I have been fishing for forty years now and consider myself a fairly capable fisherman. I was taught by my grandfather from the age of 8 and I have taught my kids to fish and we all enjoy going out together. My son is Airborne and stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC. I had a beak in school, took some vacation from work and he got three days off. I figured what a great chance to go fishing in North Carolina! Only trouble is I have never fished down south plus most of my fishing is freshwater and some saltwater on the Jersey shore. SO where do you start? I started on FishingBooker and reviewed hundreds of trips trying desperately to make some sort of comparison and logical decision. Add to the equation that the weather wasn’t looking great from two weeks out, but always apt to change. I finally narrowed it down to Caught Up Fishing Charters. The price was right and the 8am start time for a 6-hour trip made the two hour drive a less painful wake-up.  I really don’t know what else I could have used to make a decision other than his reviews being great also. Let me say this, in 40 years of fishing this was that best time I have EVER had!!!

I called Dennis a day ahead just to be sure I could use a credit card to pay the balance which he happily accepted. He also asked if it would be ok to start at 0830 instead of 0800. Another 1/2 hour of sleep? Absolutely fine with me! We got there about 10 minutes early and Dennis met us, helped load our cooler and we were on our way. Not 10 minutes into the trip and Dennis’ true colors came out. He noticed two elderly gentlemen in a john boat pushed up against the marsh grass with one of them out of the boat and in the water. He immediately sensed something wasn’t right and turned around heading right to them. Sure enough, they were stuck with a motor that wouldn’t run. Without a second thought Dennis towed them right back to the docks, stating that this wouldn’t take away from our time one bit, he just started our 6 hour clock all over again. A true example of seamanship and just doing the right thing no matter what.

From there Dennis took us to many places. Each place he provided local insight and instruction on best practices and tips. These paid off nicely!! As typical of most fisherman I am pretty self sufficient and take care of all my own needs but Dennis was all over it, my son never even baited his hook once! I did just because it is my habit but Dennis was more than willing, and much of the time did, bait my hooks also. He was perfect in assisting to land the fish, even went to great measures to help my son with his first black drum! Dennis led us to redfish, sheepshead, flounder and black drum. Each time providing just the right amount of guidance and help without being overbearing. It was like fishing with your best friend. He was full of fun stories, enjoyed joking around and just having a great time out on the water. I could not have gotten luckier choosing Dennis to charter this trip. By the time the end of the trip rolled around we had ten keepers on ice and happy satisfied souls. Dennis then proceeded to clean, fillet and skin the fish for us, bagging each type separately. As we drove back to base I can’t explain how happy we both were, you will just have to book this trip and find out for yourself!