Off the coast the fishing has been heating up as well.  We are catching lots of bluefish and spanish mackerel.  If the fish are feeding on the surface, we can cast spoons. Most of the action has been trolling clarkspoons for the spanish and blues.  Bottom fishing with cut bait or shrimp we are catching nice grey trout, big seabass, croaker, and whiting.  Plenty of action and great cooler filling fun.  There have been a few sharks hitting our lines as well. Now is the time to plan your summer fishing trip, call 910-264-1807 and reserve your trip today!! 

Johnathan with a nice redfish he landed on a Gulp crab.

Branden with another nice redfish landed on a Gulp crab.

Branden and Johnathan with a nice catch of blues and blackdrum.  These guys fished with me two days, inshore and offshore. We had a blast on both trips and they are coming back reel soon…

John with a nice 4.5lb Gator trout.  She was released to fight another day.

Lauren, Johns daughter, with a nice redfish. Look at that smile, she was pumped.

Lauren with her first speckled trout.  She had patience and fished like a pro..

Lauren with a flounder.  This completes her Inshore Slam.  I know a lot of adults who haven’t caught a Slam. Her dad for instance.

Mr. Gilbert and Gary with a nice Inshore Slam.  Always a good day on the water with these fellows.  See you soon..

Holly with the first speckled trout of her life.  She can now cross trout off her bucket list. The smile tells it all.

Holly with a nice Cape Fear redfish. Look at those colors.  We tried to catch a flounder to get the slam, but couldn’t pull it off this day..

Holly, Shawn, and Dave with a nice catch of specks and a red.

Ronnie and Gina with a great redfish.  They relaxed and enjoyed a quiet day on the water. Catching lots of redfish was a bonus. A great mental health day for both of them.

Brian with a nice birth day redfish. His wife Cathy gave him a fishing trip for his birthday.

Brian with another upper-slot redfish.  One of several big reds he landed on his birthday.

Cathy, Brians wife, with a big’ole redfish of her own.  She enjoyed the present just as much as Brian.  A quiet relaxing day on the water without the kids.  I look forward to the kid trip this summer.

Lisa, all the way from Liverpool England, with a Big Grey Trout.  This was the 2nd fishing trip of her life.  Her friend Mike has got her hooked on fishing.

Good friend Capt. John with a over-slot redfish.  We went on to land a inshore slam this day as well.  Always fun catching fish with friends.

As you can see the fish are biting and we have having fun. If you have any questions or want to book a trip, give me a call at 910-264-1807.

Thanks for reading the report,

Capt. Robert Schoonmaker

Cell:910-264-1807

robert@carolinaexplorer.com

www.carolinaexplorer.com

www.redfishexplorer.com

The Sheldon family with a nice catch of Black drum, Whiting, and Grey trout.  A great family fishing adventure.

Alex with the biggest fish she has ever caught, a nice 4lb black drum. Her first fishing trip in her life. A great fisher woman.

Isiah with a Grey trout caught on a jig. Both Alex and Isiah caught fish on jigs as well as bait.  Just a great family fishing trip and learning experience for the kids and myself.

Todd and Doug had fished with me two days. We worked hard during the cold front and caught a few fish. Todd had his first inshore slam ever, a trout, red fish and flounder.  He added a trophy bluefish to his tally as well.  We sight casted to the blue on the flats.   A trip and fish of a life time. See you in the fall, Thanks again.

Quinton from Atlanta with a nice 12lb black drum weighed on the boga-grip.  Lots of fun on light tackle.

Danny and Luke with a nice catch of blues, trout, ring tails and croaker.  A nice father and son fishing trip. Good to fish with old friends.

Tony with a upper solt sized red drum caught on shrimp.

Laurie with a nice red drum caught on shrimp. Her biggest fish ever.  She also landed a few more reds and black drum.

Katie with a nice grey trout caught on mullet.

Susan with a big grey trout, this one went over 4lbs and caught on mullet.

Al and his son enjoyed a great father and son fishing trip with black drum and blue fish. 

Micheal and Christie with a great Mother and son fishing trip.  They caught some really nice whiting, a few grey trout, and a nice shark.

Micheal with his shark. Man was he pumped!!! This was not a dog fish shark, this one had teeth and was ready to bite….

Christy with a nice sized whiting. Lots of family fun in the sun…

Nathan with a nice bluefish he jigged up over one of the coastal rock piles.  It is a blast to catch fish casting lures and feeling the strike..

As you can see the fishing is great and will only continue to get better with more flounder and Spanish mackerel showing up.  The Cobia and Kings will be here as soon as the water gets into the upper 60’s.  Call Today and book your family fishing adventure 910-264-1807!!!

Thanks,

Capt. Robert Schoonmaker                              910-264-1807

www.carolinaexplorer.com                             www.redfishexplorer.com

Sam with a nice red.  We had a blast with the whiting, and caught a few reds later in the day.

Sam and Gerald with a nice catch of whiting and a keeper red drum. These boys fished with me two days and had plenty of action and fun. See you soon..

Ryan, Dillon, Kelly and Shelby with a great family fishing trip. Shelby wanted to go fishing with her dad, and I am glad she did.. She caught over half of the fish and had a blast.

Shelby with on of several citation sized whiting she caught all by herself. A true fisherwoman in the making. 

John Kim with one of several nice reds he landed on a cool windy day. We also caught a few black drum and whiting to fill the cooler.

Tim, Ashley, John and Kelly with a great afternoon of whiting fishing. These guys had a blast and went home with some good eating filets.

James with a nice 25inch redfish landed on a strike king minnow and the secret sauce. One of several reds we landed before we slayed the whiting in the river.

Shawn and Holly with a nice afternoon catch of whiting.  I can smell them cooking in the grease right now..

John  with a small redfish he landed along with some black drum.. Great day on the water. Look foward to reading the section about fishing the Cape Fear  in your new book.

The Meaney family with a few whiting for dinner.  We also had a blast catching sharks and stingrays.

Evan with a big Smooth Skin dogfish shark. One of the biggest I have ever seen.

The Wade family with redfish, black drum and whiting. All the makings of a great family fishing trip.

Steph with one of her black drum….

J.D. and Stuart with the best catch of whiting I have had so far this year.  115 nice fish and lots of throw backs. 

Mike and his son with a great catch of whiting..

Young Metcalf with a double of nice whiting…

Ilene with a nice mid size redfish…  She had a blast and is ready to come back fishing in the early summer..

Folks the fishing is getting better and will remain strong into the summer.  If you want to catch fish and have fun with your friends and family give me a call 910-264-1807. 

Thanks for reading the report,

Capt. Robert Schoonmaker          910-264-1807

www.carolinaexplorer.com         www.redfishexplorer.com

Most guides would never show a pic of a pinfish.  I on the other hand had to post this pic, it is the first pinfish of the year.  That means winter is on the way out and spring is here.  Rick holding a TROPHY pinfish. The bait stealer’s are back!!!!

Rick with a nice catch of whiting.

David and Cody with a nice creek redfish. He hit a piece of crab. This was Cody’s birthday fishing trip.  We had a blast caught a few reds and black drum.  These guys have fished with me for years, always a great day on the water with friends.  See you this summer.

Melanie with a nice March flounder.  She landed this on a mud minnow.  Her husband David had a nice flounder almost to the boat, but he shook the hook.  We landed a few reds as well.

Arron with a keeper flounder caught on a gulp alive shrimp. 

Christian with a double on whiting.

Caroline with a Puffer.  She slayed the fish, a true fisher-woman. 

The Ortiz family with a great catch of whiting and puffers. We also landed a few sharks and a stingray.  Great family fun!!!

Nathan, RJ, Wildman, and Mason with a awesome catch of whiting and a few sharks!!! These boys could fish….

RJ with a nice puff-daddy!!!

Jack and Rick with a nice catch of whiting. These Harvard students had a blast catching these hard fighting great tasting fish.

Marion, Luke, Larry and Vernon with catch of whiting.

Larry, Luke, and Vernon all holding fish caught at the same time.  Call today too get in on this great family fishing action.

Spring has sprung and now is the time to go fishing.  Get your family and friends together for a great fishing trip. CALL AND BOOK YOUR TRIP TODAY 910-264-1807.

Thanks

Capt. Robert Schoonmaker                          910-264-1807

www.carolinaexplorer.com                          www.redfishexplorer.com

Dave with a nice birthday redfish. Caught on a white strike king minnow with plenty of scent.

Kai with a nice trout and redfish. They hit gulp shrimp in the molting color.

Jeremy and Jeff  with a nice redfish caught on a mud minnow.  Jeremy was on leave from Afghanistan, spending quality time with his dad.  See you this summer and thanks for the flag.

Charlie traveled all the way from California to catch his first redfish.  We had a blast catching fish and cruising the creeks.

Todd with a nice redfish caught on a strike king minnow.  One of several..

Doug with a nice red landed on a DOA minnow.  Great day on the water and lots of fun. See you soon

Every once in a while I get to catch a few. Nice over-slot red caught on a gulp.

John with a nice redfish landed on a mud minnow.  We worked for them on this day.

Super Dave with a red caught way up in the grass.  We sight casted to this one.

It was blowing 30mph and the Turner crew still wanted to give it a try.  We loaded up and caught a few nice reds.  Here is Scott holding his first redfish ever.

The weather has been great, we are still catching fish, and it will only get better with spring fast approaching.  Plan your trips early and get in on the great fishing action.  Call 910-264-1807 to book your trip today.

Thanks Capt. Robert Schoonmaker             910-264-1807

www.carolinaexplorer.com                  www.redfishexplorer.com

Stewert with a nice December Redfish.  We found these fish schooled up in the creeks and showed them no mercy..  Stewert and J.D. caught these fish until their arms got tired. A great double digit day.

J.D. holding an upper slot redfish.  We caught fish until they said lets go home.  I even got to catch a few to let J.D.s arm rest.  Great winter fishing.

Charles with another nice December redfish.  A solid double digit day. 

 We casted to these redfish all by ourselves with plenty of upper slot sized fish. Kevin holding his redfish.  Caught casting mirro-lures.

Charles with a nice slot sized redfish casting a mirro-lure.

Paul and his son had a great day catching redfish in the backwaters.  Here is Paul Jr. with one of several reds he landed on mud minnows.

Kenneth with a late December redfish caught on a strike king minnow on a 3/8 glow jig head.  He and his father fished with me last year when it was a lot colder.  They were amazed how hard these fish fought with the warmer water temps.

Ozzie and Tanner with a redfish double on Gulp Alive shrimp on 1/4 jig heads. They landed several nice fish on a great late December trip.

Steve came all the way from Kentucky to catch this redfish on the flats.  We sight casted to several big schools on a slick calm day.  They all were ready to give up bass fishing after this day.

Mark with another flats redfish he sight casted to with a strike king minnow.  Again a big school and lots of action. We stayed in the same area for hours.  Lots of bent rods and plenty of fun. Another Kentucky angler.

On the first day of their trip, Mark, Steve, and Troy, with a table full of big ring-tails.  They wanted to mix things up and do different types of fishing. On this same morning we casted Tsunami’s swim shads and landed over 20 speckled trout.  All small but plenty of fun.  They had a great variety of fishing during their two days of fishing.

Robbie from Aberdeen with one of several nice reds he landed on mud minnows. 

Cousin Mark with Morgan posing together for Marks nice redfish.  Morgan was the net man, it was a tag team effort.  This was a solid double digit day.

Brian and his son Morgan holding up a big red that Morgan hooked and had his dad help him reel it in .  We really caught them this day.  Morgan was net man on this one as well.

Morgan with a Morgan sized redfish. From start to finish he landed this redfish all by himself.  Great for a 6yr old.

Christiano with a solid catch of speckled trout all caught on various mirro-lures.

The guys did not want to climb down the ladder for their pic, so I posed with the fish.  A nice catch of trout all on mirro-lures.

The winter fishing has remained great with the mild temperatures. We are catching plenty of redfish and trout.  The trout should remain in the area  until the water temps drop a few more degrees. Thank goodness for a mild winter.  If you want to get in on this action, give me a call 910-264-1807.

Thanks for reading the report,

Capt. Robert Schoonmaker                              910-264-1807

www.carolinaexplorer.com                             www.redfishexplorer.com

Deanna and Brittney with a nice catch of Big whiting and Croakers.  We also landed a lot of small speckled trout.

Stephanie with a nice Redfish, Her first ever.  She and her dad had a blast catching reds for most of the morning.

Here Stephanie is with another great redfish.. She landed this one on a mudminnow.

Tom, Stephanies dad, with a nice redfish of his own.

Jeff Gallomore with a his redfish. He brought his dad and brother down to get in on the action this time.

Jamie Gallomore with his redfish.

Mr. Gallomore with a nice redfish. It is always fun having families fish together.

Ken and Blake with a nice double on Redfish.

Blacke with a redfish he caught all by himself on a jig. Way to go Blake.

Ken with a redfish he landed on a lure.  We caught lots of fish this day.

Ritche had a nice 26inch Redfish. He and his son Blake had a blast this trip.

Paul with a nice Carolina Beach Redfish he landed on a strikeking minnow.

Flave with a Redfish he landed on a D.O.A minnow.

The NC Forestry Crew with a table full of  nice  Whiting and Blowfish.

Grant with a redfish he landed on a gulp alive. One of several.

Grant with another nice red he landed on a strikeking minnow.

The fishing is still going strong. Bundle up and get in on this great winter action. Winter Redfish trips start at $250.00 for 6hrs or $300.00 for 7hrs.  Call 910-264-1807 to book your trip today.

Thanks Capt. Robert Schoonmaker                        910-264-1807

www.carolinaexplorer.com                www.redfishexplorer.com

Bonnie with one of several red fish she landed.

Tom with a nice peice of crabtrap that fought like a flounder. 

Tom and Bonnie with a nice double on red fish. Toms was over the slot at 30 inches.

Rex and Riley with a nice redfish that Riley hooked.  She and Rex reeled this big one in together.

Riley and Daniel with a double on Red fish.  I held the pole and Riley cranked it to the boat.  She insisted on holding both fish.  Fisher women in the making. She also wanted everyone to know that hers was bigger than her moms.

Riley with a Riley sized redfish.  She caught this on all by herself.. Way to go…

Matt, Chris, and Andy with a nice catch of flounder and red fish.  Some caught on lure and some on bait.

This pic is cool because Chris caught this flounder on a bare hook.  He is holding the minnow that fell off during his cast.  He casted saw the minnow fall, reeled in the line, felt a bite, and caught this small flounder that we released.

Chris and Andy with a double on Red fish.

Chris and Matt with Chris’s first redfish ever.

Chris with a nice flounder.

Darren with a nice catch of flounder and red fish.

Darren with a nice red he landed on a strike king minnow.

Darren with a nice flounder he landed on a gulp.

Rick and Brad with a nice catch of flounder and red fish…

Rick with a nice redfish, one of several.

Jim with a two nice flounder.

Frank and Steve 84yrs young with a nice red fish. We caught lots of reds and a few black drum.

Anthony with a nice flounder on a windy day

.

Randy with his red fish.

Pam with her red fish.

Ray Dixon and Greg with a red fish and nice Speckled trout.

Jenny from the previous fishing report sent me this pic of a shark she landed with me. It was a cool shot so I put it in this report.

Thanks for reading the report.  I have some super winter rates and oceanfront lodging available, if you want a one stop shop for your fishing needs.  Give me a call and book your trip today 910 264 1807!!!!!

Capt. Robert Schoonmaker                   910-264-1807

www.carolinaexplorer.com                  www.redfishexplorer.com

Just off the beach the big Spanish mackerel, bluefish and false albacore are running down the beach. We have been trolling clark spoons and when conditions are right casting spoons and flies to these hard fighting fish. Lots of fun and great action.  There are some grey trout, flounder, and seabass on the near-shore wrecks and reefs.  We have been jigging spoons and using live mullet to fool these fish.  Cut mullet or pinfish has worked well on bottom rigs.  Also some big sharks still hanging out behind the shrimp boats.  We are catching Lots of fish and having great days on the water. Now is the time to book your fall fishing trip call 910-264-1807. 

Book your Fishing trip and Lodging at the same time.  I have some package deals available with affordable oceanfront lodging. Incredible Pricing call for details.  Winter Rates for Late Season Redfishing will start in November.  Call 910-264-1807  for Rates and Package deals for multiple Days of fishing and lodging. BOOK YOUR TRIP TODAY 910-264-1807!!!!! 

Jarod and his lovely wife Lindsey doubled on red-fish. Couples having fishing fun.

Lindsey with a redfish of her own. She was a redfish slayer.

Jarod with one of the upper slot sized fish he caught on the trip.  Lots of fish and fun. See you both soon.

Wesley fished with me several days.  He and Louis caught red-fish and flounder on jigs with soft plastics. We also caught lots of Spanish and blues trolling and casting spoons and flies. Lots of fun on the fly rod.

Wesley and Louis with reds and flounder all caught on lures.

Bob and Curtis with reds and flounders. Bob all of 75yrs young.

Brian, Brian, Troy, and T-man with a mixed bag of sea bass, Spanish, and flounder.

The Gray party with a mixed bag of flounder, sea bass, blues, and Spanish.

Alice with a nice Redfish.  She also caught several flounder as well. She and her husband Otto had a great day with plenty of fishing action.

Mrs. Tilson with one of several nice red-fish she landed.  She said her wrist were getting sore. Her Husband Rodney looked on and smiled. 

Mrs. Shuttle with and nice flounder and red-fish she landed all on her own.  She and David had a blast catching the hard fighting red-fish.

Charlie Wright with one of several reds he landed.

Beth with a over the slot red-fish. The biggest fish of her life. Super dog Baily was on this trip as well.  He was hiding from the camera.

Kenneth with his 36 inch redfish. Lots of fun on light tackle.

Kim with her first red-fish.

Ken with a super nice trout.

Ken with his big daddy red-fish.

I love this pic. The Houstons with a double of red-fish.  This couple had a blast catching fish and having fun.  They have been together so long, they don’t even want to sit close to each other, Ha , Ha.

Bob with one of several nice reds he landed on grubs.

Judy with a nice red-fish of her own. She and Bob have fished with me for years.  Hey guys I found my net the very next day.

Skyler with a puffer. Who is your Puff-Daddy.

Jenny with a nice red. She and Anthony fished with me on a all day.  We slayed the big sharks off south port, two over 100lbs and then went red-fishing on the way home. Stay warm in Colorado.

Tim was the flounder slayer. He caught a few reds as well.  His buddy Steve let him cast to the good spot after his wrist was hurting.

Steve with one of several reds on a great double digit day. He finally got the touch to catch a few flounder.

Judy with a nice red-fish. We got blown out from a coastal trip. She had the right attitude and just wanted to catch fish and have fun.  The smile tells it all.

Dobber with a nice red-fish and flounder. We had a great catch of fish even though the wind was blowing 30. We hid out of the winds and made the best of it.

Catherine with a redfish. It was blowing 40mph. She and her had a blast. See you soon.

If I can help and your family with a great fishing trip give me a call at 910-264-1807. Fall Fishing is here, where are you . Thanks for reading the report.

Thanks    Capt. Robert Schoonmaker                  910-264-1807

www.carolinaexplorer.com                 www.redfishexplorer.com

Sorry for the long delay in reports.  Just too busy catching fish and having fun to sit in front of the computer, so I made myself sit down today.  Inshore the redfish bite has picked up on the flats and creeks. The cooler temps and mass amounts of bait has turn these hard fighting fish on.  We have been casting soft plastics, gulps and other paddle tails grups to these hungry fish. We have been picking up some flounder on the lures.  We have been catching them on mullet and mudminnows as well.  No matter your skill level I can put you on the fish, from flyfishermen to kids wanting a tug on their line. Call and book your trip today 910-264-1807.

Just off the coast the spanish bite has been hot, and I am sure it will continue when the water clears up over the weekend.  The bluefish are mixed in with the spanish, signs that fall will be here soon.  The flounder have been biting well over the nearshore wrecks and reefs on mullet and bucktails tipped with gulp. The sharks have been thick behind the shrimp boats, on good days you and can catch them until your arms get sore.

Fishing is good and will continue to get better over the fall. Just ran a trip on 8-30 and caught 12 flounder(5 keepers) and Several redfish. Not bad for two days after the strom. Just a sign the fish are still here, where are You? Call and book your fishing trip today 910-264-1807.

Eugene and Tomo with a nice catch of flounder and a redfish 2 days after Irene. We still have fish.

Tomo with her first redfish. She was a natural and had a blast.

Sunset on Thursday 25th,  Snows Cut waterway, taking the boat out of the water the day before Irene.

Snows Cut boat ramp on Friday 26th at 6:30pm. The night before landfall of Irene. Look at the high tide.

6:45pm on Friday 26th, I was checking on our floating docks. I had to step up onto the dock.  The water was level with the deck. NO damage to the marina or the entire Carolina Beach Fishing Fleet.

The day before the strom with John from Nova Scotia.  We landed several nice reds on lures and a few on live bait.  We had several chances on the fly, but just could not get them to bite. Still a great double digit day of redfish on the redfish explorer.

Bob two days before Irene with a nice Carolina Beach redfish.  We had another double digit day on the reds on both lures and live bait. Bob drove down from Corolla (6hrs) to catch these fish on his vacation. After the trip he told me he would have driven 12hrs for that kind of action.

Gary and Mr. Gilbert with a killer half day of flounder fishing. We had 14 total with 9 keepers.  Mr. Gilbert all of 84yrs young.

Super Dave with a Super spotted flounder.  One of many.

Mr. Murphy with a great Carolina Beach redfish. I had three generations of family on the boat this day.

Gandson Murphy holding his fish, while grandpa looks on with a smile.

The DU crew with a great catch of flounder and spanish.  See you next year. Thanks again.

The Simmons family with a great catch of flounder and spanish. Ross told me to call him when the fish were biting, looks like I did….

The Reusing family with a nice catch of spanish mackerel.  The kids had a blast.

A nice double on Flounder.

Debbie hooked up on a nice shark, it gave her a run for her money.

Debbie’s Shark, one of many. Caught these until their arms got sore, then went spanish fishing.

Debbie and Johns catch of spanish, after shark fishing.

Gene with some nice Flounder.

The Puckersons with a great catch of spanish.  The girls had a blast and are looking foward to next year.

We enjoying some cooler temps. and great fishing at this moment. Now is the time to start planning your fall and winter fishing trips. Remember the Redfish are here all year.  Give me a call at 910-264-1807 and book your trip today!!!!

Thanks Capt. Robert Schoonmaker                 910-264-1807

www.carolinaexplorer.com                        www.redfishexplorer.com