Morehead Amberjack Fishing Report

[Nauti Natured]

Some of you may have seen my previous post asking for some good AJ spots. Well .. the result of the intel that I got from my friends on this site was a few spectacular days of fishing.

Morehead:

After a lazy morning we left AB at about 8am, got bait, fueled up and ran about 15 miles to the 330 and the Hutton in nice 2-3 ft seas. I was taking some newbies out so we were having a slow, relaxed morning trip. One of the guys we were with is a fly fishermen from Montana who had never caught anything over 20 lbs. so I was really excited to get him on a reef donkey just to see his face He didn't stop smiling from the second we left the dock to the end of the night.

As soon as we arrived and marked the Hutton, we tossed some live baits in. The first mistake was tossing them in on live bait rods. I thought I would try first to see if there were any kings or mahi around but immediately we were covered up with BIG AJ's. With all of 10 lbs of drag on my king rods the first couple fish were lost to the wreck. That all changed when we switched to the jigging rods. Stuck a 7/0 hook through a pogie's nose and within seconds it was game on trying to keep the mule from getting into the wreck. We would put two lines out and within ten seconds, both were hooked up. It was insane. Had some fun with the poppers as well with some explosive boat side bites. This went on for hours before the bite completely turned off (weird). We managed one stray mahi in the mix as well, who got foul hooked. After the bite turned off at the Hutton we tried our luck at the 330 for a while but it was slow with only one toothy critter that bit us off. I suspect a king based on the initial run.

All in all we had a great time with great people. There was a lot of pressure to perform with all of these folks in from out of town and all of you that tossed the info my way really helped make it happen. I cant thank all of you enough.

[netman9]

Was worried you forgot about posting report and pics. Worth the wait. Some nice work with the camera to get some great shots. Looks like a great time was had by all and a nice class of AJ's to play with never hurts.

[Nauti Natured]

Was worried you forgot about posting report and pics. Worth the wait. Some nice work with the camera to get some great shots. Looks like a great time was had by all and a nice class of AJ's to play with never hurts.

Thanks Netman .... I knew if I forgot this one I would be in BIG TROUBLE

[Nauti Natured]

A few more pics added

[Ponce]

Nice day on the water Chris.

[crappiekrazy]

I love it when a plan comes together. Congrats on a great trip and great report.

[Nauti Natured]

Thanks guys!

[Fishfinder]

Nice Pics. For those who just want to catch a big fish, there is nothing that pulles harder than AJ'S. I have been runnning charters for them for the last 20 year. Most other fishermen were trying to stay away from them and made fun of me fishing for them. That was just fine with me, as I laughed all the way to the bank!

Capt. Joe Shute

[Nauti Natured]

Joe ... thanks for your advice the night before at your shop.

For those of you that find yourself in Atlantic Beach make sure you stop by Capt Joe's shop and tell him your fishing plans. He is always VERY generous with his advice and has everything you would ever need, tackle-wise, in his shop.

Thanks Joe!