We went to the Northeast today and found a handful of nice gaffers for Warren Haupt and his kids. Great job Julianne and Shane!
While most of the fleet was catching dolphin and tuna, we were thirty miles to the North catching tiles. Sometimes I make the wrong turn, but I always try to make the best of it. We caught a sail and a few gaffers for the rest of the day.
Yesterday morning we got off to a slow start. We had a few dolphin bites, but the conditions had changed from the day before, and I was trying to devise a new plan of attack. That’s when I got a call from Jamie on the Phideaux. He was offshore and had been hit by the big bluefins. The first time he was hit, the tuna won. O for 6 bites! The next time he was ready for them, and ended up hooking one on the right rig. He told me that he had seen the fish jumping around a few times after he was hooked up. I told Dirty to get the 130’s ready, and we steamed 8 miles to the Phideaux’s location. When we got there, I saw 400 -600 pound tunas chasing bait, it looked like someone was dropping Volkswagons in the water! We set out our spread, and after 3 circles, we hooked one and the battle was on. After about 30 minutes, the fish came up dead. Dirty J and I removed the gills and guts and packed the fish in ice, ensuring that fish retain its freshness and make some excellent table fare for our exceptionally grateful charter. It weighed in at 407 pounds, for a whole weight of around 450.