Spanish mackerel tonight for dinner!

Took a half-day charter this morning along the pristine Ocracoke Island coast aboard this 25-footer, the Hook Up.

The captain, Rudy Gray, has put in many a year commercial fishing along the Outer Banks in addition to showing tourists like me and my family a good time during summer.

We landed close to a dozen small Spanish mackerel amid warm, calm seas full of frolicking porpoises.

Thanks for a fine morning and some good fishing, Capt. Rudy!

Spanish mackerel in the box. Wesley Loy photo

On Atlantic time

The Deckboss found at least one commercial boat amid the charter yachts in Hatteras Harbor Marina. Annette Loy photo

Thought I'd let you know I'm spending this week on the opposite coast, specifically the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Cape Hatteras long has been a summer vacation spot for my family. Sportfishing on charter boats is a big industry here, while commercial fishing seems to carry on largely out of sight of us tourists.

Anyway, I'm aiming to continue updating the blog with news and notes from Alaska's commercial fishing industry. I'll just be doing it from a continent away.

A deckhand on the Hatteras charter boat Good Times unloads amberjack, blackfin tuna, mahi-mahi and skipjack. Wesley Loy photo