A Blast From The Past

[A-Jay]

Earlier this week I mentioned in another thread that I would scan / post some old photos of fish I'd caught off of a ship when I was in the USCG. First a little information to answer who, what, where, when and how.

The who:

I was 19 years old. I was aboard my first Unit in the Coast Guard. It was the WLV-613 NANTUCKET Lightship. She was 128 ft long with a 10-12 man crew. We sat on-station for 3 weeks or so and then came in port for 3 weeks and then back out again.

**** Something to note ~ this was 30 years ago. It was a different time. The US Coast Guard was, is, and will continue to be a truly Professional organization dedicated to serving the people of this country with Honor, Respect and Devotion to Duty. The ship was essentially a floating lighthouse. There was a bit of time to kill. So we fished (when we could go out on deck without being washed off the ship).

The what:

They are Blue, Brown and Mako sharks pictured. There is also 1 small Billfish as well, a Marlin I think. Additionally, there is a photo containing a nice collection of "jaws" hanging off the stern life lines. Once the meat was cleaned off (a painstakingly slow process ~ we had plenty of time) we dried them in the sun and preserved them with salt. They would eventually harden, lose the smell and make a pretty cool/unique nautical gift. I gave one set to a friend who put them in a large fish tank that housed a dozen red piranhas.

The where:

The ship was home ported in Boston, Ma. This was cool as I grew up and lived less than 10 miles from the base. When the ship was in position or "on Station" we were anchored (with a 7,000 lb mushroom anchor so weren't going anywhere unless the anchor chain parted which happened in the winter of 1981, that was fun) about 60 Nautical miles off Nantucket Island in around 250 feet of water. The summers were fantastic and the winters were hellacious.

The when:

These photos are from the summers of 1980 and 1981.

The how:

Prior to my reporting on board, no one thought of or attempted to land anything except bottom fish, (cod, haddock, pollock, whiting and a few bluefish) with a rod and reel.

The larger fish, which included bluefin tuna, assorted sharks and swordfish, were taken via floated dead bait left off the stern. A large hook and chain rig under a big cherry fender completed the rig which it was attached to the ship by a long length of rope. The fish would hook themselves. Once the float was spotted swimming away or on rare occasions underwater, we would haul the beast in hand over hand and pull it aboard. Where was the sport in that? Enter A-Jay. I geared up and went for it. As I mentioned, the ship was anchored so I got spooled many times. I had rods snap and reels blow up on screaming runs by creatures I never got to see. But sometimes I landed them. By Far, my favorites were the Mako sharks. The fights were always epic.

It was fun to remember this.

A-Jay

[Bluebasser86]

Good story and pictures!

[Jigfishn10]

That's awesome A-Jay. Great pics and story, Thank you very much for sharing.

When I got out of High School my dad was pushing me to go to Mass Maritime...today I wish I did.

[Dwight Hottle]

A-Jay that really was a blast from the past. You grew up pretty fast as a nineteen year old in that environment. The photos are priceless. Did any of your shipmates want to man the rod & reel? Your looking pretty buff in those pictures. Great way to stay in shape.

[A-Jay]

A-Jay that really was a blast from the past. You grew up pretty fast as a nineteen year old in that environment. The photos are priceless. Did any of your shipmates want to man the rod & reel? Your looking pretty buff in those pictures. Great way to stay in shape.

Yes Dwight, my shipmates did want to and got to man the rod and reel. Early on, I handed a loaded rod to the Commanding Officer. After an exciting battle which included some breathtaking leaps and ridiculous runs, he landed a nice mako. It wasn't long before the Skipper was ordering me to take the ships morale money to procure "the right Tackle and more of it" ! As for staying in shape - I just fell in love with all the things that go with that at an early age. The long hours on that unit allowed time to exercise. You just had to adapt to working out on a constantly moving platform. My passion for that stuff eventually landed me an assignment as a DI, 8 years of it. I've been fortunate enough to be able to continue that life style even today. (of course the dogs help me out with that).

A-Jay

[Lund Explorer]

Great post A-Jay!

Makes all those years when I was stationed in the middle of North Dakota seem longer and colder somehow...... Thanks!