Summer Season 2024 – the prep begins!
The fishing season here on Cape Cod has a natural rhythm to it. This is not unique to the fishing business when you live in a seasonal area like the Cape, but it is getting exciting to realize that the 2024 season is only 56 days away!
This time of year we spend hours cleaning, greasing and prepping the reels and rods for the upcoming season. We will take the time to put fresh line on the reels so we don’t lose that fish on your charter day. We also take inventory of what rod and reel needs are and work to replace the gear as needed. Sometimes the gear may just need a new part, like a new handle or spool. All part of our winter maintenance on our gear, but it is fun and starts us thinking about the upcoming season.
This year we will also be traveling to a couple shows out of state to broaden our network and see the trends that are happening in the industry with boats and gear. We will be attending a boat and gear show in Atlantic City and then the Saltwater Expo in Edison, NJ. These are fun for us as well. A chance to connect with old friends in the business as well as start new relationships. It also really gets the fishing juices flowing to be talking about fishing for 2-3 days with like minded folks!
We have our to do list for the boat as well. We don’t have any big changes with the boat this offseason like last year. Last year we added our new Suzuki outboards twin 200 HP engines during the winter. We were impressed with the engines and amazed at the improved fuel efficiency. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised since our last engines were 20 years old! You probably won’t even see the work we will do to maintain the boat for a long summer of fishing, but we will spend hours getting her ready once the weather gets a bit warmer. This is an inspection year. Every two years we have the USCG come do an inspection of the boat and all of our safety gear to make sure we are keeping up with the maintenance of our gear. We take this seriously and we hope it never becomes an issue while on the water, but if it does, our boat and gear will be ready to perform.
For striped bass fishing here in Massachusetts, the regulations will be the same for 2024. One slot fish per angler can be kept between 28″ and 31″ per day. Anything else has to be released. Bluefish and bluefin tuna regulations remain the same for 2024. We have added some half day black sea bass trips for late May this season to our charter options. For these trips, you sign up as an individual and we will fill the boat. You can obviously sign up two or three buddies in the same boat, but this way people can get out on the water without reserving the whole boat themselves. Black sea bass are some of the best eating fish that you can catch around Cape Cod and they freeze very well!
As you can see we are busy behind the scenes getting ready for another great season on the water. We look forward to having you with us again this upcoming season. Please check the calendars as dates are starting to fill-up for those prime weekend dates. We know we still have about six solid weeks of winter left, but the days are getting longer and before you know it, we will all be back outside and on the water!
As you are looking for gear for your season, please support our sponsors!