The stars were aligned. As the full moon approached on departure day, excitement filled as we pack the truck to drive the 725 miles north to Prince Edward Island. Word from Captain Bruce was that the bigger fish started to move in the week before as herring arrived to start their annual spawn. With the gear packed we set off just after 1pm on Saturday wide eyed and ready for the trek ahead. With a few strong fronts forecasted the crew was optimistic we would get in 3 solid days of fishing.
This is the Currents crews third annual trek north to take on giants. The journey has become more of a soul cleanse and reminder to slow down and enjoy life. The fishing is world class and the hospitality of the Keus family who run north lake charters makes you feel part of the family. We peel away from the cape cod fishery during its peak fall season because the bite in PEI is truly epic. Multiple hookups per day are not only common but expected. The fish are more aggressive then anywhere else, as they're fattening up for their migrations, and will frequently come right up to the side of the boat to feed on herring.
With the destination of North Lake, the self proclaimed “tuna capital of the world” punched into the gps we took off from cape cod for the 12 hour journey north. The plan was to pit stop at the Canadian boarder for the night and arrive in PEI around 3 pm Sunday afternoon. This allows for us to stock up on necessities, mainly food and beer, and settle in to fish Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We decided to drive straight through the night, the year before and I wouldn’t recommend it. After a few pit stops for gas and to checkout the confederation bridge we arrive in Souris on time and ready to battle. The locals were a buzz about the international tuna cup that had just concluded the day before. The island is very rural with farming and fishing as the main industries. It’s very much a small town atmosphere where everyone knows each other and what's going on. Most of the large charter outfits on the island have cabins you can rent while fishing with them as there's not many accommodations on the east end of the island.
As we settle into the cabin and unpack for the week I connect with Captain Ross Keus to plan logistics for the trip the following day. Plans are set, we are to be at the dock and ready for battle at 7am the next morning. The fish are here and in close. The team is amped as we sit down to watch the Patriots play the Detroit Lions on Sunday night football. As we sat in frustration as the Lions pummeled the Patriots in prime time it should have been a hint of trouble brewing for the rest of the trip. With another front moving in overnight the forecast was calling for Northwest 20-25 mph winds and seas in the 3-4 ft range. Knowing the fish were on the north side of the island we were expecting a bumpy first day of fishing the next day.
We awoke with anticipation of battles to come. As usually a full coffee pot is prescheduled and waiting for us when we rise. Canadian bacon is put on the stove and we eat a hearty calorie filled breakfast since no one is watching their weight on this trip. As the cabin is south facing the winds did not seem too bad and we didn’t expect to have much trouble getting out. We load our foul weather gear into the truck and take off from the cabin for the mile ride down to North Lake harbor. Not until we pulled down the entrance road to the harbor and saw the seas built up out of the northwest did we rethink the day.
While sitting on the boat discussing the scenarios with Capt Ross we decided to pull the plug for the day as conditions were not safe to tackle giant bluefin as the seas were not forecast to lay down until overnight. We decided to explore the east end of the island, checkout some of the local sights, and even ran into a bald eagle hunting the coastline. We finished the day in Souris with diner at 21 breakwater. We cannot recommend this restaurant enough, the atmosphere and the food are spectacular. This is coming from picky cape cod fisherman with access to fresh seafood year round. With the next day forecast laying down we returned to the cabin for a night cap and increased excitement for the next day.
We woke on day two to clear skies and minimal winds, as the sun started to light the predawn sky to the east. We once again loaded up on calories with a gourmet breakfast of bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches and we were back off to North Lake. We quickly loaded our gear on the boat and were pushing off within a few minutes eager to make up for the loss of day one. Word across the fleet was that the fish were still inside as they had been for the past few days, which is a quick run from the north lake inlet. We make a quick stop just outside the harbor to pick up a few dozen mackerel, for the live well, in about 60 ft of water. After motoring to search for fish for the next 20 minutes we setup a drift just off a gill net being used to catch herring, which the tuna are in the area to feed on. After being on the water for 1/2 hour there's a few boats in the fleet motoring in circles as they are tight.
Unfortunately we didn’t hook up in what turned out to be a quick morning bite. There were a few boats that got tight but the fleet was still mainly searching for fish by noon. The NorthLake Charter boats made the decision to make a run to the east for the turn of the tide and steamed a quick ten miles. The move was immediately realized when we ran into a number of surface feeding fish and quickly had lines in the water and setup a kite bait as the wind was picking up from the east. After about an hour of working the kit rod, taking in slack, letting out line as the wind changed to ensure the mack stayed skimming just on the surface, the line came out of the kite clip with a snap. My eyes were fixed to the water and never saw a boil or sign of a fish under the bait but before my brain could register what was happening the line was screaming off the Shimano 130 and we were tight. After a few valiant runs we had the fish down and tight in his death pinwheels and we had the fish to the boat and ready to release. The fish was small for PEI estimated around 78 inches and 300 lbs, but was green and pissed off when we got him boat side. With a nice quick clean release the fish was off to grow and fight another day.
We had the lines back in the water and were optimistic on getting a second hookup for the day, the wind was picking up, and there was a lot of surface action. About and hour later we had to call it around 4pm as the sun was starting to retreat and the day was winding down. All in all a great day on the water with lots of life and a successful catch and release bluefin. After arriving at the dock the crew head back to the cabins for some beers and threw a few steaks on the grill to recharge.
The forecast for day three looked dicey calling for gale force winds out of the south by the afternoon. Both captains were optimistic of getting the day in, as southerly winds are shielded by the island making the seas fishable. At 4:00 am I was awoken by howling winds outside, and my concern of not getting another day increased. We were at the dock by 7am and to my surprise most of the fleet were loading the boats ready to head out in an attempt to get the day in. The plan was simple, fish tight to shore in moderate sea conditions, get tight, and be back in before the gale came. Steaming out of North Lake winds were blowing SE 20-25 mph and seas were a very fishable 3-4’ out of these stable nova scotia built hulls. We setup on the gill net and had the lines quickly in the water. In the next 30 mins the winds came up to easily 50-55mp gale conditions and shortly after the seas kicked up to a very unfishable 6-9’. After giving it a good two hour soak we collectively decided the safest route was to call the trip as fighting a giant in those conditions would have been very difficult. Both captains and crew put in 110% effort to get us out on the grounds and onto fish, they couldn’t have tried any harder. Unfortunately mother nature won out this year but we will be back to battle PEI giants next year.
Special thanks to Captain Ross Keus and mate Josh Adams crew of the Neptuna. Also to Captain Bruce Keus for coordinating and being a gracious host as always. There are many outfits and great captains out of PEI but from experience the Northlake Charters team is a first class operation and one we can strongly recommend.
Contact North Lake Charters for more info
TOLL-FREE: 1.855.328.TUNA (8862) CALL THE CAPTAINS LOCAL: 902.620.8998 EMAIL: [email protected]