Tautog Fishin'...Tautog 1 : Fish Babe 0

It's almost December and most fish that inhabit the warm summer waters of Cape Cod have left for the season. The Bluefish have gone to visit their family in a small underwater trailer park off the coast of Virginia and the glamorous Stripers have retired to their winter homes in Florida. I think they are all a bunch of p*ssies, but whatever. I am a salty Cape Codder. I dig in and bear the rough winters with a smile.

Bundle up, mutha shuckas.
 I'm smiling here, but you can't see past my scarf.

Regardless of imminent fish migratory patterns, I had high hopes of catching an elusive tautog yesterday.
I busted out the rods and the chubs and went to pick up my renegade fishing partner Squig.

Squig is a arborist and he lives in an actual haunted house near Woods Hole. His real name obviously isn't Squig, but that's what we have been calling him since preschool. By the time we came of age as middle-schoolers, Squig made an impression on me with his Peace Frog shirts and Adidas soccer shoes. Nature took its course and we became boyfriend and girlfriend for a few weeks. Most recently I hadn't seen him in about 10 years, until yesterday on our fishing trip.

Our first stop was Falmouth Bait and Tackle where we got some new hooks and some fishing tips from Chris Sherwood and the other really cool dude who works there. He took this picture, gave me some tuna info and then I forgot his name (SORRY). I am HORRIBLE.

Motley Cru. Left to Right: Squig, Fish Babe, Chris.

We peaced outta the tackle shop and headed to the famous Knob to catch us some Tautog.

T'was a GLORIOUS SUNSET.

We cruised over rocks and shit.

Squig had to carry the heavy stuff AKA the beer and chubs.

We rigged-up and baited.

Sorry chub, ya DEAD.

We casted like professionals into the abyss.

Whachu know 'bout mah rig?

AND WE CAUGHT NO TAUTOG AT ALL!

Soooo....we ended up at YE' OLE WOODS HOLE PACKAGE STORE, with Santa. DUH.

Wish us luck cause we will be back at it this afternoon.

Carlos Rafael and his Catch Heard 'Round the World

Less than a week ago, the story of Cape Cod commercial fisherman Carlos Rafael and his 881 pound bluefin tuna went from local headline to full-blown international controversy.  The serendipitous beast became entangled in his net while his crew was groundfishing for bottom dwellers off the coast of Cape Cod. Unfortunately for Rafael, catching bluefin in a net instead of on a line is illegal. Upon the fishing vessel's return to shore, the feds confiscated his potential money-maker. A similarly sized tuna was recently sold on the Japanese market for upwards of $300,000. In an update this morning, Monica Allen from NOAA reported that the fish, whose condition was said to have been deteriorated by contact with the net, was sold at a mere $5,000 by federal agents. Of those $5,000 Rafael received none.

Carlos Rafael and his world famous tuna.

To get an idea of how this news spread virally read this fascinating excerpt from Saving Seafood RSS:

"The news broke on Monday. By Tuesday, the story had hit the AP wire and was headlining in papers from coast to coast, from the Boston Globe to the San Francisco Chronicle. It went overseas for appearances in the UK's Daily Mirror and the Emirates 24/7 in Dubai. It bounced through the blogosphere, from the Drudge Report and the Outdoor Life Magazine blog to online news venues like Yahoo!, where it was Tuesday's top story. As of Wednesday, a Google search with the fisherman's name and the word "tuna" generates more than 150,000 results."


And that my friends is a tale of modern technology...


Everyone seems to have an opinion on this issue, but it looks like the grand majority is rooting for team Carlos. I believe that he should have been able to keep his lucky catch. I support the 100% Catch Rule: Whatever you catch in your net during a haul, you keep. This rule would prevent the wasting of fish that is "undesirable." Fish caught it a net, especially small species or baby fish, are often crushed by water pressure and other fish joining the bundle. If said fish are smaller than legal size limit, out of season, or worth less money than the others, they are thrown overboard only to die from injuries upon release. On the other hand, you have circumstances like that of Carlos Rafael where clearly the 100% Catch Rule would have worked in his favor.

The elusive bluefin: Perhaps the most controversial fish in the sea,

I am working on getting a brief interview with Carlos himself.  Stay tuned for updates!


Thanks MIKA GILMORE (Architect from Boston) for being the first to bring this article to my attention.

Cape Cod Art - Small town, BIG talent.

This afternoon I dropped into a local show at the Falmouth Artist Guild on Cape Cod, MA.

Wendy Pratt-Bagley whose home is on the incredibly beautiful Elizabeth Islands off the coast of Woods Hole is a highly skillful felter and weaver whose work was being displayed at this show. On the island where she and her family live, sheep outnumber people and horses outnumber cars!

Take a gander at her newest masterpiece, made entirely from the wool of Elizabeth Island sheep:

This three dimensional rendering of  lily pads was made through a process of dyeing and blending felt.
This piece is for sale, let me know if you are interested: gstommel@gmail.com

Another local artist named Sue Moore created this fabulous Pelican Quilt. Sorry but this bird ain't for sale.

Is that a little fishy you got there Mr. Pelican? Don't be a dick, share with the sandpipers.

This seasonal leaf realization made quite an impression on some of the ladies at the show. How was it made?! They couldn't figure it out, which totally added it to its allure. OOOoooooohhh AAaaahhhhhh.

"Another Insignificant Loss" by Joyce Utting Schutten.
Dear Joyce, This is not insignificant, it is marvelous. Give yourself a little more cred.

This piece right below here screams "CAPE COD." It is for sale and I would consider it an affordable gift for the seashell lover in your life. Everyone knows at least one seashell lover so there is no freaking excuse not to by this god damned thing.

Affordable Art. Clearly these artists aren't from New York! Don't be ridiculous, take advantage of the decent prices.
Gorgeous seashell thingy by June Osgood.

Last and certainly not least, I dedicated the piece below to my mother, Sabrina the Crazy Italian Chicken Lady. I didn't catch the name of this artist but I am pretty sure this honker is NOT for sale. Enjoy with your eyes here and now.

Like I always say, live in the moment. Right now "the moment" is a chicken quilt.

I hope you all enjoyed my online bazaar. Seriously, if you want to buy some of these things let me know and I will put you in touch with the arteeeeests.

WIANNO OYSTERS

WIANNO OYSTERS: They hail from the land of the Wampanoag on the south shore of Cape Cod. Sweet, briny, and deep cupped, the rest you can read all about on their website if you dare:

http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qllwv4dab&et=1107293560271&s=1&e=0015ui52gxaQ524zK2gtgAsLVeHq4cvEyRvuDbXLGN3DTQ-BcN-cqzyAENxX2DwgSILiZ7DTqmFeF1oUkDRUO7v4Hu2qT2OEXcMXYn9KlLOJYgEddkd0hdiOlJJT2CS65-Koz0Pvsv2MAs= 

Sometimes you feel like a Clam Roll.



Talk about hitting the spot, this clam roll quickly cured me of not only a hangover but a hankerin' for a damn good fried bivalve. Thank you Clam Shack on the Falmouth Harbor, Cape Cod. You RULE the SCHOOL!

I wonder what kind of clams they use... Ipswich shucked clams? Or do they shuck their own?