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My wife, Amanda and I have also been hard after the Bluefin on the MacMarle'n.  Capt. Roger has had the upper hand on us for a few days aboard the ShowTime, but we showed him we mean business as well by boating a double header 88 and 90 inch Bluefin bite on Tuesday.  We look forward to getting back after them this week- stay tuned for reports.

Hope everyone has had a great Christmas.  We've had an eventful last week as the Bluefin fishing was good.  The ShowTime had the hot hand as we landed several fish between Tues and Thurs.  Included are a few pictures of one of our trips.  Friends Dr. Kendal Suh and Dirk Parson joined me aboard the ShowTime and as you can see, had a blast. 

As I type with a full belly, I hope everyone has had a great holiday.  This is the first Christmas in which my daughter Caroline, now 13 months, has really gotten into the spirit.  Although she hasn't gotten the Santa Clause bug yet, she definitely knows there is something very special and fun going on.  Her specialty seems to be in unwrapping presents- never mind the gift.  On the fishing scene, we've taken a few days away from the Bluefin season.  We've had good luck on them prior to the holiday and hope to be able to continue within the next few days.  Again, I hope everyone has a great holiday, and I look forward to seeing you in the coming New Year.  Capt. Brant-

Monday night, myself and Rhett made the 3 hour venture up to Morehead City for a bluefin tuna adventure on Tuesdsay.  Rhett joined Capt. Hook on his new boat, The Black Pearl, and I joined friends Lynn and Chad on Lynn's 29' Century since my crew had cancelled on me last minute.  The day started off as any other day----we left Harkers Island Fishing Center around 5am and headed out of Barden's Inlet (right beside the Cape Lookout Rock Jetty) and headed to the R14 bouy some 20 miles offshore.  The bite had be decent there the day before and upon arrival we discovered why.  Birds diving, bait all over the surface, and fish finders lighting up with huge bait balls.  Everything looked perfect except-----no bluefins.  Around 9:30 we heard of a bite about 5 miles to the west so we pointed the bow to 240 degrees and began trolling to that way.  As we were trolling boats were screaming past us headed in the same direction.  After some 15 boats came by us at full steam we reeled in our lines and fell in line at 35 kts.  We put our spread of Blue Water Candy lures and seawitches in front of horse ballyhoo out and once again began trolling.  This area too looked very fishy with oil slicks appearing everywhere from where the giant bluefins were feeding on the menhaden under the surface.  All around us boats were hooked up and fighting fish.  The radio chatter was intense as guys had fish "stretched out" everywhere behind their boats.  Just as we thought our time would never come, around 12:00 our deep bait began to scream and the chaos began.  Lynn was the first on the rod as myself and Chad cleared lines.  I pointed the bow toward the fish as he was steadily dumping line off the Tiagra 50WLRS under 25 lbs of drag.  I eased the boat up to him, steadily gaining line on the giant.  The 3 of us switched up on the brute to try and keep a fresh person in the harness at all times in the attempt to wear him down quickly.  After 45 minutes the fish surface some 30 feet from the boat and our eyes about popped out of our head.  At first glance I estimated the fish between 95" and 100" and some 550 lbs.  As we looked into the eyes of the giant and he glared back at us, he decided that we were apparently too ugly for him and he dove straight down 105 ft. all the way to the bottom.  This is where the real struggle began.  The fish kept his head down doing the "death circle" straight under the boat.  We could not budge him even under 30 lbs of drag.  He wore through each of us 2 more times before we FINALLY saw color again 45 minutes later some 25 feet below the boat.  As Lynn cranked him up for the final time, I leadered the giant up to the side of the boat completely exhausted and sank the gaff in his head.  It was then that I realized that the fish wasn't quite as long as I thought, but he was much fatter than most fish his size.  At the fish house, the fish measured 93" and dressed out (no head, no tail, and no guts) at 413 lbs!  (The fish was easily 525 lbs. while alive.)  After some quick pictures, he was sent on a plane to be sold in Japan.  So with aching backs, aching legs, and smiling faces, we headed the boat back to Harkers Island with one thing on our mind-----SLEEP.  This morning I felt as if somebody had literally beat me with a 2x4 after doing battle with this beast but it is a fish that I will not soon forget.
Overall the bite today was the best it has been all year and promises to be even better as we head in to January.  There was an estimated 100+ fish caught among the fleet yesterday with sevaral boats  boating two.  (This includes Capt. Brant and Capt. Jon on the MacMarle'n---their fish were around 90" each.)  Captain Roger on the Showtime also boated a very nice fish in the 90" range.
The bite is definately on so if you'd like to try your hand at these giants of the sea give us a call here at the Fishing Center and let us set you up!  I promise that doing battle with these fish will give you something to talk about for weeks to come!

Today the tuna bite finally busted loose.  Most of the 200+ boat fleet at least had one shot at a giant tuna and many boats caught multiple fish.  As for the Fishing Center fleet, the Showtime and MacMarle'n shouldered the load.  Capt Roger, Henry and OIB fishing buddies Dirk Parsons and Dr. Kendall Suh rode the Showtime to a successful day.  The first fish they caught struck a trolled ballyhoo before 6am in the pitch black dark.  Dr. Suh did battle and defeated a 72" tuna, which had to be released because it was one inch too short.  At midday they bettered their first fish when Dirk, Roger and Henry heaved an 89" 375+lb tuna onboard.  The MacMarle'n was crewed by Capt. Jon, wife Amanda and Capt. Brant.  Capt. Jon held true to his promise of taking revenge out on the tunas.  Their first fish was too short to keep.  As things were looking dim at 3:30pm the MacMarle'n fell into a double hookup.  Both fish were captured.  One was 88" and the other 90" both approaching 400lbs.  Ryan and I ventured out in the Carolina Contender today and could only manage the "one that got away" story.  At 11:30am our deep line began screaming.  Within seconds 400 yards of line was gone from the reel with only 50 yards remaining.  We quickly turned the boat and began chasing down the beast.  Over an hour later Ryan had angled the fish to surface where we got a look at her.  Easily the biggest bluefin I have ever seen estimated at over 100" and more than 600lbs.  Everything was going smoothly.  The fish was tired out and we were about to seal the deal when just as I leadered the fish to the surface for a strike with the gaff the hook simply fell out of the corner of the fish's mouth.  A true heartbreaker.  Nevertheless, the tuna bite improved dramatically today and hopefully will continue.  We are fishing about 23 miles out of the inlet on a temperature break around structure and bait.  We'll be back at it tomorrow and the next day hoping for an early Christmas present.  I believe Dr. Suh may have some good pictures from today's action which we will post on the fishing report soon. 

Ok at our last update the Fishing Center fleet was starting to make some progess as the Showtime sacked an 88" giant bluefin and the MacMarle'n lost a nice one at the boat.  Thursday and Friday of this past week were forecasted doom and despair weather and thus we returned home to Ocean Isle for a couple of lay days.  Of course though the weatherman missed the forecast and the few boats that did fish in the decent conditions caught fish.  The MacMarlen, Showtime and Carolina Contender went back to work yesterday, Saturday, hoping to find the fishing was still on the upswing.  We found the fishing had improved, but that there was about 200 other boats who were counting on the same thing.  With all the competition on the water catching a fish was a major accomplishment.  The main action occurred offshore of the Knuckle buoy in about 80 feet of water where there was a few small schools of pogies in the area.  Once the large schools of pogies arrive the tuna fishing will hit full stride.  The Showtime was the hot boat in the large fleet catching three giant tunas.  The Carolina Contender greased one 81" for the scales.  The MacMarle'n struck out but Capt. Jon promises revenge in the upcoming days.  Today, Sunday, the wind is howling and the ocean is angry.  We are sitting it out today, but it looks like we'll be back at it tomorrow and for the rest of the week.  The weather is forecasted to be fairly nice thru at least Thursday.  If you've never experienced this extreme sport of stand up fishing for giant bluefin tuna you need to give it a try.  We will run charters for the next month and a half and would love the opportunity to christen any angler in a battle against a 400lb solid mass of swimming muscle.  For those who are interested in giving it a shot in your own boat come by the Ocean Isle Fishing Center or give us a call at 910-575-FISH and we'll set you up with the exact tackle and gear you need to have success as well as tell you where the best action has been.  We'll be hard at it for the next few days but I'll try to sneak a report in and hopefully will have some pictures. 

We boated an 88 inch Bluefin on Wednesday which weighed in the 350 pound class.  Capt. Jon on the MacMarle'n fought an equally large fish but unfortunately lost it to the rudder as the fish was right at the boat.  The action was taking place off the end of the Knuckle Buoy, some 20 miles out of Beaufort Inlet.  The schools of bait and birds have finally moved into the area and we hope this is the sign of the start of the awesome Winter Bluefin fishery.  The weather has been playing havoc with our schedule, but we look to be back at them on Saturday.  Stay tuned and give us a call at (910) 575-FISH if you'd like to join us on a charter for a shot at landing one of these monsters.

The Ocean Isle Fishing Center fleet has arrived in Morehead City and the first fishing day in the 05-06' bluefin fishery took place yesterday.  The day before, Sunday, I made an attempt with fishing friends Scott, Austin, and Doug Allen but a strong 25 knot west wind kept us from crossing Cape Lookout Shoal so we opted to sit that day out.  Yesterday, the Showtime with Capt. Roger and Henry, the MacMarle'n with Capt. John and the Carolina Contender with Capt. Brant all departed Beaufort inlet on the first official bluefin hunt for our fleet.  With word of a decent bite last week to the north off Hatteras, Brant took off and made the 40 mile run.  The Showtime and MacMarle'n hung close and fished the west side of Cape Lookout around the Big 10 Little 10 and Shad buoy.  The weather had improved from the day before with 10-15 knot winds and 2-4 foot seas.  Brant reported a fair bite where he was, but never crossed paths with a hungry tuna.  There were about 30 boats fishing that area.  The MacMarle'n and Showtime fished amongst 100 or more boats on the west side of the shoals.  The MacMarle'n could only manage one king mackerel and no tuna bites.  The Showtime had a little more success with one bluefin tuna caught and released.  The fish measured 65", which is too short to keep commercially.  About an hour after their tuna encounter Capt. Roger and Henry had another reel start to scream off line.  This time they thought they had the monster bluefin they were looking for.  Unfortunately after about a 45 minute battle the strong fish surfaced only to reveal itself as 10+ foot thresher shark.  The huge shark was released.  The Capt. Hook also had an unsuccessful bluefin fishing day yesterday.  I believe they may have had a big king mackerel as bycatch.  Overall out of the entire fleet fishing on the west side of Cape Lookout there may have been 15 boats to catch keeper bluefin.  This morning the Showtime, MacMarle'n and Carolina Contender tried to make it out again.  A 20+ knot north wind made for extremely tough conditions.  I was fishing the Carolina Contender and decided to make it a short morning due to the rough seas.  The Showtime and MacMarle'n are still at it as we speak.  Hopefully they'll have a good report for us this evening.  For now, it seems like the major group of bluefin have not shown up yet in Morehead.  The weather is supposed to be poor for the rest of the week.  As soon as it improves we'll be back at them and hope to report a good bite. 

The Ocean Isle Fishing Center Giant Bluefin Tuna team left today for Morehead City and the Bluefin Tuna season which will occur for the next month or so. The fish are just starting to show so hopefully great fish stories will soon begin coming over the rail. Barrett is at it today although the weather looks tuff and doesn't look great all week. Stay tuned for updates.

We all read about world class fisheries around the world and to have available to us the Giant Bluefin fishery here in our back yard is an amazing thing.If you haven't tried it you should and if you need any help in" how to" contact Rhett/Bryan/Brant/Barrett at the Fishing Center and they will be happy to get you pointed toward success.

If you're interested in checking out our local Ocean Isle/Long Bay waters, there was a report of a giant bluefin being caught off Georgetown this week and last year there was a definite bite at Hilton Head. No doubt these fish are off our coast also. Best spots should be Horseshoe/Shark Hole/Atlantic Ledge[places where bait will hold]. Look for Ganets Birds diving. They dive on balled bait and if you see them diving there is a very good chance they are diving on bait balled by Bluefin.

This is NOT the time to be sitting around the fireplace! Give the Bluefin a shot; it's a true angling thrill.

Sorry I haven't reported in a while.  Truthfully we've been tied up cleaning up, renovating..... for the 2006 season in hopes of getting most things settled before the giant bluefin tuna bite breaks out.  The tunas have been very late this season as they are normally in full swing by Thanksgiving.  But as has been the case with all fishing this year, they too are late.  I'd expect them any day and surely they should be in full swing by Dec 15th.  Here at Ocean Isle, if you didn't fish Saturday you missed a perfect day.  I had to be out of town and I hated to miss the day, but I know if I was here I would've been out after a grouper, king or wahoo --- the wahoo bite should be strong now for sure.  Anyway, if there's a good weather day and you can get down, you shouldn't miss the chance. 
And don't forget your Capt. Club points-- the sale ends Dec 31st, but this is the PERFECT chance to get your Christmas gifts at 50% OFF.  Its a no-brainer.  Thanks again for everyone's support in 2005 and we will work to make 2006 a  better year than 2005.  Happy holidays.