May 29, 2009 Alligator Gar Attack!

On board for the 3rd time this week was Matt Duytschaever & his son Jackson. We were fishing for reds in the marsh grass flats and came across a 3 foot long Alligator Gar and Matt pitched his bait over to it and hooked it. Not really much of a fight but once we got it in the boat it flipped out and it's razor sharp teeth grazed my leg and left a nasty little cut. We snapped a few pic's and let it go. Soon after, Matt hooked up a beautiful red for his son and they fought it together. It was a great week of fishing and I hope to see them again next year!

May 29, 2009 Good Redfish Morning

What a beautiful morning. I had a very nice couple Jimmy & Lois Newman from Atlanta, GA. They caught some really good sized reds on light spinning gear and 1 nice little red on the fly. We also ended up with a few nice sharks to finish off the trip.

May 27, 2009 Red Fish In The Rain

Today I decided to change the game plan and switch from fishing for Cobia and try for some reds. This was Matt Duytschaever & his Son Jackson's second trip with me this week. They already had some good luck catching a nice Cobia a few days earlier. The conditions were perfect  for one of my redfish spots and it didn't take long before 6 year old Jackson was hooked up to this big over the slot size red pictured above.  A few minutes later we were surrounded by some pretty heavy rain and we decided to fish on. Our luck continued and we caught several more perfect fish that were inside the slot for the dinner table. Blackened Redfish Yum!

May 26, 2009 24th Annual Food & Beverage Cobia Tournament

I took a day off to go fish the F & B tournament with my wife Carin Vaughn. What a great day! We ended up catching 3 Cobia. The 1st fish we landed weighed 42.5 pounds a real nice fish but not nearly the fish needed to take the tournament. Our second fish was a small fish that we released and was only 10 pounds. With time winding down we hooked our last fish with less than a hour to go in the tournament( what I call "4th Down & Forty")  after a 15 minute tough fight we boated the last fish and felt like we were contenders.  We ended up taking the female angler category and got a nice little trophy and little cash just enough to break even for our expenses we put in. I was just happy to place out of the 60 boats that fished the tournament and have a chance to fish with my wife for the first time in a while. 

May 25, 2009 "Epic Sight Fishing for Cobia"

Happy Memorial Day! 

Matt Duytschaever & his son Jackson, repeat clients from last year brought some beautiful weather with them to HH. I finally got see some sunshine after last weeks thunderstorms and high winds. I had a feeling today was going to be a good Cobia day. We fished for a hour or so on the anchor and caught a bunch of sharks and decided to sight fish for Cobia on the surface with the slick calm conditions we had. Matt went 1 for 2 on Cobia using a light spinning rod. This little male cobia put up a heck of a fight!

May 20, 2009 "Monster Redfish!"

Another blistering day of wind from the NE... Hopefully it will end soon! My clients The Floyd family from Charlotte, NC fished with me on a outgoing tide this morning in the Calibougie sound. We were fishing for Cobia but got a unusual surprise, a Monster Bull Redfish that I am guessing was every bit of 30lbs! See the pic, These big reds are usually more common in the fall but I sometimes catch a few in the Spring and Summer. This was one of the bigger Bull Reds I have caught this year though.

May 19, 2009 "Nasty Weather"

Below average air temps and strong NE winds made for some challenging conditions. My clients GL Kluttz & his daughter Megan were diehards and we braved the weather anyway. We tried for Cobia & had no luck but we did manage to catch a bunch of nice sharks. With just a few minutes left we ended up with a really nice Redfish to end the day. 

May 14, 2009 "Great Cobia Day!"

Dr. Bill Miller of Bluffton, SC a regular client of mine caught a 40 pound Cobia on the fly! The battle lasted a little over a hour. Halfway through the fight, I spotted another Cobia swimming on the surface and pitched a bait to it and hooked up another 40 pound fish that Bill's friend Will reeled in. A double header on 40lbers on my 18ft. flats boat made for some great excitement. We ended up getting Will's fish in first and held it along side the boat until Bill landed his fish and snapped a few pictures and released one of the fish and only kept one which was more than enough! What a Great Day!

April 24,2009 "My 1st Cobia of the Year"

Cobia are running very strong in the sounds around HH & Beaufort. May being the peak month. They are a very good fighting fish that can get well over 50 lb's ! A great fish to target with light tackle or fly gear. Don't miss your chance at catching this excellent eating fish. Book your trip before I fill up.

Here is a picture of me (Capt. Brian Vaughn) with my 1st Cobia of the season, caught with my good friend Trent Malphrus on April 24th. We where fishing in the Broad River.