2011 Season in Review
I'm officially done for the season. Thank you all once again. This year was awesome. This report is going to be 100% stream of consciousness. I hope you can follow along. The cod fishing, for us, was off the charts good. People are saying that the population is hurting, but we don't see it. "real" people are saying it too, not just the NMFS and other Greenies. I do know that we're learning a lot every year about how to catch them; we use techniques that many other boats don't use. We use light tackle, light line, and are able to cast our lures into the drift, putting the lures in the best positions to be hit by cod. We do this because it's our specialty and we only take 4 people out at a time.
My 1-4 person niche has been great for me; my following of customers is great and I thank you all. I love having the cabin, that's for sure! I can get everyone in the cabin if necessary, and the comfortable seating in back is in the lee of the cabin, so you're not hit by wind or water. It makes it very comfortable whenever we'er out there. Plus, with my small charter niche, we're able to fish the way that you want to fish; you won't be all over each other. The bow is the best place to fish anywhere!
This is my 2011 "Best Of Photos" compilation set to Looney Tunes! About 200 photos crammed into 6 minutes..
2011 showed us how much fun that shark fishing can be. We ran more trips this year than in any other year. Our success spoke for itself. We had one "bad" day...but still hooked into 7 sharks, landing most of them. That was our worst sharking day! Our best saw us landing almost 20 fish. Most trips had us landing 10-15 sharks (not more because of time!) We fished so much for sharks this year that I felt like I had to keep moving around day-to-day to fish on "virgin-to-me" waters. What this did was expose me to waters, bottoms, and depths that I haven't fished before. I learned a ton! Previously, I figured shark fishing was "worth-it" from August-the end of September...Well, welcome to July, October, and even NOVEMBER! Yes, one of our best shark trips was on October 10 and we caught sharks until mid-November!
I'm going to talk more about sharking...when you're passionate about something, spread the word. We caught a ton of sharks on spinning gear. Yes, most of the sharks are blue sharks and many of them are visible before you catch them..so why not throw spinning gear at them. The battle is a blast; even more fun than on 50-wides. We landed two makos this year (on consecutive days) and we lost at least 4 or 5 more that same week. One shark, hooked in 600' of water, hit at the boat and went straight to the bottom, then it angled off for another 400 yards!!!! It then threw the hook. It did this against 35 pounds of drag on a Makaira 50 wide. It was AWESOME. On another day, we were fighting two sharks, with another angler fighting a cod on the bow when a monster great white swam 15' under the boat. We landed the two sharks, but never saw another fish all day. This was after landing 12 sharks. If the bite dies down, you know what to blame. Whitey.
This is my 2011 Video Compilation. It was even more fun..Enjoy!
Spro/Gamakatsu are the connections and hooks that we depend upon
When I'm targeting very big fish (actually, every fish), one thing that I don't ever worry about is my terminal tackle. I use SPRO connections and I forget about it. From Power Swivels to Split Rings to their tuna live bait hooks, I can comfortably know that they're not going to fail. Take that to the bank.
Bait...I spent a lot of money on bait and chum in 2011. It worked, though. I just received another freezer...I'll have three going next year, so don't be grossed out if you see me squirreling away fish blood, cod livers, and other nasties on the other fishing trips. At $30/bucket for chum and $40/flat of mackerel...I'll be getting my own bait in 2012. Plus, I have a wood chipper that I have to get going in the spring! That'll be messy.
Stingo Fish Jigs for cod, tuna, and stripers
Stingo Fish lures are ready to make a huge splash in 2012 with the promotion of several new tuna lures as well as a full range of colors for his PBJ jigs. We used the 300g Gold PBJ last year for pollock and cod with great success and by fine-tuning the colors to include, pink, olive, blue, and purple...those lures will be incredible. We used the 300g (10oz) to depths of over 400' for the fall pollock run. They get down and hold deep. Way better than 21oz Norwegian jigs! In 2012, Stingo will be making a splash with a couple of tuna killer plugs--The C-Thug and PigPen Check out These Lures
With the tuna around for the past several years, the striper fishing kindof got pushed to the curb...However, every time that I decide to fish for stripers, I realize how much fun it can be. It's pure fishing, really. We get the chance to use light tackle and really put a bend in the rod. By the end of May and all throughout June and into July, the fishing at Race Point is one of the best places to get these fish. And very good eating they are.
Another good thing about the striper fishing...if the tuna bite picks up while we're there, Peaked Hill Bar is only 5 miles away (or closer) and Stellwagen Bank is only 5 miles away. We have options. But for the freshwater bass guys....casting a bass rod at stripers is AWESOME FUN. I anticipate more of this next year.
Tuf-Line; XP and Guide's Choice (Hollow Core)
When I'm online in the fishing forums, I'm Black Rose. I do enjoy reading the forums and talking fishing. The winter is great for that. I get asked all of the time about line...what line..... Well, as you can see in my photos, my line of choice is Tuf-Line. Visit Tuf-Line's Website More specifically, when I'm jigging or popping for tuna, I use Tuf-Line Guide's Choice.. It's their hollow core line. I can't say enough about it. I use the 60 pound because it has a breaking strength of nearly 90 pounds.. Since there are no knots in the connections and I know that I am not going to use more than 40 pounds of drag...it's enough. More importantly, it casts great and is silky smooth going through my guides (or over my arm when customers are fighting fish). It's smooth, not abrasive. Because it is so thin, I can pack a ton of it on my reels. The extra line buys me TIME! When we hook a big fish, it gives me time to clear the lines, get the boat started/pointed at the fish, and time to get ready to chase if necessary. For my cod fishing and general fishing, I use either 30# or 50# Tuf-Line XP. It's less expensive and better suited to spool up the dozens of reels on my boat.
Well, we'll see what the powers that be have to say about cod fishing in 2012...there are rumors out there now, but nothing substantial about what is going to happen. From my personal perspective, we caught our limit of cod on almost every trip last year. I didn't see any shortage in fish. Last year was my best year ever for cod. The pollack added another whole level to the fishing. They were around all year and kept people tickled pink and laughing. It was awesome. I'll be ready to fish on April 16th for groundfish.
If you're up for hearing more about Tuna fishing, I'll be speaking in Quincy at the Big Game Bash on February 24+25. click here for more details. I'll be speaking both days; one day I'll talk about shark fishing and the other day I'll talk about jigging for tuna. Or, for more detailed and personal help, you can just fish with me!
Okuma. Rods and reels.
For tuna fishing, Okuma has made a nice splash in the tuna rod game with their new Makaira Series... Click for info.. Their popping rods are truly on the mark and only cost around $219.. Very, very nice bang for the buck and we tested the hell out of them with no problems. If you see those blue rods on my boat, those are the Cedros Series of Rods I absolutely love those rods. They're made of e-glass, which makes them nearly unbreakable. I like them because they don't overpower you, but they overpower the fish! It makes for more fun. Getting back to the Makaira popping line of rods...the Makaira reels have really changed the way that people are thinking of Okuma--they are some of the best reels made. You'll see more on my boat in 2012.. In fact, I've sold my Penn 130's and will replace them with Makaira 80's on standup gear. Fishing is more fun that way and you're not giving up any power with those reels.
I just can't wait until next year...the fishing was so damn good that I can only dream of what 2012 will bring us. I hope to book July+August solid with Shark/cod combos. I think that this trip is one of the best bets for both excitement and cooler-filling. It was awesome seeing sharks around this year until LATE NOVEMBER!! That was cool. We'll see you on the water in Mid-April for cod/haddock/pollack and think stripers this year. That's pure fishing fun....and tuna....How can I forget tuna? I can't. It's on my brain like a virus or, even worse, a parasite!
If you're going to stay in town for your trip, I have arranged a great rate at the Plymouth Radisson for you. They broke the season down into "off-season(oct-June) and peak season (June-Sept).. The rates can't really be beat, and this is a great place to stay on the waterfront in Plymouth. Nice pool and hot tub with restaurant/pub on premises... Click here for Plymouth Radisson
Social Media such as Facebook and YouTube
I'll be posting more and more videos on my YouTube PAGE I hope you enjoy them. On My FaceBook Page you should "Like" it to keep in the loop. I'll be doing a lot of posting on that page when I have an opening on my boat. I'll be running more shared charters in 2012 and you'll get first notice on this page.
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