| Fishing the Cape with Captain Eddie |
|
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:
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!
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 |