capt's jimmy gahm, kevin gerrity, and dave bender had been waiting two weeks to get back out offshore due to the horrible forecasts, more importantly we all circled our calendars for the date that eileen and rob were going. eileen booked her trip a month ago and we had spoken a few times, we had never met. sevral weeks ago, we were fueling at fisherman's supply and eileen and rob had just gotten off the queen mary and ran down to see us, it was at that point we couldn't wait to fish with them. rob had never caught a tuna and he had been up to cape cod before, but had no luck. rob, is an avid fisherman and his grandma loves him to death, so she booked the trip for her grandson. we had kept a very close ear to what was going on offshore and also to the weatherman, we were tempted to run saturday/sunday but opted to run sunday/monday, dammit rob missed school. well, we were going to run out east to the dip, thankfully we didn't as that bite totally fell off on saturday night, so off we headed to the wilmington. we set up on the troll and it looked promising, but it is late october so we didn't know what to expect. sometime after 3pm we had a double header of really nice yellowfins and eileen and rob did an amazing job, eileens fish was on a shimano terez outfit, and she really put the boots to the fish. we later trolled another yellowfin and decided to setup for the night. the headboats had done very well the night before so we were really pumped......... oh well, you guessed it, shoulda been here yesterday. it was a very slow night, we managed to boat 1 yellowfin and a keeper swordfish and that was it. most of the fleet has similar results, although with well over 50 boats there were some reports of good catches, we were so dissapointed, we wanted to put rob on as many tuna as we could. we made a move in the morning offshore, but had the same results, so we headed for the barn due to the 25 knot impending forecast.

back at the dock, eileen and rob could not have been anymore appreciative for the efffort, rob had a great time catching his first ever tuna an he got to share it with his grandma. i can tell you this, jimmy, kevin, and i had the best time fishing with these guys, i don't want to embarrace eileen, but what a tough gal, she won us over, i gave her a hug at the dock and didn't want to let go. they are already talking about next year, and so are we. before i got home, kevin texted me to say that it was the nicest charter he had ever been on,  ditto!

IN MEMORY OF KATHY PALAMARA WHO PASSED AWAY 1/6/11

capt's jimmy gahm and sean carton took bill dumchus of watchung, billy jr of lawrence harbor, johhny 'o, rich guido, and ken switzer on their annual overnighter on sunday october 9th, 2011. the weather was gorgeous and the expectations were very high. upon arriving at the boat, i noticed that longtime fisherwomen kathy palamara was not with the guys which was odd. upon asking bill, he infomed us that kathy had passed away in january after a brief illness, needless to say jimmy and i were really bummed.

the guys shoved off and headed for the spencer canyon as did every other boat in new jersey that beautiful summerlike  day. we trolled for a few hours to no avail and setup in the deep of the spencer, well, their first bite was a mystery fish that took them around the boat several times, upon seeing color the guys realized it was a huge wahooooooo, wow! we of course told them that it was poisonous, and we would be happy to dispose of it.

during the course of the night the guys landed 15 yellowfins to 60 lbs, a 70lb swordfish, released 2 small bluefins and a mako, they has a fantastic trip to say the least. we were deeply saddend by the passing of kathy, we along with countless others will miss her smile and compassion for helping others.

capt's kevin gerrity and dave bender took keith vannozzi of ewing and friends on their annual overnighter on friday october 7th,2011. kevin and i were very nervous due to the fact that keith has always fished his overnighters with capt jimmy, i have mated on some day trips with these guys and done well, but i have not taken them overnight, and like billy tyne " they always find the fish!!!"  we headed for the toms since we got word that the hudson was very sloooow the night before and we figured the fish slid south, upon reaching the toms the water was 64 degrees and the fish had ear muffs on, so we steamed south towards the spencer. we stopped short and trolled our way down landing 7 nice yellowfins to 60 lbs. arriving in the dark we dropped the hook and hoped for the best. it wasn't too long before we jigged some fish on the shimano torsa 16 with flatsided jigs, by 10pm we had five more yellowfins in the boat. it got quiet for us until about 5am when we read the fish under the boat and for the next hour and a half we landed anther dozen yellowfins, mostly on the shimano torsa's and the stella, for a limit catch of 24 yellowfins. i'm sorry for not having any fish pictures, kevin "sissorhands" collars the fish before i can even get the camera out of the salon. i hope the guys had as much fun as kevin and i, they worked their tails off catching squid and jigging, i hope i lived up to keith's expectations, jimmy's shoes are hard to fill.

capt's jimmy gahm and sean carton took chris seery of florham park, his son christopher and friend jackson back to the hudson canyon for an overnighter on saturday oct 1st. we originnaly cancelled this trip on friday due to the predicted weather forecast but noaa dropped the winds to 15 knots, so we called chris and he was game, we had to wait for the boys to drive out from bucknell university, and off we went. upon arriving offshore it was not nice, we did manage to land 2 yellowfins to 70lbs and release 2 swordfish, but it was slow. all the headboats were not doing it either, we got up on the troll in the morning and it was rough. capt jimmy got a call from capt jeff on the "voyager' who was on some big yellowfins so we ran to the spot and it was game on. for the next several hours the guys battled 80 pound yellowfins on shimano terez setups, we landed 9 up to 80 pounds and lost as many. special thanks to the voyager for the call, the guys had a blast, including jimmy and sean who got to fight a few fish as well.

capt's kevin gerrity and dave bender took tony"casa bella" locantore along with d -bop, totwa bill, and clifton billy out for a day troll to the hudson canyon friday sept 30th. the trip was originnaly an overnighter, but the predicted 20-25 winds changed the trip to a day troll instead. leaving manasquan at 1am we hit something at the 30 mile marker and had a vibration, i was turning around and thought, let me see how bad it is at troll speed, not to bad, so we headed east. the decision turned out to be a good one as we caught 2 longfins right away and continued to pick untill about 10:30 when it shut off. we looked around untill about 2:30 when five rods go off and we had 5 more longfins, circling again produced 2 more up to 60lbs. we had a ball with these guys and i'm sure so did they. we had 15 tuna fish in the box on a day trip, wow, what a day.  tony was really bummed out that we didn't stay to chunk and of course the night bites was very good, but at 4am all hell broke loose and we were told it blew upwards of 50knots... #!!##  that!

 capt's kevin gerrity and dave bender took john altamare of hasbrook heights and friends out to the hudson for an overnighter, john hadn't fished with us since our first year so we were hoping to show him a good time. mission accomplished! within 5 minutes of putting out our spread we came tight on 2 longfins, usually the kiss of death...not today. we proceeded to catch longfins and 2 very nice yellowfins until dark, we wanted to setup right where we caught but a few headboats had dropped right there so we had no choice but to move to a different location. we had squid under the boat all night with porpoise balling up the bait, we landed 2 yellowfins and 2 sword fish and released 2 small mako's, but no mad dog for us. back on the troll we picked up right where we left off going 8 for ten and ended the trip with 25 longfin, 4 yellowfin, 2 swordfish, and a very happy charter and crew.

capt's jimmy gahm and sean carton took ben hartzler and friends from belleville pa, out to the hudson for their annual overnighter. after sevearl cancellations the last 2 years to do either weather or slow fishing the boys were rewarded with both good fishing and great weather. they trolled 7 longfins before setting up on the chunk and boated four more longfins and a swordfish overnight. back on the troll in the morning produced 4 more longfins, and the boys headed in with 14 longfins and a swordfish, before a long ride back to " happy valley".

ben and the boys had a great time as did jimmy and sean, and they're already booked for 2012.

capt's kevin gerrity and dave bender took paul " union maintenance" kelly and friends out to the hudson canyon wednesday sept 21 for their annual overnighter. well, "shoulda been here yesterday", we were scheduled to fish tuesday wednesday but we thought the weather window would be more comfortable for the boys on wed/ thurs. well, that's about all that we got right as we only managed 3 tuna fish and a gaffer mahi for our efforts. despite leaving the dock at 8am wednesday and returning 4pm thursday we just couldn't get it done. we trolled a longfin wednesday afternoon and only chunked a small yellowfin at night. back on the troll thursday only produced skipjack and another longfin for us. the truth be told, several other boats did well and most had a nice pick, we hit something on the way out wednesday perhaps we had a noise below the water line but thats just an excuse, i'll take full resposibilty it just wasn't our day. paul and the guys made the most of it as always enjoying the nice weather and just being offshore, they assisted kevin removing the weeds and clearing lines the whole trip.

capt's kevin gerrity and dave bender took pat hines of cornwall,ny and friends to the carteret canyon on monday sept13,2011. we trolled the afternoon with a nice white marlin to show for our efforts and setup for the night right where capt jimmy had em just a day earlier. well it didn't take long as we had five small yellowfins in the box by 10pm and it looked like it was going to be a great night. well, the tuna were gone and it wasn't just us, from the toms to the lindy it was a dead night. we had some excitement however as kevin's shark rod went off and as usual we didn't think much of it, we just assumed it was a blue shark. wrong! as it got closer it sounded and then leaped into the air almost coming into the cockpit, mayhem daaaaave , get the gaff, get the gun, " i told you daaaaave"  well after "deadeye dick" bender let that mako know there was a new sherrif in town we had a 170lb mako boatside and d. e. a. d . after cleaning up, we settled in for the am tuna bite........not. back on the troll we decided to head south , well we had another jenny lee first, we landed 2 more white marlin and our total was three for the trip. i know " they musta been thick"  five yellowfins, 3 white marlin, and a 170 mako, the weather was fantastic, as was the company. pat and the boys already are talking about next year.

capt's jimmy gahm and sean carton took jim flannery of bridgewater,nj off shore on sunday sept 11,2011. the forecast was a bit sporty when they left but upon reaching the toms canyon things settled down quite nicely. the guys trolled 3 nice longfin before setting up on the chunk. by 10 pm they had five yellowfins in the boat and it looked like it was going to be a great night, but things slowed up for a bit. capt jimmy got a call from fellow shimano field tester  capt freddie" andrea's toy" gamboa, who was basically limited out so capt jimmy ran the 5 miles to freddie's location. in true freindship fashion freddie tossed jimmy a rope and we tied off to freddie for a bit, as they say the rest is history as the guys used the shimano butterfly rods to limit out on yellowfin up to 50lbs. the guys had a fantastic time as did jimmy and sean and they already are booked for 2012. special thanks to a true sportsman capt fred gamboa from the crew of the jenny lee

capt's jimy gahm and kevin gerrity took tim wilsey of quakertown ,pa out for his annual canyon trip on friday sept 2, 2011. well, the weatherman was not very cooperative as the condtions on friday were horrible to say the least, there was a 20 knot wind on top of an east swell left over from irene. friday saw us jump off a white marlin and that would be it, but little did we know that saturday would be a record setting day for the jenny lee.

after a nonproductive chunk capt jimmy got back on the troll and had a nice tuna bite catching 8 yellowfins to 35lbs, but that was not the story. we had a visit from the man in the blue suit, he ate our flat line and it was game on, there was an explosion that good friend steve " pepper" matthews could see from 1 mile away. this blue marlin was the largest to date for us, and he certainly showed us why, the guys were screaming for jimmy to back down as there was only a few yards of string left on the 50 wide, the problem was.. the fish was in the front of the boat, not the stern. after an hour and 20 minutes the monster was boatside, during the choas/excitement the pictures are not the best and don't do the fish justice, but it measured 14'6" and the girth was at least 60". when jimmy called me on the sat phone he said it was 750lbs, well the chart says it's 760lbs you can make your own call, we realize it's only an estimate. we are blessed to have had the opportunity to hook this beauty let alone get a clean release, we have had our share of blue marlin and just a few weeks ago released a 400lber, this one was double in size. tim was beside himself with joy as were the rest of the guys, they all certainly deserved a great ending to a rough first day. i tip my hat to capt's jimmy and kevin for thier stellar effort in landing this monster.

long time customers, the dial family of basking ridge,nj, dave, greg and lindsey, oh, and lindsey's bf, max, sailed on the jenny lee right after irene. we were very skeptical about going and offered greg to postpone the trip due to the lack of intel and the fact that we would be the first to venture back offshore, but greg always positive said " we just want to go and it is what it is" well upon arriving at the hudson the charts were not lying, the water was cold and green. capt's matt muzlay and capt sean carton decided to push off to the 1000 fathom line and seek the warmer cleaner water, after trolling all day without so much as a touch it looked pretty dismal to say the least.

the guys headed for the bank for the night to chunk, we gave a thought to drifting in the deep but it was a bit sporty so we headed for the bank and anchored up, we had a large blue shark and at 5am we landed a really nice yellowfin that was all of 70 plus pounds. back on the troll, we headed offshore once again and landed some mahi, it looked very promising, with bird life and slicks, all of a sudden 7 rods went off and we came tight on 4 more yellowfins in the 25-30 pound class, everyone was hooked up and after the dust cleared, we had put a catch together. capt matt set the course for the 100 mile ride back to squan. the dial family are class folks, we missed eric this trip, hopefully we'll see him next year.

capt's jimmy gahm, sean carton and dave bender took neal johnson of stanforville, ny and mark kondor of hyde park ny out to the hudson canyon for their overnighter. neal had not been out with us since 2007 when he landed a 200lb swordfish. well the weather was great as was the company, but the fishing left alot to be desired. after trolling in acres of porpoise and whales all afternoon without a touch we set up for the chunk. about midnight we got impatient and made a 20 mile move to the south to find some cleaner water. at daybreak we got our first and only tuna, a beautiful 50 pound longfin. back on the troll we had a double header of mahi and that would be it for the rest of the trip.

capt's kevin gerrity and dave bender took manasquan mike barlettano, steve novak,anton moldan, and twins matt and mike hoverman to the lindenkohl canyon for an overnighter 8/19/11. we trolled steve's first white marlin right away and as  the sun went down things started to look promising, we got a report of a bigeye bite in the wilimington and after a lengthy discussion made the 30 mile ride down in the dark. we set up on the chunk about 11pm and shortly thereafter mike landed his first swordfish, not a monster but good eating. we worked at it all night to no avail and got back on the troll in search of the bigeye tuna. the sky was ominus and 4 water spouts were within a few miles of us with lightning cracking everywhere, kevin spotted a free jumping marlin and we made a pass, fish on!. as matt worked the fish, which we thought was a huge white the skys opened up with a vengence, sideways rain, lightning, hail, you name it, truthfully it was scary. after a fantastic job fighting the fish we had a 125lb blue marlin release and our first ever "GRAND SLAM"  we had one more bite the rest of the morning from a white marlin but never came tight, truthfully, the sword was small, the blue was small, and we never found a single tuna, but the guys had a fantastic time earning the slam. we had 4 firts on this trip, mike's first sword, steve's first white, matt's first blue, and our first grand slam!

capt's sean carton and dave bender took john carvalheira of jackson, bo lavin of garfield, and eric lavin of hoboken out to the hudson canyon for an overnighter on august 17/18. we did not have a single bite on the troll wednesday after several hours, we set up in the square on the chunk and shortly after midnight we chunked a nice yellowfin. unfortunaly the current was scraming and the lines ran up to the bow the rest of the night making fishing almost impossible. we got back on the troll at first light and landed two more yellowfins, the trip was very slow to say the least but the guys had a great time, as did sean and i. the guys will be back in the spring for some bass action