freebird2

What can I say other than this wind has to stop!! The last day we ventured offshore it was a massacre with 50 Mahi going for a boat ride & 7 releases on White Marlin & that was Sunday before last. Needles to say we have gotten plenty of boat maintenace done over the past week. Hunter B (my son) made the last report on the www.secondtononecharter.com site pasted below. It goes to show you can still have fun even when the wind will not cooperate! Sorry for the lack of reports the wind has got us for more then a week the last time we went out was the amazing billfish bite. The wind continues to howl my dad will probably end up cancelling most of his trips this week. This is one of the longest blows I have ever seen it is hurting allot of boats. The Barta Boys And Girls Billfish Tournament was this weekend our fishing team consisted of Myself, Laurel Matthews, Megan Matthews, Mark Parish, Will Blackely, Jake Blackely, Katie Beeman, Kena Beeman & Kylie Beeman. The first day we decided to stick our nose out of the inlet we made it about a mile and we decided to turn around. After we got back to the dock we had a good breakfast thanks to Mr. Carl and went Spanish fishing for a while and anchored behind Shackelford Banks and swam all day. The 2nd day it was supposed to blow harder so we knew we were not going to make it out today so we slept in and went to Shackelford again and swam and went tubing behind Mr. Carl’s skiff. We might not have got to go offshore but it was a very fun weekend. Thank You Mrs. Jennifer & Mr. Steven! Also there are several new pictures on the photo page. Thanks, Hunter B. Second Mate

Great trip on the new ride! We ran up the beach looking for the tuna and we found them. After about an hour there was an explosion on the flat line the all hell broke loose. The teasers were getting ripped off and and six rods came down. Unfortunatly only three stayed tight but three hit the box. An hour later we got wacked again, five stayed tight, five found the box. Got the spread set back and we where hit again. This time six found the box. All nice tuna is the 35-50lb range. We were hit three times and ended up with 14 nice tuna what more could you ask for? The boys said 14 was enough and their arms were sore so we headed back early. Dare I say the yellowfin have returned to MHC?

Well I guess it is safe to say now there will be some major changes with Second To None Charters. I flew to Florida last week & looked at a new boat & there was an offer accepted on it today so if everything checks out ok on the survey there will be a new sled in the slip sometime in March. I will post up some pics later this week when I go back to Florida but I will say the boat is an improvement over the Fight-N-Lady. Btw we will still be Chartering so check out the calendar at www.secondtononecharter.com for open dates. Stay tuned this is going to be one heck of a ride!!!

Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 11:20 am Post subject: Need a little help from the Florida Crowd. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am looking at a boat at New Smyna Beach it is called the Reel Gator2. She is a 55 Gwalteney does anyone know this rig & what can you tell me about it. I need to hear it all good & bad. Thanks in advance for the help. Thanks, Capt. Shane Second To None Charters 252-422-0066 _________________

I am looking for a Private or maybe even a Charter/Private boat to run. I have run a succesful charter business for several years. I am very good with kids & would not mind travel. Experienced Bluefin Tuna & Marlin fisherman.I also have tournament experience. I have a 60ft slip in Morehead City Waterfront. Please give me a call if interested. 252-422-0066 Thanks, Captain Shane Brafford www.secondtononecharter.com

sold!!!

2 Shimano Tiagra 80 Wides On Custom Rods. Very good condition loaded with 130 pound braid with Mono Topshot. These rods are ready to go. $1650.00 for the pair. 252-422-0066

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still looking

Well it has been a while since we have had a good report & as much as I hate to say it this one is not going to be much better. Between school starting back & the Tropics being stirred up fishing offshore has been just about non existent. But I will say what few times we have been out fishing has been good with decent catches of Wahoo, Sailfish & Mahi along with a few other species mixed in. Now as far as the inshore bite it has been great with HUGE Spanish Mackerel & a few Kings have even started to show on the beach as well. We will also be offering Live Bait trips this Fall until the Bluefins show up. Btw it looks like Friday is going to be light & slight we will doing a make up trip if anyone is interested $266.00 per man.

July has brought hot water to the MHC area and with that hot water the meat fishing has moved closer to the beach and the sailfish are showing in good numbers with most boats getting a shot or two a day. We fished 5 days this past week with two 3/4 days, one gulf stream trip, and two 1/2 days. Our crowd for the gulf stream trip was looking for a billfish so we ran past the inshore meat fishing and worked the 100 fathom line all day and were able to find a sailfish that put on a nice show and satisfied there goal of a NC billfish. The half and three quarter day fishing has been very good with limits of Spanish mackerel around the inlet and kings starting to show in the buoy chain and on the near shore reefs. We have been trying something new this year on our nearshore trips by adding a bait tank to the Fight N Lady and doing some live baiting for the kings and mahi that have moved in. On another note, we are still looking for two more anglers for the Pirates Cove Billfish tournament this August in Manteo. Time is running out so if you have any interest in a week of world class billfishing off the Outer Banks please contact me.

I am looking for a Private or even a Charter/Private boat to run. I have run a succesful charter business for several years. I am very good with kids & would not mind some travel. I also have tournament experience. Also I have a 60ft slip in Morehead City. Please give me a call if interested. 252-422-0066

Thanks everyone!

It appears that June is going out as hot as in came in. Since my last report the billfishing continued to be good here in MHC and we have been fortunate to release another blue marlin, a couple of whites and sailfish. With any luck July will continue to bring more mahi and wahoo , and the billfish bite will remain good through the summer as it did last year. July and August also bring more tournaments to the area and we are currently open for the Barta Billfish Tournament which is a great family event and we are looking for two more anglers to join us at the Pirate Cove Billfish tournament in Manteo. Pirates Cove is a great release tournament held when the white marlin fishing is at its best on the Outer Banks. The parties are also famous themselves…. Summer also brings great half day and three quarter day fishing for Spanish and King mackerel. These are great trips for a family looking for a day on the water or for those looking to cut their teeth in the offshore fishing game. Our last two half days brought limits of Spanish mackerel with bluefish mixed in. The kings are starting to show in good numbers at some of the wrecks and reefs off the beach and the fishing will only improve as fall grows closer. Many do not realize that fall holds some of the best fishing here off Morehead with wahoo and sailfish being the main staple but the mahi and tuna are not that uncommon. In my opinion it does not get much better than 10 wahoo and a couple of sails on a cool fall day. For more information about the tournaments or open days for the remainder of the summer or fall please visit our website or contact

(written bt Brad Burton Mate) With the Big Rock behind the Fight N Lady I finally have a chance to compile some pictures and do a quick write up of the past two weeks. After a busy week of preparing for the biggest Blue Marlin tournament on the east coast the events started Saturday morning as we left the slip with a boat full of ladies that thought that 5:00 only came once a day. With a lot of current where we were fishing things started out slowly but as the day wore on Capt. Shane found some better water. Around noon a nice mahi attacked the left teaser then switched to the flat line and began pulling drag off the Tiagra 80. With everything clear and our lady angler in the chair the battle began against what would turn out to be the winning mahi for the ladies tournament. Saturday night brought on a great time at the Big Rock party that was paid for ten fold Sunday morning making me very glad I had completed all my rigging Saturday afternoon in preparation for the Monday's big show. With lines in at nine Monday morning spirits were high as we set the spread for that million dollar bite. Around 10:30 I see a bill swatting the left teaser, realizing it is a sail or white marlin I drop the circle hooked dink on a TLD 25 back in time for Shane to jerk the teaser away as I stuck the bait in front of his face. With a few seconds of drop back the circle hook found its mark and we were "hooked up" on our first white marlin of the tournament. Tuesday brought more good fishing for us as we released another whitie and a sail for 450 points with two more days of fishing. Unfortunately that was the end of the billfish action for us last week as the drama that surrounded the 51st Big Rock went on with out the crew of the Fight N Lady. As luck would have it our next charter was Sunday after the last day of the tournament and the marlin were chewing! After a dozen gaffer dolphin we worked out to the deep in search of something with a bill. Less than ten minutes after setting the dredge we were hooked up to a pair of white Marlin. Within an hour of releasing the pair of whites Shane noticed a shadow under the right short rigger. With grace the blue marlin deleted worded the sea witch down and disappeared to the deep until I pushed the drag up and he hit the surface greyhounding, dumping the Penn 30 as he went. With a thirty minute fight and six inches of water in the cockpit and we had the leader on a frisky 300lb blue. Despite the great marlin fishing, my favorite fish of the day was a 30lb mahi that I hooked on the circle hooked dink and handed off to a 77 year old gentleman. It was a great battle on the TLD 25 that brought as much excitement as the blue marlin for the crowd from up-state NY. Monday's fishing was just as good as we caught 20 big gaffers and released a sail fish. We also had a stud blue marlin appear on the teaser while we were fighting a couple of mahi but he faded off showing us no love. The rest of the fleet also had great marlin fishing yesterday with the stand out being Capt. Thomas Woods on the Dancin Outlaw with 3 blue marlin and a white. That kind of fishing is certainly note worthy and what makes Morehead City such an outstanding fishing destination. Brad. (I personaly want to thank Capt. Dave with Sea View he put us on the fish for 4 days in a row during the tournament. Thanks Capt Dave!)Shane

(written by Brad) I know it may sound like a broken record but the fishing continues to be red hot here in MHC. We fished Saturday and Sunday of this past week and had great fishing each trip. The mahi fishing leveled off a bit but we still returned with 20+ each day and handful of wahoo. Saturday the wahoo caught me a bit off guard as I had been using mono leaders for the mahi fishing. The result was several lost fish due to bite offs until I could change over to the piano wire leaders. With the wire leaders and the planner rod down we spent the rest of the day chasing the speed demons in the shallow water as the boats that pushed out to the deep found great billfishing each day. It looks like everything is falling in place for another great June of meat and marlin fishing. This week brings rigging and more rigging as we prepare for the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. I spent today making hooksets and rigging our marlin plugs as well as building wind-on leaders and new top-shots. The rest of the week we will be cranking new line on the 130s, restringing the outriggers, setting drags, and checking the flying gaffs for their date with the money fish. We have a charter Friday, then Saturday is the Lady's Big Rock and Monday is when the real game begins.

Give me a shout I have what you need. 252-422-0066 you can also check out pics on my website www.secondtononecharter.com on the front page at the top right click on condo for rent.

The Mahi fishing continued to be world class last week here on the Crystal Coast! We were able to fish Friday thru Monday and each day we returned to the dock early with a box full of gaffer mahi. Everyday started out with 5 doz ballyhoo rigged on sea Witches or small chuggers and at least 15 "dinks" and very few if any lived to tell the tale. One of the most memorable times was Saturday when we had a fish on every rod and the rest of the school was trying to tear the teasers from the outriggers. For the next 15 minutes I was gaffing fish, unsnapping the swivel, putting on a dink, dropping it behind the teaser and handing it up to Shane for him to hook a fish and hand it back down. To say the least the partys' got their fair share of cranking each day and often ended with everyone looking at each other as line pulled off the reels as no one wanted to fight the final fish of the day. Monday brought our first half day of the year and to be honest it was a nice change of pace. With momma wanting to see the lighthouse and the horses on "Shack" we pointed it up the beach and found good Spanish fishing all the way up to the lighthouse and gave momma some pictures of the ligthouse and the rest of the family some Spanish to pull against. All in all it was a great weekend of fishing aboard the Fight N Lady with plenty of memories and meat to go around.This Friday is the last day we have open until after the Big Rock so if you are interested please contact Capt. Shane for details on how to get in on the May massacre. (written by mate Brad Burton)

Fight-N-Lady Make Up this Saturday. I had a last minute cancellation so lets go kill something. mahis have been very friendly the past week so it should be a good trip. $267.00 per man.

This past week brought some of the best "gaffer" mahi fishing that I seen in a while. The wind plagued us again this week and only allowed us to get out Friday but we were able to make the most of it. With 20-25kts winds out of the SW the seas were a bit sporty to say the least but our party was rewarded for the rough ride by nonstop action. By 11am we had completely filled the box with gaffers ranging from 10-30lbs. With the box full, we broke out the 80s and the plugs looking for a blue marlin but the crowd was exhausted and opted for an early return after about an hour. The total gross weight from the fish cleaner was over 500lbs so to say these guys had some meat for the freezer is an understatement. On another note, we have 4 guys looking to blue marlin fish this Wednesday and are looking for one or two to help split the boat. Our next open day is Saturday and I believe I have two guys that would like to do a make up and are looking for four more. After that, it looks like next Tuesday is one of the few open days remaining before the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. If you would like to join one of these groups or reserve the boat for your party contact me to reserve your spot.

Spring fishing has turned on here in MHC! Due to an unfortunate scheduling mishap we missed Thursday but we were able to pick up Sunday. Friday we steamed way up the beach to the 900 line chasing a finger of hot water that was rumored to hold tuna. The tuna again remained elusive but we did find a few gaffer dolphin and a wahoo. Friday’s fishing wasn’t red hot but we picked at them all day and finished up jigging AJs over one of the wrecks. Not completely satisfied with Friday’s haul I looked at the Sea View provided and decided to start Saturday by heading down the beach to the 300 line to intercept a pocket of water working its way up from the south. The long run south paid off right off the bat as we were in the gaffer mahi before I could get the spread out. All day the mahi fishing was non stop with only a few times where I was able to get the entire spread set. During the mahi madness the left long rigger pops out of the clip but no one home. A short drop back and the rod begins to bow and line comes off the reel. A short time into the fight the fish starts jumping and we realize we are hooked up to a billfish. After a short fight the Fight N Lady releases the first billfish of the year for the MHC charter fleet; a spearfish. After the release, the mahi continued to chew and we were treated to a 5 foot mako shark on the planner rod as well as a nice 30lb wahoo. With the body of warm water working its way up the beach we ran straight out Sunday and were again greeted by mahi as soon I set the spread. In the first hour we probably had ten gaffer mahi in the box when the chopper bluefish attacked us with vengeance. They left no bait or teaser untouched and when the smoke cleared we had seven choppers to add to the mahi. With plenty of meat in the box we decided put out the dredge and look for another billfish. Although we were unable to pull off a second billfish for the weekend there were a few caught including the fleet’s first blue marlin released by Capt. Cameron Guthrie on the Impulse. To sum it up, it was great to finally have good weather and good fishing return to the Crystal Coast. Tomorrow brings an oil change for the Fight N Lady and a trip on Friday. As of now we still have the weekend open so contact us for your shot at the mahi and another billfish.

Thank god the wind stopped for a few days last weekend and the fleet was finally able to do alittle fishing. Saturday we had a great group of guys from the New York area and we were treated to light wind and a rolling swell out of the SW. Things started out hot and we had our first wahoo on before I could get all the lines out. Just as the snap swivel broke the surface the wahoo did its thing and its razor teeth cut the mono which set the tone for the day. On our next pass over the mark the bridge pole came tight on what seemed to be a nice fish. Thirty seconds into the fight the 50 starts singing and we realize we have got a fight on our hands. For 10 minutes it is give and take and we are wondering if this is a stud wahoo or a big yellowfin. As the fish nears the boat Shane sees what he thinks is a huge wahoo at first than realizes it is about a ten foot shark! Before we can see the shark from the pit the hook pulls and the mystery is revealed, still hooked was the head of a 20lb mahi that was missing everything from the gills down. To be honest fishing was slow for the boats that went south and we ended the day going 2 for 4 on wahoo and 1 for 2 on mahi. We ended the day by jigging amber jack over one of the wrecks and as usual there was plenty of pullage for everyone when the jigs go into AJ territory. On a good note, the boats that ran up the beach found some good water Saturday afternoon and the two boats that fished Sunday brought back a good catch of mahi, wahoo, and yellowfin, yes i said yellowfin! Finally it looks like the fish are showing up and the meat is starting to hit the docks here in MHC. From what we have seen, things have been about a month behind for the past year so maybe our March yellowfin are showing in late April and trust me they will be welcomed with open arms and Aftco gaffs. We have trips Thursday through Sunday and weather permitting we plan on filling some coolers with fillets.

Sorry for the last minute but we have a chance for a Make Up Sunday. Give me a call if interested 252-422-0066. Wind has blown out last few trips so no report this week. We are fishing Sat. so maybe we will have a handle on it for Sunday.

Dont leave the dock without it.

spend the $$$ & get a good unit & Transducer.