Hatteras in January questions

[PAMonger]

Hello all,

I'm from PA and have only fished OBX once, although it was a blast (limit of bluelines, a few mahi, 2 citation cudas)! I'm a regular on the NJ fishing scene. My brother is getting married in March, I remembered my great trip, and we now have a boat booked for 1/21/12 for blackfin and maybe a shot at a BFT.

The captain mentioned that if they don't cooperate that day, there are plenty of other options.

What are the other options? (I'm guessing AJ, tiles, grouper?)
How should I prep the boys for this trip? (of the 6, only 2 of us have been to the canyons and the rest are inshore guys)
What are the best chances for citations on this trip? (would be an AWESOME souvenir since we don't have citations up north)

Thanks for any help.

[captnemo]

Hatteras in January- Anything is an option depending on what the water is doing. This year the first blue marlin of the year was caught in January, there could be yellowfins, dolphin, a blue marlin (scarce but a possibility), as well as the species you mentioned, black fins, bluefins, and ground fish.

I'm sure one of the experts like Jay will chime in.

The winter on the OBX is great, zero tourists and great fishing.

Don't plan on much night life, not much going on other then fishing. Teachs has live music at the bar some nights in the winter, thats about it for entertainment.

** and if possible try to block out a couple days for your fishing trip, weather can be nasty and your planned day may fall apart, if you block out 3 days your chances of getting out will be much better.

[bigfishhooker]

May be kings or wahoo around the Rock pile.....if you booked with a reputable boat, they should be dialed in.

[VaRandy]

You will likely be a week to 4 weeks early for BFT. They started early this past season about Feb 1 but are often closer to March.

If all else fails, Kings should be plentiful as will blackfin. YFT, you just never know.

What boat have you booked?

[PAMonger]

I booked with the Big Tahuna out of Hatteras.

[captnemo]

I booked with the Big Tahuna out of Hatteras.

Don't think you can go wrong with him.

[VaRandy]

You must have done your homework.

[PAMonger]

You must have done your homework.

Thanks. I like to think that I did a lot of research on it and I talked to a number of captains. After enough time using charter captains, it's easy to tell which ones are out to take money and which ones love to fish. Between the price, a couple recommendations, and a couple of chats with the capt., it seemed like a good choice. 4 months from today!