8/3-9 Week in review

[Riptide Charters]

This is not much of a report for a week of fishing. Its so poor in fact I'm only writing it to keep with tradition and post the good bad and ugly.

I hit the water of CC Bay mid week with Capt Joe (Dad) for some tuna recon, based on the reports that it was HOT if you were in the right place at the right time. We splashed Plymouth @ 0430 and were on the SWC @ 0500 with a couple dozen other boats. We were set up to do whatever it would take to catch tuna. For the morning we got on the troll with bars and chains. It was overcast and the birds, bait and whales were everywhere. Things looked good.

We trolled through the 1030 slack till 1100. All I did was cleared eel grass off my spread non-stop for the entire time. I would start at one sideof the spread and by the time I was done clearing it was time to start again. Not enough grass mind you to actually see it on the lure. Just a piece or two, enough not to get bit, but unless you pulled them you'd never know. Just a total PIA!

We pulled the spread @ 1100 and began to recon for tuna on top. I ran WAY WAY east, a good distance South, NW, SW, East but not so far as the WAY WAY East and everwhere in between. We saw a handfull of fish pop up at a distance a few times but never even madea cast. We never saw life as good as we had on the SWC in the morning.

The radio talked about a 1/2 dozen fish taken durring the morning troll and that was pretty much it. With the number of boats OTW it was not a high ratio of fish to boats.

After 200 miles of recon I realized I should have just hired a pilot and rented a plan from Plymouth airport and done the same run for less $$$ in a fraction of the time then used the rest of the money to go drinking at Foxwoods when my $$$ had at least a chance of making me a return on my investment.

8/9 I had a trip lined up for Brad and crew to chase tuna. After the mid week debockle we looked at other options. The crew was game to run S of Block Island and shoot for the little tuna and maybe a shot at a mahi in the morning with an afternoon of sharking. Surely we could find joy with this game plan.

We splashed in Falmouth @ 0500 and proceededto hunt bluefish for live bait. The bait hunt was fast and efficent. Mate Shaun helped the crew fill the livewells in short order and soon we were heading south for the tuna.

The water temps have changed S of BI and although we found a whale show with some bait balls we found no tuna. I had 3-4 boats I have been sharing with that were in the area and none of them had so much as a sniff.

Rather than wait out the mid day slack we opted to go over to sharking earlier than planned. THis was a good call in that the mid day bite never turned on and my buddies all got blanked on tuna then too.

We got to our spot and went on the shark drift. It was 68 degree clear water with some bird life and a dragger working around us. Forthe first two hours I fought with my new frenzy kite. Kites like to torment me and when things are slow on a shark trip my comedy act I call "Me and my Kite" is sure to entertain sports and crew alike. At the 205 hour mark everyone was chillin in the warm sun while Shaun and I tended tothe chum and oil duties.

Then the live bluefish on the bow got CRUSHED and the 70VS starts singing. The crew was scrambling to their feet and grabbing for belts and plates that had been removed after a couple hours of non-catching. With line screaming off the reel so fast I thought it would backlash, I grabbed the rod as and stuck the fish that should have been 150' straight off the side of the boat. There was a huge exlosion about 250' off the bow! We all turned to watch as a 300+ pound mako launched itself not once, not twice, but 10 times into the air at a height that would have cleared my T top with ease. Just as my sport was belted in Mr Mako landed on the line and came loose. He gave us a final F#U jump just for good measure.

The rest of the trip was as boring as the first 2.5 hours of drifting.

Final tally for the week: Two days OTW, a dozen bluefish landed, no tuna and one cool mako memory that should have ended with a harpoon shot.

Overall this has been a really poor couple of weeks for me on anything but the canyon runs. I don't book much in late July and Early Aug just for this reason. Its never been a strong time for me fishing in this area. Generally wecan pick our shots and fish a bit less but still manage a high average. This season even picking my shots inshore I'm missing the ball. I may just stick to watching the Edge and cherry picking those trips till things heat up inshore.

[Charlie Wade]

Man, that's some hard fishing Terry. Good for you to share the good and not-so-good trips. My small boat's been in the shop; just got it back yesterday. Sounds like I haven't missed much not being out there.

[Thin Blue Line]

Bummer on the trips T ... keep me posted. Ive got my bike on the road after a year so Ive got a toy to keep me occupied till the fishing picks up..