Bite Me Sportfishing is a well regarded Hatteras offshore boat, a 51 foot Carolina sportfisherman built locally in Manteo, run by Captain Jay Kavanagh with a mate, Garrett, who draws as much praise as the captain. It fishes full day Gulf Stream trips out of Hatteras Harbor, the port closest to the warm water, and the customer reviews that exist are consistently strong. What holds Bite Me in the lower half of the ranked field is not the fishing but the booking: it posts no public price and runs through the marina desk, and its standalone review count, while positive, is still modest.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 7.4 Bite Me is a strong choice and eighth in the port, a good boat with a real booking and transparency gap. The fishing case is strong: a quality, locally built Carolina hull, a capable captain, and a mate reviewers single out by name, fishing the shortest run to the Gulf Stream on the coast. The marks against it are concrete. It does not post a price anywhere, booking instead through Hatteras Harbor Marina, so you cannot compare its cost before you call, and its independent review trail, though recommend heavy, is thinner than the boats above it. For a Hatteras boat with a posted price and a deeper record, its marina neighbor Hatteras Blue is the pick; for the cheapest Hatteras offshore day, the Miss Hatteras head boat sells by the seat. Compare the field on the Outer Banks ranking.
The boat
The F/V Bite Me is a 51 foot Carolina sportfisherman built by Buddy Cannady in Manteo, the same builder behind several of the port’s best regarded hulls, on a Caterpillar turbo diesel cruising around 24 knots, with a generator and heat and air for comfort on a long day. It is a proper Gulf Stream boat, well kept by the accounts that exist. There are two gaps in the public record: the build year is not stated, and the passenger capacity is not posted on the site, though as a private offshore charter it fishes a small group. For a buyer comparing specifics across the port, that missing detail is a small frustration.
The fishing and what you target
Bite Me runs full day offshore trips year round from Hatteras, the closest point to the Gulf Stream north of Florida, so the run is short and the fishing time long. The troll targets yellowfin and blackfin tuna, mahi mahi, wahoo, and blue and white marlin and sailfish, with the billfish released under the boat’s federal HMS permit, and the winter giant bluefin run is the Hatteras specialty from roughly December into March. Tuna and billfish rules, including the year to year bluefin retention limits, come from NOAA Fisheries, so confirm the current numbers before a targeted trip.
Trips and prices
This is the boat’s weak spot. Bite Me does not post a public price on its own site, and it books through Hatteras Harbor Marina rather than its own storefront, so you ask for the current full day offshore rate when you reserve. Bait, ice, tackle, and the fishing license are provided, and the mate gratuity and fish cleaning are extra. The fishing may well be worth the rate, but with no posted number you cannot weigh it against the boats that publish theirs, which is why the value and transparency score is the lowest among the ranked boats. Our cost guide gives a sense of what a Gulf Stream day should run.
The crew
Captain Jay Kavanagh is a US Coast Guard licensed master who has fished widely, from Hatteras and Oregon Inlet to Ocean City, Maryland, and the reviews land squarely on him and on mate Garrett: a professional, courteous crew who know where to go and put anglers on fish. The sentiment is consistently positive across the platforms it appears on, with no recurring complaint. The honest limit is volume: the standalone review count is modest next to the busiest boats in the port, so the read is strong but on a thinner base. Note that a separate Bite Me operation in Hawaii shares the name, so filter the reviews to the Hatteras boat.
Booking and what to know
Book through Hatteras Harbor Marina or by phone, and ask for the full day offshore rate up front so there is no surprise. Hatteras Village is a long drive down NC 12, so factor the distance and the early start. Bring food, drinks, sunscreen, and a cooler; bait, ice, tackle, and the license are provided, and cleaning is handled at the marina.
How we scored it
Bite Me earns its 7.4 on a quality locally built boat, a capable captain, and a well liked mate, held down by a missing public price, a marina desk booking path, and a modest standalone review count. Captain and crew is its strongest factor; value and transparency is its weakest. See how we scored this boat and the Outer Banks ranking for the field.