We left Hampton Harbor at 5:45 made it to Thatcher's Island right about sunrise. Such a nice way to start the day.
Arrive at the NWC to see birds and fish busting in two separate areas with a decent amount of boats around them for 7AM on a Wednesday in October.
Lines in the water about 7:20. 1 squid bar, 1 weighted sluggo, 2 unweighted sluggos and a X-Rap.
8:10 rolls around and one of the rigger clips pop and the smallest reel (Penn Senator 113 with #80 mono and 10 ft. #120 floro topshot) starts dumping line. FISH ON! I think that is a joke but quickly realize I had better start clearing some lines.
Battle goes on for about 35-40 mins. (It's tough to remember to look at your watch in the heat of battle to have a timeline for SFC) The fish hit the X-Rap so there wasn't much resistance to slow it down.
A 59"+ BFT hits the deck around 9 AM. High fives and fist pumps all around. We finally did it!
I pull out my 33 page "Onboard Guide to Handling Sashimi Grade Tuna - A Practical Guide For Deck Hands" and take the knife to her. After she was dressed, (she weighed#112 dressed) iced down, and properly stowed the had the lines back in the water around 9:30 AM.
10:00 AM rolls around another unforgettable sound of a rigger clip popping. I am really thinking that someone is f*&@ing with me as I just popped my cherry not even 2 hours before and there is another reel dumping line! After we had boated the first fish on the X Rap we put out another one. Second fish, hit the second X-Rap. We lost this one probably 20 mins into the fight. X-Rap comes back up with some customization to the rear treble courtesy of Mr. BFT. It felt like a bigger fish than the first, but we never got to see it.
We trolled until 1:30 ish through the slack tide, but no luck, we decided that we had enough for the day and we pointed KnotGolfin' north to take her back to the barn.
All in all it was a great first fish, and it gives me all the more reason to spend every extra cent I have this winter on BFT gear.
Thanks to everyone who has provided me with insight around the crazy and mysterious fishery over the last few weeks.
All I can say is... Is it July yet?
Best,
Knot
Last edited by KnotGolfin'; 10-09-2008 at 11:57 AM.
awesome job and thanks for the pics. I know how you feel and I am still trying to kill the skunk on my boat.
Goes to show persistence pays off, Congrats Giggy
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