The 2007 Fishing Season was an unbelievable success on
the vessel, Reel Attitude. To be able to
catch over 8000 fish from Stripers, Bluefish, School Blue Fin Tuna, Yellow-Fin,
Blue Marlin, Wahoo, Albacore, Mahi-Mahi, White Marlin and have BIG SHOTS on Big
Eye Tuna is a fisherman's dream. We made
it a reality!
Thanks to everyone that booked with Reel Attitude, you
made our season a fish success with many of you cooking your prize
trophies....from the water to the table, that's what we all did during the entire
fishing 2007 season.
Although Nantucket Sound waters were warmer which creates
a ‘slower bite pattern', we just didn't let this happen at Sportfish the Cape
Charters. Bait concentrations were a little more difficult to locate due to the
change in water temperature and the fleet of offshore trollers harvesting bait,
however, this vessel, Reel Attitude and its High-tech fish finding gear just continued to LOCATE
FISH.
Neighboring boats, radioed us over and over again to find
that fish-spot ‘secret of success' but by that time, Reel Attitude navigated to
another high-concentration area and was off again to break our daily fishing
record. It was fish-dynamic and
unbelievable.
Booked charters exceeded expectations with many our
clients taking multiple trips throughout the season. We continued to participate in the Tournament
circuit at the Monster Shark Tournament at Martha's Vineyard and the
Albermarle/Pursuit Manufacturer's Shoot-out at Allen Harbor Marine's July 4th
Tournament. What a better way to start a
day's work, with bass, tuna, canyon runs or fishing a three-day tournament
circuit. When you love what you do
everyday, it becomes your soul mate and passion to just ‘find fish'.
We were delighted as the Captain and team, to take home
the Allen Harbor Pursuit/Albemarle Shoot-Out tournament trophy catching 106
fish, the largest trophy striped bass and winning the most fish per angler.
Proud as a pup we were....to make Pursuit the leading manufacturer winner that
day!
Our celebrity status increased during the 2007 fishing
season as we hosted Nascar race-car driving crews, Boston comedians, a
Chef-entrepreneur husband-wife team that make the best bread, and a host of
families in search for the best family reunions in pursuit of a great day on
the water. I might add, the day of the
Nascar fishing charter, we caught 54 striped bass!
Wives called in to book and surprise their husbands with
a fishing charter and I, as the Captain, called many a husband to tell them
about their surprise upcoming charter.
Needless to say, husbands were thrilled that their wives ‘would let them
to go fishing for the day'. What could
be better, surrounded by fish, the sound of the lines going off, and Reel
Attitude navigating throughout the Sound in quest of fish?
The breakdown of what we caught is unbelievable:
-
3,000 Blues with a 24 pound maximum
-
2,000 Bass up to 49 pounds
-
321 School Blue Fin up to 200 pounds
-
150 Yellow-Fin during our Canyon Runs
-
Blue and Numerous White Marlin
-
Some Exceptional Wahoo
-
100+ Albacore and Mahi-Mahi
-
Big Eye Tuna (Shots at them)
-
In One Day, ‘spot on' with 21 School Tuna
‘fish and release'
Technology changes that created more opportunities to
land fish, had a great deal to do with lure pattern and fast trolling
techniques. After having spent time with
the experts at Black Bart's Florida marine shop, we focused on fast trolling
methods using in-line weights. We
changed out lure patterns to land more blue and white marlin.
Our jigging
success helped to produce translucent fish images that continued to ‘tease'
School Blue Fin to chase after blue, silver and perceived mackerel. You could say, we really got good at
out-smarting and out-jigging the fish.
We introduced new techniques on squid bars, added new 50 VSW Penn
International Rods and Reels. We hit so
many fish so often, that Reel Attitude's outriggers had to be replaced
twice.
Thanks to my first mate, Eric Awalt, who continues to
introduce new innovative approaches that increase our daily catch of the
day. Having grown up on Cape Cod, Eric
knows the waters inside and out and has a great deal of experience as a
mate. He also has exceptional mechanical
experience, which is a real advantage when you're on the water and may need to
come up with a "quick fix". Eric is a
family man with two children and a wife who participates in both Marathons and
Triathlons. It's a real pleasure having
his skill on board the vessel, Reel Attitude.
To make sure we were ready for the 2007 fish season, we
loaded our on-site refrigerators with bait and I took my wife's refrigerator in
the garage and loaded it with more bait.
I might add, she asked me not to!
Reel Attitude was definitely ready, however, we ended the season with a
very big surprise! To get one more Tuna
trip in for just Eric and myself (no clients that day), we were to set out that
morning at 3:00 a.m. Our own on-site bait refrigerator had been cleaned out and
removed until the 2008 season but I was comfortable I had bait in my home
refrigerator at ‘The Captain's Quarters.'
I woke up at 3:00 am, in the morning and went to load the
bait. What bait? Boy was I surprised when I opened up the
refrigerator and nothing was there.
Absolutely nothing. My mind was
racing to figure out what could have happened to $800.00 worth of bait. Not to mention, the work, shrink-wrapping and
time I spent in getting it all ready to use.
I ran into the house, woke up my wife and was really
irritated. Needless to say, she didn't
wake up quickly or respond the way I would have liked. She simply stated she had thrown the bait out
since I wasn't using it. I won't forget
that day or that evening when I came home from fishing. She still laughs when she tells the story,
yes laughs and she doesn't appear sympathetic at all. She claims she asked me to remove the bait
many times and to kindly remove it from her ‘working refrigerator'. I was out on the water that day and everyday
during the 2007 season. I guess there's
no greater wrath than that of a fisherman's wife who is alone most of the
season while I've gone fishin'!
To be able to catch fish and to have a good wife (inspite
of my bait) that loves to cook the catch just doesn't get better. Although I generally want peanut butter and
jelly, dunkin donuts and chocolate bars, I do like a great piece of fish from
our day's catch and keep.
This year, my wife, Karla known to many of us as "Ms.
Chef on Deck", will be providing coastal recipes for everyone. Since many of you have asked her to share
some of treasures from the fish you ‘catch and keep', she'll be creating
recipes in exchange for some of yours.
This season, you will see, ‘Cook the Catch with Ms. Chef on Deck;' a
host of coastal culinary tastes for everyone to enjoy. One simple yet delicious ‘from the water to the table' creation with
Striped Bass or any firm fish:
Pan-Roasted Striped Bass from the vessel ‘Reel Attitude'
(Melts in our mouth)
Any firm fish will do such as cod, snapper, grouper,
halibut or salmon can be substituted. We
use striped bass!
2 TBSP olive or peanut oil
4 One inch thick; center-cut striped bass (or the captain
cut (thicker side)
(6 ounces each
and leave the skin on)
Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper
3-4 TBSP unsalted butter
2 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
Coarse Sea Salt
Heat the oil in a large skillet over Medium Heat. Dry fillets with paper towels; season them
with kosher salt and pepper on both sides.
Add them (skin side down) to the skillet. Reduce the heat (the oil will sizzle) and
cook fillets until the skins are crisp about 3 minutes. Turn the fillets and gently brown the other
side, 3 minutes more.
Add the butter and thyme.
Continue cooking fillets, turning them over once or twice (so they will
brown evenly). Baste with the
butter. Cook fish to opaque, about 4 more
minutes. Serve with the butter and
sprinkle with sea salt.
Cook the skin side of the fish just a tad longer as this
will ‘crisp' the skin and provide a great eating experience!
Serves 4!
That's it for a quick recap on our 2007 Fishing
Season. We look forward to hosting each
and every one of you on the web site, our vessel, Reel Attitude or on your
table as you enjoy the catch of the day.
Let's get serious and GO FISHIN'!
Captain
Eddie and Ms. Chef on Deck
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