Getting your ass kicked hurts...be a man and get back up

What can I say.....when you set out to battle huge fish on light tackle there is an inherent risk of failure....

........Amtrak is ridiculous. Not one train has left for RI on time in my entire experience with the company..........mind you after my return trip they are still ten fold better then a bus (and 4 times the price)..... Anyway finally in Newport at Mr. Evans new joint it was a flurry of prep work and then a few short hours sleep. Groggy but excited we woke up before the alarm ever went off. Taylor Brown, amped from the year before was waiting home cooked food in one hand and oatmeal stout in the other.....behind him, the majestic McKee Craft with its glimmering new tuna tower.....only issue was this was a 20' boat and looked like it was gonna flip soon as she hit the water...too late for second guesses we were off.

The hour ride to Ssandwich on the canal was uneventful...we arrived before anyone else, a great sign that we wouldn't be harassed by googans all day, and had the boat ready to go before 6. And so we went....this was my first time north of the canal and i must say it is quite a beautiful place to watch the sunrise. With blue hazy skies over Boston , sunrise reflecting off the northern cape sand bluffs, and shimmering Orange water ahead we bore full steam north east to what was becoming a promising day.

We had considered the possibility of running into fish prior to our destination....for better or worse we saw nothing....that is till we could see the color of Provincetown's phallic tower. Within moments we the first on many solo breaking fish we would see that day. At this point, excitable we chased every rise and succeeded no more then killing a quarter tank of gas.

Wise or desperate from frustration we moved north towards the furthest tip of the infamous sand bar that is Cape Cod. Here, amidst rips that plunge from 80 to 200 feet deep within a mile of shore saw our first sign of stable life, life that wouldn't flee before we were even approaching. Despite the improved signs we were still scratching our heads in dismay. And so began the blind casting. Sitting like ducks in a lake, nothing but the occasional rip line to disturb the boat we nonchalantly skipped our sea pups across the surface. of course just as we all neared a point of total ambiguous casting perhaps the largest fish of that feigned a trout sip but 15 feet from the boat of my half hearted retrieve. This may sound like a peaceful event, and I'm sure in the fishes mind it was. however, as a human, and not an exceedingly large one, when something twice your size...in the vicinity of 300lbs per say, rises to the surface within a hop and skip from your boat....well....its kinds of like expecting someone locked in a cage with a gorilla to find any sort of movement or lack there of relaxing. But i digress....pictures, if i had one would not due this scene justice. In disbelief we watched as her golden silver side and brilliant blue back tipped with yellow sabers rose gracefully behind the lure only to go Baja roosterfish and turn away nearly blinding me with a flash signaling her departure. Again....we are aimlessly drifting at this point.

moments later one committed mass murder on Taylor's spook.

Any time you hook a fish like this the first moments go by so fast its hard to say what really happened. Initially when Taylor hooked up it acted odd, as if it was already being defeated. Then, if only for a moment the rod went slack....we had lost her.....or so we thought. Before Taylor could even mumble "FU!!!!" his rod arched right back over and began dumping line at a scary rate. Whatever had been going on before we now tied up with a very large fish.

to be continued...

Game Plan

For those fortunate and curious fools who consider following in my wake....

Lucky you for finding my blog in its youth where more guts will be spilled then likely in later years....none the less, for the reasons stated in the first post and in particular the nature of the fishery I will be discussing....well its all at your own risk my hands are clean.

That said:

Leaving tonight, 7:30pm from Penn Station. Mr. Evans is due to pick me up at the Kingston station just before 11. Dash back to Newport for a meager 2-3 hours shut eye then its off to Sandwitch to meet up with the infamous Taylor Brown......ETA tuna grounds 6am

The plug arsenal includes more back up then selection. Word has it that the fish have become more finicky with high pressure the last couple days. This means that in addition to the Tatoo sea pups we will be bringing slugo's, pt jude tins' and yo zuri swimmers amoung other things.

With terminal gear repetition is again king....Bluefin, never mind Bluefin over 100lbs, have a nasty reputation for destroying tackle....especially when we choose to go slightly undergunned with rods like the Gloomis Buccara series and the smaller, though capable VS 150 series. As for line its all braid all day....reels being filled with 15-30lb fireline or 50lb sufix. Leaders 50-80 Seaguar flourocarbon will all be directly tied to the braid, kiss priciple all day.

Once we hit the grounds its all about keeping your eyes peeled and being ready to go. Even when things are crazy shots are quick and if your not ready the fish will have moved well before you even cast.

Its going to be a long couple days...wouldn't want to spend them any other way.

The plague

soar throats suck.....

not really concerned since no way i will let myself be shore bound but never good to head out for time at sea coughing up a lung

may be getting two days hunting in :)

Getting Global

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Bluefining this weekend

It is official....Craig from Van Staal is picking me up at eight thrity in New London, CT and then we bee line north to prep for a full day of tuna fishing with sharpies Dylan and Bob Taylor. EPIC.

Canyons and Beyond

Well the season continues.

Just recieved word from a friend who made the run past Block Canyon, 3 Yellowfin, a ton of large Mahi (couple over 30lbs!!!) and some Skipjack.....

I love NE!!!!

Report and some old scribbles

Coastwide report for all of the North East....c

GET THE HELL OUT AND FISH!!!!

Seriously the last week has had word of multiple 40lb bass, huge tuna inshore, and sharks out the rear end coming in from NJ to Cape Cod...Spring is the new fall migration dont miss it!!!

That said, here is the first of an ever growing number of editorials I have written on fishing. this one was written for the forum part of the SWE website...


EDDIES
I will likely write a more in depth atricle about this in the future but i have 15 minutes to kill till lunch and since i cant fish i might as well help the loyal proponents of SWEthat said there are certain things we all know about stripers but most never really know why. Surflines, rips, breachways, etc are all supposedly great striper spots due to the presence of current.However, what most people dont realize, and this is something i have learned growing up fishing some of the most current riddled waters in the country, is that it is not so much the current....but the nearby abscence of current in an otherwise current riddled area that truely draws stripers and in particular large ones. Its been said before but again, think of trout. The same holes, bends, eddies, and seams in our rivers are what a good surf angler looks for on the coast line. hell even a good boat angler is looking for the same thrings.Learn to recognize these spots....even better learn to recognize where two or three of these characteristics coexist and you will have some prime spots to carry you through out the season.learn to recognize how the situation changes during different times of tide, and different moon periods.learn to understand how the wind will effect both the current and your cast with its proceeding presentation of tasty morsels.perhaps most importantly this will allude to why, for aparently no reason, a guy only a few feet away will often clobber fish whilst you go without a touch. eventually this will allow you to find those magic rocks and magic casting angles that, when fishing areas with lots of current, will make the difference between great fishing and a skunking....trust me it makes a massive difference....when i get a chance i will post a pic of my budy greg and a 42 lber he caught the other day because he stood where i told him and casted where i told....repreatedly...despite a near skunking for 10 guys on each side of him.

Day 1

I make no promises.......

That is the only rule; the nature of who I am, what I do, and what I discuss simply require that you never take me at word.

It is not that lie...least if do it is without cruel intentions. Simply put this blog...now only in its infancy... will reflect all that I have experienced and will come to experience as I ply the tidal seas, ever searching for the satisfaction i know to unobtainable. With every measure of truth will come vagueness and ambiguity. Anything less would be a disservice to you.