On November 4th, the adventure began with a 1:30 a.m. wake-up call. My destination: Falmouth Marine Park, where I was set to meet Captain Willy Hatch for a day of fishing onboard a My Fishing Cape Cod group trip. The goal? To land tuna, cod, and pollock off the coast of Cape Cod.
Despite the early hour and the brisk 32-degree temperature, the excitement of the trip kept me going. By 3 a.m., I arrived at the marina to join Willy and two familiar faces from an earlier tuna trip, MFCC members Steve and Rich.
We were soon joined by two more anglers, Brian and Ron. With our crew assembled, we set off into the pitch-black pre-dawn, bound for waters southeast of Cape Cod where Willy had been tracking tuna for the past week.
The ride out was smooth, with calm seas and light winds. The benefit of the pilot house became apparent as it kept us sheltered from the cold. As the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon, we were treated to a breathtaking display of pinks and oranges.
While Willy rigged the tuna gear, I took the helm to help keep an eye out, and I enjoyed the chance to learn more about the navigation and radar systems on board. Willy’s relaxed and knowledgeable demeanor made him a great teacher.
By 7:30 a.m., the first signs of action appeared. Smaller tunas were breaching the surface, and we spotted promising marks on the sonar. We set out the trolling gear, as live bait wasn’t an option—Porbeagle sharks had been frequent visitors, and we weren’t interested in tangling with them.
For Brian and Ron, this would be their first experience catching tuna.
As luck would have it, the reel soon screamed to life with that unmistakable sound that gets every angler’s adrenaline pumping!
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Great article, thank you I appreciate it- great guys on the trip also- tight lines!!
What a fantastic trip! Thank you for sharing your experience and all the great photos with us!
Excellent write for all of us here with super pictures so we felt like we were there too. Solid day on the water with the Season ending. Good for all Guys and great job by your Charter Captain.
Another Great Write-up!
Good Times with Good Friends…
What a great day and article to read in my easy chair. M.F.C.C. is a wonderful network of truly professional captains and avid fishermen, and women. Ty Jeffrey.
Same day went to stellwagen no tuna but hooked 2 blue sharks brought them to boat. Good experience for my crew that had never hooked a large shark or tuna. They got to use tuna gear as I manipulated boat and prepared harpoon and tail wrap just in case we had tuna. Our other plan was to head to the Sword for Pollock and tuna. Looks like you did great and thanks for sharing. Love the Whitman quote.
Hey Jeff,
Nice job putting this together , we had a great day fishing looking forward to many more.
Steve W.
Steve, enjoyed fishing with you as well and look forward to next one. Hope hunting is going well
Great writing, shared experience.