Porgie time on the Yankee Capts.

JCameronRSleep

So now that I'm home, rested and tricked by daylight saving time, into being awake an hour early, here is my latest adventure...

 On the heels of yet another blown out Yankee Capts trip, where we spent 8 hours out of Key west, hunkered down, waiting for the wind and waves to die, (they never did) prospects did not look good for my freezer having any take home fish in it. My three grandsons in Nova Scotia are wasting away, no fresh grand-dad fish to eat and I was feeling the pressure to produce and save the future generations of our family.

Capt Greg has been more than generous, giving us partial or full credit for shortened trips this year and has gotten very creative with his departure times, to put us in the fishing zone, with as little wind as possible. But Mother Nature has been cranky, very cranky.

All but convinced I would be feeding shrink wrapped, northern fish to friends this year, I quickly brightened up when Amanda and J.P. invited me on their YC charter, leaving only a few short hours away. Janice all but pushed me out the door, throwing my crocs after me saying something like "Go! Mopey Moe and don't come back without fish!" And with that I joined the collection of New Yorkers and New Jersey boys and girls waiting to depart on the Yankee Capts.

Without interruption, we zoomed at light speed directly to the Pulley Ridge area and started our fun. Before long, the boxes were filling and angler satisfaction set in. Jigs and bait were enticing scaly floppers to taste the offerings and they paid the price; a long wet elevator ride, a searing pain in the head or shoulders, an embarrassing photo moment, then a very long and cold "time out" in a smelly fish box. 

A few surprises this trip. The hosts of this trip, JP and Amanda, own and operate two charter boats, up north and catch many porgies. We have much bigger porgies in the south, but rarely see more than three or four on our Pulley Ridge trips. Not so this time! Porgies came over the rail in record numbers, dozens of them! Big porgies, totes full of the delicious fish. So, you ask, how many did I harvest of the bunch? Well, I'm embarrassed to say, I caught only one, very small, skinny, starving porgie and was too upset to put a tag on it. But everyone knew it was mine at the dock, thanks to a "leak" from a mate. No secrets here.

One of the inevitable tangles led to a really good fish being lost and the fishing gear cut off, hopelessly tangled in the running gear under the boat. A few minutes later, I notice a ten pound mutton, swimming erratically, only a foot or two behind us, trying desperately to keep up and join the cruise. I yelled for the gaff and by some miracle, the missing fish wasn't really missing at all and never had been. It was still hooked and got involved in the tangle.

Another big fish got off at the side, before gaffing and was floating, just out of reach. I tried and failed to recover it and Josh, the mate, was about to jump in after it. But JP, experienced professional sea captain that he is, instructed us to stand aside. He closed his eyes, wet his finger in his mouth, held it up in the breeze quickly, (to get wind direction and speed, not to taste the bait) raised one bent arm into the air holding his fishing rod and lifted a foot off the deck. (almost exactly like the Karate Kid, just before the infamous "Crane kick" that won him the tournament) And with a gentle flick of the wrist of his raised hand, JP landed that jig precisely in the fish's mouth and  hooked it. Outstanding!!!

Long story short, we all caught dinner, had a ball, made good friends, ate too much and will never forget it.

Thanks for inviting me and for the Capt and crew of the Yankee Capts for making it go right.

xenia

Thank you, that report was short, but, pointless.

Jack Hexter

Cameron always writes a good report, even when catching is poor

JCameronRSleep

xenia said:

Thank you, that report was short, but, pointless.

Thanks ****, oops. You never have anything good to say. If you don't like it don't read it.

JCameronRSleep

Jack Hexter said:

Cameron always writes a good report, even when catching is poor

Thanks Jack.

Mackeral Snatcher

Porgies are one of my favorite eating fish.

I'll take them over a mango.

xenia

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.  Big Ghostbusters fan.  In the 2nd movie, after Louis Tully (Rick Moranis) gives his opening statement at the trial and pretty much says nothing, Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) greets him with the statement I posted above.  I read all of JCameron's reports, and they are always full of good information, except this one.  Maybe it's just me, but I try to report stuff like area fished, depth, species caught, and amount caught.  This comes from a commercial fishing background where numbers are what matters.  Here's what the above report contains:

-fished on the Yankee Capts
-weather was not good
-fished Pulley Ridge
-caught porgies
-there were tangles

Here's what the report didn't contain:

-how many anglers
-how much time fishing
-depths fished
-species caught and approximately how many of each
-total catch
-best baits and or methods

To this day I have no idea how much a single angler who puts in his or her time on the rail, does the right things, and is lucky to go on a productive trip can expect to bring home from one of these trips.  No one seems to give that info.  All I can do is look at the photos, see the number of totes, see how many fish in those totes is not a snapper or grouper, and estimate what the total poundage was, approximately.  A tote filled to the rim with just fish holds about 100 lbs, but since I notice they put ice in there too, the actual weight of fish is probably around 80-90 lbs/tote.  #totesX90lb = total catch/#anglers = average catch per angler.  But of course, some catch more than others.  JCameronRSleep, would you at least venture to say how many totes were landed on this last trip?  You said I had nothing good to say, I never have anything bad to say either.  I've never given a negative response or critique of any of your trips, ever, until the one statement above and it was more in jest than anything else.  Sorry if you feel offended, but that was not my intention.  You obviously enjoyed the trip so that's what matters.

tderickson

Jack Hexter said:

Cameron always writes a good report, even when catching is poor

 

Sign of a true fisherman.  Thank you for the report Cameron, and always a pleasure to read them.  We're still ice fishing up here.  Here's the view from camp

mikeloew

Count me as another one that always enjoys JCameronRSleep reports.   Keep um coming.  

JCameronRSleep

tderickson said:

Jack Hexter said:

Cameron always writes a good report, even when catching is poor

 

Sign of a true fisherman.  Thank you for the report Cameron, and always a pleasure to read them.  We're still ice fishing up here.  Here's the view from camp

tderickson said:

Jack Hexter said:

Cameron always writes a good report, even when catching is poor

 That is a great picture, but looks a bit cold for my fishing dream. I don't drink enough to insulate myself from that cold!

Sign of a true fisherman.  Thank you for the report Cameron, and always a pleasure to read them.  We're still ice fishing up here.  Here's the view from camp

JCameronRSleep

mikeloew said:

Count me as another one that always enjoys JCameronRSleep reports.   Keep um coming.  

You know, sometimes I wonder why I continue to share these reports or stories. Then, someone tells me their aunt or father, or they themselves, love to read them. They go to my friends up north and sometimes are the only connection to a different reality than a cold bleak winter. Cripes, there is a lobster fisherman in Nova Scotia who has no internet or facebook and he makes it go right to get them from his brother. 
Every time I go on the Yankee Capts, I have one or more people approach me and compliment the reports. I'm not looking for any special recognition, but I do know I have a small, but appreciative following. 
The trip doesn't seem over to me until I summarize what happened and try to find the brighter side to what transpired. 

Yankee Capts

Thanks for typing the report Cameron. As you reported little different catch this time. Since we were in a different area it is to be expected. Thankfully the catch was excellent, again.

Greg 

Xaf

Cameron, count me as another one who reads and appreciates your reports.  Keep up the good work.

JamesN

Xenia Said

To this day I have no idea how much a single angler who puts in his or her time on the rail, does the right things, and is lucky to go on a productive trip can expect to bring home from one of these trips.  No one seems to give that info.  All I can do is look at the photos, see the number of totes, see how many fish in those totes is not a snapper or grouper, and estimate what the total poundage was, approximately.  A tote filled to the rim with just fish holds about 100 lbs, but since I notice they put ice in there too, the actual weight of fish is probably around 80-90 lbs/tote.  #totesX90lb = total catch/#anglers = average catch per angler.  But of course, some catch more than others.  

Does this help,  routinely fill 2 150 qt coolers of fish on these pulley ridge trips.   Have fished a few including the 1st trip Greg ever did to Pully Ridge

Flight Risk

Cameron - I took a trip on the Yankee Capts almost three years ago. It was a lot of fun and we caught some amazing fish; fish that I've never caught before like yellow edged grouper &  snowy grouper.

Part of the reason I went on the trip was because of reading YOUR stories here!  You have an excellent knack for presentation & story telling that keeps people interested as well as captivated.

I get irritated when well meaning, positive, enthusiastic people like yourself are shamed or trolled by others that can't contribute in a positive way. There's just no good reason for anyone to be critical... because they didn't get a blow by blow description of everything about the conditions on the trip?  If they're that concerned about getting all the details, they should have gone on the trip themselves.

So, to anyone else out there...  Please don't post negative comments, it's not appreciated and only makes you look like an a$$.

To Cameron, keep up the good work. I really like reading about your fishing adventures.

Thanks!

xenia

JamesN.  Thanks, that helps a lot.  That's over 200 lbs of fish.

JCameronRSleep

Flight Risk said:

Cameron - I took a trip on the Yankee Capts almost three years ago. It was a lot of fun and we caught some amazing fish; fish that I've never caught before like yellow edged grouper &  snowy grouper.

Part of the reason I went on the trip was because of reading YOUR stories here!  You have an excellent knack for presentation & story telling that keeps people interested as well as captivated.

I get irritated when well meaning, positive, enthusiastic people like yourself are shamed or trolled by others that can't contribute in a positive way. There's just no good reason for anyone to be critical... because they didn't get a blow by blow description of everything about the conditions on the trip?  If they're that concerned about getting all the details, they should have gone on the trip themselves.

So, to anyone else out there...  Please don't post negative comments, it's not appreciated and only makes you look like an a$$.

To Cameron, keep up the good work. I really like reading about your fishing adventures.

Thanks!

Thanks so much, I will have a report in the near future!.There is definitely a troll with a hidden agenda at work.

dihrd

I like all the reports good or bad.