My Wahoo!

End of the season up here in Boston and I pulled my Wahoo! from the water yesterday. Although I would have hauled out anyway due to the lateness of the season, if I needed any other reason Hurricane Sandy, currently just south of Cuba’s southeast tip, looks like it will  give the US  East coast its first (and likely only) tropical storm of the year early next week.

2012 was my third year as a Wahoo! owner and the best so far. Lots of quality time on the water. Many problems solved, but still no shortage of tweaks I’d like to make to the boat next year. Thanks to the many Wahoo! owners who contribute to and read this blog. It’s been a lot of fun sharing experiences and learning from you guys. Boston Harbor, when the wind and chop are up, can be a pretty rough ride. So three years in I still feel like I’m getting to know this my 16.2’s capabilities, especially in big water. Once thing I know for sure though,  when she planes on a flat surface, what an amazing ride! Like a magic carpet.

This past week my friend Gary C. of Philadelphia was here. Every year in the fall Gary comes up for a short week and we go striper fishing. This year winds gusting to 30 mph kept us off the water much of the time but we managed to have a few nice days and my son Ben (pictured) took his first stripers from my Wahoo!

Now the boat’s in the driveway. Time to get busy winterizing before the cold sets in.

While this isn’t a fishing site by any means, I couldn’t let 2012 go by without a single fishing note, especially when I set a personal best in my Wahoo! 

Headed out in my Wahoo! this afternoon after work for an hour’s fishing. I was crossing the edge of a large salt water flat when I saw a few small fish (snapper blues, maybe) slashing at bait on the surface. I cut the engine, climbed up in the bow with my fly rod, and started tossing a Gartside Gurgler. As I worked it, about every minute or so something much bigger than the snappers would surge through the bait, scattering it. So I started working the fly with a little more pop and on about the dozenth cast hooked into a good fish. Fifteen minutes later, after a fight that took me well into my backing, I landed the biggest striper I’ve taken on a fly, just shy of 40 inches.

After a few pics and some time to revive her back in the water she went, hopefully next Spring to make a mess o’ baby bass.