Mount Maker Charters

05/29/2025

Plenty of action and table fare today… nice gags, big black bass, white grunts and of course amberjacks.

05/24/2025

No sitting on the sandbar for us today, even though I took the day off … we dropped off my crew (aka family) at Bird shoal and went Cobia fishing like any respectable Cobia fishermen.

05/22/2025

Excellent time on a rough ocean today with this crew “gathering content” pictures and videos for use in training for Best Fishing Practices … to include proper fish handling, identifying/treating barotrauma and using descending devices.

05/19/2025

Finally a little break in the weather! We had good fishing today on both trips… gag grouper and Cobia… plus we saw giant hammerheads, manta rays, leatherback turtles and more.

05/07/2025

One short Cobia (33”) which was tagged and released ($100 red tag) today with ample Spanish mackerel and a heard of amberjacks..

05/06/2025

I’ve been tagging a few the past week or so… we tagged this 35.5” fish today, remember the red tags are worth $100 and some fish have two tags. 💰

05/06/2025

Had a great time hanging out with these two… sea trail on the Pathfinder, bonito catching on the Southern Cross and then they took 2300dv to its new home in Maryland. I hope they catch half as many fish on that rig as I did…

05/04/2025

Another win in the inshore tournament for this crew “The Pinnacle Bank Bombers” 1st place single biggest fish and 2nd place 4 fish weight (overall) we had just shy of 34 # putting us 1 pound shy of 1st place (overall) the event raised another $1,000,000 for child cancer research… great time, with an awesome cause and they only broke one dip net!

04/29/2025

Plenty of action today… things are shaping up just in time for the opening Cobia and shallow water grouper… beautiful day on the ocean, we only rode 108 miles scouting, caught fish coming and going.

04/28/2025

Brand new 2025 custom 25' Southern Cross powered with 300hp Suzuki

Book your Cobia and grouper trips now for May and June, Cobia and shallow water grouper seasons open May 1, Gag grouper (our primary target grouper) closes June 26, so don't delay, our days are filling up fast.

Shackleford Banks Eco Tours is looking forward to another busy summer, once the Cobia have moved through and "The Feds" close gag grouper season June 26, July and August are the perfect time to do a eco tour while we wait for the Neuse river/Pamlico sound tarpon and old drum to show up in late August. Don't get us wrong, we still fish especially when clients want but, as the prevailing SW winds start blowing 15-25 mph more regularly there's less opportunities to ocean fish. An eco tour is a family friendly way to have a great time on the water, many times we mix it up with some inshore or near shore fishing in addition to all the other great eco tour activities. Check out shacklefordbanksecotours.com (http://www.shacklefordbanksecotours.com) for more information.

Summer time fishing trips inshore for redfish, trout and blues during the day in the back waters or at night when the temps are cooler and the water is way less crowded. Night trips can be a great way to beat the heat and the mid summer crowds, many times the fishing is considerably better at night, if you're interested reach out to book your trip. We are anticipating a great year for speckled trout, because of the extreme cold temperatures this past winter, the keep season has been closed and doesn't open back up until late June. We have been seeing great numbers of fish so far this spring.

Summer time ocean trips nearshore offer many great casting opportunities for blues and Spanish mackerel and on the days the ocean is nice, summer time bottom fishing trips for snapper, trigger fish, amberjacks etc. can be excellent.

Don't forget to book your old drum (Bull redfish) trips, We have days in late August and some days in September for Morning corking trips/6am stare time (casting artificial lures) and evening/2pm start time bait fishing trips (bait fishing on the bottom) If you've never been this a great opportunity to catch and release a citation old drum (40-50" on average) We also target slot redfish, speckled trout, black drum, sheepshead and flounder (during the season) on these trips if you want to take some fish home.

New 25' Southern Cross, a fishing machine!

After a long cold winter Spring is finally here and it's time to fish! A lot of changes this year and it's all for the better... Not only did we build a brand new custom boat but, we have changed our homeport location to 104 Miami Ave. in Morehead City. After a great few years at Portside Marina we have finally secured a full-time slip on Peletier creek, about 100 yards from our house! We have parking for several cars (try to ride share when possible) you can drive right to the boat for loading and unloading, there is a brand new fish cleaning table and a bathroom available if needed. We are only about 4 miles from Portside marina and 2 miles from the Atlantic Beach bridge so don't worry, we are easier than ever to locate and still a very short ride from most locations in Beaufort, Morehead City area and the beaches.

If you have a single vehicle drive straight to the end of Miami Ave. and park directly in front of the boat, pictured above in our slip. Also pictured below, the parking area at our house in the second driveway (gravel) and a short walk to the boat (80-100 yards) typically my truck will be parked as shown here. Please do not park in our concrete driveway and try to ride share when possible.

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04/27/2025

BOOK NOW***SHARE THIS POST — last post for Cobia trips, I only have 4 open days remaining in May 8,9,12,15… I do have a few June dates available for gag grouper with “Cobia possibilities” BOOK YOUR TRIP ASAP!

04/22/2025

BOOK NOW, please SHARE this Post!!! ***Gag grouper season*** recreationally this year May 1- June 26th, I have a few days in early May and a few more mid to late June open … don’t miss your chance to catch and eat one of my favorite fish. BOOK NOW! Remember we catch a ton of other cool and tasty fish when we grouper fish, trigger fish, vermilion snappers, grunts, black bass, amberjack, Cobia, African pompano and much more…