Trophy Striped Bass Trip on the Chesapeake Bay with Dancer Sportfishing

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Last Saturday, I gathered up several of my friends and headed off to Annapolis for a full day fishing trip aboard Dancer Sportfishing with Captain Joe Richardson. Our goal was trophy Striped Bass, or Rockfish as they call it locally. We met up with Captain Joe and our mate, Dorothy, at 5:45 AM to get our day started. Joe didn’t have the best news to start the day – the weather was pretty iffy. He gave us the option of cancelling, rescheduling, or giving it a whirl and see what we could do. My buddies and I figured we’d made the trek out there and got up early, so we may as well give it a shot. We packed up the boat and left the docks. Leaving the docks was a fairly impressive task in itself – the 37′ Sportfisher had less than 6 inches of clearance on either side between it and a couple sailboats, yet Joe somehow managed to extract the boat without even so much as a bump. Having piloted several boats that size and bigger and smaller, I know how tricky it can be to precisely navigate a boat in tight quarters when fighting both current and wind. I’m sure the neighboring sailboat owners greatly appreciate Joe’s skill!

Outrigger

One of the planers at work

We cruised out to the fishing grounds and Joe and Dorothy set out the planers and the lines. A planer is a device that replicates the functionality of an outrigger. It allows you to run lines the follow the boat, but are well outside the actual path of the boat – in essence, you can run more lines and increase your chances at a hookup while minimizing the risk of a tangle. We ran a spread of six alewife rigs, a couple bottom rigs, and a spoon. The waiting game was on as we trolled through the Bay, just waiting for one of the rubber bands to pop, letting us know our fish had been hooked. Joe and Dorothy told us the fishing so far this trophy season was typical spring fishing. One day would be on fire and you’d limit out in an hour, the next you wouldn’t even get a bite. We had no idea what to expect on this cool, overcast day. The first hour was quiet. Between that and the early start to the morning, most of us caught a quick power nap. I’m sure enjoying the Annapolis nightlife had nothing to do with our heavy eyelids either.

A little while after our quick refresh, we’re standing around the deck chatting, when suddenly we hear the POP! we’ve been waiting for. Two of our lines went down, and we scrambled for the rods. Unfortunately, the battle ended shortly after it started. I’m not sure if we didn’t keep the line tight enough, if we just didn’t have the fish hooked well, or if we pulled the hook, but that fish was lucky enough to see another day. Our other line never really had anything hooked that we could tell. It either popped when the first line went, or got fouled by a school of alewife. Dorothy reset our lines, and we went back to the waiting game.

Fighting the fish

The battle is on between us and a striped bass

A little later on, another pop. This time, we were determined not to let it get away. I grabbed the rod, and knew this wasn’t a small fish. The fish made a run and the drag started screaming. I kept the line tight and began gaining ground on the fish with the standard lift up/reel down tactic. The fish made several runs before I handed the rod off to one of my friends. Since it had been a bit of a slower day, I wanted to be sure we all got a chance on a fish. Charlie took over and wrangled the fish into submission like a pro. It may have been one of his first times fighting a fish like this, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell by watching – and luckily, neither could the fish! Charlie got it to the side of the boat, and Dorothy netted our catch.

Striped Bass

This striped bass hit the scales at 36 inches and 21 lbs – and sure tasted good too!

We won the battle against a very nice sized Chesapeake Bay Striper. We did a quick photoshoot and stopped for measurements before throwing this 36″, 21 lb fish into the icebox for a good meal later on. Dorothy reset our lines after the excitement was over. As the day grows old, we’re hoping for another shot as we enjoy a beer on the deck. Just as these thoughts cross our mind, the rod with the spoon doubles over, and the reel starts screaming. We’ve got another fish on! Unfortunately, this fish was a little better than we were that day, and freed itself shortly after we hooked it. It turned out to be our last shot at a fish that day. Joe slowly brought in our lines and headed back to port.

Fishing with Joe and Dorothy was a ton of fun. Even though the fishing was on the slower side, we still had a great time. We got to trade some fishing stories with some seasoned pros, and Joe and Dorothy did everything they could to make sure we were comfortable and having a great experience. We got back to the docks, and Joe cleaned and packaged up our fish. Dorothy recommended a few recipes to cook our catch, and we excitedly went home to fire up the grill. Our total trip time was around 8.5 hours even though we were only scheduled for 8. Hopefully we’ll be able to get back out with Joe and Dancer Sportfishing soon!

Cleaning Fish

The expert at work

Filleting fish

The fillets start to take shape

Ready to book a trip with Dancer Sportfishing? Captain Joe can be reached by email at captjoer@verizon.net or by phone at (410) 570-4632. Rates start at $400 for a 4-hour evening trip.

Guides: Take Control of your Find the Fishing Page!

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When Find the Fishing was created, we had one purpose in mind – make it easier for a fisherman to find a fishing guide, and to make it easier for a guide to connect with his clients. With nearly 500 guides in our database, we think we’re off to a pretty good start! We scour the internet for charters and guides, then we gather all the information about the service: contact information, social media presence, boat details, trip rates, species fish targeted, waters fished, and regions served! All that is laid out into a straightforward information page unique to that guide.

But what happens when you get a new boat? A new phone number? Change your rates or the trips you offer? We do periodically revisit your website to make sure your listing is up to date, but sometimes it may take some time to discover the changes. With the new functionality we’ve just rolled out, you can make those updates on your own! Your page stays up to date, and your prospective clients don’t miss out on that new trip you have to offer! And let’s put all our cards out on the table – it makes our life easier too.

It is easy to get started, and using our update system is very intuitive. As the guide or charter owner, simply register for a free account, go to your guide page, and click the link to “Own this Company.” If you have access to your web servers, we’ll provide you with a file to upload to your website (so we can confirm the person requesting the page is actually the owner). If not, simply email us, and we’ll take it from there! If you aren’t listed yet, either email us at fish@findthefishing.com with your website, or use our Get Listed page to submit yourself!

Offshore Trip with Hot Shot Charters

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This past Sunday marked the final day of my trip to South Florida. Having taken care of the backcountry fishing, it was time to do some offshore fishing. I got in touch with Sig Ozols of Hot Shot Charters and set up a full day offshore trip, this time bringing along my old college roommate, Kyle.

We met up with Sig for a 7 AM departure out of Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove. Sig’s mate, Chris, grabbed our bag – and more importantly our beer. We pushed off and started off to the fishing grounds. The inshore bite was dead according to reports, so we made the run to the further fishing grounds, about halfway to Bimini. That may sound like it’s really far away, but it was still only a 30-45 minute run.

WahooOnce we got to our fishing grounds, Chris rigged up the rods, clipped them to the outriggers, and we started our troll. Not 5 minutes in, our down bait gets hit. I grab ahold of the rod and start cranking away. A couple minutes later, I have a beautiful 10-15 lb wahoo at the boat. Chris gaffed it and tossed it in the icebox. The morning was off to a great start. Chris reset the bait as Sig kept the troll going. A little while later, we start getting another hit on the down bait. This time Kyle grabs the rod, and brings in a smaller mahi mahi. Chris reset the baits and we readied ourselves for the next one.

 

Mahi MahiThe morning grew later and Kyle and I were relaxing with a beer (come on, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere), when suddenly we saw a mahi mahi skipping through the air behind the boat. Sure enough, seconds later, it took a bait. I grabbed the rod and started the fight, but it managed to shake the hook. Through the rest of the morning, we put two more mahi mahi in the boat. We were hoping to find a school of the mahi so we could toss a fly line out to them, but no such luck. Sig asked us if we wanted to change things up, which meant it was time to go sailfishing. Sig set course for the sailfish grounds while Chris got the spinning rods rigged up.

With a few hours left, Sig got the Hot Shot into position, and Chris let out the baits. A little time went by with no action, but we saw a sailfish hooked and dancing across the surface behind one of the boats several hundred yards away. We knew we were in the right spot, and it was only a matter of time before it was our turn. Not long after, we could see one of our baits start to get nervous. It was exactly what we were waiting for – a sailfish. It took the bait, and I grabbed the rod and started the fight. While I was grabbing the rod, we realized another bait was getting nervous. About 30 feet behind the boat, my sailfish crashed through the air as Kyle’s rod doubles over. We’ve got two sailfish hooked! Kyle’s starts jumping about 150 feet behind the boat, and his drag starts screaming. All the fun proved to be too much of a distraction for me, and I didn’t keep enough tension on my fish and it threw the hook. Kyle’s was still fighting strong. Kyle battled back and forth, with Sig passing along instructions and controlling the boat, while Chris stood by Kyle’s side to lend a hand when needed.The battle went on for about 5 minutes before our luck took a turn for the worse and our line got caught up, and the sailfish broke off.

SharkAfter we collected ourselves from losing the double, we had about an hour’s worth of fishing left, and we were optimistic for another shot. We reset the baits and began the waiting game again. Another nervous bait, and another fish on the end of the rod. I picked it up, and started battling. It felt like a pretty good fish, but we didn’t see any surface action. After a couple minutes of the fight, we were pretty sure we didn’t have a sailfish, but still knew it was something with decent size. The fish was close to the boat, and we realized we had ourselves a Silky Shark. The shark proved to be our last fish of the day, and while it wasn’t a sailfish, it was still a fun fight.

Hot Shot ChartersBack at the docks, Sig cleaned and bagged our fish while Chris got the boat cleaned up. Sig apologized for the “slow” action, but I never would’ve guessed that action would’ve been considered slow. If that’s supposed to be a slow day, I can’t wait until the next time I fish with Sig and it’s a great day! Sig has a very laid back personality, and loves being on the water and having a good time. He’s your ticket to a great day on the water.

Ready to book a trip with Sig Ozols aboard Hot Shot Charters? You can contact Sig via email at captsig@hscharters.com or call him at (305) 608-3913 or (305) 667-2129. Visit his website at www.hscharters.com for more information. Sig leads trips inshore, offshore, and on the reefs for everything from snapper to mahi-mahi, tuna, and wahoo to sailfish and marlin. Check out all our pictures from our trip on our Facebook album.

Everglades National Park Backcountry Trip with Scales 2 Tales Charters

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I had been getting the itch to do some fishing down in Florida lately. Growing up on Cape Cod, I’ve done plenty of striped bass, bluefish, and bluefin tuna fishing, but have never had a chance to experience any warm water saltwater fishing. To solve the problem, I booked a plane ticket and signed up for a full day backcountry trip with Chris Hanson of Scales 2 Tales Charters.

Florida Bay

The plan was to fish the mangroves in Everglades National Park. We took off from the dock in Key Largo in Chris’s beautiful 18 foot Ranger flats boat and made the run over to the park. Since the weather was great, it was a quick trip thanks to the 150hp motor. Along the way, Chris was sure to point out some of the wildlife – everything from the birds to the crocodiles sunning themselves. After we shot across the glassy water, we cruised into the mangroves to our first spot.

Mangroves in Everglades National Park

Never having done this type of fishing, Chris rigged up a shrimp and showed me what to do, and what to feel for as the fish picked up the bait. Not even thirty seconds later, I feel a tap-tap-tap on the rod. I gave the fish enough time to swallow the hook, and started cranking. It didn’t feel big, but still had some fight to it. I had a small jack crevalle on the end of the line – not our intended target. Next cast, another jack. After that, a mangrove Redfishsnapper. You have to weed through some of the small guys before you get the bigger fish. Finally, after another couple snappers, I had a bigger hit. The fish made a bit of a run, as I fought him to the boat. I got the fish to the side of the boat, and Chris grabbed my first redfish. It was too small to keep, so we fired off a couple pictures and release him back to the mangroves. After tossing back a few more jacks and snappers, I got another big hit. This time, I brought in a black drum – another first for me. We got a few more jacks and snappers before things started slowing down a bit and Chris jetted us off to another spot. mangroves to our first spot.

Our next spot was a channel right at the edge of the Gulf of Mexico. We were in some faster current with the hopes of some bigger fish. We tossed out another shrimp, and shortly thereafter, another fish was hooked. I pulled up my first saltwater catfish. Chris has one rule aboard the boat – no catfish allowed inside. Luckily, I remembered before I pulled it aboard. I got another couple catfish before hooking into another black drum. I got another couple catfish before we decided there were too many kitties around.

TripletailLooking to give me some variety, Chris took me out to the edge of the national park for some tripletail. We cruised along the stone crab traps until we saw a tripletail hanging out beneath a marker buoy. Chris assured me I’d find tripletail fishing a blast. After driving past a few buoys, we finally saw our target hanging out just below the surface. We circled around, and I tossed out a shrimp. The tripletail immediately swam over to it and ate it. I gave it a couple seconds to swallow the hook and started reeling. The rod had a nice bend, but my immediate thought was “what was all the fuss about?” No sooner than I finish the thought, and the tripletail realized it was hooked, and made a drag screaming run. THAT is what all the fuss is about. I battled it as it made a few more runs. I got it to the boat and Chris pulled it in. I was all smiles as I held my first tripletail. I was astonished to find a fish that fought that hard turned out to be just short of the minimum size! Chris snapped a couple pictures of me, and we set off to search for a few more. My next one was a nice four pounder that put up another heck of a fight. We got another small one and another keeper before heading back into the mangroves.

Anchoring into another one of Chris’s sweet spots, he tied on a jig and topped it with a shrimp, and again showed me the right way to fish it. A mangrove snapper was the first to bite, but shortly thereafter, we got hit by a nice sized snook. Putting up one of the best fights of the day, I had my first snook in the boat after a few minutes. The snook smiled for Snookthe pictures before we sent him off to swim another day. As the tide began to turn, things slowed down briefly – but not enough to stop me from catching my first sheepshead. Once we had some water flowing again, the bite picked right back up. We put another few redfish, some ladyfish (another first for me), and plenty of snappers in the boat. We had one particularly good sized redfish in the boat, but as Chris unhooked it and we were prepping for a picture, it saw an opportunity for escape and took it. The sun started getting low, so it was time to head back to the docks, happy and tired from a great day of fishing. Back at the dock, Chris happily filleted and bagged my keep and threw it on ice.

Crocodile

I really can’t say enough about how great it was fishing with Chris. He’s a fun captain to guide you through the backcountry or on any trip he offers. If you want peace and quiet, Chris is fine with that. If you want to blast some music, have some beers, and joke around, Chris is fine with that too. The whole experience shows how much Chris really enjoys his job as a guide. On top of that, Chris’s knowledge of the backcountry is impressive. He easily navigates the maze of mangroves, and knows exactly how much water will be in each spot at any given time. He has a GPS on board, but I didn’t see him use it to navigate once.

Ready to book a trip with Chris Hanson aboard Scales 2 Tales Charters? You can contact Chris via email at captainchrishanson@scales2tales.com or call him at (305) 522-3772. Visit his website at www.scales2tales.com for more information. Chris leads trips in the backcountry and on the flats for species such as snook, redfish, tarpon, black drum, and more! Check out all our pictures from our trip on our Facebook album.

Native Mountain Stream Brook Trout Trip with Page Valley Fly Fishing

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A few weeks ago, I did a smallmouth bass float trip with CT Campbell of Page Valley Fly Fishing. I was so impressed with his friendliness and skill as a guide, I decided to look him up again to go on a trip for wild brook trout in the Shenandoah mountains. The Shenandoahs haven’t received a lot of rain lately, so many of the brook trout streams had very low water levels. CT decided our best bet was the Rapidan.

The Rapidan

I met up with CT around 9 AM (the great thing about brook trout is they aren’t very active early in the morning, so you get to sleep in!), and he took me into the Shenandoah National Park. With his previous experience as a back-country ranger in the area, he pointed out different landmarks, features, and even environmental challenges the forest is having during our ascent up the mountain in his truck. We got to our fishing spot, geared up – CT uses 3 and 4 weight fly rods for these mountain streams. CT brought me to the edge of the river to review the tactics we’d be using for this trip. Looking at the stream, I had my doubts there were even fish there – the stream was hardly more than a trickle with constant “waterfalls” between pools. The biggest pool wasn’t more than about 15 feet wide and 30 feet long, and that was rare. CT assured me that the fish were there. As if on cue, I spot a brook trout holding under a tree limb in the pool CT was using to explain our tactics. From our perch on the rock about 15 feet above the pool, we could see it was pretty good size – about 10 inches. Fishing for these brook trout isn’t about catching a big fish. It’s catching a beautiful, wily, native fish. It’s actually pretty challenging fishing too, especially with the water so clear and levels so low. These fish are very spooky!

Seeing the first brookie, we sneak our way down to the tail of the pool to try to entice the fish to take our fly without spooking him first. CT tied on a Royal Wulff onto some 6x tippet. I strip out some line and make my first cast and…. BOOM! I catch the tree behind me. In the excitement, I forgot I was fishing a tight mountain stream rather than a open river. CT frees my line, and I cast again, this time paying attention to the trees behind me.

Brook Trout

My first cast was slightly off target and missed the drift I needed. For a lot of these fish, casting 6 inches to the right puts the fly out of it’s feeding path. My second cast was right on target, but I let it drag. No bite. My third cast was to the same spot. This time, no drag. Seconds later, the brookie came up and slammed the fly! I watched in awe. Unfortunately, watching was all I did, and I didn’t set the hook. Luckily, I fared a bit better on the next pool and actually reacted to the strike. A beautiful 8 inch brook trout took my fly.

 

 

Brook Trout

The next several pools elicited a few missed strikes and a couple “young of the year” brookies (brook trout that were born this past February and are only a couple inches). CT was getting a little confused, and thought the pools were fishing a little weird. We tried a couple other dry flies, but had the same results. Finally, CT figured it out. He noticed a wet spot on top of a rock that wouldn’t be exposed to  the running water, and it hadn’t rained recently. Sure enough, we found fresh footprints – someone was fishing right ahead of us. We packed it in, and moved a ways upstream. CT was right – at our next spot, it took me two casts before I hooked another 8 inch brookie. The day continued on with lots more strikes and more hooked fish. It was a double digit day for me (without counting the young of the year), with 4 solid fish over 8 inches, and quite a few more 4-6 inch fish.

Rapidan River

If you’ve never fished for native brook trout, it is a must-do experience for the fly fisherman. The scenery alone is enough to make one want to take the trip, let alone the beauty of the fish. You’ll see unspoiled nature, peaceful streams, and lots of wildlife. If you make the trip in the fall, you get the added bonus of seeing the leaves change colors, plus the brook trout will be even more beautiful with their spawning colors!

 

 

 

 

Ready to book a trip with C.T. Campbell / Page Valley Fly Fishing? You can contact C.T. via email at marcycampbell@embarqmail.com or call him at (540) 743-7952. Visit his website at www.pagevalleyflyfishing.com for more information. C.T. offers full day smallmouth float trips plus full and half day wade trips for either smallmouths or brook trout. His 2012 rates begin at $150 for a half day wading trip. Quite a deal for such a skilled guide!

Page Valley Fly FishingBrook Trout

Float Trip with Page Valley Fly Fishing

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I caught the itch a little while ago for some smallmouth bass fishing. I had caught plenty of smallmouth bass from ponds and lakes, but had never really targeted them in rivers. The Shenandoah River is well known for its smallmouth bass fishery, so I figured there was no better place to start. I booked a full day float trip on the South Fork of the Shenandoah with C.T. Campbell of Page Valley Fly Fishing for this past Saturday to get my line wet.

Page Valley Fly Fishing Float

C.T. is a retired back country ranger who now operates a guide service based out of his hometown of Luray, Virginia. He’s been guiding for 15 years, and has a great knowledge of the local rivers and area – and it sure shows in his in depth knowledge of the river. Even his boat is ideal for the river. It’s a big, self bailing inflatable craft that comfortably seats two anglers. The seats swivel 360 degrees so you’re always able to get yourself into position. The front seat also has a platform on which you can stand and fish. Even after 8 hours on the river, I never got wet, felt fatigued (from the boat, anyway) or uncomfortable.

We were blessed with an absolutely gorgeous day. Mid-high 70’s and sunny all day. Unfortunately, the sunny conditions combined crystal clear water made for a technically difficult day of fishing. We soon found out the fish would be incredibly spooky and we’d need to make minimum 30-40 foot casts to avoid spooking the bass. We saw tons of fish, including some pretty big ones, but with water clarity letting us see the bottom in 10-15 feet of water, the fish would tend to see us first. If that didn’t alone scare them, the motion of the cast or the fly line landing anywhere nearby sure would.

In the morning, we started with some poppers on the surface. Regardless of how “fishy” a section looked, we couldn’t even get a smallmouth to follow a fly if it was in the sun. The shade line was where the fish were biting, so we stuck to anywhere we could find some shade. We were catching a few smallmouths mixed in with tons of sunfish – or as C.T. calls them, “Fish Tacos.” While the sunfish are fun, they weren’t what we were after. We were abiding by the “big fly, big fish” theory in hopes to avoid some of the sunfish, but that seemed to attract only the big sunfish. Not the worst problem in the world!

Page Valley Fly Fishing Smallmouth

With the smallies seeming to be a little slow on the bite, we switched over to some streamers. My second cast with an olive and white clouser elicited a vicious bite from a smallmouth. A few casts later and BAM! Another smallmouth. The clouser was getting plenty of strikes from the smallmouths, but still couldn’t draw anything out from anywhere sunny. At this point, we broke for lunch. C.T. brought us lunch on the river, and we made our own sandwiches, snacked on some chips, and followed it up with his wife’s phenomenal homemade brownies. C.T. includes all this on his full day float trips, along with plenty of water and gatorade. Being a environmentally conscious guide, C.T. ensured all the trash we brought in was taken out.

Page Valley Fly Fishing SmallmouthAfter lunch, one of the first sections we hit was where C.T. knew there would be some big fish. It was a deep cut right along the edge of a river where it runs against a cliff. He tied on one of his local favorites, a “Magnum Hog Sucker,” and told me he was guaranteeing I’d catch a fish on it in that cut. Sure enough, I got hit and there was his promised fish. Smallmouths are known for their strength and great fight, especially compared to their bigger Largemouth cousins. If you’re used to fishing for smallies in lakes, what you may not realize is how much stronger the ones that live in rivers fight. This guy we picked off from the deep cut was no exception.

The bite in the shade stayed consisted for the next 30 minutes or so, when suddenly the fish turned on in the sun. Nearly every cast to anything “fishy” looking would at least produce a follow, if not a strike. I had long ago stopped counting how many smallmouths I had caught, and the fishing was faster than ever. Every place C.T. would tell me to cast would bring us a fish. This continued on until the sun was low in the sky. The bite slowed a little, but I slowed even more. The last hour still produced plenty of strikes, but my reflexes slowed down too much to get a good hookset on anything.

The day’s catch totaled well over 30 smallmouth bass with plenty in the 12+ inch range, close to as many sunfish, and a nice largemouth bass. We also spotted several big catfish – probably 20-30 pounds – along with a few large carp. As if the fishing isn’t enough to make a run down the Shenandoah, the wildlife and scenery is a bonus. There are gorgeous views everywhere, and we saw tons of great blue herons, hawks, and even a bald eagle. There was even a raccoon cleaning himself off in front of his riverfront hole. The worst part about the trip is how desperately it makes me want to go back out. With the season winding down, it’s going to be tough to sneak in one final trip!

Ready to book a trip with C.T. Campbell / Page Valley Fly Fishing? You can contact C.T. via email at marcycampbell@embarqmail.com or call him at (540) 743-7952. Visit his website at www.pagevalleyflyfishing.com for more information. C.T. offers full day smallmouth float trips plus full and half day wade trips for either smallmouths or brook trout. His 2012 rates begin at $150 for a half day wading trip. Quite a deal for such a skilled guide!

Site News – 8/22/2012

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In between adding guides to our database, we also strive to improve the look and functionality of the site. You’ll notice a few changes – we’ve tweaked the design of each guide’s page and enhanced the search functionality. If you go to the “Locations” tab, you’ll find you can now browse the guides by Region or by State. Looking for the fishing calendars we had? We didn’t get rid of them! Just click details next to the region to find the description and the best time to target different species.

While this may not seem like much, we have quite a bit planned for the near future. We’re going to be tweaking the search results page to give you more information up front and at a glance. We’ll also be expanding our search capabilities. You may want to catch Marlin in South Florida, but you probably also have a budget. Soon you’ll not only be able to see the price range for each charter, but also search within a price range!

If you’re visiting this site, you probably love fishing. We’re planning to expand content. Here at Find the Fishing, we have a soft spot for fly fishing. Look for some instructional videos and write ups for fly casting and fly tying. We’ll also be reviewing equipment as we test it out.

In the meantime, help us get the word out! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and tell your friends to check us out! More importantly, if you’re a fishing guide, run a charter service, or have a favorite that you’ve used in the past, send us the information! There’s never ANY cost to have a website listed with us.

Shark Fishing Aboard Commotion Charters

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Last weekend I was invited up to Newport, Rhode Island for a fishing trip aboard Commotion Charters with Captain Dan Tye.  The “Commotion” is a gleaming 50 foot sport fisher. Originally delivered in 2009, this boat looks like it just took it’s maiden voyage yesterday! It sleeps 6, has an air conditioned salon, full bathroom, freshwater maker, refrigerator and freezers. If you’re making a family trip for the day, there is even a TV with PlaCommotion Chartersystation. While all the luxuries are great, the outside is what counts the most where you’ll be spending your time fighting the fish. Commotion Charters has all the finest gear, whether you’re targeting bluefish or bluefin. The outriggers gets you more exposure to the fish, while the tuna tower provides a great vantage point for spotting tuna and shark. When you end up reeling in dinner, there’s a large fishhold. Keeping the bait to land that giant is no issue either with the large livewell and bait freezer with an on board icemaker. The twin diesel engines will get you to the fishing grounds fast where you’ll put the gorgeous fighting chair to good use. Don’t want to sit? Commotion’s crew with strap you into the stand up fighting gear.

The weather was on our side with plenty of sun and calm seas – not like Commotion has any issue handling rough water. Our initial plan was to make a run to the Canyons, but fishing reports led us to make a game time change in plans to a shark fishing trip. We decided there was no point in spending the time to get all the way out there if the fish weren’t biting. Besides, that just meant I got to sleep in a little later.

Commotion Charters provided all the frozen bait we needed, but the captain suggested catching some live bait first. When live “bait” fishing for sharks is 3-5 pound bluefish on light tackle, how can you say no? That in itself makes for a great day of fishing! While trolling for blues with the backdrop of Narragansett Bay is great, that wasn’t the intent of our trip. We put our fish in the livewell and got ready for the real fishing.Commotion Charters

Commotion Charters

We sped off to the fishing grounds, got our chum slick going and our baits set, began playing the waiting game. It didn’t take too long before the first balloon dipped hard in the water – the first shark took our bait. After a nice fight, we had a 7 foot blue shark at the boat, photographed and released.

Commotion Charters

With the baits reset and our heartbeats back to normal, we continued chumming the water trying to attract another shark. We kept a spinning rod baited with a chunk of mackerel and about 10 feet of line off the stern. Our hope was a big shark would take the bait right in front of us. While that didn’t happen, a BIG 20-pound bluefish did take the bait.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t paying nearly enough attention and we lost the fish before I could set the hook. Our disappointment didn’t last long as we got hit by another shark. Another battle, another shark at the boat. This would be our biggest of the day – a 9 foot blue shark. Unfortunately, with the swivel at the rod tip, the shark made one last ditch effort to get away and snapped the line before we could get any pictures. We brought in one more 7 foot blue shark before calling it a day.

Commotion Charters

I had a great trip with Commotion Charters, and hope I’ll be able to join them on another trip soon!

Want to book your own trip aboard Commotion Charters? Contact Captain Dan Tye at (407) 463-9912. Commotion Charters sails out of Hyannis, MA during the summer and fall, and Florida during the winter. Commotion Charters targets everything from Striped Bass to Bluefin Tuna to Shark to warm-water species in the Canyons.