The Hook-Up! Fishing report.

[stew]

Yesterday we had Dr.Molly and the UMASS\Large Pelagics Research team on the boat for our first Tuna tagging trip of the season. We had Dave and Sue Machaud and Jim Tobin, who sponsored the tagging day, the second time these guys have done this. Thanks again guys for the support. After the last week of slow fishing I was going to burn some fuel and head way up north. We left at 4 am and I rounded Monomy and started to steam up the coast line. It was an awesome morning and the seas were flat. I hoped that I could find some fish to work on. I got up off Chatham and I started to look with the binoculars for birds. I was running inside the pot line and I noticed one of the other charter boats running on the outside with me. All of sudden the birds started to show big time. I was scanning the pot line and noticed that the other charter boat had stopped and turned around. Then I saw them... tuna. Tuna busting all over the place. I turned hard to port and got into the pots and set the lines out. Everyone was scrambling to get the lines in the water as the tuna were putting on a show. We set the spread and had fish all around us and I was marking them. We needed some more daylight and after about 15 minutes there he was. "Center Rigger!!!! He's on it!!!!" My mate Chris jumped up and began the "Tammy Rose" mojo and after 5 or 6 tries the fish reappeared and exploded on the rig. "We're on!!!!" The fish was dumping the Okuma 80W and we started clearing lines. Then I watched the line just go limp and we had broken him off on the stinger. There was a nick that we must have missed. So back out the spread goes and we are back up on the troll. I see the fish up off the port and we bait them perfectly and the fish are right in the rigs. Then the left short rigger, Red Iguana Splash, get slammed and we are tight. Sue starts to crank in the left long corner and a fish explodes on that mini 18" green splash bar. DOUBLED UP!!!!! Dave and Jim get in to the harnessed and we get the fish to the boat quickly and I get the first fish up on the deck, only to find that he has the hook in a bad spot so we won't be tagging that fish. The next one comes up and he hits the deck, unhooked, measured at 46 inches, tagged, DNA sample, and back out the door wearing some new bling. The first PSAT\Sat tag of the 2011 season is swimming. High fives all around and back out goes the spread. 10 minutes latter we bait another school and the right short rigger, Big Black Hawk bar, gets crushed and we're on again. Now it's Sue's turn in the harness and she gets this fish to the boat and we repeat the process and tag number two is out the door. It's only 7 am and we have gone 3 for 4 and we have two tags out. Then the fishing just slows right down. My brother gets one in the middle of the morning but it was a first light, first bite morning for sure. We hang in there and fish through the slack but the fish never really show back up.
Around noontime Gary Faber on the "Killin Time" calls me and says he just hooked up just out to my east. I ask him if he is going to release the fish to let me know and we will come over and tag it. He said he would let me know. We kept fishing and soon he called me and said the fish was over 60 inches and said he would love to see it get tagged. So my crew sprang into action and cleared the spread. I wheeled the "Tammy Rose" over to the down sea side of the other boat and I backed up to the fish and Chris grabbed the leader with a long handled gaff and pulled the rig to our boat as the other guys put the reel in free spool. Chris got the leader and we got the fish up on the deck of the "Tammy Rose" were we got the hook out and released the rig back over the side. The fish was all lite up and measured 61 inches so we tagged him and got him back into the water and away he swam. The 3rd tag of the day and we were so pumped. Thanks again to Gary and crew for their efforts. We fished for another hour and packed it in around 1:30 and got back to Stage harbor around 3:15 pm. 11 hours on the water and some great work for the scientist. The fish are defiantly moving back in. Capt. Eric

[Albatross32]

Great job Eric!

[simonsez1]

Great day cappy! Great story too! Almost as good as the 775......... Lol

[happytuna]

great job keep up the good work

steve