Another summer season of boating and fishing is coming! For me, it doesn't just arrive one fine day on the summer solstice – I spend weeks getting ready. Back in the second week of April, I started the long process of getting ready for summer boating and fishing by heading out to my beach house and opening up for the season, organizing and doing small repairs in the house, yard, fishing shed, and garage. I also spent some time taking stock of my fishing gear and tackle so that I could do small repairs and replace what I needed to.
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| First boat in! |
By late in April, I got my boat Freedom (a 26' 2017 Edgewater 262CC Center Console fishing boat) into the water and tied up at the dock. I’m usually among the earliest but this year my boat was the first boat in my lagoon to be launched! It was still a little cold for fishing, though, and most of what I fish for hadn’t come into the area in large numbers yet.
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| A nice early season bluefish |
As we got into the month of May, the beach house was in pretty good shape, the boat was in the water and ready, and the fish had started to come in. On my first outing, my oldest son Steve and I got up early and spent the morning casting topwater plugs to striped bass. The bass weren't cooperating, but I did catch a nice bluefish that day, and it put up a good fight. As a bonus, Steve cleaned and prepped the fish for the smoker and it was delicious. Oily fish such as bluefish are really great when smoked, and Steve always does a great job.
Now, later in May, we've started fishing for Fluke. Things are slow but we're getting a few to bite and expect that things will pick up from here. The 2019 season is getting off to a fine start!
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| Early morning start for Fluke |
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| Ready to go |
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| Heading to the Ponquogue Bridge |
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| Engines running well! |
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| First Fluke of the season |
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| Back home. Swans come to visit |
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