A Carolina Coast Fishing Icon Passes….Captain Robbie Wolve

The Carolina fishing community lost one of its own with the passing of longtime charter fisherman Captain Robbie Wolfe, who died peacefully at his Wilmington home on August 31, 2026. He was 66 years old.

For fishermen along the southeastern North Carolina coast, Captain Robbie was a familiar name. He spent more than 30 years in commercial, sport and charter fishing and made his living doing what he loved most: putting people on fish and sharing the waters he had known for most of his life.

Born in Morehead City and raised in Wilmington, Robbie grew up along the North Carolina coast. Over the years, that experience developed into the kind of knowledge that can’t be learned from a chart or a computer screen. He knew the water, the weather and the fish, and generations of fishermen came to respect that knowledge.

Through his family-owned Whipsaw Fishing Charters, Robbie took fishermen offshore and inshore from the Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach and Topsail Island areas. His trips targeted everything from Spanish and king mackerel to mahi, grouper, black sea bass and sailfish.

But there was another side of Captain Robbie that deserves to be remembered.

He enjoyed taking families fishing, particularly children. For Robbie, a successful charter wasn’t simply about how many fish ended up in the cooler. It was also about introducing someone to fishing and watching a youngster catch a fish they might remember for the rest of their life.

Those of us who have spent much of our lives around the Carolina coast understand that captains like Robbie become part of the character of our fishing community. Their knowledge is accumulated over thousands of days on the water, changing weather, rough seas, great catches and plenty of days when the fish make you work for every bite.

Robbie leaves behind his wife, Teresa, twin daughters Nicole and Kristina, four grandchildren, his brother Chris, and countless friends and fishermen whose lives crossed his during his many years on the water.

His obituary perhaps describes him best with five simple words:

Husband. Daddy. Granddaddy. Fisherman. Legend.

The boats will continue leaving the inlet. Fishermen will continue chasing kings, mahi and sailfish along the Carolina coast. But there will be one less familiar captain among them.

Thanks for making a far better fisherman as you did many of us.

Fair winds and following seas, Captain Robbie Wolfe. You will be missed.