In the surf there are reports of lots of bluefish, some nice size around the 7 lb range, nice size Virginia mullet, croaker, & shark.

Inshore a few speckled trout are starting to show up at Carolina Beach inlet, flounder, nice size bluefish, gray trout, red drum, croaker, pig fish, some black bass, & shark.

Offshore on the bottom snapper, grouper, flounder, red drum, grunts & shark.

Fishing tip of the week: We are starting to catch a few Virginia mullet, gray trout, & black bass at the mouth of the Cape Fear on shrimp & cut bait. This is a good sign. Fishing should continue to improve in the next few weeks. Keep fishing & stay safe.

Captain John Carty
Affordable Charters
910 616-3957

Walter White caught several red drum while fishing aboard Affordable Charters.

Debbie & Cameron Carty caught nice red drum & large flounder while fishing aboard Affordable
Charters.

James from Lumberton, NC caught some red drum & trout while fishing aboard Affordable Charters.

  

In the surf some small red drum, black drum, Virginia mullet, pompano, bluefish, & shark.

Inshore speckled & gray trout, bluefish, jacks, pompano, flounder, croaker, a few small spots, Virginia mullet, & shark.

Offshore on the top king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, a few bonito, dolphin, barracuda, cobia, & shark.

On the bottom grouper, snapper, grunt, black bass, flounder, & shark.

This weeks fishing tip is on how to keep your live bait alive for the whole day. Some minnows like mud minnows are easy to keep alive. You can put them in a bucket & as long as they don’t get overheated they will stay alive. Mullet minnows are a little harder to keep alive, and small menhaden are very hard to keep alive, but they are a very effective bait. They are very visible, oily, and very plentiful. There are 3 things that are very important to keep your bait alive. Aeration, constant circulation, and water temperature. Circulation is very important to maintain a constant water temperature. A lot of bait systems will not pump while the boat is moving. It is very important to have a pickup tube so when the boat is moving the water will be forced into the tube and into your live bait system. Just 5 minutes without proper circulation will kill menhaden. If you have any questions on your live bait systems, stop by Island Tackle and Hardware. Ask for Dennis or Wesley. They will look at your live well, and show you just how to hook up a pickup tube. It will make the difference. Keep fishing and be safe.

Captain John Carty
Affordable Charters
910 616-3957

Steve & Chad from Texas caught some flounder & speckled trout while fishing abard Affordable Charters.

Katie, Colby, & Art from New York caught speckled trout, & a variety of other fish while fishing aboard Affordable Charters.

Berry Lucas caught this nice speckled trout while fishing aboard Affordable Charters.

  

Fishing tip of the week: Hydraulic steering has become more popular in the past few years. One of the biggest problems with this type of steering system is leaks. This problem is very easy to prevent. Most of the time the leak is at the motor end. There are two seals, right & left on the hydraulic unit. When your boat sets up for a few weeks, buildup of grit & pollen on the stainless steel steering rods will ruin the seals, which is very costly to repair. So get in the habit of wiping the stainless steering rods off with a lightly oiled clean rag. This will prevent the problem in most cases. Keep fishing & stay safe.

Affordable Charters Fishing tip of the week: Hydraulic steering has become more popular in the past few years. One of the biggest problems with this type of steering system is leaks. This problem is very easy to prevent. Most of the time the leak is at the motor end. There are two seals, right & left on the hydraulic unit. When your boat sets up for a few weeks, buildup of grit & pollen on the stainless steel steering rods will ruin the seals, which is very costly to repair. So get in the habit of wiping the stainless steering rods off with a lightly oiled clean rag. This will prevent the problem in most cases. Keep fishing & stay safe.

Captain John Carty
Affordable Charters
910 616-3957

Todd, Jake, Ben, & Cindy from Greensboro, NC caught these nice size red drum & flounder while fishing aboard Affordable Charters.

Thomas Picket from Durham, NC caught speckled trout, gray trout, & Virginia mullet while fishing aboard Affordable Charters. Good job Thomas.

  

Inshore flounder, red drum, black drum, Virginia mullet, speckled trout, gray trout, bluefish, croaker, pompano, & lots of shark.

Offshore on the bottom gag & red grouper, snapper, ringtail, grunts, & large black bass. Offshore on the top 20 to 35 miles dolphin, king mackerel, wahoo, barracuda & a few amberjack. On the top near shore Spanish mackerel, bonitos, bluefish, & a quite a few king mackerel.

Fishing tip of the week: In the last few weeks the inshore fishing has been fairly slow. There have been some nice size fish but no large amounts. The reason is the finger mullet & shrimp are just now starting to show up. By the end of this month numbers should start picking up when more bait fish show up. Keep fishing & be safe.

Captain John Carty
Affordable Charters
910 616-3957

Debbie Carty caught & released this nice red drum while fishing aboard Affordable Charters.

Chris from Pennsylvania caught a bonnet head shark while fishing aboard Affordable Charters.

  

On the piers Spanish mackerel, flounder, a few black drum, a few small spots, Virginia mullet, shark, & reports of a few king mackerel.

Offshore on the bottom grouper, snapper, grunt, ringtails, black bass, & shark. On the top reports of dolphin, nice size king mackerel, barracuda, shark, & wahoo.

Inshore some good numbers of speckled trout, some large bluefish, black & red drum, croaker, a few gray trout, Virginia mullet, pigfish, a few small spot, & shark.

Up the river reports of some nice size stripped bass.

Fishing tip of the week: This weeks fishing tip is about a mistake I’ve made & seen a lot of other people make & that is using detergent to clean out their live bait well. The detergent will instantly kill live bait. It’s very difficult to rinse out. If you make this mistake be sure & rinse it out thoroughly. Also be sure & circulate water for at least 10 minutes before putting any bait in the well. Keep fishing & stay safe.

Captain John Carty
Affordable Charters
910 616-3957

Eddie from Greensboro caught these speckled trout & drum while fishing aboard Affordable Charters.

Robbie & Ryan Brownlow caught some nice speckled trout, Virginia mullet, & bluefish while fishing aboard Affordable Charters.

  

In the surf we are catching some bluefish, a few Virginia mullet, small croaker, black drum, red drum, flounder, & shark.

On the piers catching Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, Virginia mullet, flounder, bluefish, black drum, & a few sheepshead.

Offshore on the bottom grouper, snappers, ringtails, black bass, & grunts. Top water offshore mahi mahi, wahoo, kink mackerel, Spanish mackerel, sharks, a few sailfish, & barracuda. Keep fishing & stay safe.

Captain John Carty
Affordable Charters
910 616-3957

Ricky & Vicky caught nice speckled trout while fishiung aboard Affordable Charters.

Christian caught his first gray trout while fishing with his family aboard Affordable Charters.

  

On the piers catching Spanish mackerel, a few small Virginia mullet, flounder, bluefish, black drum, & a few sheepshead.

Inshore nice catches of speckled trout, flounder, a few Virginia mullet, red & black drum, croaker, & sharks.

Offshore on the bottom grouper, snappers, ringtails, & grunts. Top water offshore mahi mahi, wahoo, kink mackerel, Spanish mackerel, sharks, & barracuda.

This weeks fishing tip is about weather conditions. The day before you go fishing it is very important to get a good weather report paying special attention to tides and wind direction. Some fishermen make their mind up where they’re going to fish & don’t take into consideration wind direction. Think about the wind & think about the spot you’re going to fish. Wind direction makes a big difference in how your boat will lay & how rough the water will be. You can always find a good fishing spot out of the wind if you think about wind direction & what direction your spot faces. If you see a spot you’ve never fished at that looks good don’t pass it up, fish it. That’s what makes a good fisherman. You will be rewarded with nice catches and new fishing holes. So follow your wits, not other boats. It’s hard to catch a fish that has already been caught. Keep fishing and be safe.

Captain John Carty
Affordable Charters
910 616-3957

Jack & Robert from New Jersey caught a nice flounder & some speckled trout while fishing aboard Affordable Charters.

Bobbie & Robbie caught speckled trout & Virginia mullet while fishing aboard Affordable Charters.

  

In the surf pompano, flounder, puppy drum, virginia mullet, black drum, blue fish, spots, and sharks.

Inshore we are catching some nice red drum, black drum, blues, flounders, spots, gray trout, speckled trout, and croakers.

Offshore they are catching baracuda, king mackerel, dolphin, and on the bottom some nice groupers , snapper, and black bass.

Fishing tip of the week is on setting the hook for inshore fishing. I have noticed a lot of my charters go into the panic mode when they have a small bite. As soon as the fish comes in contact with the hook, don’t’ jerk jerk jerk, let the fish pull then set the hook. Keep the tip up in the air & reel steady. Enjoy the time it takes to land the fish. You will catch a lot more fish by not panicking when you get a bite. Keep fishing and be safe.

Captain John Carty
Affordable Charters
910 616-3957

Bobbie Brownlow, his son Robbie, & his dog Ellie caught some nice size speckled trout & flounder while fishing aboard Affordable Charters.

Ricky Bilyard from Jacksonville, Florida caught this 5 lb. speckled trout while fishing aboard Affordable Charters.

Walter & his son Wade caught these nice size dolphin May 25.

  

In the surf some red drum, bluefish, Virginia mullet, black drum, flounder, & croaker.

Inshore a few red drum, speckled trout, flounder, black drum, bluefish, & croaker.

Offshore on the bottom gag & red grouper, black bass, snapper, & grunts. On the top near shore Spanish mackerel, bonito, & bluefish. On the top 20 to 35 miles offshore large king mackerel, wahoo, & dolphin.

Fishing tip of the week: There is no doubt that live minnows work better than dead minnows. But sometimes they are hard to get. In the dredge hole the peanut pogge(menhaden) are very plentiful. I’ll go catch several dozen, & ice them down good. Then when I get home I put them in small ziplock bags & freeze them. They make excellent bait when minnows are hard to find. Keep fishing & stay safe.

Captain John Carty
Affordable Charters
910 616-3957

Shawn McKee & his uncle Chuck caught some nice speckled trout while fishing aboard Affordable Charters.

Debbie & Cameron caught this nice stringer of speckled trout off artificial bait while fishing aboard Affordable Charters.

  

In the surf catching a few black drum & small red drum, a few Virginia mullet, small croaker, some bluefish, & small flounder.

On the piers Spanish mackerel, a few bonito, bluefish, Virginia mullet, flounder, black drum, & shark.

Offshore on the bottom snapper, grouper, beeliners, black bass, grunt, & shark.

Fishing tip of the week: The wind has finally let up enough where we were able to get out to the mouth of the Cape Fear & fish for Virginia mullet. But the croaker are so thick it’s hard to get past them to see what else is there. Hopefully the croaker will move out soon & we’ll have better catches of Virginia mullet. Keep fishing & stay safe.

Captain John Carty
Affordable Charters
910 616-3957

Debbie & Holly caught & released this nice size red drum while fishing aboard Afforadble Charters.

Jake from Conway, SC caught some speckled trout using artificial bait aboard Affordable Charters.