DECEMBER  2008

 

 
Not many charters at this time of the year, but we did manage to get out 2 times.
 
December 21st, Equinox Day.  Today is the shortest day of the year for 2008.  We headed out under a perfect forecast of 8-12 knots of winds but, soon after arriving on the fishing grounds, a rain squall passed over us and the winds and seas started to increase steadily and, with no strikes on the troll and the winds up to 12-18 knots, we put the anchor down and immediately caught 2 nice Wahoo, 35 & 40#.  During the next 3 hours, we caught 4 Yellowtail Snappers, up to 8#, an Amberjack, 5 Almaco Jacks, and a whopper-sized Porgy at 22#, along with some Coney's.  Then the Sharks set in, eating off at the shoulders 2 more Yellowtails and 2 Almaco jacks, plus a couple of long range cut off's, then the anchor got cut off on the bottom, sending us home.
 
December 27th.....  With Rob Loxton and friends, we caught 2 out of 3 Wahoo's on the troll, then anchored up to chum.  3 nice Yellowtail Snappers, 7-8#, an Amberjack, 2 Almaco Jacks and some Coney's, and lost 2 more fish to the Sharks.  Then, the tide direction changed, the fish stopped biting, sending us on our way home.
 
That's all for 2008 folks.... HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

 

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NOVEMBER  2008

 

 
On the 1st, with a group from Windsong Management on board and a short day, they caught 1 Blackfin Tuna 25#, 1 Amberjack 10#, 3 Nice Yellowtail Snappers 5-7#, plus 30 Robbins.
 
And on the 2nd, with Ricky and crew, 1 Yellowfin Tuna 25#, 1 Wahoo 26#, 1 Flag Rockfish 10#, 3 Almaco Jacks and 7 Rainbow Runners.
 
Then on the 10th, with good friend Hooks Cooper and his grandsons Douglas and Jeffrey, they had a super calm day - caught 1 Yellowfin Tuna, 12 Blackfin Tunas up to 25#, 1 Wahoo, 1 Monkey Rockfish 12 #, 12 Coney's, 5 Amber Jacks, 6 Almaco Jacks, 7 Rainbow Runners, 2 Yellowtail Snappers, and 30 Robbins.
 
On the 25th, with a break in the Wintry Weather today winds 8-12 knots, and a party of 3 from the UK, Richard, Kate & Julian, all had a good pull, catching 2 Wahoo's 30-40#, 1 on a mono leader, 2 1/2 Blackfin Tunas, (The Barracudas ate 1/2 of one), an Almaco Jack, and released 2 Horse Eye Jacks about 20/22# each.  All this in about 90 minutes of fishing on the anchor.
 
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy and Prosperous New Year!
 
We look forward to having you all visit Bermuda again and, of course, go fishing on the "Playmate."

 

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OCTOBER  2008

 

 
On the 4th, we had Dave Turner and crew aboard and, upon hitting the banks, we immediately caught a Wahoo and then a nice 20lb Bull Dolphin fish.  It was then I spotted a huge pile of tangled ships rope floating along with the tide.  We worked this windfall for about 40 minutes, catching 7 more Dolphin fish before moving on.

 

In the interim, we were catching the Frigate Mackerel - actually baby Little Tunny.  They weigh on average 2lbs and make super live baits.  Shortly, we arrived at our fishing spot and anchored the boat, then commenced chunking with bits of Bonita, Fry and Pilchards.  Two nice sized Wahoo came off a live bait, fished off the Kite, and 4 more out of the chum slick......no Tunas today !!!!
 
On the 5th, with Philip and friends, and again within 10 minutes of hitting the banks, we had a screamer strike on a ballyhoo bait, resulting in a hefty 60lb Wahoo.  Caught some more live baits and started using them right away.  Missed 2 more Wahoo strikes, slow trolling them, then decided to drift fish, as the conditions were right with the wind and tides direction.  Here again, the live baits paid off with 2 more nice Wahoo, 45lb and 35lb, then lost another whopper Wahoo when the light wire leader broke after 15 minutes.  Again, no sign of the Tunas.
 
On the 9th, on a 1/2 day Charter with a group visiting from Ireland and staying at the Elbow Beach Hotel, caught a 35lb Wahoo, 2 Barracudas (the biggest 35lb) and about 27 of the Frigate Mackerels, which we used as live baits to catch the fish.
 
October 11th.... 2 1/2 day trips today,..... and, on the morning trip with David Lang, we went right on the anchor after catching 65 of the little Frigate Mackerels, which Kevin put up the kite and resulting in 2 Blackfin Tunas, 15-20lb.  Also in the mixed catch was 4 Yellowtail Snappers, up to 7 1/2 lb, and 2 Grasby Groupers - a rather uncommon fish for us.
Then, in the afternoon, we again caught some Frigate Mackerels and anchored up again.  Using the Frigates as live baits, we caught 3 Blackfin Tunas, 16-20lb, plus some Barbers and more Grasby's.
 
Another 1/2 day trip with Chris and Larry off the Grandeur of the Seas Cruise Ship.  We caught some Frigate's and anchored up again.  After chumming for a few minutes, the small Robbins came up and the boys caught a bunch of these.  With a combination of the Frigate's and Robbins, they caught 2 Black Tunas - 20/25lb, 2 Amberjacks - 14/16lb, plus a Barracuda, Coneys and Barbers.  The Wahoo were not biting today, due to a full moon.
 
October 18th.... A beautiful day today, with light winds and calm seas.  Caught 1 Wahoo out of a double strike within minutes of deploying the lines.  Caught some live baits on the SW Edge, then went over to Challenger Banks and used the live baits and missed the next 3 strikes.  Then, decided to drift fish as the conditions appeared ideal.  Had 2 Wahoo bites, one on a mono rig in the chum and 1 off a live bait on the Kite.  This one chewed thru the mono line.  After 10 minutes, Peter Pearman was jigging off the bottom and caught a couple of Amber Jacks and Coney's, then hooked something huge.  After 30 minutes of give and take, up comes a Dusky Shark.  She broke off before we could plant a tag in her.
 
October 22nd.  A 3/4 day trip under perfect conditions.  Kathy and friends caught 2 Blackfins, 1 Dolphin Fish, a bunch of little Tunny Robbins and Rainbows.
 
The next day, the 23rd, was a complete about face winds of 15-20 knots and seas 6-10' but we had a willing crew off the Norwegian Dawn Cruise Ship, who braved the conditions.  We caught 5 1/2 Blackfin Tunas, (the Barracudas got 1/2 of one) 15 Little Tunny, 5 Dolphin FIsh, 2 Large Barracudas, 4 Wahoo's up to 35lb, plus some Rainbows and Almaco Jacks.
 
On the 30th, with Scott and Welcome on board.  Again, some huge seas left over from a nasty cold front that lashed us on the 28 & 29th.  They caught 2 Blackfin's, 1 Dolphin Fish, 5 Wahoo's up to 60lb, 1 Barracuda, 1 Almaco Jack 20lb and a Horse Eye Jack of 27lb-  just shy of World Record size.

 

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SEPTEMBER  2008

 

On September 1st, the catch was 7 Wahoo's, up to 40lbs,  a small Yellowfin Tuna, and a huge 35lb Barracuda.
 
And, a surprise on Sunday 7th, while on the way home doing 15 knots, we hooked a Blue Marlin and had it on for about 15 minutes before the hook pulled free.  The catch today was 1 Dolphin Fish, 7 Wahoo's and a bunch of Robbins.
 
On September 13th, with Dave Turner and crew, the catch consisted of 9 Wahoo up to 55 lbs, 2 Blackfin Tunas, 7 Barracudas - the biggest was 36 lbs and 45" long - 2 Almaco Jacks, the biggest 36 lbs, some Rainbows and Robbins.
 
Sept 14 th:  Blowing hard today, 18/22 knots, but Rick and Maureen from 9 Beaches went out, celebrating her 50th Birthday, and caught 2 Wahoo (40 & 42) one on a mono leader,  4 Yellowfin Tunas in the 20-25 lb class and a small Amber Jack.
 
September 22nd:  Jennifer and John, staying at the Cambridge Beaches, had a super day today, catching 6 Yellowfin Tunas, including one for John at 105 lbs, caught on 30 lb test line and took 1 1/2 hours to land, and 1 for Jennifer, which weighed in at 55 lbs.  These certainly  beat their previous heaviest fish, which were 7 lb Redfish.  The catch also included 4 Wahoo's, 2 Barracudas, and the usual Rainbows, Robbins and Mackerel.
 
September 25th:  Some really bad weather shaping up for this week, but Peter and crew braved the elements and were rewarded with 3 Wahoo, 3 good-sized Dolphin Fish, up to 22 lbs, 5 Barracudas and a small Tuna.  Most were caught using the live Frigate Mackerel's, which weigh an average of 1-1 1/2 lbs.  These baits have just shown up on the fishing grounds.
 
No fishing for the next 2-3 days as Tropical Storm Kyle boils past us well to the west, but kicking up some tremendous swells.
 
September 30th:  Last day of the month and the fishing was very slow.  We caught lots of live baits, resulting in 3 Barracudas and 5 or 6 strikes from Wahoo that managed to get away.  However, on the way home doing a fast troll of 13 knots, we snagged a double of Wahoo to save the day and the BBQ that night.

 

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AUGUST  2008

 

Week 1  4th-10th....The weather systems started to play havoc with the fishing again, loosing 2 days this week to high seas, but we still caught Wahoo, Blackfins, Barracudas, Robbins and Rainbows.
Week 2 .. 11th-17th..... Two more days lost due to weather, and the Wahoo's slowed up this week, still we 9 Wahoo plus Barracudas, 2 small Dolphin Fish which we released being very small.
Week 3.. 18th - 24th.....The Wahoo bite picked up again this week along with some Yellowfin and Blackfin Tunas, Mackerel and Barracudas.
Week 4... 25th - 31st. No fishing  on 3 days this week, we still managed 20 Wahoo, 2 Dolphin Fish, Yellowfin and Blackfin Tunas, and a released Dusky Shark.

 

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JULY  2008

 
 
Week 1.... 1st-6t.....Started off the week with 3 Blue Marlins and 1 White Marlin all released, along with some Wahoo and Barracudas, Almaco's and Robbins.
Week 2... 7th - 13th.....We fished the Bermuda Big Game Classic for 3 days and released 2 Blue Marlin, and lost another big fish after 45 minutes when the hook pulled free, plus  a couple of deep water Wahoo.
Week 3...14th - 20th..... Wee lost 2 days of fishing due to the first Hurricane of the season passing by us within 40 miles, Wednesday 16th was Dave Turners 40th birthday outing, and he caught a huge 105lb. Yellowfin Tuna and 12 Wahoo, 2 Blackfin Tunas. The rest of the week produced more Wahoo, Blackfins, Almaco Jacks and Robbins.
Week 4.. 227th...... One more Blue Marlin this week as well as Wahoo, Blacxkfins Barracudas, Rainbow Runners and Robbins.
Week 5....28-3rd..... Short week as we only fished 3 times, netting some more Wahoo, Blackfins, Dolphin fish and Robbins.

 

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JUNE  2008

 

Week one, June 2nd to 8th:  The Wahoo's continued to bite regularly, and we scored with some nice Yellowfin Tunas, up to 40lbs, plus Blackfin Tunas and a couple of nice Dolphin Fish, 18-20lbs., as well as Bonita's, Rainbow Runners, Barracudas, Mackerel and Robbins.  You will remember we use the Robbins as live bait  -  everything eats them like caviar.
 
Week Two, June 9th to 15th:  We fished the 4th Annual Brien Invitational Fly Fishing contest.  Our anglers caught 2 huge Yellowfin Tunas of 69.4 lbs. and 31 lbs., both of them caught on 20lb Fly Tippet.  They also caught 3 smaller Yellowfins in the 25/30 lb range, 2 Blackfin Tunas, plus Rainbow Runners and Mackerel.  On the 15th, the Clements party had a 50lb Yellowfin Tuna, 3 Blackfins, 4 Wahoo's, 1 Amberjack at 25lb, plus some Bonita's, Rainbows & Robbins.
 
Week Three, June 16th to 22nd:  We again fished the 43rd Annual Bermuda Anglers Clubs International Light Tackle Tournament.  Our boat placed 4th overall, missing 2nd place by a mere 50 points.  The catches include Wahoo, Blackfin Tunas, both caught and released, Barracudas, Almaco Jacks, Rainbows, Mackerel and Robbins.

 

Week Four,  June 23rd to 29th:  Consisted of mixed bag of Yellowfin Tunas, Blackfin Tunas, Wahoo, Barracudas, Bonita's Rainbows and our first Blue Marlin  -   released a nice fish, about 300 lbs.