Saturday, July 26, 2008

90210 Miami




Yesterday I had Dr. Sean Simon onboard. Sean is a plastic surgeon who has his own practice in Miami, FL. We had a full day planned of light tackle bass and blues...He met me at the dock at 5;30 am to a downpour....I still wanted to get out since I had hoped to do some unobstructed drifts before the circus showed up. After a wet ride to the grounds we promptly put two keepers in the boat and several bluefish.....As the tide slacked the fishing died and the doggies showed up which ate our plastics with abandon. Waiting on the turn we started talking about boob jobs, and debating real vs plastic. I've been fortunate to sample both so have a pretty biased opinion.. At noon my buddy Scott Simard called and was on the hunt for tuna that day with a couple of his friends. He said they were hooked up and he was only a mile from us so we opted to make a short run....Fish were not breaking but pushing or breezing as usual. After a few attempts to get a quiet, stealthy shot we get the perfect opportunity and Sean hooks up on a fantastic surface strike....50 minutes later, and alot of coaching to my angler we have a super fat 58" fish make a swing within gaff shot and I took it and get it right in the jaw. My guy said the happiest moment in his life is when he saw me stick that fish. I contemplate the next moment and want to get the fish on deck and as I heave ho I stumble and the fish comes over the rail and lands flat on me It went from a ho hum day to one Sean will remember for the rest of his life....A big thanks to Scott for calling us in....Scott and I have worked pretty well together this season staying on these fish. You cannot be everywhere at once and finding someone to network with is a great thing to have when your on the tuna hunt! Pics are on Seans camera and will be up later..Back at it Monday..The past few weeks have been pretty ho hum as I find myself in a daily grind to put folks on fish. As someone who fishes as much as I do I have high expectations every trip and after a week or more of crap weather, hammered spots and poor to avg fishing and the like it is soooooo nice to put a fish like this on the deck for someone so new to the game....Kinda rejuvinates me for August too.. So far all of our tuna *13* have been on the tail end of bass trips.....Pretty lucky for those who have been onboard....Hope the karma can continue for all the tuna trips I have booked coming up shortly!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Low Front and collision make for a weird morning

Today had all the ingredients for a great morning, grey and overcast, a bit cooler with a light NE wind. Problem was surface temp was 10 degrees cooler than yesterday and the big bluefish we have been on when bye bye. We opted to run to the race area and try for bass and were greeted by many boats jigging wire....I saw several tight rods but they all seemed like rat blues. We struggled as well on the LT but nailed a nice 22lb bass on a RONZ and a few shorts and a few bluefish thrown in....We marked plenty of fish but just could not get them to chew.
The highlight of the morning was watching a 40' Riviera run over a group of folks in a small downeaster with an outboard.....The coasties escorted both back to Pamet where they tied up the dock for awhile...While I waited to dock I asked for a courtesy check to make sure I was all in order and was glad to hear I was....
Talked to the folks in the downeaster and they said they boat just ran them over while they were drifting....Scary stuff...Luckily nobody was hurt...

Monday, July 21, 2008

Let's rethink that halftime post...

After a few conversations with close friends of mine I have rethought my last post and apologize to anybody I might have offended. It is a rough time of year for a light tackle/fly captain trying to fish the waters I do once the commercial season starts. I have had to rethink my ways and places I fish to get away from the mayhem but that's just the way it is and probably always will be...I don't own the ocean anymore than anyone else and sometimes get caught up in the hype...Call it a midsummer breakdown or whatever but I had it this past week with every wireline boat in CCB pulling his outriggers over me. Out of state boats with coolers stacked on deck giving up the finger when asked to please give us some leeway when making a drift over the edge. I will say this....Commercial bass should be left to the residents of the state and nobody else....That in itself would make my job alot easier this time of year!...So once again...apologies to those, especially anyone local who I might have offended that have been doing this longer than I have lived in MA.
The bluefishing has been nothing short of world class if you could put bluefish in that category.....We have had topwater bites for hours at a time away from the crowds. Most anglers want bass but I have convinced a few that this fishery is quite a thrill on the fly and light tackle. Bass fishing picked up strong the past two days and we will see where it goes from here....Tuna are still in their funk but are continually being caught here and there if you happen to be in the right place at the right time....
Till next tide.....