A week of firsts

This past week was a week of firsts.

1. The family went out on a little boat trip with Suzanne and the Earley children. On our way from West Falmouth to Meganssett I saw a boat approaching and I just knew that we were going to get boarded. Long story short we did not have a third adult life jacket so the Coast Guard was going to follow us in so that we could get one. The funny thing is that I knew this would not be the case. Tommy Earley was on the boat which meant we really could not go that fast. After about 2 minutes of following us they pulled up beside us and said they weren't going to follow us in.

2. Mike Earley and I went out on a fishing trip that we turned into beer drinking, sightseeing, maybe a little fishing trip. When Mike was gassing up his boat the gas overflowed a little bit so Mike knew he had a full tank of gas. With a full tank, flat calm seas and a twelve pack of beer we decided to head towards Cuttyhunk. A first for both of us. On the way there we came accross some unorganized bird action which turned out to be a few schools of schoolies. Mike got hold of a nice healthy schoolie. We then road south and we did hit a little fog here and there, but we made it to Cuttyhunk and went in to the harbor. It looks like a snapshot of 1910 if you ignore all the boats in the harbor. On the way back we stopped by some fishy looking rocks just north of Quicks' Hole. I prophesized that I would catch a 32" bass and sure enough I was able to bring in a 31" keeper. We would have thrown the fish back, but unfortunately the hook was caught up in the gills so bad that by the time we were able to free it the fish was severely bleeding.

3. Yesterday morning I went on a fishing trip with Mike Kennedy. We were headed towards the Elizabeth Islands for the hopes of some bass, but the expectation of bluefish. I was right on with this prediction other than the fact that I missed about 4 bass hits near Quicks and Cuttyhunk. There were nice schools of bluefish in Quicks' Hole and Cuttyhunk. We could have stayed all day and caught hundreds I am sure.

Yesterday afternoon our family boated around to Washburn Island. We met the Fish/Lott family and did a geocache. We tied up and ate dinner before attempting to beat the sunset. On the outgoing trip it was a little rougher than we had hoped so we left an hour and a half to make the return trip. Vineyard Sound was much better on the way back with 2 foot waves, but very navigable. As soon as we hit Woods Hole the seas were down to nothing and we were pleased to see that they were the same on the Buzzards Bay side. This was lake calm and we were actually able to open the boat all the way up and we were home in no time at all.

Busy, Busy, Busy

For summer I have been so busy. Starting on Wednesday I had gigs on every day with multiple gigs on Thursday and Saturday. The big string of gigs ended Sunday morning with a church gig. Mike Earley and I had planned an Elizabeth Islands jaunt and that started a little before 4pm. With a full tank of gas and near flat calm seas we decided to head out towards Cuttyhunk, a first for both of us. We decided to fish for the blues if they showed, but they didn't. Not one. Just south of the Weepeckets we saw some birds, but they were acting a little stange. Long story short there were a few schools of bass breaking on bait, but it was pretty unorganized. Mike caught one healthy schoolie and I had a few bass follow the Ranger on metal leader that I had bought to catch all the bluefish I knew that we would be catching. I switched to a bone Hogy when I realized we were on bass, but the schools were so unorganized we kept heading south. Around the colder water there was a bunch of fog, but we were able to keep the islands in sight and get down to Cuttyhunk and back safely. On the way back we went by Quicks Hole and saw a few spots that looked rocky and fishy. I told Mike that I ws going to catch a 32" bass around these rocks and sure enough I got some really nice swirls and finally a hookup on the 7" bone Hogy. Well, it was only 31", but it was a great fish and really pulled some drag. Unfortunately the fish inhaled the bait and the hook was really hung up in its gills. When we finally got the hook out it was bleeding so bad we knew it was going to die so we kept it. I am looking forward to getting to Cuttyhunk early some morning to get a big bass.

Great Weekend

Had three gigs this weekend. Nice to get some extra cash. I am really starting to like playing with Salsa Night Band. Even though I do not understand what the people are saying much of the time they are really nice and we communicate with bare bones English and my limited Spanish.

Saturday morning Mike Earley took his friend Rick back to the West End of the canal and Rick hooked up to a nice 28 lb. bass. Mike also brought home a honking bluefish that had to be at least 12 lbs. I was too tired from the night before to get out in the morning with them. It is a really weird feeling that I feel because before Thursday night if I knew there were huge fish in a particular area I would have been there in a second no matter how little sleep I had. Thursday was so good I almost feel as though I have no need to experience the same fishing at the same spot. At least I am not felling the same desire to prove my fishing expertise or lack thereof because now I have 4 keepers under my belt for the season. Having said that, I had so much fun that I think that I am going to go back there tonight. Apparently the fish are still there from reports that I have received.

Great news!! After Thomas' baseball game and my wedding ceremony on Saturday I was able to get the boat put in and it is now being officially rack stored at Fiddler's Cove. On Sunday morning we went out on a family boat outing with Christine's parents. It was awesome. We went into the west end of the canal and were able to dock up in Onset Harbor and eat lunch at Marc Anthony's. Best pizza in the Cape Cod area. There were a lot of boats fishing, but I did not see a single hookup.

Gwen scored her first goal in lacrosse yesterday. I was so proud of her. There is so much luck involved in girls lacrosse. If a girl gets a pass and it is the second pass they need to pass it again until their team can legally shoot on net. I can't count the amount of times that Gwen was the second girl to receive a pass only to have to make one more pass and have that girl score or get a shot on net. No biggy! She is really starting to understand the game and I am so proud of her newly found athleticism.

Thomas had a game and although he did not score he played outstanding. He was very agressive during ground balls and was able to get a couple shots on net. It was their 2nd and last game of the year and they ended up in a 5-5 tie.

Big wins all around

I got a great report of some nice bass being caught near the West End of the canal. I had to get there. Mike Earley and I went a little before 8pm. Amazing scene. Big bass crashing plugs. Usually I am a light tackle guy, but I knew I would have to be chucking plugs out deep so I let it rip with my 9 foot ugly stick. A cheap surf rod, but it got the job done. Plus, I have it lined with braid which definitely has added a good 20 yards to my cast. After all was said and done I pulled in four bass in the 20lb. range and one nice bluefish. Mike was unable to cast quite as far as me, but he hooked up twice and did bring in a nice 20lb. bass.

Celtics win, Celtics win, theeeeeeeeeee Celtics win!!! Huge win for the Celtics last night. Close game and I think that this could turn out to be a great series. Celtics definitely had the benefit of some hometown calls from the refs so I wonder if that will continue next game. If the Celts can pull off a game two win they are totally in the drivers seat. Knowing that if they can just get one win in LA that they can come home to win it all. Exciting times for Massachusetts sports fans.

Fishing report and a prediction

On Sunday morning Mike Earley went to Middle Ground and released 20 keeper sized striped bass. The squid are coming through and the big fish are following. This is just like the time I went out with Steve Page and we happened upon the same circumstances. It is truly amazing fishing. Monday morning Mike Hogan went out and pulled in 8 keepers with a charter he was running. So, Tuesday i decided it was time to take a day off and get out there. When I got to middle ground nothing was happening. I did not see any squid, fish breaking, or fish being caught. After an hour I look to my left and I see this huge seal. Yes, a seal in Vineyard Sound on June 3. I get out of there and try a bunch of other spots with no luck. I go back to middle ground and start fishing again. I see a couple seagulls diving here and there which at least tell me there is squid in the water again. I manage to catch three stripers on the Double Wide Amber Hogy. With so much weed in the water it was the only way to consistently get good casts in and not bring up a pound of weed every time. The fish were 26", 26" and 27". No keepers, but I felt good that I was the only one that I saw catch any fish. Every now and then you would see a bass come flying up out of the water to attack squid, such a cool sight. Apparently the fishing just kept heating up too because Gene Bourque went back and caught a few nice fish later. It was nice to get out there and catch some decent fish. This was the first time I had gone out on the boat by myself and I was really happy with all aspects of it. I was out for 5 hours and burned hardly any fuel. I continue to shave seconds off of my self proclaimed mastery of loading and unloading of the boat on to the trailer.

Prediction - More seals equals more Great White Sharks. There will be more sightings of Great White Sharks this year than ever. And, within the next two years my horrible prediction is that there will be a shark attack on an outer beach on the Cape.

Finally!!

Mike Earley was instrumental in getting us out on Mother's Day to fish. Somehow he persuaded Suzanne to take the other wives out to an extended lunch/dessert on Saturday. This gave us 4 hours of fishing on Mother's Day morning.

It was windy and a bit cold, but doable. We decided to head to the West End of the Cape Cod Canal and then work our way back. On the way to the Canal we came up on a huge flock of birds that were diving. It was clear by some of the rises that there were fish breaking under the birds. I feel pretty confident that I did not get too close to spook the school, but as soon as i got us within casting distance the birds took off and so did the fish. We slowly went over where the action had been occurring and I noticed that there were some interesting marks on the fishfinder. I have not yet taken the time to completely figure out how it works. I was pretty sure that this had to be fish. Mike and I took some casts and Mike hooked up to the first fish of the season, a small 20 incher. We turned around and repeated the drift. As soon as I told Mike we were over the fish he hooked up again. I was very excited to be reading the fishfinder accurately. We repeated the drift a few more times and I finally got a hit, but it felt like areally small fish and he never really latched on. Mike got a couple more hits too, but we were unable to boat any more fish.

We went up to the West End of the Canal and did see some bird action, but there were no fish under them. On the way back home we swung into the mouth of Red Brook Harbor and made a few casts into the rocks at Wing's Neck. After a while we saw a few striped bass working on some bait in tight to shore. About ten feet away from where we could reach with a cast. Could not tell what the bait was. Looked too small to be herring. Bigger than peanut bunker and smaller than adult menhaden.

I am going to be trying to take advantage of any free time I can muster in the next month as the fishing is really going to start heating up. A couple sick days may be in order as well.