Unforgettable PEI trip

[bowguide]

This is my third trip to PEI this year with Captains Greg and Spencer Norton of Tightline Tours and after two surprisingly off weeks we have struck the gold that PEI is known for.This time I had the pleasure of fishing with my old buddy George from G&B fishing systems and Avet reels. Our original quest was for my wife Jen to take a crack at the womens 50# line class record on her Avet TRX 50W but when we got here we decided not to waste ay precious time as there would be too many things working against us , like weather a bite that was not very consistent and the fact that the season closes next week.We started on Saturday with Captain Spencer Norton of Tightline Tours who even at the tender young age of 24 is quickly becoming one of the top tuna captains in the area. We headed out 15 miles and set up. The tuna did not cooperate much at first but they eventually they turned on in a big way. The first fish to take the dead herring was enormous and made a sizzling run which was spectacular and yet almost turned to disaster when the spectra dug hard into the spool and almost pulled her over had it not been for the quick actions of the captain.The 200# flouro leader broke at the hook and although disappointed we were thankful thats all that broke. The second fish was a different story. After re rigging we immediately hooked up again and Jen fought a very mean fish for two hours only to have the leader break when the captain had him at the surface trying to turn him so that we could tail rope him. Much bigger disappointment this time and Jen was beat.She looked at me and said you do it I dont want him not to get his market fish, I understood and re rigged.By now the sun was beginning to set and Spencer wanted to give it one more shot as the wind was predicting to start honking that night and the following day did not look promising. So I reluctantly threw a herring over which was immediately engulfed by another giant which ran directly under the boat toward the net. After backing the drag to next to nothing I jammed the rod into the water as far as I could and did my best to get it around the stern. That move went better than expected but 10 seconds later the line parted after cutting the net off. Day two dawned completely different from what was forecasted, we had little wind but we had some rain.We set up on our net and started feeding the giants, which is an amazing sight in itself.Jen was suited up and ready to redeem herself. As soon as the bait hit the water it was engulfed and to make a long story short 1 hour and 14 minutes later I was putting a tail rope around an 861# beauty. The rest of the day was spent at the weigh in and then celebrating. Day three was right and sunny and we were all on an emotional high today was my turn to suit up and I couldnt wait. The fish were everywhere like i had never seen and could not wait to get a bait in the water. Once again the bait was immediately enguled and 36 min later we had an estimated 800 # plus fish boatside. After tagging and reviving this beauty we were on our way to set up again. Once again I immediately hooked up and after 46 min I was putting a tag into an estimated 900 # fish.I thought the day was perfect and was looking forward to enjoying a cocktail back at the dock with the crew when we got a call asking if I was up to jumping on another boat to fight a tuna for someone to bring to market.Well thats a stupid question and 20 min later i grabbed my rod and belt and Jen and I were jumping ship. We steamed back to the spot and immediately hooked up again. after about and hour we were slipping the tail rope over an 806# beauty....(yeah I know hers was bigger than mine which was fine with me)Today started off the same way with a bumpy ride to the grounds and fish were everywhere again they were a little more finicky today and it took us a whole 10 min to hook up and 34 min later I had a 700# fish ready for a tag.Again God was smiling on me as the captain got a call and asked me if I was up to jumping ship again and catch a tuna for another friend who was having a hard time.10 min later I was jumping ship again this time my captain jumped with me and we were off.The father and son team thanked us for coming to help them(are you kidding me???)and were old school 130 bent butt in the gunnel kind of guys and said this should be interesting. Again we hook up with the first drop and one hour later the son was throwing a perfect harpoon shot and we were cracking opening a celebratory beer.I am still waiting on the official weight as this boat sailed from a different port, but they were all guessing somwhere around 900#. We then jumped back on our boat and Jen was eager to give it another shot. We decided to change things up and put out the kite. This proved to be the best decision we made as the live mackeral was ambushed by a school bus before the kite was even all the way out.Jen quickly found her rhythm and 40 minutes later we were tagging an estimated 900# beauty. I do not know what tomorrow may bring but I am certainly looking forward to it,I will update as I am able. We are back now and the last two days were nothing short of ridiculous after I weed through all the pics and videos I will add to this post.

[bowguide]

Gerry get a hold of me and Ill send you the pics I cant get them to upload

[bowguide]

A little video of Jens fish
http://youtu.be/NSwa3qXRrUc

[njboarder]

PEI is definitely on my bucket list. Hope the rest of your trip is as successful as it has been so far. Also, kudos to the wonder woman, as she's one helluva fisherwomen. I know I'd be screaming in pain after 30 mins..lol

[Gerry Zagorski]

Scott send the pics to me at njfishng@aol.com

[bowguide]

Scott send the pics to me at njfishng@aol.com
It keeps coming back delivery failure

Sorry Scott I made a typo it's njfishing@aol.com

[Wilson]

Here are few pic's from Scott.
These fish look a little larger then a Trout or Bass;)
Your welcome Scott:)



http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k505/HackerHack/1379291_10153287842490344_1328131366_n.jpg



http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k505/HackerHack/_DSC0077-1-1.jpg


http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k505/HackerHack/_DSC0181.jpg


http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k505/HackerHack/_DSC0191.jpg


http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k505/HackerHack/554119_10201940052332862_815872699_n.jpg

[rumster]

That was unbelievable. Thanks for sharing!

[bowguide]

thanks gentleman...ive got tons more. Its hard to choose just a couple

[AndyS]

WOW .........that's all I can say ;)

[hammer4reel]

great trips!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and to think you cant get a 10 pound fluke in the boat LOL

at what weight do tuna wimp out ROF

[bowguide]

great trips!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and to think you cant get a 10 pound fluke in the boat LOL

at what weight do tuna wimp out ROF
You would think right???

[dakota560]

Congratulations to you guys for a trip of a lifetime. Would like to ask a question and don't mean to stir the pot so please don't take it that way. What are the rules in PEI regarding keeping bluefins and if you can't sell a fish like that what do you do with all that meat? I would also think after an hour long battle the meat would be effected but I guess not if they sell them after the same battle on Wicked Tuna for big dollars.

If you can't sell the fish though what do you do with all that meat? Curious more than anything else. I know there was a nine and change caught last year in the Mud Hole by a guy out of Staten Island I believe and I was thinking the same thing. Everyone is entitled to harvest the seas bounty so I'm not questioning keeping what's allowed but if you can't take it to market I guess my question would be is it really worth killing something that magnificant for the grill. Don't think you could eat that much tuna in five years if you tried!

Either way great catch!

Dakota

[bowguide]

Congratulations to you guys for a trip of a lifetime. Would like to ask a question and don't mean to stir the pot so please don't take it that way. What are the rules in PEI regarding keeping bluefins and if you can't sell a fish like that what do you do with all that meat? I would also think after an hour long battle the meat would be effected but I guess not if they sell them after the same battle on Wicked Tuna for big dollars.

If you can't sell the fish though what do you do with all that meat? Curious more than anything else. I know there was a nine and change caught last year in the Mud Hole by a guy out of Staten Island I believe and I was thinking the same thing. Everyone is entitled to harvest the seas bounty so I'm not questioning keeping what's allowed but if you can't take it to market I guess my question would be is it really worth killing something that magnificant for the grill. Don't think you could eat that much tuna in five years if you tried!

Either way great catch!

Dakota
The rules in PEI are each license gets one kill tag for the season which ends at the end of this month then all the captains get thrown into a hat to be drawn for another tag if the quota is not met. I believe there are about 400 licenses on PEI and for the Oct draw only the first 60 are going to get a tag.
The captains I fish with have become close friends and have allowed us to catch their kill fish. The fish is theirs not ours we just get the privalege of standing next to one of these great creatures for a picture. Both fish you saw hanging were on a plane to Japan within 5 hours. As far as the prices on wicked tuna go it seems they are a little skewed as the highest price I heard was $10 per lb with ours getting $4.50 and $7 respectively.

[Art Berkman]

Awesome catch !

Great pictures !!!

[squan63]

congrats best fishing story ive ever heard

[dakota560]

The rules in PEI are each license gets one kill tag for the season which ends at the end of this month then all the captains get thrown into a hat to be drawn for another tag if the quota is not met. I believe there are about 400 licenses on PEI and for the Oct draw only the first 60 are going to get a tag.
The captains I fish with have become close friends and have allowed us to catch their kill fish. The fish is theirs not ours we just get the privalege of standing next to one of these great creatures for a picture. Both fish you saw hanging were on a plane to Japan within 5 hours. As far as the prices on wicked tuna go it seems they are a little skewed as the highest price I heard was $10 per lb with ours getting $4.50 and $7 respectively.

Thanks for your reply. Can't even imagine how much and how big the steaks are coming from a fish that size. Great trip and thanks for sharing!

Dakota

[Gerry Zagorski]

More pics from Scott

[bowguide]

What a trip......Its hard to believe but the last two days were better than the first 5. The weather on the other hand was a challenge and we decided to go for it.On thursday we were the ONLY boat on the bank which is saying alot. As soon as we stopped the captai marked fish and within 2-3 minutes we were hand feeding these incredible fish. For some silly reason I brought along my new Stella 30000 with not much intention on using it.After much belittling by my crew mates and seeing two 500lb fish consistently taking baits I thought what the heck and baited up.As luck would have it neither of the 500lb fish grabbed it and I was in for the fight of my life. I had matched this reel with my Black hole 450g Cape Cod Special.This fish, as luck would have it was like no one had ever seen before. Even with the drag screwed down as tight as I could this fish was still taking line,even with us steaming at 12 knots! This fish took us 5 miles according to the plotter and after 45 min I had the mono on the reel(of which there was only about 30 feet)but this was short lived. When the giant saw the boat he made a sudden turn and the line caught the rub rail on the boat and parted.I dont know if I was more relieved or disappointed as I was whooped,for the entire fight I went "freestyle" with only my little yellow Cush It to give me some protection from the gimbal.
After regrouping and slowly steaming back to our starting point(it took us 30 min in the rough seas)we quickly had the fish up again but this time we were prepared with an Avet 80 3 speed and Black Hole custom Giant rod. A true giant grabbed our bait right next to the boat and my buddy started the tug of war.30 min in he tapped out,in his defense I think he did a great job as just three weeks earlier he had orthroscopic knee surgery.I took over and 15 min later we were tagging a fish that the captain and mate both agreed was well over 1000# and after seeing two fish weighed in the 8-900lb range I would have to agree.
After a nice bowl of homemade chowder we decided we were ready to have some more fun.This time we decided to change it up and have some fun. After getting them all worked up again we grabbed the live mackeral we had jigged and stunned a few so they stayed on the surface and we were treated to some incredible strikes.When we had enough fun we did it with a hook in it and we were not disappointed as another 1000# fish exploded on our bait right off the transom. I was on my own this time with my acid wrapped Black Hole giant blank with my Avet TRX 50W and with a measured 75# of drag I had the fish at the leader in 52 min. We were not able to get a tag in this one as the leader broke at the hook about 8 feet below the water. Completely satisfied we took the slow ride in while enjoying some bacon wrapped scallops(they sure do feed you well up there)
Our last day the wind was predicted to lay down later in the morning(which it didnt)so again we were basically by ourselves at the bank.We were joined only by the other boat we had fished all week Tightline tours. These guys are first cousins so today we were really gonna have some fun. As had been the case after some bait was in the water here came the giants.This time we sent the kite up again and got crushed immediately and 40 min later we were sinking a tag in a 700# fish.The other boat seeing the success on the kite sent theres up and to get our attention were letting it out so it was over our boat...HAHA good one Greg but we were faster and hooked up before they did and in short order tagged our last fish for the trip which was a little bigger at an estimated 800#.
This trip is one that I doubt will ever be matched and I dont care as I have hundreds of pictures hours of video and the sore body to keep it fresh in my mind forever.
We ended up catching 17 giants,14 released(8 tagged) 3 brought to the dock

[Fish Stix]

Scott you guys are savages.

[Gerry Zagorski]

" We ended up catching 17 giants,14 released(8 tagged) 3 brought to the dock"


My back and arms are sore just thinking about this... Good thing you're a Gym Rat Scott... You have to be in great shape to fight these beasts stand up and my weight training is limited to 12 ounce curls :D