Seems like blue hadn’t come this summer. Halfday trip was still fishing mackerel in September. Usually mackerel trip is not available until the end of September so I planned on going late September or early October with my daughter. However, it is better to go in warmer season if you can. I found weather forecast for 9/15 was fine with light wind so I scheduled a trip for the day.
I thought the boat was not crowded at that time of year. I waited until the day came close to make sure the weather forecast. I called Al Gauron on Thursday and found that they wouldn’t have a half day on Sunday because of a charter schedule. I knew Eastman’s wouldn’t have a halfday that day either so Captain’s and Atlantic Queen were the option. I called Atlantic Queen and reserved spots. They would go off Hampton, same area as Al Gauron goes. Also ticket price for a child is a little less expensive than Captain’s. I took my daughter. A friend of mine came too. My daughter’s class mate, his brother and their father also joined. The fleet reported Saturday trip was excellent, that excited me a lot the nigh before.
Sunday morning, I arrived at Rye Harbor with my daughter around 7. My friend also arrived a little earlier and we kept spots at stern. The boat had spacious cabin and rod holders. Along the side deck, there was a kind of roof. It would be good when it was rainy but the rod tip hit when I handled a rod there. It was better fishing at bow or stern.
The boat left the dock at 8 and got to the first spot in 30 minutes. I prepared 5 sets of the tackles for mack. I set rigs of sabiki and jig for the boys' family and my daughter. I started with a jig-only rig with UL. In addition to them, I arranged a set for blue with 2 oz Hopkins and wire leader. I also brought in a sturdy ice rod. I had seen mates sometimes tried to use such tackles. So I wanted to try what I had.
Shortly after the boat got anchored, a flurry came in. Mack bit on rigs in double or triple. Busy time started. I took care of my daughter and other kids. We kept several nice fish by 9 o’clock. I tried an ice fishing rod meantime. I got two, one of which was nice 14’’ one. Although I expected it was super fun to get mack on the ice rod, it was not actually very good. The rod is too short so I felt like I just reeled in. Five-foot rod was way better.
We had another flurry and occasional bites until 10. I kept around 15 with my daughter. However, the bite was completely gone after that. The captain moved a few times, close to Hampton and near shore. I tried various actions in different ranges but the only fish I hooked were mini-size blue. My daughter explored the boat and ate lunch and snack in the cabin with her friends.
The trip ended after one and a half hour of not-a-single-action period. We ended up with 16 mack, I caught around 10 and my daughter got the rest. The boys’ family also kept around 16. My friend got 10-15. Although the number was just fine, there were several large ones, which were really tasty.
As the fleet rated the trip as very good in their repot, it seemed to be better compared to the ones in August. It was true a few really good flurries came in but overall catch was just good. I think it would have been better if I had used sabiki from the beginning because some active flurries came and those just didn’t last long.
Although it was a little too early for the peak season fall run, I was happy for going out that day because the weather was perfect, kids took some, fish were tasty and the catch didn’t increase the pressure to our freezer for another trip!
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