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Matador is a 1989 42' Jersey Yachts Sportfish. She has an overall length of 47'6'', a beam of 15'8'', and weighs in at 28,000 pounds when fully loaded. She originally came with twin 375 hp Caterpillar 3208ta diesel motors but was recently repowered in March 2008 with 485hp Cummins 6CTAce electronic motors to give her one of the fastest cruises in Rudee inlet at 28 knots and a top end speed of 35 knots. She has a 420 gallon fuel tank to ensure the range needed to get anywhere you need to fish. She is US Coast Guard documented, and has all of the newest safety gear.

She is outfitted with fishability and comfort in mind. The salon greets you with a leather "L" couch and bench seats more than capable of seating everyone in your party comfortably. The couch also folds out into a sleepaway if getting up early proves too much for some in your party. She is equipped with two zone heat and air conditioning to bring comfort to the salon area. Downstairs finds a dinette similar to a restaurant style booth capable of seating four for a comfortable lunch or card game. For entertainment during the ride, Matador has a 42'' LCD TV, DVD player, Xbox, and am/fm stereo with CD player and surround sound. Matador has a full galley with a stove, microwave, sink, and refrigerator/freezer. She also has a bathroom with toilet, sink, and a shower.

When it comes to fishing, no expense is spared with Matador. She has the finest in electronics and gear to give the angler the edge needed to get the big one in. Up top she is equipped with a 36 mile Raytheon radar, 2 Global Positioning Systems (GPS) by Garmin, 2 Icom VHF radios, a Furuno 582 depth finder, and Robertson Autopilot. Downstairs, the spacious cockpit holds an 80# class Release Marine fighting chair. For rods and reels, you will find that she has anything you could possibly need with over 30 setups on board in everything from 80# class to ultralight gear by Shimano and Penn. We like to specialize our gear for what we are fishing for, so we carry extras of everything because you never know whats going to swim up to the back of the boat.

Captain

Captain Jake Hiles has been fishing Virginia's waters since he was a small child. He has earned a Master Angler status and has earned expert angler awards several times from the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament for his accomplishments on the water in Virginia. He also has received numerous citations from the state of North Carolina for trophy fish caught. Capt. Jake has fished all over the western hemisphere. He has fished all over the east coast of the United States from Florida to New York. He has fished in the Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, throughout the Caribbean, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Alaska, catching trophy fish all along the way. He has honed his skills as a mate and commercial fisherman in the mid-atlantic region and is skilled in catching anything the ocean has to offer from one pound spot and croaker to several hundred pound marlins and tunas. You will find Capt. Jake is very good at catching fish, and you will enjoy spending the day with him on Matador.

Striper Fishing

• Season- Late October through Early March
• Available for 1/2, 3/4, and full-day inshore trips

Virginia Beach is well known for its fantastic winter striped bass fishery. Any given day, during the October through March rockfish season, it is very possible to catch the trophy rockfish of a lifetime in our waters. Most boats in Virginia Beach concentrate on catching rockfish by trolling. Matador does some trolling; however, we have found that the easiest way to catch numbers of trophy 40+ pound rockfish is by live baiting, and we have become very good at it. In 2007, we had only 5 trips the entire season where we did not land a Rockfish capable of qualifying for a Virginia citation of 44'' or 40 pounds! We regularly catch 40 pound class rockfish, numerous 50 pound class rockfish, and even a couple almost to 60 pounds using this method. The crew of Matador know these waters very well and also know all of the tricks of the trade that will catch not only large fish but numbers of large fish. We arent afraid to go out when the fish are biting. Even if it means fishing at night, when stripers feed the most voraciously.

Sword fishing

• Season- Year round
• Available only for overnight trips

In Virginia we have a very under-utilized sword fishery. Though very few anglers take part in our swordfish fishery, we have incredible sword fishing in Virginia. The best sword fishing of the season takes place from early October to January here, and its not at all uncommon to catch several swordfish per night. Though the peak of the season is in the fall, when waters are right in the canyons, swordfish can be caught year round off the coast of Virginia. These trips are normally very productive and offer anglers a chance to see a part of the ocean rarely seen. The ocean transforms itself at night and offers up one of its rarest, toughest, and most beautiful species in the swordfish. These trips prove to be very productive with trolling for tunas, marlin, mahi-mahi, and wahoo taking place in the late evening and early morning and sword fishing - which often yields swords, large sharks, and tunas - taking place all throughout the dark hours. An overnight trip is the longest and most expensive trip we offer, however these trips are an incredible experience and any angler who has done one will tell you there is nothing like it and will probably tell you that they can't wait until their chance to go again.

Deep Dropping

• Season- Year Round
• Available only in Full day offshore trips

Virginia's deep sea bottom fishing has risen to popularity just in the past several years. Captain Jake has fished this fishery for several years and helped to pioneer a fishery has become a world class charter and recreational fishery. In many places off Virginia the bottom has been untouched and neglected for years. This neglect in the 40 to 150 fathom depths has grown some huge bottomfish. We have a variety of species available on these trips including the black sea bass, blueline tilefish, golden tilefish, snowy grouper, rosefish, cod, haddock, hake, and many other strange species that come up from the deep. These trips are the way to go if you want to fill your freezer with fillets. All of the species we target when deep dropping are excellent table fare and we have some true monsters coming from the deep. In the past two years, the Virginia state record and all tackle world record blueline tilefish has been caught several times, the Virginia state record and world record snowy grouper has been caught several times, and the state record golden tilefish has also been caught several times so literally on every trip you have a very real potential of catching a state or even world record!

Offshore and Gulf Stream Trolling

• Season- Late May through October
• Available only in full day offshore trips

During the Summer, Virginia has exceptional offshore trolling. The fishing starts at the end of may when bluefin and yellon tuna show up. Their numbers will increase through june along with occasional catches of mako sharks and eventually the bluefins will continue on their migration to the north. The yellowfins will stay here and provide entertainment all the way though the end of october and sometimes into november. In july, dolphin (mahi-mahi) will show up in incredible numbers and as the waters warm, we will see our first wahoos, white marlin,blue marlin, and sailfish show up. These fish will continue biting through september with the prime time on billfish being around the last full moon August or first full moon of September. Any day of offshore trolling you never know what you are gonna catch but chances are its gonna be something big. On these trips, anglers enjoy strapping into the chair and doing battle with the biggest and meanest fish the oceans have to offer!

Inshore Fishing

• Season- Year round
• Available in 1/2, 3/4, or full-day trips

The Chesapeake bay and its surrounding waters are some of the best fishing in the world. In Virginia we are lucky to have many varieties of fish that can be caught at different times through the year. We are lucky enough to get species from the south that come to let us catch them during the summer and species from the north spend their winters here in our nutrient rich waters.

After striped bass season comes to a stop in March, the first species on the menu will be flounder, tautog, and black sea bass. These species are here most of the year but provide very good action in the spring and will try the skills of even the most seasoned angler.

In April, black drum will show up on the shoals at the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay, where they will hang out until the waters warm in july. Evening trips for these mosters often yield huge fish up to 100# early in the season. In June and July these fish will congragate around the rock islands of he Chesapeake Bay bridge tunnel where they can be targeted with sight casting. After july Blacks develope lockjaw and spread out, but remain a possibility through september.

In May, red drum will show up and mix in with the blacks. We have incredible red drum fishing here that would be the envy of any serious red fish angler. We typically catch fish in the 40'' range on the shoals and it isnt uncommon to catrch a dozen of them a night. These fish remain an easy target for anglers ready to venture out at evening and night through october.

Later in May, spadefish will show up on the structures inshore and in the lower bay to provide anglers with loads of a fine eating fish that provide one of the strongest battles on light tackle imaginable. Using methods similar to fishing for sunfish at a lake or pond, we target these angelfish looking critters as they swim through in gigantic schools. These fish are an easy target, and their large size makes them a blast for the family.

June will have cobias invading our inshore waters. These large fish are a bit harder of a target, but their large size, toughness, and willingness to take a cased lure or live bait makes them a favorite amongst seasoned anglers. Cobias will stick around through Setember.

Late in June Amberjacks show up at the further offshore towers and wrecks. These bruisers offer steady action and often times the angler will tire before long before the fish. Though they arent sought for their table value, thee fish can provide incredible entertainment and are normally an easy citation. They stay in our waters so long as the waters are warm and will occasionally mix in with jack crevalle, cobia, and king mackeral at the towers.

Spanish and Bluefish

• Season- late may through mid september

Our four hour charter on Matador is definitely the family favorite. This is the least expensive trip we offer and this fishing is an excellent option for the kids. In these trips we don't get too far offshore, see the oceanfront and its beaches, and catch plenty of fish. We recommend this trip for those who don't have their sea legs or just want to take an easy, quick trip and catch some fish. Bluefish and spanish mackeral may not be the biggest fish in the ocean, however their numbers and willingness to bite more than make up for it.