NC Coastal Fishing (Carolina Princess)

Amberjack caught from the Carolina Princess, Morehead City, NC.

American Snapper "Red Snapper" caught from the Carolina Princess, Morehead City NC.

Fillet from Red Snapper......yummy fresh sushi!  Or if you prefer Cajun blackened, or southern fried as well.

The North Carolina coast offers some of the best inshore and off-shore fishing from the budget minded to high dollar charters.  For me, I'm budget minded.  Red Snapper season has been closed since 2008 and has yet to reopen, but there's still plenty of Vermilion Snapper, Grouper, Red Porgies, Trigger Fish, and other reef complex fish to be landed.

I caught these fish on the Carolina Princess Head Boat.  You can do a 1/2 day, whole day, or 18-hour fishing trip.  Check out their website for pricing, but it's typically about $50 for 1/2 day, $100 for whole day, and $140 for an 18-hour trip.  You will need to call and make reservations ahead of time and look at their calender.  The Captain Stacey is another head boat style fishing experience and pricing is a little lower and they have a 24-hour fishing trip.

What is provided:

1.  You do not need a salt water fishing license for the head boat.  It is provided.
2.  They will provide you with fishing tackle (it works, not the best).  You can bring your own if you like, but I can catch fish with their hook, line, sinker, rod and reels.
3.  They provide the bait.  Typically this will be cut bait, squid or Boston mackerel.
4.  The Carolina Princess has a galley.  They serve beer, sandwiches, soda's, chips, etc.

What to bring:

Bring a sleeping bag, appropriate clothes for the season, sandwiches, drinks, (no alcohol), a cooler, cash, and your own tackle if you don't like theirs.  It will be a 4-hour ride to the fishing grounds.  You will be fishing in 100 ft of water or more.  Bring a book, or some other form of entertainment.  I do not recommend a full day trip for kids under 10 because it's exhausting.  The 18-hour trip is only for the hardcore and is exhausting!  There is a top deck with bench seats.  You can sleep in the open air on the ride back.

What to expect:

You will work!  That's right, you're going to work for your fish.  Bait the hook with plenty of squid or fish.  When the captain says lined down "drop lines", flip your lever and let the 16 oz. sinker drop all the way to the bottom, once you feel the line go slack, reel up about 4 to 7 times and wait.  You WILL feel a jerk, and then you gently pull your rod up, or you can easily jerk back.  Some people are very aggressive at setting the hook, but I think you just waste energy and lose fish this way.  If 5 seconds has passed without a bite, you need to reel up because your bait is gone.  Remember you are reeling up and down in over 100 feet of water with a one pound weight at the end.  You will get a work out, and you're going to do this several times.

The most important thing is to relax and have fun.  If you get a strong tug on the line, and it's a big fish..it's important to reel up as fast as possible to prevent the fish from going back down into a hole or tangling your line on bottom structure.  You can lose the fish if that happens.  It is not uncommon to get double hook ups, two fish at a time, or a BIG grouper on the other end.  The deck hand will unhook your catch for you.  If it's a big fish, they will gaf it for you.

Sometimes you will come back with a cooler full of fish, and sometimes not so many.  Once you get a fish and it is of legal size and species, the deck hand will string it up with a number, then throw it in their large cooler.  You will collect your fish with the matching number at the end of the trip.  This will be your stringer of fish.  It is customary to tip the deck hand for good service.

There is typically a big fish pot, if you want to put $5 in.  The person with the biggest fish gets the cash pool.  Ask about the rules, it must be caught from a bottom rig.

Once you get back to the dock, you can have your fish cleaned and processed for a small fee, or just take it home and do it yourself.  The boat leaves early, 1st come 1st serve.  You will be back by 5-6 p.m.  The best position is to the rear of the boat.  Sometimes you can light line and fish for game fish off the back, but you have to pay attention because the captain will reposition the boat many times.  Good luck, enjoy our coast, and most of all have fun and eat fish!

SparkCon 2011 4-Day Arts & Craft Festival Raleigh

Awesome street art done with chalk at SparkCon 2011 in downtown Raleigh, NC.  Looking forward to next year.


Terrific talent and art work at the SparkCon 2011 Festival.


Who knew chalk on the street could be so interesting.

The kids and I went to SparkCon in downtown Raleigh, NC back in Sept. 2011.  This was a four day celebration that offered art, dance, crafts, jewelry, paintings, food, and drink.  For a small fee, artist could get a block on the street and get colored chalk to create interesting pictures.  There lots of things to do from arts and crafts for kids, to shopping for custom made jewelry.  I personally liked the gourmet coffee rickshaw.  Look forward to having another great event in the fall of 2012.

2011 Recurve Bow Hunting (Bear Kodiak Magnum 1968-1970

Steel Force 125 grain broad head, Port Orford Cedar Shaft.

1968-1972 Bear Kodiak Magnum 50-55 lb. recurve bow.

Everything Old is New Again (In 10 year Cycles)

I’ve been around for about 43 years now, and one thing I’ve learned is fashions and trends never die, they just get recycled every 10 years. I call it the, “Everything old will be new again theory.” So goes my first hunt, first shot, and first deer of the 2011 North Carolina season.


This was my first time in the deer woods and I dusted off my early 1970’s Bear Kodiak Magnum 55 lb. glass powered recurve. I had made two nice wooden arrows tipped with 125 grain Steel Force glue on broad heads. These wooden arrows are heavy and weigh approximately 600 grains each. Arrows were dressed out in NCSU colors, so go Wolf Pack.


The weather had cooled down significantly that Saturday afternoon. Last Thursday the high was up in the 90’s, and Friday morning I drove to work through a brisk 57 F! It had been raining, and the clouds had rolled in threatening showers for the day.


I had not been scouting, but knew this little bottle neck in the woods that was a perfect spot to set up in. I was excited and looked forward to just spending some relaxing time and self reflecting in the woods. Things had been hectic lately, and hunting is cheaper and more therapeutic than a $200/hr shrink.


We bow hunters are a ritualistic bunch and have our own little routines. We dress outside, wash our clothes in no scent detergent, and shower with no scent soap. We do everything that it takes to reduce our scent signatures. Yet with all the meticulous steps and planning, I always forget something. This time it was my shooting glove, so now I had to shoot with bare fingers.


I put out a scent wick with some 2-drop supreme a little upwind from the area I was hunting, and then I climbed up a nice straight young pine about 12-14 feet. I didn’t want to get too high because of all the leaves and branches, and the recurve was limited on range.


A beautiful red fox ran by just 30-yard directly in front of me after a mere 30 minutes of sitting. It was beautiful, with red fur on its sides, dark gray fur in the middle, and the tail was tipped with black. The wind was picking up, and it was nice and cool. I remember I did not break in sweat at all walking the 200 yards in, and knew this was going to be a good day.


Time slowly ticked by as I sat motionless, scanning the woods for movement with my eyes going from left to right. A squirrel feeding at eye level just 15 yard in front of me kept me entertained.


That little bushy tail would stand on its hind legs and grab berries and eat. Then it would hang upside down like a monkey and eat. It is funny how one passes the time watching the littlest things when you’re in the woods. I was surprised that the squirrels were not on the ground looking for food, but would rather gather something to eat up in the trees.


By 5:30 p.m. I heard my 1st buzz of a mosquito the size of a cricket. I quickly turned on my ThermaCell, and all is good with the world again. The wind must have died down a little as well.


It was now 6:30 p.m., and I saw movement directly in front of me just 40-50 yards away. It was a buck moving from right to left on a trail in front of me. He disappeared into the thick woods, and I slowly got into the standing position…waiting for him to show up again.


Then from the left corner of my eye I saw movement. There were two does walking, stopping, and feeding up a path that was to my left. They moved at a normal pace and had no idea they were being watched. Sunlight was starting to leave me fast, and I wanted to wait for that buck to come back, but hunting with the recurve is a game of opportunity. So, I had an opportunity to harvest a doe, and that’s exactly the decision I made.


The two does were walking from left to right, and when the bigger one paused long enough in an opening. I was able take a deep breath and draw my bow. She had turned completely broadside to me.


Replays of past failures flashed through my mind. I had missed on a nice doe at 15-yards last year because I thought she was out farther and aimed high. The arrow sailed over her back. Everything looks different when you’re up in a tree above 12 feet.

I kept saying BRASS in my mind, Breath, Relax, Aim, Sight, Squeeze, just replace squeeze with smooth finger release.


I could see the arrow flying straight towards the two deer, and it looked like a good clean shot. The two does bolted in opposite directions. Looking down at my watch, it was 6:45 p.m. As always, I thought I had missed. When I got down on the ground to where the two deer where, I couldn’t find my arrow and thought it might had just buried deep in the ground. The ground was wet from all the rain.


For some reason I decided to walk and look for my arrow in the direction the larger doe ran. I didn’t find my arrow, but did find her lying on the ground just 35-40 yards from where she was shot. I was so happy, and looked up and thanked God. Taking anything with the recurve is a gift.


The entry wound was slightly above her right front shoulder, and the exit wound was well behind the opposite rib cage. When I looked at her closely it did seem like I got both lungs and grazed the heart. I’m guessing my arrow travelled around 175 to 190 fps, and she probably jumped the string a little, this was why she was hit quartering to and not a 100% broadside.


I was able to pace out the distance from where she was shot and it came out to be 23 yards. It was getting dark and I got out of the woods by 7:00 p.m.


The next morning I went out and found my arrow. It was intact and laying on the ground just 15 yards from the point of impact. It didn’t have much blood on it, but then I did remember putting about 8-12 layers of clear coat on it. No liquid would ever stick to those arrows. It must have stayed in and got pulled out as she ran.


I’d had that old Bear bow for about 10 years and have killed a couple of deer with it. It’s probably older than me. I did notice how the popularity of traditional archery is making a comeback. I’d often wondered if that bow could talk what stories would it tell, would it say to me “Everything old is new again. Although an archer may shoot a million times, every shot is a new beginning.” I don’t know, I just know that I’m very happy with my 1st hunt, 1st shot, and 1st deer of the 2011 season.