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You won't believe your eyes as you watch this rig perfectly imitate a school of baitfish being chased by a predator! Each small Zinger jumps and skitters across the surface just like showering baitfish. This rig proves irresistible to bluefin tuna!
Bluefin Tuna Rig
 
Offshore Pursuits Logo Wear
 
Offshore Pursuits Logo Wear
 
The ultimate in bluefin tuna tackle and rigs. Custom East of Chatham squid rigs, daisy chains, and lures set the new standard in quality and craftsmanship. designed and built by commercial bluefin tuna fisherman with one goal in mind...catch bluefin tuna! When you see the East of Chatham logo, you can be assured that the product is manufactured with the highest quality components available.
The ultimate in bluefin tuna tackle and rigs. Custom East of Chatham squid rigs, daisy chains, and lures set the new standard in quality and craftsmanship. designed and built by commercial bluefin tuna fisherman with one goal in mind...catch bluefin tuna! When you see the East of Chatham logo, you can be assured that the product is manufactured with the highest quality components available.
Offshore big game fishing tackle for giant bluefin tuna, school bluefin tuna, marlin, sailfish, wahoo, dolphin and shark!
The ultimate in bluefin tuna tackle and rigs. Custom East of Chatham squid rigs, daisy chains, and lures set the new standard in quality and craftsmanship. designed and built by commercial bluefin tuna fisherman with one goal in mind...catch bluefin tuna! When you see the East of Chatham logo, you can be assured that the product is manufactured with the highest quality components available.
Fishing the waters east of Cape Cod for striped bass, bluefish, and bluefin tuna.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Offshore Pursuits Fishing News and Reports

 
The hunt for a Hatteras blue marlin!
Hatteras Blue MarlinThis past week I spent four days chasing blue marlin off Hatteras, NC. I fished with two of the top Captains in the fleet, Capt. Dan Rooks on the Tuna Duck, and Captain Steve Coulter on the Sea Creature. The plan was a simple one, it would be all or nothing. Big baits targeting blue marlin in places that were favorable for marlin. I had no interest in catching anything but a blue marlin, and that was my mission. Good or bad!

The first day I fished was on Monday. The Tuna Duck left the inlet under favorable
conditions, yet we knew that there was a chance of weather blowing in later in the day. We
headed "straight out" because the weather would not permit us to go to the south like we
wanted. We headed out across the "Rock Pile" and set out along the edge of the continental
shelf, specifically Hatteras Canyon, known locally as the "Old Hole". Read the whole story here...
 
 
04/18/08
The First Fish
By: Capt. Hap Farrell

The first striper of the season caught by Capt. Hap Farrell of the Stunmai IIThis last Thursday afternoon, the 17th of April, I stopped off at River Road in Orleans on Cape Cod and cast a lure out into The river coming from Little Pleasant Bay up into Meeting House Pond. The first two or three casts did not produce any action. On the next cast a hit, reeling a little further another hit and the fish is on. There are fish at River Road now. I’d heard that fish had been taken but had not actually seen it. My first fish of the
season.

You know how every once in a while an old memory will flash into your head? Well, that happened when I lifted that small striper out of the water to release it. Years ago, when I moved down to the Cape after getting out of the service I got back into fishing in this area again. When I got my first bass I’d run down to tell Old Mack, who owned Mac Reed’s Bait Shop. Back when I came to the Cape as a kid I would always get my bait from this kindly old gentleman who ran a funky old tackle shop. He was a well known and liked character in Orleans and a wealth of knowledge of where to fish in Pleasant Bay and other areas on the Lower cape.

It came to be a tradition every year from the early 70’s on I’d Find Mr. Reed, Mack, and tell him of the fish I had just landed. He say he’d taken his first a few days before up in False Channel in Pleasant Bay. Some years he just smile and nod agreeing I’d taken the first fish. True or not it really didn’t matter. Mack was a man of few words but everyone listened
to what he did say.

This Thursday, while looking at that small striper I told Mack I landed my first fish...
 
04/14/08
The Offshore Pursuits Team was on hand for all three days of the New England Saltwater Fishing Show, RI Convention Center, Providence, RI.

It was a great pleasure to meet all of you who stopped by to say hello after following Offshore Pursuits for all these years. We met many friends and customers face to face for the first time, and also met many new friends and colleagues that will help Offshore Pursuits grow even more in the season to come.

Thanks again to all that stopped by, and the fishing reports will start the first week in May. I will be chasing blue marlin off Hatteras aboard the Tuna Duck with Capt. Dan Rooks the last week of April into early May, so we should have some exciting stories and pictures to share.

Accompanying me on this trip will be a writer and photographer from a outdoor magazine that most of you are familiar with. That is all I can say for now, but if all goes as planned, this trip will be in print. I will keep you posted! Dave
 
 

Bluefin Tuna Fishing Tips and Techniques

We have created a new website to share our tuna fishing experiences. http://www.bluefintunafishingtackle.com. Please visit the site to view some of our tackle, tips and techniques for school tuna. If you would like to share some of your tips and experiences please email Jack at capt.Jack@offshorepursuits.com and we will credit you with a backlink to your website.
 

School Bluefin Tuna Seminars and Shows

Capt. Jack Riley of the Offshore Pursuits Pro Staff will be presenting bluefin tuna tips and techniques at the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Assoc. monthly meeting on 2/25/08 and at the Bass Pro Shops in Foxboro, MA on 3/1/08 from 12:30 to 1:30 in the afternoon.

Dave and Jack will also be exhibiting tuna tackle and techniques at the Saltwater Fishing Expo, Garden State Exhibit Center, Somerset, NJ on March 14-16, 2008. You will find many show tackle specials at booth # 211. www.sportshows.com

 
01/10/08
I received the below this morning from Rich Ruais.
 
Tuna Friends:

The 2007 total U.S. catch of bluefin tuna dropped again from 214 mt in 2006 to 193.6 in 2007. The average weight also dropped from 462 lbs. in 2006 to 423 lbs. in 2007. This does not include the estimate of recreational catch (usually 200-300 tons) of school and medium tuna which will not be available until the summer.

The central Atlantic, East Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea fisheries continue to kill our fishery and waste our sacrifices since 1981 to rebuild the western fishery.

Rich
 
 
12/04/07
I received the below article from Rich Ruais on 12/04/07:
 
ICCAT Fails to Act to Stop Eastern Bluefin Tuna Slaughter!

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) was blocked again by the European Community (E.C) at its regular annual meeting in Antalya, Turkey from November 10 through the 18th to reign in the out of control fisheries for Atlantic bluefin tunas in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea.

Prior to the start of this years ICCAT meeting, Dr. Bill Hogarth (Chairman of ICCAT and Head of the U.S. NMFS) announced that the U.S. would demand a 3 to 5 year complete moratorium of bluefin fishing in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. The call for the ban was based on the total non-compliance by European and North African fishing countries and fish farms with the scientific advice presented by ICCAT's Standing Committee on Research and Statistics (SCRS) in 2006 that fishing catches had to be reduced to prevent a stock collapse. In 2007 the SCRS advice on the probability of collapse was even clearer given the continuing illegal catches.

Read the full article here.
 
11/12/07

Herring Article from Canadian Perspective

Read the above article and then ask yourselves the importance of pushing the herring issue! imagine what their tuna season will be like next year...
 
11/11/07

Below is a correspondence that I received from Rich Ruias on the 11th.

"Tuna Friends:

Glenn Delaney and I attended a presentation given by Dr. Barb Block on bluefin to an audience at the World Wildlife Fund's headquarters in Washington last night. There is no real new information except that she is now over 1,000 tagged bluefin tunas and the data collected is enormous and incredibly informative about the migration habits and stock structure of bluefin.

She has been tremendous at getting the field work done and providing some basic interpretations of the migration patterns. She is out of her realm of expertise as she tries to apply the data collected to the real world of management hence, our problem with her pressure to include the west Atlantic in the moratorium proposed by the U.S. for the east and Mediterranean Sea.

I'm forwarding a little note I wrote to her this morning (below). She had control over the question period and cut me off after one or two challenges. In the past she has not even recognized Glenn for a challenge.

Rich


Barb:

Your presentation was once again fascinating last night. One would have to be pretty much of a dope to not see how much you care about bluefin and how hard you are working to help present the data that can lead to a sustainable management regime of the complex mixed stock/fishery we have.

Your concern about fishery collapses are reasonable but I would like a definition of "fishery collapse" and I think there other many other factors beyond stock condition that have to be examined and explained in each case where a "collapse" is hypothesized.

Your suggestion of fishing them to biological extinction of the western unit is however, preposterous in my mind and I'm sure in many scientists minds as well. This is particularly so the more you want to believe that there is a portion of the west that does not mix on eastern fishing grounds. In 1992 I commissioned Doug Butterworth and Andre Punt to analyze the probability of extinction for a highly fecund, widely ranging high seas, rapidly migrating fish like bluefin in anticipation Sutton's and Safina's CITES listing attempt. At first they thought I was joking but they went ahead and did one during an ICCAT Working group. I will have to dig a bit to find the actual paper but I recall the probability was practically zero.

You know your audience better than me, but I don't think it is necessary or helpful to be talking about extinction right now. Potential collapses are bad enough and potentially real and measureable.

Rich"
 
 
Tuna Watch

Bluefin Tuna Landings Update
12/04/07

Click here for the latest landings info.
 
09/19/07
 

CHOIR 2008 Priority Sign-on Letter (Very important!)

 
 
A nice school bluefin caught by Capt. Joe Fortin off Cape AnnThe bluefin bite starting to pickup off Cape Ann last week. This picture shows Capt. Joe Fortin with his 49" 60lb bluefin tuna caught on 9/13 2007 aboard his boat, the OSPREY.

Read all this weeks reports here.
 
 
I received the below email from Rich Montague on 09/15/07. Click on the thumbnails below for some great pictures!
 
great tuna action! It isn't often you get to see a scene like this! Thanks Rich for the great tuna pics!!
 
Hey Dave:

Captain Dick Martin and I were out east of Regal Sword on Friday and as you said most of the day the fish finder had the tuna sitting on the bottom. By 2:00, we began to see them moving up to the 180' to 200' range, with bait, birds and whales everywhere.

We had the unique experience of seeing a "Tuna Stampede". We spotted this line of crashing fish heading our way and was able to take the attached photos as they blew by us and continued out of sight. We pushed the boat up to 20 mph (with the rigs still in the water) and could not even close on them.

By zooming in on the photos you can just make out the fins and backs of these fish.

Keep up the good work.

Rich Montague
South Yarmouth
 
 

CHOIR 2008 Priority Sign-on Letter

 
I received the below correspondence from Chris Weiner of the CHOIR Coalition last night. It is self explanatory in it's goal, and is of the highest importance. If you own any marine related business, whether on the water, shore based, or support based, it  would benefit all of us if you would contact Chris and have him add your business name to the sign-up letter. A copy of the letter can be seen here, but all you need to do is email Chris with your company name and tell him to add you to the letter.
 
"Hey Dave

I am writing because are starting to work on the CHOIR Sign On letter to send to the NEFMC asking for herring to be prioritized in 2008. The letter is supplementing the brochure drive, and essentially asks for the same thing. While the brochure drive is going to be very important come November, the sign on letter is also very important.

I will attach the letter to this email. If you could look it over and let me know if you can sign onto it I would really appreciate it. As with the letters in the past, all I need from you is an 'OK' to sign on and I will add you to the bottom of the letter.

It is really important that we get herring prioritized at the November meeting, there are some important changes left to make and if we not get it on the list, it will be years before we can address those changes.

(The brochure drive is still important, the two will work together to help us achieve our goals.)

Please let me know,

Thanks

Chris"

Chris Weiner
CHOIR Coalition
Portland, ME
207-761-1947
978-886-0204 (Cell)
www.choircoalition.org
 


[Choir] NMFS announces problems with herring landing reports in herring fishery.

 
(The below correspondence was sent to me on the 16th by Chris Weiner)
 
 
This past week, NMFS posted the following comment on the IVR Landings page on the NOAA website directly after posting the updated landings for each area:

"This report is based on incomplete data because a substantial number of herring vessels have not reported their catch in an accurate and timely manner, as required, through the IVR system. Failure to submit reports, including the requirement to submit a negative report for any week when no catch was made, may result in the matter being referred to the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement for investigation. If violations are established, violators can expect significant civil penalties and permit sanctions to follow."

Just last month, as most of you probably know, there were some major landings issues that led to NMFS to immediately close, and then reopen, the Area 1A fishery. (I will post a link to a discussion of that issue from last month below).

This all highlights the dire need to have a weighmaster system put in place in the herring fishery as soon as possible.
--------------

NMFS IVR Page: http://www.nero.noaa.gov/ro/fso/reports/reports_frame.htm
(Click on 'Atlantic Herring' on the left side of page)



--
Chris Weiner
CHOIR Coalition
Portland, ME
207-761-1947
978-886-0204 (Cell)
www.choircoalition.org
 
A possible new state record Porbeagle Shark was caught by one of the boats in the Mass Bay A possible new state record Porbeagle Shark was caught by one of the boats in the Mass Bay
Guides fleet located in Scituate Harbor.


Captain Mike Evensen caught a 455 pound Porbeagle Shark off the Eastern edge of Stellwagen Bank. The crew of the “Alexa Ann” battled this monster for three hours on a standup fifty.

Capt. Mike was Tuna fishing in the morning and hooked up to an 8’ Giant Bluefin he fought this fish for almost an hour before loosing it to a snapped line. After being disgusted with this episode theydecided to finish the day Cod and Shark fishing. Capt. Mike baited the hook with a cod fillet and off they went round and round for three hours he said the GPS looked like a etch-a-sketch.

The Shark was weighed on an official scale and witnessed by a State marine biologist. The Shark should become the new state record beating the old record of 418 pounds. Congratulations to Capt. Mike and his crew.
 
Click here to read more of Capt. Greg Sears report...
 
08/26/08
Nice striped bass caught of P-town!Captain Jim's Cape Charters
Provincetown, MA
508.237.7701

The bass are here but you have to work for them, dont seem to be following a regular feeding pattern and are moving around a lot in the Bay.

These gentleman from England got these nice keepers on an early am incoming tide.
 
 
08/23/07
HERRING AREA 1A FISHERY REMAINS OPEN
 
Friends:

Yesterday NMFS announced a closure of the Gulf of Maine herring fishery because they projected that 95% of the 50,000 ton quota was reached.

Today they reopened the fishery saying they re-reviewed dealer reports and feel confident there is still enough quota to keep the fishery opened indefinitely. This event caused quite a stir in at least three industries (herring/lobster/tuna) last night and today.

If nothing else it highlights the inadequate herring catch monitoring system and the lack of confidence in this system that many have been complaining about for years.

Rich Ruais
Rruais@aol.com
 
08/23/07
Tuna Info from Peter Baker
 
"UNH says Sorry, Charile, but condition of bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Maine is dire



SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [UNh] Aug 23, 2007- DURHAM, N.H. – The quality of giant bluefin tuna caught in the Gulf of Maine has declined significantly since the early 1990s, researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found by analyzing detailed logbooks from a commercial tuna grader at the Yankee Fisherman’s Co-op. The findings, published this week in Fishery Bulletin, indicate potential changes in food sources, shifts in reproductive or migratory patterns, or the impact of fishing may be the cause of this decline.

Walter Golet, a Ph.D. candidate in UNH’s Large Pelagics Research Lab, along with UNH research assistant professor Andy Cooper and Large Pelagics Lab director Molly Lutcavage, partnered with veteran tuna grader Robert Campbell at the Yankee Fisherman’s Co-op in Seakbrook, N.H. to analyze the quality of 3,082 Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus). “In a drawer, he had two or three notebooks with every fish he graded in the last 14 years, from 1991 – 2004,” says Golet. Golet’s findings corroborated observations by fishermen, brokers and cooperative managers: Not only is the number of giant bluefin in the Gulf of Maine declining, the condition of those fish caught is of much lower quality.

Specifically, Golet and co-authors analyzed the fat and oil content and shape of the tuna. “Fat content is in high demand for the market, because that’s what makes the meat taste good,” he says, noting that fish with well-marbled tail meat, fat in their mid-section muscle and belly, and a rotund shape can command upwards of $50 per pound on the sushi market.

Beyond the tekkamaki, however, fat content is a valuable indicator of the overall health condition of the bluefin. Highly migratory, traveling from their spawning grounds to the Gulf of Maine and possibly across the Atlantic, Atlantic bluefin have high metabolisms and energetic needs. Not surprisingly, bluefin caught in June, shortly after arriving in the Gulf of Maine after a swim of more than 1,000 miles, are lean and of lower quality. Yet Golet and co-authors found that the quality of bluefin caught in August and September, after several months at the Gulf of Maine’s buffet table, is declining. “They look lean,” Golet says.

In 1991, he found, the probability of landing a C+ fish (A being the highest grade) was 16 percent and 9 percent for August and September, respectively. By 2004, the probability increased to 68 percent and 76 percent in the C+ category for August and September, respectively. He also found that the bluefin are leaner on arrival to the Gulf of Maine; the probability of catching a poor quality fish (grade C or worse) in June 1991 was 30% compared with 70% in 2004. Good quality fish, such as B or better, now comprise less than one percent of the commercial catch at this New Hampshire cooperative.

For scientists like Golet and his collaborators at UNH, this research is less about tasty tuna than about understanding and promoting this overexploited fishery. “One of the big consequences of not fattening as much is the potential impact it could have on reproduction,” says Golet. “Reduced energy stores can often force a fish to skip spawning in a particular year.”

Jennifer Goldstein, also a Ph.D. student in the Large Pelagics Research Lab, looked at this link between bluefin body composition and reproductive status in an article published in the July 2007 Marine Biology journal (http://www.springerlink.com/content/q21417091803m56u/fulltext.pdf).

The researchers hypothesize this change in energy – or fat – acquisition could also shift the bluefin tuna’s migration patterns.

Now that the researchers have documented the decline of bluefin quality, they’re looking into the reasons behind it. One obvious cause would be a decline in their food supply; bluefin are voracious predators with a high metabolism. “Bluefin will eat just about anything – sponges, seahorses, dogfish – but according to recent studies, up to 60 percent of their prey is comprised of Atlantic herring,” says Golet, noting that herring, along with mackerel and bluefish, is tuna health food, providing maximum energy to these long-distance swimmers.

Since stock assessments indicate that herring abundance is at historically high levels, however, the researchers wonder if perhaps the herring themselves have experienced a decline in quality, or if they have dispersed into smaller schools, requiring greater energy output: Bluefin have to swim farther for each meal. The “junk food hypothesis” probes whether changes in diet from high-energy food like herring and mackerel to less energetic species like haddock or sand lance results in lower caloric intake. And evidence is mounting to support the hypothesis that bluefin migrations are far more complex than once thought and that bluefin may be traveling farther to the Gulf of Maine; some Atlantic bluefin in the Gulf of Maine have traveled from the central and eastern Atlantic, utilizing far more stored energy swimming greater distances against major currents.

Golet doesn’t expect to find a single smoking gun, or harpoon. “I’m very convinced that it’s multiple factors working with each other,” says Golet."
 
07/16/07
It doesn't get much better than this!
 
Every now and then we get a story from a fellow fisherman that totally illustrates what Offshore Pursuits is all about. When we do, we want you all to have the pleasure of reading it. The following is just such a story.
 
Bluefin tuna fishing at it's finest east of Chatham. Capt. Bill regan and crew does it again!The following report comes to us from Capt. Bill Regan, owner of the "Hot Reels", and fishing out of Allen Harbor in Harwichport. As you will see, persistence and more than a little knowledge pays big dividends! Congratulations to Capt. Bill Regan and crew Brian Sullivan and Doug Smith on a fantastic day on the water! I guarantee that we will be hearing more from this crew!

There are three things you need to know about this day before I relay the report. We will call it the "rest of the story".

First, the weather forecast was calling for things to get a little ugly after midday. It was supposed to blow and really stack things up. Second, (and nothing new to Chatham) there was a blind fog once you turned the corner at Monomoy. And last, but not least, the whole fleet got chewed up by bluefish the day before precisely where Capt. Bill Regan planned to fish. He
apparently knows something the rest of us don't! Read on...

"07/15/07 - There is a wreck seven miles north of the Regal Sword and approximately four miles east of the shipping lanes. That is where it began. Our first hit bent the outrigger 30 degrees, peeled line off for a good 10 seconds, then took off with everything. We are talking a full line break on 80 lb. test mono! It was great to get bit, but not a good ending!

Approximately fifteen minutes later and approximately one mile to the south we got hit again. We were losing line at a rapid pace, on a 70 at full strike no less! After a half an hour standoff, I backed the boat down on the fish and within 20 minutes we had two gaffs into a great 66", 175 lb. prime bluefin! We all felt great considering how our day began.

We cleared the lines, reset the spread, and settled into our trolling pattern. That didn't last long. Within ten minutes we witnessed a huge explosion behind the "Hot Reels". If we hadn't seen it, we sure would have heard it! This fish hammered a black squid rig with a dark pink stinger attached to a Shimano 50W LRS loaded with 80 lb. test mono. This was a bigger fish, and in no time we had lost 75% of our spool. I started backing down on this
fish right away, and in about forty minutes, we had this fish boat side. Fish number two was 68" and about 210 lbs!

We went through the same routine as before...cleared the lines, reset the spread, and settled in. Not ten minutes later we were hooked up again. This was a smaller fish, more than 47", but not a giant, so we reeled her in, took a measurement, and turned her loose to grow up a little bit. Still great action!

This scene played itself out twice more, with two fish coming to the boat in the 50"-55" range. These were also released to fight another day.

A great day of tuna fishing for Capt. Bill Regan and crew Brian Sullivan aboard the Hot Reels out of Allen HarborOur final hookup was a feisty 41" fish that fell into the slot limit. We landed this fish and headed to the dock. That makes five fish to the boat, one lost, all in the span of an hour and twenty minutes. As we were steaming off the grounds, there were still fish busting the surface all around us.

This was truly one of those days on the water that we will remember for ever. Hopefully we can pull a repeat real soon!

On a technical note, all our fish were taken on black squid rigs using either a white stinger, a green stinger or a dark pink stinger.

Capt. Bill Regan and the crew of the "Hot Reels", Brian Sullivan and Doug Smith."
 
07/17/07
[Choir] Nils Stolpe lashes out at the Herring Alliance
 
The below was sent to me a day ago from Mike Flaherty of the CHOIR Coalition.
All,

For those of you who haven't seen it yet, I came across Nils Stolpe's latest Pravda email newsletter that he sends out from time to time.

For those who haven't heard of him, Nils has essentially made a living out of bashing environmental groups in print and on the internet. He admits to writing for some 30+ individuals but he refuses to name them. Pretty hypocritical when you consider that all of the 501(c)(3) groups that he attacks are required to disclose where their funding comes from.

What I find interesting here is that Nils was generally hands-off in the past when it came to criticizing the ENGO's involvement with herring management. This was when it was a matter of individual ENGOs working with CHOIR (technically a group of various "fishing" interests).

However, now that those same environmental groups are falling under the umbrella of the Herring Alliance, he sees it as fair game - despite the parallel goals between the commercial and recreational fishermen of CHOIR and the Herring Alliance.

In other words, how can it be said that the Herring Alliance is the "latest assault on the commercial fishing industry" without making the same claim against CHOIR - which is obviously ludicrous?

Not sure if this deserves a response, but I thought I would just pass it along in the interest of demonstrating what "the other side" is writing with regard to herring management. As I recall, I think he has a similar reference to the Herring Alliance in a current National Fisherman article.

Best,
Mike Flaherty
Wareham, MA

=================================================
Excerpt from Nils Stolpe's FishNet email newsletter...

The Oil Slick

The latest assault on the commercial fishing industry is by a recently
formed organization called The Herring Alliance. This "alliance" is made up
of the Conservation Law Foundation, Earthjustice, Environment Maine, Public
Interest Research Group, Greenpeace, National Environmental Trust, Natural
Resources Defense Council, National Coalition for Marine Conservation,
Oceana and The Pew Charitable Trusts. It is described on its website as "a
coalition of environmental and other public interest organizations dedicated
to protecting and restoring marine wildlife populations and Northeastern
U.S. marine ecosystems by reforming the Atlantic herring fishery." However,
there's a bit more - or perhaps that should be a lot less - to this
coalition than meets the eye.

All but two of the member organizations are funded by the Pew Charitable
Trusts. According to the Pew Trusts website, since 1998 The Conservation Law Foundation has received over a 1,000,000 Pew dollars, Earthjustice has
received over 20,000,000 million Pew dollars, National Environmental Trust
has received over 40,000,000 Pew dollars, Natural Resources Defense Council has received almost 5,000,000 Pew dollars, Public Interest Research Group has received over 18,000,000 Pew dollars, and Oceana has received over 38,000,000 Pew dollars. Environment Maine acknowledges Pew support, but the Pew Trusts website doesn't detail at what level that support is.

This embarrassment of riches is part and parcel of Pew's strategy. In an
article in the New York Times on June 28, 2001, Douglas Jehl wrote "unlike
many philanthropies that give to conservationist groups, Pew has been
anything but hands-off, serving as the behind-the-scenes architect of highly
visible recent campaigns to preserve national forests and combat global
warming. Though some of its money goes to long-established groups, Pew has also created its own organizations, with names like the National
Environmental Trust and the Heritage Forest Campaign." (Charity Is New Force in Environmental Fight). However, in the case of this "coalition," the
impression is that a group of organizations spontaneously came together
because of a concern over the management of herring in New England waters. All those zeros in the preceding paragraph show how spontaneous that concern really was.

(Of the two groups apparently not Pew funded, Greenpeace is notoriously
opposed to "big businesses" such as those engaged in the herring fisheries,
and the National Coalition for Marine Conservation, in spite of its name, is
an organization representing recreational fishing interests; interests who
see any real form of commercial fishing as undesirable competition.)
 
 
 
 
07/10/07
Read Light Tackle Jigging with Wire by Capt. Hap Farrell.
 
07/10/07
I’ll make this short and sweet. It looks as if the big bass are moving in the area of Billingsgate Shoals. Yesterday and today we have some of the best fishing of the season. Finally, the bigger stripers have moved up on the shoals.
I had Justin Gansowski and his extended family out on the half day trip. After one of his family members finished eating the one banana he had tucked away, we started catching our share of nice sized bass weighing up to 30 pounds. One of the other boats landed a striper that was 46 inches in length and 38 pounds.
They are here. Just don’t bring any BANANAS...

Capt. Hap Farrell
Stunmai II
 
06/30/07
Congratulations to the crew of the Maverick!

The Maverick won the Allen Harbor 4th of July Shootout scoring 197 points ( 65 stripers and two blues ) during five hours of fishing. The three anglers Joann Riley, Stan Gawron and Bruce Brody each kept one bass for the grille and released 62 healthy fish. The fish were feeding on sand eels on the North Tide and squid on the South. During the change of tide we moved off the rip and continued to catch in deeper water. The nearest competitor was the Reel Attitude with 101 points ( 95 blues and two stripers ). The winning crew on the Maverick after taking the 2007 July 4th striper tournament out of Allen Harbor. Congratulations!

Many of our friends went school tuna fishing last weekend and enjoyed a great bite in the shipping lanes East of Chatham. Squid bars were the ticket with black the favorite color. Capt. Dan of Merlin Sportfishing had multiple hookups on the new East of Chatham squids.

06/27/07
Capt. Jack Riley of Maverick Charters in Allen Harbor brought in a nice 55" fish that tipped the scales at over 100 lbs. He caught the fish on an Offshore Pursuits Bluefin Tuna rig over a ballyhoo, slow trolled in the wash.

 great tuna/striper combination trip aboard the MaverickThe bite is still predominately a morning bite, but there are some fish being caught on the afternoon slack. When I say morning, I mean lines in at false dawn. The old saying "you snooze, you lose" has never been so true!

There is a lot of bait around. miles of sand eels, acres of bluefish, whales, some porpoises, and lots of tuna!

 

 

 
06/21/07
"Chatham-based Coalition Fights Destruction
Of Herring Fishery By Trawler Fleet"

by Jennifer Sexton of the Cape Cod Chronicle - 06/21/07
 
 "The Chatham-based CHOIR Coalition (Coalition for Atlantic Herring’s Orderly, Informed and Responsible Long Term Development) has announced an initiative to monitor the industrial mid-water trawl fleet fishing for Atlantic herring to try to keep industrial mid-water trawlers out of areas closed to groundfishing.

Over the last five years, CHOIR has pushed the National Marine Fisheries Service to put federal observers on the industrial mid-water herring trawl fleet to monitor what the fleet catches. With no federal oversight to enforce responsible stewardship of the herring and other marine life by the huge trawlers, fishermen are stepping up to do the monitoring themselves.

“These industrial ships are 150 feet long,” said former CHOIR Chairman Peter Baker. “They hold a million pounds of fish. They tow a net that’s as long as a football field and as wide as a soccer pitch and as tall as the state house. It’s a massive net with tiny two-inch mesh that catches everything in its path, compared to the six-and-a-half-inch mesh of groundfish nets. When a groundfish net is towed, it’s towed at about three-and-a-half knots.”

Read the full article here."
 
05/28/07

While fishing will be on most everybody's mind this weekend, lets not forget that it is Memorial Day on Monday. I am sure Memorial Day has many different meanings to many different people.

All fishermen, both commercial and recreational, rely heavily on the United States Coast Guard. Many, if not most of us take them for granted. Take for granted that when an emergency happens, the Coast Guard is a call away.

Below is a link to an article I found in the Cape Cod Chronicle titled
" Remembering Jeffrey Palazzo

Chatham Coast Guardsman Perished In World Trade
Center Rescue

by Alan Pollock"


The article is well worth your time. I think it defines the
meaning of Memorial Day in terms that we can all
relate to.

Read the full story here. You won't regret it!
 
 
 
05/21/07
Read below the letter sent to Mexican officials by Sport Fishing Magazine's Doug Olander concerning fisheries resources management.
 
Below is a direct quote from Sport Fishing Magazine's web site. Although a little far south, it follows the theme of what Offshore Pursuits has been trying to do with any cause that affects the saltwater fishing lifestyle.
 
"Help save Mexico's offshore fisheries

Mon, May 21, 2007
 
The following was sent to Mexican officials by Sport Fishing's Doug Olander. He is asking everyone to send similar letters to lawmakers and make sure our voices are heard...

"A Plea to Mexico: Reconsider the Destruction of Your Country's Marine Fish Resources

For Mexico's future, it is imperative that you work actively to oppose the Shark Norma 029 and prevent it from continuing as law. Otherwise, there can be very little doubt that your waters will soon become a desert for most large fish.

And I know all too well, as editor in chief of one of the world's leading magazines for sport-fishing enthusiasts, that along with those fish, you can say goodbye to millions of dollars every year, lost to Mexico's economy from an easily sustainable, long-term, relatively non-consumptive recreational fishery.

Please reconsider for the sake of your great oceans as well as the sake of your children and theirs. Do not let short-term commercial fishing destroy your marine fish populations. Your failure to stop this short-sighted, greed-driven Shark Norma virtually guarantees that end. You have the power to keep that from happening and do what is right for Mexico's future. I'll be watching -- as will a few hundred thousand readers of Sport Fishing and most of the world on this one.

DOUG OLANDER
Editor in Chief
Sport Fishing Magazine""
 
 
05/03/07
[Choir] Results of Pelagics Committee meeting. (Received 05/03/07 from Chris Weiner)

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to pass along the great results of today's meeting: After a good discussion between the committee and several comments from the audience, Dave Goethel of NH made a motion to urge the full Council and NMFS to find a way to get observer coverage on USAP vessels in the most efficient way possible.

After more discussion and a few more comments in favor of the motion, the Committee voted unanimously to pass the motion and send it forward to the full Council to be addressed at the next Council meeting in June.

The committee made clear that this is an issue they consider important and the unanimous vote spoke to this fact.

The meeting at the end of June (in Portland) will be an important one, so stay tuned for updates on what needs to be done between now and then.

Thanks again for all those who commented on this issue, it was a big help!

Thanks for your time,


Chris
 
Choir Coalition
 
05/02/07
Below you will find a link to a page within Offshore Pursuits that contains the body of a correspondance that I received today (05/02/07) from Peter Baker of CHOIR Coalition. This letter is copies of correspondence that he and the CHOIR Coalition have sent  to various federal agencies  in regards to the need for observer coverage on processers working our waters. It is a must read for everyone who follows, or has a vested interest in the health of our fisheries. The full text can be read here.
 
 
Offshore Pursuit - A book by John Unkart
 
About the author: John Unkart took his first offshore run over 40 years ago, and has worked the cockpit on charterboats like the Strike III and the Volcania professionally for over a decade. Writing how-to articles for magazines including Boating and The Fisherman, he quickly earned a reputation for straight talk and a no BS attitude. Unkart takes recreational blue-water anglers to the next level with his book Offshore Pursuit.Learn how to rig trolling baits like the pros do, with different methods to fit different situations. Find the most productive offshore trolling areas. Tease marlin to the hook. What baits each species prefers, methods of trolling, types of spreads, how to chunk for tuna, and when and how to use special tools such as kites, downriggers, and planers, are all covered in detail. Easy to understand diagrams, illustrations, and photographs take the mystery out of specialized offshore fishing knots, rigging techniques, and custom tackle design. Apply the tactics and techniques detailed by blue water fishing pro John Unkart, and your catch rate is bound to grow exponentially. Whether you're after billfish, mahi-mahi, wahoo or tuna, you'll gain the hard-earned insight and knowledge Unkart has accumulated through more than 40 years of offshore experience. From rigging techniques to tips on how to fight trophy fish, it’s all in this book. Click here to purchase this book (only $19.95), as well as learn more about the author.
 
04/16/07 From Chris Weiner - Choir Coalition

Hey everyone

Read the final sign-on letter that was sent to members of Congress this morning. We ended up with an excellent list of diverse stakeholders and were pleased with the long list of supporters. Hopefully they will be able to see how important we all feel this issue is. I will keep you updated on any developments.

Thanks! Chris
 
 
Click here to read the message on the tagging of river herring.
 
 
 
 
 
 
03/24/07 Gloucester, Mass. "Local groundfishery had reason to smile this winter...

Ebb & Flow , Peter K. Prybot
Gloucester Daily Times

Gloucester's groundfishery machine has flowed this winter at a time when the weather or more restrictive fishing rules could have slowed it to a periwinkle's crawl. The weather, fish, harvesters, dealers and processors and consumers made this happen. How did this positive scenario unravel?" Read the full article here.
 
03/19/07 "Hyannis, Mass. (AP) Cape fishermen are pulling in diminishing numbers of the prized Atlantic bluefin tuna, exposing their families to financial hardships and concern over the future of the industry in the region. Read the full article here.
 

Videos

If you are getting the itch for some giant bluefin tuna action, check out our Video Page, we will be adding videos on a weekly basis, so check back often. If you have your own video that you would like to have included, please email me with the details.
 
We are putting together a user submitted video contest where the best video submitted by the deadline (somewhere near the middle of September, but yet to be determined) will win a fishing charter. We are working out all the details and will have the official announcement, rules, etc. posted in the near future.
 
Read Trolling Squid Bars and Spreader Rigs by Greg Sears of Mass Bay Guides. Very good reading to get you ready for the upcoming season!

CHOIR Coalition

 
There is also a forum dedicated to this topic in the Forums.
 
Pair midwater trawlers in action. This picture is part of a gallery of many great images maintained on the Choir Coalition website. Please visit this site and show your support in anyway you can.For any of you that have spent any time offshore, or inshore for that matter, you know the role that baifish play in the presence, or absence, of the species that you are targeting. If you are into tuna fishing, then you know that the seasons of late have been missing a key ingredient....giant bluefin tuna! This scenario is not new by any means, just ask the Canadians.

There is an organization known to some, but not to all who should know and support it, that is actively fighting to preserve the herring stock in the NE. Below is quoted directly from the CHOIR Coalition website.
 
"Commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen, ecotourism businesses, and concerned citizens from throughout New England have united with one voice to protect Atlantic Herring stocks. Atlantic herring form the basis of the ocean food chain, and are therefore an essential element to the marine ecosystem. Fishermen know that if food sources are eliminated, there is little hope for the long term health of other fish stocks.

Currently, large midwater single and pair trawl vessels (herring midwater trawlers) in the Gulf of Maine are removing more herring from the inshore than ever before, forcing tuna, groundfish, whales and seabirds out of their traditional feeding grounds. Midwater Trawl boats in the Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank have caught protected groundfish and large marine mammals in their nets as waste.

Now is the time to demand a more ORDERLY, INFORMED, and RESPONSIBLE plan for managing the Atlantic Herring Fishery in New England. The future health of our oceans depends on it. Join the CHOIR Coalition in their efforts to create an inshore buffer zone free of midwater trawl nets and to stop wasteful bycatch by insisting on increased observer coverage in the herring midwater trawler fleet."
 
For more information, articles, and news concerning CHOIR Coalition's agenda, please be sure and visit their website. As an organization, what they are doing affects us all, and we should be supportive of that in any way we can.
 
You will be seeing, reading, and hearing a lot about this organization on Offshore Pursuits now and in the future. Please take the time to support them any way you can.
 
 
 
 

 

 
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Boomer Ewing Aboard his dads 25 Contender with a nice mako caught in early July. Boomer is a first line centerman for BU hockey.
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Rich Radulski with a nice bluefin tuna caught on Crab Ledge off Chatham.
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Rich Radulski and family with a nice bluefin tuna caught off Chatham.
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Jeanette Drake with her birthday yellowtail. Happy Birthday and a nice fish!
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Jeanette Drake and her father in Homer, Alaska with some great silver salmon.
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Jeanette Drake and her father in Homer, Alaska with some great silver salmon and halibut.
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Some great halibut caught from Homer, Alaska
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Jeanette Drake with her prize winning silver salmon caught off Homer, Alaska.
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Jeff Talley with his 50 lbs., 50 inch Rockfish caught on Thrills-n-Gills.
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The above picture is of Jeff Talley with his 50 lbs., 50 inch Rockfish caught on Thrills-n-Gills.
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 Captain Nick Hite with his 40 lbs., 48 inch Rockfish caught aboard Angry Pirate.
Above is a picture of Captain Nick Hite with his 40 lbs., 48 inch Rockfish caught aboard Angry Pirate.
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105 lb Yellow Fin Tuna, caught 9/22/06 at West Atlantis by Rich Montague.
fishing the waters of cape cod and beyond, Offshore Pursuits provides current fishing reports, charter information, premium fishing tackle, news, and forums.
Beautiful shot off a great yellowfin tuna coming to the gaff!
105 lb Yellow Fin Tuna, caught 9/22/06 at West Atlantis by Rich Montague. I have been informed that it is the largest Yellow Fin entered in the Mass Governor's Cup Derby for 2006. Way to go Rich!
 
Nicole Hite with one big fish!
Nicole Hite is 12 years old and she landed a 42.4 lb. striper that was 52" long on her dad's charter boat "Thrills-N-Gills".
Nicole Hite and her dad with her 42.4 lb striped bass!
Big Fish!
That striper is as big as she is!
A great Picture!
Tom Norman and his 48.4 lb. striper!
Tom Norman of Maryland's first citation striper. It weighed 48.4#'s and was 50.25" long.