TUNA TRIP
September 14, 2007
Once again I had the opportunity to have on board
RELENTLESS long time customer John Niemera from
New Milford, CT for a combination trip for tuna and groundfish.
Joining John were family and friends, some who came up from the
Tampa, Florida area to try their luck at landing a school tuna
fish. Our mate for the day was Captain Curt and after a quick
safety brief we departed on time at 5:00 AM for our long ride
of an hour and fifteen minutes to the grounds. We ran across
Cape Cod Bay and were entertained by a nice sunrise and arrived
to find good signs of bait and put ot our three line spread of
squid bars working down the backside of Cape Cod.
After 15 minutes of trolling in an easterly direction
we were came across large groups of whales, baits and birds.
At that moment I stated, I am marking fish and less than a minute
later, the port outrigger pops and we are on with a fish. It
was only right to put Adrian from Florida on the rod and after
about a twenty minute battle Curt expertly leadered the fish
within gaffing range and we landed our first bluefin tuna of
the day, a decent fish at 48".
After getting the fish bled and into the box, I did
not want to waste any time and had the lines out and were seeing
fish all over the place busting on bait and porpoising. We headed
a little to the north and into deeper water when I saw a splash
behind the port rigger, the fished missed but came back and we
were on the port rod again. This time Steve, also from Florida
was on the rod and landed a fish that was 45".
Once again, we did not want to waste any time getting
the lines out knowing this hot bite would not last all day. We
were trolling trhough schools of finicky tuna that would not
bite and after about 15 minutes and trolling through some weed,
I was ready to ask Curt to do a weed check when a decent fish
crashed down on the starboard rigger making the first real decent
run of the day. This time Paul from CT grabbed the rod and was
having a ball fighting this fish. While fighting the fish we
had tuna busting right next to the boat all around us. Not knowing
if th fish would be legal size, greater than 47" we opted
to just slid him right through the door with Curt leadering him
in. I was on the bridge and soon had color and while keeping
the boat in gear, Capt Curt was able to slide in the little butterball
which could have been gaffed after measuring 50".
These three anglers had our legal limit aboard the
RELENTLESS by 8:30 AM and we decided to head off
shore to try our luck at some groundfishing for pollock, haddock,
and cod and other species. After punching in some numbers, Capt
Curt was busy cleaning, gutting and icing down the mornings catch
of three bluefin tuna. After about an hour's ride we arrived
on location and had our rigs redy which consists of Shimano,
Torium 30's filled with 80 LB braid and matched to Shakesphere
ugly sticks.
This group of five anglers dropped their jigs and
teasers in about 325 feet and it was not long before large pollock
(10-25 LBS) starting inhaling the jigs. Mny of the anglers had
nice doubles throughout the morning.
After getting our fill of several pollock, topping
off the fish box we steamed to a location catching haddock and
a few cod. We only managed about a dozen haddock but the day
was getting late and the southerly winds were now increasing
and it was time to go home. On the way home, Curt filleted all
the way to the jetty and once docked we had three tuna to clean.
Curt and myself, finished cleaning the tuna and did not leave
the boat till early evening after putting away all of the gear
and scrubbing things down.
By the end of the day it was one of our best trips
of the year sending this group of five anglers home with large
bags of fillets of groundfish and tuna for steaks and sashimi.
They are already talking about another trip which does not surprise
me as John has booked with us several times in the past.
Speaking of trips, we have openings for shared and
private charters to fill your freezers with groundfish and tuna.
Please call me at (781) 871-2113
or e-mail me at captdave@relentlesscharters.com for a great day
on the water.
Respectfully
Capt. Dave
CaptDave@relentlesscharters.com
www.relentlesscharters.com
(781) 871-2113
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