I rarely write about the use of a special lure but looking at my log, I came across a fishing trip that I would like to share with The Beacon’s readers.
The water temperature was approaching 90 degrees, and the beginning of summer was well under way. A crew I often fish with was anxious to give it a try on an offshore trip. The crew was Captain Ed Geyer, Captain of the Bluefin fleet out of Freeport, Long Island, and a part-time resident of Burnt Store Marina; Captain Gary Schmidt of Massapequa, New York and a part-time resident of Burnt Store Marina; Captain Al Ratner, full-time resident of Burnt Store Marina, who’s beautiful 38-foot Ocean Sport Fisherman boat located out of Montauk, Long Island, whose boat we were fishing on and me, the captain of a custom built 28-foot sport fisherman called the Summer Spirit. We all met at Montauk, Long Island for a trip out to the waters off Block Island, Rhode Island.
We left the dock at Montauk by 6 a.m. Captain Ratner was at the helm. I volunteered to be the first mate on this trip, and began preparing six 30 pound class trolling rods. All the fishing rods were set up with 30 Penn International reels and spooled with 50-pound test of suffix monofilament. Each reel was holding about 500 yards of line. The next step was to select a series of lures that we would troll out behind the boat. You can imagine with about 300 years of combined fishing experience on the boat that there was no shortage of suggestions. We settled on several red and white feather lures, a couple of cedar plug lures and I chose my old reliable, a lure named the “Green Machine.” The lure was about 12 inches long. At its head was a green plastic jet shaped head followed by a skinny green skirt. Under the skirt were 20 red seated beads through which the leader to the hook was strung. It was designed to run at fast trolling speeds and just below the surface.
As we got close to our destination, we saw hundreds of birds diving into a large school of baitfish, under which large fish could be seen feeding. Captain Al ordered the crew to get ready as he drove the boat around and ahead of the feeding fish. Two passes and no hook-ups. Something was wrong. I took my fishing rod, which I had hooked up with a Green Machine and set the lure out about 50 yards behind the boat. Within 2 minutes, the line started screaming off my reel, and a large fish had decided he wanted to eat the Green Machine. Twenty minutes of fighting this fish, and a nice hundred-pound bluefin tuna was brought to the boat. We released the fish once the Green Machine was unhooked. Still, none of the other anglers had a bite. I put the Green Machine over the side of the boat and sent it out again about 50 yards. Within five minutes I had another hook-up and this time it was a nice longfin albacore, about 35 pounds. It was hooked on the Green Machine. It was not long before each of the other anglers reached into my tackle bag and found three more Green Machines. I always traveled with several greenies. Two were of the 12-inch variety, and one was a smaller six-inch Green Machine. You guessed it, we had four hook-ups at the same time all on the Green Machines. Two larger bluefin tuna, a nice longfin albacore and a big male mahi mahi, weighing 35 pounds went into the fish box. The hook-ups continued for the next two hours or so. After 14 beautiful fish, all caught on the Green Machines were either released or boated, we decided to call it an early day.
Later while cleaning the fish, we found that the fish were feeding on small tinker mackerel and the Greenie was almost a perfect match. The Green Machine was made by a lure company called Boone Lures and later copied by many other lure companies, who added some minor variations. These companies include C and H Lures, Seven Strand, Melton Tackle, Capt. Harry’s and Worldwide Anglers. All the companies made lures that were slightly different but also successful.
Capt. Ed brought his beautiful custom-built Maine boat down to our marina. We could not miss an opportunity to try the Green Machine in our local offshore waters. We fished between 90 feet and 110 feet. To our surprise, we caught several mahi mahi, a small sailfish and a couple of blackfin tuna. The Green Machine struck again. If you are making an offshore trip, try to locate a Green Machine and have a great adventure. The following shops should have a Greenie. Capt. Harry’s, Worldwide Angler, Bass Pro, West Marine and Lott Brothers. The lure should be around $25-$30. The Green Machine Lure might be less if ordered online.
Tight Lines!
