The End of Fluke Season

We headed out in the dark Saturday morning with an all-star cast of Pioneer regulars. Many of the anglers aboard have caught fluke over ten pounds with me in the past. We were greeted by a beautiful sunrise and the persistent east wind of the last ten days. The breeze was ten to twelve knots and the sea ran in chops of two to three feet with an occasional swell. No one knew what to expect as the fluke did not bite since the storm passed earlier this week. Things started off slowly, as everyone adjusted to the motion of the ocean and need for heavy sinkers but things came together and we started catching fluke. John C. got the ball rolling with a couple keepers and then it was game on. Roger and Eileen started landing keepers and Mike and Cathy did well as usual. Back in the stern it was like old times with Anthony "The Barker" and Damien going toe to toe, rods bent all day. Joey (the excellent first mate from the Fisherman) and his old buddy "Mittens Mike" teamed up like they did twenty years ago, catching "lemons". "Candy Bar" Mike did very good landing lots of nice fluke. And then there was the food, Anthony brought half the Polish deli and shrimp cocktail, Randy made a cheese cake, "Candy Bar" Mike had all kinds of stuff and Eugene made sure it was safe to eat. In the afternoon, "Tugboat" Fred and Ken "The Legend" were sitting on the bench, like two grumpy old men in the park, and wished me all kinds of luck on the sale of the "Pioneer". They both caught their limits of nice fluke. Liam fished in the bow, and had a 6 1/2lber to edge out the others for the big pool. The ocean seemed to settle as the day went on and Capt Steve said we can't leave now and gave everyone one more drift to end the 2017 fluke season. I filleted all the way home, over fifty keepers in the box, and finished with a barrel of racks, and a bag of meat for everyone aboard. We got back to the dock just before the big rain started. Thanks to all for making this a special day with old friends.