South Of The Martha's Vineyard, July 2016

Well, for sure, it was such a long run to the fishing ground but it was worth the effort.

Sean tagged along with me and we took the drive from the shop to Bass River where we met Joe at the ramp. We were hoping to get an hour of sleep but with the heavy construction all around Connecticut we barely made it on time.

Captain Josh was waiting for us at the dock and off we went to the hunt for that long ride from Bass river to the South of the Martha’s Vineyard. The bite has been hot in that area for the past week with multiple hook ups with some moderate size fish up the mid 60 inches.

Upon our arrival Captain Josh started marking fish, Joe and Sean were at the bow casting in different directions; it was Joe first followed by Sean.

Multiple strikes with screaming reel and bending rod but none of their fish stayed buttoned. They both lost the fish looking at each other’s wondering what was it going on?

I was casting at the back trying to cover new water. Then I saw a huge swirl on my Moutoukenmaru followed by an air show attack. The fish went airborne landing on the lure and I felt the take while my reel was screaming. I set the hook and after 5 second the tension was gone; the fish got away leaving the whole crew including Captain Josh with a disappointing face.
Such a bad start but that was about to change!

I stayed at the back and kept on casting and within 10 minutes from the first strike I saw another swirl on my lure followed by a couple of fish while my heart is pumping. The fish came in from the side hitting on the lure and the best thing was that I was hooked on the El Maestro 82M prototype matched with Moutoukenmau Lure in Abalone color.

That rod took the abuse flawlessly and I enjoyed every bit of it till Captain Josh sank that gaff and we were on board within 30 minutes of our start, such a relief!

An hour went by and things went quiet as many boats came in to join the crowd and by this time I felt the fish has been put down. Josh decided to move to a different area with a bit of less traffic.

The results were about to get better! While Sean was talking to Joe I was looking at his lure and I saw that silver flash under his lure. I howled at Sean to get his attention and to let him know that he was about to get a strike, the fish smashed the Siren and the game was on.

The El Maestro 710MH took that fish with an ease and Sean enjoyed every bit of it. I turned to Sean and asked him to let me know when you gas up so we can pass the rod to Joe. I guess that tuned him into a beast and he put up all he had and landed that 56 inch on his own. I was proud to see him finishing the fight on his own. We took a couple of shots and released the fish safely.
We tried to make it happen to Joe but we were running out of time and we called it off and headed back for the long run. I had a great time on board and I look forward to our next week trip!
Tackle Used:
Rod: El Maestro 710MH, El Maestro 82M prototype, Race Point 250
Reel: Stella SW 18K, Stella SWB 14K and 8k, Saragosa 6k
Lures: Moutoukenmaru, Siren, Hammerhead, Amegari, Bertox
Line: Power Pro 80lb & 60LB
Leader: Saltywater Twisted Leader

  Tight Lines

     Sami