Sometimes things go right and sometimes the stars are aligned for you instead of against you. The story you are about to read is filled with coincidences and good omens. Like I always say, you have to take what the fish gods will give you and always be thankful for your days offshore fishing. We have been having a terrible month of October with high winds and awful weather. I have had to cancel many tuna charters and the boats have been tied to the dock for two solid weeks. I have been taking out all of my frustrations on my bench crimper and I have been rigging bars and chains like a madman. We finally got a break in the weather and I found myself with a one day shot at a trip offshore for tuna. I looked at my logbooks and realized that it was Oct. 20th and I have only logged one day actually fishing for giants. As you all know the schoolie tuna fishing was through the roof! The best it has ever been in my career. We caught 352 schoolie tuna from 20 to 170 lbs. What an awesome year for trolling. But I have not had the shots at the giants yet and the calendar is running out fast. With commitments for next weekend and a long range forecast filled with glum and doom, I felt like this might be my last shot at a trip to the BB Bouy.

It all started mid day last Thursday when my cell phone rang and one of my good buddies called me to let me know that a few fish had been caught out at the buoy. He said a few of the big commercial boats had gone out in the rough seas and had come back in with a few fish. He said that the word was they had marked some bait and lots of tuna fish. I called my good buddy Capt. Damon from “Castafari” and we talked about the info. He said he was going to fish in the Bay tomorrow and that he had charters so with the weather window he didn’t think he could get there. I than spoke with another buddy, Capt. Willie on the “Machaca”. He said he was going and had to be back in late Friday for a wedding on Sat. He said he thought the bite sounded pretty good. I told him I would talk to him down there if I went. If I was going to go I had to get fuel and round up a crew. It has been a mission all season for my son Corey to catch his first giant tuna as an angler. He has been the mate on several of my tuna trips including being there for my 800lb fish back in Oct. of 2000. How was I going to convince Mrs. Tammy Rose that her son “needed” to go tuna fishing instead of school tomorrow. I would have to really work on that.

As I drove over to the “Tammy Rose” in Bass River my cell phone rang and it was my old 1st mate and captain Ben Young. Ben was home on leave from his job with Norwegian Cruise Lines where he works as a second engineer on a ship out in HI. I unleashed my plan to him and he said he was in. I told him that I would have to convince Tammy that Corey needed to go with us. Ben than reminded me about the day he caught his first giant tuna back in 1999. Ben had played hokey from school and I took him down to the BB buoy in Sept. We got two rods out and hooked right up and Ben landed a 540lb tuna. Ben said it was Corey’s destiny to go tomorrow. I thought about this for a minute and then blew it off. I called my lovely bride, Tammy, and did a lot of explaining and I mentioned future weather forecasts and last chance probabilities and even begged a little. She surprisingly gave her blessing kind of easily. My crew was set. I told Ben to meet me at the shop at 9:00 pm. I fueled up the boat and went to my tuna buyers’ plant and spoke with Robert who owns Maguro. I asked him if I should grab some bluefish in the am or should I get there for first light and fish dead bait. He told me to get there early and he felt I could get them on herring. He gave me some words of encouragement and I grabbed some ice and headed back to the shop. I called Damon and told him my plans and he wished me luck. Back at the shop I grabbed some tackle that I needed and I was going to fish a new style of hook, one that would be good to hide in the small herring baits that I knew I would have to rig. This would be a big departure for me from my usual mode of operation. I almost always take bluefish with me when I go to the BB buoy, but I would not have enough time to go and catch them tonight so dead bait it would be. My very good friend Capt. Kevin had shown me his method of bait rigging two years ago so I felt confident that if I could get my baits in front of a tuna I could get the bite. Half the battle of offshore fishing is believing you can catch them.

I went home and grabbed some warm clothes and picked up my son, Corey and we headed to our tackle shop to meet up with Ben. We loaded up my truck with chum, bait, and some more ice. I sent the boys to get food while I headed for the coffee shop. It was going to be a long night so coffee was high on my list. The plan was to load and prep the boat and leave as soon as that was done. We would take and cruise down to the buoy at 10 knots to save on fuel. Ben could sleep for the first few hour of the trip and once I had gotten us clear of the shoals he would take the helm as I finished the gear work. I am very anal regarding the tackle on my boats. I do all of the crimping and rigging when we tuna fish. You’re going to pull hooks, that is the way it goes when you’re fighting big tuna. But a pulled crimp or failed leader is unacceptable. If we have an issue with the gear I can only blame myself. At 10:30 pm we left the dock and the adventure had begun.

It was a nice ride down with a bright moon and light NW wind that was on our tail the whole way out. I spoke with Capt. Willie on the radio and we made a plan to meet up on the grounds so I could give him some hook baits. We arrived at the BB Buoy around 3:15 am and found roughly 30 boats drifting, all lit up with big powerful spreader lights. We could look back towards the west and see more boats coming. There would be a much bigger fleet of boats today than yesterday. These days the news of any bite brings boats offshore.

At 4:00 am we meet up with the “Machaca” and threw Capt. Willie some hook baits. We started fishing around 5:00 am as we had found some nice bait piles and even marked some tuna. We made several drifts in the dark but no bites. As the sun rose with its golden hue we were amazed to discover that there had not been one bite at first light. The radio chatter confirmed this with lots of boats complaining. We continued to make drifts looking for bait and fish but we really couldn’t find what we had seen in the dark. At 8:30 am I called Capt. Damon on the SAT phone and told him what was going on. I knew he would be curious of the activity at the buoy. When I told him what the story was I am sure he could sense my disappointment. He reassured me that the fish would come and we would find them. I was not so sure. Damon and I said our good byes and wished each other luck. We have had a little steak dinner bet between us for the last 6 weeks. Whichever captain catches the first giant the other captain is paying for a steak dinner, and we’re not talking an IHOP steak dinner, brother. I don’t think that either of us imagined that this friendly wager would still be up for grabs on Oct. 21st, but here we are.

We fished through the morning with very little activity. We heard the radio talk regarding some boats catching some sub-legal tuna and watched two boats fight and release some shorts but it was really slow. Than around 10:00 am we made a move up to the NE end of the fleet and started a drift. We started to first mark some bait and than the tuna started to light up the machine with their wonderful red marks. “Fish at 70 feet. Fish at 110 feet”, Ben called out from the bridge. Corey was chumming like a madman. I was adjusting the baits and working a free floating bait down through the chum chunks. No bites. More fish on the machine but no bites. I was starting to get frantic. Than we watched as a boat hooked-up to our portside. The 130-rod doubled over and the boat was making tight turns. Next the boat on our port corner hooked-up. It was the “Monica M” from Maine. I grabbed the binoculars and I could see that the owner, Dave was all alone on the boat and fighting the fish himself. He is a great guy and hoped to myself that he gets the fish. We were marking fish under our boat and they were streaking up on our machine. I knew they were eating our chum and it would only be a matter of time before we would get a bite! Than the worst thing that could happen, happened. The boat right behind us hooked up. A big commercial boat from Chatham was on a big fish and they, or should I say the tuna fish, was coming right at us. I watched and pleaded with that fish to turn and go away. I watched as the boat kept coming. I started the engines and took one last look at my fish finder only to see red tuna streaks coming up from 110 feet. I knew I was going to have to move. I was going to have to leave my chum slick with tuna feeding in it. I told the boys to clear the lines and it is a good think that they did because that tuna was on us. We cleared the baits so fast and ended up ruining our hook baits but we got out of the other boats way. My heart was in my stomach, as I moved around him and watched the rod doubled over I again hoped that they get’m. I called Willie on the radio and told him we had marked fish and had bent rods around us but I needed some hook baits. 15 mins later he swung by and tossed me 6 hook baits and Corey started to chum again while I rigged the baits. After we got the baits back in the water Ben said we were marking tuna again. I finally took a breath.

Than I heard my buddy Willie on the radio report that he was hooked-up! I was really happy for him but at the same time really disappointed that it wasn’t us. A common emotion shared on the tuna grounds. I watched another boat, the “Lisa Marie”, fighting a fish off of our starboard and prayed that they wouldn’t come to close. I watched, and even took some video of them landing their fish. Corey asked for a break from chumming and Ben came down from the bridge and took up chum duties as Corey went to grab a soda and snack on his way to the bridge. Little did we know that Corey would never get to drink that soda.

As it happens so many times before, you go from nothing to something. “ZRRRRR…”’ the 130 reel starts to scream. I look over and yell, “We’re on!!!!” Like clock work my crew jumps into action. Nothing has to be spoken. I am on the rod reeling it tight. Corey starts the engines than jumps down from the bridge. Ben is clearing one of the other lines. Corey takes over on the rod and I head for the cockpit controls. I put the boat in gear and power away from the fish. Next I clear the other line as I watch the 130-rod double over as the fish begins a big run dumping line against 40lbs of drag. I give the order to move the rod to the post and Corey settles in behind the stand. The fish is hot and we stand back in awe of the power as the fish starts what will be a 350 yd run! I tell the boys to back the drag down because the weight of that much line in the water increases the drag significantly. I spin the “Tammy Rose” franticly and back down hard at this fish trying to keep the line we have left on the reel from going out. Meanwhile Willie calls me on the radio to tell me he is hooked up. I reply that we are on too! “Cool man! Go get’m!” He shouted. The game is on. This is what I live for as I spin and chase this fish. It dawns on me that this is my son on the rod. This is his first giant. I have faught a few fish in my life but I really, really want this one for my son. I want him to have some success before he has to suffer defeat. If you giant tuna fish with a rod and reel you will learn the pain of losing a fish or two. It is the nature of the game. So many things go through your mind when you’re on a fish. You think about your crimps and hooks and leader. Hooks? That’s right. Hooks? This is the first fish I have fought with this new style hook. A very small and tiny hook. Oh baby please be in the corner of its mouth!?! Ben was right next to Corey. He was coaching him perfectly and also he has gotten the Gatorade from the frig and begins to keep Corey “cooled” down. Ben has been with me since he was 15 and now he is 22 and has run my boats for 2 years. He has been a mentor and friend to Corey and helped mold him into the great first mate he is. How fitting that Ben is here to share this moment with us.

We finally get this fish stopped and Corey begins the long task of reeling 3 1\2 football fields of line back onto the reel. Corey is on his game and he cranks hard, level winding as he goes, being careful to re-pack the line onto the reel. I help him with the boat when I can. This fish was tired from that run and Corey spends 15 mins. getting him back onto the mono top shot. I always feel better when we are back on the mono. We bump up the drag and Corey has the fish straight up and down. I remind him that the fish will do circles so keep that rod tip on the fish. We see the leader and a quick flash of the gold and blue. Nice tuna! The leader comes up again but he is not ready and he swims away taking line with him. I knew it wouldn’t be much longer. They always look so big in the water and the line looks so small and it is so tight. The leader is at the waterline again. I tell Corey to push the drag up and reel him in. Corey cranks hard and I grab the Poon. As the fish turns and swims by the transom Corey cranks him right up, I step around the side of Corey and drill the Poon into the fishes back. Solid hit. “I got’em good!” I yell. I grab the dart line and Corey grabs the gaff. He gets the tail and Ben ropes him off. He is ours!!! Game over! High fives and hugs all around the cockpit. Corey did it. His first giant tuna. Right on. I jump up to the bridge and I begin to slowly drag the tuna. I grab the mic and call Willie and ask him if he got his fish. He says he is still fighting it and I relay to him that we just tail roped ours. I told him to hang in there and that he would get it. I headed back up through the fleet to the spot were we got the bite.
After we swam, bled and killed the tuna we moved back near the spot where we had got the first bite. I put the boat in neutral and we all just admired the fish. What a beauty. I was anxious to see were my little hook was. I told the boys that I wanted to get a rod in the water and they just kind of laughed. My son said that a hook-up now would be the last thing we needed. The cockpit was in chaos and we still had to get the fish on board. I just laughed and started to rig a new bait and I set the rod back at the same depth that we had gotten the first bite at. We then dragged the tuna through the door and a quick measure showed the fish to be 96 inches. I grabbed the leader and found my little hook hammered home in the corner hinge right were I wanted it to be. Just an awesome fish. We began securing the fish with some ropes so he wouldn’t slide all around the deck when I hear click, click,click,click… and I spin around to see the rod bent over and the line being pulled off of the reel rather slowly. I crawl over the coolers and lean up on the rail and start to crank on the reel. The rod bends over and the line is tight but that is it. Shark? Schoolie tuna? What do we have on? Ben jumps on the rod and I jump to the cockpit controls. Corey starts moving the coolers out of the way and Ben continues to reel the fish in. In 5 mins Ben has the fish along side of the boat and we see a flash of color and …zing… the fish takes a run and doubles the rod over and stripes 65 yds of line off of the reel. It was at this point in time I started to giggle. We are fighting tuna number 2! We had that bait in the water for 15 mins and we got bit! Here we go again. This fish was fighting just the opposite of the other fish. This one is staying straight down and the other fish went straight out. This will be Ben’s 4th giant tuna of his career if we get it. I tell Corey to go up on the bow and get the second Poon. We have the rod in the center gunnel rod holder and I ask him if he wants to move to the post. Ben decided that he wants to fight him from the gunnel, so we move the rod to the corner holder. As we did this I noticed that the “Machaca” was only a half-mile away from us and he was still fighting the first tuna. We spent the next 20 mins with this fish straight up and down and we can’t move him. I trust Ben and I let him run the rod and drag. He stayed hard on the fish and finally he felt that we had him broken so he bumped up the drag and up came the fish. Again I think about my crimps, my leader, where is the hook, how much chaff, … all of these things goes through my mind as we push the drag up to 50 lbs. There’s the leader. Down it goes again. Big circle now.. we almost got him. Ben tells me to be ready. The Poon is in the rod holder in front of me. “Leader!” Ben yells as the fish comes up and turns broadside out 15 feet. I have the shot. I grab the Poon and throw it at the fish. AH!! I miss him. I franticly pull the dart line back in. The fish just sat there and the boat drifted away from him. As soon as I had the poon back in my hands, Ben cranked two more times and brought the fish right to me. I did not miss on this attempt and I sank the Poon hard into the fish. I buttonholed him with the dart all the way through and out the other side of the fishes back. Game set match!!! A 45 min fight. We tail roped him and it was done! Oh my god, fish number two! We we’re headed for the dock at 2 1\2 knots. Willie’s voice calling me on the radio brought me back down to earth. “Go ahead Willie”, I answered. “Yeah, we finally got ours!” Willie said. “Way to go brother! We just roped off number two ourselves! We’re headed in!” I replied. Nothing better than having a little good luck and having your buddy get’m too. Nothing finer!

We swam, bled and killed that fish as we slowly headed for Stage Harbor. I punched in the GPS for Monomoy and it read 36.5 miles to the point. Once we got the fish on the deck we measured it at 82 inches and it was perfectly round. Just a perfect shape. Once again I looked for my little hook. Once again right in the corner jaw hinge. Yeah baby! The two boys began the process of cleaning and icing the fish while I started to get some speed on. A grabbed the SAT phone and started to make the phone calls. The kind of phone calls you dream about making! I spoke with Tammy and called Chrissy at the shop. I called Damon and he was happy for us. He knew what today meant to my son and I. Corey and I had just had dinner with Damon and Capt. JC last weekend and they knew I had one goal left for this season. He told me congratulations and that he was buying. Damon is a true friend. We pulled into Stage at 6:00 pm and my brother Matthew and his family came down as well as Capt. Todd. They all wanted to welcome Corey into the “Giant Bluefin Tuna Fisherman’s Club”, where the membership qualifications have been getting tougher and tougher each year to meet. We took some pictures and told the story of the day. Steve and Seth from “Maguro” were there to take the fish. Corey’s fish was around 480lbs whole and Ben’s was 360lbs. Ben and I waited anxiously for them to take the core samples and cut the tails. Seth told me they looked good and he was pleased with the core. Ben and I high fived each other and the deal was done. We headed out of Stage around 7:00 pm just as Dave on the “Monica M” was coming in with his fish. I found out that the boat we moved for also got his fish. If you no me, than you know I believe in Karma. Just don’t bring any bananas onboard, but that is another story.

We pulled into Bass River at 7:30pm in the cover of darkness just as we had left the night before. We had just spent 21 hours offshore together making a memory filled with firsts and meant to last forever. These two boys mean more to me than just a crew. One is my son and the other is like a son. Today was a rite of passage for Corey. Another notch in his belt as a professional fisherman. Another step towards adulthood. Ben and I were there to be witnesses and to bring him into the club. We have shared many highs and lows as a team, but today makes up for many of the lows. It was simply amazing. It is what we live for and what we do.