Down East Guide Service.  Go With Someone You Know.  North Carolina | Costa Rica | Argentina | Belize
  
  Los Suenos Marina Costa Rica
                   

 

Capt. George Beckwith Jr.

B.S. Marine Biology

DownEastGuideService.com

info@DownEastGuideService.com

 

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Fall 2017

1907 Paulette Rd

Morehead City,NC

252 671 3474 

 Dragin Fly Logo 

IN THIS ISSUE
Australia...SUCCESS
North Carolina
Argentina 2018 Prpgrams
All things Costa Rica
Dragin Fly Hats Available
QUICK LINKS
Booking 2018 Season
Captain's Message: 
 
Our newsletter is getting out a little late to tell you about the great fishing this fall but it's not too late to get on the action.   With unseasonably warm water temps, good fall fishing should last through December.   The recent cold snap has really bunched things up and put the trout in the creeks and on the beach.  Barring any hard freezes, mixed bag fishing for stripers, trout and puppy drum could be good through the winter and will be excellent throughout 2018.

My hats off to Anna who did an amazing job planning our first trip to Australia.  She had all of the details covered and I thoroughly enjoyed traveling around Australia before and after our trip to the Great Barrier Reef... all but her driving on the left side of the road!  

This summer I had a great birthday trip to Argentina for duck and dove hunting but also a new dorado destination.  Check out what we have new in Argentina and sign up now for ducks in 2018. We have room for singles and pairs to add on to a trip I am hosting in July. 

I humbly thank you for a great 2017 season with our busiest year on record and more advance bookings than ever before. Thank you also for the interest in what we have going on and for the opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday season.     
 
Tight lines, calm seas and God Bless, 

Capt. George Beckwith Jr.
Australia was a  SUCCESS

We are building relationships and learning how to put together the details on trips to Australia with our first trip a great success.    See some of the pics and highlights of our trip posted among our  October fishing reports

September/October 2018 opportunities do exist, but reservations must be made now or you can join us on our return trip in the fall of 2019. Complete packages start at about 12K per person for this trip of a lifetime. Includes 5 full days fishing and 4 nights on the great barrier reef,  3 nights hotel in Carins and Cooktown, Cairns to Cooktown round trip flight, and in country transportation once you arrive in Cairns.
 
We caught 11 black marlin and saw a few more.  The marlin fishing is extreme, fishing for one big bite and pulling baits away from 200 pound "rats".   On this trip I gained a great appreciation and better understanding of heavy tackle marlin fishing "in the pursuit of giants". 

If you would like more details or are interested in signing up for the 2019 hosted trip let us know. We LOVE talking about this trip. We also spent some time exploring additional locations and can offer advice and help extending the experience. 
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Now Booking NC 2018 Peak Seasons

Roanoke River:   April 15-May 15

Sight Casting Cobias:  May

Tarpon: July and early August

Giant Red Drum: August/September

Lots of spots mixed bag:  specks, stripers and puppy drum:  Year Round! 



North Carolina Tarpon report from 2017, the best in a decade. 

Tarpon fishing is never easy and the low numbers of migrating fish making it to NC for the last several years have frustrated me to the point that I have given them little effort.   The summer of 2017 was an exception when a "fishable" number of tarpon arrived to the Neuse in late June.   Capt. Greg Voliva took advantage of the good showing and landed tarpon on nearly every one of his trips. Below are just a few of his pictures.  Hopefully these good numbers of tarpon will be a trend that continues in 2018.   If it doesn't work out for the tarpon the mixed bag fishing, especially red drum of all sizes, including the giants should be a red hot substitute.  Advance bookings for July/early August tarpon trips are recommended. 






   
Red Drum Fishing Recap

Red drum fishing was super consistent this year with double digit days starting in mid-August.  Salinity was relatively high allowing a large number of big drum to make it within sight of New Bern.  Capt. Greg often made the run up the river, catching them on corks, artificial lures and the fly while the meat heads kept bent rods in our customer's hands on the lower end of the river.   No matter how you like to catch them, the consistency of this fishery keeps folks coming back.  If you have not already made reservations for 2018, I strongly encourage you to contact us and get on the calendar. 


Down East Does North Carolina  Lodging and Corporate Groups. 

Let Down East Guide Service push the easy button and package accommodations for your Pamlico Sound fishing.   We offer a variety of lodging options perfect for your group up to 40 anglers and as small as one!  Reservations for multi-boat trips for summer/fall 2018 should be made now.  


  




 
Fall Fishing on Fire

A late, mild fall kept water temps in the 70's not far off the beach resulting in great false albacore fishing and some of the best light tackle king mackerel fishing in memory.   Bottom fishing for groupers is really good and full day trips are bringing back a "box full".   There are drum of all sizes along the beach and at the cape.  In the river, the puppy drum fishing is still really good.   Even with this recent cold snap, striped bass top water action remains hot and the speckled trout have started to bunch up.  Give us a ring to help put you there, fishing out of Morehead/Atlantic Beach, New Bern or Oriental. 




 

   
Argentina Wing Shooting, Fishing and More 
  
Please visit our website to view our 2018 Argentina Programs and Specials

No limit dove hunting year round with big discounts for large groups or club events. 
Pidgeon hunting can easily be combined with a dove hunt in Corodoba.  May, June and July are the months for duck hunting. Also available afternoon doves, perdiz and dorado.  Reservations for duck hunts in 2018 should be made now.

Ask also about our fund raising and auction trips for Costa Rica, North Carolina and Argentina.

Our 2018 Hosted trip dates are July 10-16. Please drop us an email of you would like more information. 
           
NEW for 2018

For the best golden dorado, plan on spending a few days on the mothership and wake up in a maze of wetlands each morning.   I had to check out this operation on my last trip down and highly recommend it for the serious fly fisherman or someone who wants to check this unique species off of their list.

In addition to the option of adding a couple days of doves, Mendoza Wine Tours, Buenos Aires City Tours and Tango Shows are a great way to extend your vacation and relax.
 





Silver King Lodge and Both Coast Packages

No matter how good the tarpon fishing may be in North Carolina, it can't hold a candle to what is going on in Costa Rica.  We recommend 3 days at the lodge for your best opportunity at double digits on 100 pound tarpon.   In addition to the tarpon fishing, you can get the best of both coasts by adding a couple days of billfish or maybe a roosterfish on the Pacific side of Costa Rica.  This report came in recently from a client at Silver King Lodge:

"Unbelievable morning, 12 for 15 before 10:30 am, Released 1500 pounds of tarpon before lunch" -Jeffrey C.  Nov. 6, 2017 


Costa Rica 2018

Although the Dragin Fly is booked for most of the winter months, we are working with some other great boats fishing out of Los Suenos Marina.   As owners of the Dragin Fly, we keep a pulse on the other legal charter boats that are doing it right and we will work to get you on the best boat available for your group.   Push the easy button and let us handle all of the details, including airport transfers, lodging/condos/hotels, tours and of course the fishing. 

 


Seamount Recap

We left them biting on the seamounts this year with several  of our last groups having double digit trips on conventional tackle after Capt. Jake Jordan beat them up on the fly for most of June and July.   In 24 days on the seamounts, Capt. Jake Jordan and his guests released 35 blue marlin of 71 bites, all on the fly rod.   They also tallied up 4 striped marlin and 9 sailfish releases, averaging 1.4 blue marlin on the fly releases per day.   Lots of folks have already booked their dates for next season, but we still  have some openings and we LOVE to catch them the way YOU want to catch them!  
Enjoy a few of Jake Jordan's Pictures Below.
 




Hopefully this good bite will continue as our seamount season winds down in November.   Check out the reports at   blog.draginflycostarica.com .   We are now taking reservations and have openings for May/June and August/September, the peak of our 2018 seamount season.

Looking to share a Costa Rica charter?

You don't need 3 or 4 of your buddies to make it down to Costa Rica, we have a group trip coming together and available for singles or pairs.   The package includes offshore fishing two days with the option to add inshore fishing as your 3rd full day in Costa Rica or your choice of several available tours.  Hotels, all transfers, fishing license and suggested crew tips are included for $2400  per person single occupancy or $1900 per person double occupancy (2 per room).
Jan. 27-31, 2018 and other dates may be available.

Trying Something New:

So historically one might say that Down East Guide Service is "resistant" to change. George doesn't text, we can barely keep our Facebook page updated, neither George or Anna understand Instagram and don't even start talking about twitter.  What we do we do REALLY well...but if it isn't broke...

Anyways...we have attempted something new. We have our first run of Dragin Fly Hats available for purchase for a VERY limited time. I have 72 hats in Morehead City ready for purchase and shipping. Anything left in December will be traveling with us down to Costa Rica. These are Richardson hats of the highest quality and we have 3 styles with two colors in each style. Shoot us an  email if you would like to order. Cost is $20 per hat plus shipping if any. Just in time for the Holidays. 




Some of the Down East Guides.  Go With Someone You Know.  

Capt. George Beckwith Jr.

Capt. Greg Voliva

Capt. Lee Parsons

Capt Jennings Rose

Capt. Daniel Roberts

Capt. Stewart Merritt

(Down East)
(Four Seasons) 
(Gottafly)
(North State)
(Tag Alone)
(Salt Water Venture)

Capt. Brian Harrington

 Capt. Ray Massengill

Capt. James Smith

Capt. Chris Kimery

Capt. Justin Haddock

Roy Zapata

(Extreme Measures)

(No Doubt) 

(Dragin Fly)

(Mountmaker)

(Haddock)

(Pink Panga)