Fishing On The Carolina Princess, Morehead City

Amberjack caught from the Carolina Princess, Morehead City, NC.

American Snapper "Red Snapper" caught from the Carolina Princess, Morehead City NC.

Fillet from Red Snapper......yummy fresh sushi!  Or if you prefer Cajun blackened, or southern fried as well.

The North Carolina coast offers some of the best inshore and off-shore fishing from the budget minded to high dollar charters.  For me, I'm budget minded.  Red Snapper season has been closed since 2008 and has yet to reopen, but there's still plenty of Vermilion Snapper, Grouper, Red Porgies, Trigger Fish, and other reef complex fish to be landed.

I caught these fish on the Carolina Princess Head Boat.  You can do a 1/2 day, whole day, or 18-hour fishing trip.  Check out their website for pricing, but it's typically about $50 for 1/2 day, $100 for whole day, and $140 for an 18-hour trip.  You will need to call and make reservations ahead of time and look at their calender.  The Captain Stacey is another head boat style fishing experience and pricing is a little lower and they have a 24-hour fishing trip.

What is provided:

1.  You do not need a salt water fishing license for the head boat.  It is provided.
2.  They will provide you with fishing tackle (it works, not the best).  You can bring your own if you like, but I can catch fish with their hook, line, sinker, rod and reels.
3.  They provide the bait.  Typically this will be cut bait, squid or Boston mackerel.
4.  The Carolina Princess has a galley.  They serve beer, sandwiches, soda's, chips, etc.

What to bring:

Bring a sleeping bag, appropriate clothes for the season, sandwiches, drinks, (no alcohol), a cooler, cash, and your own tackle if you don't like theirs.  It will be a 4-hour ride to the fishing grounds.  You will be fishing in 100 ft of water or more.  Bring a book, or some other form of entertainment.  I do not recommend a full day trip for kids under 10 because it's exhausting.  The 18-hour trip is only for the hardcore and is exhausting!  There is a top deck with bench seats.  You can sleep in the open air on the ride back.

What to expect:

You will work!  That's right, you're going to work for your fish.  Bait the hook with plenty of squid or fish.  When the captain says lined down "drop lines", flip your lever and let the 16 oz. sinker drop all the way to the bottom, once you feel the line go slack, reel up about 4 to 7 times and wait.  You WILL feel a jerk, and then you gently pull your rod up, or you can easily jerk back.  Some people are very aggressive at setting the hook, but I think you just waste energy and lose fish this way.  If 5 seconds has passed without a bite, you need to reel up because your bait is gone.  Remember you are reeling up and down in over 100 feet of water with a one pound weight at the end.  You will get a work out, and you're going to do this several times.

The most important thing is to relax and have fun.  If you get a strong tug on the line, and it's a big fish..it's important to reel up as fast as possible to prevent the fish from going back down into a hole or tangling your line on bottom structure.  You can lose the fish if that happens.  It is not uncommon to get double hook ups, two fish at a time, or a BIG grouper on the other end.  The deck hand will unhook your catch for you.  If it's a big fish, they will gaf it for you.

Sometimes you will come back with a cooler full of fish, and sometimes not so many.  Once you get a fish and it is of legal size and species, the deck hand will string it up with a number, then throw it in their large cooler.  You will collect your fish with the matching number at the end of the trip.  This will be your stringer of fish.  It is customary to tip the deck hand for good service.

There is typically a big fish pot, if you want to put $5 in.  The person with the biggest fish gets the cash pool.  Ask about the rules, it must be caught from a bottom rig.

Once you get back to the dock, you can have your fish cleaned and processed for a small fee, or just take it home and do it yourself.  The boat leaves early, 1st come 1st serve.  You will be back by 5-6 p.m.  The best position is to the rear of the boat.  Sometimes you can light line and fish for game fish off the back, but you have to pay attention because the captain will reposition the boat many times.  Good luck, enjoy our coast, and most of all have fun and eat fish!