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The coast of North Carolina,

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 a chain of sandy, sunbathed islands

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 stretching far out in the blue Atlantic.

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These are the storied outer banks.

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A legend haunted land of ceaseless surf,

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and sand,

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and sky.

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The land of flying [?] and shining tides.

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[music]

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An unspoiled land

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 where wild fowl rendezvous in tidal

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 marshes and shorebirds

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 dart along the head of the seafoam and
 the wash.

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 Where the bones of long lost ships

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 still [?] on the shifting sands.

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 Where wild ponies, whose ancestors

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 swam ashore from some long forgotten

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 shipwreck, still roam the ancient

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 dunes of Ocracoke.

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But more than anything else, 

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coastal North Carolina is a land of

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 fish and fisherman.

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[music]

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Between the coastal islands and the North
 Carolina

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 mainland lie broad sounds

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 and the mouths of vast tidal rivers.

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 Thousands of square miles of water

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 and fish.

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 Up the rivers, and in the hundreds of
 creeks

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 and canals that drain the eastern North
 Carolina lowlands,

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anglers find unspoiled fishing for

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 freshwater species: bluegills,

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 croppies, white perch, pickerel,

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 and fabulous large mouth bass.

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Eastern North Carolina offers some of the
 best

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 large mouth bass fishing in America.

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Light tackle produces heart stopping

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 aerial fireworks on the coast of North
 Carolina.

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[music]

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The brackish coastal sounds and rivers
 are

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 the spawning and nursery grounds for
 dozens of

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 species of saltwater game fish.

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Among the most important and interesting of
 these

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 are the shad and the striped bass.

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 Shad and striped bass,

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 or rock fish as they're called in
 North Carolina,

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 run far up the rivers to

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 spawn in freshwater.

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Young striped bass, and many older ones too,

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remain in the sounds and lower
 reaches of the river

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throughout the year, making trolling for

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 striped bass, a year round angling

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 sport in North Carolina.

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[music]

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Many saltwater species use the protected

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 sounds as nursery areas where they

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 live through the delicate early stages
 of their lives.

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Adult fish also move through the surf and
 inlets

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 to feed in the sounds

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in spring, summer, and early fall.

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 This makes the sounds and inland
 waterways behind

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 the barrier islands a paradise

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 for the small boat fisherman. 

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Until a few years ago, the great barrier
 islands

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 that form the North Carolina coast were
 isolated

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but new highways, bridges,

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 and ferries now wisk visiting anglers

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 to all about a few of the more remote
 islands.

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Accommodations for anglers and
 vacationers are

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 plentiful and modern.

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And one of the first things you'll see is
 fishermen.

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Fishermen of all ages.

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[music]

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More than two hundred miles of world

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 famous surf fishing beaches beckon surf

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 casters to the North Carolina coast.

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Every model of the North Carolina surf is
 open

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 to fishing, from Kitty Hawk to Calabash.

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The surf is the kingdom of giant channel bass.

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Is periodically host

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 to untold thousands of marauding

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 bluefish, flounders,

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 spotted weak fish or speckled trout, and

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 many other species.

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Surf anglers from every state roam the
 beaches.

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Some use jeeps or specially equipped
 beach buggies.

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Surf anglers prefer artificial lures

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 for blue fish and channel bass

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when the water is clear. Under other
 conditions,

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 natural baits are used.

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[music]

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Strike.

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A channel bass.

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[music]

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Finally, the great fish is brought to
 the [?].

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Every surf angler yearns for a whopper channel bass

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 and many get

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 their wish on the coast of North
 Carolina.

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Channel bass are also taken from boats
 still

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 fishing or trolling huge spoons in the
 inlets

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 between the barrier islands.

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Indeed, the April channel bass run kicks
 off

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 the boat fishing season for all species
 along the coast.

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The channel bass are joined in the spring
 by great

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 schools of blue fish that literally
 materialize

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 out of the ocean depths.

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When the blues congregate in the inlets
 in the ocean

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 just off shore, charter and private
 cruisers,

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 and outboarders, lose no time getting to

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 the fishing grounds. 

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And catch them they do.

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Frequently when the school of bluefish hit the inlets

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giant blues are around too, a bit farther off
 shore.

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[music]

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Wow. Sixteen pounds of blue dynamite.

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Another way to fish on the North Carolina
 coast

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 is from the more than two dozen fishing
 piers

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 that draw thousands of anglers each year.

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 When the spectacular [?] hit the piers,

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anglers frequently catch fish just

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 as fast as they can cast.

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[music]

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With a charter boat, and offshore fishing
 season

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 on, the North Carolina coast offers a wide

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 choice of boats and places to fish.

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An interesting type of deep sea fishing
 excursion

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 is a bottom fishing trip aboard one of
 the big head boats.

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 Once on the fishing grounds, with the
 engine

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 cut off and the boat drifting,

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the anglers drop their baited hooks
 all the way

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to the bottom of the ocean.

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Action is not long coming.

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[music]

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Yes, sir.

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Not bad days fishing, not bad at all.

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At the front door to North Carolina's
 coastal fishing paradise

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flows the Gulf Stream,

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a mighty river in the sea that sweeps up
 from

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 the tropics to bring hordes of
 oceanic game fish

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 within easy reach of the trolling fleets

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 based in coastal harbors.

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Gulf Stream trolling trips off North
 Carolina

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 are truly unforgettable adventures.

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Charter boats generally carry from four
 to

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 six anglers plus an experienced

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 captain and a mate, both

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 thoroughly familiar with the ways of the
 sea

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 and the ways of fish.

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The boats are equipped with highly
 specialized navigational gear,

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a wide assortment of fishing tackle

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and lures, as well as boat riggers

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 for big game fishing.

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First timers quickly learn how to use
 Gulf Stream trolling tackle.

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When the quarry is sailfish, white marlin,
 and blue marlin, 

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the bait is usually squid

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 or a whole fish, like this Spanish
 mackerel.

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And the captain of a North Carolina
 charter boat prepares

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 a billfish bait with the skill of a
 surgeon.

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Billfish baits are trolled from the
 outriggers,

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 one on each side of the boat.

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[music]

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Line from the reel is clipped in a
 clothespin device

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 on the outrigger line. When a billfish
 strikes,

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the impact will snap the line out of the

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 clothespin, allowing the bait to float
 dead in the water.

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[music]

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As the boat moves ahead at trolling speed,

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 the billfish baits skip along the
 surface,

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 jumping from wave to wave, imitating
 flying fish -

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a favorite food of Gulf Stream big gamesters.

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Once the billfish baits are in place

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 it is customary to rig lighter outfits

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 called "flat lines" with

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 artificial baits and troll these baits
 directly astern.

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Their purpose is to catch the smaller
 species

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 that inhabit the Gulf Stream in
 incredible profusion.

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Action is almost immediate. Strike

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 on one of the flat lines!

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[music]

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It's a dolphin.

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Dolphin, painted pride of the Gulf Stream.

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[music]

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An angler's first dolphin, and every
 dolphin,

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 is truly a triumph to remember,

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but there's no time for contemplation
 now.

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All up and down the Gulf Stream off North
 Carolina

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more fish are waiting.

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Let's look in on some other fishermen.

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 An oceanic bonita

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and a little tuna, sometimes called the false
 albacore.

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The scrappy Atlantic bonita and

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 the highly prized king mackerel.

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 In the Gulf Stream's grab bag

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you never know what oceanic gamester
 will strike next.

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These are only a few of the thirty-four principal

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 varieties of great game fish caught

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 on trolled artificial lures in the Gulf

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 Stream off the North Carolina coast.

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Meanwhile, the billfish baits are still
 skipping

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 from the outriggers and the captain's

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 keen eyes search for the first sign of a
 sailfish,

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 a white or a blue marlin.

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He cited a blue marlin, a big one.

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 Coming up fast behind the port outrigger bait.

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He's got it! He's on!

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Grace, gameness, and power.

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The world's greatest game fish.

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[music]

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For every marlin boated another
marlin is lost,

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but this one is yielding.

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[music]

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Unless the marlin or sailfish is wanted

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 for mounting or for scientific study,

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 it should be released to fight again
 another day.

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But in any case, the marlin flag can

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 be hoisted on the outrigger, a signal of

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 angling triumph for all to see.

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Another memorable moment among many

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 in the North Carolina coastal empire

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 of sand and sea and fish.

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[music]