INTERVIEW: OBX captain hunts for bluefin tuna on new ‘Wicked Tuna’ spinoff

The Outer Banks of North Carolina is one of the top vacation destinations on the East Coast. The series of beachside towns and barrier islands, including Nags Head, Buxton, Ocracoke Island and Roanoke Island, cater to both professional fishers and aspiring anglers. National Geographic Channel recently premiered Wicked Tuna: North vs. South, which examines the bluefin tuna trade off the coast of OBX. The reality series, a spinoff of the successful Wicked Tuna franchise, pits northern captains from Massachusetts against southern captains from the Outer Banks.

Reed Meredith, captain of the Wahoo out of Roanoke Island, is profiled on the show, and Hollywood Soapbox caught up with him during the “summer doldrums.”

“I am actually a third-generation fisherman, so it’s been handed down throughout the men in my family,” Meredith said. “I am primarily a commercial fisherman. I do year-round commercial for various species, and the tuna’s a big part of what we do, which occupy our winter months from December all the way through March and April some years.”

Roughly six years ago a “biomass” of tuna stationed itself off the Carolina coast, and Meredith reported “unbelievable numbers” have been caught ever since. This has made paydays lucrative and competition fierce.

“It’s real competitive. There’s a fleet of anywhere from 15 to 35 boats daily fishing out here, and unless it’s absolute horrible weather, then it’s just the core six or eight of us.”

When the southern captains had to fend off the northern captains, who came to warmer waters after a difficult season in their usual Massachusetts fishing grounds, the boats had almost daily run-ins on the water.

“That made it extremely competitive because now we’re not only working with our local fleet; now we’ve got a fleet from the Northeast coming in and trying to chisel away at our little quota that we have for the Carolinas,” he said. “It definitely gave us a lot of extra drive.”

On the Wahoo, Meredith works with his brother. When they pull in a tuna, there’s quite a fight on their hands. The fish can weigh from 200 to 600 pounds. “If it’s on a rod and reel, which is our primary method of fishing for them, the reel absolutely starts screaming. You are not going to mistake it.”

Meredith called the bluefin tuna probably the strongest fish in the ocean to catch. The boats need to make sure the fish measures at least 73 inches, and their special winter season is closed after 23 metric tons have been pulled in. “Every single one of them has their own attitude, and it is truly a man vs. beast fight each and every one of them,” he said. “Last year, I want to say the season stretched out to maybe 30-35 days. It definitely gets caught up pretty quick.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Wicked Tuna: North vs. South airs on National Geographic 10 p.m. Sundays.