Single handed victory

 A few days late on this report, but beter late than never.  Last week I had Mike Fitsula returning to fish with Crimson Tide Charters.  On thier last trip a few weeks prior we just couldnt get the tuna to bite- they seemed to have lock jaw, but Mike got his redemption this time out.   We schedualed this trip on short notice, due to the the winds being forcasted to kick up later in the week. Mike couldnt get his buddies to call out sick for the day, so he manned up and showed up in morning by himself. And to top it off my mate was home with pneumonia, so it was just me and Mike. Talk about being short handed!

   
A quick ride out in calm seas brought us to where we we have been fishing for the last few weeks and we were immediately greeted by whales......birds.......and TUNA!  Tuna busting the surface in every direction.  Mere minutes into the troll the right short rigger snaps, and were tight. Mike helps me clear the remaining 6 lines and gets into the harness.  After a little huffing and puffing, and a few beads of sweat, 56" of sashimi is bleeding out on the deck.  

The tuna were still showing themselves everywhere, so we quickly got the cockpit organized and sent the lines out again.  Not 15 minutes later  another rod goes down and were tight to tuna # 2....and its only 9 am- god I love days like this. We repeat the proccess of clearing lines and Mike settles in to battle his opponent.  We got the fish boatside and pulled him in through the tuna door. Took a qiuck measure and photo, inserted a tag in his back, and swam him for a few minutes before sending him back to rejoin his school.     

Mike looked at me still out of breath, and said  " how about we eat lunch and turn this boat around"?  No problem Mike.... I had had a pretty good workout myself.  We hung out for a little while and watched neighboring boats fight fish for a little while before turning AKULA west end heading to the dock. 

A few more monsters hit the deck

The tuna fishing is on FIRE and theres no shortage of "bigguns" within 30 minutes of the dock. The weather has been another story though, with 30 knot winds kicking up the seas all week. Those brave enough to venture out when the seas subside have been rewarded with fish nearing the 1,000 lb mark. Lets get out and and do some damage!

Its been a busy fall

Well its been a while since our last report- so Im going to do a little pictorial catch-up. The fishing this year has been nothing short of fantastic. With tuna of all sizes within range weather our customers have been looking for smaller 100 lb fish to bring home for the table, or 800 lb monsters to stretch their skill and ability weve been able to get them on the fish. Dont be fooled into thinking that season is over, last year we were catching tuna well after thanksgiving and plan on contunuing to fish into december! Here are some pictures of the last couple of months.

The mid september tuna bite is hot!!!!!!

The bite on the bank is real good right now with lots of size class fish being caught on everything from bars to ballyhoo to xraps and of course live bait. We went 1 for 2 sat with the first fish hitting a ballyhoo islander white/blue long behind a bird and the second hitting a 9" black squid bar. Multiple hookups too. Get out there - winter is way too long. Good luck!!!

ANOTHER GIANT TAKEN BY CRIMSON TIDE CHARTERS

Wow!!!!! Where to start with this one. After Saturdays dissapointing 0 for 2 (pulled hook and broken leader) I was ready for some redemption for sure. Well we GOT IT and boy did we get it.


The crew for Sunday was the Jennarose clan. This was the first charter booked by Crimson Tide when Fred and I decided to start the business. Good Karma for sure. The only problem was they wanted to go bass fishing. Well lets say it didn't take long to convince them to drag a few bars around.

We depart Green Harbor a little after 5am and I point the boat to the exact spot where the BFT won the day before. I had bites there at both slacks and we marked good fish all day. We arrived to the same scene the day before - birds, bait and busting tuna. Fred sets out the spread in record time and after a few passes the short corner rod goes ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. The 50 is screaming and the rest of the spread is cleared. Well let's say this fish was pissed. He worked all anglers on board for a few minutes each until we finally get color and a nice toss of the poon by Fred and bam game over. Taped out at 81" and weighed 260lbs. So I ask the crew if they wanted to go bass fishing and they so F-no lets get another tuna.

So I work the area until about 9am and we are off to the race for some bass. We spent all of an hour putting a few blues and bass in the boat before deciding to run 10 miles south. I told the crew that the bass were thick there a few days earlier and there were also tuna mixed in and it didn's take long for the tuna crack heads to want their next fix.

We arrive to a desert but a good one. NO BOATS and pods of tuna busting everywhere and feeding in reckless abandon. Spread goes out and just after the last rod is out. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzz fish number two is on and landed in somewhat deteriating sea conditions. He visits Akula's deck, a tag is inserted and he's on his merry way. 55". Spread goes back out and just after the last rod is set ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ fish number 3 is on. Rod is passed a couple times on this one and we have a nice 71" fattied boatside and is safely released.

Well the seas are building fast and the Akula is steaming through 3-6 foot seas on its way to port to meet "The little white truck". Fantastic day with great crew and REDEMPTION is ours.

Two tuna today...and the first GIANT OF 2010

To say that the fog was thick today is an understatement, it was the kind of fog that collects on you eyelashes and leaves your hands wet all day- even with a heated wheel house it was uncomfortable. Our first hookup was at 8:22 am, on a trolled bar and P.J. put his game face on to winch this fish to the boat. In recent days a few commercial sized fish had been landed and I was hoping to be one of the lucky ones to hook a fish just north of the 68"-72" mark that have been the norm so far this year.




22 minutes into the battle we get her boatside, and although its a big fish, its not really what we were looking for- and easy boatside release and we were back on the hunt...



Just over two hours later I had my head sticking out the wheelhouse door checking out the spread- and I witnessed one of the most violent tuna attacks not 40 yards off the transom. The tiagra began singing that sweet love song that I crave so much to hear and we were in battle mode once again. Again P.J. gets in gear and curses at the fish the entire time (we both agree that it breaks thier spirit). We get the fish into the wash of the boat as I try to determine if this is the one. What a tough call....is he? Isn't he? I dont care.... this ones coming home..... A deep drop of the poon results in a clean buttonhole shot.... and victory is ours.



Once hes on the deck bled out and washed up, the tape comes out- and what do you know...73" Thats the ticket. Heres to the first giant bft (large medium) taken aboard our new boat AKULA, who is proving herself to be a worthy contender. Capt Fred

Incredible tuna fishing in May

Let me tell you guys that I feel trully blessed to have already landed 4 fish ...... in friggin may! whats that all about????




Today I had Fissues, Dunn, Will and my co-captain Chris as crew. We stopped at the SWC where I had gotten tight two days earlier to fing hardly any signs of life, but put the spread in anyways. One hour here and I decided to pull em up and go looking elsewhere. Stopped at the SEC to find the same conditions. OK, so I steamed off to PH where I had had fish up two days earlier.....nothing WTF???



Lines went in anyways as you cant catch fish without hooks in the water. Off in the distance Chris spotted a flock of birds that were decimating the surface, in went the lines again and we were off. Two miles later the spread was back in and we had tuna rippin up the surface all around us......and were tight. Chris works the fish for 5 minutes but the hook simply pulls....... oh well, thats fishing. they are still busting all around us as we try to weave through the dozen other knuckleheads that are working the area with us. The fish were tormenting us as they would come up and feed wrecklesley right where we had just trolled over. But if you put your time in you shall be rewarded, and were tight again. Dunn takes the rod on this one and begins working him to the boat. We were in shallow water surrounded by lobster pots and I did my best to move the through them without getting tied up, but the fish was not being cooperative and got himself into one, and all as the lobsterman who owned the pot, sat and watched. I swung AKULA back around and backed down to the pot with a sick feeling in my stomach that this was going to end in tragedy, but as we neared the buoy Dunn shouted color!! The fish had wrapped himself 15ft down from the surface and was dong circles wrapping himself tighter and tighter. Ethan grabbed hold of the line and slowly pulled the fish to the surface untill Will buttonholed him with a clean shot of the poon. 71" of beautifull tuna beating that hardtail rythym on my decks.



Man was that a hairy few minutes. All was well and we were off on the troll again. We called a few people over and watched them catch fish with us untill the life had begun to dry up. I decided to hit one more area before we headed home, and again after a few minutes with lines in the water there we were tight to tuna #3. Dunn worked this one to the boat again, and with no hindrances from anyones lobster gear we got an easy boatside release on another 68"-72" fish. I really do live for this kind of stuff. The crew was awesome, all I had to do was drive my little boat all day and rock out to Bob Marley. Awesome work in the pit boys.

The tuna fishing is in full swing, NOW is the time to go! Capts, Fred & Chris

Tuna madness May 28th and 29th

5-29-10 Tuna Report

We headed out of Green Harbor a little after first light after a slight delay. We headed off to the bank and arrived at our first destination a little after 6am. The crew set out the secret 6 rod spread and we spent the next couple hours pounding the area until the call came over the radio "Get here now!!!!" from Capt Dom from Coastal Charters. Well it didn't take long for the spread to get pulled in and the Akula was steamin at warp speed. We arrived to a few boats working a giant mass of fish feeding. Spread went out quickly and now it's a matter of time. So I'm sticking my head out the starboard cabin door and as I'm looking at the riggers and release clips I see the tell tale line stretching and yell "Fish on!!!!!!!", pop goes the clip and the beautiful singing 80W ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. The fish dumps a ton of line and Adam is on the rod, I'm at the helm and Fred is on the poon. A short time later and the fish is at the transom and the poon is implanted, straight gaff to the head and tail rope is on. 72"

We spend the next few hours working the area with no love. A short stop on the way home and we have a couple swings and misses on the bars but no hookups. Can't complain 2 fish in 2 days and it's MAY!!! Thanks again to skippa Dom for the call.

Crimson Tide Charters Report 5-22-10

Short and sweet on this one. Cod/Pollack/Haddock continue to fill the coolers at Stellwagen Bank. The crew for this one was Rich, JR, John, Will and Nick. The bite began good in the am slowed for most of the late am and early pm and went off big time at the end of the day!!! Tons of marine life and hungry cod and pollack underneath it all. We ended up staying an extra hour to fill the boxes and take advantage of the good bite. Needless to say eyes were scouting in every direction looking for Charlie to make his appearance but no confirmed sightings. Fred and I have the boat outfitted for Charlie and will be at it in the very near future. Tuna reports to follow. See you out there.

5-23-10 Young Guns Part 2

The young guns were back at it aboard the Akula this past Sunday. We had a late departure due to this thing called work interfering with my fishing schedule but did manage an hour and ½ fishing time exploring the inshore waters. Crew for this one was my sons Jack and Brody and their buds Sean and Brennan. The zebcos were outfitted with 2 and 6 ounce single hook diamond jigs and 8lb test mono. We started targeting macks putting a few in the box. Then we decided to send the jigs to the bottom and bam - keeper rock cod came over the rails along with some harbor pollack. The boys were back in form with Jack and Sean on the rods and Brennan chasing them around the deck getting them in the box. Brody was absent sleeping in the forward bunk with visions of chicken nuggets and Dora the explorer in his head. So we now have 2 trips under our belts with macks on the first one and keeper rock cod on the second. Now they are already talkin stripers and shark/tuna for their next trip. It’s gotta be a genetic thing! Does anyone know of a performance drag kit for zebco reels cause the future mates of the Akula are gonna need them.

Capt Chris aka Capt Daddy Hoopa

MACKS ARE IN!!!!!!!!

Spent a few hours on sunday with family testing the inshore waters for macks. The crew was Seaworm and his better half Abby, Mrs Hoopa and the young guns Jack age 6 Brody 4 and Brennan 6. We were like a well oiled machine. Fred and Jack slammin the macks with the zebco, Brennan chasin them around the deck depositing them in the bonar box and well Brody decided he liked licking them. I think he gets that from his mom??? Great time.

Capts Chris and Fred

Pictures from todays trip

They are getting bigger!

Two long days on the water have produced some fantastic ground fishing, with the cod getting larger and larger by the day. Friday was a friends and crew trip- we scouted a bit to the south, picked a few fish here and there but after making a move towards the north we found ouselves a pile of some of the fattest healthiest cod I've seen this year. We slammed the Pollack and Cod into submission easily filling every available cooler and fish hold with big porky fish. Is it wrong that the Captain took the pool, or is that how its supposed to work?? I jigged up this 19 lb hog and took everyones hard earned money- too bad Eric only pitched in 6 bucks.

Today we had guests from Buffalo New York, and we showed them to a repaet performance of of fridays trip, but this time multiple 12-18 lb fish filled the coolers FAST! Its was a total bail job on brown bombers and the entire crew was winded and in need of a nap by 9 am. We took our limit of cod and headed deeper to throw some Haddock into the mix. It was a slow pick, but again bigger fish prevailed, with the average Haddock being upwards of 6-8 lbs. By 2:30, and my 6th cup of coffee everyone had had enough and we headed west.

Back at again in a few, Capts Fred & Chris

The Cod fishing is spectacular!

Well its no secret that the Codfish have shown up in great numbers in the shallow water, and the Pollack have come in right behind them chasing all the baitfish that have invaded Stellwagen Bank. Sundays trip filled the box once again, with some larger specimens in the mix.

Our new light weight Diawa Sealine X series rods and reels are quickly proving themselves to be more than capable of standing up to the beating that double header Pollack have been putting on them and are pure fun to fish with. We'll be back out in a couple of days........ Capt Fred

Opening day Cod fishing was HOT!!

Opening day for Cod fishing on Stellwagen Bank was nothing short of an all out slaughter. Limits were caught on record time with nice healthy market sized Cod coming over the rails non stop. We have moved AKULA down to her permanent home in Green Harbor, and will be running our trips from there for the remainder of the season. We will be running open boat trips next week, call if you are interested in a shared trip and we will get it arranged. Capts Fred & Chris

The haddock bite continues to be good on Stellwagon. On board today, was FishCounterBob, DoctorTom, JKries, and Capt Dom. We worked our way out to the bank making a few EXPLORATORY inshore drops that revealed nada. Another stop on top of the bank in 100’ of water revealed cod have invaded the shallow water!!!! How sweet is it fishing for these brown bombers in shallow water with 6oz jigs. We eventually made it out to the haddock grounds. We had a steady pick of haddock all morning with the best bite being earlier in the am. The bite slowed for us in the afternoon. The haddock continue to be real hogs with everything over the 23” mark and some real nice fatties mixed in. With over 60 haddock in the box we pulled the plug and headed for the barn. Thanks again to Bob, Woody, Jeff and Dom for joining us on the Akula! It was a real pleasure fishing with you guys and look forward to doing it again. Tight lines!!

Capt Chris and Capt Fred

APRIL 3RD THE "AKULA" HAS A SPECIAL VISITOR

The report is gonna be short and sweet on this one guys. The weather continues to be great and the haddock bite is too. Plenty of porker bug eyes coming over the rails to fill the coolers. We did have one special visitor to the Akula this saturday. It wasn't returning guests Will, Mark, Joe, or Adam. But in fact Mr. Halibut. No he wasn't a full grown adult but just a little youngster. He was quickly photographed and released back to the deep. Very cool stuff!!! Tight Lines everyone.

Capt Chris and Fred

April 2nd, Haddock Frenzy

Today was incredible, both the weather and the fishing were unbeatable. Flat calm seas made for a fast ride out to the grounds, and no sooner than we dropped our lines at "the honey hole" all rods doubled over. Haddock after Haddock poured over the gunnels and the box began to fill fast. This went on all day, with all fish being fat and health averaging 5-8 lbs. Ed took top honors with a MONSTER bug eye stimated at 12 lbs, Easily the biggest Haddock Ive seen in person. But there is one draw back to fantastic fishing....we were at the dock cleaning fish untill 6 pm, but worth every minute. The fishing is heating up fast and so are available dates, make sure you reserve your day before someone else does, Capt Fred