Toro, Toro, Toro!!!

I was a guest aboard Jack Kent's boat this past Saturday, on a mission to put some tuna in the boat. We met in Duxbury at 0400 and mark, The Kid, Jack and myself headed out to make bait for an hour or so. We had no problem loading the livewell with live pogies and headed east as the sun was peaking over the horizon. Before we even got to the Bank we began seeing lots of life. Whales and shearwaters, gannets and terns were everywhere. The birds were sitting in huge rafts and it was apparent something was pushing bait up toward the surface under the birds. Some of the bird piles definitely had wales working under them but others appeared to have tuna pushing the bait. We picked the piles that did not have whales in them and set our first pogie over the side at 0640. By 0645 we had our first hook up. The fish was big and crashed the pogie hard. Unfortunately the fish did not get the hook and we lost it after it ripped a bunch of line. Next, we set out two pogies on another bird pile and again within minutes we were tight. This time however both pogies got hit. Mark and The Kid worked the rods and we landed our first double.






By 0745 we were done. We continued fishing until 1 pm without another sniff.

Back In The Saddle

On July 22 we headed over to Nantucket for our annual family vacation whihc we just returned from on 8/3. Anyone who vacations on Nantucket knows how complicated it can be to get even just a car over to the island on the ferry, let alone a truck and a boat. You need to reserve the space by the end of January to ensure dates and times anywhere close to what you want our need to match with your house rental. This year I made the reservation and ended up canceling the part for the boat to go over with me. It was the first time in nearly a decade I would be on the isalnd without my boat in tow. I spent a lot of time relaxing on the beaches with the kids. We picked blueberries and had a great time.

My buddy Gordon showed up last Thursday with his 20-foot Jones Brothers in tow. We missed the early morning bonito tide on Friday and spent the afternoon catching big blues off the airport. On Saturday morning we got out early and found ourselves on the bonito bar by 0630. There were bonito running the edges but the fishing was not red-hot by any stretch. The fish we were able to hook were kind of sluggish and the hits were soft and subtle.

It felt great to be on the water again. The back felt really good and there was no pain to speak of. If anyone out there reading this wants to invite me out for a day of fishing, just say the word. I'm ready!