by Steve “Tuna” Tornovish
World Cup madness. Wow, my entire X feed is full of it. And it’s been pretty darn fun to follow, for reasons that have not a lot to do with the actual game of soccer (or football, as much of the world calls it).
Hosting the World Cup means that our great country has seen a recent influx of visitors from a wide range of foreign lands. And those visitors are having a blast! The first of them to catch my attention was Freddy (X handle @alnassrfc), a young man from Germany. Freddy started his American adventure in Atlanta on June 6. He and his traveling companion rented a car and drove through Tennessee to get to Auburn, Alabama for their first World Cup match. Freddy enthusiastically posted about their experiences at Wendy’s, Walmart, Buffalo Wild Wings, Bass Pro Shop and that wonderful strange gas station/alternate universe known as Buc-ee’s. The crew discovered the music of American country artist Ella Langley. Freddy posted about her. The next day, Freddy received a shoutout on a country radio station as the station played one of Ms. Langley’s songs. Yeah, Freddy is having a time!
Freddy isn’t the only one. There were a bunch of crazy Scots who had a bagpiper honking on his pipes in front of their rental house in Rhode Island. That must have gone over well with the neighbors. The Scottish fans, known as the Tartan Army, took over Fenway Park and had everyone singing along to Abba’s song Dancing Queen. Every other post in my feed was a new, joyous celebration from a foreign World Cup fan who was amazed at the American way of life. I loved it and the algorithm knew that I did. Win-win!
I think that, in some small ways, the overall Nantucket experience must be like that for our summer guests. Everyone gets to see a little piece of the puzzle. They compare that puzzle piece to their preconceived notions. Does it match? Sometimes yes, often no. And that’s the beauty of island life for us residents. We help our guests take a little peek behind the curtain. I know that it’s my favorite part of being a beach fishing guide. I can’t promise fish on every trip, but I know that I can always show my guests a part of the island that they wouldn’t have seen otherwise. I get to share the beauty of Nantucket with them and it’s pretty magical, I tell ya!
Let’s talk about Nantucket fishing for a bit, shall we? The Spring Sea Run Opener tournament is just about to wrap up. It was a particularly slow start this season. Homer Ray IV put the first tournament bass on the beach on May 15. That started the 30-day tournament window. The fish didn’t exactly flood the shoreline for the first couple of weeks. The hard-core beach warriors pecked away at them and the leader board started filling up.
Matt Roberts (hey, that’s Dr. Roberts to you when you’re in the dentist chair!) caught a beauty to lead the tournament going into the final days. His fish measured 39.75 inches long. Matt posted a great video of this magnificent striper being revived and released.
“Oh man, Steve, this will totally jinx us! Two of the past three years, Homer Ray and I have left to do the Chuck Wagon Derby with the scouts and have been knocked out of first place in the final three days!” Matt, Homer, and Tim Sullivan are teammates in the tournament, competing under the team name of “Terrible Husbands and Timmy.” They are currently holding in first place.
Matt has a blast fishing this tournament. “Yes, I love this tournament. It’s all for charity and has a real collegial feel to it even between teams. As you know, the Inshore (the Inshore Classic, the big fall Nantucket fishing tournament) can get pretty competitive and snippy. It’s also the only three-man tournament and I love that aspect! It makes you push your teammates to come out and fish because everyone’s fish counts.”
The year’s first bluefish was caught on May 26 by 15-year-old Sawyer Holland. Sawyer has been crushing it on the beach, catching bass with his fly rod like a seasoned pro. And wow, his bluefish was a monster! If beach fishing held an NFL-style draft, Sawyer would be a first-round pick.
Rafael Osona, tournament organizer, said this about Sawyer and his impressive catch: “A historic day for the tournament! The prize for first tournament bluefish (and first reported bluefish on Nantucket of 2026) has been landed by the youngest tournament participant to date (15). Congrats @sawyerholland6 on this great catch, and what a gator at that.”
One of the most exciting aspects of this year’s Sea Run Opener tournament has been in the junior division. To date, Sawyer Holland, Homer Ray V, and Thomas Raudonius have all submitted stripers that they’ve caught.
Homer Ray IV told me about his son’s exciting catch: “It was a dark night. The moon had not come up yet. I was fishing on the end and we were spaced out about ten yards apart. I had a hit on my five-inch candy-colored Mag Darter. Had the boys change lures. Less than five minutes later I heard Homer say ‘Oh yeah!’ I could hear the drag ripping off of his reel. After a few minutes he had it landed. He was full of excitement, grinning ear-to-ear, with a small happy dance to follow!”
How cool is that: some insight into the world of nighttime striped bass fishing! Homer sent me some pictures of his boys with the fish that young Homer had landed (cover photo). It was within the legal limits for keeping, and the boys were excited that they were bringing home dinner. “Young Homer made Harrison (his younger brother) carry the fish for him. We ate half, and he wanted to give half to my brother and his family. He got the first keeper bass for the junior division at the Angler’s Club!”
Nantucket beach fishing is always a great adventure. Now the proper way for this story to end would be for one of our new World Cup visitors to hit me up so that I can take them out on a fishing adventure. I certainly couldn’t compete with the adventures that Freddy is having. Ella Langley has invited him to come to her next concert and hang out backstage. NFL football star JJ Watt put the boys up in a five-star hotel in Houston. And word has it that Freddy might be receiving an invitation to tour the White House. But perhaps Shaun from Scotland (@Shaunvlog_), Nobunaga from Japan (@Japan_Nobunaga) or Skylar Skye from England (@SkylarSkye3) would love a tour of Great Point with a side of surfcasting. If so, hit me up! And thanks to all of you for helping to remind this American about how amazing our great country is.
Steve “Tuna” Tornovish is a Nantucket native who has spent his life fishing from the beaches of his beloved island. He loves to introduce clients to the joy of fishing with his Nantucket Island Fishing Adventures: stevetuna.com
