Joining the 30-Pounder Club with a new Personal Best

Leaving the harbor to find mackerel on August 8th, Striper Cup Participant Ed Hood and his boat mates were greeted instead by a massive school of bunker. Ed was quick to react as he grabbed a snag hook (as everyone should have at the ready) and proceeded to toss it into the school. Although he only managed to snatch a few baits, it was more than enough. Set up around Bumpkin Island in Hull Bay, Ed rehooked the bunker on a 9/0 Lazer Sharp Eagle Claw circle hook and tossed it back into the school, which was under siege by bass and blues. Ed uses the circle hooks in an attempt to get a better hook set on the fish and help release fish with a greater chance of survival. Soon after the bloodied bait hit the water, it was singled out as a weak member of the bait ball and gobbled up by a hungry predator. Fishing a circle hook, you are able to let the fish take the bait for a longer period of time without risk of gut hooking, giving you a better shot at allowing a smaller bass get the big bait down. When the time felt right, he set up on the fish and immediately noticed it had some weight to it.

His setup was a Shimano Bait Runner 4500 combo that Russ from Monahan’s Marine outfitted him with specifically for live-lining and chunking. The only goal Ed had for this year’s Striper Cup, his second, was to weigh in a respectable fish and get his first 30-Pounder Club Pin. He had upgraded his boat this year to a pre-owned 23-foot Grady White, giving him a little more range and comfort from the smaller boat he fished last year. That, plus a ton of time spent on the water last year, and this year, his persistence is paying off.

After only an 8-minute fight, the fish was boat-side and then quickly in the boat for a weight, tape-measure and picture to submit for a Catch and Release fish.. Ed did everything right in an attempt to revive the fish but his efforts were fruitless despite it being lip hooked. The fish was brought back aboard to be weighed in the next day. The fish traveled to work with Ed the next morning and then got weighed in at Belsan’s Bait in Scituate, MA, where it tipped the scales at 37.9-pounds, a new personal best for Ed.

Ed now has a new goal for next year’s tournament – earn that 40-Pounder Club Pin! If he can stay on the pogies, he might just find his way to a 40-pound club in the coming weeks. The reason he continues to fish in the Cup? An added sense of competition, a chance at great prizes, and to spend more time on the water with his father who is also entered in this years tournament.

Thanks for the story Ed, congrats on your trophy, and most importantly, thanks for your participation in the Striper Cup! If you have a Striper Cup story to tell, email dcameron@onthewater.com and we’ll see you On The Water.