Lori Rizzo
I just wanted to update you on my 'big' two day tuna trip last weekend.
Due to tropical storm Hermine, the tuna were not making much of a showing, and the trip was a bit of a bust, at least tuna-wise.
However it was quite an interesting experience for me, living on a boat with 24 men of all ages and sizes, with many of them ex-commercial fishermen.
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There was something to the effect of "we have separate women's quarters" but I'll be darned if I could find them!
So I just bunked in the hold with the guys.
I think there were a few who were surprised to have this old lady onboard!
In fact, I missed the first group trolling round, because no one thought to clue me in that it was my turn.
But a little bit of "sassy-ness" to the deck hand paid off, as I don't think the crew wanted to spend much time with me in a sour mood!
The rest of the trip was quite pleasant and interesting, despite the lack of tuna.
We did have absolutely beautiful weather.
The sunsets were great...
I think dawn was nice too, but I gave out at 4AM and missed the sunrise.
Some of the new and interesting things I learned include:
- How to handle a tuna rod and reel (I recommend bringing your own)
- How to jig for squid (a very fun experience!)
- How to deal with blue sharks (they keep all the good fish away)
- How to catch Mahi Mahi (I also took a few of these home to eat)
Fishing techniques included a combination of trolling and jigging.
We used 10-20 ounce weights and I got to see the array of tuna jigs most of these guys use.
We also did quite a bit of chunking with shad, squid, and sardines.
We even caught a few cod off a wreck on our way home, I watched porpoises as they followed in the wake of the ship.
We caught a pelagic sting ray.
I saw jellyfish that looked like squid, and observed some really neat hatches at night. We chased a needlefish with a net but had no luck subduing him.
Almost all of the guys had their own rods and reels.
My set up was not ideal for trolling or jigging, but it worked great for Mahi.
The meals on the Helen H. were terrific, and the crew really pitched in to teach me the basics of offshore fishing.
I can't wait to get back out and catch a real tuna!
Yesterday I fished out of Sesuit Harbor as part of the Massachusetts Striped Bass Association's annual Day on the Bay fishing tournament. The target species for the tournament were stripers and bluefish.
I had a great experience with captain George Doucette (pictured above) of the Lady Linda and had the pleasure of meeting fellow MFCC'er Steve Madden of the Buzzard's Bay Anglers Club.
I would like to conclude this report by letting you all know I've got the tuna bug bad, and that I would like to split a tuna charter with anyone who may be interested.
I hope you have a great day, and tight lines!
Lori
Awesome write-up Lori! Sounds like a great trip even though the tuna didn’t show…you still had a great experience, learned something and got to catch some fish. Sounds like a successful trip to me!
How awesome are you Lori! I just started fishing the salt this year, mostly in my Hobie. I am jealous of your 40 incher but I will get there. Us fishing gals need to rock OTW with each other.
Independent , Strong , Woman , Great job Lori
Nice write up on your recent fishing excursions Lori 🙂 Way to go speaking up for yourself and learning as uou go !!
Thanks – I came to MA in 2012 and had never fished saltwater and never been to cape cod. Someone told me “you should go to the canal and fish” and I had no idea what that was! So I Googled “fishing Cape Cod Cansl” and hence my journey began on MFCC! I made my first fishing friends with Ryan’s first group trip to Cuttyhunk and joined my first somewhat rowdy Groupme canal fishing buddies from here, too. I also fish out of my Hobie Outback and my PB is a 43″ Striper at the NEKF Shootout. Just sayin, it’s kinda fun!