What a surprise!

in the mail today......I picked up a package with Germany return address and recognized the name....Thomas Michael booked me for 5 days this past September in hopes of filming big bluefin on the fly and light tackle. We had horrible weather the first two days and opted to do albie fishing which we got some great footage on. Day 3 looked promising....We had doable weather but the fish were just not on the feed possibly due to the prior wind...Day 4 looked good and we got alot of WHACKS on the light tackle and eventually caught a 60-70lb fish but we were hoping to get some of the 150+lb fish on film....We hooked up but lost one of this class and have several more boils and grabs throughout the day but just could not GET IT DONE!..arrgh!...The final day was blown out and that was that....

Thomas had told me he was the owner of Steelfin flyreels which is no longer in production due to overhead costs of such high machining. He said he had enough parts to put together one for me and well today it showed up!!...What a work of art and engineering ingenuity!!...It feels so comfortable with the dropped forward seat. I'm surprised more offshore reel makers do not follow this trend.

Anyway a big thank you to Thomas...You guys are a-ok in my book!!

Holiday Greetings from Cape Cod!

Thanksgiving and has come and gone and we are now into Dec with Christmas baring down fast on us.

We had a wonderful thanksgiving here at the Smith Homestead in Wellfleet with friends and family. Smoked toro and Wellfleet Oysters sat out front in the appetizer department.

Beer and wine from far away places filled our glasses. Beautiful smells came from the kitchen and oven and we ate like KINGS!

I wish you all a happy and safe holiday season and look forward to fishing with you next year.

Jeff

FAT LADY

has sung......Ayup....We drug her around awhile but she has finally sung her tune...At least for my ride that is. We have been playing the last few weeks....Notice I say *playing*. Buds getting together and heading out in one of our rides. We have had alot of fun...No stress, hungry fish and COLD water temps. We all have survival suits and practice getting in them and have the confidence in each other that if something happens then we can rely on each other. I haven't done trips since the water temp fell below 55 degrees....

I was planning on fishing today but was stricken buy a nasty bug that my lovely daughter brought home from school. I fought it the best I could but it got the better of me the past 3 days until I finally succumed to a hot toddy and 3 blankets, a waste basket and a box of tissues....

I finally felt well enough to get outside today and plant some spring bulbs....Wasn't long before I could tell I was over doing it.

Now enough about me....Let's size up this season....

First off I would like to thank everyone who went out with me this year. I was really worried the buisness was not going to be there due to the economy but you all proved me wrong. We were able to match last years buisness which was my best season to date. Pre bookings were 60% down but when the fish showed and we got down to buisness the inquirys started flowing.

Fishing wise it was another great year. We caught alot of nice bass on fly and light tackle...Had incredible topwater bluefish action and had another epic year on the tuna. We did our first albie trip and caught 9 fish on our first outing...I look forward to doing more of these trips next year.

The fishing has changed somewhat over the last 5 years but you just have to change with it.

This season I had the pleasure of fishing with Thomas Michael of Steelfin Reels fame who now owns Global Anlger.net A european fishing magazine. They booked me for 4 days for bluefin on spin and fly for an article....The weather that week was the ABSOLUTE PITTS but we were able to get in some action and catch a few fish.

Bookings for 2010 have already begun and if you would like to reserve some dates for next season then shoot me an email and let me know your plans.

I intend to update this blog with winter activity with photos and musings so don't put it on the back burner just yet...;)

Jeff

Today was a gift......

Had a chance to fish with friends, Alan Hastebek, Josh Zacharias and Paul Higgins.....We had alot of tuna action and hooked several and landed one....I spent the whole day trying to get tight on the fly and just could not make it happen even if the fly got there dozens of times.....Had some fun with the dolphins and then headed to the barn........It was a beautiful day on the water...

Tuna Tuggin....

Had Scott Simard and his buddy George onboard today.....Tooled around and found a few pods, and got tight on this 67" fish. George fought it like a pro on the new Tuna Sniper from OTI and we had in boatside in 15 minutes. When I threw the poon the line went limp....I stuck the fish near the corner of the mouth and when the plug came back in the hook had been harpooned in half!....So now I got a green fish on the harpoon line and after 10 minutes of handling a green fish we get him to the boat....

Found some good schools of 50lb fish and doubled up on those. Great fun on the lighter St. Croix and Spheros outfits. Wind kicked up and we made a bee line back to the dock....

Looks like the wind is gonna blow 2morrow......

Oooh it sucks man

the weather that is......At least the old girl is getting a nice fresh water bath the past few days. It's dark and dreary and the heat is on. I can't help but wonder what the tuna are doing during this storm....Did they hunker down and chew deep? Did they gather themselves up and slide down the shipping lanes to less stormy and warmer waters? Or are they on a massive pig fest with bait spraying out of the water with grins from ear to ear knowing there are no boats trolling over them? Who knows...but I can't help but wonder.

Next week is shaping up. I am booked wed-sun...It would be great to get all 5 days in but somehow I doubt it do to the law of averages in the month of Oct. I am still frothing at the mouth on that 200lb tuna on the fly quest. I may still get my day in the bow yet!! There are many indicators that the season is winding down....I know some folks talk about the days getting shorter and colder but one of the things a fishing guide notices first is that his cell phone is not going off every 10 minutes. I still pick it up as much and flip it open to see if I have a missed call or two but the subconscious tells me that the season is nearing its end. I also notice my trips to the Goose Hummock Shop where I do most of my buisnes are infrequent where in season I generally am there at least twice a week picking up supplies....

Crap folks, 2009 is winding down.....It just seems like it got started........

Getting close.......

to the end of the season up here on Cape Cod.....The weather is what keeps us from getting out everyday. We are averaging two weather windows per week the past couple weeks. The next window appears to be wed-fri. I am trying to keep the ol girl fish ready as long as I can but do imagine that we will probably be finished by the end of the first week in Nov. By that time I will have a TON of fall work to do around the homestead as well as pull my traps and get the boat cleaned up and covered for the frickin winter that we all so hate around here. I had planned and worked at being in the Bahamas this winter managing a lodge but that all fell through so it looks like another winter is headed our way out here....

More than anything I would like to get in the bow one more time this season and try and stick a big bluefin on feathers.....We will see if that opportunity presents itself in the next few weeks....

OYSTERFESTIVAL in Wellfleet is this weekend and I think im gonna go down and see if I can find that mystery open keg behind the shucking stage...;)