Hey Box! Just a note to let you know I'm still alive.....and the living is good
Mike C the 3rd comes in 1st! (Old School Report)
I'm feeling verbose, so lets do this report old school. I had the Associated Builder's crew on the boat for a little tuna / bass combo trip. We hit the water early and tried to get the tuna side of the deal sewn up first.
We headed out to an area that had been holding fish, and when we got there we found whales, birds, bait and a few tuna on the sounder. What we caught however was a ton of BIG bass and blues. This made our trolling spread a nightmare to keep organized. Not really wanting to troll anyway I decided to pull the pin on the first spot and head to plan B.
We ran for a while and were able to get clear of the masses that were on the water this particular day. We found a nice sunny little piece of heaven and began round two of trolling. we were trying something a little different. With all the hype about trolling rubber on two spinning rods we opted to go full bore. Rippy was wearing riggers and the 7 rod spread of gold bling was utilzed for this trip. The spread was a mix of surface and subsurface running Hogy's in Nantucket Red and White.
It took all of about 10 minutes to see that this new spot was the place to be. We had fish coming up in to the spread and swinging and missing, blasting the lines out of the rigger clips and finally one got pinned, but came unbuttoned in seconds. There was a ton of life showing on the surface. No sustained feeds, but enogh 1sey, 2sey fish near the boat that putting Kenny and Jr on the bow with Big Guns and Hogy's seemed like a smart move. As we slow trolled through the target zone the guys on the bow were casting at any stray boils or breaks near the boat.
Thats when a huge crash blew up about 50' off the right side of the bow. Jr. was on his game and bullseye'd the boil with a big pink Jiggn Hogy. As quickly as he could slap the bail shut on the big Stella 20000, it was game time. The Big Gun took a set and the fish began screaming line off at an amazing pace.
In order to clear the spread for the fight we needed to keep the boat moving slowly and the fish used this to his advantage. He ran to the back of the boat and ran opposite the direction we were moving. With the spread out turn and burn was not an option. I watched as the line melted off the big Stella and there was nothign I could do but clear lines FAST. With over 3/4 of the spool gone in just over a minute I was begining to think we might actually get spooled on this massive reel!
Finally all the lines were cleared to a degree we could take chase! we turned and began gaining lines as fast as the angler could crank. We got back the majority of the line in a hurry and got into the down and dirty part of the fight. Jr was wearing the hottest trend in tuna fashion a stunning little black number (The Black Magic). The plate went into the drop loops and the Big Gun was locked and loaded.
As his Dad (Big Mike) looked on and offered a suportive safety hand on the back of the harness, Jr. began short stroking the tuna and making him pay for the big run he made early on.
In strong fashion Jr put a beating on the fish and after a few fancy pants moves with the boat I came off the wheel with Poon in hand and got in position to make the tuna's pain go away for good.
With some serious grunt from Jr on the Big Gun I got my shot and button holed the fish slightly aft of center. Two quick hits with the Aftco's and Big Mike and I had Jr's trophy ready for boarding.
Suddenly there was a knock at the tuna door. Knock knock.....Who's there? Jr's first big tuna on spinning gear! COME ON IN!
The tail of the tape 63" and fat as a beer keg. High Fives's all around for a pround Dad and a Happy Cappy!
When the cleanup was done and the fish was resting comfortabley in the Contender Hotel's Ice Suite we got down to part two of the mission bass and blues. We made sure we were done outside the line and got into some nice bass and MONSTER blues breezing around on the surface. Kenny and the guys tossed Salty's Needles and Yo Zuri swimmers at the waking fish for some killer light tackle action for the rest of the afternoon.
When it was all said and done, we headed home on FAC sea's for an evening of lobster and chardonnay.
Final tally a bunch of big bass and monster blues. Jr's first big tuna on spinning gear and one pround Dad. For this trip A. Builder's definately earning it's "A".
Lures of choice, Pink and White Hogy's on 1.5oz heads. Olive and White Saltey's Needles, Olive and Chrome Yo Zuri Swimmers. The Riptide Edition Big Gun, Shimano Stella 20000 equiped with Rippy's Wicked Wind-On's.
Overall, it just doesn't get any better than this!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tryin' to be the man, my dog think's I am. marine diesel service owner
Pretty work there Capt. Terry,
It's been goin' on a month since my last trip out, work has been fast and furious. I'm feeling the NEED really hard about now. With report's like that I won't last much longer. Thank's for the awsome report and pic's! Frank
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Mike C the 3rd comes in 1st! (Old School Report)
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