Riptide Charters

For the last few weeks I've been in quite a slump. I've fished several different places and done it several different ways and it seems as I have been zigging and the fish have been zagging. On the few shots we have had we have been dropping the ball with things like pulled hooks, missed strikes etc. This week starts the bulk of my CC Bay tuna charters and being in a rut like I was is not theway I was hoping to go into this part of the season. I knew I had to break this streak NOW!

The night before I pulled appart all 4 of my Penn 950's and checked out all the internals. I lubed and greased everything. A little Loctite where it's needed and re-assembled. I went shopping and picked up fresh Seaguar 50# and tossed out all the old stuff I had. All the hooks I planned to use were hand sharpened. I checked the first 100 yards or so on each spool of line for any nicks or frays. New 8' flouro leaders were carefully knoted on. The drag on each rig was checked, re-checked and triple checked. All the tackle not made for or fit to land tuna was removed from the gear bag. There would be no lost fish due to gear issues. Not tomorrow. The loosing streak would end!

I met Bruce and crew in PLymouth @ 0730. The bite had been better later in the day and the wind was forcasted to die off asthe day went on so we left a bit later than normal. A buddy was heading out and called to tell me his run from the canal in his 29'er was a bumpy one with the stiff NW wind. Nevertheless we launched and headed out. None of the crew had ever gone tuna fishign before. The skill ranged from novice to active weekend angler. I gave them the tuna talk on the way out and tried to give them all the info I could on hooking and fighting the fish. The guys were dialed in and were eager to get it done.

We ran out into Mass Bay with a quartering 3' sea at a leasurely 30 kts. I had planned to run up on the Bank with the masses and try my luck up there. But with the wind cranking and all the boats around I changed my mind mid way out and diverted to alternate Plan B. I pressed on to the new location and shortly we arrived to find loads of life. I wasn'tlong before Charlie popped up and gave us a fleating shot at a few fish. No joy, but we were inthe right general area. In the next 2 hours we moved around from baitball to baitball making a few casts at each one while I scoped the area with the sounder. We hada great whale show and had one nicepod of fish blow up and give us a few solid casts but still we were O'fer.

I knew we were close to the right spot, but we were just not quite there. I marked the bait ball on the GPS and usedthat as a hub to work from. We began a search pattern using the bait as a center point. Sure enough we had been close, but after a few sweeps farther away from the center we found Charlie. The tuna were breaking sporaticly but they were up near the surface on the sounder.

The guys were each casting a different lure to see what was going to draw them up. The rubber was the first to get attention witha HUGE boil right at boatside. I yelledfor the guys to allcast in the direction the boil came from. They did and after two cranks the rubber got smashed on top! GAME ON!

The fish made a searing run and the Penn 950 made sweet music as the fish tested the drag. Round and round we went. The guys took turns on the fish so everyone got a chance to feel the power the fish had. With a little on the spot coaching they thwarted ever attempt or the fish to find the props or the bottom of the boat. In a little over 15 minutes we had color and it was my turn to seal the deal. The fish came close and I burried the 6" Aftco just behind the fishes eyeball. GAME, SET, MATCH!

We hoisted the butterball of a tuna over the gunnel and the guys were pumped! None of them had ever landed a fish like this before. They had mostly done bass and albies. I shot some video of the fightand the fish, while Bruce and crew shot the still pics (I'll have them soon). The fish we bled and iced and we were back on track.

We had several more swings and misses on the surface rubber in the same area before the life started to die off. We moved a few miles and foundthe epicenter of life. TONS of whales, huge numbers of birds and few tuna crashing among the tens of thousands of big bluefish surface feeding. The guys were content to watch the show as we waited for the tuna to pop around us. It was like living a Nat Geo show.

Charile never made another showing, but the wind sure did. The SW came up to 20kts and the bay water whipped into a 3-4' slopfest. The guys were impressed with the boat all day but now it was time to show them what the boat was made to do. The guys got into a good spot on the boat for rapid travel and I pionted the big Contender into the teeth of the tight slop and let it eat. I got the boat up on top of the mess and tweeked the trim and the tabs to find the speed and the trim spot where we could span the waves smoothly. At 40 kts everything came together and we were able to bridge the gaps and still keep the boat firmly planted in the water. It is the most amazing thing running smoothly over 3-4'er at that kind of speed. The boat throws the water up and out and before the wind can blow it back in on you your gone! Twenty one minutes later we were in the safety and calm waters of PLymouth harbor. The guys run a 17 Mako suffice to say they were blown away by the big Contenders capabilities. I still crack a smile just thinking about how it runs compared to my 24er and the beating I NOT getting because of it.

Final tally 1 for 1 on tuna. The fish taped out a a plump 56". It was packed to capacity with 5" sandeels. The lure of choice was a 9" white sluggo cast with a ST Croix 20-40 SW Premier and a Penn 950ssm loaded with 50 Spiderwire Ultracast and 50 Seaguar flouro tied in with a triple surgons knot.

Overall it was a great day OTW. The fishing was slow all around but we were able to getthe bite and more importantly capitalize on the bite and put a solid fish in the boat. The Enviromental show was top notch and really added to the day. I sometime take the whale and bird show for granted. Today it was hard not to notice how impressive it was.

__________________
Good Luck,

Capt. Terry Nugent
Riptide Charters
www.riptidecharters.com

Soggy Dollars

Great report, as always! Thanks for all the details.

Peckster

Nice report - nice job on the fish!! WTG!!

Riptide Charters

Sorry for the wind noise. My regular video guy Shaun "Steady" Ruge was not around to help out. We just passed the camera around the crew and did what we could. Enjoy.
8/17 SBFT in CC Bay

__________________
Good Luck,

Capt. Terry Nugent
Riptide Charters
www.riptidecharters.com

Riptide Charters

__________________
Good Luck,

Capt. Terry Nugent
Riptide Charters
www.riptidecharters.com

Albatross

As cool as it gets right there Terry you looked happy as a pig in poop during the beginning of that video.....

I loved hearing your banana story shutting the outer banks down on the radio on Friday. Me and the rest of the Ripdog crew were laughing our butts off.....

-Brian

SEACAT

Great fish..Great video...Great report!!1

Philly Doug

Well, it looks like its time to plan the first tuna trip.......

talewalker

Nice hook-up Riptide - Heard you on the radio out there. Had one slash right at the boat but struck out. Got hammered in the chop on the way back in the 22' Mako. Think I have 3 foot-itis...

Talewalker