Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Getting Closer

Sunday was a beautiful day and Skip and Ken "The Legend" stopped by the boat yard to lend me a hand on some finishing touches.  While driving over the bridge, we looked out over the bay and there must have been fifty boats out trying for stripers. Monday was forecast to be nice again, so Evelyn and I took a ride to see my old friend Capt, George on the Angler. I talked to some of the top striper captains on the dock in the morning and they told me the fishing stinks. All the bass on the internet reports seem to be caught trolling and the fish have not settled in yet. They should be ready when we start. As for the bottom fishing, Evelyn and I had two keeper blackfish and a dozen big ling in the cooler. I added a keeper cod to top off the fillet bag at the end of the day. Fish sandwiches this week.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Getting Close

I have a few small jobs left to do and expect to be finished next week. We will be sailing on a limited schedule this year. The marina is hosting the America's Cup on the weekend of 5/7-5/8 and I would strongly urge everyone to stay away from the area. We may try to start the season the week before this event, but it may be difficult parking and getting to and from the marina. They are already moving boats around and bringing in all types of equipment to stage the event. Things should return to normal after the weekend of the race.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

What A Day!

We got down to the Skylarker Saturday morning and the weather was perfect. There was not enough wind to blow a butterfly away. Our biggest concern was the lack of anglers.  It seems everyone had something more important to do than go fishing on a beautiful spring day. We were worried about covering the expenses of running the big 70 foot super cruiser with only a handful of fisherman, but Capt. Steve said "Let's Go." After all, what else were we going to do on one of the most beautiful days of the spring, walk around the park and look at tulips? We broke the inlet in a gentle swell and were treated to an awesome sunrise and a smooth cruise to the grounds. Some spots were lively and the fishing was good. Anthony "The Barker" started off the day with his personal best blackfish, a fat ten pounder and finished up with a nine pound cod. Ken "The Legend" landed some big blackfish. Mike M. helped fill the cooler with some nice fish. Bob D landed a mess of good fish with his new Penn reel. "Uncle Paulie" did good as he usually does and Evelyn and I had a bunch of cod and blackfish. Even mate Tim B. (who always does an excellent job) and Capt. Steve helped fill the fish box. We ended up just shy of a boat limit of blackfish and dozen keeper cod, releasing many shorts as well as the first few jumbo sea bass of the season and the usual dogfish (they weren't too bad), ocean pout, Pollock, bergals and other assorted bottom fish. Special thanks to Anthony for bringing a load of goodies from the Polish deli and feeding the whole crew and also to Capt. Steve for sending us home with a full bag of fillets and a little sun burn on an unbelievable spring day.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

News for Anglers

We have secured our slip for the upcoming season and expect to have the boat back in the water in a few weeks. Cold and rain slowed down the progress in the boat yard but we got a pretty good jump on things last month. We should start striper fishing in May. Yesterday, I spent four hours in the engine room and realized that I am not cut out for that kind of stuff anymore.

Friday, April 1, 2016

April

The old timer's used to say " When the Dogwoods bloom, the blackfish bite." Well, the trees are blooming everywhere.