Diving Into My Second Summer

Holding a Moon Jelly 

Hey there, I'm Briana Scata and I'm excited to be diving into my second year of programming with Save The Harbor/ Save The Bay as a Senior Harbor Educator!

My first fish of Summer 2017

During the fall and winter months, I taught physical education in an elementary school and was able to make lots of connections between STH/STB summer programs and our school! My students participated in many activities and games that I learned over the summer. I also spent my afternoons coaching field hockey in the fall and track and field in the winter and spring. This spring I participated in my first Shamrock Splash and got a taste of working with everyone at Save The Harbor/ Save The Bay again, I knew I needed to be back. After an incredible summer last year it was an easy decision to get on board for Summer of 2018.

Showing our staff and youth what the underside of a skate looks like

I cannot wait to continue to learn about Boston Harbor and see what else I can incorporate into teaching children during the school year. Working for Save The Harbor/ Save The Bay has truly given me a new perspective. 

Over and out for now!
Briana

Camp Harbor View Session Two

This past week was a bit different a Camp Harbor View. Last Friday saw the end of session one on the island. This meant that all the kids we have come to know within the past month would be leaving and we would be getting new ones in their place. The first two days of this new session seemed to last longer than usual. We had a lot of review for fishing safety as well as spending time talking to the kids to get to know them. I really liked the kids from last session, and the ones we have now seem like they're going to be a good replacement.

A cookout with all the kids

As long as they were, the first two days of session two were also very interesting. We got to Camp Harbor View just like any other. The first thing well also do when we get to the dock is to get the bait ready and pull up the lobster trap and crab trap. They bait was cut up as normal, and the lobster trap was surprisingly empty. But the real particular thing was when we pulled the crab trap. Inside the trap was, as usual, crabs, but also a baby flounder and a toad fish. Both were surprises to us as we had only seen adult flounders before and never a toad fish. I hope this is a good sign for the rest of the session.

A baby flounder

-Ian P.

George's Island: Where the Fish Look You in the Eye

Hello Save the Harbor Save the Bay followers.  Here is a recap of the first two days of fishing with the All Access Boston Harbor crew on Georges Island:

Day 1:  It was an overcast morning as the P-Town II made its way out past Deer Island and towards George's where the AABH crew had high hopes for landing some fish.

 How big were the fish we were going to catch?

This big!  As this enthusiastic young angler let us know.

As the day warmed up, so did the interest on the dock.  Over forty visitors tried their luck off of the pier.

Everyone enjoyed their experience.  Several counselors made a point of thanking us and reminding us that fishing is about patience and that if they were not bound by their schedules, they were sure that their campers would have kept going at until dusk.  But alas, still no fish.  

Day 2:  Despite forecasts of thunderstorms for the afternoon, a hearty crew of campers joined AABH on our way back to George's.

Here is where things got exciting.  After setting up our rigs on the pier, I took a turn at casting a squid strip into the harbor.  Jigging my bit of squid back to me in counts of three, (1 pull on the line, 2 pulls, 3 pulls, reel) I spotted my line's sinker emerging from the water followed by the soft white strip of squid and then BOOM!  A flounder hit the bait!  I let the flounder swallow it then I set the hook.  But I must have done so too well, for as the flounder approached the surface of the water it swam once to the left, then once to the right, pulling the tip of my rod down towards the ocean - and with an arrogance befitting the cleaver pisces, the fish paused right below my feet.  Looking down I could see the flounder examine me with both of its eyes mounted on one side of its flat body.  Just as I was about to land it - and I swear this to be true - the flounder winked at me, turned its head to the side as if to say "Not today buddy!" And then snapped its whole body out sea making off with my hook still lodged in its mouth, leaving my hookless bottom rig dangling in its wake.  

So I lost the fish - and my hook.  But that didn't keep us from trying to get it back.  Again the afternoon saw many anglers lined up to experience the thrill of fishing.

And again we were forced to make our way back to Boston empty handed.  But I've got news for you fishes: The AABH crew and our campers will not be discouraged.  And as Senior Harbor Educator Lindsay's persistence demonstrates, we fish until we are forced off the pier - and sooner or later we're going to get you.  And this time, it's personal!

John Tobin - George's Island

Camp Harbor View Fishing Trip!

And we're back, with another round of Justin's summer blog!

      So this past Thursday we had a special treat for the Camp Harbor View Fishing Club. They got to go on an all day fishing trip with us, on the one and only Belle of Gloucester, captained by the famous Captain Charlie, with a special guest appearance from Save the Harbor's very own Bruce Berman, who happens to be an expert fisherman. We met up with the kids as they got off the ferry to camp. Half my team rushed to get all our fishing rods ready, while the other half made sure we had all of the fishing club ready to go. As soon as the camp ferry pulled away, Captain Charlie pulled our boat right up to the dock and we got all of the kids on board.

All of us waiting on the dock for Captain Charlie

   
      As we sailed out to our first fishing spot, First Mate Sam (a Save the Harbor veteran), helped my team and I put flounder hooks on all of the fishing rods. Then we showed the kids what we would be using for bait...sea worms! They were all pretty grossed out at first, but after we showed them how to put the worms on the hook the first time, they all got over it and started putting the sea worms on the hook themselves. Our first catch came a few minute later when one of the campers hooked a black sea bass. It was too small to keep but we ended up catching two more that were big enough to keep by the end. A couple of kids managed to land some skate, which we also threw back. By the end of the day though, every single camper and Save the Harbor staff member managed to land at least one flounder (mine was way too small to keep though).

Me, CAREFULLY tying a hook to a line.

      Eventually we had to bring the kids back to camp, but we didn't send them back empty handed. Every single camper and their club leader got to take home a whole flounder to cook.

The campers and their fish!

This is Justin Warrener, signing off...come back next week for more exciting stories from Camp Harbor View!

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

Flounder Pounder

This Wednesday I had the pleasure of going out on the first of this summer's fishing trips that Save The Harbor charters for the campers at CHV.

The morning started with a quick run out to Long Island aboard the Belle, with Captain Charlie at the helm. Upon arrival at the CHV docks, we loaded up the kids from fishing club. They were eager to get started, and had high hopes for the day. I knew, of course, that these wishes would not go unfulfilled, as Capt. Charlie is very knowledgeable, and has put me in the right spot every time that I have been on his boat. 

Within a few minutes of leaving the dock we had reached our fishing destination and dropped anchor. Rods were quickly baited with sand worms, and dropped over the side. It did not take long before we had our first hit, a nice sized flounder fit for the cooler. I knew this was a good indicator for what was to come. Sure enough the day only got more exciting, with flounder after flounder being pulled over the gunwales. I counted at least 13 on the day, but keeping track was hard, and it may very well have been more.

Uno

Dos

Tres

While the flounder kept the action going throughout the day, the most exciting moments were when Greg, the lifeguard, hooked into a striper. While much too small to keep, it still put up a great fight, and had the whole boat clamoring to get a view. It also provided quite a nice photo opportunity for the group.

Charlie, the kids, Moby the Mop and a striper.

Of course it wouldn't be bait fishing without skates.

As time wound down, Charlie and I began cutting up the flounder. A nice stack of beautiful fillets, on ice, and ready to be sent home with the campers, was the result. A few opted to take their catch home whole as this is how their parents preferred to cook it. An awesome day out on the water to say the least and plenty of fish to show for it. Many thanks to Capt. Charlie and the kids who made the trip so fun.


- Happy to be catching,
              Tom Rebula

Floundering Around

The Fan Pier Fishing Tournament 2014 was a huge success. Iris and I were mates on the Bell, captained by Charlie. We spent our day drifting right off of Long Island in the Boston Harbor. Charlie had a few spots marked on his high tech GPS, which contained lots of bottom structure. The bait of choice were sea worms gobbed on the hook and instantly a girl's rod bent over and a nice striper was landed.

For hours the kids landed flounders and skates. The flounder caught were all winter flounder which are great in the frying pan. Although we didn't land any keeper striped bass, a few boats pulled some very large ones. Mackerel, cod, and black sea bass were also landed throughout the day.

All in all, the tournament was a wild success and the kids were able to try something many of them had not experienced. Not to mention, some Red Sox and the Captain of Wicked Tuna made a great appearance.

Southie: Facebook and Flounders in One Post?!

Good morning!

Emily and Ana banding lobsters on the docks!

Luck has been with us this summer, as we seem to pull up lobsters from our Pleasure Bay trap almost every day. While lobsters are definitely a focus, I take a lot of opportunities to talk about other aspects of the marine environment (sea quirts, anyone?) as well. Speaking of which, the kids were lucky enough to catch a small flounder in our crab trap the other day. After looking up flounders in the guidebooks, Floundy (aka Floppy aka Flipper) was safely released back into the water.

Shall we call it Floundy or Floppy?
No once could seem to decide!

Speaking of South Boston, I have a favor to ask of all our faithful readers... For those of you who have visited area that I've been talking about all summer, I have a request. If you have a Facebook account, please like the Harry McDonough Sailing Center's page! You can access the link here. As seen in its name, the center indeed spends much of its time teaching children about the art of sailing, but it goes beyond that, aiding children in acquiring essential life skills. Each and every day is different at McDonough, and brings with it both challenges and surprises - just like life. Some of the key qualities focused upon include leadership, communication, teamwork, and decision-making. In its partnership with Save the Harbor, children are also taught to have and share an appreciation for the environment.Yes, it is indeed a non-profit organization, just like us, and can use help in the form of many different resources. So please do me and the Program Director (Hi, Bob!) a favor and "Like" the page!

Thank you to everyone who has - and continues - to take the time to read these posts! Until next time my fellow explorers.

-Mary