The Fan Pier Fishing Tournament

Hello,

On Thursday, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay attended the annual Fan Pier Fishing Tournament. I woke up early with the hopes of reeling in the winning catch. I met the SHEs, LHEs, and JPAs at the Courthouse stop off the Silver Line, and we headed to Fan Pier. After we set-up the banners, unloaded water and snacks on the pier, and put on our official Fan Pier t-shirts, we had breakfast sandwiches, coffee, and juice. We were fueled by J. Pace's and were ready to start our journey on the sea.

We split up into teams and boarded the boats mixed with Save the Harbor/Save the Bay Summer Staff and kids from the Boys & Girls Club. Each boat was equipped with rods, hooks, bait, water, and pretzels. Sam and I were the two Senior Harbor Educators aboard our boat. Sam was the first mate to the wonderful Captain Charlie, and I helped teach the kids how to fish and put the blood worms on their hooks when they were too squeamish.

(left to right) Candido, Myself, and Sam putting bait on lines

We were able to cruise on the water towards Spectacle Island, Long Island, and around the Boston Harbor. Capt. Charlie tried to find us the best spots to catch flounder, stripers, and other types of fish. I was so excited when every person on our boat was able to catch a fish. I caught an 11 inch flounder, but it was to small to keep. We threw it back in the water and wished it safe travels.

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay at the Fan Pier Fishing Tournament

We headed back to the dock around noon and met up with the other boats. We gathered around to see who caught the biggest fish. There were also guests from the Red Sox that were able to join us. After we took a group photo with our fish, we had lunch and cleaned up. All in all, it was a wonderful day.
                                   
See you on the water,

Iris Ayala

My first experience with Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay

At my first day working at the Save The Harbor and Save The Bay, I caught a big fish during the Fan Pier Fishing Tournament event. It was the first time I have been fishing in my life. I caught a really big striped bass, and it pulled very hard on the line. We kept the fish, and my mom cooked it with onions and tomatoes and hot peppers, it was delicious! We caught it using a live mackerel for bait. I learned that striped bass love to eat little fish since they are carnivores.

After the tournament we had lunch and saw some celebrities from the Red Sox. I also won a fishing rod for catching the striped bass! I am going to bring it to one of the harbor islands next time we go out! It was so much fun, and the boat was so fast. Our Captain was really nice, and was a huge help in catching some fish!

-Roza

Fan Pier Fishing Tournament

I have never actually been fishing on a boat before, so the Fan Pier Fishing Tournament was absolutely something new for me. I have fished off of docks plenty of times at the McDonough Sailing Center and the Children's Museum, but fishing off a boat was a very cool experience! At first my team waited and waited around Castle Island to see if we could catch anything. Then we went passed Spectacle Island, Long Island, and George's Island to see if we would get a nibble out there, but we did not. Unfortunately, we couldn't seem to catch anything. While coming back, I heard the captain of the boat say that the water or fish was "breaking", which I guess meant that there were many fish from where we were initially before we moved. I learned that I can not really be a fisherman, because to fish you need a lot of patience and I am not a patient person. I would much rather just put the line down and spend 5 minutes fighting/reeling in a fish, than just sit there and wait until something tugs at my line. I would still do it again because it was a good experience and I actually want to catch something next time. Also meeting Jenny Dell, Will Middlebrooks, and Jackie Bradley Jr. was amazing too!

Will Middlebrooks and I

2014 Fan Pier Fishing Tournament!

     As always, around the end of July every summer Save the Harbor hosts a fishing tournament for the staff and select groups out in the harbor. Personally, the fishing tournament is my favorite event of the entire summer. For one day the staff gets to take a breather after working so diligently at program sites and go fishing out in the harbor on some beautiful boats. The day began with the staff enjoying a delicious breakfast courtesy of J.Pace. The breakfast gave everyone the fuel they needed to land a huge fish! Afterward the staff and some members of the local Boys and Girls Club were divided among the boats. From there it was game time!

Breakfast time!

     Seeing that I was the previous year's winner, I had high hopes for this tournament. I had the courtesy of being on the Legacy boat with my sister, Thi and my fellow coworker Abdi. In addition, we also had a member from the Boys and Girls Club named Jedidiah. A half hour into the harbor one of the lines bent over with the sheer force of a heavy striped bass. However, when I grabbed the rod and reeled it in the fish let go. I was disappointed, but I knew that the day was far from over. Our captain Rick tried a few of his secret spots but to no avail. Despite the letdown of not catching any fish this time around, I still had a spectacular time out on the harbor enjoying the cool breeze and the refreshing waves.

The staff with the winning fish!

-Vinh Tran
Lead Harbor Explorer

Fan Pier Fishing Tournament

Today we set out to Fan Pier for an exciting fishing tournament! The day started and ended with nothing but smiles from us all. This was a great experience, from sailing out on the harbor to fish, to riding on a $1.1 million boat, to actually catching my first fish. This was a great day! There were many winners for awards such as most fish and biggest fish for both boys and girls. Although all of us didn't win a fishing award, we were all winners at the end of the day.

We had a few guests today as well, Red Sox's players Will Middlebrooks and Jackie Bradley Jr. We were surprised by their guest appearances at Fan Pier. We had a chance to talk to them, and get their autographs. They were even surprised at the number of fish we caught and even the sizes of the big ones.

Overall, today was a joyful day. Everyone went home with a new experience. For me it was catching my first fish and riding a boat for the first time. Although we had a good day, like all days it had to come to an end. I just cant wait until the next fishing tournament, where I hope I can be the winner!






See you next time,
Preston

For The Love of Cod

This Thursday marked Save The Harbor's annual Fan Pier Fishing Tournament, and it was an eventful one to say the least. I along with four others were placed on the Dive Inn, with its captain Steve Sacco at the helm.

With no bait on board, we had to stick to trolling and jigging to pull in our fish. To me this was a nonissue, as I often prefer the challenge and work of lure fishing to the waiting game involved with bait. Additionally it gave me the opportunity to better explain the finer points of fishing to the other members of my boat. One of the kids, joining us from The Boys and Girls Club, really took to the instruction and wanted to know everything he could about fishing; which lures to use, how to use different types of reels, what types of fish we might catch, and so on.

While learning the basics of fishing is great, it can become quite tedious if there is no catching involved. Fortunately after only a few minutes of trolling we were able to get him on a rod with a small striper on the other end. I was happy to hear that this was his first.

Not too big, but still a fun fight.

After a little more trolling with no luck, Captain Steve decided to make a location change, and had us reel up and lock down for the run out to Graves Light. Rumor had it that, despite the relatively early date, some bluefish had been spotted out that way, and I was excited to get my first of the season.

Once there, we got right back to trolling, hoping pick up a bite. With no luck and the clock running down on the tournament I suggested a change in tactics, so Captain Steve cut the engines, and I outfitted our rods with a selection of jigs. After giving everyone some instruction on what to do, we had our jigs deep, hoping for some cod, or anything for that matter, to put our boat in contention for the win. Jazeel was first, as he hooked into a nice 24in cod, caught on a pink and chartreuse butterfly jig. I was next with a much smaller, but at least in my opinion, better looking fish.

Jazeel with his.

And me with mine.

Capt. Steve managed to hook a nice bivalve

Unfortunately, the long run back in meant that we had to pack up before we had the chance to hook into another fish. On the bright side, we were able to get a nice fish in the boat and I had the excitement of nice fight. All in all, a great day out on the water. Many thanks to Steve for his time and the use of his beautiful boat.

- Happy to be catching,
                Tom Rebula

FISH ON at the Fan Pier Youth Fishing Tournament

40 teens from Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston took part in the 4^th Annual Fan Pier Youth Fishing Tournament on Thursday, July 17^th. 

This year’s winners, from left to right: Roza Wineh, 16, of Roxbury, Candido Barros, 19, of Jamaica Plain, Jazeel Mendez, 17, of Dorchester, Angela Ruiz, 13, of Dorchester, and Marco Savage, 18, of Charlestown.

It was great to have so many celebrities on hand, including Jackie Bradley Jr. and Will Middlebrooks from the Red Sox, Jenny Dell- from CBS Sports, Dave Marciano, star of Wicked Tuna, boxers Rodney Toney and Tommy McInerney, as well as former Patriots Steve King and Tim Fox.

Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks snaps a photo of tournament winner Marco Savage of Charlestown, while his fiancé Jenny Dell of CBS Sports looks on. 

Thanks to tournament hosts Joe and Mike Fallon and the Fallon Company, sponsors Falco Capital and Circle Furniture, and all the captains and crew who made this great event such a success.

More to follow soon!