Ocean Isle Fishing Center report 12-29-

[Fishing Report]

"Layn' Down The Law" | OIFC World Cat / Carolina Cat | 12/30/11

Michelle Evans Drake, Billy Berg and David Christian of The Law braved the early morning cool weather, yet flat, beautiful seas to go wahoo fishing at the Blackjack Hole. The 64 lb wahoo they came back with made the trip worth while.

Everyone who has made the ride to the Blackjack on a cool morning knows how good it feels to bundle up in a bean bag chair and catch some z's. Man that is some goooood sleeping!

There is a video, but I can't post it because you can hear Michelle layn' down the law to Billy!

- Capt. Rickey Beck



"Today's Stream Report" | OIFC World Cat / Carolina Cat | 12/29/11

The conditions this morning were great as we arrived to the 100/400 with flat calm seas and water temps of 73-74 degrees- apparently the fish didn't get the memo? We set out and after about 20 minutes a weighted line was taken and we were hooked up. John Richardson Sr. went to work and after a hard fought battle, landed a 40.5 pound Wahoo. The day was young and things were looking up. From there however, the action go SLOW. We caught quite a few small False Albacore on the tuna feathers I had set on the long riggers and we pulled off a good Wahoo bite, but by noon I was struggling for answers. I made my way to the Black Jack hole which was now vacant as all the boats that started there in the AM had moved on to the Steeples. The winds had picked up to 15kts or better and the sharp 2-4 foot chop made trolling a bit tougher. As I pulled down "main street" I noticed a slick on the water and made a turn, passing downwind and catching the unmistakable scent of fish. As I circled back into the sea the long rigger feather was taken and this time by a decent fish. John Jr. went to work and after a tense boatside "tuna style" struggle, he brought a nice Blackfin aboard. It was the fourth quarter and we were in rally mode. But it was getting pretty sloppy. We set again and made another pass up main street and just as I reached the top end the planer rod went off and we stayed connected to an obvious high-speed Wahoo. John Jr. again did the honors and angled a 39.6 pound Wahoo to the gaff. Now we were moving in the right direction. We had about 30 more minutes to fish, and one more good fish would put the ledger back in our favor. Another pass up main street and the planer rod again went off, this time however it was the oh too familiar screaming reel followed by sudden silence- pulled hooks. Arghhh! We reset and fished a bit longer, but did not get another shot. We ended up with 2 nice Hoos and a Blackfin - I think we had in total 7-8 solid Wahoo bites, which is pretty consistent with my .300 Wahoo batting average. The Richardsons were great sports and they never lost hope and stayed confident. It was a good day of mediocre fishing that at least ended on a relative up note. Not sure what it translates to for 2012, but I'm sure its my last offshore trip of the year.

It was nice to see quite a few other fishermen on the water in the Stream as well. The action for everyone seemed pretty consistent, with the Steeples sounding like the best, albeit not hot.

I wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope to see more of you on the water more often in 2012- make it a resolution- GO FISH !

- Capt. Brant McMullan



"sunrise and sunset" | Real-Time Update | 12/29/11

We went at it from dawn til dusk. The action was pretty slow, we had 8 qual ity bites, put 3 in the boat. Final trip for 2011 in the books. I'll get pics and full report up shortly.
- Brant McMullan



"Blackjack Bound" | OIFC World Cat / Carolina Cat | 12/29/11

This picture was taken by Michelle Drake while she, Billy Berg crew are headed to the Blackjack this morning on a wahoo excursion. If they are successful I hope to have more.
- Capt. Rickey Beck



"" | Real-Time Update | 12/29/11

Here we go. Carolina cat and Richardson father and son duo headed to the stream. Ocean flat, glassy right now, 5 miles out of inlet. ETA to 100/400 8:30am. Stay tuned.
- Capt. Brant McMullan



"Stream" | OIFC World Cat / Carolina Cat | 12/28/11

Carolina Cat will be headed to the Black Jack tomorrow AM - we'll be on VHF 6 and 19 -- I'm not going to jinx things, but I am cautiously optomistic. We'll be leaving OIFC at 6am, so should be there around 8-8:30am -- give us a call on VHF -- stay tuned for report.
- Capt. Brant McMullan



"BIG WAHOO" | OIFC World Cat / Carolina Cat | 12/27/11

Rickey reported on it last week but I finally got some good pictures and the info from the angler himself on the 100.4 pound Wahoo caught from our area. Congratulations !!!!
Fished with my dad, Bill Berg, on Monday December 19th on our boat "Fin Addict IV" out of Little River SC and headed offshore to the blackjack to wahoo fish. First bite was as soon as we began getting lines out. Small blackfin tuna on a black and purple skirt. 12:30 center long line starts screaming, 25 minute fight later we boat what turns out to be a 100.4 pound wahoo. Weighed it at Myrtle Beach Yacht Club certified scale. Caught the fish on a blue and white ilander with a ballyhoo in 350 foot of water.



- Capt. Brant McMullan



"Inshore Efforts from Team OIFC" | OIFC World Cat / Carolina Cat | 12/27/11

Capt. Barrett and I made an attempt at a showing at this past weekend's inshore tournament - the possibility of dethroning Brandon Sauls from his Trout pedestal was worth the effort -- BUT, it was all for naught. Brandon edged out Brian and Austin Aycock for first place honors with a 3 pound Trout and thus continued his reign as Trout Master. Brandon is basking in his own glory, a true legend in his own mind... but he has held his crown firm for some time and credit is deserved. He has nearly lost his wife, his kids and job to his pursuit at repeating as OIFC Rodeo Trout Champ, but he currently holds the lead with a 6 pound Trout. There are just a few days until the end of the year and the opportunity to take down the OIB Trout Master. Congrats to Brandon Sauls and Kyle Hughes for winning the weekend's tournament.

Below are a couple of pictures that prove even a couple of old offshore fishermen can find a few acorns in the forest --

- Capt. Brant McMullan


Ocean Isle Fishing Center- Ocean Isle Beach, NC – for more reports and upcoming fishing news visit www.OIFC.com ---
910-575-FISH