Hi Folks,I wanted to take some time here at the end of the year to wish all of you the very best of the Holidays and to reflect on the last year and to say “Thank You”. I really enjoyed the great fishing we had and the great memories that we keep. I have yet to count up my trips for the year, so I am not yet sure if it was for the better or worse, financially. With the latest decline in the stock market I would expect that next year’s bookings to be reduced. My retirement account is half of what it once was, so I guess that’s the way the IRA crumbles. I know that a lot of you folks are in similar situations, and many are a lot worse. I just hope our economy can get back on track soon. If you are interested in the 2009 schedule, I do now have the tide charts and can now book for the next year. Send me an email and we can make sure you get a decent day.
I do know that I was as busy with charters last summer as this aging body and mind wanted to be and I am happy with my occupation. It is really a great enjoyment to me to see your families and friends come out and have fun catching fish. I especially do love it when you bring your children fishing with me. Thanks to you all I get to do this for a living.
The Cape Cod striper season was as good fish-wise as the previous 3 or 4 years, but then not as good as 4, 5 and 6 years ago when we had vast schools of sand eels right off the shoreline for the bass to feed on. These schools of sand eels are still there, they have just moved to the deeper waters. Every cod this summer and many of the bluefin were chock full of them when we cleaned the fish. When that sand eel bait supply moves back closer to the shorelines, then we will again have better striper fishing. The biggest striped bass the Marilyn S caught this year (49 inches) was caught on the bottom in 97 feet of water !
The Chatham bluefin tuna fishing was also a little slower than the year before, but the ones we did catch were much larger, ranging from 53 inches to 67 inches or so. Perhaps the reason the fleet caught less is due to the fact that these fish are educated by the fishing effort applied to them as they age. Every year these fish grow more and more. It’s getting a little odd to hear a prospective customer still refer to these medium school bluefin as “footballs” as we used to. I think “car trunk” would be a more appropriate description of their current sizes. I did catch 5 nice Giant Bluefin this year, a much better year than several before and the first ones the Marilyn S had ever landed. I hope that the increase is due to better bait supply conditions from reduced mid water herring efforts and that the trend continues. I also did catch the biggest fish of my life to date, this year, a 1082-pound Giant Bluefin Tuna, which really topped a great tuna fishing season with a flourish. I intend to have that tail mounted for the memory. A photo of the beast (and the fish) on the deck of the Marilyn S is on the website. Two of the five were caught on live bait, and the other three, including the “grander”, were caught on a single small 6 inch herring, showing indeed that the herring is an important staple of these great fish. Come on out with me and see if you can't reel one in too !
Thank you again,
Capt. Bruce and Marilyn S
