Four Days of Fishing!!
Capt. Rich Antonino
August 26, 2008
Stellwagen Bank - Saltwater Fishing Report
Thursday, August 21
We ran a shared charter today, all on the troll. Once again, first thing in the morning, we had a nice takedown on the pink squid bar and we were off to the races! I love starting the day like that. It makes it all downhill from there, especially with the fickleness of tuna. It's nice to be able to look into the cooler when the fishing slows down and say "we've got the most delicious dinner ever for you all".
We trolled around the SW Corner of Stellwagen for a while, then headed up towards the BE Buoy, but nothing there, so we headed to the NE/NW corner. We found a few breaking fish (a couple of giants!), but no takers. The ride out was a little choppy, but it was absolutely perfect for the ride home. Great time and great people. See you out there, Capt. Rich Antonino, Black Rose Fishing Charters, 508-269-1882
Friday, August 22
Today the results were a little different than the last couple of trips. Zippo. Bummer, but we cast and jigged all day. It was close to success a couple of times, perhaps as many as 4 times. Jigging at daybreak, we had two quick hookups which may or may not have been tuna, they were that quick. Then a tuna followed the jig right to the surface where it swiped and missed the jig, leaving a 5' hole in the water right below our noses!!! Later in the day, we were following some birds at the SW corner when a tuna slammed at the swimbait, leaving no question what had just happened. Then, finally, casting a giant popper, 10' from the boat a tuna splashed. Pretty amazing stuff, but nothing for the grill.
We tried every place under the sun today, looking all over for breaking fish, but nothing really materialized. We did see some fish breaking here and there at Peaked Hill, but they never stayed in one place long enough for us to get a shot at them. Great guys and great fishermen. See you out there, Capt. Rich Antonino, Black Rose Fishing Charters, 508-269-1882
Saturday, August 23
The weather forecast was wrong--it wasn't beautiful and calm out there, but choppy for most of the day. That was strange, as it was amazing on shore all day. Adding to the weather was the lack of cod bite. This is bizarre because the fishing has been amazing on the past several trips and Capt. Matt fished all of those spots. The fish moved on (but were found much later in the day by one of our friends in a random spot). Great group of fishermen/fisherwomen. Really nice people.
I was sick, so Matt ran the trip today. Matt's mated or captained 90+ percent of the trips that I've ever run, so I don't have to worry when he's out there without me. He does an amazing job and he's one of the main reasons that we're booked almost every day. He graduated this year from college and is looking for "a real job" if you are looking for a great catch, let me know and I'll put him in touch with you. Capt. Rich Antonino, Black Rose Fishing Charters, 508-269-1882
Sunday, August 24
Tuna and cod today with Capt. Matt running the show and me still sick on shore. Great weather today, at least. The tuna bite was pretty non-existent (Matt heard of 5 fish getting caught) and the cod pulled the same disappearing act. Matt worked hard trying all of the usual spots, the unusual spots, and rockpiles, but the fishing was tough. Matt stayed out of the abyss (we try to fish in water less than 300'--it's a tough reel from that depth and many of our customers don't think it's worth it, even if the bite is on at that depth.) I did hear of a decent pollack bite in the deep water, but the rest was tough. They did manage to snag bottom once----when the customer gave Matt the rod, Matt quickly found out that it wasn't bottom, but a huge fish. The customer gave Matt the A-OK to keep reeling----the Okuma Red Isis and Guide Select rod bent, but didn't yield---a 35 pound white hake came up a few minutes later tethered to the 30 pound Power Pro. Very cool fish! I'll have photos later on today and I'm on shore again today (Monday). Let's hope for more great weather! Capt. Rich Antonino, Black Rose Fishing Charters, 508-269-1882
Stellwagen Bank Fishing Forecast:
The tuna are getting bigger and more aggressive--if you want to catch them on the surface or with jigging rods, now is the time. We're fishing for sharks all week, but our eyes will be on the tuna as we cross Stellwagen Bank!!
Target Species:
shark, tuna, cod/haddock, stripers
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