The boss booked an exploratory trip on Feb. 14, 2010 with Capt. Scott Warren of Big Tahuna Charters. There had been ample reports of large Bluefin Tuna in the Gulf Stream area near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. But, as I sat down to write this report, I just couldn’t get myself to skip straight to the fishing. For this trip, I have to give you the whole story. To give a more personal account of our excursion, I decided to keep a video log (or “v-log”) of this trip. As you know, any trip on our website is not a shot in the dark. We strive to get everyone on a fishing experience like no other with charters like no other. And, boy, was this trip no exception! However, the commute to a new charter is often half the adventure of a fishing trip. But, none of us knew that this very trip was going to be one of those most memorable fishing trips of our lives, for reasons both good and bad. Here is our full story with excerpts of the v-log throughout.
The Departure
There were to be five anglers on this charter trip. Marcus, Kint, Jimmy, Jon, and myself set our hearts on fighting and possibly landing a few true giants on Sunday Feb. 14, 2010. Everyone except Jimmy (who was going to meet us at Cape Hatteras since he was going to already be there on vacation) packed our things and hopped into Jon's jeep. So, it was the four us. We departed at exactly 2pm on Saturday (Feb. 13th) and expected to arrive at a Cape Hatteras motel by 11:40pm. There, we would get some much needed rest after the long drive before the fishing. Well, at least that was the plan...
The Breakdown
On the way there, we hit some traffic in NY. We expected to make up some of this time in NJ. At precisely 5:00pm, Jon asks me to call the motel and confirm the room. I call, confirm, hang up, and just then the absolute, most unexpected thing happens! Clunk, clunk, clunk. Jon’s car starts making this funny noise and then steam comes billowing out from under the hood. The engine starts to overheat and we are forced to pull over. Under the hood, we can’t figure out the problem. We were in shock, and a dark feeling that we will miss out the Bluefin bite was slowly setting in. We were 8 hours away from North Carolina!
We call 911 and request a tow truck.
911: “Sir, where to?” me: “We’re on mile mark 17.9 on the NJ Turnpike South. As for a destination with the tow, I'm not sure yet, but please send a tow truck as soon as possible. Thank you.”
It’s now 6pm and it’s getting dark. I will never forget dusk on this day. We were stuck right behind mile mark 17.9 on the highway shoulder. Our GPS says we’re in “Woodbury, NJ,” and we are far from a rest stop. To us, we were in the middle of nowhere!
I then called back the Cape Hatteras motel. me: “You’re not going to believe this, but I have to cancel my reservation.” motel: “What? Why? Is everything okay?” me: “Our car just broke down. It looks like we’re not going to make it North Carolina tonight.” motel: “I’m so sorry to hear that. We’ll take care of the refund...... No worries and Take care.”
While we waited for the tow truck, we still held on to hope.
Jon says, “Alright guys, what do we do?” Marcus replies, “Ok, we gotta find a gas station. No, an auto mechanic.”
Kint offers to surf the internet on his DROID cell phone for names, numbers, and addresses of every possible autoshop within a 30 mile radius. He and I start making some calls, but get nothing but disappointment.
PEPBOYS
If it wasn’t an answering machine, it was “Sorry, we close at 6.” Then, one autoshop ("Mr. Tire Autoshop") tells me to call the PEPBOYS just down the street from them.
Mr. Tire: “I know they close late, you may have shot.” me: “Thanks so much, man!”
I make the call.
Manager: “Hi, PEPBOYS, Mike speaking.” me: “Hi, is this the Woodbury PEPBOYS?” Manager: “Yes, it is.” me: “Um, are you guys by chance still open?” Manager: “Yea, we’re open until 8pm.” me: “Okay, Mike is it? You are not going to believe this, but some friends and I are in desperate need of your help.” Manager: “Excuse me?” me: “Sorry sorry. My friends and I are on a road trip to North Carolina, and our car just broke down on the NJ Turnpike. You are the only place within an hour’s drive from us who can help us. We are waiting on a tow truck, and we need to know where to send our car. This may sound silly, but we need to be on a boat for a fishing trip in Cape Hatteras by 6am tomorrow. Can you just look at our car? We hope it’s a quick fix.” Manager: “Um, sure, I’ll have one of my guys look at it if you make it here before 8pm, but I can’t guarantee anything.” me: “Mike, sir, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Whatever you can do for us would be wonderful, and we will be so grateful!”
But, it’s now 6:15 pm and no sign of the tow truck. We wait and wait, then call 911 again.
Finally, the tow truck arrives at 6:30pm. We’re on the tow. The tow truck driver asks, “Where to fellas?” Jon replies, “PEP BOYS. We need to get there by 8pm.” Tow truck guy: “Okay, but two of you gotta stay in the jeep. I only have room for two up front.”
Marcus and I offer to stay in the jeep.
So, there we were - Marcus and I in the jeep on the flatbed and our two counterparts in the truck. I decided to v-log our woes.
Just then, Jon in the truck calls me. “Okay Peter, I have a back up plan. The Philadelphia airport is 30 minutes away from PEPBOYS. If the mechanic can’t fix my jeep within the next hour, let’s try taking a cab to the airport, and rent a car. I doubt the cab will let us take all the fishing gear with us, so we may need to split up. Two of us stay with the luggage, and the other two get the rental car…”
I reply, “Uhh, wow, let's hope we don't need to. But, okay. I’ll give the airport’s rental care services a call.” I call 411, and get in touch with the airport’s Avis. A mini-van was available if we needed it.
It’s now 7:30pm, and we’re at PEP BOYS. The manager (Mike, with whom I spoke with earlier) comes out, and as promised, he alerts his crew of two. The first guy declines and says to him “Sorry, I’m done for the day.” The other mechanic, Alex, agrees to take the job. Alex gives the jeep a listen and a look under the hood. “Your water pump’s broken. Let me check in the back and see if we have the part for your car.” 5 long minutes pass....
“You guys are lucky. We have the part. It’ll take a bit of time, but I’ll get it done." So, there was Alex working fast and furious to fix the jeep. We all knew that this wasn’t an easy or quick fix for any mechanic. It was obvious Alex was working super fast- fastening, unlocking, replacing, testing, etc etc... Alex stayed until 9pm to get the job done for us.
During this time, I spoke with Mike, the manager. It turns out that he too is a fisherman, just like us! We share some crazy fish tales with each other. I will never forget his stories about his father and grandfather catching black drum, striped bass, and weakfish in the Delaware Bay. No wonder he was so willing to help - us boys were graced by a kindred spirit. (Seriously, what were the chances!)
We pay them for everything and then some. Soon, we were back on the road, and the jeep’s engine is now purring like a kitten. After that, we didn’t have a glitch on the ride down. Lots of laughs, sharing stories, and some friendly comradery was had in the jeep during the early hours of Sunday, Feb. the 14th.
Estimated arrival time to Cape Hatteras was now 4am. We just couldn't believe it! We were going to make it! While mid-way through the state of Virginia, Jon says to us, “Guys, I feel like I already caught a giant bluefin.” Morale was now at an all-time high for us four boys.
At the dock
Just after 4am, we make it to Cape Hatteras! We got out of the car, and guess what? The weather man was wrong. Instead of a 10-15 mph breeze, its 20-25 and gusting 30 AT THE MARINA! Is this really happening? We made it through all of this just to have our trip possibly cancelled by bad weather?
Maybe the trip wasn’t meant to be after all. We found ourselves hoping for yet another miracle. It’s now 6am....
Fishing Report (Background: I've come to learn that targeting tuna is usually pretty hit or miss. Skunked days are frequent, and multiple tuna on one day is uncommon.)
We were grateful just to be in Cape Hatteras after our travel ordeal, and we were happy just to be on the water! That being said though, after all that we endured to get here, I can't deny the expectation that that day was going to be special.
On our way out, the winds laid down. Mother Nature graced us. And, what a sight she had in store for us --> Just after reaching the offshore waters, we could see the warm Gulf Stream water vaporizing into the chilly winter air...
Three lines were in the water by 8:30am. Just as everyone laid down in the cabin for much desired shut-eye, literally, just then….. one line STARTS SCREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMIIIIIIING!!!!!!!!! CLICK CLICK CLICKICKCICKCIKCIKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK……………….
Haha – yup, we’re all up now! Bumbling, stumbling, dazed, disoriented, jarred, whatever. The right word probably doesn’t even exist to describe our emotions at that moment! We all encourage Marcus to suit up first and fight his first tuna. Before we can pull the other lines line, a second line goes off! Yup, Double hook-up!
More of the same - everyone is scrambling to get ready now to fight a fish or help the first mate, Kenny. This time, it was Jimmy's turn! Before Kenny could retrieve the last line out of the way of Marcus and Buddha, IT GOES OFF! Triple hook? Yes, triple hook-up!
Captain Warren shouts from the bridge, “I am marking like hell right now!!!! Someone get a jig in the water.” As I’m filming, I am in utter shock at what I am witnessing. I look at the captain and say “This is chaos! You want another tuna hooked up?!” He looks at me and smiled confidently then said, “Yes, but organized chaos. We can get them all to the boat. Trust me.”
I have never been on a tuna trip like this before! There was more than one tuna being fought! I realized then that Capt. Warren was a different breed of tuna captain. He was a daredevil and a true master of his waters. He was willing and hoping for a Quad hook-up! The fourth fisherman drops a jig, and yes…. FISH ON! For about a solid couple minutes, I was witnessing a quad hook up. UN-FREAKIN-BELIEVABLE!
We ended up landing 3 of the 4 without much of a glitch. The one on the jig got the better of us.
Jimmy gets the first one aboard and we decided that it’d be our keeper. It was 65”, weighing a hefty 165 lbs. This fish would turn out to be the lightest of the day. The remaining two on the lines were on tuna each above 70” pushing, if not passing, the 200lb mark. For about one hour, I held the camera and was just awe-struck. Capt. Warren was like a conductor of an orchestra. He knew where each fish was and precisely how to advise the angler to fight it. Marcus got the next one, then Jon the last. When it was all done, he'd punch the boat in gear to ensure a healthy revival of each fish. The two tuna were safely released.
Ok, now I had to get in on this action. Capt. Warren shouts, “Alright boys, we’re gonna do another pass. We found the fish now, get your jigging rods ready.” I grab my spinning setup and ready myself to drop my favorite jig. On the first drop, jig, jig, jig, then BANG! TUNA ON… I fought him briefly before it shook loose. Oh, well, that’s okay.
Second drop, jig, jig, BAM! ANOTHER TUNA ON! Jon is on with a tuna on a jig, too! Overall, we had about a dozen hits/hook-ups. Would you believe me, if I said we didn’t land any of them? It’s still a mystery to us. Well, that is the truth. Some tuna were fought longer than others but each one that took a jig got the better of the angler on the other end of the line. Anyhow, we already had our limit in the boat. This was just for fun now.
First mate Kenny calls out, “Okay, now who hasn’t landed a tuna today?” Kint and I knod our heads. Kenny says, "Okay, we’re trolling again. On a day like today, a rigged ballyhoo is pretty much a guaranteed take. One of you get ready." I look to Kint and say, “Ok dude, you’re up.” Lines are in the water. 15 minutes later…..yup, TUNA ON! Kint fights and brings his first-ever bluefin solo to the boat for a safe release. Another 70” - another 200lb fish.
Then, the mate looks at us and says. “You guys tired yet? Alright, I know some of you are dying to land a tuna on a jig, but if you haven’t yet brought a tuna to the boat, then I recommend you put down the jigging rod and put on a harness. Four out of the five of you earned a citation today. Let’s make it a sweep, and get that fifth!” So, I don the fighting belt and harness and wait. After about 20 minutes of trolling a ballyhoo, we see a boil, then a huge-mungous tuna gets airborne in pursuit of that ballyhoo right before our eyes! Seconds later, it’s on! Another 70” fish. Hooked, fought, and landed solo.
In the end, 5 fishermen, 5 citations, 5 Bluefin brought to the boat with 1 kept. I forgot to mention - each fish was fought and brought boat-side by a lone angler. For two of them, it was their first tuna ever - Priceless!
Now with time to spare and everyone bruised and battered, Capt. Warren asks us if we wanted to mess around with some Amberjack to get in the jigging fix since the tuna jigging bite was frustrating and starting to slow. We all agree and spent the rest of the afternoon jigging for some good ole' amberjack.
This trip will probably go down as one of the most memorable fishing trips of our lifetime.
From start to finish, this trip has the makings of a story that I will share with others for a very, very long time... I guess this is why we go on these trips - for the friendships, the memories, the stories, and of course, the fishing!
We drove back to NY right after the trip. I am happy to say that Jon's jeep performed flawlessly on the ride back.
DEPTHS FISHED: 600 ft
GEAR USED: Rods and Reels: Trolling Rods: Shimano Tiagra 80 reels with 7+ft custom rods. Jigging Rods: Various models including rods from OTI, Daiwa, and FISHERMAN (Pascal, Monster) rated for 350+g jigs.
Lines: Jigging: Most anglers used 80-100lb braid, tipped with 130lb flourocarbon.
Terminal Tackle: Jigging: 150+lb Ball-Bearing Swivels or Solid Rings connected to O-Rings for Jigs; Most anglers used Owner Monster Assist Hooks (size 9/0); Various Jigs (250-450g)
