YOU WILL CATCH FISH OR YOU WILL NOT PAY*
*APPLIES TO Yadkin River, High Rock Lake, Tuckertown, Badin Lake ONLY
336-309-5900
TRIP RATES
Maximum of 4 people per trip
Yadkin River, High Rock lake, Tuckertown Lake, Badin Lake
$200 for 1 Person
$250 for 2 People
$300 for 3 People
$400 for 4 People
Other lake options available are Lake Jordan and Lake Norman: Rates are higher due to my extra travel distance and preparation expenses. Call 336-309-5900 and talk with Barbara about any of our trips we have available.
$300 for 1 Person
$400 for 2 People
$500 for 3 People
$600 for 4 People
All trips are full day, 8AM - 3PM or 6AM-1PM (summer only). Your trip time starts at lines in the water and ends with lines in the water. And time spent catching bait with a cast net or riding to the first fishing spot will not be deducted from your fishing time and your fishing trip ends on the water, not at the dock. If you are on a time limit schedule please let me know the morning of your trip so I won't keep you out too long, I try extremely hard to give you a full and honest day of fishing and catching!!!
We furnish all bait, tackle and equipment! You furnish what you want to eat and drink and your freshwater fishing license, which can be purchased at Walmart or on-line at ncwildlife.org. All fish caught within legal limits will belong to the anglers.
If you have questions, want additional information or to book a charter, please call Barbara at 336 309-5900. Please leave a message if no one answers since we sometimes fish areas with no service. Barbara will get back to you as soon as possible.
336 309-5900
Wednesday, 9-25-24
We were able to get another trip in before the rains from the hurricane got to our area. So, we met Jim and Liz Patrick from Matthew's, NC at the Southmont wildlife boat ramp looking to get more crappies today.
It wasn't a fast and furious day for us but we had a steady pick at each place we went. Some places were better than others and the best bites came from spots close to the main river channel in 14 feet or less. We had some very nice fish and Liz caught a white bass that just barely missed the 15 inch size limit so we CPR and let it go to get bigger. Today's total catch was 70 crappies but we only kept 55 for some family fish frys!!!
Looks like things are going to be a challenge and touch and go after all this rain from the hurricane has finished falling. I'm quite sure the lakes are going to be a royal mess when all the water gets here and roads are going to be dangerous to travel at best. We have been told our house at the coast didn't flood from last week's coastal storm. Glad we bought on top of a hill, we didn't even flood when hurricane Floyd hit the area. But, roads are washed out and we can't even get there now!!!
Catfishing will most likely be good after all this rain. However, 99.999% of my trips are for crappies, now that's going to be a challenge at best!!!!
Everyone stay safe in the coming days and weeks until things get back to normal again. Thanks for coming by, we love you all, till next time, God Bless You All!!!!
Monday, 9-23-24
Today we picked up Tom Sharp from Lexington, NC at the Southmont wildlife boat ramp to go catch some crappies.
We have been finding the best bite on High Rock lake lately to be a shallow bite so I tried shallow again today first stop. Turned out our 1st stop would be the only stop we needed to do today. Tom stayed pretty busy and at 1:30PM we called it a wrap an hour and a half earlier than normal and Tom headed back to Thomasville, NC with his cooler filled to the top with 51 very nice crappies to be the guest of honor at several big fish frys!!!!
Thanks everyone for stopping by and know we appreciate you all...... till next time, God Bless You All!!!!
Sept 19, 2024
We picked up returning crappie fishermen and fisherwomen at the Southmont wildlife boat ramp to go catch some crappies. We were fishing with Keith and Myra Simpson from Leland, NC and Junior and Linda Loveday from Newport, TN.
I'll admit I was somewhat concerned about all the rains we have had but the abundance of rain had not gotten to High Rock lake yet but the water was rising and the flow from the dam was almost at 10,000cfs making the deep water bite slow. Plenty of fish on the livescope but they just weren't interested in our offerings. I finally gave up on the deep bite and moved to shallow water, 10 feet average, and on drop-offs on points leading to main channel. This was the denominator today.
This bite slowed on us too but not before we had placed 60 crappies in the cooler with various sizes of crappies and some were really nice slabs along with a good eating size catfish. We caught several Bass and smaller catfish that we released to get bigger. We also kept a few small crappies for some catfish bait and none of the small crappies and released fish were counted in our catch.
We will be back on High Rock lake chasing more crappies on Monday morning. I'm hoping the water isn't too muddy and high from all the rains, but, if they are, we'll do our best to figure out the bite once again. And as always, if we don't catch fish there will be NO CHARGE!!!!
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!!
09-13-2024
Today we left the Southmont wildlife boat ramp with the crew of Andrew, Matthew, and Joshua Kauffman from Salisbury, NC and also Billy Rollins from Salisbury, NC .
As it has Been all summer, the bite was different than yesterday and it presented it's own set of actions to get a working pattern to today's fish.
We kept at it and I took all the information we gained in a couple hours of crappie fishing to come up with a better plan of attack. The plan for today's catch was to find the crappies and just worry them until they bit our baits. Not exactly the best of plan options, but, it worked for today.
It allowed us to put 50 crappies, and some were really nice slabs, to fill their cooler to the top with just enough room for a thin layer of ice. Another great day, more great people, great fishermen, and loads of laughs and fun today doing what we all love to do, catch crappies. Doesn't get any better than this!!!
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!
09-12-2024
First I want to thank my partner in life and business for filling in for me last night by doing the fishing report for me while I replaced the belt and rebuilt the trim module so we could fish today. Had everything going by midnight!!
This morning we took the pontoon boat to Tamarac Marina to pick up a couple regulars that fish with us quite often now. We had the crew of Russ Ammen from Boiling Springs, SC and Larry Woods from Eden, NC onboard looking for crappies.
The bite today was slower than yesterday when we started but the quality of the fish was better than yesterday. We fished several places today and after fishing several on Rowan county side and Davidson County side I made a decision to go back to the one that had produced the best so around 1PM we anchored up on this structure on a point that dropped into the main channel. It proved to be a good decision. We ended the trip and the majority of the 45 crappies we had were quality fish.
If it doesn't rain us out in the morning we'll be back on High Rock lake again tomorrow chasing more crappies. Check back tomorrow evening and see if the bite continues. Thanks to all that stop by and till next time God Bless You All!!!
9-11-2024
This is Barbara Foster. Capt Butch is busy getting ready for tomorrow's trip so I'm going to attempt to write today's report. He may change it later but that's a OK with me!
Today we met up with an Oak Island friend, Mike Martin and two of his life long childhood friends, Keith Carpenter, Traphill, NC and Billy Buchanan, Stanley. NC.
Capt Butch decided to start off where we left fish biting yesterday in hopes they would be there again today. Thank the Good Lord they were and since Mike and Billy had been with us before and knew how we fished, they started putting fish in the boat almost immediately. After showing Keith our technique, it wasn't long before he joined in the catching . After moving around several times they ended the day with 75 fish for several fish frys.
It was great getting to know each guy better and to hear of their adventures from youth to now, some together some with other friends and family. Thanks guys for sharing your day with us.
Headed out in the morning with another group of good friends we have made through fishing adventures with us. Thanks to everyone who has gone fishing with us or followed us on Facebook.
As of now we are booked through Nov.1st which will tentatively finish our 2024 season. If nothing happens we will start up again mid March. Everything depends on the weather. I am making a cancelation list for the remainder of the season and if the weather stays warm we may go beyond Nov. 1st. Just text me at 336-309-5900 if you want your name on this list.
I am also starting to book next year, so if you want to go fishing with us, get in touch with me as soon as you know the date so I can get you in the book.
Until tomorrow Capt Butch and I pray you have a restful evening and God Bless you all!!
09-10-2024
Hit the water wide open this morning with 4 guys that came from all over the state of NC to fish for crappies today on High Rock lake. They were Jimmy Oliver from Charlotte, NC Jerel Reavis from Oak Island, NC Johnny McQuay from Charlotte, NC and Brooks Ferguson from Statesville, NC
A couple stops I thought would be good one's proved me wrong, I was disappointed in these places, so, after a fair amount of time for the crappies to decide if they wanted to ride on the Yeah Right Charters pontoon I accepted the fact they didn't want to. So, we made a run to one of my favorite places and this one and one more was all it took today to put around 80 very nice crappies in the cooler to head back to Oak Island, NC, Charlotte, NC, and Statesville, NC for some very tasty fish frys.
Great to be back 100% on the water today and getting caught back up on everything. When the Covid hit last week, it was the only time in my entire 40+,years of chartering that a trip was missed because I personally couldn't make it, but, I just couldn't do it!!! Sure hated to ruin my perfect record, but, something finally stopped me long enough to make it happen, and I really was sorry it happened!!!
Back on High Rock lake again tomorrow with a couple friends from Oak Island, NC Mike and Capt. Vanessa Martin, Mike fished with us back in the spring but I haven't seen Capt. Vanessa in a long time, really looking forward to this trip, good times and good memories from good people will definately be some of tomorrow's conversations. Thanks for stopping by, Till next time, God Bless You All!!!!
Tuesday, 9-3-24
This morning I seen the weather/wind forecast for today and it was saying NE winds 10 to 15 gusting to 20. That's a little tough in a 24' pontoon boat so Barbara gave them a call but they wanted to go anyway. Okay, I'll do my best, but, it's going to be quite a challenge. So, we met Jay Blanche from Charlotte, NC; Tony Holland from Charlotte, NC; Vernel Walker from Rockledge, FL and James Cromarlie from Stallings, NC at the Southmont wildlife boat ramp and headed out to find biting crappies.
After we hit several places and around 10:30 AM we only had one fish in the cooler and I was starting to think maybe I should have called them instead of Barbara. Oh well, we're here, let's get the search on. Found plenty of crappies on the livescope but they just wouldn't bite, anything!!! We were fishing deep water in the 18+ foot deep range and the crappies didn't want to cooperate at all. It was now around 1PM and we still had one crappie to show for 5 hours fishing.
We were starting to go to another place when I remembered a brush pile near the bank in about 14 feet of water, I told the guys I want to check out this one before we left this area. Like I've always said, never give up and keep on searching. In just a matter of minutes after we started fishing this structure we could barely keep the lines in the water, everyone was catching crappies as fast as they could. This went on long enough that when the time for the trip was up at 3PM we had put 64 crappies in the cooler with the one we had rode around all morning making it 65 crappies and a bonus catfish.
Thanks guys for choosing Yeah Right Charters for your fishing trip. I hope we met your every expectation today and possibly exceeded your expectations. Back on High Rock lake again tomorrow for more crappies. Hope the biting one's are a little easier to find!!
Thanks for stopping by and till next time, God Bless You All!!!!
Saturday, 8-31-24
First, let me clarify why we went fishing Saturday, after turning down others. We had fished on several Saturday's several months ago and after having 5 very close calls from boaters not paying attention, like the last one that caused us to make the decision not to do weekends anymore that came very close to getting him killed when he almost drove his bass boat directly under the very center of our pontoon but we all finally got his attention after waving, screaming, and horn blowing just in time to get him to turn at the last second to just barely miss taking out our trolling motor and losing his head from going under dead center of our pontoon boat that sits high enough off the water to have "swallowed" him and his bass boat. His reply to us was, and I quote, "man I'm sorry, I didn't see you, I was watching the football game". Still trembling and in some what a state of shock, Barbara and I looked at each other and at the same time, said, that's it, no more weekends, a fish ain't worth what the liability we would be responsible for since we come under Maritime federal law because we are a USCG Licensed Charter Boat!!!
However, we are very carefully honoring the trips we had booked before this incident and are very cautiously staying away from the crowds!!! Now hopefully you understand when we tell you who to call for your weekend trips, thank for understanding and be safe on the water, tragedy can happen in the blink of an eye, and a, fish ain't worth the risk to us and our valued fishermen!!
Okay, here's the way our trip went today up in the shallows of a silting in river away from the holiday Saturday of boats. We were fishing with Billy Lawrence and his nephews Montrel Dunbar, Sal Castaneda and these 3 were from Clayton, NC and AJ Jackson was from Greenville, NC.
Since I've already written so much I'm just going to put it short and truthfully how it really happened in layman's terms. We dragged cut Bream, shad, cut crappie, (the Bream and crappies were caught on hook and line, so they were legal baits) chicken, and cut perch until I was starting to think we were going to go fishless today. But, finally we had a good takedown on the reel deel MH catfish rod on cut crappie and we were hooked up. The fish was putting up a good fight and Sal was working him very skillfully to the boat and just barely out of nets reach, the hook pulled and just like that, he was gone!!
I immediately switched 7 of the 10 rods to cut cut crappie and with that move we ended the day a little early after putting 3 more good eating size blue and channel catfish in the boat. It was a tough day to get bites today, but, I've had worse days catfishing so I'll just thank God for his Blessings today and Thank you Billy for your continued support and for choosing Yeah Right Charters for your fishing trips. Looking forward to seeing you again November 1st. Stay safe on the road my friend.
Thank you all that stop by, let us know if you like what and how we do things and till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Friday, 8-30-24
Once again we were on High Rock lake with some of our long time returning fishermen chasing crappies. The group was made up with T. Gregory from Stoval, NC. Robert Bullock from Durham, NC. Link Gregory from Henderson, NC., and Michael Faison from Durham, NC.
We started our search today on the Rowan county side of the lake and our 1st stop looked like it was going to be a good stop. But, the bite dwindled away after a bit and we moved to a drop-off that had done good for us in the recent past. This only produced one crappie. We moved down stream to 2 new brush I located recently with very little success. We left these and moved to a couple more on the Rowan county side and when we left those we had about 28 crappies in the cooler. Time to cross the lake to the Davidson County side.
Here we started on a place we have named 15 Mile rock, from an area I used to fish at the coast when I did offshore saltwater Charters at Southport/Oak Island, NC for many years. The bite here was very slow so we moved to another place, ditto for here as well. I went to another spot Barbara and I named D's place a few years ago and after looking at it on the livescope and the school of crappies weren't as tightly schooled as they had been everywhere else and were moving quite a lot. I told everyone " this is what I been looking for, this is the place". We got set up and the games began as the guys were putting them over the side of the 24' pontoon.
The weather was hot, the bite here was hot enough that the trip was called early with 70 crappies to head home with for fish frys. All it takes is that one place, never give up, and don't take "no" for an answer.
Thanks for stopping by. We love you all, and till next time, God Bless You All!!!!
Tuesday,8-27-24
Today we took Eddie Robinson and Emanual Cheek from Charlotte, NC crappie catching. Thank goodness the weather wasn't as hot as the crappie bite today, but, it was a warm one coming on the heels of last week's cool front. I'm definitely ready for fall weather, how about you!!!
Our 1st stop was a good one, the bite started off pretty quick after lines in and stayed pretty steady for a good bit and tapered off after we had put 30+ crappies in the cooler. I then decided to make a run to an area that usually holds big crappies. But today they were a mixture of different sizes like our first stop.
We added 20 more fish to the cooler and at 1PM, 2 hours short of quitting time, Eddie and Manual said the 51 crappies in the cooler was all they wanted and it was time to head back to Tamarac Marina for some lunch.
Great time today fishing with a couple of great guys.
I'm noticing Cube Hydro, who owns High Rock lake dam has been letting the water stay stable the last few days, this can definitely improve the Crappie bite, let's hope they can continue this trend a while.
Weather permitting, I'm going to be catfishing tomorrow. Hope they bite just half as good as the crappies did today. But, if they want to bite as good as the crappies, I'll definitely thank God and not complain one bit!! Unless we have a cancelation we are booked solid for the remaining season, but give us a call anyway, sometimes we have a day open due to a cancelation and no one on our cancelation waiting list can make it. So, you never know!!,
Want to give a BIG THANK YOU to everyone that continues to support and believe in Barbara, Bubba, myself, and Yeah Right Charters, we strive to under promise and over deliver on your fishing trips!! We surely hope we have met and possibly exceeded your every expectation on your fishing trips!! If you are ever unhappy with your trip please tell us and give us a chance to make it better, if you like what we do and how we do it, please tell others!! If you get to go fishing, be safe and considerate of your fellow boaters and fishermen and fisherwomen.
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Friday 8-23-24
Today we went back to High Rock lake to see if we could coax the crappies to bite once more. They have been a little stubborn lately but we stayed on the move and managed to put together a decent catch today for Gene Stratton from Lexington, NC and his Grandson Adam Miller from Trinity, NC.
I kept showing the guys all the fish on livescope, but, with the full moon and the constant fluctuating water conditions made it quite interesting to say the least. I finally hit on the best pattern for today's bite and Adam put on a seminar for a while and later on Grandpa Gene was closing in fast. They got 30 crappies and a bonus catfish today and the call was made to cut the trip short so Adam could get to work in Trinity on time without having to speed. Great call Adam, he's a fine and responsible young man and I know Grandpa Gene is proud of him and he should be!!
Thanks guys for choosing Yeah Right Charters for your Freshwater Fishing trip. We hope we met and possibly exceeded your every expectation. Till next time, God Bless You All!!!
P.S. Barbara just told me she had 2 days open next week, and 1 day open in the last week of October and November 1st, and that's a done deal!!!
Thursday, 8-22-24
Yes, I'm behind on reports again and I'm sorry about that, but, when you're 73 and your day starts, at 4AM and you finally get all the daily phone messages, text messages, emails, trips booked, and reports done it's somewhere between 10 and 11PM and you have to do it all over again in 5 hours works on a wore out body, but, I couldn't see us doing anything else, just be careful what you wish for though, it just might not be as glamorous as it looks when on the outside looking in and your wish could come true.
Today myself, Barbara and Bubba took Derek Prescott from Midway, NC catfishing on High Rock lake after a big catfish. We picked him up a Tamarac Marina and ran ran up the river to an area that seldom ever let's us down . We'll, it kinda did today. What I mean by that is we had a reel deel m/h rod go down and the 10,000CL ambassadors carbon graphite drag washers took a burning as the fish was pulling drag hard and fast. Derek got the fish stopped and turned and heading to the boat and the hook just pulled. It was fighting so hard I thought the line had broke, nope, just came unhooked!! Well you know after that I stayed a little longer than I should have but nothing else ever happened in a reasonable amount of time so I finally threw in the towel on this spot.
After coming back down the river I tried a place my buddy Marc told me to try, he did really well there yesterday. Unfortunately, today was a different day and I was watching the 93SV and noticed the fish were scattered worse than normal so we switched up and started dragging. After I pulled the baits in this area really good I decided to move on down the lake a little farther to the mouth of Dutch 2nd creek and started marking lots of bait, which is good, but the fish I was marking around the bait seemed to be pretty dormant.
In this area we got another hard take down only to pull our hook again after a very short fight. I stayed in the area and God knew by this time how bad I wanted to get Derek a nice Catfish. When we had about an hour to go left on our trip, the M/H Reel Deel Rod doubled over and the 10/0 circle hook did it's job and this fish made it to the net.
We got the fish in the boat and the scales was showing 36lb 2oz. Derek fishes High Rock lake often and I was very happy to have been able to get this big blue catfish for him especially when he told me this fish was his High Rock Lake catfish PB!!! Perseverance and determination sometimes pays off, but, I'll admit I thought about throwing in the towel several times today, never mentioned it, so I never gave up and never stopped working hard to achieve what we did today and the smile on Derek's face made it all worthwhile. Thanks Derek for allowing me to make my day by making your day with your High Rock lake PB Blue Catfish that you caught, weighed, and released to let someone else make their dream come true as well.
OK, crappies, we're going to be after you again in the morning. Just stop on by tomorrow evening and hopefully I'll get it posted before too late. Thanks to all for stopping , Till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Tuesday, 8-20-24
What can I say except my ribs are sore from laughing so much today. This is just one of the many reasons we do what we do, we absoutely love our people that fish with us and today we had the crew of Melvin Lee from Lexington, NC, Daniel Mast from Olin, NC. Joe Gingerich from Mocksville, NC and Jed Eaton from Mocksville, NC.
Our goal today was to fill the cooler with crappies and with the great fishing ability from all these guys they made my job much easier. I was afraid the super full moon might have a negative effect on our catching but I was wrong. If it did anything it helped the bite.
They brought a big cooler today and with the 75 crappies they brought over the sides of the 24' pontoon we just about filled it up. Barbara, Bubba, and Myself are looking forward to our next trip in the near future if we still have any days left open in October. I know September is booked solid, and, last time I looked, October was just about filled solid, and several on our waiting list in case of a cancelation. Barbara handles all that part of the business, so, I don't know that information completely, but giving her a call, Text, or message @ 336-309-5900 can get you any and all information on our trips and availability.
Back on High Rock lake again tomorrow chasing more crappies. Can we continue our catching streak, I don't know but I do know I'm going to try my very best. Stop by tomorrow evening and see how it goes.
Guys we had a blast, appreciate y'all choosing us again for your fishing trip. Hope we met and possibly exceeded your every expectation. Till next time, be safe, and God Bless you All!!!!
Monday 8-19-24
Today Barbara, Bubba and I met up with Sam Crockett and his brother Chris Crockett who are long time friends and customers of Yeah Right Freshwater Charters. Our mission today was to fill the cooler with nice crappies because Sam had run out and needed to restock his freezer.
We didn't hit any barn burner holes today but we steady picked at the crappies between the slow biters. These guys have become very good crappie fishermen and excellent catfishermen catching nice Catfish on real lite tackle.
We ended the day with 40 very nice crappies and a couple bonus catfish for our efforts. The crappie fishing is always a blast when these 2 come up from Waxhaw, NC to fish with us. Barbara, Bubba, and I are already getting excited about our next trip. Just great and fun folks to fish with, just like so many of our clients.
Back on High Rock lake again in the morning and I'm pretty sure Barbara said crappies again. We'll do our best to get you fish and, should I fall short of that mission, it's all at no cost to you...yep, no fish-no pay guarantee!! Just one of the many extra benefits you get from Barbara, Bubba, and I at Yeah Right Freshwater Fishing Charters!!! We pride ourselves in "under promise and over deliver" results!!!
Thanks to everyone for coming by and reading and supporting what we do. If you like us just please touch that button. Till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Friday, 8-16-24
Today we were fishing some locals, Bain Bennett and his Grandpa Charles Bennett and both are from Lexington, NC. We have known the Bennett's a long time and they are very fine folks.
I took what I learned on Thursday and ditched the Flat Swamp and went to the main lake, even though it's prettier water than the main lake, apparently the crappies like it better, or, I looked at water flows at Cube Hydro site and seen where the lake level had held pretty close to the same in the last 24 hours and that could possibly been the difference. Which ever it was, 1st line in and Bain was hooked up on a nice crappie. This went on all day with catching more here, less there, and none at others. You know, fishing!!!
Well, the fishing was turning into a nice catching trip with Bain and Charles putting 40 very nice crappies in the cooler. It was a hot day with very little wind but we got the job done even though there were a lot of crappies that got off, didn't commit, or just bit and missed the hook. It just wasn't their day to go join the fish fry that's going to be had now.
Thanks guys for choosing Yeah Right Charters for your Freshwater Fishing trip and we are already looking forward to our next trip in October!!!
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Thursday, 8-15-24
It was a tough day to find biting crappies today, but, determination and constant searching got us enough to make it worthwhile.
We were fishing again with some some fine folks who were Russ Ammen from Boiling Springs, SC. and Larry Woods from Eden,NC. I figured Flat Swamp would be better than the main lake since it has been much dirtier and muddier than Flat Swamp, well, I was wrong. The bite there really had me scratching my head. The fish were plentiful on the live scope, but, just didn't want to bite. Only thing I can contribute it to is the continuious rising and falling of the water in High Rock lake this summer.
We ended up with 23 crappies and had 4 good eating size catfish. That's a good day of fishing, but, if you know me then you know I don't want my fishermen to have a good day of fishing, I want them to have a GREAT DAY OF CATCHING!!!
Thanks guys for continuing with your support by fishing with us, God has always put the best fisherwomen and fishermen on our boats!!!
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Wednesday, 8-14-24
Barbara, Bubba, and myself have been slow on reports because of the weather. Finally, the weather has calmed down somehow and tropical storms have passed for now with all the rains and flooding. But, today we got a good weather window and we hit the main lake out of Southmont boat ramp to look for crappies with Eric Allen and his son's Wesley and Cash from the Tyro, NC area.
We started off on one of our best places and the livescope lit up but the crappies weren't interested in our offerings. We made several moves and picked up a couple here and there but not what we were looking for so we decided to try some catfishing for a bit.
Was really wishing I was more upriver than the main lake but you never know, but just as I was thinking I believe we were a little late on the lake bite. We dragged at 0.04 or less with cut shad, cut Bream, butterflied shad and Bream, chicken, cut and butterflied Perch, snails, and the 2 hours I wasted on this never got us a bite and we were where we had been doing decent lately until all this extra water came down river!! Wish I would have had time to go up river, I know it's better up there right now and would have probably gave the Reel Deel Catfish Rods a good workout!!
With not much time left, I told Eric I have a place that holds lots of crappies but it can be hit and miss. But, when they are there it can sometimes be pure chaos. So we got all the catfish gear in and with little time to spare we took off to what we call " the hang up hole". Those of you that have fished here when it's right, then you know what I mean. We got there and dropped one line in and had a fish on before we could get a 2nd rod in. It wasn't chaos, but, it was good enough for what we had experienced so far today. We finally put 23 crappies of various sizes in the cooler. The boys caught most of the bigger crappies and the smaller one's were welcomed as Eric likes his crappies small and fried bone in just like Barbara and I do. If you know, you know, try it once and you'll never go back to fillets!!
Back on High Rock lake after crappies again tomorrow and I'll have a whole new game plan from the information I learned today. I'm usually on top of the crappie bite but the weather the past 2 weeks has made our trips have to be canceled almost everyday due to weather. Hopefully we'll be back to reports everyday again now until the next set of bad weather keeps me on the hill again for a while.
Thanks for stopping by and till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Tuesday, 8-6-24
What a great day today catching crappies with Joe Kizer from Salisbury, NC and Jason Ford from Charlotte, NC. I was thinking the pre storm conditions would have the crappies on a feeding frenzy, but, apparently the continuious rising and falling of water levels in High Rock lake was still in control in their uncertain behavior.
Just as it's been in the lake, for me anyway, and a few more I've talked to, we still had to stay on the move to find biting fish. Seeing plenty on the livescope, but, had to find the ones that wanted to bite, and we did. We finished the trip with around 50 nice crappies a few bonus blue catfish, I know we had at least 2 catfish, maybe 4, I just can't remember for sure. Don't laugh, you live long enough, your day is coming, I promise!!! I've seen a few black nose crappies before, but today was the first black lip tip crappie I've ever seen. Check out the picture in the gallery at end of this post 🤔!!
Great times and great memories were made today with more great folks!! Since we have to cancel our trips for the next several days due to this bad weather we have at hand now, I'm going to try to capitalize on the cooler weather coming from this destructive weather we have and try to get my new building insulated and wired for power and pray God will leave it standing when all is over and pray for everyone in the sights of this dangerous tropical storm Debby.
Y'all stay safe so you can go fishing when things settle. And remember, ain't no fish worth dying for so just be cautious and don't take any chances and risks to catch a fish right now. Thanks for stopping by and till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Thursday, 8-1-24
Today Barbara, Bubba, and myself met Darrell Freedle from Lexington, NC, and Jake and Amanda Reece from Winston Salem, NC at the Southmont wildlife boat ramp to take the 24' pontoon on a crappie catching mission. I was pretty optimistic after yesterday's trip but once again the rising and falling of the lake waters proved to have the fish on guard and skittish again today.
We started off at " Steven's hole" and the fish were there but we could only entice a couple to bite from the pile of crappies on the livescope. Trying to put the puzzle together again today would have me to soon realize that today's fishing was going to be one of those days where you would get only a couple crappies from each place we went so the run and gun style fishing was today's choice of pattern.
We caught all sizes of crappies today with the majority being nice fish. Jake put on a fish catching clinic for a while, but before the trip was over Darrell and Amanda got in the hunt and reciprocated with helping out with the 50 crappies and 4 catfish that was in the fish box when we called it a day around 3PM.
Always a great time and lots of fun fishing with today's folks. Just good people like all our fishermen and fisherwomen that God has to cross our path for their fishing trips. Good times were definitely had again today!!!
Tomorrow, Barbara has a follow up at the specialist for a recent surgery and I decided to go along with her for moral support and to help in any way I can. She is doing really good and we just want to be sure she continues to keep doing good.
Thanks to all that stop by to read our fishing reports and letting us know you appreciate what we do. Till next time,,God Bless You All!!
Wednesday, 7-31-24
Today has been a tough one for me. At 11:10 AM today was the 1 year mark when I lost my best friend and loyal companion Bobo. I kept it inside, but, I hurt pretty bad today missing him so much everyday since this day one year ago.
Thanks to all that have called, messaged, and sent texts to me and Barbara hoping everything was OK with us since I haven't posted much lately. We haven't been taking risks with all the mixed weather reports from storms lately and all the rains.
Today, we found the crappies to be schooled up and biting some. We've been following the Cube Hydro water reports for a while and the continuous raising and lowering the water levels in High Rock lake have not been helping the bite for me either. Yesterday, was our first trip in a while and we had 4 guys and we only caught around 20 crappies, making that only 5 crappies for each man so I didn't charge for the trip. I know I guarantee fish or it's a no pay policy, but the Yeah Right Charters fishermen know I also don't charge if I don't feel like you got enough fish for at least a good fish fry, that's just the way we do business, and always will put our customers first with respect!!, So Pete and his crew came back again today and things looked up and today I redeemed myself and Pete Phillips from Salisbury, NC, Leon Gaither from Salisbury, NC, Howard (Butch) Foxx from Spencer, NC and Clinton Lewis from Charlotte, NC put around 50 crappies in the fish boxes. So, hopefully the August bite will now get back to the really good bite we have this time of year with Normal weather conditions, I sure hope so, I'm past ready.
Going to try it again tomorrow on High Rock lake and hope it's better than today. This is the time of year we're supposed to be finding big schools of hungry and aggressive biting crappies and I sure hope they have now gotten the memo!!!
If the weather doesn't mess up our plans for tomorrow, check back late tomorrow evening and see if they are still biting. Till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Tuesday, 7-23-24
Let me first say you might ask why I would make this post. Well, we talk the talk, so we also walk the walk....what I mean by that is you will only get nothing but the truth from Captain Butch Foster and Yeah Right Charters, no matter how embarrassing it is to me. It is what it is, and this is just the way we roll, so, here's the truth!!!
Today we met Mark Mullins from Charlotte, NC and Robert Walker from Midland,NC at Lilly's Bridge Access on lake Tillery. Before we left the dock we spoke with Matt Taylor and he pointed us in the right direction for crappies but 1st we tried our original plan to catch Bream today.. To say it was tough is not even in the same universe for us today.
We fished everything and everywhere from lily's bridge access to mountain creek up stream around Morrow Mountain state park and a LOT in between. The guys fished red worms while I tried a variety of Betts Spins, Rooster tails, mepps spinners, panther Martin's, crickhoppers, jigs from 1/16 to 1/32, to 1/64 and I never got the first bite on any of those while we fished brush, trees, logs, rocks, shallows all the way to deep points. It was a fantastic day of fishing on a beautiful day but the catching was the toughest I have experienced in so many years I can't ever remember a day this tough in 66 years of fishing. The 19 Bream we did catch including 8 small Bream and Perch for catfish bait were caught on red worms.
We finally headed back towards Lilly's bridge area to try the crappies where Matt told us to go. The crappies were stacked up on the brush piles there. The guys were fishing minnows by counting down to place them just above and some were dropped about 6 inches into the schools of fish. Did I mention the catching was tough, well, if I didn't mention it, let me say we only caught one crappie out of the big schools. Then I took the livescope and located a school of small blue catfish suspended and they were chasing baits and I had a time staying on them but the guys did catch 2 of those and the many other bites either broke off after slimming the line or just didn't hook up.
The guys were 2 of the most gracious and understanding fishermen I've had on a charter in over 40 years. When I told them they didn't owe me anything for the day they insisted on tipping Barbara for all her hard work today and insisted on covering my expenses. I was absolutely humbled and Blessed to meet these guys.
They wanted to go with us again tomorrow on High Rock lake but with Barbara booking everyday we finally found a date that would work for them. If all works out, I'll have a chance to redeem myself on October 14. Thanks guys for believing in us and Yeah Right Charters after a day like we had today.
Yes, I know it's called fishing and not catching, but, I don't want my fishermen to go fishing, I want them to go catching so much I guarantee it, and when and if a day like this comes along, I don't like it, but, it's God's will and I have to accept it no matter how embarrassing it is for me and we do the most ethical thing we can for our fishermen in these very rare circumstances.
Thanks for stopping by and till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Friday, 7-19-24
Met our friends Oron and Ryan Huneycutt from Richfield, NC at Tamarac Marina to try for some catfish today. We all looked at the weather forecast and funny thing was all 4 of us pulled up the forecast on 4 different venues and all 4 were different .
Well, we figured that the only way to see which one would be the closest to being right was to go fishing. Ryan and myself, took the Betts cast nets, since Ryan is several years younger than me, I graciously let him use the the 10' Morada net while I used the 10' Betts camouflage old salt, which is about 1/4 the weight of the 10' Morada. Just a few cast with Barbara at the helm putting us on the schools of shad like the pro she is, we were off to go fishing.
We were " dragging" this morning using fresh cut shad, chicken, Perch, crappie, and Bream. It seemed like we had missed the good bite from the few days prior so I was trying everything. Finally, after several hours of varying our dragging speed, changing bait frequently to keep fresh bait on the hooks without any takers, I decided to load the hooks with really small baits.
So, instead of the butterflied gizzard shad , I took some of the small thread fin shad we had caught, cut the middle section out giving me a bait about the size of my thumb nail and it didn't take long until the Extreme fishing concepts planer boards started dropping back and the Reel Deel Catfish Rods bent over with catfish biting. Never give up and never quit experimenting when fishing.
Well, after putting a few good eating sized catfish in the boat, we found out which weather forecast was right. The sky's opened up and the bottom fell out. With everyone soaked to the core, even with good rain gear, we heard the fantastic food calling us at Tamarac Marina so the call was made to head for dryer areas and some Bacon cheese burgers, smart move!!!
Was planning on just resting today but when we went to leave, I had to stow the 36v Ulterra manually because the trim motor or circuit board went out. Never a day off in the charter business, so be careful what you wish for it just might come true . Thanks everyone for stopping by to read my fishing post, till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Wednesday, 7-17-24
Today we were once again back on High Rock lake looking for more crappies with Alvin Lunsford from Bowman, SC. Jack Banks from Asheville, NC and Robert Williams from Kernersville, NC. Our first stop let me know that I might have a tough day getting the crappies to bite and surely it was a tough day, for me anyway.
But, I put my mind in overdrive and was determined to not have to take no for an answer today. I looked at a lot of fish on the livescope, but, finding active fish, which usually indicates a fish that will bite was few and far apart. I don't know if it was the fairly steep drop in water overnight or the fact they were pulling almost 10,000 cfs through the dam today, but , something had them skittish.
We missed about as many fish as we caught because lots of times they wouldn't commit to the baits and just half heartedly took our minnows. We did get some quality fish today and ended the day with around 35 very nice crappies, 4 bonus catfish, and 20 small crappies for more catfish bait. The catfish and the small crappies were not included in our count.
We have canceled tomorrow's Crappie trip based on this mornings weather forecast, but, this afternoon the forecast has changed from what they predicting this morning at 5AM. The guys were driving a long way to go fishing with us tomorrow and I hate to see them drive a long way to just have bad weather. There will be better days ahead that will be more desirable to go fishing in. But, you know the drama, I'll bet tomorrow will be a good day to go fishing!!
Thanks everyone for stopping by and reading our reports and continuing supporting Barbara and I, it means the world to us both. Till next time, God Bless You All!!!!
Tuesday, 7-16-24
Today we made some great memories and made 4 new friends through our Yeah Right Freshwater Fishing Charters when we went up river to pick up Gene Shepherd, Curt Shepherd, Jasmine Caudill, and Logan Nesbitt all from North Wilkesboro, NC. at the dock on a, High Rock lake house to go after crappies.
Our 1st stop this morning had plenty of crappies on the livescope but after about an hour of trying everything to get them to bite I checked the water conditions and it showed the water had dropped more last night and they were pulling almost 10,000 cfs through the dam. So with that information I left there and went deeper. That was the common denominator that put the guys and gals on the board. From that 2nd stop in 19+ feet of water I stayed in water close to that depth the rest of the day and when we called the trip a little early they had managed 65 very nice crappies, a couple of channel catfish and Blue Catfish around 3 pounds each and if you added the 19 small crappies we kept for future catfish trips the total today rounded out to 84 fish for our efforts today. I know they'll have a great family fish fry coming up this week from all the crappie filets they now have after today's catch.
The weather is hot, the fishing is lots of fun, the catching is even more fun, and our fishermen and fisherwomen are the best you can get. Hey, you can do this too, just contact Barbara at 336-309-5900 by calling, texting, or messages, and she'll get you " Hooked up" on a great trip, " Guaranteed ",!!!
Thanks to everyone that continues to support us and reads our reports. I can't tell you the people I've met this week that ask, hey, are you Captain Butch, when I say yes, that's me, they reply "I follow you on fb" thank you all for that and till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Monday,7-15-24
Today we were on High Rock lake again running down more crappies. The warming temperatures are pushing them deeper now and we found good numbers of fish stacked up in 18 feet plus today along the main channel drops into deeper water.
We had with us today Danny Auten from Charlotte, NC. David Holsinger from Mt. Pleasant, NC., Brian Auten from Morganton, NC., and Tim Hargett from Belmont, NC. It was definitely a hot one today on the water but the guys hung with us even though we didn't get the 100 crappies the guys caught the last time they fished for crappies with us. But the 55 we put in the cooler today were all really nice crappies and like someone said, those 55 fish have more meat than the 100 we caught last time. We only caught 2 small crappies today and I kept those for catfish bait.
Have had a cancelation for tomorrow and i was just thinking about what I could get done tomorrow with a day off from fishing then I over heard Barbara on the computer talking to a group of 4 people about a Crappie trip tomorrow. As of right now, they haven't called her back so I don't have a clue yet as to what I'll be doing tomorrow.
Thanks for stopping by and till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Thursday,7-11-24
Back on High Rock lake again today with Brandon Martinez, Aurelia Popoca, and Alfredo Popoca, all from Greensboro, NC and we were on a mission for more crappies.
The winds were not our friend today making it quite a challenge to present our baits in a natural way, but, we persevered and filled their cooler to the very top with 35 nice crappies and a few bonus channel catfish.
Weather permitting, we'll be back after more crappies tomorrow. The fish are shallow and deep and in between. Just keep putting baits in front of them until you find the one's that are willing to bite.
Thanks for stopping by and till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Monday, 7-8-24
We hope everyone had a great and happy 4th this year. We took the week off to have a little down time and get things in tip top shape to be ready for the rest of our Freshwater Fishing Charters season which ends sometime in November depending on how quick it gets too cold. But, cold wasn't a problem today, it was a hot one on High Rock lake when we took Brian Braswell from Lexington, NC, Grayson Barrier also from Lexington, NC, and Barrett Barrier from Mt. Pleasant, NC to get some crappies for an upcoming fish fry.
It was a little tricky getting the multitude of crappies we located today on the livescope to bite our hooks. But, perseverance and just the determination to not take no for an answer, enabled us to put 40 filleting sized crappies, 2 catfish, and another dozen or so fresh smaller crappies for catfishing baits.
Great people and good fishing just make a combination that's one of the best ways to spend a summer day on High Rock lake. Had a cancelation for tomorrow because of the hot weather, it can be tough on the fittest this time of year, then Wednesday got to get Barbara's Dr. appointments on her follow up from a huge kidney stone she had blasted to smithereens, then back out again on High Rock lake Thursday rounding up more fish for more fish frys!!!
Thanks for stopping by and till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Thursday, 6-27-24
Today we were fishing for crappies with a couple of hometown guys that have been my friends for a LOT of years. They were Dale and Tony Foster, not any kin, just share the same last name, and with them was their friend Jason Thomason and all are from Lexington, NC.
We struggled today to find biting crappies, finding crappies wasn't the problem, we found plenty, but few wanted to bite. Finally after many moves we hit a couple places where the fish were more cooperative and we put together a catch of 45 crappies that we kept and the smaller fish we kept for catfish bait and a blue catfish we didn't add to the count today.
Will be back on High Rock lake again tomorrow after more crappies. Hopefully it will be a bit easier to find some that want to bite a little better. Thanks for stopping by and till next time God Bless You All !!!
Tuesday, 6-25-24
Today I went solo while Barbara and Bubba took a well deserved break from the heat . I met Robert Leonard and Danielle Blackstock from Lexington, NC at the Southmont wildlife boat ramp to go find some crappies today.
Our 1st couple stops this morning confirmed that the draw down that occurred last night definitely had an adverse effect on the places we fished yesterday because we never got a bite on those this morning. Only thing I could figure was that with so much water being removed over their heads the pressure drop had the shallower fishes swim bladder out of order so we searched out the deepest structure and fish I could find on the main river channel.
It may not have been the only pattern that worked today, but, it was the one that God put me on and it worked really good for us. And the crappies were all good quality fish. Big enough that just 35 crappies filled up our 60 qt, cooler today. Danielle even caught a pair of crappies that both weighed 1 lb. 6 oz each. Check out her picture holding them both for a photo. Thanks to you both for choosing Yeah Right Freshwater Charters, we hope we made it a good trip to remember for a long time.
Back on High Rock lake again tomorrow, you guessed it, more crappies. If this water will just stabilize the hot weather will have the crappie bite just get better and better as they continue to move deeper.
Thank you all for stopping by and till next time, God Bless You All.
Monday, 6-24-24
Today we met up with Scotty, Kristian, and Zachary Noah from Thomasville, NC and Scott Thompson from Winston Salem, NC at the Southmont wildlife boat ramp for a day of crappie fishing on High Rock lake.
Our first 3 stops had me scratching my head trying to figure them out today with the water continuing to fluctuate up and down on a regular basis.
Finally I took the results from the first 3 stops and headed to deep water on the drop into the main river channel. Here we found nice crappies willing to bite our baits around 10 feet down holding over structure 19 feet down.
Kristian started the bite off here by putting on a seminar on how to get crappies to bite your hook as the guys just watched in disbelief as she put crappie after crappie over the rails of our 24 foot pontoon and even had the big crappie of the day at 1.12 only 4 ounces away from a NC exceptional catch citation!!!
Finally everyone else decided to join in on the bite and when all was said and done they had put 55 very nice crappies in the cooler and we kept 12 more smaller crappies in another cooler for up coming catfishing trips in the future making a total of 67 crappies caught and a lot missed as well today, but, you can't catch them all.
Thank you for choosing Yeah Right Freshwater Fishing Charters for your trip. You had many choices and the fact you chose us is not something we take lightly. We hope we met and possibly exceeded your every expectation today. Already looking forward to our next trip.
Thanks to all that take the time from your busy day to stop long enough to read our fishing reports. It takes a lot of extra effort when we get in to do these reports everyday after a long day on the water. But, you guys and gals are the reason we do it and as long as ya'll continue to read them we'll keep doing them!!
Will be back on High Rock lake again tomorrow putting the puzzle together once again on where the biting crappies are at, come on back tomorrow evening and see if we find them again, till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Friday, 6-21-24
Today Barbara, Bubba and I picked up Gary Coffee from Monroe, NC and Wayne Benjamin from Charlotte, NC to go see what the crappies were up to today.
We started our search today shallow as that's where we found them yesterday. They were still shallow, but, we couldn't get them to cooperate with us.
After several attempts on the shallow fish and with the water temperatures approaching 85 degrees I decided to go deep. This was a good move for us. We started picking up some nice crappies still shallow, around 10 feet deep but today they were over deep brush and structures. Everyday can be different at times when trying to figure out fish. We figured them out good enough to fill a cooler full with 58 nice crappies!!!
I've included a few livescope shots of where we found biting crappies today using a stealthy approach presenting our live bait, (minnows), to them.
For those that like to chase schooling topwater fish on the lake it's about to get started. It hasn't happened yet, but, there was a lot of top water activities today but not concentrated enough to get excited over yet, but, it will be very soon!!!
Thanks to all that stop by to read our reports, stay safe on the water and till next time, God Bless You All!!!
Thursday, 6-20-24
Once again today we were crappie fishing with Larry and Barbara Woods from Eden, NC and Russ Ammen from Boiling Springs, SC.
I was really surprised with the water pushing into 80+ temperatures that the crappies are still as shallow as they are. I was trying deeper brush this morning, seeing a lot of fish on the livescope but we didn't have a decent bite until I hit some shallow brush in the 12 to 13 foot depth fishing around 6 to 8 feet down. And the catfish bite was good today as well with 4 bonus catfish to add to the 45 nice crappies that are invited to the fish fry.
Always a great time fishing with these guys and they get better every time we go fishing with them. So crappies, on our next trip in a couple weeks, you better be ready, Russ, Larry, and Barbara are coming back to take you home with them, and I know they are very capable of loading the boat next time!!!
Back on High Rock lake again tomorrow chasing more crappies will they still be shallow? but wherever they are, I'll find them and my fishermen will have plenty to take home or their trip, just like everyone else's trip are always FREE if they don't catch fish at Yeah Right Charters Freshwater Fishing Charters
Wednesday, 6-19-24
Back on High Rock lake again today chasing more crappies. The ones I found biting for Billy Myers and Daniel Myers from Lexington, NC, and Brian Myers from Clemmons, NC were holding about 10 feet deep over brush and structures around 20 feet deep. We stayed on top of them and was patient enough to get 70 nice crappies in the cooler today for an up coming fish fry. I want to thank God for guiding me to the right place today where the fish were biting. I can do all things through God who strengthens me!!!!
It was a great time with these guy's and looking forward to our next trip. Thanks gents for your trust and confidence in Barbara, Bubba, and I and for choosing Yeah Right Charters Freshwater Fishing for your trip today. Hope y'all had at least half as much fun today as I did, great times with you and your son's today.
Till next time, God Bless You All!!!.
