. We even had a gentleman say recently, “if my wife knew she did not have to take off fish and bait hooks she would have come”

Offshore, Captain Fred ran one 4 hour trip recently with catches of over 100 bass with 14 keepers, several sharks, and a 50 pound spotted eagle ray and a few Spanish mackerel.

Thanks to all who fished with us.

6-20-18. Fished a 2 hour kids trip and 4 hour inshore last two days.  Catching a mixed bag of flounder, black drum, red drum, sting rays, and trout along with a lot of crabs on the 4 hour. We always catch a lot of little fish on my charters. I love putting a rod in everyones hand and letting you fish. Thanks to everyone who fished with me during this time.

6-18-18. Ran a few 2 hour kids trips the last few days with catches of a few flounder, black drum, sting rays and even a small shark all back in the creeks. Also, catching tons of smaller fish and crabs in the traps. The little 2 hour trips are great for the kids. Thank for all that fished with me.

6-15-18.  Captain Fred and I (Captain Forest) have run several trips the last two days both offshore and inshore.  Offshore there remains a good bass bite with keepers and keeper Spanish mackerel with a few sharks mixed in as well. Inshore we are catching several nice flounder each trip, and a few trout along with a ton of other fish and good catches of crab most days.  Thanks everyone who fished with us.

6-13-18.  Ran a 6 hour offshore trip today for a family of 6 from NC with catches of 4 king mackerel, 1 false albacore, tons of sea bass with 7 keepers, a few gray snapper, all keeper size and even a flounder. Thanks for fishing with me Brett.  Big fish always wins a free t-shirt on the Follow Me Two.

6-12-18. After a beautiful week, the ocean has not been as friendly causing us to cancel our offshore trips on Monday and Tuesday. We fish rough water often, but we don’t force you out there if it is hopeless. We did run an inshore trip today with 3 flounder ,1 black drum and a ton of little fish and 20 crabs. Had 3 youngsters on the boat and it was a pleasure fishing with them. Thanks Jim and family for fishing with me.

6-10-19. Hate to disappoint people calling to go fishing, but simply needed a day off from the sun and a 5:30 wake up call.

6-9-18. Took a father and a son from Georgia on a 4 hour offshore trip today with a nice catch of multiple sea bass including 8 keepers, not bad for just two people fishing. No sharks and no Spanish, even though we tried hard for the mackerel.  Thanks Ralph and Mike for fishing with us.  Big fish always wins a free tshirt on the Follow Me Two.

6-8-18. Another great day on the water. Ran a 6 hour trip today for a group from Minnesota and South Carolina and the kings were biting good with a catch of 5 nice size ones but everyone wanted to test their luck on the bottom. The sea bass bite was slow but managed 50 with 3 keepers and 1 shark.  Thanks Caleb and Paul for bringing your groups fishing with me.

6-7-18. Great 6 hour trip today. Ended up with over a dozen king mackerel, a few sharks and sea bass for a group of 3.  Thanks Matt for fishing with us again.

6-6-18. Captain Fred took a group of 6 on a 4 hour offshore trip today with catches of 15 Spanish including 1 five pounder, 60 bass, and a shark. No keeper bass today but plenty of meat with the Spanish and shark. I (Capt. Forest) took a group of 6 on an inshore trip and we also trolled for Spanish as the ocean was nice with a catch of 10 nice ones before we came into the creeks and caught whiting, redfish, and many other fish, even caught the crabs good in the traps. Both groups wanted to book 6 hour offshore trips for Friday, but we are booked up for the next several days.  Thanks Mike and Tim for taking your families fishing with us.

Captain Fred is taking a group to Barefoot Landing later today on a cruise and I will run the Follow Me Three on a 2 hour kids trip from 6-8pm. The 2 hour kids trips are fantastic fun for the family, catching tons of fish, and even stopping to check the crab trap when set (which it usually is)

6-5-18. Ran a 6 hour trip today for a family from Iowa. Ended up with 5 king mackerel, 10 false albacore, 50 bass with 8 keeper bass, and came back in and even got several nice size Spanish in short order.  We were cut off quite a few times today from the toothy kings. Everyone was having such a nice time they wanted to extend the trip but I had a 2 hour later that day for a family from Ohio led by a 7 year old so we had to keep the trip to 6 hours. We caught over 50 fish on the inshore 2 hour  with 1 nice red drum around 18 inches and 3 dozen crabs. The 2 hour fishing the creeks is a super deal for the youngsters as they have a blast.  Thanks Craig and Tom for fishing with me.  Big fish on the Follow Me Two always wins a free tshit.

6-4-18.  Fished a 5 hour offshore trip today (same as a 4 just another hour) for 3 generations a granddad, dad and son who was 8. We caught over 100 bass with 9 keepers, 15 keeper Spanish mackerel, and 1 shark. Great day on the water with regular clients. Thanks Matt and crew for fishing with me again. Big fish always wins a free tshirt on the Follow Me Two.

6-3-18. Took a mom and her son fishing on an inshore trip today with slower than desired results. We ended up with 2 flounder just under the size limit about about 20 other fish. Tried for black drum, flounder, and others but just could not make it happen. What you do the day before or the day after is not much help in this business. We had a great time and caught a lot of crabs, but wish we would have caught a few more fish for such delightful people. Thanks Lisa and Dillon for fishing with me.

6-2-18. Ran two 2 hour kids trips each of the last two days. All the kids were between 4 and 7. We caught a ton of little fish on Friday then on Saturday again we caught a ton of little fish along with 2 stingrays, 1 flounder and 2 black drum. I don’t target flounder and black drum on these trips, but we sometimes will catch a few.  Thanks Ben and John for going with me on multiple trips.

Next available day is June 9th as June is starting to fill up, but there are still open dates left this month.

5-31-18. Took 3 guys from Indiana out today on a 4 hour offshore trip and we ended up with 2 king mackerel 10 keeper sea bass, 50 throw back bass, 2 trout, 2 sharks, a few Spanish and blues.  Fish are biting good so give me a call. Running a few 2 hour kids trips the next few days, this is an excellent way for youngsters to go catch 20+ fish each back in the creeks.  Thanks Ben for fishing with us today.

5-26-18. Ran a 4 hour offshore trip today for 3 guys and a total catch of over 100 bass with 17 keepers, 1 king mackerel and 2 sharks. Excellent day on the water. Thanks Ken and crew for fishing with me.

5-22-18. Fished 1 hour today just myself and caught 4 flounder and a bluefish, all the flounder were just under the 15 inch legal size but fun to catch nonetheless.

5-21-18. Fished inshore today on a 4 hour trip with 7 flounder, 1 redfish, a few whitings, stingrays and other fish. Tried hard for the redfish and black drum to start the day but no luck. Flounder are still running small, only one of our 7 was a keeper but they should all graduate to keeper size in the next few weeks. Thanks Corey and gang for fishing with me today. Things are starting to get busy, only one day open for the first week of June and much of the Summer is starting to book.

5-12-18.  We have run a few inshore trips over the last week with catches of flounder and redfish most trips. The crabs have been good as well. Today, we ran our first offshore trip in a few weeks a 6 hour trip where we caught 5 king mackerel and a mixture of bottom fish. We  have seen dolphins every trip as well, including inshore.  Thanks to all who fished with us during this time.

5-1-18. Ran a diving trip today out 40 miles with visibility around 70 feet. Great dive with lots of life and a 4 grouper shot for the table.

4-21-18.  Ran a few trips recently inshore with a mixed bag of black drum, flounder, and whitings. The wind has been too strong for nearly 2 weeks to contemplate anything in the ocean. The water temp in the ICW  remains significantly below normal at 63 today and with the cooler water this Spring and strong winds, the fish have “had a break” from us fishermen, which should mean more fish this Summer. We are seeing dolphins about every trip inshore.

 Also, ran a two sunset cruises which always go over well and are enjoyed by all.  Thanks to everyone who fished/cruised with us.

4-12-18. No fishing reports in the last few days. Waxing and painting the boats when the weather allowed along with tying rigs.

4-5-18.  Water is in the low 60s now in the creeks and around 58 a few miles offshore. We ran several inshore trips with a medium bite with most trips catching several keeper black drum and 10 to 30 whitings. We did have one trip slower than I would have liked inshore. Crab catches have been decent on the inshore trips as well.  Captain Fred ran one 4 hour offshore trip and caught over 100 sea bass with 12 keepers for 3 fishermen. The water is a bit chilly still in the ocean for the blues and Spanish but that should change in the next week or two. Thanks to all who fished with us this past week.

3-24-18.  Water back down to 55F with the air in the upper 40s, cold March day. Found a hour of time to fish this afternoon just myself with 5 bluefish and 1 trout. This last cold snap of the year should make everyone thankful for Spring when it arrives.

3-17-18.  Gave the fish another shot today, fished around 45 minutes just myself and caught 3 nice size trout.  Hopefully everything will pick up in the next few weeks. Water was 57F, hopefully it is all up from here.

3-10-18.  Fished last two days inshore but no real  luck. Only a few small blues and 1 trout. Talked to a few others who had poor luck as well.

2-28-18.  Hello everyone. Getting ready for the season to start up here, no fishing reports to speak of but I have gotten a few clams recently.  The water in the canals froze maybe 1/8 inch last month, and just a few days ago the water in the canals was 72F, go figure, crazy winter. The black drum, whiting, and gray trout should start to pick up inshore soon, and offshore the black sea bass and bonita bite will be the first action inside of 20 miles.  40 mile range, we could encounter sea bass, snapper, kings, cuda, jacks, and more now.  The gulf stream is generally good starting in March for Wahoo, then on into April for Wahoo and Tuna, followed by the dolphin (mahi). With the warm snap, everything may arrive sooner this year.

12-22-17. Follow Me Three has a new Rhodan GPS Trolling motor 36 volt 120 pounds of thrust. They are a bit pricier than Minn Kota and Motor Guide so we will see how it turns out. Thanks to Rhodan for extending a slight break to charter boat captains. So far so good with the new engine, looking forward to using the new equipment this up coming fishing season.

12-20-17. No charters but have fished myself for trout an hour or two a few days this past week. The trout bite remains decent with catches of 3 to 4 fish in a hour each time I go.

11-22-17.   Today on a 4 hour inshore we caught 7 nice trout and around 100 smaller fish for an aunt/uncle and 4 children.  The trout are biting better and should continue a strong bite for the next few weeks and maybe into February. Thanks Tracy for taking your family fishing with me.

11-5-17. Took two inshore trips today with a slow bite.  We found the smaller fish well but only picked up a few trout, flounder, black drum over both trips. Thanks Crystal and Joe for fishing with me.

10-27-17.  Ran a 4 hour trip inshore today with a catch of 7 black drum, 1 redfish, 1 flounder, and 1 trout along with a lot of smaller fish.  Only the trout was of legal size but our action was still decent.  Hopefully the cooler weather will fire up the trout bite. Thank you Jeff for taking you group fishing with me.

10-22-17.  Took a group of 6 fishing today on a 4 hour offshore trip. The ocean was a bit rougher than the previous day limiting our movements. We ended up with one 20 pound king mackerel, a little tunny and over 100 sea bass with 7 keepers along with a few other fish and an octopus.  Thank you Maureen for taking your group fishing with us.  Big fish always wins a free Follow Me Tshirt.

10-21-17.  Ran two 4 hour offshore trips today. First trip we tried the kings for a bit but no luck, went out and bottom fished and ended up with 6 keepers and around 50 other bass with only 2 people fishing. Also, had an octopus hooked up.  With two people feeling bad, we discontinued the trip.

On the afternoon trip, we had 4 fishing and started on the kings but no luck right away so we moved on to bottom fishing.  Managing time is a difficult process on a 4 hour trip. Even if you have confidence in kings or any other species biting, it is risky to devote the desired time to waiting them out.  Switching to bottom fishing, we ended up with 20 keeper bass with 100 throw backs.  With everyone happy on the bass, we decided to try the kings again and ended up with 3 nice king mackerel with one around 20 pounds in less than 45 minutes.  Thanks Jim and CD for taking your families fishing with me.  Big fish on the Follow Me Two always wins a free tshirt.

10-20-17. Ran an inshore trip today and we found the bite slow for the first hour but ended up with 8 black drum, 6 sheepshead, 1 red drum, and a lot of little fish. Only 2 of the black drum were keepers but we had a good time.  Lost one very nice fish after fighting for 15 minutes, had the drag lose and he just got lucky. Thanks for fishing with me Brian and crew.

10-15-17.  I have only run 3 trips since my last report in September partly based on the offshore hurricanes bringing in large swells and other jobs I do in the offseason. We had decent luck all three inshore trips I ran with the latest trip today catching 4 keeper size black drum and a slew of other fish.  Topped the day off with 12 stone crabs. Thanks to all who fish with me during this period.  The trout fishing should pick up soon as the weather decides to cool off.

9-4-17.  Ran a diving trip today out 45 miles in 90′ of water.  Visibility was excellent and after descending down 10 feet the bottom came into view. Plenty of tropical fish, lobsters and a few small grouper and hogfish.  Amberjack and barracuda where also seen.  No sharks in sight.

8-18-17 to 8-25-17. Only ran one 2.5 hour inshore trip during this period with catches of black drum and many other smaller fish. The water inshore is as dirty as I have seen in a number of years making fishing difficult. Clam digging is closed from the rain runoff but the crabs remain open and in numbers.

Also ran a short diving trip out 10 miles during this period. Normally, we can expect 30 foot visibility in this range but on our dive the viz was 15 feet at best.  American Red Snapper, grouper, large stingrays and a few tropical fish were spotted.

8-15-17 to 8-17-17. Ran a few 4 hour offshore trips and one inshore. Inshore we are still catching the crabs well and the little fish but the larger fish remain slow other than a few small flounder. Offshore the Spanish are fair with catches of around 6 when we try but the bass are biting excellent, with most trips catching 10 keepers.  Sharks are hit or miss, but we are finding them closer to the beach.

8-12-17 – 8-14-17.  Had family in town and took a break from the sun and fishing.

8-5-17 – 8-11-17.  The bite offshore has been great on keeper size bass with many trips catching 8 to 12 keepers on our 4 hour along with 100 throw back size. The Spanish and blues have been fair with catches of 6 or so fish with 30 minutes of fishing time devoted to them.  Sharks have been good as well.

Inshore the fishing has tapered off a bit on the quality fish but this is mostly due to the little fish being so prolific and finding our baits first.  Still we managed a few black drum and flounder most trips.  Crabs have picked back up with catches of 40 to 50 and over 100 clams when we ran this type of trip.

Thanks to all who fished with us during this period.

7-30-17  – 8-4-17.  Ran several inshore trips and a few kids trips during this time with a mixed bag of black drum, red drum, flounder, sting rays and many smaller fish. No trout in the last few days. On several trips we caught over 10 black drum with 20 black drum one day.  The crabs have been slower when we tried with catches of 20 to 30. Clams continue to be good with folks finding over 100 often.

Offshore the Spanish and blues continue to be hit or miss, but the bass are biting well with catches over 100 common and a lot of keepers to be on 4 hour trips (all I ran during this time frame).  Several trips we caught over 8 keeper bass with one trip catching 12. We are getting a few sharks on some trips as well.

Thanks to everyone who fished with us during this time. Many of you were multiple repeat customers and it is truly the best compliment to see the same faces year after year. Thanks!

7-29-17.  On our 4 hour inshore today we battled a few rain showers but nothing major.  The fish were biting okay with 3 black drum, 1 flounder and over 40 croakers.  We did not try for crabs today but did see sea turtles and dolphin again on this trip. Thanks Jeff and family for fishing with me again this year.

7-21-17 – 7-28-17.   Inshore the fishing has been better in the mornings with a few black drum, flounder, trout and even a jack crevalle and shark. The afternoon bite has been slow over all other than the small fish.  Smaller fish have ruled the day, stealing our baits but providing lots of action.  Most of trips run during this period were 2.5 hour trips for kids.  Crabs have been good on 4 hour trips with catches ranging from 20 to 60 per trip. We incorporated clamming into one trip this week and ended up with over 100. We also are seeing sea turtles and dolphin about every trip inshore.

Offshore the bite has been steady when the ocean allowed us to fish.  Only fished 4 hour trips during this period but the sea bass and sharks have bit well with one trip catching 12 keeper size bass which is super to be in sight of land. We picked up several undersize grouper and American red snapper on this trip also (currently closed season) Other trips have also caught multiple keeper bass.  The Spanish and blues have been hit or miss but several trips we caught around 20 only fishing 1 hour for them. Big fish always wins a free Tshirt on the Follow Me Two.

Thanks to all who fished with us during this time period.

7-20-17. Ran two trips today both 4 hours one inshore and one offshore.  Inshore we were led by 4 year old Matt and ended up with black drum, one flounder, and a ton of croakers and other fish.  Crabs were not as good today with a catch of around 20.  Offshore Captain Fred ended up with 5 sharks and 100 bass with 10 keepers. He did not try the Spanish. Thank you both Tyler and Adam for bringing your families fishing with us today.

7-19-20.  Had inshore and offshore trips today. Inshore we ended up with black drum, flounder, and tons of little fish along with over 40 crabs each trip and over 100 clams. Thanks Paul and Tiffany for taking your gang fishing with us.

Offshore Captain Fred reported “Ran a 10 hour trip offshore today and caught 15 grouper, tons of other bottom fish, and all the barracuda and little tunny you want.  Thank you Brian, Rob, Bill for taking your three teenagers fishing offshore for nonstop catching – for the fourth year in a row on the Follow Me Two.”

7-17-17. Ran two trips today both 4 hours one offshore and one inshore. Inshore we caught plenty of smaller fish but had a tougher time on the big fish but did manage one big stingray. Offshore ended up with 4 sharks, bass, American Red Snapper, trigger fish, and Spanish. Thank you Stacy and Brian for fishing with us.

7-16-17. Took a family led by  3, 8 and 12 year olds fishing this morning on an inshore crabbing, clamming, fishing trip.  This was the first time they had ever been fishing on a boat and we ended up with over 100 clams, 3 dozen crabs, and 50 croakers, pinfish, puffers and other fish. We did try the trout for 20 minutes but with no bites and the youngsters onboard we moved on to fish that would readily bite.  One of the youngsters even commented this is the best day ever. Thanks for fishing with me Travis, Tina and family.

7-15-17. Ran a 2.5 hour inshore today for a mom, dad, 3 year old and 6 year old. Ended up with 1 nice size trout and quite a few croakers and pinfish. Great day on the water for the little ones and mom + dad. We saw several dolphins including a mom and her baby that we have now viewed quite a few times on inshore trips along with a sea turtle. Thanks Ben for taking the family fishing with me.

7-14-17. Took a group of 6 on a 4 hour trip today offshore. After catching 40 bass, 1 trout, 1 triggerfish, but no sharks, several were not feeling well so we came back in to troll for Spanish even though we did not want to invest significant time Spanish fishing (it is hit or miss fishing).  Typically when we are moving people start feeling better unfortunately we only ended up with 1 Spanish but everyone had a great time and were feeling close to 100% again.  Saw multiple dolphins today as well.  Thanks Mike and family for fishing with me. Big fish always wins a free Follow Me Tshirt on offshore charters.

We were boarded again today in the waterway by the US Coast Guard after our charter. A quick 5 minute check this time and we were on our way again.  The Coast Guard today indicated our 1.5 hour stop on the 12th was probably a training mission for several on board. I suppose you know for sure now that Captain Fred and myself (Captain Forest) are clean captains with a seaworthy and safe boat.

7-13-17. Ran two 4 hour trips today, the morning trip we tried the Spanish but not luck however we did manage over 150 bass with 8 keepers, and no sharks to my surprise.  The afternoon trip we caught 8 nice Spanish, 8 nice blues, and 60 bass but no keepers on the bass. We did manage 2 sharks on the afternoon trip.  Managing time is always important on 4 hour trips between trolling for Spanish and fishing for the more dependable bass/sharks.  Thanks George and Bill for bringing your families fishing with us.  Big fish always wins a free Tshirt on the Follow Me Two.

7-12-17. Fished today on a 4 hour offshore trip with a total catch of 100 plus bass with several keepers, several Spanish, and a few other fish including sharks. Thanks Paula and family for fishing with me.

We were boarded by the US Coast Guard for 1.5 hours today 10 miles offshore on a random search adding a unique aspect to the trip.

On our afternoon clam digging and crabbing trip, we rounded up 150 clams and 4 dozen crabs, great afternoon of fishing. Saw several dolphins on the trip. Thanks Jeff for going with me.

7-11-17. Ran a 4 hour offshore trip today. Total catch of over 100 bass, sharks, Spanish, and an octopus. Only one of the bass was of legal size which was a little surprising. Bass have to be 13 inches to keep and we caught a ton of 12 to 12.5 inch fish.  Size limits do indeed work and while it may be frustrating to toss back quality fish; every time the size limit goes up a sizable portion of our fish populations increase right up to the legal size limit. Thanks Frank, long time client for going again.

7-10-17. Had a 3 hour inshore trip today designed around two young boys and ended up with trout and many other fish species. Thanks for going with me Lee and family.

7-9-17. Ran two inshore trips today with catches of trout, stingray, and 100s of croakers and other fish. On the morning trip we caught 40 crabs in the traps. If we have two inshore trips the same day, crabs are only offered on the morning trips (unless the morning group opts to leave some crabs for the afternoon group). Thanks Mac and Rocky for taking your groups with me fishing.

We ran a water taxi service to Inlet View Restaurant as well, thanks Joey for going with us.

7-8-16. Not a fishing report but  we often run sunset cruises, boat rides, or trips to Bald Head/Barefoot Landing. Thanks Cheryl and family for going with us to Bald Head today.

7-7-16.  Had two 2.5 hour inshore trips today. We ended up with over 100 croakers, pinfish, and other fish and one nice trout on the trips along with 40 crabs. Crab service is not typically provided on the 2.5 hour trip but I had the traps set for a personal crab boil and we had enough to share.  Thanks Keith and Mike for bringing your family fishing with me.  The 2.5 hour trips are a great way to experience the water and scenic backwaters along with catch a few fish.

7-6-17. Another six hour trip today that we converted to a 4 hour based on sea conditions. Tons of sea bass with 3 keepers, 3 keeper trout, and 3 sharks, not bad.  Thanks Shane and crew for fishing with us.

This afternoon we also ran a 1 hour boat ride trip but everyone was having so much fun we extended the trip to 2 hours and rode 10 miles up to mouth of the Lockwood Folly River past Holden Beach. Truly a great trip for the family. Thanks Jill for setting this up.

7-5-17. Took a dad and his two sons from Pennsylvania on a six hour trip today out 25 miles. The trolling bite was slow and weeds in the water complicated matters so we focused on bottom fishing.  Nice catches of large sea bass, one American Red Snapper (not in season), gray snapper, and several other types of bottom fish.  Thanks Randy for fishing with us.

7-4-17. Captain Fred ran a 4 hour offshore trip today with good catches of sea bass and 3 gray trout, he did not try the Spanish even though he had 6 outfits rigged for them. It is always a gamble (of fishing time) if you don’t see activity from birds or fish to start trolling when you know other fish will likely be biting.  Thanks for fishing with us Addison and family.

On the inshore trip I (Forest) ran today we were led by a 82 year old salt professional fisherman.  Ended up with 2 flounder, 2 black drum, 3 stingrays, a ribbon fish, and 50 other small croakers and miscellaneous fish. The party did not want crabs but 5 crab traps (or clam digging) are always an option at not additional cost on inshore trips.  Thanks for fishing with me Allan and crew.

Happy Birthday America!

7-3-17. Ran an inshore and 4 hour offshore today. The seas were sporty on the offshore and that is the outlook for much of the week but still fishable on 4 hour and possibly 6 hour trips. We ended up with false albacore, Spanish, bass, and a few sharks. The Spanish remain spotty; it is difficult to invest a lot of time in them the case being. Thanks Mark for fishing with us today and for the last 20 years!

 Inshore we ended up with black drum, one flounder, and a slew of croakers capping the day off with 30 crabs. Thanks Travis and gang for fishing with me.

7-2-17. Canceled trips each of the last two days due to rough weather. A 4 hour on the 1st with kids (unwilling to knowingly provide them a bad experience) and a 10 hour today.  When the seas are 4 feet every 5 seconds (with 6 footers mixed in) it slows us down to 10 knots in a sloppy ocean and makes changing spots and fishing in general difficult.  I understand most of my clients are from out of town and this is their one chance each year to go and once in a while we will cancel and turns out we probably should have gone (not the case this time) but there have been more times when we went, when we probably should have stayed home.  Follow Me Charters will do what we can to get you out, but on the 5% of questionable weather cases, our policy is to error on the side of not going when we should have gone, than going when we should not have gone.

6-30-17. Had one four hour offshore today, 3 kids and 3 dads. The sea bass were on fire with a total catch over 100 fish with 5 keepers. Also caught 4 sharks. We did not try the Spanish today due the the fish being scattered (not as dependable) and the kids having such a blast bottom fishing.  One youngster even commented this is the best charter he has been on. Thank you Lee for bringing the gang.  Big fish on the Follow Me Two always wins a free tshirt.

6-28-17. Decent day of fishing but the ocean was a little choppy. Ended up with a mixed bag of sea bass and Spanish over our two offshore trips.  Inshore trip we had several young children and focused on smaller fish catching over 50 along with a black drum and flounder.  We also found 70 clams in 45 minutes and 4 dozen blue crabs on the inshore. Thanks Jim, Jeff and Teresa and your groups for fishing with us.

6-27-17.  Took a son and his dad fishing on a 4 hour offshore trip today. Ended up with 6 Spanish of decent size, a bluefish, 5 sharks, and plenty of bass. We only made one drift on the bass and sharks since my party wanted to troll for the mackerel but the bottom bite was on fire.  Dead calm ocean and great people. Thanks Chad and Ted for fishing with us.  Big fish always wins a free Follow Me Tshirt on the offshore trips.

Triple day tomorrow, two 4 hour offshore and one 4 hour inshore so be looking for the reports.

6-26-17. Ran a 4 hour trip today for two dads and 4 sons. The ocean was fairly rough out 10 miles but we managed 5 sharks, nearly 100 bass with 6 keepers. Everyone fished hard and we had a great time. Largest fish on the offshore trips wins a free Follow Me tshirt. Thanks Jay and gang for fishing with me.

6-16-17 to 6-24-17.  I ran multiple trips during this time but have been negligent on posting reports.  We have caught fish on all trips fairly well. The inshore trips spotty on the flounder, trout and black drum but have gotten a few along with a ton of action type fish.  On 4 hour inshore trips we have averaged 50 crabs a trip.  Dolphins and turtles on most ever trip, yes on inshore trips.

Offshore fishing we have focused on 10 miles to the beach. Decent catches of Spanish mackerel, sharks and lots of bass with some keeper size bass mixed in.  Dolphins on a few trips but more on the inshore trips and no turtles offshore, go figure.

Thanks to all who fished with me during this time.

6-15-17. Took a group of 6 inshore fishing today with 3 generations on board.  We caught a nice size trout, black drum and probably 80 other smaller fish.  Topped the day off checking 5 crab traps with 4 to 5 dozen crabs.  With the kids on board, we targeted action as that is best suited for their interest.  Follow Me Three is the only inshore boat in the area with a boat design able to accommodate 6 people and the only inshore boat (to my knowledge) to have a large top for shade.  Thanks Kevin for taking your family fishing with me.

6-14-17. Ran double 4 hour offshore trips today.  The first group from Illinois caught over 100 bass with 6 keepers including a Genuine American Red Snapper, and 3 sharks. Seven year old Jackson caught the most fish.  The afternoon trip the bite was just as good with 3 sharks, over 100 bass again with 8 keepers. We did try the Spanish on the afternoon but no luck.  We had fishermen from 7 to 74 on the boat today and everyone fished hard. Big fish won a free Follow Me tshirt. Thank you both Steven and John and their respective groups.

6-13-17.  Good day on a 11 hour trip for two clients.  We caught a ton of bottom fish including 6 strawberry grouper, vermillion snapper, pink snapper, big bass, and others.  Ended up with 2 little tunny trolling but the weeds were so bad it limited our efforts until we moved east and found a good bite but all 5 trolling fish broke us off.  Usually bat about 0.800 on trolling fish but today the trolling fish had the luck.  Ended up with several sharks, a small moray eel to boot, and more fish than our party wanted so we took a few home.   Biggest fish always wins a free t-shirt on the Follow Me Two. Thanks again Richard and Willy.

6-12-17. Decent day inshore today for a dad and his 3 college age children.  Flounder, trout, black drum, bluefish and plenty of croakers and other panfish. Thanks Andy and family.

6-7-17.  Weather blew us out this week. Even calling for 16 foot seas Thursday.  Next week the sea forecast is outstanding as of now, so let’s go fishing.

6-4-17. Very nice day on a 4 hour offshore trip for a dad, mom and two young children. We caught around 60 bass and 1 shark. No luck on the Spanish.

6-2-17. Fished hard inshore from 4:30 to 8:30 pm with live shrimp and live mud minnows but no luck on the glamor fish, we did manage several smaller fish and 2 dozen crabs in the traps.  Hindsight is 20-20 but should have gone in the morning I suppose. Hate we did not do better.

5-31-17.  Ran an inshore trip today and ended up with 2 flounder and 2 trout.  We did not fish for smaller fish or try for crabs.

5-30-17.  Great day on a 10 hour trip today for a dad and his two sons.  Ended up with king mackerel, dolphin, barracuda, rainbow runner, little tunny, amberjack, pink snapper, vermillion snapper, gray snapper, triggerfish, bass, and more.  The ocean was pretty and the fish were biting well.

5-28-17. Had a 6 hour offshore trip scheduled but decided to make it a 4 hour based on sea condition. We ended up with 100 bass with 1 keeper and 1 keeper trout. No sharks which was surprising.  We tried the Spanish a bit but not luck.  Great day on the water all in all.

5-18-17. No fishing to speak off thanks in a part to being blown out a few trips, but have run several cruises to Barefoot Landing and sunset trips.

4-30-17. Ran an inshore trip today. We caught a lot of fish but no trout or flounder.  Mix of artificials, minnows, and cut shrimp.

4-21-17. A local captain hired me today to test ride and teach him what factors to consider when operating his new beautiful boat. Also ran a 2 hour sunset cruise in the Mako. Weather looks a little breezy for offshore for the next two days but call me and let’s go try the inshore fishing.

4-20-17. Back from Easter. Good news to report on both boats. We are getting a new Simrad 9 inch sidescan unit (suppose to show fish and structure 300 feet to each side) for the Mako 28 and a huge top for the 21 coastal, making the coastal the only inshore boat in OIB (to my knowledge) to have a top to protect from the sun.

4-14-17. Wrapped up with family over Easter so no reports for a few days.

4-13-17. Took a group of 3 generations fishing today inshore led by 3 ladies and a dad.  The first 2 hours we could hardly get a bite on anything and caught virtually nothing, but after the tide changed we ended up with 5 gray trout, 1 black drum, 10 nice whiting, and a slew of spots, croakers, sliver peach. We tired the speckled trout and whiting hard in the morning as well but no luck. The specks possibly would have bit after the tide changed, but decided to simply focus on the whiting and gray trout.  Great day on the water and super group to stick it out and catch em up good to end the trip.

On another note, the group that hired me to help them on their boat on April 9th, went today and had nice catches of sea bass and multiple big Spanish. These are the first Spanish I have heard of caught this year off OIB and they were all 2 to 2.5 pounders, congratulations indeed.

4-12-17. Fished myself today prepping for an inshore charter in the morning.  Eliminated a lot of water (spots not to fish on the charter) and ended up with 6 speckled trout and a mess of whiting. Only kept 3 whitings for lunch. Trout were spotty and small, so the plan will be start on the whiting in the morning.

4-10-17.  Took a group of 5 on a 6 hour offshore trip today led by a high school lady in a fishing competition.  We caught over 150 sea bass and she caught over 50 herself. We ended up with a dozen keepers, some of which were very nice over 3 pounds.  Also, caught were 3 moray eels, an octopus, and several other species of bottom fish. We did not try the bonita, but did see a little activity on top around 23 miles offshore but not enough to switch up our approach.  One of the more challenging aspects of running a charter boat is managing your fishing time, and even though we were pre rigged 100% for the possible bonita, it would have taken 10 minutes to switch the different rods over, 20 minutes to troll for them (to test it out) then 10 minutes to switch back to bottom fishing if no luck. Everyone was having such a great time, we jointly decided to stick to the bottom fishing.  Also, the dolphins kept us company at times during the day and we even saw one very big turtle.

4-9-17. Fished with a local man today and his two sons on their boat. At times someone will hire me for the day in this manner.  The object of the trip was to learn safety concerns, run the boat, and understand what factors to consider when fishing. We fished a bit and caught several sea bass and tried for the bonita but no luck. Water is still too chilly for Spanish, but we were able to learn what to do when they become available.

4-3-17. A family of 5 fish with me inshore today from Georgia. We tried for trout but no luck but did end up with a mix of perch, croakers, black drum, and whiting. Hopefully, the trout will pick back up soon now that the dredging is slowing down around the inlet and canals. Flounder should be here in 3 to 4 weeks as well. We did see multiple dolphins in the ICW.

4-1-17. Took a family of 6 from NC on a 4 hour inshore trip today for redfish and trout.  Fishing was slow with a few bites and only 1 trout.  Fished hard with many tactics, wish we could have caught more.

3-16-17. I am still here and in business, simply have not been fishing in 2 months (personally or charter).  Both boats received their spring maintenance, 100s of rigs have been tied, weights made, and all is ready to go.

1-14-17. Ran a 3 hour inshore charter today for a family led by a 8 year old.  The bite was slow at first but then picked up. We managed 6 trout all of keeper size but released everything.

1-13-17. Just me fishing today. Caught 2 red drum and 6 trout in around 2 hours. All the trout were legal size the reds were 17 inches (18-27 is legal in NC).

1-11-17.  Ran a scouting/fishing trip today just myself for 3 hours but never had a bite. Fished some of the same areas as yesterday.  Saw a dozen buzzards eating fish, apparently the cold snap killed a few trout. No dolphins today.

1-10-17.  Fished with a buddy of mine today inshore in 44F degree water.  Very nice day with around a dozen redfish and a dozen trout all of legal size but it was a catch n release trip.  Weather was chilly and it was misty rain, but who cares when the fish are biting.  Also saw 3 dolphin back in the creeks and ICW.  When the water gets this cold, the smart warm blooded dolphin’s advantages become unfair over cold blooded fish.

12-31-16. Ran a inshore charter today for a family of 4 including a 5 and 9 year old girl.  We started out on fish I knew would bite and caught a dozen small trout along with a bluefish. With the girls doing well and warm, we headed in search of a few keepers and caught 7 trout for the cooler.  Not a bad day to catch around 20 fish in 4 hours.

12-28-16. Friend and I fished for 90 minutes today, 7 keeper trout and 1 keeper flounder, all keeper size. Give me a call and let’s go give the fish a shot.

12-27-16. After celebrating Christmas on the 26th with the family, I took the two that wanted to go fishing today and we caught 22 trout and one flounder, including our 3 man limit (12 fish) of trout  all in under 5 hours.

12-25-16. Christmas day, just me fishing for the first time in over a month.  Caught 20 trout in 3 hours with 7 of legal size.

11-5-16. Ran two inshore trips around this date with a slow bite on the fish. We did catch a slam ton of crabs though and a few fish mixed in.

11-3-16. Took the same group from yesterday fishing again today, the bite was a little slower with 7 trout but the quality of fish was much nicer with 5 keepers of good size.  Big front coming in tonight with 25 knot winds, so it will be interesting to see how the fish bite tomorrow.

11-2-16. Had a 4 hour inshore trip today with a total catch of 11 trout with 4 keepers. Fished for 1 hour this evening and caught two nice size trout, kept one for dinner and let the biggest one go. Saw 20 other boats and no fish caught.  Thankful we had good luck.

10-31-16. Fished 2 hours inshore today just myself and caught 5 trout. Hopefully the bite will fire up soon.

10-29-16. Ran another 6 hour trip today, fished more to the west than the previous day looking for kings but again no luck finding them.  We caught several Little Tunny and sea bass. Big fish wins a free Follow Me tshirt.

10-28-16. Ran a 6 hour trip today and caught 15 Little Tunny and 40 sea bass with several keepers.  We tried hard for king mackerel but no luck. Big fish wins a free Follow Me tshirt.

10-14-16. Ran a 4 hour trip today out 8 miles. The water was black like coffee with a very strong current. 20oz of weight would not hold the bottom. We did not have any bites and came in to try for Spanish and blues with no bites. Canceled the trip and came in early. Things a bit stirred up from Matthew but hopefully it will settle out soon.

10-12-16.  No fishing reports lately, we dogged two tropical storms this year, but Matthew got us. Over all, the area was very lucky with the storm.  It is hard to say how the inshore fish are responding to all the freshwater.  Both of my boats are still on the hill, but we plan to put back them into the water soon. I do have around 10 trips scheduled between now and Thanksgiving, so keep checking back for updates.

9-23-16. Ran a 4 hour trip today offshore. We started off Spanish fishing and caught two blues. The bass bite was slow with around 40 fish and 2 keepers partly because of the sharks. We caught over a dozen sharks and many others busted our tackle up pretty good.  We concluded the day Spanish fishing again with several more bluefish and a nice redfish on a Clarkspoon.  The big redfish are here and this is a great fish to target close to the beach during the fall.

9-21-16.  Still alive here, just no fishing reports to post.  Between the two tropical storms that buzzed us offshore and school starting back things have been slow.  Hope to get out soon for a report.

9-11-16. A family of 5 fished with me today on a 4 hour offshore trip.  We caught over 100 bass but no keeper size. The bite was very good so this is encouraging but no sharks which was unexpected.  Also caught today was an octopus. We finished the day trolling for Spanish for 20 minutes and landed two bluefish, but no Spanish. Big fish always wins a free Follow Me tshirt.

9-9-16. Ran a 6 hour trip today and found the fishing slow. Ended up with 3 false albacore, 1 nice size Spanish, and around 30 bass with 4 keepers.  We fished the Shark Hole area, Busters Hole, and 3 miles offshore of Buster’s (27 miles offshore). Quite a bit of bait out there so hopefully the fish will follow soon.  Wish we could have found the king mackerel or a nice class of bottom fish.

9-8-16. Took my cousin out today to shark fish. We started by trolling for Spanish for bait and caught 2 along with a bluefish fairly quickly. It is a good sign they are starting to show back up. The shark fishing was slow, we fished 1 hour and managed one bite, boating a 4 foot bonnethead shark (like a hammerhead) that we released.

9-7-16. Took the family out today for crabs, clams, and shrimp. We quickly caught our limit of 200 shrimp, 40 crabs and 70 clams. The tides are not that low currently, so it made clamming tough, but 2 of us got 70 clams in 30 min, while another decided clamming was too much work :).

9-5-16.  Fished with 4 guys today on a 4 hour offshore trip and caught 50 bass but no keepers. Did manage a small grouper and a shark.  The bite was not as good as the previous day. Caught 3 bluefish trolling the beach.

9-4-16. A group of 6 fished with me today on a 4 hour offshore trip.  We did not try the Spanish on the beach due to the recent storm mixing the water up. Bottom fishing we caught over 60 bass with 4 keepers, 2 sharks, and a trout.  Fairly pleased with the results so close to the storm. Big fish wins free tshirt on all offshore trips.

9-1-16. Took a husband wife team fishing today. The goal was to focus on flounder, trout, and drum.  Unfortunately, we did not get one of the species above but did manage 2 bluefish, a small grouper, and several other small fish. Using live shrimp and finger mullet all day, it was disappointing we could not catch a few nicer fish.  Possibly the water is still too hot. 20 crabs rounded out the trip.

8-31-16. Ran a inshore trip for a family of 5 catching 2 black drum (one was legal size), croakers, whiting, puffers and many other fish. Also caught were 5 stingrays with the largest over 15 pounds.  20 crabs rounded out the trip.  They kept 15 fish to eat. No flounder even though we kept minnows out.

8-30-16. Took a family of 5 fishing today inshore.  Catches included 1 redfish and 1 black drum, both undersized and over 40 other fish including: pigfish, puffers, croakers, perch, pinfish, and a few others.  30 crabs rounded out the trip. No flounder even though we had minnows.

8-27-16. Six people fished with me today on an inshore trip. Total catch of over 50 fish with 6 black drum (no keeper size) and 8 croakers we kept to eat.  We saw a dolphin on the trip and had a small shark swimming near the boat (5 miles from the ocean).  Also caught were 2 stingrays about 18 inches across and 50 crabs.

In the afternoon, we ran a trip to Bald Head. A great way to enjoy the water if you do not wish to fish.

8-25-16. The family of 3 on the 22nd had such a great time fishing they booked the 25th also for another inshore trip. We did not do the crabs this time, but caught around the same number of fish and 8 black drum.

8-22-16. Took a family of 3 fishing today inshore, the child was 3 years old.  We caught over 50 fish and 4 black drum. Ended the day with 24 crabs, a pretty good day.

8-18-16.  Took a group of 6 fishing, clamming, and crabbing.  3 black drum, and 40 other fish. 20 crabs and over 100 clams, great day.

8-17-16. Ran an offshore and inshore trip today. Offshore we caught 1 shark, 50 bass, and a few Spanish Mackerel. Inshore trip we found fast action but nothing big enough to keep. Total catch over 50 fish and 20 crabs.

8-16-16. Was out of town from the 5th to the 15th, so no fishing report.

8-5-16.  Ran several inshore trips between the 2nd and the 5th. Catches of black drum, croakers, and other smaller fish. Good catches of crabs as well.

8-2-16.  Ran two trips today, an offshore and an inshore.  The offshore trip we had 6 fishing and caught 100 bass and 4 sharks, no keeper bass.  The inshore trip was a crab/clam/fish combo. Fishing 2 hours we caught 10 black drum, 1 flounder and an array of croaker, spot, whiting, pinfish, pigfish, puffers totaling around 50 fish. Several spots, croakers and whiting were keepers.  Black drum have to be 14 inches and flounder 15, we did not find a keeper here but plenty of nice fish none the less.  100 clams and 30 crabs topped out the day.

8-1-16. Wind blew us out of the offshore trip today but my group decided to try their luck inshore.  We had two 7 year olds, a 9 and 13 year old along with their dads.  Ended up with 3 black drum, and around 70 other fish: croakers, pinfish, and puffers.  I did not have the crab pots set since the trip was a last minute decision.  We did keep out 2 minnows all day but no flounder.  Inshore fishing for flounder, trout, and redfish remains slow and with young kids on the boat, we can’t focus on glamor fish.  Never the less, we should have caught a few flounder if they were around.

7-31-16.  Had a 10 hour trip today that was canceled. Winds were gusting to 20 knots and the buoys were reporting 4.3 foot seas (this is the average wave size) every 4 seconds.  Individual waves can be close to twice this.  Just not a good day to go offshore (assuming the weather buoys were accurate).  Interestingly, 4.3 foot seas every 8 seconds would have been fishable.

7-30-16.  Ran a 5 hour offshore trip today for a mom, daughter, and son.  We caught over 100 bass with 3 keepers but no sharks which was surprising.  We concluded the day trolling for Spanish mackerel, but no luck. A 7 foot tiger shark also briefly cruised by the boat. Big fish one a free Follow Me tshirt.

7-29-16.  Took a mom, dad and their 4 and 7 year old children on a 4 hour inshore clam/crab/fish trip today.  After finding 25 clams in quick order we switched to fishing.  We caught 1 redfish and 1 black drum along with a ton of smaller fish.  Unsure why the black drum were not biting better.  Two sea turtles were spotted on the trip as well.  Ended the day with 4 dozen crabs.

7-28-16. Took a mom, dad and daughter fishing on a 4 hour trip today. We caught nearly 80 bass on a strong bite with 4 keepers.  A few people were not feeling well so we came inshore to Spanish fish and get the wind blowing, everyone started feeling better but the Spanish were not biting.  On a side note, the buoys in the inlet are in their proper place once again.  Big fish always wins a free t-shirt on the Follow Me Two.

7-27-16. Ran two trips today, one inshore and one offshore. The inshore trip we caught over 170 clams, 2 black drum, and many other smaller fish.  Later we tried the flounder but no luck. Did not check the crab traps today.  On our 4 hour offshore trip, we managed 1 Spanish, 1 shark, and 80 bass with 2 people fishing.

7-26-16. Took 4 fishing today inshore. Total catch of 12 black drum, 1 trout and many other fish. No clamming today, but did catch 20 crabs in the traps.

7-25-16. Ran an inshore trip for two moms and two 2nd grade sons. We caught shrimp, 30 clams, 3 dozen crabs, and many little fish including a dozen puffers the kids loved.  No big ones today, but plenty of action.

7-23-16.  Took a group to Bald Head today.  Great trip for anyone who is not interested in fishing.  Trip included traveling 25 miles to Bald Head with a stop in Southport for lunch. Touring the island, lighthouse, and swimming at Bald Head.  We returned by ocean to Lockwood Folly Inlet, but reentered the waterway for a smoother ride home to OIB.

7-22-16. Ran a 6 hour today for a grandfather and his grandson. We caught 3 keeper king mackerel at the sharkhole and had a few others get off.  Also, fished on the bottom with so so action, we kept moving looking for keepers but never found one.  Did manage a small shark. Big fish always wins a free Follow Me Tshirt.

7-21-16.  Two 4 hour trips today.  First trip we caught over 100 bass with 2 keepers and 4 Spanish with 2 small kings trolling.  We only trolled for 30 minutes.   The afternoon trip, we only caught 20 bass with 1 keeper. I am unsure why the bite was so slow, but possibly because there was no current or drift at all offshore.  We did manage 12 Spanish and 2 small kings trolling.  We also lost 8 or so Spanish, they were very lucky getting off today.

7-20-16.  Had 3 generations of fishermen on the boat today on a 4 hour trip. The bass bite was excellent with a catch of over 100 fish with 6 keepers.  One of the youngsters was not feeling well so we ran around to get the air moving and tried the Spanish on the beach for 20 minutes with a catch of 2 Spanish and 1 bluefish before we had to head to the dock.  I think the Spanish are an option and plan to try tomorrow further.  They are a fast moving fish though, so each day is different, unlike the bottom fish that are more territorial in nature.

7-19-16. Took a dad and 3 sons on a 7 hour trip today.  We had a good report of king mackerel out 20 miles to the southwest of ocean isle 2 days before, but the kings were not there today.  Several other boats tried as well and followed us to 3 other spots when we left looking for fish.  We ended up with 1 small king, a nice barracuda, and a fair amount of bass, but no keepers other than 1 shark.  The bottom fishing is better to the east, so it was a gamble to run to the west.  My mate and I just were not able to get it done today to the level of quality (with respect to fish in the boat) we expect.

7-18-16. Had an inshore and a offshore trip today, both 4 hours.  The inshore trip revolved around two youngsters and we caught over 40 fish including many puffers, pinfish, big croakers, black drum, trout and others.  The offshore trip we caught 80 bass with 1 keeper, 3 little tunny and 1 Spanish.  The Spanish and little tunny were offshore around 8 miles on bait pods. The pods come up and go down quickly, so they are difficult to fish.  No Spanish on the beach, but we did try for 15 minutes.

Also, ran a water taxi service to Inlet View from 6:30 to 10pm.  It is a great trip, check it out on the website.

7-17-16.  Took a group from Maryland today on a 10 hour trip out 50 miles.  It is the 3rd time they have been with us. The seas were very nice and the action was as well.  We started out catching 5 big barracuda and 5 amberjacks.  Two of the barracuda were over 30 pounds and received a citation from the state (special award for fish that is abnormally big for its species).  All the cuda and amberjack were released. On the bottom fish, we found the bite slow to start and the cudas were stealing our fish as they came up. It took us around 2 hours of picking on a few fish here and there before we found the bottom fish in numbers without being harassed by the cuda. Total catch of our limit of big vermillion snappers (30) and another 20 keeper gray snapper, black bass, pink snapper aggregate for a total of around 50 keepers. We caught another 40 bottom fish we threw back along with 2 small sharks.  Big fish won a free Follow Me Tshirt.

7-16-16. Had a 2 hour clam, crab and shrimp trip today. We found 130 clams, caught 30 crabs and a lot of minnows, small fish and a few shrimp in the cast nets.  Two children 6 and 13 had a great time with their mom, dad, and grandfather.  The adults always enjoy the trip as well.

7-15-16. Ran a 4 hour inshore fishing trip today followed by a 2 hour clam/crab/shrimp trip. We canceled our offshore trip as the seas were simply too rough to take someone.  The inshore trip we had a dad and group of kids ranging form 8 to 16.  We caught over 50 fish including 8 black drum.

On the clam and crab trip, we found 60 clams in short order and everyone decided they had enough so we went and shrimped.  A 9 year old boy and 6 year old girl caught many shrimp and minnows and enjoyed feeding the seagulls a few minnows they caught. The 9 year old learned how to cast a net his first cast and caught over 30 shrimp himself.  We also caught around 40 crabs, a great day on the water.

7-14-16.  Had an inshore and a 4 hour offshore trip today.  The inshore trip the bite was fast on black drum, crocker, and other small fish.  No flounder but we had a 3 and 6 year old on the boat so the trip revolved around them.  Total catch of black drum was 8 and over 50 fish were caught in total.

The offshore trip was the slowest of the year, around 20 bass and no sharks.  The seas were rough limiting what we could do.  Weather man missed this one, he was calling for a nice day.

7-13-16.  Had two 4 hour trips today. The first trip we were met with rough seas but managed over 50 bass with no keepers.  No sharks either.  The second trip the seas were very nice and we caught nearly 100 bass with 1 keeper, and 1 shark.  We had three good runs on sharks, but only managed 1.  2 very lucky sharks to get off the hook.

7-12-16.  Started the day off with a 6 hour trip out 18 miles and caught 1 king mackerel, 2 little tunny, and 1 amberjack trolling. On the bottom we had a decent bite of bass with around 60 fish and 2 keepers.  Also caught were 2 gray snapper and many other smaller fish.  The bass bite was not as good as I would have liked out 18 miles, but the action was good enough.

We ended the day with a 4 hour trip that we cut to 3 hours because of storms.  Turns out the storms missed us but you never know.  The bass bite out 10 miles was excellent with a catch of over 80 bass fairly  quickly with 1 keeper and 2 sharpnose sharks.  We changed locations and caught a nice 6 foot hammerhead that we let go, and had another large shark rip off 100 yards of line before breaking us off. We only shark fished for 30 minutes.  The big sharks are doing great now and the 4 hour trip is an attractive option.   Big fish always wins a free tshirt.

7-11-16.  We had two 4 hour trips today. The first trip was met by high seas but we managed to limp out 5 miles and catch a few bass before trying the sharks on the beach.  The shark bite was great with 4 big fish on and one caught around 40 pounds.  The other 3 broke off our 100 pound test.  On the afternoon trip, the seas were very nice and we caught over 150 bass and many other fish but no keepers.  We tried the sharks again, this time rigged with wire and caught 1 around 30 pounds.  The big sharks are here and we have a realistic chance to catch blacktips and spinners up to 100 pounds if desired. Spinners jump when hooked, so they are an enjoyable fish to catch.  Big fish wins a free Tshirt on Follow Me Two.

7-10-16. Ran a 4 hour fishing, crabbing, clamming, and shrimping trip this afternoon.  After fishing for 2 hours catching 4 black drum, a large florida pompano, stingray, and several other small fish, the storms started to build forcing us to check the crab traps and call it a day.  No flounder, even though we kept nice minnows out most of the trip. We did manage over 30 crabs.  Unfortunately, we were not able to clam or shrimp. We also saw a dolphin in the waterway.

7-6-16.  Small craft warnings yesterday and woke up today to the offshore buoys reporting gust over 20 knots and 5.5 foot average seas.  5 foot seas means there are plenty of 7+ foot waves around.  Some boats run, some cancel.  I am conservative with the ocean as there is not much room for error out there. A 48 foot dive boat also bagged their trip for today.  I do not want anyone to get the impression I am quick to cancel, that is not the case.  Thanks.

7-4-16.  Ran a 4 hour inshore fishing/clam/crab/shrimp combo trip today.  The fishing was slow with only 2 small fish caught (we targeted flounder and redfish).  The water temperature was 88 back in the creeks.  We did have an excellent catch of 100 clams, 4 dozen crabs and 6 dozen shrimp.  The inshore fishing for crabs/clams/shrimp remains fantastic.  Sure I would love to go catch 6 flounder, but fishing is about taking advantage of what is available and right now (on inshore) that is crabs, clams, shrimp, and smaller fish.  We also saw a dolphin in the waterway.

7-3-16.  Back in action today after a 2 day break.  Met 4 guys and 2 girls at the dock at 6:30 and discussed if we should go or not. It was going to be rough, but they wanted to give it a try anyway.  We fished around 1.5 hours out 5 miles and caught close to 40 bass with 1 keeper, no sharks.  Three people were not feeling well so we came back to the dock.  Everyone was a super good sport despite some not feeling well.  I was pleased with the action but wish the ocean would have been nicer for us.  Big fish won a Follow Me Tshirt.

6-30-16. Took both boats to Bald Head Island today on a cruise for 12.  This is a fantastic trip for anyone interested in being on the water but not into fishing.  In the evening we took a sunset cruise, also another great option.

6-29-16.  Back to back 4 hour trips today with a good bite made for an excellent day on the water. The ocean started out nice, and got even better.  We started out trolling for kings 10 miles out and caught 1 nice size Spanish but no kings.  On the bottom our two fishermen caught over 100 bass with 6 keepers.  The afternoon trip we had 6 fishermen and caught over 100 bass with 9 keepers.  It is wonderful to see the big bass biting so close to the beach.  No sharks on either trip.  Maybe it is a coincidence, no sharks but bigger and more bass?  We also had a pod of dolphin swim under the boat. Big fish won a free Follow Me tshirt.

6-28-16.  Ran a 4 hour offshore and an inshore trip today. The offshore trip we had an excellent bite on bass for a party of 4 with many “two at a time” catches of bass. We caught over 100 easily with 2 keepers. Bass must be 13 inches to keep, and many fish are 12 inches.  No sharks, which was surprising and no Spanish when we caught several just the day before.  On the inshore trip we caught 5 fish but no founder, trout, or redfish. The bite on inshore remains slow (at least for us and the people we have talked to).  The crabs, clams and shrimp likely are the way to go inshore, as catches remain good.

6-27-16. Back in action after a windy break.  We ran two trips today a 6 hour and a 4 hour. The 6 hour we caught 200 bass with a family of 5 from Missouri, several snapper, sharks, and other fish. We tried trolling for king mackerel 18 miles out for 30 minutes but no luck.  On a personal trip (or if the client request) we may troll longer to “grind out” a bite or two, but after 30 minutes, I pretty much know the fish are not there.  With the bottom bite so good, we focused on that.

On the afternoon 4 hour, the bass were not biting nearly as well, which is strange.  They normally bite about the same.  The shark bite was strong as well as the Spanish and bluefish bite on the beach.  The Spanish were in the dirty water close to the beach for anyone who reads my reports with their own boat.  Also caught was a small king with gold dots.  Remember Spanish have a black dorsal fin, kings do not.  But small kings DO have yellow/gold dots.

6-24-16. The wind blew us out every day this week.  Small craft warnings, sustained 20 mph winds, and 4-7 foot seas are not fishable.  I hate it for everyone that did not get to fish with me this week.  I know full well how much everyone looks forward to their fishing trips. Looking good for next week though, 2 foot seas forecasted for Monday.

6-22-16. Took a dad and his 9 and 12 year old sons fishing today back in the creeks. It was one of the first experience for the kids fishing from a boat.  Each caught over 15 fish including black drum, croker, whiting, pinfish, and puffers.  We fished for flounder, trout and redfish with live minnows and live shrimp but no luck.  The wind was blowing hard and the purpose of the trip was to ensure the youngsters had action.  We concluded the day checking 5 crab traps for a nice haul of over 3 dozen blue crabs and 10 stone crabs.

6-21-16.  Canceled a few trips recently as the ocean has been too rough.  A sailboat practically sank today at a near by inlet yet many charter boats still went fishing.  I fish rough water (it is the Atlantic Ocean) and understand many of my clients only spend one week in the area and generally want to go fishing no matter what but sometimes you just have to make a tough call and cancel.   We can always do an inshore trip as backup if you desire.

6-18-16. Ran a gigging trip tonight for 2 hours. We got 1 three pounder and saw a lot of other life but no other flounder.  Generally, we see many flounder too small to gig and have a chance to gig 1 to 3 in a 2 hour trip.  It is a great trip for kids or anyone looking to venture out at night and see a lot of marine life.

6-15-16.  Had two trips today, a 3 hour followed by a 4 hour.  We had a dad and son on the 3 hour and caught 70 bass with 3 keepers and 2 sharks.  On the 4 hour trip, 5 people fishing with a catch of over 150 bass and 6 keepers. Also caught a 5 pound puffer and 1 shark. Super days fishing.  Big fish always wins a Follow Me tshirt.

6-14-16.  Ran a 11 hour trip today for a family of 5 from NC.  We picked them up from their private dock at OIB and headed out 40 miles and eventually close to 50 miles. The bite was excellent, caught and released 4 amberjack, 1 barracuda, and many bottom fish. We kept our limit of 25 vermillion snapper, close to 20 jumbo sea bass, and several gray snapper.  Also caught was a nice size cobia.  Super day way offshore.  Big fish always wins a free Follow Me tshirt.

6-13-16.  Three guys from Rhode Island joined us today on a 4 hour trip. We tried the Spanish in the morning and toward the end of the trip but no luck. Offshore 5 to 8 miles the seas were sporty but we managed around 50 bass with 6 of legal size and 3 sharks. I was fairly pleased with the bite considering the sea condition.  The clients wanted to release all the fish today.  Big fish won a free Follow Me tshirt.

6-11-16. Took two gentleman from North Carolina out on a 6 hour today.  The fish as I thought would start biting better after the storm, and today was the day.  Trolling, we caught 4 king mackerel and on the bottom around 60 bass with 4 keepers, 5 pound puffer, 4 sharks, and a few other fish. For just two guys fishing, the bite was very good with multiple 2 at a time catches of bass. We split our time between the bottom and trolling.  If the kings are there, we will catch them, no doubt about that.  Big fish won a free Follow Me T-shirt.

6-10-16. Two dads and 3 daughters from Pennsylvania fished with us today on a 6 hour trip.  The ocean was nice and the fish bit okay but still are a little stubborn.  We caught around 70 sea bass with around 7 keepers and 6 sharks.  Also caught were a grouper and a nice sized flounder. We did not try the trolling.  As always on the Follow Me, the largest fish wins a free T-shirt.

6-9-16.  Took 3 guys from Ohio on a 6 hour trip today out 23 miles.  The seas were a bit choppy with a strong current, but we pushed through.  Total catch of 15 sharks, and around 70 seabass with around a 10 keepers.  We could have possibly caught more keeper bass but the bigger bass like fish more than squid and unfortunately so do the sharks.  We jointly decided to go back to mostly squid because the sharks were causing havoc.  I guess that is a good problem to have 🙂  Also, tried trolling for 15 minutes but no luck.  We are happy to troll as long as you want, but after 15 minuets, generally we have a good idea (on any type of fishing). The water is starting to settle out after the Tropical Storm. Everything should be back to normal soon. Largest fish won a free tshirt.

6-8-16. Took a dad and his two daughters on an inshore trip today. We fished hard from the Jetty to the Shallotte River with live shrimp and minnows, but only managed one fish.  We also tried the Spanish for a bit trolling but no bites.  Out of over 50 boats, we only saw one fish caught.  The fishing in the creeks is hit or miss, and today I was not able to get it done.

6-7-16.  First time back out on the water after the storm. Still too rough to run an ocean trip so we did a clamming, crabbing, and shrimping trip.  Total catch, around 100 clams, 2 dozen blue crabs, 1 dozen stone crabs, 2 spider crabs, and around 8 dozen shrimp.  Super day!

6-3-2016.  Took a family of 5 from Ohio on a 6 hour trip today. The seas were exceptionally nice allowing us to fish 25 miles offshore. We started out trolling for king mackerel and other pelagics but did not have a bite after 30 minutes so we switched to bottom fishing.  The bottom fish were much more corporative and we caught over 100 bass with 13 keepers, 7 snapper, and 10 sharks.  We also caught two cobia that came to the boat while bottom fishing.  The water was crystal clear and we saw many flying fish. Super day on the water. Big fish wins a free tshirt on the Follow Me Two.

6-2-2016. Today we had two morning trips, one on the 21 Coastal (Follow Me Three) around the inlet and backwaters and another on the Follow Me Two out 10 miles.  Captain Fred ran the offshore trip and I ran the inshore trip.

Inshore trip. We found the fishing slow. Managed 1 nice flounder, a small cobia which was quite exciting, and around 10 other fish but no trout or drum (redfish).  We fished the Little River Jetty, a wreck near the beach, Tubbs Inlet, and about everywhere in between.  Six dozen live shrimp and 2 dozen minnows I really thought we would have nailed them.  Only saw one other fish caught out of 50 boats.  If anyone goes themselves, possibly try the incoming tide in the afternoon, we fished the outgoing tide this morning.  We still had a great time on the water.

Offshore trip.  Captain Fred reported a slow bite on the Spanish and bass, but he did manage to catch 8 Spanish and 70 bass with 8 keepers, 1 trout and 5 sharks.  We just caught 200 bass less than a week ago at the same spot but the bite was slower today.  I expect the bite to pick up again soon but we always find and catch fish on the offshore trips.

5-26-2016.  Took two dads and 4 sons from Indiana fishing on a 4 hour trip.  Started out for Spanish, but only caught one so headed out to bottom fish.  Total catch of 6 sharks, over 200 bass with 10 keepers, and two 5 pound puffer fish.  Super day on the water.

5-25-2016.  Dove 45 miles offshore with a buddy today.  We made two dives and caught 11 lobsters from 4 to 10 pounds, speared 6 hog snapper up to 20 pounds, 4 grouper up to 20 pounds. Also, fished a bit and caught a nice catch of bass and snapper.  8 of the lobster had eggs and were released.  Two others were donated live to the Ocean Isle Museum for everyone to go see.

5-24-2016.  Ran a 4 hour trip for 2 people today and caught 60 bass with 8 keepers.  Also, caught 2 Spanish, but we did not try for them that long. No sharks.  Not a bad day for 2 people.

5-12-2016. Fished with 3 people from Concord, NC today on a 4 hour trip.  We caught over 100 bass with 3 keepers.  A little surprised we could not find a few extra keepers.  Half the fish were caught on 2oz jigs.  Also, landed several bluefish, a trout, and 3 or 4 other species of bottom fish.  Four sharks topped the trip off.  We had a 40 to 50 pound Cobia circle the boat twice, but could not get him to take our live bait, a bit surprising as they usually can’t resist a live bait near the boat.  Extremely surprising was seeing a school of 30 flying fish. Normally, we do not see flying fish until we are at least 18 miles offshore, and more commonly 30 miles. We did not try the Spanish today, but they probably are around.  With the water having a slight chop (makes it difficult to spot the tideline)  and no seagulls diving (providing additional tips on the Spanish), my mate and I made the decision to simply bottom fish.  Everyone had a blast, hard to beat catching fish one after another on artificial lures.

4-30-2016. Ran a Gulf Stream trip today for a dad and his two sons from Lexington, NC.  Nice catch of mahi and got our limit on 3 to 4 pound sea bass.  The ocean started out nice but quickly turned rough sending us inshore in search of nicer seas.  Everyone did fantastic under challenging conditions.  The mahi should bite well for the next 6 weeks before scattering well inshore.

4-29-2016. No trips run since the last report.  The 1 or 2 nice days we had did not align with anyone’s schedule.

4-4-2016. Ran another 4 hour trip today for 4 people from the NC mountains. We caught over 150 bass with 14 of legal size and one trout. Everyone had a great time and most of the fish were caught on jigs over the traditional squid bottom rigs. Catching fish on light spinning tackle makes for extremely fun fishing. Jigs work well offshore on larger fish as well, so if you are interested in jigging let me know. The water temperature was 61F so still too cold to try for Spanish, blues, and other trolling fish, but it wont be long. Give it 3 more weeks and everything should be wide open.

3-24-2016.  Ran the first trip of the season today, a 4 hour for a family from Pittsburg.  We fished 10 miles offshore and caught nearly 100 bass with 10 keepers, led by an 8 year old fishing machine.  Since a few were not feeling well, we trolled around (to get the air moving) offshore 10 miles and along the beach for around 1 hour but no bites. The water temp is around 59, so still on the chilly side for trolling.  I did catch 3 bluefish earlier in the week fishing back in the creeks in only 15 minutes. So I know the blues are around, but apparently they are sticking to the creeks for now which are 5 degrees warmer than the ocean.

3-9-2016. No fishing reports to post lately.  The Follow Me Two received new cushions and a new coat of bottom paint recently, along with a new wax job.  Stocking up on tying rigs, making sinkers, and getting ready for the season.  Hope to have a fishing report to post later this month.

1-30-2016. Fished for trout today with my brother for around 2 hours as far away as the Little River Jetty and Dunn Sound. We ended up with 2 throwbacks (both in Dunn Sound). Both bites were undetectable, other than a little extra weight on the line. We spoke to the game warden on the way back and he mentioned he has not seen a trout (or redfish) caught in the last two weeks.  However, I watched two people catch around 20 trout in a 30 minute time slot this week (fishing off the bank) on Cajun Pepper Vudu Shrimp color but all the fish were throwbacks. They mentioned the fish would not bite any other color. They caught the fish with 4 hours of water with the tide falling.  I did not have a rod in the truck so could only watch the two catch fish after fish while the bite lasted. The bite stopped as fast as it started, but the good news is the fish are here, albeit in a finicky mood.   Stay prepared and be ready for when they resume biting, possibly in the next day or so with the warmer weather.

No updates on offshore fishing. I have not been in over a month.

1-16-2016.  Not much to report on the fishing as we have have serious winds for the last two weeks.  Did try the trout today and yesterday for 1 hour each evening but no bites. Talked to a few other anglers with the same luck as me.  I suppose the trout have finally entered their winter patterns, so  on my next attempt I will change the game plan.  At any rate, it was great to at least get back on the water for the first time in 2 weeks.

1-1-2016.  Happy New Year! Took my brother and brother in law out for a 2 hour trout trip today. We managed 8 trout with 2 keepers. Both keepers were 2 pounders and many of the throwbacks were right at the 14 inch limit, but with enough to eat, we let the borderline fish go.  Another great day on the water.

12-31-2015. Ran an inshore fishing trip today on the new Follow Me Three (21 foot Coastal).  Two guys from Texas boated 14 trout.  Most of the fish were 12 to 13 inches so just under the 14 inch size limit.  We did manage 3 keepers and a big fish of 2.5 pounds.  Lots of action and bites.  Great way to start off the Coastal 21’s service.

12-29-2015. Took 3 guys on a 6 hour trip today bottom fishing.  We caught a slew of black bass and kept our limit of 15. Nice seas and a great day on the water.

12-1-2015. We are happy to report that the 16′ McKee has been retired and a new 2016 Coastal 21′ with 2016 115 hp Suzuki will be available starting in January.  The boat has an excellent platform for chartering inshore with the room to take up to 4 fishermen or up to 6 passengers for clamming/crabbing or cruises. Check the updates for the new pictures once the boat is delivered.

12-1-2015.  Sorry for the suspension of fishing reports.  We ran approximately 15 trips in August then only a couple after that.  All the trips were productive trips with a lot of fish other than one where we tried the red drum on the beach in October and did not catch any. Nobody else did either out of 50+ boats, but that is hardly a consolation prize. I will resume my regular updates when the season picks back up in 2016, or if I go on a fishing trip myself.

7-29-2015. Had two 3 hour trips today and the ocean was very nice both trips.  The bass were biting well on the morning trip and average on the afternoon trip.  We did manage 2 sharks on the morning trip as well. The ocean was nice both trips but each time I had a youngster get seasick and the party decided to head on back in early.  It is hard to gauge who will get sick and who will not.  I have taken many youngsters as young as 6 this year with no seasickness issues at all.  Big fish won a free Follow Me tshirt each trip.

7-28-2015. Ran a 3 hour trip where we had a nice catch of bass but no keepers and one shark.  We tried the Spanish after my crew got a bit sea sick but no luck on the Spanish.  Normally when moving, people start to feel better.  Big fish won a free Follow Me tshirt.  Had an afternoon trip after an hour break, but the seas had gone from very nice to very rough in just two hours time.  Took the gang out of the inlet, thought about the seas, discussed with them, and we decided to bag the trip.  I will get you out there, but I am not going to take you on just a boat ride knowing we have no chance to provide a good service.

7-27-2015. Took 4 guys from Maryland today fishing led by an aggressive 7 year old who caught the most and biggest fish, winning the free Follow Me tshirt.  The ocean was calm, which was great for a change.  The bite on the bass was still slower than normal though.  We caught around 40 bass with one keeper and one shark.  The fish were biting okay like the previous day, but hard to hook for some reason.  After bass fishing we tried for the Spanish for 20 minutes and picked up 4 keeper size fish.  It is a good sign the Spanish are back in play as an option and we may devote more time to Spanish fishing with this new information.

7-25-2015. Ran a 4 hour trip today for a father son team and we caught around 25 sea bass with one keeper size and no sharks.  It was one of the slowest days I can remember.  The ocean was sporty, with a strong east wind.  The fish were biting okay, but they were hard to hook for some reason.  Certainly disappointing not being able to catch the guys a shark.  My mate and I were just not able to produce today like we normally do, but everyone still enjoyed being on the water and we all had a good time trying.  Big fish won a free Follow Me tshirt.

7-24-2015. Had a 7 hour trip today for six and we caught over 200 bass and 6 sharks, including our limit of 30 keeper size bass.  We did not troll offshore because it was very rough and all the other charter boats on the radio were not catching anything trolling. Eventually the seas ran us back inshore where we did troll for a bit but no luck. It really was a long shot considering the trolling bite was slow today.  Another great day on the water all in all.  Big fish won a free Follow Me tshirt.

7-23-2015. Ran a cruise to Barefoot Landing in Myrtle Beach today for 6 people. This is an excellent trip along with the trip to Bald Head.

7-22-2015. Weather man was calling for small craft warnings and 3 to 6 foot seas offshore so moved my 7 hour trip on the 21st to Friday. Today he is calling for 4-7 foot seas but with winds out of the north which means it will be nice for the first mile but likely very rough offshore.  Unfortunately, there are no Spanish around (at least the odds are not great enough to charge someone and go looking for them close to the beach), and it would be too rough to get offshore 10 miles for the 5 hour trip.  So after talking with my crew, we decided it would be best for them to book an inshore trip and I provided a few guides they could call to set that up.  I am dying to get you out there and go fishing, but small craft warnings and 4-7 foot sea forecast really take the ball out my court.

7-20-2015. Took a 3 hour trip today and ended up with around 80 sea bass with one keeper size.  It is hard to find keeper size bass on the 3 to 5 hour trips, but we do our best and we do catch a lot of bass around 12 inches, but the size limit for recreational fishermen is 13 inches, and 12 inches for commercial, go figure!!  Not sure how the lobbyist can tell a 7 year old she cant keep her 12 incher but a commercial guy setting a fish trap or using 24 volt electric gear can, but that is the law.  No sharks which was surprising, they have been hit and miss this year for some reason.  Biggest fish won a free Follow Me tshirt.

7-19-2015. Got a late start today on a 7 hour trip as my mate was not available until 10am. The ocean was nice, and we started out bottom fishing for bass 20 miles offshore and within the first hour had over 100 bass with our limit of 25 keepers (5 per person) and 3 amberjack. The guys wanted to troll for kings and dolphin but after trolling a hour or so with only one bite and one barracuda, we went back to bottom fishing and caught another 100 bass with around 20 being large bass we let go (we were at our limit).   We kept a live bait out on top while bottom fishing but no takers.  Biggest fish always wins a free Follow Me tshirt.

7-17-2015. The weather broke and allowed us to run two 3 hour trips for the same group of 8 (4 went one trip, 4 the next). The first trip we caught over 60 bass, one octopus, and 4 sharks but not keeper bass and on the second trip we caught over 60 bass again but no sharks. Unsure where the sharks went or why they stopped biting but that is fishing.  All in all, two great trips and the largest fish won a free Follow Me tshirt each trip.

7-16-2015. Another rough week, small craft warnings forcing me to stay at the dock.

7-13-2015.  Ran two three hour trips today and the fish were biting very well.  We caught over 200 bass between the two trips, with 7 keepers.  Also caught were one shark each trip and an octopus.  We kept a live bait out for a king or cobia, but not luck so close to shore, but there is always the chance.  Big fish won a free Follow Me tshirt.

7-8-2015. Ran two more 3 hour trips today.  The first trip we caught one shark and a ton of bass but no keeper size bass.  The ocean was rough but everyone managed well.  I tried to talk my second group out of going but they wanted to go, including 4 children between 5 and 12 years old.  Everyone did great even in a rough ocean.  In fact, the ocean was borderline me calling the trip off, and 12 oz weights were just enough to keep our baits on the bottom. We caught 1 shark, a ton of bass, and an octopus, but no keeper size bass.  Biggest fish always wins a free Follow Me t-shirt.

7-7-2015. We had two 3 hour trips today and had good action on both but the seas were sporty.  We caught plenty of bass and a total of 5 sharks between the trips but only one keeper bass.  Both my groups got seasick so we tried the Spanish for a bit on one of the trips but only managed one.  I did not have a lot of faith in the Spanish, but when we are trolling for Spanish, people often feel better than when we stop to bottom fish so it was worth a shot. Everyone was a good sport and did great despite some not feeling well. Big fish won a free Follow Me shirt on both trips.

7-6-2015. Ran the first 7 hour trip of the season after many 3, 4 and 5 hour trips.  The 7 hour did not disappoint, fishing 18 miles offshore we caught 3 king mackerel, 1 mahi mahi, 20 keeper size bass (our limit with 4 fishermen) and 2 snapper.  Also, we threw back another 60 bass.  Super day offshore.

7-5-2015 Ran a 5 hour trip today for a Dad and son, we caught over 70 bass with 4 keepers and 4 sharks.  Very nice day to have only two people fishing.  We kept two live baits out all day but no luck.  Also tried the Spanish along the beach but not luck on them.  Bass are still biting good on the 3 and 5 hour trips, along with the sharks at times.

July 4th. Another rough week, canceled several trips.

6-29-2015. Ran a 4 hour trip today for 4 people.  Nice catch of bass, but only two keepers along with 1 shark.

6-26-2015.  Bad week on the weather, so canceled trips one by one as the week progressed.  I will try to get you out there, but it needs to be safe and fun.

6-22-2015. Had two trips today, the first trip my mate and I took two clients out 5 miles to bottom fish for bass and sharks.  We caught over 40 bass which was good for just two people on a 3 hour and 3 sharks.  They did not want any of the fish so we tossed them all back but several may have made the 13 inch size limit.  I know right where we left them, so come on and go fishing with us. In addition, we picked up a nice king mackerel.  The second trip was a clamming and crabbing trip where we found 1/2 a five gallon bucket of clams and 4 dozen crabs.  Not too bad.

6-18-2015.  Took a dad and his two adult children fishing on a 5 hour trip today.  We caught over 80 bass with 5 keepers fishing around 10 miles out. In addition, we kept two live baits out in hopes of attracting a king or cobia, but no takers today.  We tried for 15 minutes on the beach for Spanish and blues, but not luck and also had no luck on the sharks.  I am unsure where all the 4 foot sharks went, but hopefully they will return soon.  There have been some kings caught around 18 miles out, so anyone looking for kings check out the 7 hour trip.  This trip allows us to fish the 20 mile range.  In addition, there should be significantly more keeper size sea bass out 20 miles.  As always, biggest fish wins a free Follow Me tshirt.

6-17-2015. Ran two trips today, a 5 hour and a 3 hour.  On the morning 5 hour we tried the Spanish for 20 minuets but only caught two, along with a few other bites.  The bass were biting heavily though, and we probably caught over 150 with 5 keepers.  Surprisingly, no sharks on the morning 5 hour trip.  The afternoon 3 hour trip, the bass bite slowed but we still managed 40 with 3 people fishing along with a shark and a cobia.  The biggest fish, won a free Follow Me tshirt each trip.

6-16-2015. Had a group from Missouri today on a 5 hour trip. Started out trying the Spanish but only picked up 2 so headed offshore 5 miles to bottomfish.  Ended up with 80 bass, with one keeper.  Also caught 6 sharks, and a gray trout that we were able to keep along with a cobia that was just shy of the 33 inch size limit.  The highlight of the trip possibly was having a 300# tiger shark, over 9 feet long swim around the boat for a few moments.  Everyone was able to get a good visual on the shark.  As always, the largest fish won a free Follow Me tshirt.

6-15-2015. Fished a 3 hour trip today with good action on the bass with a total catch of 60 fish but no keepers.  Also managed 3 sharks up to 20 pounds and 3 Spanish.  Did see a turtle and several dolphins. As always, the largest fish wins a free Follow Me tshirt.

6-8-2015. Fished a 4 hour trip today and caught a few bass but they were slow with no keepers.  Did catch around a dozen Spanish and Blues along with a few sharks.

6-2-2015.  Had a 4 hour trip today for a group of 5 from West Virginia.  We had nice seas and were able to catch 70 bass with 4 keepers along with 4 sharks.  Also caught was a nice cobia and we had another cobia around the boat but could not get him to take a bait.  We finished the day by trying for a resident barracuda near a buoy but were not able to get him to bite, however everyone did see the fish.  As always, biggest fish caught wins a free tshirt.

5-29-2015.  Ran a gigging trip for a dad and this two sons.  We did not see a flounder during the 2 hour trip, but the boys did net 8 crabs.   We all had a great time, just wish the flounder would have cooperated.

5-25-2015.  Took a husband and wife team on a 5 hour trip out 8 miles today.  We caught over 60 bass total, but only one keeper, also one keeper trout.  We tried the Spanish with no luck, as well as kept a free line live bait out for a king, cobia, or cuda but no luck there either.  Unsure where the keeper size bass whet, hopefully it was just the east wind and they will return shortly for the close in spots we fish on the 5 hour trips.

5-13-2015.  Ran gigging trips the 13th and 14th for 2 hours each.  First night we got 3 keepers and ended up with 2 keepers the second night.  Saw several more undersize fish each night.  There were a few mullet, crabs and minnows but not as much as we normally see.  All in all a great night.  Just to remind everyone, we run a 70# thrust 24 volt trolling motor with over 2000 watts of LED batter power lights, so everything is dead silent and very safe with no generator on board.

4-8-2015.  Ran the first trip of the season today, a 5 hour trip in search of black sea bass and bonita.  We had two people fishing from NC, and they boated 100 bass in less than 2 hours with 10 keepers (13+ inches) and many fish in the 12 inch range.  Also, they caught a nice size gray trout.  No sharks to be found, but they should show up by May as we are in a transition period between the winter shark species and the summer shark species.  Also, no bonita trolling but they could show up at any time as they like the colder water.  I think we are 2 to 3 weeks away from the Spanish mackerel bite inshore but the good news is the bass are thick on the 5 hour trip and also on the 3 hour, but with a much better chance of catching keeper size fish on the 5 hour since we fish further offshore. Reports 30 miles out have been great on the bottom fish as well, with big bass, and snapper biting well.  If we can find 67 degree water offshore, there will be a shot at the king mackerel.  Water temp 10 miles out was a chilly 63 F with 65 F on the beach.  All in all a great day, not bad to pull right up and start catching fish on the first trip of the season right away.

10-8-2014. Ran a 2.5 hour gigging trip and saw 8 fish with 4 keeper size.  We were 4 for 4 on fish we gigged with the large fish being 8 pounds. The small fish we did not gig but did touch them and watched them swim off the bank.  Also, saw a lot of mullet, minnows, crabs, and other fish.  Great night of gigging!

 

10-1-2014.  Had a 3 hour trip today and we started out by catching live bait in hopes of finding several bull redfish.  The bait came easy, but the redfish were not around.  We did manage to get 4 sharks, with one being 35 pounds.  Also, tried the Spanish but no luck.  There was quite a bit of bird activity, so not catching the Spanish was surprising.

 

9-26-2014.  Fished a two hour trip today with a stiff NE wind forcing us to the beach.  We caught one Spanish around 2 pounds and lost 5 more.  Slow day over all but we all had a good time on the water.

 

9-14-2014. We were planning on a 7 hour trip today, but were met with stiff north east winds so my party decided to convert to a 3 hour and try the Spanish.  The Spanish were biting well today, with a catch of 25 fish with 15 keepers and 2 bluefish.  Many of the Spanish were 2 to 3 pounds.