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Captain Allen's Weekly Fishing Report Archives |
July 2007
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July 30th - Report by: Julie Hendrix: 2 colleagues (Bill and Michelle) and I booked the day off to fish Blue Marlin on DeMako. I conveyed the date as Monday Mako Marlin Madness, a catchy phrase I used in past year's Monday charters, as a result of successful Marlin action. The phrase proved itself again this year, but with the "madness" coming in different forms: (1) It was a stormy day, with 18-22 knot winds, waves from 6 feet to as high as 15 feet, and we were the only fishing boat out in the deep water. " Weather Madness" and "Angler Enthusiasm Madness." (2) I mentioned to our crew that several weeks leading into the trip, I'd had a few dreams about a big 100 pound Tuna experience, even though we were planning for Marlin action. Everyone said "Dreaming Madness!" (3) The crew laid the four outer lines with Marlin lures and put a smaller squid lure on the long line, as Pete had heard a few big Tunas had showed up the other day. We waited and watched the spread through the rough seas and, around 9:30am, the long line went off lightly and we thought it might just be a small fish. Michelle, a new angler, took the rod and she soon was questioning why she was having such a hard time reeling in this "small" fish. About 5 minutes later, she found out,...as rapid "reeling" and "body position" instructions were flying from the crew and a hard fight with a big fish was on her hands. "Initial Fish Estimation Madness." (See Michelle and her catch, below.) (4) There is not much that beats watching a rookie female angler fighting and landing a whopping 145 pound Tuna, all the while knowing this kind of experience has been known to make grown men cry. "Rookie Female Angler Madness." (5) That day, Bill had 1 White Marlin on the line for about 5 minutes, showing off feisty twists and jumps across the bouncing waves, eventually popping the hook from its mouth. We also had 5 Blue Marlin strikes, with one Blue in particular playing with all four lures in the spread (Pete was furiously hopping from reel to reel to try and hook this bugger!). It was a day of fun Marlin action, but no Blues grabbing on tight enough,..."Luck of the Marlin Madness." Thanks, Alan and Pete - I'll take this kind of "Madness" any day and look forward to booking another Monday Mako Marlin Madness again, next year. Cheers! Julie |
August 2007
| August 7th -
Report by:
Julie Hendrix:
It had been "the blues" the past couple
weeks out on Bermuda's deep seas, with the fishing charters experiencing many
opportunities raising Blue Marlins, but few, if any, successfully caught and
released. That all changed for DeMako on August 7th, with the arrival of Denny
and his 3 business associates, Jeff, Mark and Doug (who was able to join the
group as he takes August 7th off from work each year in loving memory of his
sister, Sally, who passed away suddenly, a couple years ago). We needed some kind of "luck" to shake up the past weeks results and, surprisingly, it came in the form of "lady luck." Many of you have heard the fishing lore not to bring bananas on a fishing charter as it is thought to be bad luck. Captain Allen's best catch ever, his wife Susan, decided otherwise and located a "lucky" banana, which she insisted Alan bring on the boat that day and not eat until they had caught and released their first Blue Marlin. We took off around 7:30am and by 8:30am Pete had 7 lines out, with a mixture of ballyhoo's and artificial lures in the spread. Around 11am, the long line zinged (50 pound line) and Doug jumped in the chair to begin his first Bermuda big game fish fight. We weren't sure what kind of fish Doug had on the line until a few minutes later when the Blue jumped out of the water, about 300 yards back of the boat. Doug had only fished one other time in his life and was lucky to catch a small Sailfish, and even though he was inexperienced, Captain Allen took one look at Doug's physical strength and stamina in the chair and decided he could do a hard, fast backdown of the boat to the point of bringing waves over the transom. Doug kept reeling strong and, in about 10 minutes, the Marlin was about 15 yards behind the boat. The fish was still full of gumption and burst out of the water with multiple leaps and twists, providing a Hollywood style show within yards of the boat. Thankfully, Jeff was sharp with a camera and captured great shots of the action. We finished our two days with 3 Blue Marlin releases: one tasty Wahoo and, as most fishing stories end,...a big one (Blue over 500 pounds) that got away, around 4pm the last day on the way home (isn't this what keeps you going back?). This week's anglers would like to thank 2 special women, Susan and Sally, for bringing them "lady luck."Cheers! |
| August 10th -
Report by:
Sacha Bearden: My
lovely boyfriend, Jeff, thinks it would be romantic to go out fishing
together one day. I have to admit, a day spent in sunshine, having a few
beers, chatting and flirting with him sounds like fun. Plus he loves
fishing, so I’ve got to get with the program. I’m not an absolute beginner, I’ve been on the boat before, I have seen HOW it’s done, it’s just the DOING that I’m not so sure of. I have been along as Entertainment Committee before …y’know, make sandwiches, blend the frozen cocktails and serve beers. I’m good at that stuff. Our romantic day of fishing, August 10th looks like a nice day, mostly sunny, albeit a bit breezy. A good way to start a romantic day of fishing is to start late – we don’t leave until 9:30am. (Mako said the fish were biting late, so it’s not due to my usual tardiness, it was planned that way!) We head out with a bag of malasadas (Portuguese donuts) and a fresh cup of coffee – a perfect way to begin. Almost perfect, until we hit a wave and I end up with coffee all over me. Ugh. So, now I have no shirt, just my swimsuit. No prob, it’s August and plenty warm. Somehow I get designated as the first angler, so I pray for a very small fish and wait. De Mate, Pete, and Jeff get me to sit in the chair and adjust everything, so I’m ready. But, we don’t wait long; it’s just shortly after we start trolling that the first line goes off. As I sit in the chair, Pete and Jeff coach me through reeling in my first fish. I’m not good at following instructions. The whole “lean back, use your legs, reel as you lean forward” thing goes in one ear and out the other. After about 15 minutes of far more work than it should have been, we have a Wahoo. Yay! My first fish! Now, I am no longer the designated angler (big sigh of relief), so I can relax and enjoy the rest of the day, waiting for Jeff’s turn, right? Nope, shortly afterwards, another line goes off, but I presumed the fish got away because Jeff casually sits on the gunwale and reels in the line to change the bait. I ask him what happened and then I see Pete lean out of the boat and lift in Jeff’s catch - another Wahoo! WHAAAAT???!! It took me 15 minutes of groaning and straining to reel in a fish, but Jeff does it THAT easily? Okay, I have got to do better. And after an hour of flirting with Jeff, I get a chance to improve on my earlier performance. This time, I try to do as I’m told - I reel and bend as my coaches instruct me to, and my efforts end up with nice big Dolphin. It’s so pretty, it’s almost a shame to bring it in, but then I remember how tasty they are and all guilt is banished from my mind. The next few hours are kind of uneventful (Jeff says that’s why it’s called “fishing” not “catching”). There are a few bites, but no fish. We saw some Dolphins playing in the wake, watched a container ship go by, hang out on the bridge with Mako, eat some lunch. But, I would really like to see a Marlin and I know Jeff wants one even more than me. I’m sitting on the ladder to the bridge and Jeff is standing at the bottom, as we watch the spread. I casually drape my legs over Jeff’s shoulders. He comments that if one of the lines goes off and he runs to get it, I am going to end up on my ass at the bottom of the ladder. Jinx. The line goes off. But, thoughtful Jeff lets me find my footing before he runs for the chair. The line goes out pretty fast and he shows me how the pros do it – bending and reeling, then stopping while his Marlin takes the line, then starting up again. It’s all pretty exciting, with Mako reversing towards the fish, waves splashing over the transom, and me hopping around the cockpit, trying to get a picture. I don’t know how long it took, but it was fun to watch and the result was a nice big Blue Marlin alongside the boat. I squeeze in between Pete and the outrigger and snap away with my camera – mostly I get photos of ocean, but I get a few pictures of Jeff’s big fish. Pete releases the Marlin and now I’m hooked – this is fun. We have people to meet this evening and, unless we heard back now, we’re going to be late. But, I kinda want to get another fish, so Mako agrees to troll back, adding half an hour to our return trip. Unfortunately, there are no more fish that day. But there’s always next time… |
| August 30th -
Report by: Jeff
Radke: I was able to
take my summer vacation – a week of fishing on De Mako! Before I talk about
my week, how about the day Jason Doyle had with his family?
Three Marlin hooked and fought, two released. Those
two on a successful doubleheader. I think even his sister was
impressed. Jason and his father were so helpful to me in the Bahamas - I am
really glad that they had such a great day. Thanks again guys! Back to my week... Whenever you have a chance to fish a week in a row, the memories become a little muddled but some of the high points included another day out with the lovely and talented Sacha. I think I created a monster – now that she has caught fish, we do much less flirting and more watching lures, making rigs, etc. Sacha and I were lucky enough to be aboard on a day where the ‘big’ Yellowfin were feeding on the surface – what a sight. Pretty rare one, too, at least in Bermuda. Sacha tricked one of those Tuna to bite the shotgun bait and she did an incredible job in the chair (a little different than a Wahoo, isn’t it Sacha?). I also was able to bring one to the boat and back at the dock. Sacha’s fish was 115 pounds and my little guy came in at 85 pounds. I want to offer another thanks – this time to my good friend, Bruce. Bruce was kind enough to fill a 50 reel of mine with Spectra. Now, to attach the swivel to Spectra, one splices a loop into the hollow spectra. Well…Sacha, Pete and I tried to spice the loop from about 7:30 until 10:00 with no luck. Even Allen gave it a shot when we stopped to drift – no luck. By this time we were back in cell range and I called Bruce to ask if he noticed anything different when he spooled the reel. His response? “Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the second reel is filled with solid (not hollow) spectra and is therefore impossible to splice!" Pretty work, Bruce. The third floor from work came out for a day and we were able to anchor on the Bank, despite a fresh breeze. Melissa nearly killed herself, Pete and me when her Wahoo decided it liked the bow more than the stern. The three of us tried to stay on top of the pitching and rolling bow, while Melissa had to catch and Pete had to gaff the fish. I just had to hold on – that was bad enough. The excitement level was increased when a fair sized Tiger Shark came up with Melissa’s Wahoo. Not a great time for a swim. Stacey kicked my butt in Robin fishing, with a last-minute comeback that I was unable to match. The fourth floor had a quiet fishing day, but we all managed to keep ourselves amused. The second floor managed to catch a 115 pound Yellowfin.... the whole second floor - really!! All of them helped to tame the beast, so that Pete could get the gaff in. We had a great day, with everyone catching something. The Marlin don’t really even deserve a mention. They were sneaky and underhanded all week. Rotten Marlin! I think we were 0 for 7, or something horrible like that. We had a couple of blanks in there, too, but it was a great week fishing with a lot of really fun friends. Thanks to Capt. Allen and Pete. |
September 2007
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September 8th -
Report by: Bruce "The Unspliceable":
I had missed a few of
the scheduled Mako trips, lately, and was looking forward to getting
offshore, even if it meant simply napping in the cockpit while we pursued
those fickle Blues. I arrived at the dock and noticed right away that
the 130’s has been put away and Pete had prepared some lighter gear.
Pete announced, “First day of serious Wahoo fishing."
Seriously, it was. The sea was far from calm and Jeff and I had not been able to recruit any extra anglers. Dave was off the island, so it was just the two of us. We started fishing at the Edge and eventually out to Argus and back, and the action never stopped. They were everywhere! Jeff and I took turns on the fish and shared at least two double headers. The Wahoo were interrupted a couple of times by a big Tuna and Jeff found ANOTHER Spearfish (that’s three for Jeff overall). By the time we got back to the dock, we had 21 Wahoo, a 105lb Yellowfin, released a beautiful Spearfish and, to round things out, a tasty little Dorado. That was an awesome day of fishing by anyone’s standards. Thank you, Captain Allen and Pete! I am looking forward to the next trip. |
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September 17th & 22nd -
Report by: Jenni Rowntree:
You know it's a good day of fishing when, at 10am, your
entire party of 6 have all boated fish and we're heading for round two. I
love September fishing in Bermuda, and Monday, September 17th, was no
exception. The day's party of 6 was a mix of novice and seasoned anglers,
visitors and residents. The prize for the first fish goes to Bob, for expertly handling and setting the precedent for the day with a healthy Wahoo. What ensued from then on was some red-hot fishing, with steady strikes on the left downrigger. Trolling artificials and then ballyhoos, we headed from the Edge to Challenger and finally to Argus. Argus produced the two best specimens of the day - respectable fish from Bob (again) and George for 'Hoos in the 60 - 70lb range. As if on call, we had a quiet afternoon spell - a chance for some lunch, a Bevie, and a siesta. You couldn't beat the weather conditions - light chop, steady breeze and the beautiful Bermuda sunshine. Unfortunately, two of the guests probably couldn't disagree with me more, as they fell victim to the sea. And there brings our next awards - Kevin for the "Bermudian who only fishes off de rocks" award, and David for "Best Effort after his valiant effort to subside seasickness on his first ever offshore experience." Overall we went 10 for 12 on Wahoos! A special mention to Captain Allen and Pete-y for an awesome day's fishing. I have been lucky enough to fish with many local and overseas captains, and it's rare to find such a professional, yet calming, experience. It was my privilege to fish with them. Special mention to Chummy - you were missed! Saturday, September 22nd "CHUMMY IN-DA-HOUSE!"
I have gone a lifetime without stepping foot on deMako and, this week, I had the opportunity to fish with them twice. I started out on my last fishing report by saying that I loved September fishing in Bermuda, and after my fishing day on Saturday, September 22nd, I love it even more. As only a fisherman / woman knows, there is never a same day out on the water. I was an invited guest of a strictly Homegrown fishing crew -- KP, Max, Smiley, Chummy and me. These guys have had countless lifetime and fishing experiences, and it was a pleasure being in their company for the day. Most male fishing days would never see a female step on board, however, these guys were just the opposite. The day's fishing started with an uneventful troll to the top of the Bank, where we anchored off for some live bait. Ocean Robins came up fairly quickly, but were a pain to get in the boat with Barry's and Whoo's lurking in the chum. Our first hook-up of the day was a Barracuda and our second hook-up of the day was a Barracuda. Negative points for the day perhaps, however, it allowed the Robins to stay and for us to finally fill up the live bait well. Thanks to Max for stepping up to the plate for some expert jigging action, which proved Chummy's place in the boat -- working the chum bucket. We set off on the troll with our spread of live Robins...shortly thereafter it was "left short -- right long -- left long"...POW! Triple strike with KP, myself and Chummy all hooked into nice Wahoos. Now, that's the excitement you want on a boat! We're 3 for 3 on the fish that count, and we're pumped and ready for more. Pete sets out the next bait on the right downrigger, as if he was feeding it straight into the mouth of the Wahoo...and POW! Another hookup -- another fish boated. This exact scenario played out twice, one after the other. DeMako was running hot! We continued to work the area, but the fishing had slowed up. Trolling across something floating landed us a Mahi-Mahi, which was a treat for some diversity in the fish box. However, the best of the day was still to come. Still on the slow troll with live baits out, Allen and Chummy on the bridge and myself and crew in the cockpit, we all simultaneously saw two fins approaching us. What transpired was a sight that is not easily forgotten. The Whale Shark, the largest living fish species, approached the boat right at the surface of the water, which allowed for some great viewing and pictures from the bridge. That may have been enough for some, however, Allen mentioned that I should get in the water with it, and I didn't hesitate. Fitted with mask only, I jumped in the water and watched a 20+ foot Whale Shark glide toward me and the boat. I remember my first thought being...Holy S#$%, the mouth on this thing is MASSIVE. Brain caught up with impulse syndrome -- (live baits are still out on the spread) -- and I'm thinking maybe this isn't a good idea. My friendly crew of ‘onions’, green-ones in hand, wouldn't have any of it. From the safe distance of the boat, they coaxed me into swimming up to it. Just before the Whale Shark reached me, it made a turn and I swam up to it, side on, rubbing my hand down the side of its body. I then reached around for its dorsal fin and held on for a ride of a lifetime. Really, I just rode a Whale Shark and I have the memory implanted in my brain, and the goosebumps that are coming up on my arms now to prove it. The ride didn't last long before its tail fin gently tossed me off and it swum off, back around the boat for another glimpse, and disappeared. The day ended up with 6 for 9 on Wahoos, one Mahi, and one Whale Shark ride. Not bad. I don't plan to end all my fishing reports like this, but it is again deserved... Special mention to Chummy -- thanks for the invite! |
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September 20th -
Report by: Chris Bailey:
It was with trepid
anticipation that Chris “The Hammer” Bailey packed the car with the supplies
for the day…”will the fish bite”….”will the clients bite!”…”will the food
keep”….”will the weather be good”.. ”will I chuck my guts up all over the
boat within the first half hour?” Indeed, the signs all pointed towards a
great day. The food arrived on time and De Mako was ready to go, upon
arrival. Both Pete and Capt Allen were far too chirpy for 6.30am, but Allen
got a pot of coffee underway and off we set for Barrs park to pick up the
“Hardened crew of executives." At this point, the heavens opened, but we need not have worries, for it was a passing shower. However, it timed itself just right. A Mark “I’ve lost my Hook” Prothero, emerged like a drowned rat from across the park, followed in quick succession by Peter “Grr what a great fish” Durhager, David “The Pro” Hill and Stuart “Trigger fish” Mackellar. Greetings and coffees done, we set off at a rate of knots out into the blue yonder to catch us some fish! It was not long before David aka “The Pro” hooked the first Wahoo and promptly brought it on board to much whooping and general merriment from the rest of the boys! Wow, we thought, this is easy - fish hooked an onboard within the first 30 mins! ………About an hour later, Capt Allen made the astute decision to start fishing live bait but, of course, that meant we had to catch some… cue the “carry on” music, as all of us descended the rear of the boat with bait lines and chum trying in vain to catch some little fish to use as live bait to catch the big fish. All was quiet for a while until David promptly pulled one followed by another fish out of the water, earning himself the title “The Pro.” However, not to be outdone, Stuart aka “Trigger Fish” promptly caught a Trigger, giving him his due title! Around this time, Peter was obviously getting bored with catching the little guys and promptly hooked a large Wahoo, which he proceeded to battle with for the next 45mins! Finally, after what seemed like an age, he got the thing on board to a rapturous applause and a “grr what a great fish” commentary. The smile said it all! At this point, the fish started to fly into the boat and I am sure, at one point, all of us were simultaneously pulling fish out of the water. That is all apart from Mark, who kept pulling his line out of the water, along with the words “damn Pete, I’ve lost my hook again” - say no more! Now that we had caught enough live bait to go back to fishing for the big stuff, we headed off again. This time, we got a bite straight away and Mark “I’ve lost my hook” headed straight down to have a go…..it got away and he lost his hook! However, in quick succession, we got another snagged and Mark outdid himself and caught a beauty, to a tally of “great fish”, “well done’s” and “you didn’t lose your hook” (from me!). Mark was now very pleased and celebrated with a cold beer. Stuart, David, Peter, Mark and myself all continued to reel them in during the afternoon, to much amusement, banter and, of course, the obligatory sweat and tears when one got away! I can honestly say that, by the time Capt Allen headed for home, we were all knackered but very contented with the day's trip and would be ready at an instant to go again very soon! After the obligatory photos by the boat, courtesy of Mrs. “Camera Pro” Hill, the lads picked up their fish (enough to last about 6 months) and headed home - happy and tired with tall tales of catching fish on the high seas.... “begarr begarr…” |
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