In two ways....
1. I just got back from running 7 miles. I am officially ready for the Falmouth Road Race. I am very excited and admittedly a little nervous about running such a huge and prestigious race.
2. Going to Marshfield next week. Time for the once a year excursion for tuna. The only problem potentially is that this year the tuna are MUCH bigger than years past. Last year the tuna were running anywhere from 50 - 80 lbs. This year, 140 - 200 lbs. I am not sure that my gear will cut it. In fact, my buddies at Bad Fish Outfitters told me it would not work. However, after watching an On the Water TV episode and reading an On the Water article I feel like giving it a shot anyway. So I hook up and lose a fish, big deal. The article I read talked about a few guys that used to target giant tuna in the 400 - 600 lb. range in their 21 ft. Whaler in the 80's. They had Penn Senator reels just like me and I have to believe that they have improved them over the last 20+ years. It went on to talk about how they would tighten the drag way down and let the fish tire itself out by pulling the boat around. Really cool!! Here's to hoping. At the very least I am sure I will get a nice whale show out there.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Fishing Today
Went fishing with Mike Earley this morning around Naushon Island. Mike slapped the dreaded curse on our trip by catching a nice bass on the first cast. A nice 23 lb. fish. We did manage a handful of bluefish, but no more bass on the trip. Here is a pic of Mike with his fish and also a picture of my 35 lb. fish from last week.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, what a day!
I made plans to fish early Saturday am with live eels along the Elizabeth Islands. I was planning on leaving at 3:45 to go to Fiddler's, but after I had a fishing dream I woke up at 3 am and got ready really slow and left Fiddler's for the Elizabeth's at 3:30. It was a beautiful night and the moon made it not really that dark. I started off at my favorite spot at Naushon, but nothing was there. Tried another point and nothing. Got to a spot almost at Robinson's Hole and on the third cast or so, BAM!! My 10' Tsunami Trophy was completely bent over and the drag was screaming. After a lengthy battle I finally got a look at the fish and could not believe my eyes at the size of both the tail and the head of the fish. Once the fish saw the boat it took off again and made the drag scream once more. I finally got it to the side of the boat and it was clear that it was done fighting. I put one hand in the mouth and attempted to lift the fish into the boat. Now I know I am not that strong, but I certainly have never had to use two hands to lift up a fish. After failing on my first try I got two hands on the mouth and hoisted her into the boat. I was in awe at the size of the fish and I immediately wanted to weigh it. I got out the Boga Grip and it read 35 lbs. My new personal best!! I took a couple pictures with it next to my rod for reference, but honestly it does not do it justice. I looked for the tape measure, but when I couldn't find it quickly I decided to get her back in the water as soon as possible to revive her. It did take a while, but her fins were upright and I waited until she really kicked strong to let go of her tail. If I had stopped fishing right then I would have been completely content, but it was only 5:20 at this time. A couple casts later and I am on again. I was immediately taken back by how hard this fish was fighting as well. After a great fight I get the fish close to the boat and I get the Boga Grip right in its lip. 26 lbs!! Let her go without really leaving the side of the boat. Next fish still fought nice, but came in really quick. A nice 10 lb. bass. Unfortunately, this fish inhaled the eel and the hook was really far down in its throat. I got it out, but she was really bleeding a lot and rather than take the chance I decided to keep the fish. I found my tape measure and the fish measured out at 29". At this point I had one more eel left and after a few more casts I am on to a big fish again. I got the fish to the boat and this went really smooth. I was able to get the Boga in the lip quick and the hook immediately came out on its own. Phew. I gave her a quick lift and she came out to 31 lbs!! Incredible, three of my biggest fish ever in one morning! The fish was able to take right off after holding her in the water for only a couple seconds. Usually I try and hold them for awhile, but I was unable to do so because she kicked her tail so hard. After I was done with the eels I switched to Hogy's. I tried a few sizes and did get some bumps, but no hook ups. The tide was going slack and I knew i had a sizable ride home and road race to run at 10 am. Road race at 10 am? Yup!!
The Paul White road race is a 5 mile charity race and I found out the day before that it was happening. I was very nervous to run in a road race. The last road race i ran I think i was eight years old or so and i did not even finish it. I was very surprised at how hot the road got. I usually run in the morning or in the evening when the sun is pretty low, but this was 10 am and the sun was up and there was not much shade during the run. I was proud that I was able to achieve my goals. 1. Finish 2. Don't stop. 49 minutes and change was my time. Right around a ten minute mile.
I promise I will post a picture of the fish, I am in Reading for a few days and brought my camera, but I forgot the cord to upload to the computer.
I made plans to fish early Saturday am with live eels along the Elizabeth Islands. I was planning on leaving at 3:45 to go to Fiddler's, but after I had a fishing dream I woke up at 3 am and got ready really slow and left Fiddler's for the Elizabeth's at 3:30. It was a beautiful night and the moon made it not really that dark. I started off at my favorite spot at Naushon, but nothing was there. Tried another point and nothing. Got to a spot almost at Robinson's Hole and on the third cast or so, BAM!! My 10' Tsunami Trophy was completely bent over and the drag was screaming. After a lengthy battle I finally got a look at the fish and could not believe my eyes at the size of both the tail and the head of the fish. Once the fish saw the boat it took off again and made the drag scream once more. I finally got it to the side of the boat and it was clear that it was done fighting. I put one hand in the mouth and attempted to lift the fish into the boat. Now I know I am not that strong, but I certainly have never had to use two hands to lift up a fish. After failing on my first try I got two hands on the mouth and hoisted her into the boat. I was in awe at the size of the fish and I immediately wanted to weigh it. I got out the Boga Grip and it read 35 lbs. My new personal best!! I took a couple pictures with it next to my rod for reference, but honestly it does not do it justice. I looked for the tape measure, but when I couldn't find it quickly I decided to get her back in the water as soon as possible to revive her. It did take a while, but her fins were upright and I waited until she really kicked strong to let go of her tail. If I had stopped fishing right then I would have been completely content, but it was only 5:20 at this time. A couple casts later and I am on again. I was immediately taken back by how hard this fish was fighting as well. After a great fight I get the fish close to the boat and I get the Boga Grip right in its lip. 26 lbs!! Let her go without really leaving the side of the boat. Next fish still fought nice, but came in really quick. A nice 10 lb. bass. Unfortunately, this fish inhaled the eel and the hook was really far down in its throat. I got it out, but she was really bleeding a lot and rather than take the chance I decided to keep the fish. I found my tape measure and the fish measured out at 29". At this point I had one more eel left and after a few more casts I am on to a big fish again. I got the fish to the boat and this went really smooth. I was able to get the Boga in the lip quick and the hook immediately came out on its own. Phew. I gave her a quick lift and she came out to 31 lbs!! Incredible, three of my biggest fish ever in one morning! The fish was able to take right off after holding her in the water for only a couple seconds. Usually I try and hold them for awhile, but I was unable to do so because she kicked her tail so hard. After I was done with the eels I switched to Hogy's. I tried a few sizes and did get some bumps, but no hook ups. The tide was going slack and I knew i had a sizable ride home and road race to run at 10 am. Road race at 10 am? Yup!!
The Paul White road race is a 5 mile charity race and I found out the day before that it was happening. I was very nervous to run in a road race. The last road race i ran I think i was eight years old or so and i did not even finish it. I was very surprised at how hot the road got. I usually run in the morning or in the evening when the sun is pretty low, but this was 10 am and the sun was up and there was not much shade during the run. I was proud that I was able to achieve my goals. 1. Finish 2. Don't stop. 49 minutes and change was my time. Right around a ten minute mile.
I promise I will post a picture of the fish, I am in Reading for a few days and brought my camera, but I forgot the cord to upload to the computer.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Summer? Oh yeah
Almost forgot it was summer. School ended and it was just crappy weather for days. Northeast storms and now we have Low pressure systems just hovering over New England which creates rain and the possibility of T-storms on a daily basis. The family and I have actually been able to get out on the boat a few times and find a private beach or two and caught some rays.
Fishing has been slow. Teaching at Boston Conservatory this summer is a blessing and a curse. It is awesome to be teaching such musical individuals, but my running and fishing have taken hits in the past couple of weeks. Going to try and step up my game a little bit to improve this. Wish me luck. Only been to the Elizabeth Islands once this year on an early morning jaunt and I did catch one nice bass, but overall the fishing has been slow. Apparently the fish are still hanging out at Middle Ground as Mike Earley still is managing to kill them on his feathered Polaris poppers. I am teaching the next three days straight so finding spare time and/or the energy to do anything more than relax is going to be difficult. Going to try waking up early to get some running in which will hopefully up my energy. Fishing may just have to be a 4am dawn patrol down to the Elizabeths on the weekends.
Fishing has been slow. Teaching at Boston Conservatory this summer is a blessing and a curse. It is awesome to be teaching such musical individuals, but my running and fishing have taken hits in the past couple of weeks. Going to try and step up my game a little bit to improve this. Wish me luck. Only been to the Elizabeth Islands once this year on an early morning jaunt and I did catch one nice bass, but overall the fishing has been slow. Apparently the fish are still hanging out at Middle Ground as Mike Earley still is managing to kill them on his feathered Polaris poppers. I am teaching the next three days straight so finding spare time and/or the energy to do anything more than relax is going to be difficult. Going to try waking up early to get some running in which will hopefully up my energy. Fishing may just have to be a 4am dawn patrol down to the Elizabeths on the weekends.
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