This event featured GEO’s Adaptive Recreation Coordinator, Chad Hooks, GEO’s Fundraising Director, Michael Fussell, and GEO’s President, Drew Blake, targeting Spanish mackerel off the beach of Emerald Isle, North Carolina. The original idea for this trip was to target trophy drum with Captain Austin Goodwin in the Cedar Island area, but the weather had other plans Friday night.

Saturday morning the group launched their boat from Osprey Oaks Marina on Highway 24 in Newport. They started the morning with a 12 mile run to the mouth of Bogue Inlet. Those of you that know Bogue Inlet know that it can be a bit sporty when the wind and tide are bucking each other. And this morning it was. Our crew went out the inlet and settled the boat down around the bell buoy to get a read on the seas. Once everyone was settled in, they made their way to a hardbottom just over a mile offshore. They dropped four lines in the water pulling cigar minnows on homemade skirt rigs. It wasn’t long and a bait ball popped up on the surface in front of the boat. Mike grabbed a spinning rod rigged with a diamond jig and start chunking it into the bait pod. A few casts later and the first Spanish of the day was in the boat. After that they pulled all the trolling lines in and switched over to chasing bait pods. They found a tide line just outside the inlet and worked the backside of it catching 40-50 Spanish and keeping 8-10.

Mike was perfect casting into the schools and handing the rod off to Chad for him to get in the action. It was a perfect example of how our program should work with a veteran/first responder working his tail off to put a blind/visually impaired person on fish. Later in the day Chad even grabbed a rod and starting casting into the pods. The crew ended the day briefly fishing for inshore species behind Bear Island where Drew caught a 16” flounder. To bad flounder season wasn’t in. They finished the day off with a quick boat ride up the Intercoastal Waterway and were off the water in time to clean their catch and make a great dinner.  Dinner consisted of grilling the Spanish on the charcoal grill in tinfoil topped with butter and wrapped in bacon until they were golden brown served with a side of Cajun fries.