I just wanted to extend a huge thank you to everyone who attended the Season Kick-Off Workshops that we held back on April 1st. It was great to see and catch up with everyone who attended.
Big thanks to our sponsor Cape & Islands Mitsubishi for being the driving force behind these workshops. The owner of Cape and Islands Mitsubishi, MFCC member Bruno Demir, also did a fantastic job interviewing our guests and keeping things moving along.
I also want to thank Ray Bazzano and Andrea Bailey from AV Media Services out of Worcester MA who took care of all the audio and visual at no cost. What a tremendous gesture and I can't thank you two enough. The microphones and everything else worked flawlessly!
Our speakers and vendors, Captain Tony Biski, Captain Jimmy the Greek, Captain Mike Fowler, Richard Banks, Charlie Lewis, Kenzie Llyod, Calvin Toran-Sandlin, Carl Leitao, Mike Marcus, Nick Calabrese, Jeanne O'Neil and Paul Aldrich were of course very instrumental to the success of the day.
Longtime MFCC member Paul Aldrich setup a display promoting his new small business which teaches people how to maximize the use of their sonar.
All together we were able to donate $900 to Operation Reel Heroes and $1,100 to the Cape & Islands Veterans Outreach Center. Thank you everyone!
What We Discussed
I recorded all the presentations and I will post them to the website for My Fishing Cape Cod members as soon as I can. Keep an eye out for them to go live on the site within 2 weeks.
The day began with a discussion about fishing Monomoy, with captain Tony Biski. Tony touched upon a variety of topics, from fishing the Monomoy rips to fly fishing the flats. We also discussed false albacore, safety, and more.
Next up was captain Jimmy the Greek of On Time Charters. Captain Jim shared a plethora of information about cod and haddock, fluke, and even fishing for bluefin tuna. In addition, Jimmy gave away fluke kits from Pure Fishing and a spinning rod from Black Hole to members of the audience.
Captain Mike Fowler of Bad Dog Sportfishing spoke next about fishing Cape Cod Bay for flounder, stripers and bluefin tuna. Mike generously revealed the exact lures and rigs he uses throughout his season of charter fishing on the bay.
Recreational lobstering was the subject of the next presentation. MFCC members Charlie Lewis and Kenzie Lloyd laid it all out for the audience, and provided us all with a great overview of what's involved in recreatonal lobstering and how to get started.
Longtime MFCC member and veteran Richard Banks was next up, with a presentation about how to get started shellfishing. Richard gave us a bunch of information about oysters, quahogs, steamers and more, in an entertaining and fun to watch fashion.
We then took part in a discussion about surfcasting the Cape, with MFCC members Calvin Toran-Sandlin, Mike Marcus and Carl Leitao. From their favorite lures to their favorite tides, these guys did their best to setup those in attendance for surfcasting success.
We capped off the day with a fascinating account of MFCC member Nick Calabrese's shorebound shark fishing adventures. From targeting sandbar sharks here on Cape, to catching giant hammerheads from the beach in North Carolina, Nick gave a great explanation of how he successfully catches & releases these amazing animals.
Thank you again to everyone who helped to make this workshop a success. If you missed this event, then it would be great to see you at our next meetup on Saturday May 13th at Sandy Neck Beach in Barnstable.
We’ll have Snowy Owl coffee, a bunch of prizes and giveaways, AND an optional long-distance casting competition. It should be fun!
Tight lines 🎣
I want to thank Cousin Eddy (and Bruno for bring them) for the fabulous giveaway package of Monomoy Tackle Lures that I won as the first giveaway at yesterday’s workshops! I can’t wait to try them out fluke fishing and jigging this season!
Many thanks to Ryan, Lauren, and all those that presented topics and worked behind the scenes to make this workshop a success.
Special thanks to Bruno for your sponsorship and participation in the workshops.
I am grateful to Mike Webster for donating the lure package that I won. I have one question about the 3D Magic vertical jig. Is it possible to use this from shore or only from a boat?
WOW, that’s great. It was very nice to see everyone, and thank you for coming out. See you on the water soon everyone. Herring run is starting to warm up, my sources tell me cod and haddock was landed this week already.
Thank you for sponsoring Bruno!
Wow! Incredible donations! Thank You Ryan! The meet up was very informative and fun! Thanks to all the speakers! Great job!