Giant blue marlin and really big wahoo might not be the first thing that comes to mind when most people think of Massachusetts. Captain Damon Sacco, one of New England’s most accomplished blue water captains, is fishing the East Coast division of the 2024 MONGO Offshore Challenge. He could well set the record straight.
Massachusetts sits at the northern extent of the MONGO’s East Coast Division. Home world class giant bluefin tuna fishing, New England also boasts a relatively short but intensely productive canyon fishery. The MONGO dates and the peak canyon fishing parallel. When the results of this year’s MONGO are posted in the fall, don’t surprised if a contingent of trophies and giant cardboard checks head to New England.
What follows is equal parts introduction to the incredible blue water fishery in this part of the world and a profile of one of the most accomplished and interesting operations in sportfishing. If you fish out of New England, this serves as an invitation to fish the MONGO. If you’re a fisherman from the Gulf Coast, Florida, or the Mid Atlantic, this is an introduction to a part of the world that perhaps does not get the acclaim it is due.
Meet Captain Damon Sacco and the Castafari
Captain Damon Sacco is a passionate, well-traveled offshore fisherman. He’s fished throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico and the South Pacific. Damon is the owner and operator of the Castafari, a 45’ Jim Smith based in Cape Cod. Sacco’s deep involvement in the fabric of New England’s sportfishing community runs much deeper than simply running charters and winning tournaments.
Sacco invests much of his considerable passion and energy into giving back to the sport. Damon contributes to many of the best publications in sportfishing—Marlin Magazine, Salt Water Sportsman, the Big Game Journal and others.
Captain Damon also runs the Castafari Big Game Fishing Seminars. Founded in 2009, these seminars have grown into perhaps New England’s most prominent and influential blue water fishing resources. Each year the seminars host hundreds of attendees from New England and New York, providing hands-on, in-depth instruction on a variety of sportfishing techniques presented by some of the leading names in the industry.
He runs the Oak Bluffs Blue Water Classic, one of New England’s premier offshore tournaments. He is a board member of the Stellwagen Charter Boat Association. Later this year, Damon is publishing an anthology of fishing stories that he’s compiled along the way.
While Captain Damon Sacco would not tell you this himself, it is difficult to think of a better ambassador to New England’s incredible offshore fishing. Sacco’s breadth of experience and knowledge of the landscape are second to none. When he talks fishing, many listen.
Massachusetts: Home to a World Class Offshore Fishery
When most of the outside world thinks fishing in New England, it thinks striped bass and bluefin tuna. This is for good reason… These fisheries are world class (but neither is included in the MONGO Offshore Challenge). When Captain Damon Sacco and other New England boats join the MONGO, they do so because of the giant blue marlin, enormous wahoo and size large bigeye that inhabit their waters.
The canyon fishing season runs for a 10-week span that includes parts of July, August, and September. When the warm waters of the Gulf Stream swirl above the network of topographic features that pockmark the continental shelf off the coast of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, magical things happen.
When you encounter a blue marlin here, it likely to be a real one. Sacco puts the average New England blue marlin around 500-pounds or so.
The Castafari is no stranger to giant fish. Sacco has released plenty of big blue marlin—the largest measured 138” blue marlin to the fork. When he talks about this fish, Damon describes it as “hunch backed” and “so big it looked deformed.”
“We have plenty of moose around here,” he says, with a laugh. His Instagram captions sometime contain the word “seasquatch.” Characterizing blue marlin in these terms is especially exciting given that there is $62,000 in rollover cash in this year’s East Coast blue marlin division.
There is, however, more to Massachusetts than just size large blue marlin. The place is home to some of the biggest wahoo in the world. When you think wahoo, you think warm waters… You likely think of the Bahamas, trolling around an oil rig in the Gulf or someplace in Baja California.
Many are surprised to find out just how good the trophy wahoo fishing can be in this part of the world. I bet you $20 that the Castafari has caught a bigger wahoo than your boat… In 2016, Sacco caught a 182-pound wahoo that was just a pound shy of the world record. That striped, blue torpedo of a fish measured an incredible 89-inches.
“There are lots of big wahoo here. It’s not uncommon to see a fish hit the docks that weighs 100-pounds,” Damon explains.
While the MONGO does not host a bluefin tuna division, bigeye are fair game. On canyon trips, boats will often troll right at dusk and as the sunrises. These are ideal times to catch bigeye. It’s also a great way to bookmark a night’s chunking for yellowfin, albacore and maybe even more bigeye. Sacco’s personal best bigeye tipped the scales at 278-pounds.
New England and the MONGO: A Perfect Match
Sure, when you think East Coast blue marlin and wahoo, you might think Oregon Inlet. Your mind might start pondering Ocean City, Cape May, Virginia Beach and boats fishing the Hudson Canyon. You think of these places and you do so with good reason—they are great places to fish.
New England’s ability to compete with these destinations illustrates the charm of the MONGO Offshore Challenge. The MONGO recognizes boats that catch the single biggest fish of a species. New England might not be able to compete with the volume of blue marlin caught in more southerly aspects of the East Coast, but if you’re looking for a single seasquatch…
As Captain Damon Sacco puts it, “I remember seeing the MONGO and I liked the format. I heard a lot of good things about the MONGO from my sources on the Gulf—people that I trust. They told me they put on a good tournament. The first time I fished the MONGO was last year. I plan to continue to do it. I am spreading the word up here. I’d love to see it turn into a fleet of 60-boats just from New England… It’s great to have the MONGO involved in our fishery. It revolves around big fish.”
Why Fish the MONGO: East Coast Captains’ Perspective
