Bunny Clark Fishing Update
Written & Edited by Tim Tower
Saturday, July 21, 2018, 9:15 AM EDT
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At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 53°F, the sky was cloudless with a sliver of a moon hanging high over the eastern horizon, there was no wind, the ocean along the shore was calm and the visibility was very good at least. Ashore, the wind blew out of the north northwest at ten knots for most of the morning. By 11:00 AM, the wind had already dropped and was hauling out of the south. The wind blew out of the south at light speeds for the rest of the day. The sky was sunny and clear all day. The visibility was excellent. The highest air temperature that I saw in Ogunquit was 67°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 72°F with a low of 60°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 77°F (with a low of 43°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 73°F (with a low of 47°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the north at ten to five knots during the early part of the trip, hauling out of the southeast during the late morning and through the afternoon. Wind speeds during the afternoon were no more than five knots. Seas in the morning were chops of a foot at most. The ocean was calm in the afternoon. The air temperature reached a high of 65°F. The visibility was excellent. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was sunny all day. The surface water temperature reached a high of 59°F.
The fishing conditions were perfect for humans using rod and reel, the catching was good and landings were fair, our slowest day of the year but leaving room for a potentially slower day on some future fishing time. So it wasn't bad fishing. The fish were there. The bite was off, is all. Too nice. Most legal fish landed were haddock. There were a few more haddock released than there were kept. There were as many cod over 5 pounds, released, today as there were haddock landed. Legal fish landed also included nine pollock and two cusk. Released fish, besides the cod, included a wolffish. They drift fished and anchored. All terminal gear worked about the same. But there was only one jig fisherman. They might have caught more pollock/cod had there been more jig fishermen.
David Moore (ME) was high hook with the most legal fish. David caught nothing of size today. There was a tie for the boat pool winner for the largest fish of the day. The weight was 16 pounds. Jason Cunningham (ME) had a 16 pound cod while Chris Helander (ME) landed a 16 pound pollock. Chris also caught the third largest fish of the trip, a 14 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Rich Lusis (ME) caught and released a 12.5 pound cod. Gene LaFrance (MA) boated an 11 pound pollock, his largest fish. Thomas Penny, IV (ME) landed the hard luck award for being the only angler who didn't catch a legal fish today. He might be the only angler on the Bunny Clark season who fished the whole day and wasn't able to bring home a fillet from a fish he caught! Ouch!
I received three very generous donations from individuals who care about my cancer research fund raising bike ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge this weekend. One was a for $250.00 from Justin McGuinness (GA) In Memory of Pamela McGuinness, another was a $50.00 donation from Michael & Kerry (MA) and the last was $100.00 "egift" from Dan Killay (VT). Thank you all so very much for your help and support. It means much to me and more for the cause. All the best!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 56°F, the sky was a mix of clear patches and clouds, the wind was blowing out of the east at ten knots but tipping the needle to thirteen knots in gusts, the ocean had small white caps marching toward the shore and the visibility was excellent. Ashore, the wind dropped after sunrise. The wind blew out of the east and then hauled out of the southeast and dropped to less than five knots. The on-shore breeze kept the air temperature down in the Perkins Cove area. Warmest air temperature that I saw was 67°F. I'm sure it was a lot warmer where the wind off the water didn't have an influence. The sky was cloudless after 8:00 AM and remained so for most of the day. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 64°F with a low of 58°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 72°F (with a low of 47°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 67°F (with a low of 51°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southeast at ten knots but started dropping as soon as they got to the fishing grounds. By 11:00 AM, the wind had already dropped to five knots. At the beginning, the sea state included chops of two feet but I'm sure some of that was the left over stuff from the earlier easterly wind. After the late morning, the ocean was calm. The air temperature reached a high of 73°F, which seems a little too high to me. If so, this is, by far, the warmest day that we have seen on the fishing grounds this season so far. The tide (current) was moderate to strong, typical of us coming on to a new moon. The sky was clear and sunny. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The surface water temperature reached a high of 61°F, the highest surface water temperature of the season so far.
The fishing conditions were very good (tide), the catching was very good and landings were good to very good, much better than yesterday. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was one to one, legal fish to sub-legal haddock but favoring the legal side of things. Legal landings also included nine pollock and two cusk. Released fish included sixty-six cod over 5 pounds and one wolffish. There were also a few small cod and pollock released as well. They drift fished for the trip. All terminal gear worked well.
Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook. But, I'll bet, if you included cod over 5 pounds, it was Marty Buskey (NY). Marty fished unfettered in the bow pulpit all day long with a fish a cast. He caught most of the legal pollock. Indeed, his three biggest fish were all pollock including two of 11 pounds each and one 11.5 pound pollock.
Cody "Subaru" Holland (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 15.5 pound cod. The second largest fish was a 14 pound cod caught by Ken Lang (MA). Ken also caught a cod that weighed 10.5 pounds. Sekou Roland (PA) caught the third largest fish, a 12 pound wolffish. Sekou also caught a pollock that weighed 10 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: John Russell (ME) boated an 11.5 pound cod, his largest fish. He also caught an 11 pound pollock. Bob Audler (IN) caught and released an 11.5 pound cod. Jim Waterhouse (ME) caught a 10.5 pound cod, his biggest fish. Heidi Roland (PA) landed the hard luck award for getting a touch of the mal de mer.
I received two donations sponsoring my cycling ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge, an event to fund the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachsetts. One hundred precent of every rider (me) raised dollar goes directly to the cause, none to administrative fees. Marty & Elise Buskey donated $25.00 (he usually donates in increments of $25.00 throughout the year). Bob Audler donated a generous $50.00 to the cause. Thank you all so very much for your support and for thinking of me specifically. Means a lot!
At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 54°F, the sky was partially clear, the wind was blowing out of the southwest at fifteen knots and the visibility was excellent.
The wind was already blowing out of the west at ten to fifteen knots when I got down to Perkins Cove at 2:30 AM. I thought to myself; "here we go", as headed down the channel and out the gate. But it really wasn't a bad ride. We had a one to two foot that we were taking on the starboard quarter of the bow with only a slightly diminished cruising speed heading to the fishing grounds. The visibility was very good, the sky was cloudless and the air temperature was mild.
On the grounds, the wind blew out of the west southwest for the first couple of hours. By mid-morning, the wind had hauled out of the southwest and was blowing a sustained fifteen knots. By early afternoon, the wind freshened to twenty knots sustained. Seas had been about two feet before but increased to three and four foot chops in the increase in wind speed. The ride home gave us higher gusts but not the sustained twenty-five knots that was predicted. The air temperature reached a high of 63°F. The sky was nearly cloudless all day. The tide (current) was light in the morning and moderate in the afternoon. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles in haze. My father always called this kind of a day a smokey souwester. The surface water temperature reached a high of 57.5°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 80°F with a low of 54°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 83°F (with a low of 43°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 84°F (with a low of 47°F).
The fishing conditions were very good. The conditions would have been excellent had we had a better sea state. But it didn't matter as the catching was nothing short of excellent. For almost everyone it was a fish a cast all day. The problem was that the fish were ninety percent cod from 6 to 14 pounds! Many doubles were caught, so many that I stopped writing them down unless they totaled over 24 pounds for both fish. Landings were good, no better than that. We probably released ten cod, maybe, of less than 5 pounds. Almost every cod we caught was a good sized market cod. There were too many to actually count. But the total overall average size had to be 10 pounds. And the count was double of any other trip this season. Most legal fish landed were haddock with about half as many legal cod. The haddock cull was exactly two to one; for every three haddock caught, two were legal. Legal landings also included six cusk, five mackerel and a whiting. Released fish, besides all the cod, included a few sub-legal pollock and two wolffish. We alternated between drifting and anchoring. I threatened to use the sea anchor but that never happened. If you weren't fishing with a jig today you were not catching haddock. All the haddock came on bait today, a few on cod flies. Cod took every kind of terminal gear today and pollock were mostly flies, what few we caught.
I don't know who was high hook but, if you included cod over 6 pounds, it had to be Fred Kunz (NH) or Craig Belongie (MA). Fred was bringing fish up continuously faster than anyone but Craig caught more doubles than anyone. So it was hard to separate the two anglers from catch totals. Some of Craig's fish included a 14.5 pound cod, a 10.5 pound pollock, a 15 pound cod and a double that included an 8 pound cod and an 11.5 pound cod, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. Craig's 15 pound cod was the third largest fish of the trip. Fred won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 16.5 pound cod. Some of his other fish that I weighed included an 11.5 pound cod, a 12 pound pollock, a 13 pound pollock, a 14 pound pollock and a double that included two pollock, each one weighing exactly 11 pounds each.
Rory Casey (VT) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 27.5 pound cod. This is the largest cod that Rory has ever caught. It's also the Bunny Clark's largest cod caught this season to date. I took one picture with my camera before Rory tossed the cod back alive. This digital image appears on the left. Rory also caught a double that included an 11.5 pound cod and a 13.5 pound cod, the second largest double caught on the Bunny Clark this season so far.
Other Angler Highlights: John Epolito (NY) caught the first haddock that was big enough to weigh. It was also the first fish I weighed today. The haddock was 4.5 pounds. John caught a 12 pound cod later in the day. This is the largest cod that he has ever caught. Todd Adams (NH) landed a 14 pound pollock, his best fish. Some of his other fish included a 12 pound cod, a 13 pound pollock and a 12.5 pound cod. Rich Kiblin (NY) caught a 10.5 pound cod. He actually caught larger fish that I didn't weigh. Kiefer Hockey (NY) caught a 13 pound cod and a pollock that I weighed in at 11.5 pounds. George "The Terrible Tangler" Smart (NY) caught a 12.5 pound cod. Chris Patterson (NY) boated a 10 pound pollock and released an 11 pound cod that he caught. Jackie Thomas (NY) caught a 12.5 pound pollock, her largest pollock. Her best fish was a cod that weighed 13 pounds. It was caught as part of a double with another cod that weighed 6 pounds. Mike Thomas (NY) caught a double that included a 10 pound cod and a 10.5 pound cod. Luke Mielnicki (NY) caught a double that included a 10 pound cod and an 11 pound cod. Brad Smart (NY) caught the largest haddock of the day at 6 pounds and the largest wolffish of the day at 11 pounds. His biggest fish was a 13 pound cod. Bob Foster (NY) caught a 14.5 pound cod, his biggest fish. Dakota Steele (NY) caught a 14 pound cod near the end of the day. This was his biggest fish of the trip. Rob Hoover (NY) had a hard day today, very hard. In fact, he could not coordinate the motion of the ocean with his equilibrium and, thus, was sea sick all day. He never wetted a line. I felt bad for him.
Several people sponsored me in the Pan-Mass Challenge, a cycling event to raise money for cancer research with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, today. Those individuals and their donations include: Joe Kessler, III & Christine Schubach (MA) for a very generous $150.00, Rory Casey for a generous $60.00 and Craig Belongie for $20.00 (Craig has been supporting this cause through me for years). Thank you all so very much for your help, understanding and generosity. I believe in this Institute and all the good it has done for those I love. I certainly appreciate your support.
Captain Ian Keniston, Anthony Palumbo and Ally Fuehrer ran the extreme day trip today. At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 60°F, the sky was eighty percent clear, the wind was blowing out of the southwest at ten knots and the visibility was excellent. Ashore, the sky was sunny and warm in the morning. The air temperature quickly rose to 70°F and then to 75°F by noon. At that time the sky started to show signs of clouding over. The sky was overcast by 1:00 PM, raining by 1:30 PM. We had intermittent rain showers for the next few hours. By 6:00 PM, the showers had passed and the sun came out in a mostly clear sky. The humidity was fairly high for the lower temperature that we saw as the high for the day. The visibility was good to very good, less so in the rain. The wind blew lightly out of the south. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 77°F with a low of 59°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 81°F (with a low of 54°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 82°F (with a low of 62°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at ten to fifteen knots. Seas were chops of one to two feet most of the day. The high air temperature for the trip was 64°F. The sky was clear during the morning but became overcast after noon. Periodic light rain was the scene during the afternoon. The visibility was excellent in the morning but got reduced to three and five miles in the rain and some haze. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 56°F.
The fishing conditions were very good, excellent if the sea state didn't bother. The catching was excellent and landings were very good. The haddock bite was the best we have had for at least two weeks with no problem getting the bag limit. There was a constant haddock bite on every stop. The cull was two to one, legal haddock to sub-legal. Legal landings also included six pollock and two cusk. Twenty-seven cod over 5 pounds were released as well as a wolffish and a few small cod and pollock. There were quite a few mackerel that were also caught, most kept. They anchored and drift fished but found anchoring to be most productive. All terminal gear worked well.
Ron Neil (MA) was high hook with the most legal fish. More than that, though, he caught the first Jensen's Skate I have ever seen one caught on rod & reel. Closely related to the barndoor skate, it has a similar morphology but is smaller and has a short tail. It's also called a short tail skate, as I knew it from growing up around dragging as a kid. They are very rare and only found between Nova Scotia and Cape Cod. And that's the only place in world where they are found. Where barndoor skates can range up to five feet in length, the Jensen's reach a maximum size of a foot and a half. Ron's skate weighed 4 pounds. They really don't get too much bigger. They are aggressive and will bite a hook as this one did. I messaged Mark LaRocca who fishes commercially with his father for skates off the Long Island area. He had never seen one. It's been so long since I had seen one that I had to consult a taxonomic key! Ian took a picture of Ron holding the skate before releasing it alive. This digital image appears on the right.
Josh Gadbois (NH) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 12.5 pound pollock. The second largest fish was a 12 pound cod, caught and released alive by Jackie Fung (MA). She also caught a 4 pound haddock, the third largest haddock of the trip. John Mayol (NE) caught the third largest fish, a 10.5 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: George Hartman (VT) caught the second largest pollock at 10 pounds. Donna Reardon (MA) boated a 5 pound haddock, a tie for the biggest haddock of the day. She shared her title with Larry Halliday (FL) who also landed a 5 pound haddock. Sue Schoenig (ME) landed the hard luck award due to the fact that the fishing conditions didn't suit her gastric demeanor!
Captain Ian Keniston, Ally Fuehrer and I ran the marathon trip today. At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 61°F, the sky was clear, the wind was blowing out of the west at fifteen knots and the visibility was excellent.
The wind was westerly once we got past the gate. But the wind wasn't very strong. Probably ten knots with seas in chops of a foot or more. Maybe two, occasionally. The visibility was excellent and we made good cruising speed to the fishing grounds.
On the grounds, the wind blew out of the west with seas in chops of one to two feet. The wind increased for an hour before starting to back off. The wind backed off gradually until after noon. The wind died out by 1:00 PM. The ocean was calm. Mid afternoon saw the wind haul out of the northwest. Light at first, when we headed home the wind increased to ten and fifteen knots. I'm sure the northwest wind was blowing earlier in the day but it didn't reach off to the fishing grounds. The sky was nearly cloudless all morning, mostly cloudy in the afternoon. The air temperature reached a high of 66°F. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The visibility ranged to twenty-five miles. The surface water temperature reached a high of 57.5°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 79°F with a low of 57°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 76°F (with a low of 60°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 75°F (with a low of 54°F).
The fishing conditions were very good. The catching was very good for most of the day with very fair catching for three spots. Landings were good only. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. No other species was as prevalent. The haddock cull was a little more than fifty/fifty favoring the sub-legal haddock. Legal landings also included twenty-three pollock, six redfish, twenty-eight cusk, four red hake and two whiting. Sixty-one cod from 5 to 13 pounds were released back to the ocean alive. We drift fished and anchored. Bait caught the most haddock but it was hard to tell as most were baiting their jigs and cod flies.
Either Ray Westermann (MA) or Jonathan "Griff" Griffin (MA) were high hook with the most of everything, including legal fish. Griff won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 16 pound Maine state trophy cusk. This is the Bunny Clark's largest cusk of the season to date. I took a picture of Griff with his trophy cusk. This digital image appears on the left. Chuck Lennon (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 21 pound pollock. This is Chuck's largest pollock this season and tied for the Bunny Clark's fifth largest pollock this season. The third largest fish of the trip was a 14.5 pound pollock caught by Ray Westermann.
Other Angler Highlights: Dave Bingell (CT) landed the Bunny Clark's largest whiting of the season so far, a Maine state trophy of 4.25 pounds. This is the sixth largest whiting that has ever been caught on the Bunny Clark. I took a picture of Dave with his huge whiting. This digital image appears on the right. Artur Debski (NJ) landed a 12.5 pound Maine state trophy cusk. This is his largest cusk, ever, and the Bunny Clark's second largest cusk of the season so far. Brett Marsh (CT) caught two pollock of 10.5 pounds and a 13 pound cod his three biggest fish. You could tell that Brett was a little rusty as, on the first 10.5 pound pollock, he required Dan Bingell's (CT) help to bring the fish to the surface! Mark Lemczewski (NJ) caught the largest haddock of the day at 5.5 pounds. Dan Bingell caught an 11 pound cod, his biggest fish. Bob Bingell (CT) caught a 12.25 pound cod, his biggest fish, today. But he never really felt like fishing after that, his first fish of the day. Most of the day he spent "relaxing" on the bench seat near the helm. He never appeared to be sea sick but I gave him the hard luck award t-shirt anyway mainly because of his participation level.
Brett Marsh and Dan Bingell sponsored me in my Pan-Mass Challenge, cycling event to fight cancer for $25.00 each today. Thank you both very much for your help. It was great having you aboard today without the donation. But the donation was a great gesture at the end! All the best to you both!
I also received another donation from Bob Audler (IN) in the form of an "egift" through the PMC site for a generous $100.00, "In Memory of My Late Father-in-Law, Curt Bishop, who passed due to an aggressive & ugly cancer last year." Bob had already given a donation of $50.00 on June 11. Thanks so much for your generosity, Bob. I know how you feel and I appreciate the fact that you chose me as your vehicle for fund raising!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 52°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the northeast enough to clearly hear the bell buoy over a mile away and the visibility was very good, at least. Ashore, the day was cool most of the day before rising to 70°F in Perkins Cove around 2:00 PM, the highest air temperature that I saw all day. After 5:00 AM, it started to rain. The rain was light, a misty drizzle is all. But it was just enough for an umbrella or a hat to keep the rain off the lenses of your glasses. It rained periodically and light until about noon, remaining overcast until about 2:00 PM, when the sky cleared and the sun came out. The sky was clear and sunny for the rest of the day. The wind started out of the northeast at ten knots, died out to nothing and then hauled out of the southwest after noon to blow up to fifteen knots and turning to the south and dropping out. The visibility was good in the rain to excellent afterward. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 64°F with a low of 54°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 74°F (with a low of 49°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 69°F (with a low of 52°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northeast from ten to five knots to calm. The ocean stayed flat before hauling out of the southwest at five to fifteen knots. Seas were chops of two feet with fifteen knots of wind on the ride back to Perkins Cove. The high air temperature for the day was 57°F. They had light rain in the morning with sunny skies and a very good visibility in the afternoon. The visibility in the morning ranged from five to ten miles in the rain. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 55°F.
The fishing was very good to excellent, the catching was very good and landings were good. Almost every legal fish they caught was a haddock. Only four pollock, a cusk and two whiting were caught that were keepers today. The haddock cull was one to one, shorts to legal fish. Released fish included forty-nine cod and three wolffish. They drift fished all day. Bait caught the most haddock.
Gary Vincze (CT) was high hook with the most legal haddock. Carol Morse (ME), one of my favorite long time anglers, caught the two largest fish today, a double with both fish caught on the same line at the same time. With the larger fish, both were cod, she won the boat pool for the largest fish. The double included a 12.25 pound cod and a 13 pound cod. This double is the second largest double of the Bunny Clark fishing season so far. Carol also caught a double that included a 10 pound cod and a 9 pound cod. The third largest fish status was shared at 11 pounds. There were three other anglers who caught cod of 11 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Chris Gatehouse (CT) caught a cod of 11 pounds. Adam Morse, Carol's son, caught two cod of 11 pounds each. Tom Pfeiffer (NY) caught and released a 10 pound cod. Alec Adam (ME) caught a 10.5 pound cod, his largest fish. And, no, he didn't get a halibut on his line today, even for a second. But who knows how many halibut might have been looking at his hooks today? Barry Ano (NY) landed the hard luck award for the "worst tangle in his own line".
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 58°F, the sky was clear, the wind was blowing out of the southwest at five knots and the visibility was very good. Ashore, the wind was light all day, a beach day for sure as the air temperature rose to over 85°F. The ocean along the shore was calm. Winds were light out of the west. The visibility was very good, at least. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 85°F with a low of 56°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 84°F (with a low of 45°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 85°F (with a low of 51°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the west at five knots or less. The ocean was calm over two foot long rolling sea swell. The air temperature rose to a value of 67°F. The tide (current) was strong. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds. The surface water temperature reached a high of 58°F.
The fishing conditions would have been perfect except for the strong tide which kept anglers in tangles most of the day, the worst we have seen on a trip this season. The catching and landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was two to one, legal fish to sub-legal fish. Legal landings also included two pollock, two cusk and a mackerel. Released fish included between twenty and thirty dogfish and four cod over 5 pounds. They anchored all day (the strong current). Jigs did not work today, bait was king.
Steve Shugars (ME) was high hook with the most legal fish. Ian told me that there was not a question. I can't imagine Steve going over to the dark side (bait fishing) but I guess he must have. Richard Morrell (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 10 pound pollock. The second largest fish was a 9 pound cod caught by Rodney Hall (ME). The rest of the fish were all haddock and fish of similar sizes, none significantly bigger than the others. Jim Jordan (ME) landed the hard luck award for being most frequently tangled.
At 4:30 AM EDT the air temperature was 61°F, the sky was clear, there was no wind to write about, the ocean along the shore was flat calm with some light wind patches and the visibility was very good. Ashore, it was a bit cool today. There was a very light northerly wind after sunrise followed by no wind and a flat calm ocean. By 9:00 AM, the wind had hauled out of the east. The easterly wind blew up to ten knots, an onshore breeze keeping the air temperature down in the 70°s. The sky was mostly sunny with some high cirrus clouds giving us soft lighting in the afternoon. The visibility was good over the ocean in haze. I was told that the highest air temperature observed in Perkins Cove was 72°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 81°F with a low of 62°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 89°F (with a low of 48°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 69°F (with a low of 56°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind was flat calm with zero wind when they first arrived at their destination. The wind came up out of the northeast shortly afterward. The wind hauled out of the east by noon, blowing up to ten knots at times. But the wind was pumping, from five to ten knots. The ocean went from calm to chops of a foot or more. The air temperature reached a high of 65°F. The tide (current) was strong. The visibility ranged from twenty-five miles or more in the morning to ten to fifteen miles in haze during the afternoon. The sky was hazy clear and sunny. The surface water temperature reached a high of 58°F.
The fishing conditions were not the greatest with the strong tidal current. Since the tide was really the only factor, I would qualify the conditions as "good". The catching was very good. Landings were good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was 1.5 to 1, legal haddock to sub-legal haddock. Legal landings also included one pollock, five cusk and one blackback flounder. Eighteen cod over 5 pounds were released back to the ocean alive. Anchoring was the method with one drift. The current was too strong for drifting. "Bait ruled the day", a quote from Ian. Jigs were not nearly as effective.
Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook. It could have been anyone. Leigh Morrell (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 10 pound cod. There was a tie for second place with a 9 pound fish. Barry Ano (NY) caught one, a 9 pound cod. Dan Bailey (NY) caught the other, a 9 pound cusk. Sam Virgilio (MA) landed the hard luck award for being the only angler not to catch a single legal fish. He only caught on long horn sculpin!
I received a generous $100.00 donation from Linda & Mark Hamel (NH) sponsoring me in my ride to help the world find a cancer cure with the Pan-Mass Challenge, an 192 mile, two day, charity, cycling event starting on the 4th of August. Linda & Mark have supported my fund raising every year since I started riding in this event in 2007. Thank you both so very much for your help!
I spent the day not at work in Barnacle Billy's two restaurants but out to sea as a guest on my son, Micah's harpoon tuna boat, the Petrel. I spent the day in the mast looking for tuna and steering on a couple of bunches of fish for him. It was a true Father's Day experience, the best Father's Day I can remember.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 56°F, the sky was overcast, there was no wind to write about, the ocean along the shore was calm with some light wind patches and the visibility was good in some haze. The wind stayed light until the tide around 9:00 AM. After that, the wind hauled out of the southwest and blew up to fifteen knots. We didn't see much of the wind they had offshore in Perkins Cove. The sky stayed hazy sunny for most of the day. The sky was becoming overcast by 4:00 PM with the threat of thunderstorms in the air. By 5:00 PM, a strong thunder shower system could be seen over Wells from the Cove parking lot. We had some light sprinkles from that. Later we had some closer showers. The air temperature increased to a high of 91°F. The visibility was good, at best, in haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 89°F with a low of 66°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 92°F (with a low of 57°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 91°F (with a low of 55°F). The high temperature of 91°F breaks the high temperature for this day in Portland. The previous record high was 88°F set on this date in 1995.
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest starting at five knots when they got there to twenty-five knots when they left the grounds to head home. The ocean was fairly calm on the ride out but the calm sea morphed to four foot chops by the end of the day. The air temperature reached a high of 67°F. The visibility ranged from five to ten miles. The tide (current) was strong. The sky was overcast all day. The surface water temperature reached a high of 58°F.
The fishing conditions were good overall. The wind and chop made it hard for some. The catching was very good as were the landings. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. They never had any haddock as big as 4 pounds but there were a lot of nicer fish today. The haddock cull was close to one to one, legal to sub-legal haddock, favoring the sub-legal fish. Legal landings also included twenty-one pollock and one cusk. They released a few small cod, fifty-four cod of 5 pounds or better and a couple small pollock. They anchored for every stop. Jigs and flies worked best for the pollock while bait and cod flies worked best for the haddock.
Ian didn't tell me who was high hook with the most legal fish. But if I were to guess I would say that it was probably Seth Greenwood (NY). He caught the biggest double the Bunny Clark has seen this season so far. His catch included a 13.5 pound cod and a 13 pound pollock, both caught on the same line at the same time. He also won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 20 pound pollock. This is a tie for the eighth largest pollock of the Bunny Clark fishing season so far. Ian took a picture of Seth holding his big pollock. This digital image appears on the right. Seth also caught the second largest fish of the trip, a 19.5 pound pollock. Some of his other good fish included a 12 pound cod, an 11 pound pollock and a 14 pound pollock.
The third largest fish came in at 16.5 pounds, two, both pollock. Dan Bailey (NY) caught one and Tom Zido (NY) caught the other. Tom's biggest cod weighed 10.5 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Doug Hinton (NH) caught a 15 pound pollock and a 10 pound cod, his two biggest fish. Steve McGrath (NH) caught a 12 pound cod and an 11 pound cod, his two best. Will Thompson (MA) caught a 10 pound cod and an 11 pound cod. Barry Ano (NY) caught a 16 pound cod, his largest fish. Merton Thompson (MA) also caught a 16 pound cod. But he caught a 10.5 pound cod earlier in the day. Lenor Gaunya (NH) landed the hard luck award for getting a touch of the mal de mer.
Some individuals are always there for me every year when it comes to the Pan-Mass Challenge and sponsorship of it. Steve McGrath is one. Once one of the best dinner boat operations on the lakes of New Hampshire, he has since retired but goes fishing with me every year and never forgets to help me on my cancer fund raising project. He has helped since I first started raising money for the cause. Today he gave a generous $50.00. Thanks so much, Steve! Always a pleasure to have you aboard, Always appreciate your help!
Captain Ian Keniston and I ran the marathon trip today. At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 74°F, the sky was overcast, it was raining lightly, the wind was light out of the west northwest and the visibility was good in some haze.
The wind was southwest once we got past the gate. It was humid and had that foggy feel. But, except for some low lying fog on the water for the first mile or so, the visibility was nearly excellent. By the time we were ten miles off, the wind had hauled out of the north northwest at ten knots, more or less. It continued to blow from that direction until we got to the fishing grounds. Seas were a foot or two in chops. The air temperature hung around 68°F. The fact that we were riding a following wind and sea made the trip very comfortable indeed.
On the grounds, the wind blew out of the northwest a half hour after arriving. Wind speeds were ten knots or better. The wind continued out of the northwest with seas in chops of a foot or two the whole time we were there. On the ride home, the northwest wind died about half way back. The air temperature reached a high of 68°F. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The visibility ranged to twenty-five miles or more. The sky was clear all day. The surface water temperature reached a high of 58.3°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 84°F with a low of 68°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 79°F (with a low of 54°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 78°F (with a low of 57°F).
The fishing conditions were very good. The catching was excellent. Landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was mostly legal fish in the 3 to 4 pound range. We had a few smaller legal haddock but only seventeen sub-legal haddock. And there were quite a few 5 pound haddock caught, so many that I only weighed a couple. Legal landings also included quite a few pollock, six cusk and one halibut. Released fish included sixty-five cod over 5 pounds, two halibut, a wolffish, three dogfish, a few small cod and four or five small pollock. We anchored for every stop. All terminal gear worked well.
Either Chris or Mark Cote (ME) was high hook with the most legal fish and cod over 5 pounds. They were non-stop from the beginning of the trip until the end. Chris caught the third largest fish of the trip, an 18 pound pollock. A couple other fish of his that I weighed included a 6 pound haddock and a 14 pound pollock. Mark's largest fish was a 16.5 pound pollock. He might have caught a bigger cod.
Leroy Fortcher (NJ) and Brian Plasse (NH) caught the most haddock. Both anglers had many haddock over 4 pounds. Some were probably 5 pounds that I didn't weigh.
Bryan Johansmeyer (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 100.5 pound Maine state trophy halibut. In fact, it was probably about 105 pounds or more. When we weighed it, the fish bottomed out the scale to a point where, if incremental marks had been there, it would have weighed between 105 and 107 pounds. Instead, after Ian had cut a couple of boxes of pollock and haddock, he started to cut the halibut up while I weighed it in pieces. The halibut parts added up to 100.5 pounds. This is the first halibut that Bryan had ever seen caught, his first halibut and the Bunny Clark's largest halibut that we have ever boated. I took a picture of Duane Graves (MA) and Bryan holding the big fish. This digital image appears on the left. You can't see Duane; he's behind the fish doing all the heavy lifting. Bryan can be seen in a light blue long sleeve shirt to the right of the fish. Some of Bryan's other noteable fish included a 13 pound pollock, a 15 pound pollock and a 16 pound pollock.
Dave Sampson (MA) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 48 pound legal sized halibut. Unfortunately, you can only legally keep one halibut per trip so I got a couple quick pictures before releasing back to the ocean. The digital image of Dave holding his halibut appears on the right very much alive.
Other Angler Highlights: Dave Guertin (OH) was the first person to catch a fish big enough to weigh. His fish was a 13 pound cod. A couple other fish of his that I weighed included a 5 pound haddock, an 11.5 pound pollock and a 10 pound pollock. Kurt Gilmore (MA) was feeling a bit under the weather. So he didn't fish as much as I would have liked to have seen him. Still, he caught an 11 pound pollock and a bigger haddock that weighed 5 pounds. Jim Bartholomew (NY) caught the biggest cod of the day at 17 pounds. Curtis Patrick (NY) caught a 13 pound cod, his biggest fish. He also caught a 6 pound haddock, one of the biggest haddock of the day. Maurice Hart (ME), caught a 5.5 pound haddock, his best fish. Fred Kunz (NH) was not high hook but he did catch twenty-five legal, nothing to sneeze at! Some of his fish included a 15 pound pollock, a 13 pound pollock, the first halibut of his life at 16 pounds and a double keeper catch that included a 12 pound pollock and a 5.5 pound haddock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time! I took a picture of Fred with his first halibut. Some day I will have it up on this site. Ron Creapo (NY) was deathly ill from the time we left the dock until we got back to the dock. If I could have called a helicoper to come get him, I'll be he would have paid any amount to have me do it! Needless to say, he got the shirt!
When we got back to the dock I found out that my son, Micah, had caught his first bluefin tuna on the Petrel. He harpooned it not too far from where we have been fishing on the day trips. In fact, they were on their way home. His helmsman had never been on a tuna boat before. So there were a lot of firsts. I only wish my father were there to see him land his fish. It was about 500 pounds dressed. And it had a pretty good shape for as early a fish that it was. It was a very happy day for me.
Chris Cote did me a solid today by contributing $25.00 to my part in the Pan-Mass Challenge charity cycling event to raise money for cancer research. Chris has always helped me out in the past. It was no different today. Thanks, Chris. Great having you aboard and I certainly appreciate the donation.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 55°F, the sky was clear, it was raining lightly, there was no wind to write about, the ocean was calm along the shore and the visibility was very good, maybe excellent. The morning was calm with very little wind. The direction was northwest, to southwest and south. By noon, the wind was out of the south at ten knots. It increased to fifteen knots by 1:00 PM and remained that way until dying out again at 5:00 PM. The high air temperature in Perkins Cove was 79°F. The visibility was very good. The sky was sunny in the morning with a mix of sun and clouds in the afternoon. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 85°F with a low of 63°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 81°F (with a low of 48°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 78°F (with a low of 51°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at four to eight knots, hauled more south and blew up to fifteen or more knots on trip home. Chops were less than a foot to one to two feet. The high air temperature for the trip was 68°F. The tide (current) was moderate. The visibility was very good, over twenty miles. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds. The surface water temperature reached a high of 59°F.
The fishing was very good to excellent, the conditions for it were really good. The catching was excellent. Landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was one and a half to one, legal haddock to sub-legal haddock. Legal landings also included seventeen pollock, seven cusk, six mackerel and a cunner. Released fish included sixty-eight cod over 5 pounds, a few smaller cod (not too many), a couple of pollock and about fifteen dogfish. They anchored and drift fished. All terminal gear worked well but bait was, by far, the best for the haddock.
Ian didn't tell me who was high hook with the most legal fish. But it would be hard to convince me that it wasn't Brian Tufts (FL). And I'm sure if you included cod over 5 pounds it most certainly was Brian. Brian won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 16 pound cod. Brian's second largest fish, a 13 pound cod, tied for the second largest fish of the trip. Rich Lusis (ME/FL) also caught a 13 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Davis Haris (MA) caught a 12 pound cod, his largest fish. Dan Pitalis (ME) caught the second largest pollock at 10.5 pounds. Bob Chapin (ME) released a 10.5 pound cod, his biggest fish. Rick Johnson (ME) caught the largest pollock at 11 pounds. Ken Meinke (VT) caught a 12 pound cod, his biggest fish. Dave Guertin (OH) landed the hard luck award when he fell flat on the deck after one of his feet went out from underneath him. He landed on his back, which knocked the wind out of him but also made his back a little sore, sore enough to take a bunk for a while. He was still a little sore when I talked to him at the dock but he was in good spirits. He was also sore from fishing on the marathon trip the day before.
I received two donations supporting me in my ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge today, a cycling event to raise money for cancer research with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. One donation was for $10.00 from Charlie Harris (MA). The other donations were from Bob Munroe & Linda Burgess (MA) for $40.00. Thank you all for your help and your thoughtfulness. I really do appreciate it but I do know some individuals who appreciate it much more. And, after all, I do this for them and for a potential cure in the future.
At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 65°F, the sky was mostly clear, the wind was blowing less than ten knots out of the southwest and the visibility was very good.
It was 60°F when I got down to the Cove this morning, no doubt influenced by the light southwest wind that was still blowing along the shore, the air temperature colder from the wind off the water. The ride to the fishing grounds was fairly easy with a one foot left over chop and a light southwest wind. The visibility was excellent and the sky was mostly clear. Every single passenger was comfortable and happy, more than I can say for the people on the marathon trip two days ago!
On the grounds, there was no wind to start, just a left over rout earlier southwest wind. At that time there was a left over one foot chop. No white caps at all today. A short time after we started fishing, the wind started blowing out of the north. Wind speeds were light. The ocean was calm. A north northeast wind showed up after noon. But that wind had no teeth. The wind was light from the southeast on the ride home. The air temperature reached a high of 69°F. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The visibility ranged to twenty-five miles or more. The sky was hazy clear all day. The surface water temperature reached a high of 59.6°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 80°F with a low of 64°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 81°F (with a low of 50°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 74°F (with a low of 56°F).
The fishing conditions were very good. The catching was excellent. Landings were very good to excellent. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was three to one. For every four haddock caught, three were of legal size. We had a few haddock over 5 pounds. Legal landings also included eleven pollock, ten cusk and two mackerel. Released fish included seventy-two cod over 5 pounds, four dogfish, three small pollock and seven or eight small cod. We anchored mostly as the drift was just a little too fast and we caught better on the anchor. Only one jig was used today. Everyone else used bait. Bait and cod flies worked very well indeed.
I couldn't tell you who was high hook with the most legal fish. I don't believe anyone was counting. And I don't believe anyone could have kept track if they were counting. Everyone caught a fish a drop unless they weren't fishing. A couple were not. Or at least they didn't fish much. Lenny Singel (PA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 24.5 pound cod. This is the Bunny Clark's second largest cod of the fishing season to date. He caught this fish as part of a double with another cod 5 pound pounds, both fish on the same line at the same time. The double is the Bunny Clark's largest double of the season so far. Lenny also caught the largest pollock of the day at 15 pounds. And he also landed the largest haddock we have seen in three Bunny Clark fishing seasons. A Maine state trophy, the haddock weighed 8.25 pounds! The last time we saw a haddock that big was on July 7, 2015 when Bryan Lewer (FL/ME) caught one just exactly that same size. The only other time we saw one as big or bigger was on April 29, 2013 when a 9 pounder and an 8.25 pounder were both caught on the same trip. Before 2013 we used to expect to see those bigger haddock.
Dale Dahr (PA) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 23.5 pound cod. This is the Bunny Clark's third largest cod of the fishing season so far. Dale also caught a double that included a 9 pound cod and a 17 pound cod. This double ties for the Bunny Clark's fourth largest double of the season so far. The third largest fish was a 23 pound cod caught by Bruno Bettinsoli (PA). This is the fourth largest cod that has been caught on the Bunny Clark this season so far. Bruno also caught a double that included a 21 pound cod and a 7 pound cod. This is the second largest double to date that has been caught on the Bunny Clark this season. The cod is the fifth largest of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. I also weighed a 13 pound cod at the very end of the trip that Bruno caught.
Other Angler Highlights: Brandon Sindlinger (PA) caught the first fish I could weigh, a 17 pound cod. His largest haddock weighed 5.5 pounds. And he caught the second largest pollock at 14.5 pounds. Brandon's father, Todd Sindlinger (PA), caught a 16 pound cod, his largest fish. Todd also caught a 12 pound cod and two haddock I weighed at 5 pounds each. Jake Dahr (PA) caught an 18.5 pound cod, his biggest fish. His largest haddock weighed 5 pounds. Stan Zaorski (MD) caught a 12.5 pound pollock, his largest fish. His two biggest haddock weighed 5.75 pounds and 6 pounds. Kim Dahr (PA) caught a 5 pound haddock at the end of the day. That was her biggest haddock. Thirteen year old Michael Sindlinger (PA) caught a double that included a 15 pound cod and a 7 pound cod. He also caught a cod that weighed 12.5 pounds. And he landed the hard luck award for getting a bit queasy.
Kim Dahr donated $5.00 to help with my sponsorship in the Pan-Mass Challenge charity ride for a cancer cure today. I guess my abuse today wasn't so bad after all! Thanks, Kim. A pleasure to have you and your family aboard today. All the best.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 56°F, the sky was cloudless, the wind was out of the northeast at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. Ashore, the sky remained cloudless for the full morning. The wind blew out of the northeast all morning as well with some gusts up to fifteen knots. The wind had no teeth, though, and backed off. By noon, there was very little wind. The wind hauled out of the south in the afternoon with wind speeds that might have approached ten knots. The air temperature was on the cool side with a high reading of 72°F around noon or a little after. The visibility was excellent all day. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 70°F with a low of 60°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 79°F (with a low of 44°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 70°F (with a low of 51°F).
On the fishing grounds, the northeast wind was just petering out when they started fishing. At five knots, there wasn't much northeast wind. Noon, the ocean was calm. Afternoon saw light southeast winds. The ocean was calm for the whole time fishing. The air temperature reached a high of 68°F. The tide (current) was moderate to strong. The visibility ranged to well over twenty miles. The sky was cloudless, as it was ashore, all morning. The afternoon saw a few clouds. The surface water temperature reached a new high of 61°F.
The fishing conditions were nearly excellent. The catching was excellent. Landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were, as you might already know, haddock. The haddock cull was two to one, legal to sub-legal fish. Legal landings also included thirty-three pollock, eight cusk and a mackerel or two. Released fish included sixty-five cod over 5 pounds, two wolffish and twenty-five dogfish. Anchoring and drifting were the two boating methods for fishing. All terminal gear worked well but bait was used mostly.
Art Kemler, Jr. (PA/ME) was high hook with the most legal fish and cod. Art was using a jig all day. Shane Deming (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 18.5 pound pollock. Shane also caught a pollock that weighed 12.5 pounds, the third largest pollock of the trip. The second largest fish was a 15 pound cod caught by Ryan Willey (NH). Ryan also caught the largest wolffish at 10 pounds. The third largest fish weighed in at 14.5 pounds. There were two. One was a 14.5 pound pollock, the second largest pollock of the trip, caught by Norman Willey (NH). The other was a 14.5 pound cod caught by Chris Prague (PA). Norman also caught a 10.5 pound cod and a 13 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Arnie Ulrich (NJ) caught and released a 12.5 pound cod and a 13 pound cod. Travis Torsey (NH) caught a 10 pound pollock and a 13 pound cod, his two best fish. Patrick Newton (MA) landed the hard luck award for not syncing his he equilibrium with the motion of the ocean!
I received a very generous $200.00 from Jon & Fran Leavitte (NH) sponsoring me, again - for the last twelve years - in my Pan-Mass Challenge cycling event for a cancer cure. Those two have been the representatives of all that is good in human nature. It's always great to see them at Barnacle Billy's restaurant and I'm a lucky man to know them. Thanks so much, Jon & Fran. Of course, this means a lot to me.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 55°F, the sky was mostly cloudy, there was no wind to write about, the ocean along the shore was calm and the visibility over it was excellent. Ashore, the wind became established out of the northeast at 8:30 AM. It was light out of the northeast for the rest of the morning. The easterly wind was stronger in the afternoon. But it never got much stronger than eight knots until around 3:00 PM. By 5:00 PM, the wind was blowing out of the northeast at fifteen knots. The northeast wind blew like this on into the sunset. The air temperature, tempered by the on shore breeze, never got much higher than 65°F, if it ever did. The visibility was excellent. The sky became overcast after daylight. We had periodic showers throughout the day. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 65°F with a low of 60°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 65°F (with a low of 54°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 66°F (with a low of 53°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northeast at ten to five knots and then hauled out of the southeast at five to ten knots. Seas were long rolling swells under chops of less than a foot. The sky was overcast. The air temperature reached a high of 62°F. The tide (current) was moderate to strong - the upcoming full moon. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The surface water temperature reached a high of 59°F.
The fishing was very good as was the catching. Landings were good to very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, of course. The haddock cull was one to one, legal to sub-legal fish. Legal landings also included thirteen pollock and three cusk. Released fish included two mackerel, two wolffish and twenty-two cod over 5 pounds. They drift fished and anchored. All terminal gear worked well.
Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook. Vik Qazi (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 12 pound cod. The second largest fish was an 11.5 pound cod caught by Tim Nicholes (MA). The third largest fish were 11 pound pollock. There were two. Ryan Chojnowski (MA) caught one. Ben Gless (MA) caught the other.
Other Angler Highlights: Steven Martinez (MA) caught the largest wolffish at 9.5 pounds. Theron Donovan (ME) landed the hard luck award for getting into the most tangles and finally getting a keeper by the end of the trip!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 55°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was light out of the west, the ocean was flat calm and the visibility over it was excellent. The wind was blowing out of the southwest at ten knots at 7:30 AM. This wind increased to fifteen knots by mid-morning but then backed off. By 2:00 PM, the wind had backed off to less than ten knots again. The sky was mostly overcast all day. We had some sun here and there. At times it looked like it was going to rain. But it never did - until 9:00 PM. It rained from then on into the night. It was cool along the shore all morning and early afternoon. By 2:00 PM, the air temperature had risen again. The highest value I saw was 75°F but it could have been higher. It was a bit muggy in the afternoon as well which made it seem warmer. The visibility was good to very good in some haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 77°F with a low of 59°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 77°F (with a low of 53°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 73°F (with a low of 54°F).
On the fishing ground, the wind blew out of the southwest at ten to fifteen knots, dying to about five knots in the afternoon. Seas were two or more foot chops diminishing to a one foot chop. No swell. The air temperature reached a high of 65°F. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty knots in haze. The tide (current) was moderate to strong. The sky was sunny in the morning and overcast in the afternoon. The surface water temperature reached a high of 60°F.
The fishing was very good, the catching was excellent and landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was one to one or fifty percent of all the haddock caught were of legal size. Legal landings also included seventeen pollock and four cusk. Released fish included forty-seven cod over 5 pounds and twenty-two dogfish. Drifting and anchoring were both utilized. All terminal gear worked well.
High hook could not be determined. Everyone did very well today. Tony Ingemi (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 13 pound cod. Tony also caught an 11.5 pound cod. Two fish made the mark for second largest at 12 pounds each. Joe Columbus (MA) caught one, a pollock. Mike Raymond (MA) caught the other, a cod. Joe caught his 12 pound pollock as part of a double catch which also included a 10 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. Joe's largest cod weighed 10.5 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Cindy Columbus (MA) caught a 10 pound pollock, her largest fish. Mike Ingemi (NY) landed the hard luck award for the most tangled lines.
I received several donations sponsoring me in the Pan-Mass Challenge, a cycling event to raise money for cancer research and care. Those individuals and their donations included: Joe Columbus for another $20.00 donation (he has given several times already this season), Dave Ingemi (NY) for $25.00, Dave & Rebecca Symes (ME) for a generous $100.00 in Memory of Connie Robertson, St. Augustine, Quebec and Melissa Goulet (MA) for a generous $85.00 collected from a fund raiser that she held at SMAST (School for Marine Science & Technology). Thank you all so much for your support, hard work and generosity. I really appreciate the help. And I really appreciate your thoughtfulness.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 63°F, the sky was overcast, it had been raining an hour earlier, there was no wind to write about, the ocean was calm along the shore and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. Ashore, we had no rain until about 9:30 AM when the water came down, hard. It didn't last any more than a half hour or a little more. Then it was over for the day. We never saw another drop of rain again. The sky remained overcast until around 1:00 PM, maybe a bit later than that. Afterward, the sky cleared, the sun came out and it was beautiful for the rest of the day. The wind blew out of the northeast at 7:00 AM. By 10:00 AM, the wind had increased to fifteen knots, more in gusts. That wind was gone by 1:30 PM. The rest of the day gave us light winds. When there was no rain, the visibility was excellent. The highest air temperature that I saw in Perkins Cove was 70°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 74°F with a low of ?°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 77°F (with a low of 48°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 71°F (with a low of 53°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northeast at five knots or more to start, blew up to fifteen and twenty-five knots with rain showers during the late morning and tapered off to ten and five knots in the afternoon. Seas increased from a one foot chop to four foot chops to one to two foot chops. The high air temperature was 66°F. The tide (current) was moderate. The visibility was one to three miles during the rain but over twenty miles without. The sky was overcast all morning, clear in the afternoon. The surface water temperature reached a high of 59°F.
The fishing was good to very good, based on the sea conditions. The catching was excellent. Landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock. They had no problem reaching the bag limit today, as it was yesterday.. The haddock cull was almost exactly one to one, legal fish to sub-legal fish. Legal landings also included three pollock, seven cusk, four mackerel and a small whiting. Released fish, not including the haddock, included six cod over 5 pounds, a wolffish and a mackerel. They drift fished and anchored. Bait was king today.
There was no way to tell who was high hook. Langdon Adams (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 10.5 pound pollock. Second place went to Dan Connor (NY) with a 10 pound cod. The third largest fish was a 9 pound cod caught by Zack Grimm (ME). Zack also caught the only wolffish. It weighed pounds. Quinn Bazine (MA) landed the hard luck award for getting a touch of the mal de mer.
I received a very generous donation of sponsorship towards my cancer fund raising efforts with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. The donation was an "egift" of $250.00 through the PMC site from Andy Tapparo (MA). Andy and his family are frequent patrons at Barnacle Billy's, wonderful people who I very much enjoy seeing from time to time. Andy started giving large to the cause last year. Thanks so much, Andy. Your generosity is much appreciated by me, but more so for those under the weather. All the best!
Instead, I sailed on the Petrel to see if I could help my son, Micah, harpoon a tuna. Micah asked me to go. I had the day off. How could I refuse that offer?
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 53°F, the sky was cloudless, the wind was blowing at eight knots out of the northwest and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. On the high seas, the wind blew out of the northwest until just before the tide around 10:00 when the ocean went calm. After 11:00 AM, the wind hauled out of the south southwest at light speeds, gradually building to fifteen knots in the afternoon with seas in chops of two feet or more. The sky stayed nearly cloudless all day. The air temperature was on the cool side out there with the northwest wind and the south southwest wind. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 79°F with a low of 60°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 80°F (with a low of 42°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 76°F (with a low of 50°F).
Right around slack water (high tide), we had a chance on a running (swimming on the surface) bunch of tuna. Micah had two shots on fish close enough to hit. But they were hard shots. The easiest shots are the ones where you come upon the fish from behind as they are swimming away from you. You have time to pick your fish and throw. These fish were cutting and shearing. So you were never totally behind them. Just as you thought you were on the right side of them, the (school of) fish would cut forty-five degrees putting you almost in their sight. Sam Robichaud was new at the helm. But he did as good a job as could be done putting Micah on the fish. It is nerve wracking for a helmsman in this kind of situation but worse for the harpooner. Micah saw several of his "picked fish" disappear to be replaced by another, that too, would disappear.
The first shot was on a fish that he had to take sideways, a very difficult shot. The second was similar but at a different angle. And maybe the second one was deeper than was practical. But he could have hit both. It was close, a good learning experience.
We had another opportunity with some jumpers that settled down for a bit, milling when we got there. We weren't able to get close enough before they settled away. I could see them from the tower but we weren't close enough for Micah to see them.
So we were the last boat in. Two boats out of the Cove got fish. One boat had two fish. The other had one. That's the way it goes.
It was a great day on the ocean, though. And I was very grateful my son asked me to go.
Captain Ian Keniston and Anthony Palumbo ran the extreme day trip today. At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 60°F, the sky was mostly clear, the wind was blowing out of the southwest at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was very good. The sky stayed mostly clear and sunny in the morning, mostly thin overcast in the afternoon. The air temperature quickly rose to 70°F. By noon, the air temperature was 78°F. It reached 80°F a half hour later. The air temperature might have been higher but that's the highest value that I saw today. The wind blew from the southwest but not as hard as they said it would. It might have been ten knots at times. The visibility dropped to good/very good in haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 80°F with a low of 63°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 79°F (with a low of 51°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 82°F (with a low of 54°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at ten knots to fifteen knots later in the trip. Seas increased from one to two feet in chops to two the three feet in chops. The air temperature reached a high of 67°F. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was overcast for the whole trip (no rain). The visibility ranged from ten to fifteen miles in haze. The surface water reached a high of 60°F.
The fishing was good, the catching was very good as was the landings. Moste legal fish landed were haddock. But they also caught a lot of pollock as well. Released fish included eighteen cod over 5 pounds, eighty-five dogfish (the most, by far, this season to date) and two wolffish. They anchored for every stop. All terminal gear worked well.
Dan Killay (VT) caught the most big fish. I was told that he and Joel Gaines (VT) shared high hook status for the most legal fish. Joel won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 23 pound pollock. This is a tie for the Bunny Clark's third largest pollock of the fishing season so far. Joel also caught an 18 pound pollock. Dan tied for second place with a 20 pound pollock. Peter Jaskievic (MA) tied with Dan, also with a 20 pound pollock. Peter also caught a 14 pound pollock. Some of Dan's other good fish included a 10.5 pound pollock, the first fish to be weighed today, a 15 pound pollock, a double that included a 13 pound pollock and a 9 pound pollock, an 11.5 pound cod and a 16 pound cod.
Captain Ian took a picture of Dan holding his 20 pound pollock (left) and Joel holding his 23 pound pollock (right and in the foreground). This digital image appears on the left.
Other Angler Highlights: Angel Solas (CT) caught a 16.5 pound pollock, her largest fish. Mike Graham (ME) also caught a 16.5 pound pollock. Kyle Quintana (MA) caught a 19.5 pound pollock. Butch Christensen (CT) caught an 18 pound pollock and a 12 pound pollock, his two best fish. Alex Grimes (VT) boated a 16 pound pollock, his best. Pete Quintana (MA) landed a 14 pound pollock, his biggest fish. Angel Solas also landed the hard luck award for getting a bit sea sick! I don't believe she was that bad off but I could be wrong.
At 2:30 AM EDT the air temperature was 62°F, the sky was overcast, it was pouring rain, the wind was blowing out of the south at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was fair in precipitation and haze.
It rained from the time I got up, during the time I was getting the Bunny Clark ready to sail, while I was up at the house posting this report, as we left the dock and all the way down and out of the channel. It rained all the way to the fishing grounds. But the ride to the grounds wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We had southerly winds all the way. Wind speeds were ten knots or more. Seas were about two feet in chops for most of the ride. Up to three feet for the last of it. I was able to maintain full cruising speed. The visibility was fair in rain and haze.
On the grounds, the wind started out of the south at fifteen knots. Seas were chops of two to three feet. The wind increased to twenty knots, more or less and kept working around the compass in a clockwise pattern until it was dead out of the southwest. The wind increased somewhat during the day. Seas increased to six feet with the occasional queer one. The ride home gave us six to eight foot seas and twenty-five knots of southwest wind. It rained for most of the day. There was a period of two hours in the morning when it didn't rain and I took my oil top off. It rained all the rest of the time including the ride in. At times it rained very hard. The air temperature reached a high of 64°F. The tide (current) was light. The visibility ranged from a quarter of a mile in rain and haze to almost ten miles. The sky was overcast for all but the last couple of miles on the ride back to Perkins Cove. The surface water temperature reached a high of 59.6°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 76°F with a low of 65°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 75°F (with a low of 61°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 67°F (with a low of 61°F).
The fishing conditions were not the greatest. We had no current all day. So that was really good. But there was no way to control your jigging or bait fishing with the sea state the way it was. We were unable to drift. The wind moved us at too high a rate. We tried the sea anchor to no avail. Anchoring worked the best. The catching was fair to good in the morning, very good in the afternoon. Landings were fair in the morning, a pick and good to very good in the afternoon. Most legal fish landed were haddock. The haddock cull was forty/sixty or more sub-legal haddock than legal haddock. Legal landings also included eighteen cusk, thirteen pollock and a redfish. Released fish included seventy-one cod over 5 pounds, twenty-five dogfish, a sea raven and three wolffish. Most fish were caught with bait or a combination of bait and something else.
I couldn't tell you who was high hook with the most legal fish. Bill Harding (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 19.5 pound wolffish. This is the largest wolffish that Bill has ever caught and it's the Bunny Clark's largest wolffish of the fishing season to date. I was able to take a picture of Bill holding his wolffish just before he released it. This digital image appears on the right. Bill caught one of the bigger cod of the trip at 11 pounds. He also caught the most short haddock. In fact, he was a recycling machine, keeping the short haddock away from everyone else on the boat! Thank you, Bill!
Steve Linn (PA) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 17.25 pound wolffish. This is Steve's largest ever wolffish. Its also the Bunny Clark's second largest wolffish of the season to date. I wanted to take a picture of Steve with this fish but spent too much time trying to get the hook out of the fish, enough time that I thought any more time might have killed the fish. Steve also caught another wolffish that weighed 11.5 pounds. The third largest fish was a 15 pound pollock caught by Bob Greenly (PA).
Other Angler Highlights: Josh Pearson (NH) probably caught the largest cod. He was fishing in the bow. So I didn't weigh the cod. We can't keep them so, unless the cod is exceptionally large, we release them quickly. It probably weighed 12 pounds. Steve Selmer (NH) caught a 14 pound pollock, his largest fish. Steve fished with Josh in the bow all day. And, yes, they had no problems with the seas. Paul Pearson (NH) landed a 12.25 pound pollock, his best fish. At the very end of the trip he hooked into something as he was letting his jig down to bottom. We believe it was a type of shark as the leader line was chaffed like it was rubbed against the skin of a shark. As soon as the big fish took it's first run, Paul got tangled with four or five other lines. In trying to get the tangles out, I probably put too much strain on Paul's line. So his line broke after the first couple of minutes of trying to clear lines. It was disappointing. But that's party boat fishing! What makes it more disappointing is that if I were to pick anyone on the boat today that I thought most capable of landing a big fish, I would have picked Paul! Anyone who can hold up a 98 pound halibut for as long as he did for a picture without apparent strain has got my vote! Plus, he's very good with a rod and reel.
Nick Schoonmaker (NY) might have caught the most legal haddock. He did catch the largest haddock of the day at 4.25 pounds. There were only three other haddock caught that were close to 4 pounds. His largest fish was a 10.5 pound cod. Mark Randis (PA) actually caught the most good sized haddock of the day. Alec Adams (ME) had a touch of the mal de mer all day. He fished all morning, hurling here and there when he needed to. During this time he caught an 8 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock, his two best fish. He also landed the hard luck award for his malady.
Mark & Gail Randis (PA) sponsored me with a generous $100.00 donation in the Pan-Mass Challenge charity cycling event to raise money for cancer research. I was presented with the check at the end of the trip. Mark & Gail have supported me in this event since I started in 2007. Seems hard to believe it has been that long! Thank you, Mark & Gail. Very thoughtful and much appreciated!
When I got back to the dock, WCSH, a TV station out of Portland, Maine, were just finishing up filming a segment they wanted to do with Maine's summer labor situation and Barnacle Billy's restaurants. I think it was an offshoot from the NBC interview I did with Kerry Sanders a few weeks ago. Anyway, I didn't appear personally unless they caught me in a cameo while I was talking to customers in my fishing clothes and white boots! But I hear it went well.
Also, while I was at sea, we received our second visit from the Maine CDC in a health inspection at Barnacle Billy's restaurant. The first visit was eight days ago where new rules were outlined and the restaurants were checked. This follow-up was to confirm that we were embracing the new rules. We passed with flying colors at both restaurants.
At 4:30 AM EDT the air temperature was 66°F, the sky was cloudless, there was no wind to write about, the ocean along the shore was flat calm and the visibility over it was good in thick haze. Ashore, there was very little wind all day. What wind we did have, in the afternoon, was from the southwest. It barely lifted a flag. The air temperature rose to 86°F, at least. The sky was cloudless all morning and mostly sunny in the afternoon. Late in the afternoon thunder showers went by to our south (York, Maine) and to our north (Kennebunkport, Maine) but didn't touch us. We never got a drop of rain. The visibility was very good. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 90°F with a low of 72°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 90°F (with a low of 61°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 85°F (with a low of 64°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind was light and variable in direction. The ocean's surface was calm over a two to three foot long rolling sea swell from yesterday's wind. The high air temperature for the day was 73°F, the highest air temperature this year so far. The tide (current) was non-existent to light. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The sky sunny and clear. The surface water temperature reached a high of 64°F, the highest surface water temperature we have recorded this season to date.
The fishing was excellent, the conditions perfect for humans sailing on the high seas. The catching was very good, lots of cod. Landings were good, at best. The fishing conditions were too nice to have good landings as well. However, had cod been on the table as a fish we could keep, that outcome would have been vastly different. Most legal fish landed were haddock. The cull was 40/60 again, favoring the sub-legal haddock. Legal landings also included nineteen pollock, ten cusk and two whiting. Released fish included one hundred and twenty-two dogfish (ouch!), forty-six cod over 5 pounds and one wolffish. Drifting was the only fishing method available to them. All terminal gear worked about the same.
John Mulica was high hook with the most legal fish, over twenty fish. If you also included cod over 5 pounds, it might have been T. J. Altomer. T.J. won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 17 pound cod. T.J. also caught the second largest fish, a 16.5 pound cod. He caught this cod as part of a double that also included a 10 pound cod, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. This becomes a tie for the fourth largest double of the Bunny Clark fishing season so far. Ian also weighed an 11 pound cod that T.J. caught. The third largest fish was a 14 pound cod caught by Logan Groat. Logan also caught a 12 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Gary Hammond, Jr. caught the fourth largest fish, a 12.5 pound cod. Gary Ublacker landed the largest pollock of the day at 11 pounds. He also caught an 11 pound cod. Dan Keyser caught an 11.5 pound cod, his largest fish. Asah Mulica landed the hard luck award for getting a little green around the gills!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 68°F, the sky was clear, there was no wind to write about, the ocean along the shore was flat calm and the visibility over it was very good, surprisingly. Ashore: As the day progressed, the air temperature rose as did the humidity. With the heat and humidity, the haze moved in and the visibility dropped. It was still good by mid afternoon but the visibility wasn't nearly as clear as it was in the morning. I was not that happy with the heat and humidity. But I'm sure it was great for those on Ogunquit beach. The sky was clear in the morning, overcast in the afternoon. The wind was very light from the northwest in the morning, flat calm and then light from the southwest. The air temperature reached a high of 91°F in Perkins Cove. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 92°F with a low of 75°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 93°F (with a low of 63°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 85°F (with a low of 65°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind was light and variable in direction during the morning. In the afternoon, the wind found a southerly component and blew five knots or less. The ocean was calm over long two foot rolling sea swells. The air temperature reached a high of 74°F, the highest air temperature was have seen on the fishing grounds this season. The visibility ranged from twenty to fifteen miles. The tide (current) was very light. The sky was clear and sunny for the trip. The surface water temperature reached a high of 64°F.
The fishing conditions were perfect for humans on the high seas. The ocean was calm with the underlying sea swell, there were not many dogfish, it was sunny and there was not much current. This, of course, has a negative effect on the bite. And this was proven again today. Catching was good and landings were fair to good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was one to one or one legal haddock for every two caught. Other legal fish landed included eight pollock and eleven cusk. Released fish included eighteen dogfish, fifteen cod over 5 pounds and two wolffish. Drifting was the only boating method available. All terminal gear worked well.
Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook. Justin King (NH) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 15 pound cod. The second largest fish was a 14.5 pound wolffish caught by his father, Duane King (NH). The wolffish is the Bunny Clark's fourth largest wolffish of the fishing season to date. Trevor LaRose (VT) caught the third largest fish, a 14 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Jullian King (NH) caught a 10 pound cod, her largest fish. Luke Moran (MA) landed the hard luck award for getting the dreaded mal de mer.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 73°F, the sky was overcast, it was just starting to rain (the radar was showing a line of thunder showers headed over our area), the wind was blowing lightly out of the south southwest, the ocean along the shore was calm with wind patches and the visibility over it was good to very good. The rain was light, very light, the bulk of the rain going by to our south and north. By 7:00 AM, what little rain we had was gone for the day. We never saw another rain shower for the rest of the day. We never saw any wind either. The wind was variable in direction from morning until the night, never more than three knots. The flags were limp all day. We were told that a sea breeze was on the way. That never happened. The ocean along the shore was flat calm. The air temperature rose. Without the wind, it was hot. And it was muggy with a high dew point and humidity. The highest air temperature that I saw in Perkins Cove was 86°F. The visibility was good in heavy haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 92°F with a low of 70°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 96°F (with a low of 69°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 88°F (with a low of 69°F).
On the fishing grounds, there was no wind for the while time they were there. The ocean was calm. The air temperature reached a high of 84°F, the highest air temperature, by almost ten degrees, of the season so far. The visibility ranged from five to ten miles in haze. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was sunny. The surface water temperature reached a value of 67°F, the highest surface water temperature of the season.
The fishing was very good, only made less than excellent by the number of dogfish caught and the moderate tide without the wind giving a favorable direction on the drift. The catching was nearly excellent if you include the dogfish. Landings were good to very good, one of the better days in the last three. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was one and a half to one, sub-legal haddock to keeper haddock. Legal landings also included fifteen pollock and nine mackerel. Released fish included forty cod over 5 pounds, ninety-nine dogfish and a few small pollock and cod. Drifting was the only boating method employed. Bait was best.
Anthony Palumbo, our deck hand on a bus-man's holiday, was high hook with the most legal fish. His largest fish was a 15 pound cod, the second largest fish of the trip. Bill Socha (NH) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 17 pound pollock. His largest cod weighed 13 pounds. And excellent fisherman, this is the second pool in a row, in as many trips, that he has won. The third largest fish was a 14.5 pound pollock caught by Jim Asdot (ME). Jim also caught a 13 pound cod and a 12 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Jesette Asdot (ME) landed the largest haddock at 5 pounds. Jack Judge (CT/ME) landed a 10 pound pollock, the first fish to be weighed, and an 11 pound pollock. His biggest fish was a 13 pound cod. Jessica Froebel (NY) landed the hardest luck of the day award for not getting very many legal fish. But that was okay; her father walked off with plenty of fillets to give her!
Captain Ian Keniston and Ally Fuehrer ran the afternoon half day (4 PM - 8 PM) trip.
On the fishing grounds, the ocean remained calm. The wind was light and variable in direction. The air temperature rose to a value of 78°F. The tide was light. The visibility ranged from five to ten miles in a thick haze. The sky was clear and sunny. The surface water temperature reached a high of 66°F.
The fishing was excellent, the catching was fair to good, landings were fair to poor. Legal landings included two haddock, one whiting and two mackerel. Released fish included a handful of small cod, one cod of 5 pounds and a sculpin. They anchored and drift fished. Everyone used bait and cod flies.
Scott Bradway (MA) was the fisherman of the evening. He was high hook with the most legal fish (two) and he won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 5 pound cod. Doug Masiuk (MA) caught the second largest fish, a 4.5 pound cod. Becky Masiuk (MA) caught the third largest fish, a 3 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Evan Tao (PA) landed the hard luck award t-shirt for losing what would have been the third legal haddock of the night right on the surface.
I received several donations sponsoring me in the premier cycling event for cancer research in the United States called the Pan-Mass Challenge. Those unselfish, kind individuals and their donations are as follows: Bill Socha for a generous $100.00, Dawn Beckwith (and Sally - ME) for $60.00 and Dean & Kathy Yesny (NY) for $20.00. Thank you all for your help and support. I very much appreciate it!
Captain Ian Keniston and Anthony Palumbo ran the extreme day trip today. At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 67°F, the sky was mostly clear with some clouds, the wind was blowing lightly out of the northeast (very lightly), the ocean along the shore was calm and the visibility over it was good, at best, in thick haze. Ashore, the wind piped up from the east northeast to over ten knots, with flags out straight and the wind in my face as I made my way back from York Beach on my bike around 10:00 AM. By the time I arrived in Ogunquit before 11:00 AM, the wind had dropped off. The wind was light from east for most of the day, so light that the ocean was flat calm with a few wind patches. The air temperature was warm but not too warm thanks to the wind off the water. The sky was hazy clear and sunny all day. The highest air temperature that I observed was 76°F. The visibility was good in haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 76°F with a low of 69°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 91°F (with a low of 68°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 76°F (with a low of 66°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the east at five knots or less all day. The ocean was flat calm. The air temperature was up, again, to 78°F in the shade. Ian said it was hot. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The visibility ranged from five to ten miles in thick haze. The sky was sunny. The surface water temperature reached a high of 66°F.
Fishing was good, at best. I say that because they had just shy of three hundred dogfish that prevented them from catching the better fish. So, if you include the dogs, the catching was great. Landings were fair to good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, of course. The cull was sixty-five/thirty-five or one legal haddock for every three caught. Legal landings also included thirteen pollock, one redfish, eleven cusk and two mackerel. Released (significant) fish included twenty-two cod over 5 pounds, two hundred and ninety-six dogfish (ouch!) and one wolffish. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked about the same.
Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook. There was way too much going on. Lou Phelps (VT) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 23.5 pound halibut. This is our tenth halibut of the fishing season so far. It was thirty-seven inches caliper fork length so it was sub-legal and had to go back. Ian took a quick picture with Lou holding it before releasing it back. This digital image appears on the right. Lou also caught a 13 pound pollock and a 12 pound pollock.
The second largest fish was a 16 pound wolffish caught by Kevin Oldenburg (CO). This is a tie for the Bunny Clark's third largest wolffish of the fishing season so far. The third largest fish was a 14.5 pound pollock caught by Dave Haberl (VT). Dave also caught a 13 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: John Russell (ME) caught a 10 pound cod, his largest fish. Jonathan Eagan (KS) caught a 12 pound cod, his best. Trevor Sands (NH) landed the hard luck award for losing three jigs, the most for any angler this season to date! Ouch!
I received two donations sponsoring me in my cancer fund raising efforts with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. One was a generous $100.00 gift from Peter & Patricia Vangness (MA). The other was a thoughtful $40.00 gift from Dave Haberl. Thank you all so very much for your help and support in this, my annual project to help others. I very much appreciate this!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 65°F, the sky was mostly clear with some clouds, the wind was blowing lightly out of the northeast (very lightly), the ocean along the shore was calm and the visibility over it was good, at best, in thick haze. We had a light southwest wind on the ride to the fishing grounds. Seas were really two foot left over short swells/hubble that created spay as our course to the fishing grounds took them on the bow quarter. The seas were glassy without the wind. On the grounds, the southwest wind increased to about five knots for a couple hours and then ten knots, maybe. As soon as it reached it's full strength, it started to drop off. We had about four knots of southwest wind on the first part of the ride home, calm seas and wind after the first ten miles and then rain showers until we got back to Perkins Cove and for a half hour while we were there.
Life on the fishing grounds, aside from the wind, was certainly pleasant enough. The wind, as light as it was, kept the air temperature down to an ambient 76°F. The tide was into the wind for the first couple of hours so we couldn't move by drifting. So the sea anchor was unavailable as was anchoring. The fishing suffered for it. The sky was hazy sunny all day with few clouds. The tide (current) was light overall. The visibility ranged from five to ten miles in haze. The surface water temperature reached a high of 67°F.
In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 98°F with a low of 73°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 95°F (with a low of 67°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 88°F (with a low of 64°F).
The fishing was very good. Conditions were such that you really couldn't go wrong. When the tide switched we had good movement over the bottom with only a slight angle to the lines. The catching was okay. I guess that, technically, it was good. But it was no better than that. Landings were fair to good for our normally landed species, excellent for one species, a big halibut.
Most legal fish landed were haddock. The haddock cull was close to two to one, or one legal fish for every three caught. Numerically, it was a little better than that. Legal landings also included nine pollock, eight cusk and three Loligo species squid. Released fish included forty-seven cod over 5 pounds, fifty or so dogfish and one wolffish. Drifting was the only boating method employed. All terminal gear worked about the same.
I couldn't tell you who was high hook. There was just too much going on. And there was no clear leader that I could see. I'm sure if I polled the passengers, I could have come up with a name. Half of the anglers aboard today are very excellent fishermen.
Steve LaPlante (CT) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 102 pound Atlantic halibut. This is the first and biggest halibut he has ever caught. It's also the Bunny Clark's largest halibut that has ever graced her deck by 1.5 pounds. Unfortunately, we don't have a scale or the capabilities of weighing a fish over 100 pounds at sea. So we had to weigh it in pieces as Ally cut it up for Steve. Steve also caught a 12.5 pound cod, the first fish of the day that I could weigh, and an 11 pound cod.
I knew he had a halibut the moment he hooked it. This from the larger than normal head shakes and also from the sounding machine image. I actually took a picture of the sounding machine image with my iPhone. This image appears on the left. The image isn't nearly as clear as what you see when you are looking at the machine live. But it's still interesting. I run a split screen at a low frequency so I can scan a larger area than with a higher frequency system. The split screen in the image is split right in half. The left side of the machine shows an expanded view of the fish on the bottom. The right half shows the bottom features and all the action in the area I have chosen to look, in this case the water column from 20 to 35 fathoms. On the same right screen half, on the left, you can see where the halibut took line from Steve's reel and went straight to bottom. This was the fourth time the fish had done this. Then you can see the light blue/yellow line represented as Steve gets the fish off the bottom and starts bringing it back to the surface. The machine I have is a CHIRP which, in layman's language just means that I see a sharp clear image and can even discriminate between a bait fish school and the species of predator fish in the school. In this image I can see the distortion created by the air bubbles formed when the fish beats it's tail. There are even a couple of spots on the original view where I can see the outline of the tail. Pretty interesting stuff.
So the halibut took line seven or eight times. Only four times did it go all the way to bottom. The fight was over twenty minutes, the fight I expect out of a halibut that size. When it got to the surface, close enough to gaff, I took the fish with the flying gaff while Ally backed me up with the line attached to the dislodged hook. Dick Lyle (NY) and Dan Kelley (ME) also secured the fish with boat gaffs. The four of us hauled it over the rail. There was not much fight left in the fish after we got it on deck. We were all very happy. We have lost so many big halibut in the past, some much bigger than this one. It was nice to have a substantial fish in the boat. And it certainly made the day.
After that, we spread Ron Roy's ashes, each of us taking a turn with the urn, until all the ashes were placed in the sea. There were some exceptions where some tried the windward side of the Bunny Clark. But I guess that some part of Ron wanted to be aboard the Bunny Clark for one more go around. Ron must have had some influence for us to land such a magnificent fish. The urn went over the side as well, right where the halibut left the bottom for the last time. The spot is now called Ron's Edge. Or, at least, it is to me. Farewell, Ron. We knew ye well and were happier when you were around. Dick Lyle gave Ron the best send-off I can ever remember hearing. Not only was it good. It was appropriate, what he said. And, I must say, Dick brought out the emotions in all of us. He's very good at this. We took one more drift and then headed home.
Sam Robichaud (ME) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 17.5 pound cod. He caught this fish was a pole that Ron Roy gave to him. So I figured that that was appropriate! Dick Lyle won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the third largest fish, a 17 pound cod. Gunner Williams (CT) won the "Kid's Pool" for the largest among them with an 11.5 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Steve Selmer caught the only wolffish. It weighed 8 pounds. His largest fish was a 16 pound cod. Tim Williams caught a 13 pound cod, the largest fish that I saw him catch. Mike McNealy (NH) caught an 11 pound cod. Luke Arno (CT) caught a 9 pound cod. Elle Williams (CT) landed the hard luck award for getting a little white and not feeling so well. She fished through it and caught a few herself. A true Williams at heart!
Sam Robichaud did me a solid today by sponsoring me in my cancer fund raising event called the Pan-Mass Challenge today. His donation was $40.00. Thank you so much, Sam. I really appreciate the help and support!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 71°F, the sky was mostly clear with just a few clouds, there was very little wind, the ocean was calm with a few wind patches along the shore and the visibility over it was very good at least. We had very little wind all day, the ocean along the shore was calm for all of it. The air temperature rose to 88°F in Perkins Cove. The sky was sunny all day. The humidity was down from yesterday. The visibility remained very good. We had no rain. Not a single thunder shower. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 87°F with a low of 73°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 93°F (with a low of 61°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 93°F (with a low of 68°F). Today's high temperature in Portland is a record high for this date. Of course, there were no records broken in any other city in New England with records dating back over seventy-five years. But in Portland's short record keeping history, it was a record. The previous record high temperature was 90°F set in 2010.
On the fishing grounds, there was no wind today. The ocean was flat calm all day. The high air temperature in the shade under the canopy top was a record (for this year) high temperature of 87°F or too damn warm! The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was sunny. The surface water temperature reached a high of 71°F, a new high for the season.
The fishing was excellent; conditions were nearly perfect for humans on the high seas. The catching was good. Landings were fair to good. Most legal fish landed were haddock with a similar catch rate to yesterday's trip. The haddock cull was nearly two to one, sub-legal haddock to legal haddock. Legal fish landed also included five cusk and one cunner. Released fish included twelve cod over 5 pounds and one wolffish. Drifting was the only boating method that could be used under the conditions. Bait worked best today.
Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook. Bob Bingham (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 10.5 pound cod. The second largest fish was a 9.5 pound wolffish caught by Phil Korducavich (NY). Art Kemler, Jr. (ME/CT) caught the third and fourth largest fish of the trip, an 8.5 pound cod and a 9 pound cod. Adam Bingham (NY) landed the hard luck award for being the only angler to lose a jig, on the first drop!.
At 8:30 PM, I took out the annual Deb Tower Fireworks for Locals trip. It was a beautiful evening for it. But there were two venues. One was at the Cliff House to start at 9:00 PM. The other was off Ogunquit Beach, put on by the Chamber, at 9:15 PM. So, simple, go to the Cliff House for a while and then finish at the Beach. Wrong. The fireworks at the Cliff didn't start until 9:15 PM while Ogunquit Beach started at 9:00 PM. I found myself racing to get to Ogunquit Beach before it was all over. Meanwhile, had I stayed at the Cliff House, I would have seen an even better show. Everyone still had a good time. It was a perfect evening.
The Decormier Family donated another monetary sum toward my involvement in the Pan-Mass Challenge, a cycling event to solve the cancer riddle. They made another donation previously this year. This donation was $10.00. Thank you so very much. It was nice seeing you all last night on the Fireworks Cruise and I appreciate all the help with dock lines, fenders and antennas! All the best!
Captain Ian Keniston and Anthony Palumbo ran the full day trip today. At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 70°F, the sky was clear with some high thin clouds, there was no wind, the ocean was calm along the shore and the visibility over it was good in some haze. There was very little wind in the morning, out of the south. After noon, the southerly wind increased. It was blowing fifteen knots by 5:00 PM. The sky was clear all day. The air temperature reached a high of 92°F. It was very humid which made it very uncomfortable outside. The visibility was good in some haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 94°F with a low of 74°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 95°F (with a low of 65°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 89°F (with a low of 67°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at five to ten knots. The ocean's surface was calm in the morning, a one foot chop in the afternoon. The air temperature reached a high of 78°F. The tide (current) was moderate. The visibility ranged from ten to fifteen miles in haze. The sky was sunny. The surface water temperature reached a high of 70°F.
The fishing was very good, a mark down from excellent due to the larger number of dogfish caught. The dogfish, again (like Monday), were the most prevalent species, by far. Most legal fish landed were haddock. The haddock cull was 60/40 favoring the sub-legal haddock. Legal landings also included ten pollock, one whiting and one mackerel. Released fish included one hundred and thirty-five dogfish, thirty-six cod over 5 pounds and four wolffish. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked the same today.
Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook. Art Kemler, Jr. (PA/ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 21 pound halibut. This is the Bunny Clark's twelveth halibut of the fishing season so far. That's a significant number of halibut. Ian took a picture of Art with his small halibut. This digital image appears on the left. The second and third largest fish were both caught by Dan Kelley (ME). His largest was a 14 pound wolffish, a tie for our seventh largest woffish of the season to date. His smaller fish was a 13.5 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Jayde Meader (ME) landed a 5.5 pound whiting. Recognizing the size, Ian put it on ice to save it for an official weight ashore. Indeed, it was potentially a state record and an IGFA all tackle world record. After the Bunny Clark hit the dock, I took Jayde to the Post Office to have it officially weighed. That weight came out at 5 pounds and 3.9 ounces, plenty large enough to break the existing world record of 4.5 pounds and the state record as well. It's also the largest whiting that has ever been caught on the Bunny Clark. The next two hours ashore was spent taking pictures and filling out the paperwork. This will continue until all is sent in to the IGFA headquarters and the state of Maine for verification.
Fred Freeman (NY) caught a 12 pound cod, his largest fish. Skip Burnham (NY) caught a 10 pound cod, his largest fish. Jamie McMullen (ME) caught a 12.5 pound cod. Brian Beaulieu (ME) landed the hard luck award for getting the most tangled lines. He also lost a jig three times only to have it caught an returned all three times!
Captain Ian Keniston and Anthony Palumbo ran the afternoon half day (4 PM - 8 PM) trip.
On the fishing grounds, the wind had increased to fifteen knots out of the south southwest. Seas were chops of two to three feet. It was uncomfortable. The air temperature had dropped to 74°F as the high temperature for the trip. The tide (current) was moderate. The visibility ranged from ten to fifteen miles in haze. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds. The surface water temperature reached a high of 68°F.
The fishing was good at best, the catching was fair and landings were poor. Only three whiting and one haddock were caught on the legal side of things. They caught little else. They anchored all evening. Everyone used bait and there were some cod flies used as well.
Maddy Moody (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 1.75 pound haddock. The second largest fish was a whiting of 1.5 pounds caught by Frank Stunzi (NY). Jack Mahoney (MA) landed the third largest fish, a 1 pound whiting. Luis Texerra (MA) landed the hard luck award for being the most sea sick!
I received a $25.00 donation from Dawn Vasvary (ME) sponsoring me in the Pan-Mass Challenge, a cycling event to create funding for cancer research and care. Thank you, Dawn. Much appreciated. And best of luck!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 78°F, the sky was clear, a half moon was hanging high over head, the wind was blowing out of the southwest at fifteen knots and the visibility over it was good in some haze. Shortly after 7:00 AM, clouds started to cover the sky. From 7:30 AM to a bit after noon, it rained lightly and was intermittent. The rain was enough to make the roads wet but not enough to put on a rain coat. By 2:30 PM, the clouds had disappeared and the sky had cleared. It was mostly sunny for the rest of the day. The air temperature reached a high of, at least, 82°F in Perkins Cove. It was humid and muggy. The visibility was good in haze. The wind blew out of the southwest/west at fifteen knots, decreasing as the day progressed. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 86°F with a low of 65°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 86°F (with a low of 59°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 87°F (with a low of 60°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at twenty knots decreasing as the day progressed. The southwest wind speed was ten knots by they time they were ready to head home. Seas were three to four feet in chops decreasing to two and three feet. The air temperature reached a high of 73°F. The sky was overcast all day with light rain in the morning. The tide (current) was moderate. The visibility ranged from a mile to ten miles in fog, light rain and haze. The surface water temperature reached a high of 65°F.
The fishing conditions were not great. There were quite a few sea sick. The catching was to very good for those who were able to wet a line. Landings were good. Most fish and most legal fish caught were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was almost two to one or for every three fish caught a keeper was landed. Legal landings also included a pollock and three cusk. Released fish included thirty-six dogfish, one cod over 5 pounds and one small wolffish. They anchored for every stop. Bait was best.
Rob Mesko (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 10 pound cod. There was not another fish caught that weighed over 5 pounds. Christine Berg (ME) reached high hurler status and landed the hard luck award t-shirt for her malady.
We did not have enough interest in the afternoon trip to run one.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 52°F, the sky was clear, a half moon was hanging high over the western horizon, the wind was blowing out of the northwest at less than ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
It was a perfect ride to the fishing grounds. The wind was out of the northwest at fifteen knots, tops. This wind diminished the closer we got to the grounds. This wind direction gave us a following sea which meant no spray and good stability.
On the grounds, the wind continued to blow out of the northwest for all but the later part of the morning. The wind dropped to nothing for a short time and then hauled out of the south southwest at eight knots, more or less. Most of the south southwest wind came on the ride back to Perkins Cove. The ocean was relatively calm all day. The air temperature reached a high of 72°F. The tide (current) was moderate in the morning to strong in the afternoon. The visibility ranged over thirty miles. The sky was cloudless. The surface water temperature reached a high of 63.2°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 75°F with a low of 61°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 80°F (with a low of 47°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 78°F (with a low of 61°F).
The fishing conditions were very good. Without the current, I would have given the day an excellent rating. The catching was very good. Landings were good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was 55/45, favoring the legal fish. Legal landings also included twenty-four cusk, one pollock and a dogfish. Released fish included twenty-seven market cod over 5 pounds, nine dogfish, one long horn sculpin, a few sub-legal pollock and a few small cod. We tried drifting but it was a little too fast. So we anchored for most of the fishing and tried drifting on the last spot of the day. The drift was much worse at the end of the trip. All terminal gear worked well but bait was best for the haddock.
Roland Bastien (CT) was, by far, high hook with the most legal fish. He enjoyed a fish a drop from the beginning until the end. His largest fish was an 8 pound cod. But he caught many haddock. Jared Hughes (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 18 pound cod. He also caught the second largest fish, a 13 pound pollock. The third largest fish was a 9 pound cod caught by Paulette LaPierre (MA). Most fish were small. We had a few cusk in the 6 to 7 pound range and one that might have been 8 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Nicole Zucco (VT) caught the largest haddock, weighing 4.5 pounds. I really think we would have done better today but Linwood Bridges (ME) brought a bunch of bananas with him. I knew from the start that the day wouldn' t be as good as it could have been. He even tried to give me a green banana for the ride home! Carol Gregory (NH) landed the hard luck award for really no other reason than I couldn't find anyone with hard enough luck to give it to. Oh, I called it for most tangled lines. And she did get a couple of tangles. But they certainly weren't bad tangles.
I received several donations sponsoring me in my bike ride, called the Pan-Mass Challenge, to fight cancer. Those wonderful individuals and their donations were as follows: Roland Bastien for $10.00, Glen Dore (NH) for $25.00 and Don & Rebecca Stedman (TN) for $50.00 in Memory of Jim Stedman. Thank you all so very much for your kindness, help and support. All the best!
Captain Ian Keniston and Ally Fuehrer ran the full day trip today.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 58°F, the sky was cloudless, a crescent moon was hanging high over the eastern horizon, there was no wind, the ocean was flat calm along the shore and the visibility over it was excellent. The ocean along the shore was calm all morning. After noon, the wind piped up out of the west southwest but it only blew about ten knots or a little more. The air dry and clear, not the humidity we have seen the last few days. The air temperature reached a high of 80°F in Perkins Cove. The visibility was very good. The sky was mostly clear and sunny all day.
In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 81°F with a low of 61°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 85°F (with a low of 49°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 80°F (with a low of 52°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at very light speeds in the morning. The ocean was flat calm. After noon, the southwest wind increased to about ten knots or less. Seas were chops of less than a foot. The high air temperature for the day was 69°F. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles in haze. The tide (current) was moderate to strong. The sky was sunny. The surface water temperature reached a high of 63°F.
Except for the extra tide they had today, the fishing was excellent, a perfect day to be out on the water. The catching was excellent. Landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was about two to one, sub-legal fish to legal fish. Legal landings also included fifteen pollock, a monkfish and five mackerel. Released fish included twenty-six cod over 5 pounds, twenty-six dogfish, a few small pollock and cod and two wolffish. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked about the same.
Joe Columbus (MA) was high hook with the most legal fish. His largest cod weighed 12 pounds. He also caught a pollock that weighed 11 pounds. Down Town Brown from Stowe, Vermont, won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 22 pound pollock. This fish is tied with one other caught earlier this season for the Bunny Clark's fifth largest pollock of the fishing season so far. Ian took a picture of Down Town's pollock with Down Town holding it. This digital image appears on the left. The second largest fish was the Bunny Clark's thirteen halibut of the season to date. It was caught by Tristan Winslow (MA). The halibut was 20 pounds, sub-legal at thirty-eight inches caliper fork length. Ian took a quick picture of Tristan holding this halibut before it was released alive. This digital image appears on the right. The third largest fish was a 15 pound pollock caught by Gary Harp (NY).
Other Angler Highlights: Jay Meyer (ME) started off the weighing today with a 14 pound cod. This turned out to be Jay's largest fish. Nestor Colon (MA) caught one of our top five monkfish today at 4.5 pounds. I believe this is number two on the list. There have been no big ones this season so far. His largest fish was a 10 pound cod. Jackie Columbus (MA) landed one of the bigger pollock at 12 pounds. Cindy Columbus (MA) caught an 11 pound cod, her largest. Jen Swartout (MD) landed the hard luck award for only catching one legal fish. She held up the bag with her two fillets in a salute to Ian before leaving the boat. She did this in a funny way that got us both laughing, once I knew the story behind it.
I received two donations supporting my cancer fund raising ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Joe Columbus gave me his third or fourth $20.00 donation of the season, a wonderful much appreciated system, and Ralph & Eleanor Small (NY) donated a very generous $100.00 toward the cause. Thank you all so very much for your help. Too bad that so many people with benefit by your kindness and won't know who to thank!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 66°F, the sky was clear, the wind was out of the west southwest at almost fifteen knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. Ashore, the morning was pleasantly warm with rising temperatures but little humidity. By noon, we were over 80°F. Early afternoon I saw an air temperature of 86°F. As the day wore on, the humidity level increased but not so much to be unbearable. The sky was clear all day. The wind blew out of the west and then west southwest and then southwest, never more than ten knots in Perkins Cove. The visibility dropped to good/very good in haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 91°F with a low of 65°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 92°F (with a low of 54°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 84°F (with a low of 58°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at ten to fifteen knots. Seas were chops of two feet throughout. The air temperature reached a high of 71°F. The tide (current) was moderate today. The sky was clear and sunny. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles in less haze than yesterday. The surface water temperature reached a high of 64°F.
The fishing was very good. The conditions weren't perfect with the seas. The catching was excellent. Landings were very good. The bite was much better today. Most legal fish landed were haddock, quite a few more than we have caught in the last seven days. The haddock cull was almost one to one, favoring the sub-legal fish by ten or twenty. Legal landings also included twenty-six pollock. Released fish included seventy-five cod over 5 pounds, a few short pollock and haddock, twenty-five dogfish and three wolffish. They drift fished all day. All terminal gear worked about the same.
Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook. Andrew Macaione (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 18.5 pound pollock. The second largest fish was a 14.5 pound pollock caught by Brian Tufts (FL/NH). Mike Smith (VT) caught the third largest fish, a 14 pound pollock. Mike also caught an 11 pound cod and a cod that weighed 12.5 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Roy Dean (PA) caught the first fish big enough to weigh, an 11.5 pound cod. Richard Morrell (ME) landed a 13 pound pollock, his largest fish. His largest cod weighed 11 pounds. Pat Dean (ME) caught a 12 pound cod, his largest fish. Dave Simonetti (VT) caught a 10.5 pound cod and a 13 pound, his two largest fish. He also landed the hard luck award for breaking off his jig on a big double!
I received two donations supporting me in my ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge today, a cycling event to raise money for cancer research with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. One donation was for $100.00 from Dick & Kathy Lyle (NY). The other donation was from my wonderful sister, Meg, for $1,000.00. Meg has already donated $1,000.00. And I try to tell her to save her money. But she feels, as I do, that this is very important. Her donation was given in memory of Ben Weiner (one of my best friend's son who just recently passed from brain cancer), Guy Woodward, Bunny Friedman and Sharon Smith. Thank you Dick, Kathy and Meg I am surrounded by good people but you all are very special to me.
I met the Bunny Clark on the dock after the return of the fishing trip. Everyone was happy getting off the boat. But I was more interested in going over the day sheet with Ian, making sure we were getting fuel and working on the logistics of getting the boat (and myself) ready to sail at 10:00 PM this evening. The wind was not the greatest for sailing overnight. But it wasn't going to be so bad that we couldn't do it.
I had everyone aboard by 9:30 PM with vehicles parked and everything taken care of. We left the dock at 10:00 PM as planned. Anthony Palumbo was my first mate for the trip. Bryan Tufts was my second deck hand. Captain Bryan Lewer was my second captain. I took the boat almost as far as Boon Island Ledge when Bryan Tufts took over to steer the rest of the way to the fishing grounds. We made about eleven knots. That was the fastest we could travel and still have everyone comfortable in the bunks and on the boat.
The wind blew out of the southwest the whole ride out. I had been working hard all week with less sleep than I wanted to have before this trip. So when I jumped into the bunk I fell asleep instantly. Bryan Tufts told me that the seas were three to five feet with the occasional queer one. There were places where the tide really steeped them up. He thought, surely, that I would wake up during the harder part of the ride. But I was out like a light. When Bryan Lewer had a harder time waking me up than is usual. But, once up, I was fine and was fine for the rest of the day. We arrived on the fishing grounds well before daylight with plenty enough time to get everyone up and ready for the first drop before dawn. Seas had dropped to about three feet average in chops and it was quite comfortable on the anchor. The sky was clear, there was a sliver of a moon overhear, the air temperature was perfect (68°F at 5:00 AM) and the tide was light to moderate. The visibility was very good as it was all the way to the grounds.
Ashore, temperature highs and lows were as follows: In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 96°F with a low of 68°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 93°F (with a low of 56°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 89°F (with a low of 59°F). The high air temperature in Ogunquit was 90°F.
The weather on the fishing grounds got better as the day progressed. The wind was out of the southwest at fifteen knots with three foot chops when we arrived. This wind had dropped to eight knots by noon, less than that in the early afternoon. When it was time to travel home, there was a very light southwest wind with a one foot chop and left over hubble that we had on the beam as we made the course home. The air temperature reached a high of 70°F. The sky was clear and sunny. The tide (current) was light to moderate but perfect for drifting in the late morning/early afternoon. The visibility was probably fifteen miles in some haze. The surface water temperature reached a high of 64.5°F.
The fishing was very good, the catching was excellent as were the landings. Most legal fish landed were haddock. But pollock were a close second. There were very few sub-legal haddock. Legal landings also included six cusk and one halibut. Released fish included almost three hundred cod from 5 pounds to 25 pounds, eight or nine dogfish, one halibut and nine wolffish. We anchored and drift fished. All terminal gear worked well.
I couldn't tell you who was high hook. But if you added cod in the mix it had to be Dick Lyle (NY). Bryan Lewer (ME/FL) was a close second. Dick's largest fish was an 18.5 pound cod but some other fish of his that I weighed included a 15 pound cod, a 12.5 pound pollock, a 5 pound haddock, an 11 pound wolffish and a 13 pound pollock. Bryan won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the third largest fish, a 23 pound cod. This fish ties the fifth largest cod of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. Some of the other fish of his that I weighed included a 13.5 pound pollock, a 15 pound pollock, a 12.5 pound cod, a 14 pound cod and a 16 pound cod.
Jim Wescom (VT) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 52.5 pound Maine state trophy halibut. This is the first Atlantic halibut that Jim has ever caught. It's also the fifth largest halibut of the Bunny Clark fishing season. I took a picture of Jim and, his son, Dan Wescom (VT) holding this special fish. That picture appears on the left in this entry. We were drifting at the time Jim hooked his fish. Jim was fishing under the boat and thought some other angler had hooked his line. Upon closer inspection, I realized that Jim had no one in the way and, in fact, had a good fish on the line! Some of Jim's other good fish included a 5 pound haddock, a 10 pound pollock and a 14 pound pollock.
Adam Towle (NH) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 25 pound cod. This is the Bunny Clark's second largest cod of the 2018 fishing season so far. Adam also caught a 22 pound cod.
Bill Harding (ME) caught the other halibut today. It weighed 18 pounds and was sub-legal. This is the Bunny Clark's fifteenth halibut of this year's fishing season. I took a picture of Bill and his halibut just before putting it back into the ocean for the swim back to bottom. The digital image appears on the right. Bill caught a lot of haddock today, not the small ones that he caught last week either. His largest haddock weighed 5.75 pounds and was the second largest haddock caught on this trip.
Other Angler Highlights: Marie Harding (ME) caught a 15 pound wolffish. Her largest fish was an 18 pound cod. Her largest haddock weighed 5.5 pounds. She too caught a lot of haddock. She also lost probably the largest wolffish of the trip when I tried to lift the fish out of the water by the hook leader. It could have been as big as 17 or more pounds. Dan Wescom caught a 16.5 pound pollock, his largest fish. He also caught a 12.5 pound wolffish and a cod that weighed 13.5 pounds. Mark LaRocca (NY) caught a 14 pound wolffish, a 12 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock. Bob Mayer (ME) caught a double that included a 13.5 pound cod and a 4.5 pound haddock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. His three largest fish included a 15.5 pound pollock, a 15 pound pollock and a 16 pound cod. Neil Feldman (NJ) didn't feel his normal self today. I think he had some kind of a bug or something. He even stopped fishing for a bit. The largest fish of his that I weighed was a 14 pound cod.
Dave Miller (MA) caught a 15 pound wolffish and a 16 pound wolffish. I believe he caught bigger cod. But there were so many cod caught today in the high teens that I stopped weighing them. Dave's 16 pound wolffish ties the third largest wolffish of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. I took a great picture of Dave holding his bigger wolffish just before releasing it back to the ocean alive. I will use this picture later. Donna Moran (NY) caught the largest pollock of the trip at 17 pounds. Her largest haddock weighed 5 pounds. Bryan Tufts fished for a time today. His largest fish was a 19.5 pound cod. He also caught another cod that I weighed in at 16.5 pounds. Ty Kashmiry (ME) caught the largest haddock of the trip at 6 pounds. His largest fish was a 20.5 pound cod. Mark Laroche (VT) battled sea sickness all day. He spent a good part of the morning in a bunk down below. He did come out and fish and did remarkably well. His two biggest fish were a 16 pound cod and an 18 pound cod. Mark did quit early and ended up back in a bunk well before the fishing ended and all the way home. Needless to day, he landed the hard luck award t-shirt, his third in so many years! Ouch!
I received a generous $40.00 donation from Cody Ouimette (VT) sponsoring me in my cancer funding raising ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Thank you so very much for the support. I really appreciate it!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 68°F, the sky was clear overhead with encroaching clouds over the eastern horizon, the wind was light out of the northeast, the ocean along the shore was calm and the visibility over it was very good to excellent. The wind started to pick up out of the northeast and then died back down again. It might have blown fifteen knots for a while but not long enough to raise any kind of chop. Winds were light all day afterward. The air temperature was perfect all day. The highest that I saw was 79°F. The sky was clear all day. The visibility remained very good to excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 75°F with a low of 68°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 83°F (with a low of 55°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 79°F (with a low of 59°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northeast at fifteen to ten knots. Seas were chops of two to three feet. It was not a comfortable day out there. The high air temperature was 68°F. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles in some haze. The sky was sunny and clear. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 64°F.
The fishing was good to very good, the seas didn't make for the best fishing conditions. The catching was excellent. Landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, one of the better haddock days of the last two weeks. The cull was 60/40 favoring the legal haddock. Legal landings also included fourteen pollock. Released fish included twelve cod over 5 pounds, a few small cod and pollock and one wolffish. I didn't hear anything about the dogfish count. They drift fished and anchored. All terminal gear worked about equal.
Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook with the most legal fish. Too much going on. Shawn Papp (NH) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 10 pound cod. There were two fish that tied for second largest at 8 pounds each. One was an 8 pound cod caught by Scott Azalone (NJ). The other was an 8 pound pollock caught by Shawn O'Neil (NH).
Other Angler Highlights: Zach Marks (ON) landed the hard luck award for not allowing his stomach to sync with the motion of the ocean.
Captain Ian Keniston and Captain Ally Fuehrer ran the afternoon half day (4 PM to 8 PM) trip. On the fishing grounds, the wind had hauled out of the east and blew at five to ten knots. Seas were chops of one to two feet. The air temperature rose to a value of 74°F. The tide was moderate. The visibility was over fifteen miles in haze. The sky was clear and sunny. The surface water temperature was 64°F.
The fishing was good, the catching was fair to good but landings were poor. Only six mackerel were landed. There were no legal groundfish caught. The catch consisted of six small cod, twelve short pollock and a sea raven. They anchored for every stop. Everyone used bait.
Lily Shapiro (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 2.5 pound sub-legal cod. There was a tie for the second largest fish at 2.25 pounds, both cod. Ken Shearer (MA) caught one while Jon Shapiro (MA) caught the other. Chris Corriveau (MA) landed the hard luck award for experiencing the dreaded mal de mer.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 62°F, the sky was clear, the wind was light out of the northeast, the ocean along the shore was calm and the visibility over it was very good to excellent. The sky stayed cloudless for the whole morning and part of the afternoon. We did see a few clouds but the sky was mostly blue and sunny today. The air temperature was perfect all day. I saw a high of 76°F in Perkins Cove, no doubt influenced by the wind off the water all day. The wind blew out of the northeast at a velocity under ten knots to light in the morning, southeast light in the afternoon. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 74°F with a low of 65°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 84°F (with a low of 49°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 81°F (with a low of 58°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northeast at ten to five knots. Seas started with a two foot chop that dropped to a foot after noon. The air temperature reached a high of 68°F. The tide (current) was moderate. The visibility ranged to well over twenty miles. The sky was clear and sunny. The surface water temperature reached a high of 65°F.
The fishing was very good to excellent, the catching was very good and landings were good to very good. It was a great day all around. There were a lot of haddock caught today. There were as many legal haddock caught today as there was yesterday but there were twice as many short haddock too, leaving the haddock cull at two to one, sub-legal fish to legal. Legal landings also included twenty-three pollock, two cusk and a mackerel. Released fish included thirty-six cod of 5 pounds or more, a few small pollock and small cod, one wolffish and sixty-three dogfish. Drifting was the boating method. Bait was best.
Ian couldn't discern who was high hook. There was much too much action to figure it out. Mike Jewell (VT) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 12.5 pound pollock. He also caught a 10 pound pollock. The second largest fish was a 12 pound cod caught by Jonathan Dobbs (NJ). Jonathan also caught the only wolffish. It weighed 10.5 pounds. The third largest fish of the trip weighed 11 pounds. There were three. Connie Woolley (MN) landed an 11 pound pollock, one. John Andreychak (NJ) caught two (both had to be released). One of his 11 pound fish was a cod. The other was an 11 pound sub-legal halibut. John caught a 37 pound halibut with me in 2015, his first Atlantic halibut. I was teasing him this morning, before the Bunny Clark left the dock, that he would probably get another one today. And, of course, he did. Ian took a picture of John with his small halibut before he released it. This was done with Ian's iPhone as he didn't have time enough to get the camera without compromising the life of the fish. This digital image appears on the left in this entry. John also caught a 10 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Ten year old Jeffrey Larson (MA) caught a 10 pound pollock and a 10 pound cod. Ahmed Galipeau (QC) landed the hard luck award for being "under the weather" for the whole trip.
We did not have enough anglers to make the evening trip today.
I received a $100.00 donation of sponsorship from Rodney Miller (MA), supporting my cancer fund raising drive with the Pan-Mass Challenge. The donation was made in memory of Gary Newell (MA/FL), a neighbor of Rodney's and a friend of mine. Another sad story to a man who was really a wonderful person, taken too soon. Thanks, Rodney. This means a lot.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 61°F, the sky was mostly cloudy, the wind was light out of the northeast, the ocean along the shore was calm and the visibility over it was very good to excellent. The wind blew out of the southeast lightly along the shore all day. The sky was mostly clear with the occasional cloud. The air temperature reached a high, that I saw, of 76°F in Perkins Cove. The visibility was very good in some haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 78°F with a low of 64°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 85°F (with a low of 53°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 76°F (with a low of 60°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the south southeast at ten to fifteen knots. Seas were chops of two to three feet. After noon, the wind hauled out of the south and dropped to five and ten knots. Seas dropped as well to a one to two foot chop. The air temperature reached a high of 70°F. The sky was clear and sunny. The tide (current) was moderate to strong. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles in some haze. The surface water temperature reached a high of 65°F.
The fishing was very good, the conditions not perfect but not bad enough to spoil the way we do things. The catching was excellent. Landings were very good, maybe better than that. There were many more haddock caught than yesterday, the most for a long time. The cull was 60/40 or two legal haddock for every five haddock caught. Legal landings also included seven pollock, one redfish, six cusk and a mackerel. Released fish included four cod over 5 pounds and forty-seven dogfish. They anchored and drift fished. Everyone used bait and cod flies only.
Chris Krause (NY) was high hook with over twenty legal. Sue Houst (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 16 pound cod. The second largest fish was a 7 pound cod caught by Mike Fleming (NY). Bob Abrams (NY) landed the hard luck award for getting the most tangled lines.
Captain Ian Keniston and Anthony Palumbo ran the afternoon half day (4 PM to 8 PM) trip. On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southeast at five to ten knots. Seas were chops of a foot. The air temperature was 70°F. The sky was clear, sunny. The tide (current) was moderate. The air temperature was 65°F.
The fishing was very good, the catching was good as were the landings. Legal landings included twenty-one haddock, a cusk, two butter mullet and a mackerel. Released fish included three dogfish, a cod of 6.5 pounds, a few small cod and seven haddock. Drifting was the method. All used bait and cod flies.
Sam Locke (VT) and T. J. Lacz (VT) were high hook for the most legal fish with three fish each, all haddock. Sam's fish all weighed 2 pounds each. T.J. had two 2 pound haddock and one that weighed 1.5 pounds. Tom Lacz (VT) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 8.5 pound cusk. The second largest fish was a 6.5 pound cod caught by Alex Rudelich (MI). Alex also caught a 2 pound haddock. The third largest fish came in at 4 pounds, there were two, both haddock. Jason Wolinsky (VT) caught one while Keegan Cash (MI) caught the other. Jason also caught a 3.5 pound haddock.
Other Angler highlights: Kate Schutz (VT) caught a 2 pound haddock. John Center (VT) caught a cod that weighed 3.5 pounds. Liam Davis-Brady (MI) landed a double that included a 1.75 pound haddock and a 2.25 pound haddock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. Katie Guillory (CT) landed the hard luck award for not catching a single fish!
I received a very generous donation of $300.00 from Herb & Pam Cook (NY) sponsoring me with my involvement in the Pan-Mass Challenge, a cycling event to raise money to fight cancer. Herb & Pam try to donate every year. Thank you both so very much for your thoughtfulness and generosity. I very much appreciate this!
Also, I have a contraction to make concerning an amount my sister, Meg, had given my cause. I had said that her $1,000.00 donation of the other day meant that she have given $2,000.00 this season so far. In fact, her donation of $1,000.00 meant that she has given a total of $3,000.00 this season. Sorry, Meg, one must not trust the memory of an old brain without confirmation!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 59°F, the sky was very clear, the wind was light out of the east, the ocean along the shore was calm with wind patches and the visibility over it was very good. later in the morning the wind established itself out of the southeast. The wind remained out of the southeast for the rest of the day. I don't believe that we ever saw as much as five knots. The ocean along the shore was calm with a ruffled surface. The visibility was good to very good in some haze. The air temperature got up to 75°F but was cooler than that late in the afternoon and into the night. They sky was a thin overcast with the occasional peek at the sun.In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 76°F with a low of 63°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 79°F (with a low of 59°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 72°F (with a low of 56°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southeast at five to ten knots. Seas were chops of one to two feet. The tide (current) was moderate. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles in haze. The air temperature reached a high of 70°F. The sky was mostly sunny with some clouds. The surface water temperature reached a high of 65°F.
The fishing was very good. It could have been excellent with a little bit calmer seas and a few less dogfish. The catching was very good and the landings were good to very good. There were still a lot of haddock today but most were small, the keeper count about a third of all the haddock caught. Legal landings also included fifteen pollock, sixteen cusk and one cunner. Released fish included twenty-two cod over 5 pounds, seventy-six dogfish, a few small cod and pollock and three wolffish. Drifting was the only method employed today. Bait and flies were the only terminal gear used today.
Either Shawn Sullivan (NH) or John Casey (MA) were high hook today for the most legal fish. It was too close to pick one or the other angler. Steve Verdone (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 20.5 pound pollock. The second largest fish was a 13 pound cod caught by Amy Finocchiaro (MA). Amy also caught the largest haddock at 4.5 pounds. Josh Raymaakers (MA) caught the third largest fish, an 11.5 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Travis Fanion (MA) caught the only other fish of 10 pounds or greater, a 10.5 pound cod. Josh Raymaakers (MA) won the hard luck award for being "the bachelor" with the bachelor party group he fished with!
I received two donations helping me wage the fight against cancer with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. One donation was for $25.00 from John Casey. The other was a $30.00 donation from Lucy Staples (ME). Thank you, Lucy and Casey, for your support and help. I feel honored that you would help me with your hard earned money. Actually, Casey helps cancer patients at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He already helps cancer patients and, still, gives to me! All the best!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 64°F, the sky was overcast, it was raining lightly, the wind was light out of the south, the ocean along the shore was calm and the visibility over it was fair in precipitation and haze. The precipitation rate increased after 5:00 AM. It rained hard at times. But the rain was all over by 6:30 AM. We never saw another drop of rain the rest of the day even though thunder storms were reported both north and south of us. The wind was very light all day, the ocean calm along the shore. The afternoon saw a southeast wind established. But it wasn't. It was not a strong wind. The flags remained limp. The sky was overcast for most of the day we started seeing a bit of sun at 3:00 PM. But it was a hazy sun. The air temperature reached a high, that I saw, of 76°F. It was humid as well making it feel warmer than it really was. The visibility was good in haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 79°F with a low of 67°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 87°F (with a low of 65°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 75°F (with a low of 63°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the south southeast at five to ten knots. Seas were chops of one to two feet. The air temperature reached a high of 69°F. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles in haze. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was overcast for the whole trip. The surface water temperature reached a high of 65°F.
The fishing was good, very good if you like dogfish. The catching was very good, even with the dogfish (and not including the dogfish). Landings were good to very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, even more haddock than yesterday! The cull was about 50/50 or almost a legal haddock for every two caught. There were ten more sub-legal haddock caught than legal haddock. Legal landings also included three pollock, two cusk and one mackerel. Released fish included seven cod over 5 pounds, one hundred and forty-five dogfish and a few smaller cod and pollock. Drifting was the only boating method used. Everyone used bait and cod flies only. No jigs were used today.
Mariusz Zach (NJ) was the fisherman of the day. He was high hook with the most legal fish and he won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 14.5 pound pollock. The second largest fish was an 11 pound cod caught by Brad Pratt (ME). I don't believe there was another fish over 6 pounds caught today. Robby Hargrove (MA) landed the hard luck award for getting a bit under the weather and for getting the most tangled lines.
Captain Ian Keniston and Captain Ally Fuehrer ran the afternoon half day (4 PM to 8 PM) trip. On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the south at five knots more or less. The ocean was fairly calm on the surface over a long rolling sea swell of about two feet. The air temperature reached a high of 70°F. The tide (current) was moderate. The visibility ranged from ten to fifteen miles in haze. The surface water temperature reached a high of 66°F.
The fishing was excellent, the catching was good as were the landings. Legally landed fish included eighteen haddock, two pollock and three cusk. Released fish included a few small pollock and cod, two cod of 5 pounds or over, fourteen dogfish and eighteen sub-legal haddock. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked well.
The younger Dennis Buckley (NY) was high hook with two legal fish, a 2 pound haddock and a 1.5 pound haddock. Crystal Clements (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 7.5 pound cod. The second largest fish was a 7 pound cusk caught by young Dennis Buckley (NY). Bill L. Hall (NY) caught the third largest fish, a 5 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Gary Briggs (ME) caught a 2.25 pound haddock, his biggest fish. Nolan Towers (NY) landed a 1.5 pound haddock. Bill T. Hall (NY) caught a haddock of 1.75 pounds. George Davis (VT) caught a 2 pound haddock. Cody Ouimette (VT) caught a 4 pound cod. Bill M. Hall (NY) caught the largest haddock of the evening weighing in at 2.5 pounds. Steve Dunne (NY) landed the hard luck award for being the sole angler without a single legal fish!
I received a generous $50.00 donation from Carole Aaron (ME) sponsoring me in the upcoming cancer fund raising cycling event called the Pan-Mass Challenge. The donation was sent in the form of an "egift" via credit card through the PMC site. I plan to be riding in the event on August 4, 2018, a Saturday. Although I am looking forward to it, I may not be able to attend due to our deck hand situation on the Bunny Clark. We shall see. Being at the event is not important to me. Generating funding for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is very important to me. I don't need to be rewarded by attending the event. Gaining strides in genetic research is reward enough. Thank you, Carole, for your help and support. I really appreciate it.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 63°F, the sky was overcast, there was no wind to write about, the ocean along the shore was calm and the visibility over it was fair to good in a thick haze. The sky stayed overcast all morning. Around 7:00 AM, the fog rolled in. The fog stayed along the coast all day fueled by light southeast winds and a dew point that closely matched the air temperature. Sometimes the fog would come in up to the bridge. At other times, the fog would back off. Close to nightfall, the fog crept in and settled into Perkins Cove for the night. We saw the sun between 4 PM to 6 PM before the fog occluded the sky. As I said, the wind was very light from the east or southeast all day. Wind speeds were never more than seven knots. The ocean along the shore, when you could see the ocean, was calm. The visibility was poor in fog. The highest air temperature that I saw was 76°F in Perkins Cove, the air temperature down from the temperature values inland due to the fog. It felt warmer than that with the high humidity. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 77°F with a low of 67°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 90°F (with a low of 68°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 78°F (with a low of 62°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the south at less than five knots all day. The ocean was calm. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The visibility ranged from a quarter of a mile to a mile in fog. The air temperature reached a high of 71°F. The sky was overcast all day. The surface water temperature reached a high of 67°F.
The fishing was excellent, the catching was very good and landings were good to very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The cull was just shy of two to one, sub-legal haddock to legal haddock. Legal landings also included twenty-eight pollock, one cusk and two monkfish. Released fish included over fifty-one dogfish (Ian's/Ally's count), fifteen cod of 5 pounds or better and a few smaller cod and pollock. Drifting was the only boating method employed. All terminal gear worked well.
Dick Lyle (NY) was high hook for fish of all kinds and sizes brought to the boat and either released or kept. His largest fish was a 12 pound cod. Cody Ouimette (VT) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 20 pound pollock. The second largest fish was an 18 pound pollock caught by Marshall Himes (NY). Marshall also landed a 12 pound pollock. His largest cod weighed 13 pounds. Edson Setzer (NY) caught the third largest fish, a 17 pound pollock. He also caught the Bunny Clark's largest monkfish of the season, a 12 pounder!
Other Angler Highlights: Dave Miller (MA) caught the largest haddock of the trip, a 5 pounder. His largest fish was an 11 pound cod. Tim Rozan (ME) landed a 14.5 pound pollock and a 14 pound pollock, his two largest fish. Mark Weldon (NH) caught a 12 pound pollock, his best fish. Jason Arruda (VT) landed a 12 pound pollock his biggest fish. Jackson Collins (NH) caught an 11 pound pollock, his largest fish. He also landed the hard luck award for getting in the most tangles.
I received two donations today supporting my cancer fund raising venture with the Pan-Mass Challenge. One was a very generous $1,000.00 from Barnacle Billy's, Inc. (I had some influence there!) The other was a $25.00 donation from Edson Setzer. Thank you very much Edson. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and generosity. All the best to you!
I had everyone aboard for the Ultra Marathon by 9:30 PM with vehicles parked and everything taken care of. After a week of weather forecasting, talking about all the wind to expect and four to eight foot seas, the ride to the fishing grounds was very easy. I took the boat out of the channel in black thick fog at 10:00 PM while Ian got the antennas and Anthony collected the boat pools for the trip. It was thick enough fog with the lack of wind that I made the whole route out on radar alone and never did see the channel, the shore or the gate buoys. Five minutes later the course was set and we were on our way, somewhat backed off on the cruising speed. I must have been at the wheel for a half hour or so before giving the helm up to Ian for the ride to the fishing grounds.
There was a one foot chop from the southwest for the whole ride out to the fishing grounds. For the first twenty miles there was fog. The middle part of the trip gave them ten miles visibility and clear skies. They walked into a dungeon of fog for the last few miles. I was asleep in my bunk for the whole ride out.When I came up out of the bunk we had seven miles to go to get to the grounds. It was Ian's turn to hit the rack. I ran the show for the rest of the day and stayed with "game plan A" right to the letter.
On the grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at about eight knots with a one foot chop, no more than that. As the morning progressed, the wind increased. But it increased very gradually. My plan had taken this into account so we were able to do all that I had planned to do. By 11:00 AM, the southwest wind had increased to fifteen knots or better with seas of two to three feet in chops. Wind speeds increased to twenty knots at times. Seas increased to four and six feet. By 4:00 PM, clouds showed up leaving the sky in an overcast condition. At the same time, the wind dropped off dramatically. So did the seas. From that time on, we had a one to two foot chop and ten knots of southwest wind. We also had periodic rain for the rest of the time all the way to shore. Until that time we had sunny hazy skies. The air temperature reached a high of 72°F. The tide (current) was moderate all day. The visibility was poor in fog for most of the day, six or seven miles for the ride in. The surface water temperature reached a high of 67.3°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 91°F with a low of 69°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 82°F (with a low of 68°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 80°F (with a low of 64°F).
The fishing was very good. The catching, overall, was excellent. Landings were very good. Landings would have been excellent had we been able to keep cod over 5 pounds. For the first time this season, haddock took second place in species landed. Most legal fish landed today were pollock. We really couldn't get away from the pollock and cod. Had cod been legal to keep, they would have been the most prevalent in the landings. Legal fish landed also included a halibut, twenty-six white hake, six cusk and two butter mullets. Released fish included a halibut, all those cod over 5 pounds, six wolffish and twelve dogfish. We had two blue shark attacks. [We had our first blue shark attacks on hooked fish last Tuesday] We anchored, drift fished and motor drifted. All disciplines worked well except for one of the few anchor stops. Only jigs and cod flies were used today. This is the main reason that the haddock count wasn't as high as it could have been.
I couldn't tell you whom was high hook. This is a trip of groundfish angling experts, all picked as my best and most needed to show me the best fish on every spot. They did not disappoint me. Steve Selmer (NH) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 54 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This is the largest hake we have seen since the 1985 Bunny Clark fishing season. It is also a potential International Game Fish Association all tackle world record. The existing IGFA all tackle world record white hake is 46 pounds. Steve's fish will have to be officially weighed ashore on a registered scale. So we iced and boxed the fish up in hopes that he will be successful in doing that tomorrow. It was pretty exciting stuff when he boated the hake this morning. Some of his other fish included a 26.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake, a 14.5 pound pollock and a 24 pound cod.
[Steve's big hake was weighed officially and came in at 48 pounds 4 ounces. If accepted by the IGFA with line and equipment parameters met, it will become the new all tackle world record. It should also be the new Maine state record. Weight loss was right in line with every other big hake that I have submitted over the years. The current world record of 46 pounds was from a hake that initially weighed 51 pounds just after boating the fish. It too was a big spawning female. The time out of water before weighing was six hours for that fish. For Steve's fish, the time out of water before weighing was twenty-four hours!]
Lewis Hazelwood (MA) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 47 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This is the largest hake that Lewis has ever caught. I took a picture of Lew with his great fish. This digital image appears on the left in this entry. Some of Lewis' other good fish of note included two pollock of 16 pounds each and the largest haddock of the trip at 6.25 pounds.
Mark LaRocca (NY) won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the third largest fish, a 46.5 pound halibut. This is Mark's first halibut on rod & reel. It's also our seventh legal halibut of the season and the eighteenth halibut that has been caught on the Bunny Clark this season so far. He caught this fish on the last drift of the day. Oddly enough, we had three halibut on lines, all three at the same time! Dick Lyle (NY) also had one on the line. Dick boated his first, a 19 pounder. It was sub-legal so we had to release it. Mark was still fighting his fish at the time. On the other side of the boat, Ray Westermann (MA) had the largest halibut of the day on his line. Probably two minutes before we saw Mark's fish, Ray broke his fish off. I suspect that his line got chaffed/sawed off by another line. Ray was fishing on the leeward side of the boat. Mark's halibut was caught as part of a double that also included a 4.5 pound cod, both fish caught on the same line at the same time! This is the largest double that has been caught on the Bunny Clark this season so far. Mark also had two other cod doubles that would have made the top five doubles list, had Mark not released the fish before I could weigh them! One of these cod weighed 21 pounds. The other part of that double was probably a 15 pound cod. He also caught a double that included a 13.5 pound pollock and a 10 pound pollock. His largest pollock of the trip weighed 14 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Captain Bryan Lewer (ME/FL) caught the largest cusk of the Bunny Clark fishing season today (so far) with a 22.5 pound Maine state trophy. I took a picture of Bryan with his big cusk. This digital image appears on the right. His largest fish was a 39 pound Maine state trophy white hake, the Bunny Clark's fifth largest hake of the fishing season so far. Some of his other fish included a 30 pound Maine state trophy white hake, a 14.5 pound pollock and a 12 pound wolffish. Besides the 19 pound halibut, Dick Lyle also caught the largest cod at 24 pounds, an 18 pound white hake and a 14 pound Maine state trophy cusk. This cusk is the Bunny Clark's fourth largest cusk of the fishing season to date. Dave Miller (MA) landed the second best double of the day and one of the Bunny Clark's top five doubles of the season so far. His double included an 18.5 pound pollock and a 13 pound pollock. Dave also caught our third largest cusk of the fishing season so far with a Maine state trophy of 15 pounds. His largest cod weighed 18 pounds. And Dave also caught a 32 pound Maine trophy white hake. Dan Killay (VT) boated the third largest white hake of the Bunny Clark fishing season today with a 45 pound Maine state trophy. Some of Dan's other good fish included a 23.5 pound white hake, a 14 pound pollock and an 18 pound pollock. Jonathan "Griff" Griffin (MA) caught a 34.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake, a 35 pound Maine state trophy white hake and a 14 pound pollock. He also caught many cod between 12 and 15 pounds. Fred Kunz (NH) caught twenty-five cod from 8 to 17 pounds, thirteen pollock, one of which weighed 16 pounds, a handful of haddock and a white hake that weighed 21.5 pounds. Tim Rozan (ME) caught the Bunny Clark's fourth largest white hake today, a Maine state trophy that weighed 41 pounds! Tim also caught three wolffish. One weighed 16 pounds, a tie for the Bunny Clark's fourth largest wolffish of the season. His two others weighed 14 pounds and 10 pounds. I also released a cod of his that weighed 13 pounds. He caught bigger cod that I didn't weigh. Ray Westermann caught a 16 pound cod his largest fish. However, he lost two big halibut. Either one would have won the boat pool, in my estimation. For this he won the hard luck award t-shirt! Oh, Raybee baby!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 68°F, the sky was overcast with a hint of clearing, there was no wind to write about, the ocean along the shore was calm and the visibility over it was good in haze.
We had a calm ocean when we went through the gate at the mouth of Perkins Cove and headed to the open ocean. The wind hauled out of the north at about the five mile mark. This northerly wind increased until we got to the fishing grounds. On the grounds, the wind increased a bit more. By 11:00 AM, the northerly wind was blowing about ten knots or more. Seas were chops of over a foot. The wind was backing off by noon. The wind kept backing off until it was time to head home. There was no wind for the ride home. Seas were calm the whole way. The air temperature reached a high of 74°F. The tide (current) was moderate to a little strong but into the wind. This gave us some unwanted tangles. The visibility was twenty or more miles.The sky was mostly clear. The surface water temperature reached a high of 67°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 83°F with a low of 69°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 80°F (with a low of 54°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 80°F (with a low of 63°F).
The fishing was, at best, good overall. With the tide running into the wind, anglers had a hard time fishing without tangling. We only caught three dogfish today. Had we also had dogfish in the mix, it would have been a terrible fishing day. The catching was good, no better than that. Landings were okay. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was five to one, legal haddock to sub-legal haddock. Legal landings also included fourteen pollock, two redfish and six cusk. Released fish included the three dogfish, one big cusk, thirty-eight cod over 5 pounds and a few small cod and pollock. We drift fished and anchored. Jigs and cod flies outfished the bait today.
John Andreychak (NJ) was high hook for the most legal fish. His largest fish was an 11.5 pound cod. He caught the lion's share of haddock. And he caught the most cusk, three. He also caught the largest haddock of the day, a 5.5 pounder. The haddock was twenty-eight inches long which could have weighed as much as 8 pounds in the spring (spawning time). It was so long I had to take a picture of it. This digital image, with John holding this fish, appears on the left. Ed Brozo (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 17 pound pollock. He caught this pollock as part of a double that also included a 5 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. He also caught a few haddock, cod up to 10 or more pounds and another pollock that weighed 10 pounds.
The second largest fish was a 14 pound wolffish caught by Ron Vinnacombe (NH). Heidi Meara (CO) caught the third largest fish, a 12 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: John Meara (CO) caught a 7 pound pollock. At the time I thought the fishing would be slow so I weighed fish that I thought could be one of the bigger fish of the day. John's fish was the second fish that I weighed. Jack King (MA) caught a 9 pound pollock, his best fish. Jonathan Dobbs (NJ) also caught a 9 pound pollock. Seth King (MA) caught a double that included an 11.5 pound cod and an 8.5 pound pollock. Scott Dobbs (NJ) landed the hard luck award for bringing a trophy sized cusk to the surface, trying to pull it over the rail and breaking the line in the process. The jig hooked in the cusk's mouth helped propel the fish to bottom before a gaff could be touched. I just saw a 22 pound cusk caught yesterday. This one looked a couple pounds lighter than that! The things you miss when you don't have a gaff!
Captain Ally Fuehrer and I ran the afternoon half day (4PM - 8PM) trip. The weather was beautiful. The ocean was flat calm with a very light variable wind all evening. You could have floated a scallop shell on the surface of the ocean that we shared tonight. The air temperature was a comfortable 78°F. The tide (current) was moderate but too much to drift. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The sky was nearly cloudless. The surface water temperature reached a high of 68.5°F.
The fishing was very good, the catching was very good if you include dogfish and landings were fair. Most legal fish landed were haddock. The haddock cull was good tonight with very few (three) that were too small to keep. Legal landings also included four pollock, a whiting, three squirrel hake, a redfish and a cusk. Released fish included six small cod, seventy-eight plus dogfish and a couple small pollock. We tried drifting but got annihilated by dogfish. The tangles took enough time that it cut out twenty minutes of good fishing time. The rest of the night was spent anchoring with variable success. Everyone used bait and cod flies or just bait.
Dan May (C0) was the fisherman of the evening. He should have had three legal. But he lost the biggest haddock of the evening (about 4 pounds I would estimate) when the fish fell off the hook as he was trying to get it aboard. Luckily, I was there to see the event and the size of the fish. Had he landed the haddock, he would have had the three largest legal fish of the evening. His other two fish were both pollock, one 4.25 pounds and the other 3 pounds, the two largest fish of the evening. With the largest, Dan won the boat pool for the largest fish.
Other Angler Highlights: Becky Taylor (VT) landed a 2.5 pound haddock, her largest. Mike Ballard (VT) landed a 2.25 pound haddock. Jeff Blais (OH) caught the largest cod weighing 2.5 pounds. Twelve year old Collin Blais (OH) landed the hard luck award for the most tangled lines. The dogfish did it!
I received a $25.00 donation from John Andreychak and an anonymous donation of $125.00 sponsoring me in my cancer fund raising ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Thanks, John. And thank you, my secret donor. I very much appreciate both your donations and your kindness. All the best!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 59°F, the sky was cloudless, the wind was light out of the northwest, the ocean was a ruffled flat plane along the shore and the visibility over it was excellent. The wind blew light out of the northwest after daylight, died out and then hauled out of the south at ten knots or so by late afternoon. The air temperature reached a high of 77°F, that I saw. The visibility was excellent. The sky was clear with few clouds. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 77°F with a low of 65°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 83°F (with a low of 47°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 78°F (with a low of 53°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the north at five knots or so and then became variable in direction. The ocean was calm. The air temperature reached a high of 77°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide (current) was strong. The sky was clear and sunny. The surface water temperature reached a high of 65°F.
The fishing was good to very good. The strong current and the number of dogfish wouldn't allow me to give the day a better rating. The catching was good to very good. Landings were good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, of course. The haddock cull was nearly one to one, favoring the sub-legal side of things. Legal landings also included nine pollock, five cusk and a white hake. Released fish included one wolffish, five cod of 5 pounds or better, ninety-eight dogfish and a few short pollock and cod. They tried drifting but had to anchor, as I did yesterday, because of the current. Later, it was better for drifting. All terminal gear worked equally well.
Ian didn't know who was high hook. Jon Busch (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 15 pound cod. The second largest fish was a 10 pound cod caught by Mark Konish (NC). Just one fish away from the sticker! Danielle Miller (MA) landed the hard luck award for getting the most tangled lines.
Captain Ian Keniston and Anthony Palumbo ran the afternoon half day (4 PM to 8 PM) trip. On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at five knots or less. The ocean was calm. The air temperature was 78°F. The sky was clear, sunny. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 68°F.
The fishing was good to very good. There was a bit of tide, deeper water and a few dogfish that kept the fishing out of the excellent category. The catching was very good if you included dogfish. Landings were fair to good. For an evening trip, landings were good to very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, fourteen in all. There were an equal number of sub-legal haddock that were returned back to the ocean alive. Legal landings also included a cusk, a squirrel hake and a whiting. Released fish included a few small pollock and cod and forty-five dogfish. They anchored for every stop. Everyone used either bait only or bait on the bottom hook and a fly eighteen inches above the sinker.
Six year old Nicholas Pelczar (AZ) and Seven year old Harris Ramsey (TX) tied in the high hook category for the most legal fish landed with three legal fish each. Harris won the boat pool for the largest fish with a tie for the second largest fish, a haddock, weighing in at 2 pounds (there were three 2 pound haddock - another of which was caught by Harris!). Harris also caught a small cusk. The other 2 pound haddock was caught by Jack Latulippe (CT). Mark Latulippe (CT) caught the largest fish of the evening, a 2.25 pound haddock. Mark was not in the boat pool.
Other Angler Highlights: Ten year old Cass Fabbie (NY) caught a 1.5 pound haddock, her only legal fish. Mark Coquette (VA) also caught a 1.5 pound haddock, his only legal fish. Eleven year old Spencer Durkee (VT) landed a 1.75 pound haddock. Theresa Grainger (ME) caught a haddock that weighed 1.5 pounds. But Teresa might have held back a bit as she was a bit ill due to the slight motion of the ocean. And, yes, she did win the hardest luck of the evening t-shirt!
My son, Micah, landed two bluefin tuna last night at 12:00 midnight. His helmsman was, none other than our newest Cove phenom, Ally Fuehrer. This was her first stint as the helmsman on a harpoon tuna boat. Of course, I was down there to see them both, see the fish and congratulate them. Both fish were caught by harpoon. Both fish were eighty-five inches (about 300 pounds dressed, more or less). Micah hit four fish and missed a "barn door shot" that he was still moaning about when I saw him at the dock. So he should have had five fish. But you know how that goes. Just as he was getting the second fish out of the boat, the engine over-heat alarm went off while I was working the hoist. He didn't have enough coolant in the heat exchanger. I suspected a leak. Micah was tired and upset, more upset than normal. This because it was a long day. [I know the feeling!] So I tried to calm him down and, together, we worked on the engine. I think I found the problem. It was simple - if I was right. I told him I would help him tomorrow at 4:30 AM. I didn't get to bed until 2:00 AM.
There were several individuals who gave me donations of sponsorship towards my ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge, cycling event to raise money to fight cancer with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. The ride goes off on August 4th. Those individuals and their donations are as follows: Nicholas Pelczar for $50.00 in Memory of (his father) Richard who passed away at 3:49 this morning along side Nicholas. [These are heart felt donations of which travel sometimes too close to the heart.], Jim Sheeran (MA) - my second favorite Democrat - for $20.00 and Carol Petelle (ME) for $50.00. Thank you all so very much for your help. I appreciate the donations and only wish that those individuals who are being helped by this money could know the donors, as I do, and the unselfish acts of kindness driven by a sense of hope for the future. Thank you.
Captain Ian Keniston and Anthony Palumbo ran the full day trip today.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 55°F, the sky was clear, the wind was light out of the northwest, the ocean was calm along the shore and the visibility over it was excellent. The sky was sunny all day. The wind was light. The ocean went calm later in the morning before hauling out of the south. We hardly had any southerly wind at all. There wasn't much flag movement today. The air temperature reached a high of 78°F in Perkins Cove. The visibility was very good in some haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 79°F with a low of 66°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 86°F (with a low of 51°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 81°F (with a low of 54°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew lightly out of the south for the time out there. The ocean was calm. The air temperature reached a high of 72°F. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles in some haze. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The sky was clear and sunny. The surface water temperature reached a high of 67°F.
The fishing would have been excellent except for the large number of dogfish caught. The catching was very good if you included them. Landings were good to very good despite the dogs. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was almost exactly 50/50, legal to sub-legal fish. Legal landings also included sixteen pollock, one redfish and one monkfish. Released fish included eleven cod of 5 pounds or better, one-hundred and twenty-six dogfish, three wolffish and a few small cod and pollock. Drifting was the method. Everyone used bait or bait and cod flies. No jigs today.
Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook. Dale Forsyth (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 13 pound wolffish. The second largest fish were an 11 pounds. There were two. Chris Langum (CO) caught one, an 11 pound monkfish. Olivia Houle (MA) caught the other, an 11 pound pollock. Chris' monk is the Bunny Clark's second largest monkfish of the fishing season so far.
Other Angler Highlights: Scott Houle (MA) caught a 10 pound cod, his largest fish. Eleven year old Ben St. Hilaire (ME) caught the largest haddock at 5 pounds. Shaun Sturgis (ME) boated a 10 pound pollock, his largest fish. James Cushing (SC) also caught a 10 pound pollock. Cam Cardwell (MA) landed the hard luck award for being sea sick. Not good on such a calm day!
We didn't have enough anglers to make the evening trip tonight.
My son, Micah, and his steady helmsman, Sam Robichaud, landed another bluefin tuna. They arrived at the dock at 9:00 PM. Micah had no problem with the engine today. That was a relief. The fish they caught was eighty-five inches. About 300 pounds dressed. But it was a really good looking fish, round with good fat content. This fish will be flown to Japan. I was happy for him.
I received two more donations of sponsorship for my cancer fund raising ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. One was a generous $300.00 donation from Peter Breen Excavating, Inc., owners Peter & Kerry Breen. The other was another generous donation of $250.00 from the Law Offices of Charles L. Nickerson, owners Charlie & Linda Nickerson. Thank you all so very much for your generosity, thinking of me and my mission and for your kindness and support. I really do appreciate it!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 58°F, the sky was mostly clear, the wind was light out of the north, the ocean along the shore was calm and the visibility over it was excellent. More later.
I still haven't found another deck hand for the rest of the season, starting in August. Captain Ally Fuehrer will be leaving at the end of July and I have no one to replace her. If anyone is interested in the position, you can give us a call at 207-646-2214.
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