Looking to be a better, safer fishing person?
What we do.
Meet monthly – Third Tuesday,(eat at 6PM, program at 7PM) Golden Corral, 2055 N Marine Blvd, Jacksonville, NC 28544
Hold club events - Fishing Tournaments, Take USMC Troops Fishing, Support Military Appreciation Day, etc.
Support charities - Take A Kid Fishing, Military Appreciation Day, etc.
June 2021 Captain Joe Shute ( http://captjoes.com) came and gave a seminar on live bait fishing for big Spanish covering bait rigging,
drift techniques and tackle he uses to catch the big ones.
May 2021 Mark Henderson of the Liquid Fire fishing team has been a constant entry on the leader boards of many tournaments since 2005.
He came and talked about king and Spanish mackerel fishing, rigging, baits, spreads and gear, ways to hit the whole water column and
specifics on what brands of gear he uses. You can gets more information from https://www.liquidfiresportfishing.com/
April 2021 Don Willis came and spoke about what's new in fishing gear that can be found at his shop, Custom Marine Fabrication,
2401 US Highway 70 E, New Bern. He also made a presentation about what CCA is doing for recreational fishers in NC.
March 2021 Capt Rod Bierstadt, OnMyWay fishing charters, 910-352-2719, came and talked about the season that is almost here. He covered species
and water temperatures,
favorite lures and baits, rods and rigging information and contributed fishing maps for our club raffle.
Aug2019 Captain Joe and Lorraine DiBella came and spoke about the Cricket II Project, The restoration of a classic fishing boat
that inspired the movie, "Jaws". The website is http://www.cricket2project.com/ and talks about the mission of taking disabled veterans
out fishing at no cost to them. The boat can also be chartered for groups of up to six fishermen to fish out of Morehead City.
July 2019 Brendan Runde from NC State CMAST came and demonstrated descending devices used to get fish safely back to depth. A device
tutorial through which anyone can get a SeaQualizer is here: https://safmc.net/bestpracticestutorial/story_html5.html.
A link to the video he showed of the red grouper being recompressed is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHHCoHF9rNQ
June 2019 John McLaughlin gave a summary of off shore techniques he uses to put fish in his cooler, a review for some and new
information for many.
May 2019 Capt Jody Gay from Blue Water Candy (bluewatercandy.com) came and gave an excellent presentation on how to fish many of the lures that he
sells that put fish in your cooler. He talked rigging, how to target fish on the bottom or around bait balls, as well as what to keep
ready on your boat when trolling.
April 2019 OBSFC's Steve Mathusek gave a talk on rod building tips and sources of supply.
March 2019 OBSFC's Lee Manning gave a talk on bottom fishing how to's.
Feb 2019 OBSFC's Mr. Wizard, Raeford Brown, gave guidance on how to get one's marine radio in shape for the summer season. For those who heard,
but forgot what he said, the essence of the steps have been posted to OBSFC.US web page on the left side, Radio Maintenance.
Jan 2019 Aaron Abbot, from Triple A Bait Company, http://www.tripleabait.com/ came and gave a talk on surf fishing with lighter gear
than many may be used to. He covered where he finds fish in the surf, size and types of tackle he uses and some points on fishing lines.
Feb 2018 Ricky Kellum, http://www.speckledspecialist.com/captain.htm, came and gave some tips on speckled trout fishing, covering his rigs
and favorite baits. He answered the many questions members had on the fine points of bringing trout to the boat and pointed out that trout can
still be caught, but that trebles should be avoided until the season reopens due to the damage they would cause fish intended for release.
Jan 2018 Matt Littleton from Friendly City Fishing Charters out of Pogies Fishing Shop on Front Street in Swansboro came and talked about red
drum fishing in the area in the winter. He talked about hooks, leaders, lures and other gear he uses to bring fish to the boat as well as
techniques to work a school of red drum. He also talked about the areas he finds fish in the winter and how to approach them. He can be
reached at (910-330-4764) and www.friendlycityfishing.com.
Nov
Don Willis came and gave a talk on latest baits as well as techniques he uses for inshore fishing. He talked about speeds of retrieval,
colors and the presentation of various baits he passed around and then donated to the club to supplement the 50/50 raffle. He also made a
case for supporting CCA and was made aware of the club's position on Catch Shares, NOAA's gifting of fish stocks to the politically and
financially well connected.
Oct
Mike Garb talked offshore fishing, covering rigs, rods and other gear he uses to put fish in the boat.
Sep
Captain Lee Manning talked bottom fishing. He covered how to build a library of the bottom by marking ledges as you troll and
gave other tips he uses every day to bring in fish. Fred Jelinek talked about things to cover during a safety briefing for folks new to your boat.
Aug
Captain Stukie Payne, from Carolina Backwater Charter Fishing, came and talked Striper fishing to the club. He covered where and,
especially when, to target these popular fish and talked at length about the gear he uses to capture them. He can be reached at
http://www.carolinabackwatercharterfishing.com/
July
Jerry Dilsaver came and talked inshore fishing, showing equipment, lures and how to use them. He's a big fan of the various cork rigs
and showed how they are rigged as well as what baits to use with them. His presentation was as complete a "how to" session as one could ask for.
He also donated three bags of lures for the raffle which were very well received.
June
Pat Curley, Program Director for Project Healing Waters, came and talked about the fly fishing program for veterans in the local area.
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing is dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active military service personnel
and disabled veterans through fly fishing and associated activities including education and outings. There may be some support opportunities
for OBSFC in the future with this organization. Their info is at https://www.facebook.com/CrystalCoastPHWFF/
May
Capt. Jim Sabella came and talked near shore fishing for cobia, dolphin and kings using both live bait and lures. He talked
about tips on coding rods for certain places on the boat with certain color lines, how he rigs baits, where he places lines behind the
boat and his favorite lures that are steady producers for him.He can be contacted for charters at captainjimsabella50@msn.com and his
website is topsailfishingcharters.com
April
Don Willis from Custom Marine Fabrication in New Bern came and talked cobia fishing. He talked about the rigs and techniques
he uses to put cobia in his boat, including plugs he has at his shop on HWY 70 in New Bern. He also made a gear donation to enhance the 50/50
raffle that resulted in more income for the club.
March
Nicole Triplett, the new White Oak Riverkeeper, came and gave an overview of her activities oriented on keeping the White
Oak River clean. She encouraged us to join her group on meetup.com so we could participate in White Oak River events. Her contact
information is nicole@wonriverkeeper.org , 910-382--1370.
February
Reviewed the plan of events for the year.
January
Olin Biddy and Terry Peed gave an account of their near sinking and rescue by the Swansboro Coast Guard about 10 miles off shore in December.
They covered what worked and could have worked better as well as what they will now carry off shore after their experience. They stressed the
importance of having a hooked up DSC radio and backups for both radios and GPS's. Captain Lee Manning also pointed out the value of a high
water alarm for boats that have out of sight bilges.
September
Captain Jerry Dilsaver came and gave an overview on fishing from kayaks. Stressing the need for safety items , he went over
tips on rigging the craft and accessories that are a good idea to have with you when you fish from one. In talking about how to approach fish,
he gave good fishing tips for all inshore fishermen looking for reds, trout and flounder, covering baits and how to rig them and lures he finds effective.
August
Captain Andrew Brannan came and talked about offshore fishing. He spoke about baits and rigs and the ways he deploys them off his
boat when trolling and also the way he rigs for bottom fishing. He got into specifics about planer use in the spread and how he rigs ballyhoo
using rubber bands.
July
Don Willis, from Custom Marine Fabrication in New Bern, came and spoke about what he saw at the latest gear conference in the way of lures, rods and
reels. He passed around some of the new products available this year at tackle shops, giving his impressions on what new gear seems to hold the most
potential.
June
Dr. Pat Curley from NC State Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST) in Morehead City came and gave an overview of their activities
that are focused on increasing marine life as opposed to water quality issues. He spoke about how the science that is generated is recognized as not
getting out to non-academics
and spoke about programs addressing the issue. He outlined effforts to integrate marine information into grade school course work to stimulate interest
in marine studies and make problem solving more interesting. Another program was the effort to market lionfish as a way to deal with invasive species.
The school's website is http://www.cmast.ncsu.edu/index.php.
May
Captain Dave Tilley came and talked bottom fishing. He talked gear to use, anchoring tips, how to set up your chart plotter to provide the
best information on the hard bottom you are targeting, how to rig your anchor rode, and why you fish certain parts of hard bottom. In short, a full
seminar on bringing up a mess of bottom dwellers. He also donated two "Fish Here" reports for the club to raffle off. Captain Dave can be found at
fryingpantower.com, a most useful fishing site.
April
Rob Koraly, (website is SandbarSafari.com) , came and talked about chasing spooky redfish in the flats in our area. He gave tips about
how to approach the fish and what he does to baits to increase the chances of a hookup. He also covered how he fishes the grass and
the various baits he uses with success. He also spoke about the changes in tactics required as the water warms.
March
Don Willis from Custom Marine came and talked about cobia fishing and new and old gear that works when looking for them. He talked
about what fish actions mean when they are rolling VS porpoising and where to look on the way out to find them. He also passed around lures and
other gear to use and talked about the need for the governor to sign the JEA agreement to increase funding for rules enforcement.
February
Loy Morgan from Coastal Marine and Sport came and talked about maintenance of both boats and trailers. He touched on all the mistakes
fishermen make that cause them to see him for repairs sooner than they should. He covered all the trailer tips one could ask for and then got into keeping
outboard motors healthy. Worked into his presentation as well were fishing tips that went along with the gear he gave away which was really well received. His store is on Hwy 58 near Peletier Creek.
November
Rich Ehrenkaufer,otherwise known as Dr. Bogus, came and talked about winter trout. He went over their life cycle and eating habits and also
the current tagging programs that we should be aware of. He gave details of how he fishes corks and various hard and soft baits, and spoke
of the impact clear and cloudy water had on his techniques. He also gave tips on how he modified hard baits to improve hookup rates and how
fishing the surf changes his lure selection. His web site, ncoif.com, has detailed information on many fishing topics as well as contact information.
October
Capt. Jake Kight from Inshore Addiction Charters operating out of Dudley's marina came and talked about stalking redfish in the shallows behind Bogue Banks and Bear Island. He covered baits, rigs and tactics he uses to bring redfish to his boat for clients. He can be reached at www.inshoreaddictionchartersnc.com .
September
Mike Garb and Ron Dibble brought video of the bottoms like 45 minute Rock, AR 342 and AR345, we fish out of Bogue Inlet. It was fascinating to see in video what we normally only "see" with our depth finders.
August
David Sneed, executive director of CCA for NC, came and spoke to the club about CCA. He raised familiar issues CCA addresses about recreational fishing and interacting with the state legislature. He made a pitch for members to join CCA as, in his opinion, size matters and grass roots input to the legislature has an impact.
July
Don Willis from Custom Marine Fabrication and Sports in New Bern came and talked about the latest fishing gear being introduced in the area. He passed around hooks and lures, talked about strategies on using them and gave tips on knot tying with the new lines available. His shop's web page is http://www.nccustommarine.com/
June
Capt Chessom O'Brien came and talked about Mahi fishing. While still well off shore, they are due in in July. He talked about baits and hooks, preferring 1/0 circles to trebles. He gave other tips on rigging for Mahi and Kings and what to have ready on the boat when Mahi strike. He also talked about types of rods and rigging tips with line and connectors. He gave us his favorite color combinations for skirts and how to make swift changes and the spreads and speeds he uses for trolling.
May
Capt Chris Sewell came and talked cobia fishing to the club. He went over the bait, how to catch and rig it, rods and reels and techniques he uses on charters to get cobia in his boat. His web site, http://fisheadcharters.com/ is how you can
April
Loy Morgan from Coastal Marine and Sport on Hwy 58 came and gave a great presentation on the marine maintenance issues he sees at his shop with boats and trailers. He gave out excellent, specific advice on hubs, bearings, springs, electronics and other trailer parts as well as information of value on battery and motor maintenance. He then switched to fishing tips and gave away a wide variety of fishing gear as he made his presentation to members in attendance. A most enjoyable and informative program.
March
Dr. Lou Daniel, Director of Marine Fisheries for NC, came and talked fishing from a management perspective. He opened the meeting to whatever issues we had and addressed them, ensuring we understood he manages based on directives from the legislature. Concerns were raised about the appearance of being victims of the “sue and settle” (in a quiet little room off the courtroom) tactics of environmental groups, the appearance of insignificant penalties for fishing violations, gill net policies that appear out of step with neighboring states, marine protected areas in N.C., the game fish bill, the process used to check that commercial fish are properly sourced and other issues. An issue raised to study the option of commercial hook and line fishing for the Game Fish species as a way to allow for commercial fishing of the species and still get gill nets out of the water will be pursued by the club. He ended his presentation with an invitation to get involved on advisory committees of the Marine Fisheries Commission.
February
Captain Chris Sewell, a local third generation fishing guide, gave a presentation on spring red fishing tips and techniques that covered his favorite baits and how to rig and present them. He also gave his thoughts on how to catch multiple fish from the same area. He covered tactics for both inshore local waters and fishing the surf line waves just outside Bogue Inlet. You can find out more about how he puts folks on fish and set up a charter at : www.facebook.com/fisheadcharter.
January
Bill Raab went over proposed events for the club for 2014 which were discussed and approved.
November 2013
Jerry Dilsaver gave a presentation on kayak fishing that included safety and rigging of kayaks. He talked about all aspects of what makes kayak fishing a bit different from boat fishing, covering rigging the kayak, clothing, rods, communication gear, types of kayaks and then general fishing tips covering his favorite baits and how to present them.
October 2013
Neil Kendrick from DMF came and gave an update on rules and regulations in effect and that may be coming soon. He answered many questions ranging from net restrictions and circle hook use to weapons aboard boats.
September 2013
Rocky Carter, the President of the newest Costal Conservation Association (CCA) chapter in NC, the Onslow Bay Chapter came and spoke. He is an avid fisherman and was involved with CCA in Greensboro, NC. After moving to Swansboro, he and some of his fishing pals were instrumental in forming the Onslow Bay chapter. He stressed contacts with politicians who do seem to be influenced by calls and letters. The absence of adequate fishing rule enforcement and inadequate penalties that seem to encourage violations were discussed at length. Rocky added whenever we call in an incident to DMF, we should ensure we get an incident number.
August 2013
Capt. Joe Shute, Morehead City fishing guide, tackle shop owner and gear manufacturer, member of the Marine Fisheries Commission and radio show host, came and talked on subjects that ranged from high speed trolling techniques to his perspective of marine fisheries issues like nets and trawling. His presentation included showing various lures he finds effective on wahoo, tuna and mackerel. You can find him on the web at http://www.captjoes.com/
July 2013
Capt. Ricky Kellum, a noted local guide, came and showed us techniques and tips he uses to have happy clients when he takes them out on charters. He brought rigs and lures he finds effective locally and shared his "secret sauce"he uses to color and flavor his favorite shrimp baits. You can reach him at http://www.speckledspecialist.com/ The club was also shown a clever boat fender holding device being marketed by QuickBoatFender.com that can simplify rigging fenders quickly.
June 2013
Dr. Bogus came and talked to the club about color and fishing. He presented outcomes of scientific studies that recorded what the eyes of fish actually responded to, talked about what colors are seen at what depths and the impact that has on various lures and gear. He also pointed out certain design items are on lures to attract fishermen, others really matter to fish. We have a link to his page on this site's Links page and he can be heard Monday morning at 7:30 in the Morehead City area on WTKF, 107.1 FM and 1240 AM or accessed by anyone on the Coastal Daybreak Facebook page.
May 2013
Capt. Bobby Bourquin of Teezher Charters in Swansboro gave a talk about live bait king fishing. He discussed baits, rigs, presentation, and effective speeds to troll with. He also talked about cobia which are in now and gave sources for baits he finds effective. He then talked about higher speed trolling and the baits he finds effective on his charters. His services can be found at www.teezhercharters.com or he can be called at 252-240-9096
April 2013
Don Poling, a local fisherman who was on the boat that caught a winning king mackerel at the SKA Championship, gave a talk about king mackerel fishing. He talked about gear checks to make, bait selections and care, and how to use titanium wire in rigs as well as strategy to use bringing in a winning fish.
March 2013
Capt. Lee Manning of the Nancy Lee Fishing Center in Swansboro has been doing fishing charters for 47 years and has operated the Nancy Lee Fishing Center since 1996. He does both trolling and bottom fishing with the Nancy Lee III and V boats, and does some inshore river and bay fishing as well with his bay boat. He talked us through planning a typical day on the water starting with what information he checks before he goes and what he does once outside the inlet. He gave us information about the local tides data and negotiating Bogue Inlet and gave out some detailed information about the nearshore reefs and rocks that routinely hold fish. One can't get better information than he provided to make your off shore fishing successful. You can find him off our links page.
February 2013
Loy Morgan of Coastal Marine & Sport on Hwy 58, a pro bass tournament participant for many years and avid local fisherman, gave a talk on trout, flounder and redfish. He brought, and gave away, some favorite lures and talked about what he does to get those fish in the boat. He solicited and answered many questions on techniques and was well received.
January 2013
This was our get organized meeting. We elected Bill Raab president, Lee Johns vice-president Fred Jelinek secretary/treasurer and Jack Willis as Board Member. The club discussed events to conduct for 2013 and decided to have a strategy session with just the board prior to the next meeting. Locations for meetings were discusssed and the club will rotate locations between T&W's and Hibatchi Grill starting with Hibatchi Grill in March.
- November 2012
Capt. Jerry Powell, owner of “ROCK-N-ROLL CHARTERS” and daughter Annette gave a presentation that included a slide show and equipment demonstration as he discussed Blue Fin Tuna fishing and processing.
- October 2012
Raeford Brown gave a talk on new marine radio features to look for and maintenance tips. He also encouraged having a handheld radio in the ditch bag which would allow contacting a searching aircraft. Fred Jelinek gave a review of CPR, stressing the high frequency of compressions done to the beat of “Staying Alive”, an old disco song.
- September 2012
Captain Pete Jordan of WFO Charters and Ultimate Gig Lights, Swansboro gave a talk about wahoo fishing well off shore. He also showed some gig light products he has developed that can be found at ultimategiglights.vpweb.com .
- August 2012
Captain Rob Koraly of Sandbar Safaris gave a good talk about inshore fishing. He targets flounder and reds in the Swansboro area and has a website at Sandbarsafari.com. He presented information on fishing in the local area and tips he uses to fill client’s coolers
- July 2012
Neil Kendrick, a ten year veteran with DMF, came and spoke about the laws he enforces and answered questions about the many fishing rules. The good news is boaters seem to be getting the word that boating under the influence of alcohol is a good way to ruin your day and seem to be doing less of it. The bad news is negligent operation citations are up. Roaring past Cedar Point Wildlife Ramp can cost you $250 if your wake endangers boaters launching or retrieving boats.
- June 2012
Capt Dave Tilley gave an overview of Reefcast and the solunar tables available on Fryingpantower.com. He pointed out ways to maximize their use and then gave a pretty comprehensive talk on bottom fishing that included boat placement and rigging tips.
- May 2012
The Garbs gave a video enhanced report on what the local bottom looks like with footage of some nice groupers being speared. It really improved our understanding of what the local bottom structure looks like when we bottom fish.
- April 2012
J.P. McCann from Sturgeon City, a community service group in Jacksonville, came and gave details on the extensive reef project done in the New River. After discussing the planning and implementation of the project, he provided tips on the structure layout that should really help those that fish this area. See http://www.sturgeoncity.org/
- Mar 2012
CCA representative Bert Owens from Morehead City and two other CCA members presented their thoughts on the game fish bill, HB353. Their view is that it is important to take away the “management” of these fish from Fisheries Management since they have done such an appallingly bad job over the last 15 years. The past governors, guided by Bill Bassnight, have named to the commission people who have demonstrated more interest in supporting commercial fishermen than an equitable division or sensible development of the fish stocks. They pointed out one of the key features of the bill is to target the very large unreported black market in these fish (which probably explains the puzzlingly strong commercial push back on the bill, given the lopsided “economic impact” numbers frequently presented). Commercial folks' position is that they are insignificant harvesters and catch these fish"by accident". Details are found at http://ccanc.org/
- Feb 2012
Dave Lucas and Vic Gulley of Mr Tigger Tackle came and showed the lures they make locally to target bottom and inshore fish. They talked about what colors seemed to work best and how to fish their lures. Members snapped up many of their offerings at wholesale prices.
- Jan 2012
Bill Hitchcock a former fishing show producer, and host of Saltwater Catch on WNBU-FM presented the the argument for NOT giving red drum, speckled trout and striped bass game fish status. His documentaries and first hand experience with blue fin tuna research, as well as studies involving commercial fishing in North Carolina and surrounding states, qualified him to be a credible speaker in opposition of NC House Bill 353. The give and take in the discussion after his presentation gave those holding opposing opinions better insight into the complexities of the issue.
2011 Meetings
- April 2011
Tim Simpson from Towboat U.S. was the speaker who provided input on how to avoid seeing him on the water. He often responds to boats with electrical issues and pointed that out as a general weakness on boats. One solid recommendation was to scout out the inlet the day before a tournament so you don’t have an unpleasant experience early in the morning when water may be hard to read.
- May 2011
The club held a seminar on each member’s favorite Spanish mackerel fishing tips and techniques. Members brought in favorite rigs and lures, including member designed saltwater flies, and talked about how they used them.
- June 2011
In June, we had a graduate student, who discussed his research aboard a ship following that infamous 2010 oil well leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Ben McGlaughon, a native of Jacksonville, and a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, is one of those young people we don't read about in the daily police blotter. After graduating, a few years back, Ben worked for a while at a zoo in West Palm Beach. Great hands on experience, he has said, for his future.
That future took him to the Gulf last year, as samples were taken of plankton, large, smaller, and miniscule, to see what effect the oil spill was having. The results of the study are not available, as yet, as they are still being analyzed. That study was part of his grad work at East Carolina University.
A bit of good news, and timely, too. There have been NO signs that oil infected spanish mackerel have made their way up the Atlantic seaboard. Spanish macks travel a long ways, and it's common knowledge that the tasty finny creatures, common in the Gulf of Mexico, are found off North Carolina.
Ben promises to keep us up to date on the studies, as the results are made available to him.
- July 2011
Some good information from Scott Strickland, an enforcement officer with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, at the July meeting of the OBSFC. Commonly referred to as Wildlife Officers or Game Wardens, men and women like Strickland have a variety of duties involving boating safety, along with enforcing various fishing and game laws. Many are not aware, but Wildlife Officers are State Lawmen, and can enforce ANY laws in the State of North Carolina.
Strickland hit on various aspects of boating safety and regulations he enforces. North Carolina, along with the U.S. Coast Guard, is devoting a great deal of effort into reducing boating accidents and deaths resulting from accidents. At the top of the list is Operating While Imparied, the on-water equivalent of Driving While Impaired. The laws are similar. A note here: there is no law against having open containers of beer on board, and a boat operator can actually consume a beer, but not enough to impair his operation.
Scott also discussed other areas of safe boating, all in an effort he said, to make boating and fishing outings much safer.
- Aug 2011
Ok. So you catch fish, right? Now what? The obvious answer is to eat them! And, most of us do enjoy a tasty seafood dish. And, if it's with fresh fish we've caught, it just makes the trip that much more enjoyable. We have a chef for the August meeting. He's Jess.Hawkins, and he teaches visitors to the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores how to make their seafood "special". A meeting that you won't want to miss.