Oak Island Fish-Finder: Learning how to get the most out of an offshore fishing trip

North Carolina coastal charter captains make adjustments to find fish, even as fuel prices climb.

Capt. John Quattlebaum’s sportfisherman QB’s Sea Witch sliced through a calm sea off Southport last July.

A “six-pack” contingent of anglers enjoyed the breeze created by the speed of the boat’s twin 400-horsepower Cummins diesels that plowed the vessel through the water at 20 knots.

A day of offshore fishing loomed, a welcome escape from the sweltering humidity and heat on land.

The anglers met Quattlebaum that morning at South Harbor Marina, where he docks the Sea Witch. The group included Claire Conklin of Titusville, Pa., a retired U.S. Army veteran who had moved to Oak Island to help care for his mother; vacationers Craig Boyd of Raleigh, owner of Boyd Insurance, and his daughter, Caroline, a sophomore at N.C. State University; and visitors David Ellison, a teacher from Charleston, West Virginia, along with his son, Joshua, an English Education and Sociology student at Glenville State University.

“We’ll be trying mostly for king mackerel, but we’ll likely run into other fish too, probably wahoo,” said Quattlebaum, a captain for 11 years who owns and operates Get Fresh Charters of Oak Island (910-617-6929 or 910-278-9097, e-mail getfreshfish@aol.com, web site www.getfreshcharters.com). His boats include the Get Fresh, a 30-foot center-console powered by 275-horsepower Mercury Verado outboard and the newer Sea Witch, a 360 Pesco-Craft.

The Get Fresh is a faster boat (but can reach the Gulf Stream, Quattlebaum said) that accommodates six anglers while the Sea Witch is a slower vessel but has a wide beam, seats and also comfortably handles a half-dozen anglers.

“We may stop for a while and bottom fish some if things slow down and we want to catch some sea bass or grouper,” he said.

Quattlebaum likes to have his clients catch fish during every trip, so he doesn’t mind changing tactics if a primary target species isn’t cooperating. But fishing for king mackerel is generally the most fun during the summer months because the bite’s usually as hot as the weather and trolling keeps anglers and crew relatively cool.

“We’re going to try the Raritan first,” he said.

The Raritan is a 1942 wreck of a 251-foot-long cargo ship at the west side of Frying Pan Shoals about 20 miles from the mouth of the Cape Fear River. It lies at the bottom, 80 feet from the surface. Overgrown with coral, it’s a haven for baitfish and attracts king mackerel and other gamefishes.

Quattlebaum also takes clients to the Horseshoe area, a place he called West Rock (5 miles west of the Horseshoe), Lighthouse Rock, a region halfway between the Horseshoe and 15-mile Ledge, and Angel Rock.

“They’re pretty much in a line,” Quattlebaum said, “and you usually can make a troll and pick up fish at each place.”

But those are community fishing holes that get a lot of pressure, especially the Horseshoe.

“There’s a lot of stuff out there that nobody except a handful of (charter captains) knows about, and nobody else goes there,” he said. “I usually find some really good fish at these places (of lesser-known bottom structure). Everybody goes to the Horseshoe, especially on weekends.”

During the spring, many captains pull trolling spoons for king mackerel, but by July, Quattlebaum said it’s live-bait time.

“In July we pretty much go to live bait,” he sad. “The pogies (menhaden) will be on the beaches, but there’s lots of (baitfish) you might want to troll.

“Spoons aren’t completely out of the question, but I use them mostly when it’s hot during the middle of the day, especially if it’s sunny. That’s when the fish go deep. From about noon to 2 p.m., the (kings) usually go to the bottom, so I’ll put (spoons) on my planers, slow down to 1 to 2 knots (trolling speed) and put out 120 to 140 feet of line to get (the spoons) on the bottom.”

Quattlebaum often does a combination trip, which works well for anglers who want to bring some meat back to the docks.

“I’ll stop trolling, and we’ll drift at places like the Horseshoe, Lighthouse Rock and the 15-and 18-mile drops,” he said.

Read other tips for offshore success in the North Carolina Sportsman archive.

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