Well the 2008 fishing season has come to the end for “The Hook-Up!”. I pulled the “Tammy Rose” last week and spent several days winterizing her. It has been a great season with 140 bluefin tuna landed on charters with our biggest fish measuring 75 inches and 240 lbs. I decided to pull the boat because I had made plans to go on a hunting trip to the woods of Maine with my father and brother so I needed to put the boat away. With Corey off at college at Mass Maritime I wouldn’t want to be away with the boat in the water. I just pulled it too soon. We have had a big slug of giants move in off of Chatham and my friends have been catching fish from 500 to 1000 lbs for the last 6 days. It is the kind of fishing for the big fish like we haven’t seen in years. Big schools of giants, with some big numbers have been reported. These fish came here kind of late but they came here none the less. I hope this is the beginning of a turn around in the cycle and maybe it is a sign of good things to come. We will just have to wait and see. The school tuna fishing has also stayed very strong with huge numbers of fish out east and on the bank. The fishing has been very, very good. Oh well…. My wife, Tammy, has had to deal with me all week. I have been rather stressed over this but I had to pull the boats so I could go on this trip with my Dad. As Tammy reminded me, he is 82 years of age, and raised me to be the man I am. His influence on my life, and my children’s lives, has been incredible. So going hunting and just spending some time with him means a lot. Life is always about choices and consequences. The decisions we make based on the facts that we have at the time determines our path through life. And as hard as this last week has been, listening to all my buddies catching big tuna, I know that in the end this next week with my Dad and brother will mean more to me than catching a few big fish. I have had an awesome season and have really enjoyed fishing with some of you on the “Tammy Rose”. The weather for this weekend looks pretty bad. We have had a lot of our recreational anglers getting caught up in this “giant tuna fever.” If you do not have the big 80 or 130 class rods, the right safety equipment, and some knowledge and skill in catching giant bluefin tuna, be careful, the month of November in the Atlantic is not a very forgiving place. The Coast Guard has been out in force boarding boats and if you do not have the right gear they have been terminating fishing trips. For those of you that are going, have fun and good luck. For me, my season is done.

  We will be posting some dates on the calendar page regarding up coming events and show dates and we will have some news about our new “Captains Club” which we will debut in 2009. Next year is going to be a challenge for all of us to get through these financial hard times. We will be ready for the 2009 season and I can assure you that the shop will be well stocked and ready for all of your sport fishing needs. We will start taking charter reservations for 2009 after December 8^th. Thank you all for your continued support of our business. With out our loyal customers we would not be here.  “It’s All About The Bite!”