The Diablo has left the Water

Well the time has come , the days are short and the wind howls from the North. The Diablo is winterized and put to bed for the season. Although there is some great looking water at the canyons right now. The weather windows are short and often mis-forecasted this time of the year. Good luck to any boats heading out.

Our season was full of highs and lows, and overall was exciting. Spring started sort of on the slow side, with the weather not being the best during the month of May. The Bass did show up in good numbers. The end of May and beginning of June many harbors were full of pogies, and where there is prey there are predators. The snag and live line approach was a killer on the Stripers and chopper Bluefish. We were catching 34"-40" fish off the bow of the boat, at the slip! There was a couple of trips we didn't make it out of the mooring field at the marina. Never leave fish to find fish. Eventually the water warmed up and the pogies moved out. We actually had to find fish. Our usual haunts produced well early in the season, Quicks hole, The humps and KBS. As spring turned to summer the Bass migrated through and became more elusive. The Blue fish stuck around all summer as they usually do.

Mid June or so the offshore waters finally started to warm up and it was time to go sharkin'. Our first time out was with a charter captain from up state New York, Dan Coleman.  Dan is a fishy guy, he seems to always do well. With a dozen or so Blue sharks and one Mako, it was a good trip. To top it off we came across a Great White on the surface on the way in, what a monster.

Fished the Oaks Bluff Monster Shark Tournament with Tom Carpenter and his crew. Two days of fishing we had caught and released 32 blue sharks and 2 Makos and lost a nice Thresher. We also acquired 3 marine fishery tags, off the backs of blue shark. On a high note for shark fishing we had caught a Mako shark every time we shark fished this year. Only taking one home.

With some sharkin' trips out of the way it was time for a canyon run. Early July and with a good weather window we were off with for a scout run. Tim Folan, Joe and Doug from Bad Fish Outfitters made this run with me. We got out there at night and only got some Mahi. Then morning came and we started trolling. We had great success with Yellowfins, catching about a dozen. We released 6 and took 6. High light of that trip was a quintuple header of yellows and we only had 4 people on the boat. Mayhem, the best kind. We also had raised a White Marlin, taking a cedar plug by not getting hooked. Canyon fishing seemed to die of after that. With very warm water and no defined temp breaks the fishing got real tough. Having a couple real slow trips in August, we managed to pick away at the fish. With out giving up to much detail we had a decent run to the edge. Connecting with some nice Yellowfins, Mahi all involved with a Kayak! More to come on that in early Spring.

By August the inshore fishing had pretty much switched to Blues and Bonito with lots of action on these trips. Twenty plus Bluefish and some Bonito mixed in. The ratio was approx 14 bluefish to one Bonito. We were catching 30 fish all in 4 hours. As the near shore waters warmed up we had some excellent Mahi Mahi fishing. With some catches being up to 53" and 27 pounds, monsters for these parts.

As September crept up canyon fishing continued to very slow. With some boats coming back empty handed. It was grim. We made some trips and they were grueling slow. On the brighter side the Striper fishing had picked up again and was lock and load action. Chunking off the Vineyard was producing very well, with 30 plus fish being the norm for a tide.

October was upon us and there was new water at the canyons. Time for another run. We put together a small charter and pointed the bow at Atlantis canyon. Where we were greeted with cobalt blue 73 degree water. Taking a dozen Mahis and raising a White Marlin. Then we got tight with two 100+ pound Yellowfins. We only got one in the boat. The canyons seemed alive again.

Our last run out to the canyon was the second week of October. Trolling 20 plus Mahis we set up for the night. We chunked all night getting, a Sword fish, Mako Shark, Blue shark and more Mahi Mahi. But the best came in the morning troll catching and releasing a 300# Blue Marlin. Definitely a good note to end the season on.

A couple of notables we actually had raised White Marlin on every trip to the canyon this year. Also we caught a Mako shark every time we sharked this year. I hope these are good signs for the future.

As I write this I am sitting on a plane bound for Costa Rica, so keep checking back for more fish tales during this winter.

TIGHT LINZ

Captain Kevin Malone

Coleman Party: Bill Collectors

Went out with returning customer Dan Coleman, his son Junior and some friends for a Canyon trip. Dan is a charter Captain himself. He runs a boat out of Oswego New York on lake Ontario. Strike King Charters. Dan had a successful sharking adventure with us back in July. So he immediately booked a Canyon trip after first mate Tim Folan talked up the adventure.

We headed out at 6 am on Saturday the 11th bound for Atlantis Canyon. We stopped at Menemsha on Marthas Vineyard to top off with fuel. Going out the water was a cool 63 degrees from the dock at Kingmans Marina till the Canyon edge where the water temp jumps to a balmy 75 degrees and cobalt blue. 

Started trolling the east wall of Atlantis Canyon at about 12 pm. Got our first fish at about 2:30 pm a Mahi off a high flier. We circled back and trolled past the flier again and we had a wolf pack of Mahi Mahi attack our spread, boating one about 22 pounds.

With a few nice Mahi in the Boat and the sun going down, we grabbed a flier for the night. We started chunking and got our first runoff within minutes. There was squid around the the boat almost immediately. More Mahi Mahi taking our baits. Then a big ole Blue Shark showed up to harass us. Finally the blue dog took a bait. After a clean release he was demoralized and decided not to come back. Then some more Mahi, we then had 14 Mahis in the box, so we started releasing them. next to show up was Mr. Mako after a nice fight and a good jump we brought him boat side and let him go to grow bigger. 

Then our deep drop Sword bait goes in a different direction. Tim jumps to attention and cranks the line up. We see the pitman sword light come up to the surface so we know we had something. Tim cranks and we get a visual, Swordfish! 

In our excitement one of the other lines gets tangled up to the point where we could not reel the Sword fish. Only one choice at this point, cut the other line to get it out of the way. In the heat of the moment with a tangled mess, I cut the wrong line, the sword line was severed! With quick reaction Dan's son junior grabs the severed line and Junior and I hand line the Swordfish the rest of the way in. Pictures taken and high fives, we released the Sword.....Debt number 1 paid in full...

These fall nights are so long, but morning finally comes with new excitement. We get up on the troll before sunrise. At this point the wind started to crank up a little. The 1-3 foot seas that NOAA had forecasted were actually 3-7. We trolled west towards where we had heard some good reports. Not a touch for an hour. We crossed over in to 75 degree water and were heading for our numbers at a fast 8 knots. 

Then at the Port side long rigger goes off. Bam, Our blue and silver Seabird Godfather lure (www.seabirdtackle.com) gets taken! BLUE MARLIN on. He jumps about 10 times getting completely airborne multiple times. Dumping three quarters of the 50 wide Tiagra as we buckled Dan into a fighting stand up harness. Lines cleared and Dan locked in, I was in the tower, ready for battle. We backed down on the fish and helped Dan get line back. As I backed down the boat Dan gained line back, after a 25 minute of tug of war, we got the Marlin boat side. 8 feet and 300 pounds. All lit up she was. After many pictures, video and high fives the Marlin was dehooked and released healthy and vibrant. Dan was in tears of joy , as it was his dream to catch a Blue Marlin.....

We ended the trip on that note and headed for the barn. It was a long ride back as the seas were 4-7 from the North East. Well worth the long ride in when you catch up with couple of bills......

Atlantis Canyon Run

Got a good weather window Saturday night into Sunday. Put together a crew of 4 and off we go for some late season Canyon fishing. Left Falmouth Harbor at 2 AM sharp.

Got to Atlantis at 6:30 am. Set up trolling in 63 degree agua and looking for the 10 degree break to 73 that satellites were showing us. Trolled west and found that break about 7:30 or so right up to 73. Found weeds, trash, the offshore Booty. Wasn't long after we had our first fish enter our spread for a look (White Marlin) but no takers. 

Then fish on, a Mahi from under the weeds along with school mates for some action. 9 Mahis later, ranging 8-18 pounds, we decided to go looking for some tuna. Trolled over to west Atlantis. Found a large fleet of boats working the area with some success. Trolling in along the fleet, some were hooking  up but we weren't getting the love so we headed a little South into deeper water. 

Then a Quadruple header, Yellowfin at their best. We dropped 2 immediately. For the next hour we played 2 fish with one being kept on and the other being fought. Our young angler, Cam, was fighting the fish on a LOCAL HOOKER SPIRAL WRAP 30-50# class rod with a Tiagra 30. After an hour Cam finally brings the 100# Yellowfin to the point of a Harpoon. The other fish fought and dropped at the boat, spit the hook.

Back up trolling after our victory/loss. The seas were starting to build to a steady 3-5 feet. Not another touch for an hour and we decided to call it quits and head for the barn, and it was 3 pm by this point. We were hearing some chatter on the radio about some rain storms off Long Island. It was true we ran about 30 miles North and found the front they were talking about. Started with some pretty dark clouds and some rain showers. Then it became a deluge and 30 knot winds. Winds out of the west at first were knocking the tops off of our wake into a spray. Quick and choppy conditions was the best way to describe it. Then the wind turn almost immediately out of the East, knocking the wake the other side. Finally getting out of the rain storms and the winds decided to come from the North East 10-15 knots for the rest of the ride back to Falmouth harbor. Safe and sound at 7:00 pm. No place quite like NE Canyons. Long day and lasting memories.

Tight Lines

Harwood & Sons

Headed out for a day of Inshore fishing with Richard Harwood and sons. 

Did some chunking for stripers and had a smorgasborg of fish. First a bunch of school Stripers, then a 38" 20 pound keeper.  Next,  4 - 5 pound Black Sea Bass, Fluke, and a 5 pound Bluefish. We finished with some 2.5 pound scup. 

Lots of action and a Great day to boot.

Aboard the

Went Tuna Wishin' on Wednesday with a friend, Calvin Perry on his Boat the DILLIGAF. We trailered down to Ryder cove in Chatam for a quick ride. 

We got out to the grounds about an hour before sun up, with a large fleet of  approx 35 other boats. Fishing was as usual for east of Chatam sort of slow with fish being picked here and there. 

We had made a move to the sword on a hunch of fish busting everywhere. It was true with breaking tuna whales breaching and porpoises. It was finally our turn and the center rigger with a Ballyhoo WWB (way way back) got hit. 

Calvin does not like losing fish. We hooked the fish on a 130 bent butt gunnel mount swivel rod holder, (commercial style). So it was a quick fight about 10 minutes and we had the 54" 100 lbs tuna in the boat.

On The Water Television

We just got back from the edge on Friday afternoon. We headed out 10 pm Thursday night from Falmouth harbor with a crew from the magazine and TV show "On the water". We shot out to a temp break just west of West Atlantis. Got out there about 3:30 am ..so we dropped a sword fish bait for a couple of hours. No love. 

Got up on the troll at 5 am. we trolled for 45 minutes and Bam fish on ....doubled up!! 2 Yellowfin tuna to the boat. I decided to use my harpoon on these 60 # tunas.. Makes good Television. Back up on the troll and nothing else for a few hours. Then came a mahi from a high flier. 10 #er. 

Back up on the troll we came across a post floating out there with a school of Mahi under it. Out came the Kayak to do a little bluewater kayak fishing. Yup a Kayak 100 miles offshore. The school scattered and we got no action from the post.

We decided to run in a little to the shipping lanes where we found some bait. Started trolling again. We came across a chest freezer floating out there and bam fish on. A Mahi came out from underneath and grabbed our Godfather lure by Seabird lures. Out goes the kayak to fight the fish. Success we boated a Mahi by kayak.

We made the run in seas were dead calm made for a great ending and Good TV.

Heavy Weather

Fished today with Larry Begley and family. Half day inshore trip scheduled. As anyone in New England knows we have been having a stormy weather pattern as of late. Got a call from Larry on Monday evening asking about the weather for tomorrow.??? 

We shoved off at 5:45 am to meet Larry at Falmouth harbor for 7 am. Off we headed into Buzzards Bay with a major thunder storm happening over Falmouth just to our east. I was betting on the front passing by the time we were to be fishing. we ran down through Woods Hole and ran threw a couple of Rain storms. I was right, by the time we got to Falmouth the storm front had passed. Was interesting though....

We fished Hedge Fence again and did almost equally as well as we did last time we fished here. Fish on almost immediately. Cookie cutter size Bluefish approx 5 pounds. We continued to catch Blues and also got 1 Bonito. The score was

24 Bluefish

1 Bonito

5 Happy Customers .......

Mahi Mahi off the Vineyard

Headed out with Jim Barry and Family for a day of offshore fishing south side of Marthas Vineyard. Pushed off the dock at 5 am and ran through Buzzards Bay calm seas and light winds as we came up to my favorite bluefish spot we decided to troll a bit to make some bait. No longer than the line getting wet we had a fish on. Nice size Blue, in the live well he went. We trolled up some more kept a few and lost a few. 

Decided to push towards our destination on the south side, The Fingers. As we ran out offshore the seas kept growing and it was apparent NOAA got the 5-10 knot winds and seas 2-4 feet wrong,it was more like 10-20 knots and 4-7 feet. We trudged through. 

Started trolling at about 7 am and again no longer than it took to get the line wet we had a Mako shark take a cedar plug tight off the transom. We fought him about 5 minutes or so then he bit the mono leader through. Started trolling again the water warmed up a bit to 75 degrees and clear blue, nice Gulf Stream water. 

About a half an hour went by then bam: fish on. The largest Mahi Mahi I have seen this far north, about 40 inches and 20 pounds. After a heated battle he found his way in to our fish box. Started trolling again and about another hour went by then bam, fish on. Another Mahi Mahi, this one is even bigger. This one was taken by Jims 16 year old Daughter, and the fish put up a spectacular fight as Mahi do, all the jumps and runs. 53 inches and 27 pounds. Great fish. Great customers and plenty of Fillets!!

Buckets of Blues!

Went out for a half a day of inshore fishing with John corcoran family and friends. John and company were staying on the vineyard so we picked them up in oaks bluff. We ran to Hedge Fence Shoal. We proceeded to troll and almost instantly had a fish on. Nice size blue. It was fast and furious action with multiple bluefish. Then came the first Bonito of the season, nice one too. About ten pounds. Whole lot more bluefish came to the boat and 1 more Bonito. The tally for the 4 hour trip was 27 bluefish and 2 Bonito.

Tight lines,

- Kevin  

Monster Shark Tournament  

We headed over to Oaks Bluff monster shark tournament with the charter crew on Thursday morning about 9. We stopped and made some more bait at KBS. Then we proceeded to Falmouth Harbor to top off with fuel. Then headed in to Oaks Bluff to check in by 3 pm and captain's meeting at 4pm. After all that we were settled in for the evening and were just waiting for the morning. 4 am came quick and we met the crew at the dock. Tom Carpenter his brother Mike, Bill Stella and Peter Shultz. We then headed out south side of the Vineyard and ended up at the north side of the dump. We got there a little early so "looked" around at the water looking for life. Lines in at 7 am and we began fishing. Got our first shark within a half hour, Blue shark, released. After Multiple Blue sharks caught and released finally came Mr. Mako. Got him to the boat and he was borderline 6-7 feet. We needed him to weigh at least 200 pounds he had to be 7 feet or bigger. It was real close the crew decided to release him. The tally for the day was 16 Blue sharks caught and released and 2 Mako sharks.

Day two we headed out to the Nantucket Shoals area to get to big temp break. We got there a little early again to claim our area. 7 am lines in. Out goes the chum bucket and the 2 lines from the cockpit. I started to put out the third line that we run off the bow rail and the line got pulled out of my hand. Fish on. Big Blue shark about 350 lbs, released. Our first fish was on in 4 minutes of fishing. We proceeded to catch a dozen more large Blue sharks and 1 small Mako. The day came to an end and the crew had caught their share of sharks. It was time to enjoy some of night life over in OB. Great tournament great crew and good times.

Canyon Trip 

Made our first run to the Canyon Thursday night into Friday. Myself Tim Folan and Joe and Doug from Bad Fish Outfitters ran to Fishtails canyon. The run was a little snotty on the way out with 4-7 foot seas but forecasted to lay down over night. Got to the edge about 10 pm and tied up to a flier. We chunked and chummed all night. Pretty slow night with only some Mahi in the slick and a lot of squid. 

We started to troll right at first light at about 4:30 am. First 2 hours was slow then we ran over a mixed school of fish. Fish on. 70 lb Yellowfin and a White Marlin. The Marlin jumped off after about 15 seconds. We boated the Yellowfin. 

Another half hour goes by and we ran over another school of yellows two fish on boat one at about 30 lbs and we lost a bigger one at the boat. Trolled for another hour and hooked up again, this time five fish onboard at once. With only four guys on the boat it was the best kind of chaos. Out of five fish we boated four and lost one 70 lb yellow at the boat due to a broken rod. We released two small fish.

The seas layed down and was flat calm for the ride in. a perfect way to finish a great trip.

- Kevin

Sharking with Dan Colemen and Son.

Dan runs a fresh water charter service out of Mexico New York on lake Ontario and targets King Salmon.

We headed out at 430 AM on Saturday, heading for south side of Marthas vineyard. We ran across some bluefish on the way out so we decided to get some live bait. When we told Dan that the 6 lb bluefish were bait he was flabbergasted. with a half a dozen blues in the live well we headed off. Got to our spot about 630 AM and we setup a slick. No wind and slack tide we were bobbing around in our own slick. It was a slow start. Took about 1.5 hours before we saw our first fish. In came Mr. Mako with a nice jump to start the fight then game on for junior. After about a 20 minute fight he found the wrong side of the harpoon. 6.5 feet, approx 165 lbs

After that excitement was completed we continued to fish releasing 7 blue sharks ranging from 6 feet to 9.5 feet. The guys were beat and it was time to head for the barn.

On the ride in we came across a Great white on top so we circled him for all to see, all 18 feet of him or her. Great way to end a great trip.

- Kevin

Spring has finally arrived and the waters of Cape cod are abound with life. Massive schools of pogies have moved in to buzzards bay and vineyard sound alike. Along with the pogies, the stripers are right with them . The Blue fish also are starting to show up as well.

Thursday morning while live lining a pogie I caught a 34" 19 lb Striper. While I was working on the boat!

Friday I had a guide trip with returning customer John Black and his father. It was blowing pretty good in the morning 15-20 knots. So being so windy we opted to fish the west end of the Cape cod canal. Drifting pogies we got a 37" 25lb striper and a 6lb bluefish. Not bad for a quick couple hour outing.

Captain Kevin Malone

We headed out with Mad fish outfitter customers Dennis Fox and Glen Pokraka from North Falmouth MA, for an overnight canyon trip. Pushed off the dock in the fog at 12 noon from Kingmans in Pocasset. Stopped at Menensha on the vineyard to top off the fuel tank. 

Got to the edge of Fishtails Canyon about 5:30 pm. Started trolling and hooked up with a Longfin Albacore within 10 minutes, then another Longfin 5 minutes after. Then another knock down and dropped a fish. By this time it was getting dark and the fog was still thick, so we decided to tie up for the night.

Started chunking butter fish for the night in 70 degrees and about 500 feet of water on the west wall of Fishtails. Nothing for the first couple of hours. Then our swordfish rig started going, then nothing, reeling it up from the depths showed that we got cleaned out. Bummer!! About a half hour later another rod goes off, a whole butterfish. Then a mishap with the drag being free spooled and fish off. Bummer number 2. 

About an hour later started getting some action with some Mahi Mahi right at the boat. Landing 2 nice 34" Mahis. Couple more got off. Great light tackle action. Then it was quiet for the rest of the night. Up trolling at 5 am, in the fog still !! The morning was real quiet with only one Longfin Albacore, a big one about 55 pounds, at about 9 am. Lots of Atlantic White Wided Porpoises out there and a few other boats. Picked and ran for the barn about 10 am as Glen had tickets to the Red Sox game that night, hope he stayed awake till the end of the game as I heard the ending was epic! 

Headed to West Atlantis Canyon on Thursday pm. Dropped the lines in approx 12 miles before the canyon as the sun was headed down. Not 10 minutes and Fish On!  80 pound yellowfin tuna. 

Continued to troll but no other bites after the sun went down. Headed for the edge and set up for chunking for the night. Very slow night with only one run off. Back up and trolling at 5 am sharp. trolled about an hour then Fish On!  Another 80 pound class yellowfin tuna.

Continued to troll and found lots of weeds so we moved to the west. We found a large patty of weeds and trolled next to it and loaded up on Mahi Mahi.