Offshore Fishing
Swordfish stocks are healthy
A commercial fishery for broadbill swordfish has operated on the east coast for years, most notably by long-line boats operating several hundred miles offshore. […]
Articles by Chris Burrows
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Time for sword play – Hot weather, hot action in the Carolinas’ swordfish grounds
On a glassy day in the middle of the summer, Jacky DuFour sits at the helm of his 25-foot center console, the Merry Marlin. He’s well offshore of the usual trolling grounds, past the Big Rock, out of Beaufort Inlet. He has a single line in the water, which is more than 1,600 feet deep. […]
Offshore Fishing
Know your bottomfish — or else
Since the reauthorization of the Magnuson Stevens Act in 2006, fishing regulations have changed at a rate never before seen, and nowhere more than in the Snapper/Grouper complex. […]
Offshore Fishing
Jigging rigs need the best solid rings around
Fishermen tie an awful lot of rigs in an awful lot of different ways, and jigging is no different. Beginning jiggers are often unsure of the correct way to connect their terminal tackle. […]
Offshore Fishing
The good ol’ Bimini twist is still the best
Anglers have devised a number of methods to create a double line, some easy to tie and some not. But there is probably not a more tried-and-true method of creating a loop than the venerable Bimini twist. […]
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Dance a spring jig – North Carolina’s offshore bottomfish
On the Cape Fear coast, spring mornings can come very early. When the forecast is for light and slight wind, there is a rash of pre-dawn activity at the boat ramps and marinas as everyone makes last-minute preparations to head offshore. […]
Featured
900-pound bluefin tuna caught 1 mile off beach
In the past few weeks, the bluefin tuna bite, which has been somewhat scarce south of Morehead City in recent years, finally showed up in the Lower Cape Fear region. Anglers Austin Eubank and Clint Richardson caught four tuna that all measured over 73 inches in a week. […]
Featured
Swordfish run has bluewater anglers daring to attack the heat
For years, swordfishing off North Carolina’s coast meant spending the night offshore, fishing multiple live and dead baits at staggered depths from an illuminated boat. It could be productive, but the trip itself was an ordeal. […]
Offshore Fishing
Dolphin grow fast, die young and taste good
Few organisms in the ocean can match the fast life cycle of the dolphin fish, coryphaena hippurus. Dolphin reach sexual maturity at four to five months, where it takes a king mackerel three years to spawn. The world-record dolphin, 87 pounds was believed to be slightly less than five years old. By comparison, the world-record king mackerel, a 93-pound fish, was thought to be closer to 25 years old.
Offshore Fishing
Catch-and-release dolphin? Really?
Catching a dolphin and releasing it may sound like sheer lunacy to some bluewater anglers, but there is a sound reason to let a few go each year.