Today the Wolford grandsons caught a big sailfish, 3 bonito, 2 jacks, a cero mackerel, 2 huge barracudas, a mahi, 2 big kingfish, a trigger, a scamp grouper and 4 mutton snapper.
To book a charter with Capt. Bouncer of Bouncer’s Dusky 33, please visit http://www.captbouncer.com/
Today was beautiful. But, fishing was tough. We caught a sailfish, 5 muttons, 6 jacks, a big amberjack, almaco jack, cuda, 2 bonito and 4 snook.
To book a charter with Capt. Bouncer of Bouncer’s Dusky 33, please visit http://www.captbouncer.com/
With nicer weather we caught an 80 lb tarpon, 2 nice snook and 5 jacks.
To book a charter with Capt. Bouncer of Bouncer’s Dusky 33, please visit http://www.captbouncer.com/
The weather has been the big factor through the month of June, seeing only a handful of fishable days prior to last week. The only fish we managed to land in the 5 trips out was one of those “fish of a lifetime” stories, especially with the light tackle we employ aboard my boat. One of my clients cast a RonZ lure out(weighted head with a soft rubber tail) and got connected to an absolute freight train of a bluefin. 3.5 hours later, after the rod made it’s way through all the anglers, and the captain, we managed to get the fish into the boat, and back at the dock after gutting and bleeding, the fish weighed in at a whopping 393 pounds. Figure this fish weighed in at 415-425 pounds or so on the line, one of the largest tuna ever caught freestyle with no plate or harness and a long spinning rod/reel set-up.
What made this catch so spectacular besides the 7,6″ rod, Shimano Stella Spinning reel and 100 pound leader, was the fact that 2 of the 3 anglers aboard had never landed a tuna….to say it is all downhill for these 2 newly addicted tuna nuts is an understatement!
The majority of the month was spent shuffling trips around my future open dates, from all the weather cancellations. This has been the worst June I can remember in along time, with more winter-like patterns out of the East and North east, bringing cold temps, heavy winds and swells, as well as lots of fog. However last week, mother nature decided to give us a break and after a week long blow, the systems finally released their easterly flow and we had several days in a row of calm seas and light winds…perfect tuna weather.
The crew of Coastal Charters Sportfishing in the life off Chatham, MA
The life awaiting us on the grounds when we arrived was nothing short of staggering, with more whales and dolphin than Ive ever seen gathered in one spot. We knew we were in the right area, and it didn’t take long for Chuck to appear within casting range of my crew, and after just a few casts, we were tight to an angry bluefin on a light spinning set up.
My crew for the day had flown all the way from Denmark, and they were instantly rewarded for their efforts! I consider myself to be very lucky to have this fishery in my backyard and be able to access it from my Dusky outboard powered center console, and that this fishery has gotten the attention of international anglers. It truly is a world class fishery not only for the bluefin tuna that I target, but it has some of the finest bottom fishing for a myriad of tasty species all great fun on light gear, but is also the home of the storied striped bass fishery of the Cape Cod and surrounding areas of New England. My clients were able to hook and land several trophy striped bass on the same grounds, in addition to getting into some serious mayhem with more of the highly sought and often elusive bluefin. The “Viking Power” crew of Jakob and Nikolaj had a blast on day two getting to fight 5 BIG bluefin, 3 of which made it to the boat. One fish broke the rod and snapped the line, and the other fish went running and had another fish get tangled in the line, they were so thick!
2 big bluefin on the decks of Coastal Charters Sportfishing caught by Nikolaj Bielecki and Jakob Lindberg of Denmark
The feeds that my anglers hooked up in were foaming, raging predatory carnage, the stuff anglers dreams are made of….if this style of fishing doesn’t get your blood boiling, it may be time to take up golf ! The bite is on, now we just need mother nature to play nice for a while. Stay tuned for more light tackle bluefin madness, it is shaping up to be one of those nutty seasons!
To book a charter with Capt. Dom of Coastal Charters Sportfishing aboard his Dusky 256FC please visit http://www.coastalcharterssportfishing.com/
Tonight we caught 3 tarpon of at least 100 lbs plus a spanish mackerel.
To book a charter with Capt. Bouncer of Bouncer’s Dusky 33, please visit http://www.captbouncer.com/
As any boat owner who regularly fishes in salt water can testify, corrosion is their worst enemy. Below are some regular maintenance tips to help you get the most life out of your trailer.
Trailers use ball bearings, which require grease. We recommend marine grease that won’t dissolve when exposed to salt water. If you want to really protect those bearings, you can prevent water intrusion by using bearing protectors. These typically stay sealed for up to six months, but still require new grease added regularly.
Trailers typically use galvanized parts which are prone to corrosion, especially with excess salt build up present. The best way to combat the elements is to rinse your trailer with fresh water after each use. For each saltwater fishing trip you go on, you’re giving your trailer a double dip in the drink. After a long day in the sun, one of the last things anyone wants to do is spend time thoroughly washing off a trailer. You can eliminate the hassle by installing Starbrite’s Trailer Spa. This system can be customized to specifically target any area of your trailer which is prone to corrosion build up.
And last, but not least; here is a basic checklist to cover prior to heading out to your favorite ramp.
We hope these tips and suggestions will assist you in prolonging the life of your trailer. Should you find yourself in need of additional information or parts, please contact us at 954-922-8890.
Today we stayed in the inlet. We caught a 80 lb tarpon and 4 nice snook
To book a charter with Capt. Bouncer of Bouncer’s Dusky 33, please visit http://www.captbouncer.com/
The girls caught 2 sails, a tuna, 40 lb wahoo, 2 kings, 4 bonito, hammerhead shark, mutton snapper, 2 jacks, 21 snook, 3 cudas, 5 mahi and a 80 lb tarpon. All in stormy 20 hours of rotten weather.
To book a charter with Capt. Bouncer of Bouncer’s Dusky 33, please visit http://www.captbouncer.com/
We caught 16 snook, an 80 lb tarpon, a hammerhead shark, a cuda and 2 jacks this afternoon in 30 knot winds. Oh ya! 3 girls and their dad caught all the fish
….the 2012 bluefin tuna season would start, with frustrating weather and fish acting more like shy ghosts.
As predicted, the bluefin showed up as expected, back on the 20th of May, and in typical early fashion were extremely difficult to even get near, let alone successful. Jigging and popping methods require that fish be either present and actively feeding at the surface, or bunched up and holding at a depth suitable for dropping vertical jigs. Early season the fish are still transiting and will move great distances from one tide to the next. It is rare to see them linger in one area for too long, until they find themselves in a suitable area to be residents for a time they deem suitable; these fish will move when they want, where they want, and are much more likely to develop patterns later in the season. The amount of bait waiting for these fish is nothing short of Nat-geo status, with mackerel, sand eels, herring, and menhaden all in good numbers throughout the tuna grounds. My Garmin bottom machine(fish finder or sonar) has been lit up just about everywhere we roam with bait, but very few tuna have been seen, as the main body has yet to show up en-masse. The first few pods of fish to roam through are what I refer to as “scouts”, typically mixed year class bunches of varying sizes, usually smaller schools of 20-50 fish as opposed to the huge schools we see packed tight together by the end of June and throughout the summer.
Bait bunched up at the surface with a cruising tuna underneath, from a Garmin 4208
Despite hard working crews aboard the Dusky the past 2 weeks, we have been unable to get close enough to any feeds, and have had little help from mother nature with heavy fog and brisk easterly winds. The conditions haven’t been conducive to looking and hunting tuna with proper coverage, and the normal tell-tale signs used to locate schools are not much help; birds are hovering and hanging with the whales, dolphin, and seals, so do not give away feeding, unseen schools.
Humpback whales bubble-feeding on Stellwagen Bank, Cape Cod, MA
The bait is at the surface in massive shoals, everywhere we have traveled, so no serious concentrations outside the “norm” is no help either. Even the smells that are present around different types of marine life, are so exaggerated that whenever you stop, you pick up overwhelming pheromones and left over bait smell from either the bait itself feeding on smaller organisms, or on each other, as is the case with the mackerel. Dropping down in any depth from the coastlines all the way out to 700 plus feet 50 or 60 miles out results in a voracious attack by mackerel of several different sizes. My clients were able to fill up buckets rather quickly, to be eaten, or used as bait or chum later in the season.
Mack attack!
Another challenge presented would be welcomed on any other boat, at any other time…striped bass and bluefish in vast schools gorging themselves on sand eels and mackerel. The run this year came a bit early, and in numbers of large fish the likes of which have not been seen in numerous seasons. The fish are tightly schooled, and will corral the bait into a tight ball before blasting away at them once they trap them at the surface. The birds gather just like they would when tuna are about to crash the surface, and cause no shortage of hair-pulling or muttering under the breath by intrepid tuna hunters. Fish up to 35-40 pounds will crush surface plugs or jigs dropped below the frenzies, along with the occasional “chopper” bluefish which make short work of mono or fluorocarbon leaders employed for tuna…often stealing expensive lures when they chew through the line with reckless abandon. When tuna are present, they often get pushed aside by all the sharp spines and tough skins of the bass, only coming onto feed randomly and quickly, and in the middle of the herds. This makes it nearly impossible to score a connection to a tuna under these conditions. While they are good diversion and normally a welcome target, my clients deal with these “pesky” fish often well into late June, sometimes July before they thin out and start hanging in areas where tuna are not often encountered.
Nice 20 pound spring striped bass, caught while fishing for bluefin tuna
Healthy 35 pound striped bass, caught on topwater intended for a bluefin tuna
The weather over the past week has been dreadful with huge amounts of rain, and strong north easterly winds which has prevented me or anyone else for that matter from getting out and fishing. The full moon phase has steep tides with heavy current through this coming weekend, so hopefully the two combined have really shaken things up and gotten the fish moving. I begin a stretch that runs all the way through the end of July where the only thing keeping us at the dock and off the fish will be mother nature and her fickle moods. I expect the frustrating start to become a distant memory this week as the first good feeds should be starting up. Once the first fish graces the decks, they all get a bit easier after that. The challenge and difficulty in hunting and successfully landing one of these apex predators is what keeps me and others so rabid for them….stay tuned, I feel it is going to be a pretty good show around here shortly!
To book a charter with Capt. Dom of Coastal Charters Sportfishing aboard his Dusky 256FC please visit http://www.coastalcharterssportfishing.com/