Inside Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks

Track the journey of local bluefin tuna fishermen as they cross the waters off the Outer Banks in this National Geographic reality tv series. This guide gives visitors an inside look at the captains and crews, plus a few of the OBX places they like best.

Featured on Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks

Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks Season 8 was one of the most dangerous and thrilling season of Wicked Tuna yet. For the first time in the show’s run, every vessel in the fleet came from the South. Returning fan favorites included Captain Greg Mayer of the Fishing Frenzy and Nick Gowitzka of the Little Shell, both looking to stand out without Northern rivals in the mix. Captain Zack Shackleton of the Rasta Rocket entered as an underdog, aiming to show that his smaller boat could still be the mightiest on the water.

Captain Bobby Earl also returned, this time aboard a brand-new Reel E’ Bugging after a devastating winter fire destroyed his former boat and left his season uncertain. Captain Adam Price of the Offshore Outlaw and Captain Britton Shackelford of the Doghouse came back after brief breaks from the series, raising the stakes for the competition. New to the lineup was Captain Jimmie Horning of the Hog Wild, the fleet’s youngest captain at just 22 years old. Still, his age should not fool anyone: Horning has run his own vessel for more than five years and is not easily intimidated by seasoned fishermen.

Is Season 9 of Wicked Tuna Outer Banks happening?

Yes. Wicked Tuna has been renewed for a season 9 on National Geographic Channel. A release date and additional details are still to come.

Meet the Captains & Crew

Fishin' Frenzy

The Fishin’ Frenzy carries a reputation as North Carolina’s top-earning boat, with four-time champion Captain Greg Mayer at the helm. Last season, Mayer had to prove himself against elite competitors, and now the Frenzy team faces fellow Southern boats along with a global pandemic as they try to finish on top again.

Mayer will not have an easy path this year. The other boats understand the Southern waters well, and many of their crews grew up fishing there. To gain an advantage, Captain Mayer and his crew will need to draw on their deep knowledge of the Atlantic seaboard.

Greg Mayer, Captain

Greg Mayer has spent nearly 30 years fishing the Atlantic seaboard, working waters from Maine down to Mexico and the Bahamas and catching species from fluke to highly prized bluefin tuna. Mayer is originally from New Jersey, relocated to the Outer Banks in 1991, and took over as captain of the Fishin’ Frenzy in 1999. His life’s work has been built around the goal of owning his own boat and making his living as a full-time fisherman.

Fishing is Mayer’s sole income, which means the need to perform is always present. Although he came from the North, Mayer identifies as a Southerner and has earned a place among the top boats in the fleet. He holds a Bachelor of Science in biology from Bates College, and outside commercial fishing, he operates a successful charter business from Oregon Inlet.

Billon Hollingsworth, First Mate

Billon Hollingsworth is from Wanchese, North Carolina, where he was born and raised. Boats and fishing are part of his family history: his ancestors came to Wanchese and settled there after a shipwreck hundreds of years ago. He landed his first commercial fishing job immediately after high school, and after a single trip, he was hooked. He has made fishing his livelihood ever since.

Jason Futch, Mate

Jason Futch grew up in Florida and has called the Outer Banks home for more than 25 years. He learned to fish with his father and began commercial fishing soon after moving to the Outer Banks. Futch and Mayer have known each other for almost 20 years. During bluefin season, Futch works as a mate, and in the offseason, he helps Mayer with charter trips. Away from the water, Futch is a husband and father to a teenage son, and he also runs a successful landscaping and carpentry business.

Doghouse

Captain Britton Shackelford runs the Doghouse, a business he and his wife have operated since 1999. The present-day Doghouse is the third boat to carry that name and has been fishing the Outer Banks since 2004. Measuring 61’, the custom-made Carolina boat was built by Shackelford and his wife as a true labor of love.

Following a short hiatus, Shackelford is prepared to step back into the tuna industry and show he can still compete with the Southern titans, even after time away from the water.

Britton Shackelford, Captain

Captain Britton Shack Shackelford comes from a fishing lineage that runs deep. His family has worked in commercial fishing since 1670, leading many locals to say salt water is in his blood. Born and raised in Gloucester, Virginia, Shackelford is a proud Southerner who centers faith and family, values that have helped make him one of the Outer Banks’ most committed fishermen. When he is not chasing bluefin, Shackelford operates a charter business in Wanchese, North Carolina, where he enjoys helping others discover their own love of fishing. He is also an avid outdoorsman and runs a duck hunting charter business.

Lewis "Bo" Everett Davenport III, Mate

Bo Davenport is a North Carolina native, born in Edenton, NC, and now living in Manteo, NC. Outside fishing, Bo likes deer hunting, spending time with his dog Hoot, and building assorted things. As a teenager, he crabbed during the summers and later worked construction to earn a living. After charter fishing with Britton last summer and making a strong impression, he earned his first full-time bluefin fishing season.

Catlin Peele, Mate

Catlin Peele was born and raised on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks. He has been fishing for as long as he can remember and considers it his deepest passion. For a time, Catlin considered another path and spent a year in culinary school before returning to fishing. In his free time, he and his wife enjoy traveling and being with their three labs, two cats and two horses. Catlin is also an avid surfer and hunter.

Rasta Rocket

The Rasta Rocket, a 28’ 2000 Contender, might first look like a tiny boat crewed by kids. Some might question whether it is seaworthy at all, and 20-something Captain Zack Shackleton and his mates are among the youngest fishermen in the fleet. But this scrappy crew should not be underestimated: they have proven they can catch bluefin tuna, and they do not quit easily.

While larger boats laugh them off, the Rasta Rocket crew has shown it can keep up with vessels twice its speed and size, finishing in the middle of the pack last year. This season brings some of the Atlantic’s toughest hazards, and Shackleton may be forced to make difficult calls to keep his smaller vessel and crew safe.

Zack Shackleton, Captain

Zack Shackleton is one of the more unusual personalities in the Outer Banks. He began fishing at 13 and earned his captain’s license on his 18th birthday. Shackleton and first mate Daniel Blanks have pursued bluefin together for the past four years. Owning a boat was always Shackleton’s dream, and he and Blanks made it happen by taking out a loan and buying the Rasta Rocket. As a full-time fisherman, Shackleton fishes year-round from the Rasta Rocket, even sleeping on deck in bean-bag chairs when an overnight trip is needed.

Daniel Blanks, First Mate

Daniel Blanks is Shackleton’s closest friend and co-owner of the Rasta Rocket. Although they met only six years ago, they operate like brothers and share responsibility for the boat. Blanks has worked in commercial fishing since he was 20 years old and prefers that to running charters, which he feels does not suit his social style. He is eager to go up against the fleet’s bigger boats, but he also has a young baby at home and needs the work to support his family.

Shane Britt, Deck Hand

Known by the nickname The Muscle, Shane Britt helps haul large tuna aboard when the boat’s lean co-owners have trouble getting fish onto the deck. On the Rasta Rocket, Britt plays the role of both mate and caretaker, helping Shackleton and Blanks with whatever is needed during a trip. He comes from a multigenerational fishing family and is a seasoned fisherman who runs charters on his own boat in the offseason. With a wife and three young children depending on him, he is ready to do whatever it takes to help the team succeed.

Reel E Bugging

Captain Bobby Earl’s loud, larger-than-life personality may blend in back in his native New York, but in North Carolina, he is hard to miss. When Reel E Bugging is fishing, the fleet knows it, because Earl does not hold back from trash talk, boasting, or working hard. His former Wall Street career prepared him well for the pressure and high stakes of earning a living at sea. Earl is far from Queens, but the Outer Banks still feels like home to him.

During the winter off-season, the original Reel E Bugging caught fire, forcing Earl and his partner to abandon the boat as it burned. Now Earl has returned with a new vessel that is larger and improved, and his crew is ready to begin strong after last year’s disappointing finish.

Robert “Bobby” Earl, Captain

Bobby Earl was raised in Queens, New York, and built a steady Wall Street career before the market crashed in 2008. After a short period working as an exterminator, Bobby Bedbugs chose to turn his passion for fishing into his profession. Despite not being from the South, Earl brings extensive experience: more than 20 years of recreational fishing, 12 years of commercial fishing, and nine years of spending every winter fishing in the Outer Banks. He likes the challenge of rod and reel fishing and, unlike many Southern captains, does not rely on a greenstick to catch bluefin.

Drew Cooper, First Mate

Drew Cooper was born in Philadelphia and has commercially fished for bluefin for the past six years, including the last four with Earl. Cooper brings a fun-loving attitude to the boat. In winter, he fishes for bluefin; during the rest of the year, he runs a business repairing scoreboards for college and professional sports teams. His engineering background is valuable offshore because his ability to fix nearly anything helps the crew keep fishing when others might need to head in for repairs.

Brian Olszyk, Mate

Brian Olszyk has been fishing since he was 3 years old. After graduating high school, he served four years in the Coast Guard and has pursued bluefin since 2006. On Reel E Bugging, Olszyk provides the younger muscle and is responsible for getting big fish onto the deck. At home, he has a wife of 15 years, plus a daughter and a son.

Little Shell

The Little Shell is a 42’ Provincial commercial vessel captained by Nick Gowitzka, who once worked as first mate on Captain Greg Mayer’s Fishin’ Frenzy. Having fished with Mayer, Gowitzka understands what it takes to become the top boat in the fleet, and he is set on climbing to the top of the leaderboard this season.

The Little Shell is not the fleet’s largest boat, nor its smallest, but it has the most motivated crew. Gowitzka and his mates all have young families at home, and they are focused on earning strong paychecks.

Nick Gowitzka, Captain

Nick Gowitzka is a true Southern boy with an outsized personality. Born and raised in North Carolina, Gowitzka is known for being rowdy, energetic, and a wild child of the Outer Banks. He comes from a fishing family and moved straight from high school into harbor work, starting as a deckhand on commercial fishing boats. His work ethic and upbeat attitude helped him advance to first mate, and now, as captain of his own vessel, he wants to build his own reputation. When he is not fishing, Gowitzka spends time with his daughter and hunts local game.

Cliff Spencer, First Mate

Cliff Spencer and Gowitzka have been friends since childhood, and the two have fished together since they were 5 years old. Their families share a fishing connection as well: Spencer’s father and Gowitzka’s father fished together, and Gowitzka credits Spencer’s family with introducing him to offshore fishing. Spencer has spent his whole working life as a full-time fisherman. When off the water, he enjoys being outdoors with his wife and three sons.

Brandan Brickhouse, Mate

Brandan Brickhouse grew up just outside the Outer Banks and met Gowitzka after high school. Although Brickhouse is still newer to commercial bluefin tuna fishing, he is an experienced mechanic who understands the Little Shell thoroughly. In the offseason, he also takes the helm while fishing for groundfish. Brickhouse works full-time as a fisherman to help support his daughter.