I decided to take my grandson Sohan and his family who was visiting from California on his first whale watch trip this afternoon.  The crew came aboard around 1200 and with Sohan assisting me we steered a course for the whale grounds.

Upon our arrival on the grounds we were greeted by numerous pods of humpback whales who were feeding on the large quantities of sand eels in the area. Sohan had a great time watching the whales pass around and under the Lady Diane as we drifted along with our engine off.

With all the whale and bird activity in the area my son George decided to see if any school tuna might be in the area and grabbed the spin stick.  Withing a couple casts he was tight to a nice fish but knew it was not a tuna as the fish dogged downward. A bent rod is always a pretty picture so I couldn't resist taking a quick photo.

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In a couple minutes we landed a 20 lb striper who we immediately released to fight another day as we only keep fish which we like to eat and stripers are not on the list.

We continued to watch the whales for two more hours and just before we were about to leave I noticed the water turn "funny" and a school of bass broke the surface in front of the boat.  Suddenly a tuna crashes out of the water after the panicked fish.  I ran to the bow and sent my lure into the kill zone hoping for a chance at Charlie.  The rod bent immediately but again no tuna...a very large striper inhaled the plug before it could be taken by the tuna.  I turned and gave the rod to Ali my son's wife who had never been fishing in her life!  With a little help from me,  Ali struggled to put line back on the reel.  This was definitely a bigger fish!

Within a few minutes my son reached over the side and with both hands hauls in this beautiful 40" 29lb striper. Not a bad way to start a fishing career!  Unfortunately my photography skills leave much to be desired but at least the proud angler and fish made it into the photo.

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We also released this great fish, then turned the boat west and proceeded back to the harbor after a wonderful day on the water with my family.  We had so much fun with the whale watch that next year I am considering offering non fishing customers a chance to go out and see these magnificent creatures up close and personal in a way you can only experience on a smaller boat such as the Lady Diane.

 Tight lines,

Capt. George