Bunny Clark Fishing Update
Written & Edited by Tim Tower
July 2, 2009, 6:15 AM EST
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The fishing and catching was very good today. Most legal fish landed were cod. Legal landings also included seventeen haddock, nine pollock, eighteen cusk, a couple of dogfish and a handful of herring. They drift fished all day. Jigs and flies caught the most fish.
Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook but it was someone from the bow (the "Bow Gods" as Neil Downy used to say). Rich Lusis (MI), that ardent Detroit Red Wings fan, won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 22 pound cod. He released a few legal cod back to the ocean alive, the largest being a 12 pounder. The second largest fish was an 18 pound cod caught by Steve Levine (ME). Steve released cod up to 13 pounds back to the ocean alive. The third largest fish was a 15 pound cod caught by Alec Levine (ME).
Gary Vincze (CT) caught so many fish that he decided to take a bunk (once he landed all he wanted). His two largest fish were both cod, one of 13.5 pounds and the other of 12 pounds. Archie Archibald (ME) boated an 11 pound cod, his best fish. Tracy Jodrey (ME) landed a 10 pound cod and an 11 pound cod, his two largest fish. Neil Feldman (NJ) caught twenty legal, his largest a 12.5 pound cod. He released a few legal cod. Patrick Cadden (MA) boated a 10.75 pound cod. Jim Della Sala (NJ) caught the largest pollock of the trip. It weighed 13 pounds. Leroy Jodrey (ME) caught a 10 pound cod and a cod of 11.5 pounds, his two best. Buzz Leonard (ME) caught a ton of fish. His largest was a cod of 12.5 pounds. Naomi Leyendecker (ME) landed the hard luck award for being the only one without a legal fish.
Captain Ian Keniston and I ran the marathon trip today. At 2:30 AM EDT, the air temperature was 57°F, the sky was partially overcast, the wind was light out of the east and the visibility was excellent. It was a flat calm ride to the fishing grounds. Once there, the sky was overcast to the westward and clear to the eastward. The wind was very light from the south producing only the slightest ripple on the ocean's surface. The sky became overcast and it had started to sprinkle rain by 7:00 AM. The wind became established out of the southeast by 8:00 AM. This wind continued to increase as the day progressed but never was any stronger than fifteen knots. realistically, the wind probably never got over ten knots while fishing. Seas were about a foot or more as a chop for the ride home. The rain had stopped by the time we ended the fishing. The visibility ranged from ten to twenty-five miles depending on the precipitation. The surface water temperature on the fishing grounds reached a high of 54.7°F. The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 57°F (with a low of 52°F) today. In Boston, Massachusetts the high was 62°F (with a low of 53°F) today. Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 59°F (with a low of 50°F) today.The fishing and catching was very good overall but it was a special day with some great fish caught as well. Most legal fish landed were cod. However, while drifting, we also found a small school of big white hake, our first hake of the season. We ended up landing ten hake, all Maine state trophies. But, unlike previous times, there were no big cod with the hake. Legal landings also included quite a few pollock, less haddock than pollock, a couple of dogfish and seven cusk. Except for one anchor stop late in the trip, we drift fished for the day. All terminal gear worked well.
I couldn't tell you who was high hook. Tim Williams (CT) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 41.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This sets the bar for every other hake to be weighed this season on the Bunny Clark. This fish ties a personal best as it is the second largest white hake he has ever caught. A picture of Tim holding his big hake appears on the left. His second largest fish was a Maine state trophy white hake of 26 pounds. His largest pollock weighed 13 pounds and I weighed three cod of his, one was 15 pounds, one was 17.5 pounds (the largest cod of the trip) and the other weighed 11 pounds. Tim boated twenty-four legal fish but released three of his legal cod back to the ocean alive. Dan Kelley (ME) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 36 pound Maine state trophy white hake. Some of his other good fish included a 16 pound pollock, a 17 pound cod, a 16.5 pound cod and a 7.25 pound Maine state trophy haddock, the largest haddock of the trip. He released three legal cod back to the ocean alive. The third largest fish was a Maine state trophy white hake of 35.5 pounds caught by Bruce Smith (NJ).
Other Angler Highlights: Bryan Lewer (FL) boated our first white hake of the season today. It weighed 27 pounds, a Maine state trophy by two pounds. An hour later, out of the blue, he caught a larger one that weighed 32.5 pounds. His largest pollock weighed 17 pounds and he released five legal cod up to 12 pounds back to the ocean alive. He caught several haddock with just a jig. Frank Meszaros (NJ) caught our largest cusk of the trip, a 13 pound Maine state trophy. To date, this is the second largest cusk of the 2009 Bunny Clark fishing season. A picture of Frank and his trophy appears on the right. Dave Baillargeon (MA) landed the fourth largest fish of the trip, a 34.75 pound Maine state trophy white hake. Andy Chornobil (NY) caught a 32.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake, the largest fish he has ever caught. Jeff Charbonneau's (MA) largest was a 29 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This was also the largest fish that Jeff has ever caught. Steve Kenney (ME) caught a 14 pound pollock, his largest fish. Ed Martin's (ME) largest fish was a pollock of 20.5 pounds, the Bunny Clark's third largest pollock of the fishing season to date. His largest cod weighed 15 pounds but I did weigh another one of Ed's that weighed 11 pounds. Dave Harris (MA) caught the best double. His catch included two pollock of exactly 12 pounds each, both caught on the same line at the same time. Dave's largest cod weighed 15 pounds but I also weighed a cod of 12 pounds that he caught.
Charlie Harris (MA) caught a 13 pound cod, his biggest fish. Adam Campagna (MA) boated a 13.75 pound cod, his best. Tom Miller (NH) landed a 13 pound cod and a cod of 11.75 pounds. Dan Payne (ME) boated the second largest haddock at 6.5 pounds. His largest cod weighed 12.5 pounds and I didn't weigh his best pollock. Rusty Smith (NJ) landed a 13.5 pound cod, his largest fish. Nick Janchuk (NY) landed the hard luck award. He won in every category except for the one that included sea sickness! Ouch!
Captain Ian Keniston and Jared Keniston ran the extreme day trip today. At 5:00 AM EDT, the air temperature was 54°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the east at eight knots and the visibility was excellent. On the fishing grounds, the wind blew from the east at five to ten knots (ten at the most) with long rolling sea swells of two to three feet and fog that would move in and out as the day progressed. [Ashore, around noon, the wind piped up to fifteen knots with chops of two feet. The air temperature was in the middle 50s and it felt raw all afternoon, all this along the coast of Ogunquit.] The sky was overcast all day, the air temperature was cool and the visibility was a poor to excellent depending on the fog at the time. The surface water temperature on the fishing grounds reached a high of 53.5°F. The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 57°F (with a low of 51°F) today. In Boston, Massachusetts the high was 60°F (with a low of 54°F) today. Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 63°F (with a low of 50°F) today.The fishing was good. However, two thirds of the anglers aboard were sea sick at one point with only seven active anglers! Most legal fish landed were cod. Legal landings also included fourteen haddock, thirteen pollock, fourteen cusk and six herring. They drift fished all day. All terminal gear worked about the same but the jig stick men (the Novines?) had the edge.
One of the Family Novine (ME) had to be high hook. But since they pool all their fish, it was impossible to tell who it might have been. Randy Smith (OH) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 22.5 pound pollock. This is the second largest pollock of the 2009 Bunny Clark fishing season so far. He hooked in the back with a bait hook that had a Mojo and a chunk of hen clam! Needless to say, at one point, it was floating astern on the surface looking for all the world like a good fish that got off the hook. And, yes, there were a couple of anglers who casted to it thinking that they were going to get a freebee! The second largest fish was a 16 pound pollock caught by Jason Salisbury (NJ). Ed Novine (NY) boated the third largest fish, a 15.5 pound cod, the largest cod of the trip. Ed also caught the second largest haddock at 6.5 pounds. His largest pollock weighed 12.5 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Ken McLaughlin (ME) boated eleven legal fish. His largest one was a cod of 11 pounds. Andy Chornobil (NY) landed the largest cusk of the trip, a Maine state trophy of 14.5 pounds. This is the Bunny Clark's second largest cusk of the fishing season to date. A picture of Andy with his prize (taken by Captain Ian) appears on the left. Michael Manning (VT) caught the largest haddock we have seen in a couple of weeks. Weighing in at 7.5 pounds, it is a Maine state trophy by half a pound. Ian took a digital image of Michael and his trophy. It appears at the upper right of this monolog.Tim Williams (CT) boated nine legal fish today. His largest fish was a cod of 10.5 pounds. He must have used up some of his luck yesterday! Dave Heimroth (NY) caught a 13 pound cod, his largest fish. Tim Novine (NY) caught an 11.5 pound cod, his best. The high hurler of the trip was Phill Caruso (CO). For being in this state, he won the hard luck award!
And I got a sneaky "egift" from Dick Lyle (ME) supporting my ride in the Pan-Mass Challenge for a cancer cure and cancer care with the Jimmy Fund. His donation was $100.00 and I only found out about it when I checked the total contributions at the Pan-Mass. head quarters! Thank you, Dick. I will miss having you aboard this year. Oh, I know you will be going on a couple more but I will miss seeing you on the boat with the frequency I've come to enjoy.
Captain Ian Keniston and I ran the marathon trip today. At 2:30 AM EDT, the air temperature was 54°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the northeast at ten knots and the visibility was very good. The wind blew out of the northeast at about five or ten knots for the first part of the morning. This wind died some time after noon and stayed very light for the rest of the trip. One to two foot chops in the morning changed to a calm surface over two to three foot long rolling swells. The sky was overcast all day but it never rained. The air temperature was cool and the visibility was about twenty-five miles. The surface water temperature on the fishing grounds reached a high of 53.9°F. The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 62°F (with a low of 52°F) today. In Boston, Massachusetts the high was 58°F (with a low of 55°F) today. Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 64°F (with a low of 53°F) today.The fishing/catching was very good overall, excellent for one 2 hour drift. Most legal fish landed were cod. Legal landings also included quite a few pollock, a few less haddock, seven redfish, twenty-one cusk, a smallish white hake and a long horn sculpin. We anchored once on the first stop and then drift fished for the rest of the day. All terminal gear worked well.
Art Purdy (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 21 pound cod. He caught quite a few legal fish but nothing exceptional (for fish size) before or after his steaker. John Doryk (NJ) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 20.25 pound pollock. This is the fifth largest pollock that has been caught on the Bunny Clark this season to date. A picture of John with his pollock appears on the left. John's biggest cod weighed 10.5 pounds but he also caught two other nice pollock, one of 14.75 pounds and the other of 14 pounds. The third largest fish was a cod of 18 pounds caught by Rusty Smith (NJ). Some of Rusty's other great fish included a 17 pound cod, a 13 pound pollock, a 13.5 pound cod and a 15 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Jon Tesnakis (NY) caught the only Maine state trophy fish of the trip, a 7 pound haddock. It was actually just over 7 pounds. This is Jon's first ever trophy haddock despite the fact he has been fishing with me for years. A picture of Jon with his prize appears on the right. Jon's largest pollock weighed 16.5 pounds and his largest cod weighed 16 pounds. Bob Robinson (VT) caught an 11.5 pound pollock, a 12 pound cod, a 10.5 pound cod, a 14.75 pound pollock and a 12 pound cod as his best fish. Tim Williams (CT) boated seventeen legal fish for the trip. His three largest fish were a 17 pound pollock, a 15.5 pound pollock and a 17 pound cod. He released this big cod back to the ocean alive. He actually released six other legal cod back to the ocean alive as well. Dave MacDonald (MA) released eight legal cod to 14 pounds back to the ocean alive. Some of the good fish he kept included a 12.5 pound cod, an 11.5 pound pollock, a 12.25 pound cod, a 12 pound cod and a 16 pound cod. Stanley Gacek (MA) boated a 13.5 pound cod as his largest fish. Steve LaPlante (CT) released twelve legal cod back to the ocean alive. The two largest cod he caught weighed 16 pounds and 13 pounds. His largest pollock weighed 10.5 pounds. Bruce Smith (NJ) caught a 13 pound pollock and a 12 pound pollock as his two largest fish.
John Pirog (MA) landed a 14.5 pound pollock and a 12 pound pollock, his two best fish. Steve Kenney (ME) could have been high hook for the morning. He slowed a bit after noon. His two largest fish were both cod, one of 15 pounds and the other a 17 pounder. Jim Pirog (MA) had a 15 pound pollock as his largest pollock while his largest cod also weighed 15 pounds. Gloria Gennari (MA) caught every species available, it seemed. Her largest fish was a 14 pound cod. Ernie Cole (VT) boated the second largest haddock of the trip at 6.5 pounds. I took two casts, trying out Tim Williams' new rod. The first cast got me a 13 pound cod, which I released back to the ocean alive. The second cast gave me a 4 pound haddock which I gave to Tim. Frank Meszaros (NJ) caught cod of 16.5 pounds, 11 pounds and 14.5 pounds. He landed the hard luck award for losing two Bunny Clark jigs!
Bruce Smith and John Pirog contributed $20.00 each towards my ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge, an 192 mile two day cycling event (Sturbridge, MA to P-town, MA) to help fight cancer with the Jimmy Fund starting on August 1st. Thanks for your support, Bruce and John. I appreciate it very much.
Captain Ian Keniston and Jared Keniston hosted the Gary Hammond (all New York) full day trip charter today. At 5:00 AM EDT, the air temperature was 54°F, the sky was overcast, it was raining, the wind was blowing out of the northeast at less than ten knots and the visibility was good in precipitation. The wind had hauled out of the southwest by the time they got to the fishing grounds. For the morning, it rained, winds were light out of the southwest, it was foggy, the air temperature was cool and the seas were rolling swells of about two feet under a fairly calm surface. At noon, the rain had stopped, the fog disappeared and the visibility was very good. The sky started to clear and was clear by the time they were half way back to Perkins Cove. The air temperature was warm under a sunny sky on calm seas for the ride back to Perkins Cove. The surface water temperature on the fishing grounds reached a high of 52.4°F. The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 78°F (with a low of 52°F) today. In Boston, Massachusetts the high was 74°F (with a low of 54°F) today. Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 79°F (with a low of 52°F) today.The fishing was very good. Most legal fish landed were cod. Legal landings also included thirteen haddock, twenty-two pollock, seven cusk, a whiting and a sculpin. They drift fished all day. Jigs and flies worked the best.
Ryan "Principal" Groat was high hook with the most legal fish by far. His largest fish was a 14.5 pound cod but he also caught two cod of 12.5 pounds each. Gary Hammond, Jr. won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 25 pound Maine state trophy cod. A picture (taken by Captain Ian) of Gary with his nice catch appears on the left. Gary also caught cod of 13 and 14 pounds plus the largest haddock of the trip at 6.75 pounds, a quarter of a pound shy of a Maine state trophy. Brian Simmons, Jr. boated the second largest fish, a 20.5 pound cod. The third largest fish title was shared by Gary Ublacker and Gary Hammond, Sr. Each angler caught a cod of 18.5 pounds. Gary U. also landed a 12 pound cod while Gary H. caught another cod of 11 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Dan Keyser caught a 10 pound pollock, a 15.5 pound cod and an 11.5 pound cod, his best fish. William Kosnick, Sr. boated a 12.5 pound pollock, the largest pollock of the trip. Dave Hammond landed a 12.5 pound cod and a 15 pound cod, his two largest fish. Jeff Varmia landed the hard luck award for catching the dreaded mal de mer.
Jay Kennedy (VT), another excellent angler and the best photographer I have ever met (I was so impressed that I had him do our wedding. It was just a wonderful job - much better than expected.), donated $109.09 toward my fund raising efforts (cancer research & care) with the Pan-Mass Challenge. Jay has supported me in this event for the full three years that I have been involved. And every year he has tested my poor math skills with a figure that, frankly, drives me nuts! Regardless, I have very much appreciated this support and I thank you, Jay.
The fishing was very good overall. Most legal fish landed were cod followed by haddock. Legal landings also included twenty-four pollock, three redfish, seventeen cusk, one wolffish and five dogfish. They drift fished all day (there was no drift after noon). Jigs and flies caught the most legal fish.
Chris Porter was high hook with the most legal fish. His largest fish was a cod of 13 pounds. Paul Carr won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 20 pound pollock. The second largest fish was a 17.5 pound cod caught by Rick Gelaznik (MA). Rick also caught a 10 pound pollock as one of his better fish. Scoob landed the third largest fish, a 16.5 pound pollock. Scoob also caught a pollock of 13 pounds. His largest cod weighed 15 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Fred Ostrander (MA) caught a 13 pound cod and a 12 pound cod, his two best fish. Bob Roy caught an 11 pound cod, his largest fish. Herb Pirzl caught the best double keeper catch of the day. His catch included a 15.5 pound pollock and a 14.5 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time! This is the second largest double keeper catch on the Bunny Clark this year to date. Herb's largest cod weighed 10 pounds. Andy Z. boated a 14.5 pound cod, his biggest fish. Stump landed a 14 pound cod. Shane Rogers landed a pollock of 13 pounds. This was his largest fish. John Kelley caught a 14 pound pollock and a 12 pound cod, his biggest in each species. Rob Wright caught a 15.5 pound cod, his largest fish. Clem boated a 15 pound pollock. Joe Burke landed a 13 pound wolffish. This is the Bunny Clark's fourth largest wolffish of the fishing season so far, bumping Krista Wood (NY) into fifth place with her 12.5 pounder that was caught last week. Bruce Goldschmitt landed the hard luck award for not catching a single fish - period! This from a guy who has caught whale cod with me! Where the @%$# was Griff?
I didn't get any names but some anglers donated a total of $75.00 supporting my ride in the Pan-Mass Challenge from Ray's charter today. Whoever it was, thank you very much for your help. I very much appreciate it.
The fishing was good, very good for those who knew how to use a jig and jig stick. Most legal fish landed were cod. Quite a few legal cod were released as well. Legal landings also included thirteen haddock, three pollock, eight cusk and five dogfish. They drift fished all day.
One of the bow gods was high hook but just who it was couldn't be determined. That's a good thing. Steaker Man, Marc Pagnozzi (CT), won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 22 pound cod. He caught another cod of 10 pounds but I'm not sure if that was his second biggest fish or not. Steve Winger (ME) landed the second largest fish, a 17 pound cod. Steve also caught a cod of 11 pounds. The third largest fish was a 16.5 pound cod caught by Steve Levine (ME). Steve also caught the largest double keeper catch of the trip. His catch included two pollock, one of 13 pounds and the other of 15.5 pounds, both on the same line at the same time. This is the Bunny Clark's fourth largest double keeper catch of the fishing season to date.
Other Angler Highlights: Alec Levine (ME) caught a lot of fish. The largest one that Captain Tom wrote down was a 10 pound cod. Matt Miller (NH) did well on the fish count while using one of the new butterfly jigs. I'm not sure how large his biggest one was. Dan Patch (ME) landed the hard luck award for being high hurler today.
The fishing was good overall, very good for two (regular) anglers who used jigs and jig sticks. Most legal fish landed were cod and pollock. Legal landings also included thirty-five haddock, five cusk, one wolffish, three herring, a sculpin and the most dogfish of the season so far with a count of twelve. There was action all day but there were a lot of short cod caught as well. They anchored and drift fished. Jigs and flies caught the most fish.
John Russell (ME) was the fisherman of the day. He tied for high hook with Marc Pagnozzi (CT) - they had twenty legal each - and he won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 14 pound pollock. The pollock was caught as a double keeper catch with another pollock of 8 pounds, both on the same line at the same time. John's best fish included the largest haddock of the day at 6.5 pounds, an 11.5 pound cod and a 12.5 pound cod, a tie for the third largest fish of the trip. Marc caught the second largest fish of the trip, a 13 pound pollock. Marc also tied for third with his cod of 12.5 pounds. Other good fish of his included a cod of 11.5 pounds and another pollock of 12 pounds. Oddly enough, with all this success, he landed the hard luck award as well. This because he fought a bluefin tuna of 200 pounds plus for over a half an hour until he broke if off after hardening up on the drag a mite. Marc was getting too long in the tooth with this tuna and the time had come. Probably just as well, the chance of him landing a bluefin that large with a fly on his line was, at best, slim. So he lost line, a fly and a perfectly good jig. Captain Ian compensated him with a shirt!
Other Angler Highlights: Gary Clark (NY) boated an 11.5 pound pollock, his largest fish. Wild Bill Cody (NY) caught the most legal haddock with a full count of seven.
Family Affairs: My daughter, Halley, passed driver's license test - so those on the road be aware. It was my son's fifteenth birthday as well. Micah and I spent the morning fishing off the rocks for striped bass. I should say, Micah fished and I watched. He caught his first striped bass of the season. It wasn't huge (twenty-two inches - which he released alive) but it was caught on a popper. He also caught another. His picture appears on the right. No proud father here!
The fishing/catching was fair overall. The tide was so strong wherever we went, it was hard to drift and the water boiled behind the stern while anchored. We found a lot of fish but I'll be damned if I could get them to bite a hook. I certainly wasn't disappointed with the places I picked to fish. However, had I known what I know now, I would have worked the day differently. You never know. Most legal fish landed were cod. Legal landings also included twenty-four haddock, eleven pollock, thirteen redfish, one white hake and about twenty dogfish. We alternated between drifting and anchoring. Jigs caught the most fish.
I believe that Jim Nodwell (MA) was high hook with over ten legal. His largest fish was a 10.5 pound cod and he caught a Maine state trophy redfish of 2.5 pounds as another of his good ones. His redfish is tied for the fifth largest redfish of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. Sixteen year old Bryan Lewer (FL) was second hook with nine legal fish. His largest was a white hake of 9 pounds, the only hake of the trip. I caught the largest fish of the trip, a 15 pound pollock that I snagged in the back with a jig. And you know I had visions of that huge cod swimming through my brain for the first few seconds of the hook-up! I only fished for a combined total of less than an hour but it was the only legal fish I caught. Tim Belisle (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the second largest fish, a 14 pound cod. He caught this as part of a triple keeper catch, only the second triple this season on the Bunny Clark to date. He caught two on the treble hook of the jig and one on the fly above the jig. The fish weighed 14 (of course), 10 and 6.5 pounds, all cod. Not a single angler caught another legal fish on that drift! How does that happen? Tim caught a total of seven legal for the day including those three cod. Tom Hanlon (PA) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the third largest fish, an 11 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Joe Jarosz (MA) boated our fourth largest redfish of the fishing season so far, a Maine state trophy of 2.75 pounds. This fish had a caliper fork length of 17.25 inches. Quite a fish. Adam Drechin (PA) boated a 2.25 pound Maine state trophy redfish. He also caught the largest haddock of the trip at 6 pounds. And his largest pollock weighed 10.25 pounds. He didn't have a cod of 10 pounds or over. Reid Shepard (MA) caught a 2.5 pound Maine state trophy redfish. He too ties for the fifth largest redfish of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. Wayne Burton (MA) caught a 10 pound cod, his best fish. Tom Dachowski (MA) landed the hard luck award for being the only angler to not catch a single legal fish for the whole trip. That probably says more about the captain or the fishing than it does him. Still, I have to give the award to someone.
Tom Pavelchak (MA) contributed $5.00 and the 104th Fighter Wing from Westfield, Massachusetts donated $50.00 towards my ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge, an 192 mile two day cycling event (Sturbridge, MA to P-town, MA) to help fight cancer with the Jimmy Fund starting on August 1st. Thanks for your support, Tom and the 104th Gang. It was nice to have you all aboard and I appreciate your help in my fund raising effort very much.
The fishing was just like it was yesterday, fair overall. However, the fish average size was significantly bigger. Most legal fish landed were cod. Legal landings also included twenty-three haddock, fifteen pollock, two redfish, two cusk and probably six dogfish. The tide ran a river, even more than it did yesterday. And Ian went through the same procedure I did, alternating between anchoring and drifting. All terminal gear worked as well as could be expected. There are really too many bluefin tuna around. These fish are driving the bait to bottom and effecting the groundfishing like the hordes of bluefish did fifteen years ago. Interesting really as the fishing is not as bad as it was in the bluefish era.
Ken McLaughlin (ME) was high hook with exactly twelve legal. His five best fish included an 11 pound cod, an 11.5 pound pollock, a 13 pound cod, a 14 pound cod and a 12 pound cod. His 14 pounder was the third largest fish of the trip. Seth Greenwood (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 19.5 pound cod. Two other good fish of his included a 12 pound cod and an 11 pound cod. The second largest fish was a 15 pound cod caught by Ray Valente (NH). Ray caught an 11 pound cod right after his biggest one was caught.
Other Angler Highlights: Norm Herrick (MA) boated the best double keeper catch of the day. Both fish were pollock, one of 10 pounds and the other a 13 pounder, both caught on the same line at the same time. Rich Lusis (MI) landed a 12 pound cod, his best fish. David "Tags" Taglilagela (NH) caught an 11.5 pound cod and a 13 pound cod, his two best fish. Marcelo Roldan (NY) caught a 10 pound cod. Lu Anne Herrick (MA) caught the two best haddock of the trip. One weighed 6.75 pounds, only a quarter of a pound shy of a Maine state trophy, and the other weighed 6 pounds. Joyce Masick (NY) landed the hard luck award for being the only angler to catch not a single fish.
Also, Dan Bailey (NY) and Seth Greenwood (they came on this trip together) fought a bluefin tuna for a half hour to forty minutes, got the fish to the leader four times and broke it off on the fourth leader showing. That's the second bluefin we have lost this season but the first one that could have been landed with a little luck. Them's the breaks!
I landed another nice $25.00 anonymous donation towards my involvement in the Pan-Mass Challenge. Thanks so much for the help. Much appreciated.
Captain Ian Keniston and I ran the marathon trip today. At 2:30 AM EDT, the air temperature was 55°F, the sky was clear, the wind was blowing out of the southwest at ten to twelve knots and the visibility was excellent. The wind blew lightly out of the southwest all morning. Sometime in the early afternoon, the wind hauled out of south southwest but the wind strength stayed about the same until the ride home. The ocean stayed calm with a three to five foot long rolling swell under a light wind chop. The air temperature was perfect all day. The sky, although clear for the ride out, became overcast by trip's end. The visibility started in the excellent category but went to the good category by noon. I would say we had fifteen miles. The ride home gave us gray skies, south southwest winds of ten knots with seas in chops of a foot or so and a diminished sea swell. We encountered rain at the fourteen mile mark and carried this all the way to Perkins Cove. The surface water temperature on the fishing grounds reached a high of 56.1°F. The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 67°F (with a low of 53°F) today. In Boston, Massachusetts the high was 68°F (with a low of 56°F) today. Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 63°F (with a low of 48°F) today.The fishing/catching was good overall but no better than that. We had three very good drifts and a few very non productive drifts. The tide wasn't as much of a factor as it has been and most drifts were very easy to hold bottom. Most legal fish landed were cod. Legal landings also included fourteen white hake, twenty-five haddock, two pollock, forty redfish, forty-one cusk and four essential dogfish. We anchored on one spot with less than variable success and drift fished for the rest of the time spent on the grounds. Jigs and flies caught the most fish.
Dan Kelley (ME) was high hook with twenty-two legal fish. His three largest fish were all white hake. He had a 22 pound hake, a 28 pound Maine state trophy hake and a 27 pound Maine state trophy white hake. Dan caught the most legal haddock with an actual count of nine (all caught on a bare jig). He released one legal cod back to the ocean alive. Dave Gray (VT) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 38.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This is the second largest hake of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. Dave also caught a 30 pound Maine state trophy white hake. Thirteen year old Finn Swenson (MA) boated the second largest fish, a 37 pound Maine state trophy white hake. However, he did not get into the boat pool. This is the largest fish that Finn has ever caught and, at the time of this writing, the third largest hake of the Bunny Clark fishing season. Finn did pretty well all day long. He also boated the largest pollock of the trip at 8 pounds. Ray Westermann (MA) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the third largest fish, a 34.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This is the largest hake that Ray has ever caught. A picture of Ray holding his fish (with Jon Griffin in the background) appears on the left.
Other Angler Highlights: Jon Griffin (MA) landed a 22 pound white hake, his largest fish. His largest cod weighed 10 pounds. Christian Swenson (MA) caught the largest white hake he has ever caught. It was a 30.25 pound Maine state trophy white hake. His largest cod weighed 11.5 pounds. Seth Greenwood (NY) caught the largest cod. It weighed 16.5 pounds. He also lost the largest cod! Miguel Roldan (NY) landed the hard luck award for losing a jig.
Jim Jefski (MA) contributed $20.00 while Seth Greenwood gave me $5.00 to help in my fund raising efforts with the Pan-Mass Challenge. Thank you both very much for supporting me in this effort. I think it's great cause and the best place to put your money to fight cancer.
The fishing was fair (as well as half the anglers attending were sea sick). Most legal fish landed were pollock. Legal landings also included seven cod, fourteen haddock, two cusk and five dogfish. They anchored for every stop. The tide ran very hard today. Jigs caught the most fish.
Steve Balch (NH) was high hook with ten legal. His largest fish was a 10.25 pound pollock. Mike Campbell (VT) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 12.5 pound cod. The second largest fish was a pollock of 11 pounds caught by Tim Sweet (VT). Rich Messer (MA) boated the third largest fish, a pollock of 10.5 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Mike Atkins (NH) caught a 10 pound cod, his best fish. Mark Balch (NH) was high hurler today and, for this, landed the hard luck award.
Mike Harris (ME) made a very generous $500.00 donation to my fund raising efforts in trying to find a cancer cure with the Pan-Mass Challenge. Mike has always given me a generous donation starting with $250.00 in 2007. He has increased his donation every year since. Thank you very much, Mike, I truly appreciate your wonderful support.
Captain Ian Keniston and Jared Keniston ran the full day trip today. At 5:00 AM EDT, the air temperature was 57°F, the sky was mostly clear, the wind was light and variable and the visibility was excellent. On the fishing grounds, the wind was light and variable all day. The oceans surface was calm all day over six foot rolling sea swells in the morning and two foot swells in the afternoon. The sky remained partly cloudy, the air temperature was perfect and the visibility was very good. The surface water temperature on the fishing grounds reached a high of 57.4°F. The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 70°F (with a low of 57°F) today. In Boston, Massachusetts the high was 75°F (with a low of 61°F) today. Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 77°F (with a low of 56°F) today.The fishing was excellent but the catching (of legal fish) was fair to slow. Most legal fish landed were haddock. Legal landings also included only two cod, six cusk, three wolffish and eight dogfish. They anchored and drift fished. At one time during the trip, the drift was so slow it was like you were anchored. No terminal gear worked very well today.
Cliff Gaulin, III (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 17.5 pound Maine state trophy wolffish. This is Cliff's largest ever wolffish and the Bunny Clark's second largest wolffish of the fishing season to date. A picture of Cliff, taken by Captain Ian, with his big cat appears on the right. The second largest fish was an 11 pound wolffish caught by John Koneczny (MA). Rex Burdett (MA) landed the third largest fish, a 10 pound wolffish. Tom Hansen (MA) landed the hard luck award for high hurler and high dogfish catcher! Ouch!
Captain Ian Keniston and Jared Keniston ran the afternoon half day (4PM - 8PM) trip. The air temperature was warm, the wind was light and the ocean was calm when they left the dock headed for the fishing grounds. On the grounds, the wind blew lightly out of the east southeast with a calm sea over long rolling swells of five to eight feet. It was sunny and warm until 6:00 PM when the fog rolled in and stayed for the duration. Until that time the visibility was very good
The fishing was fair. Most legal fish landed were cod (four fish). One cusk, one dogfish, a redfish and a herring were also caught. They drift fished all evening. Bait was used almost exclusively.
Ten year old Tristen Pierce (PA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 7.5 pound cusk. The second largest fish was a 6.5 pound cod caught by Captain Ian! Glenn Redgate (MA) boated the third largest fish, a 5.5 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Pablo Cretrien (ME) caught a 4.75 pound cod. Nine year old Colton Pierce (PA) landed a 4.75 pound cod. John Mahoney (MA) landed the hard luck award for .... well, I don't know what for!
Glen Kenyon contributed $5.00 to help in my fund raising efforts with the Jimmy Fund via the Pan-Mass Challenge. Thanks so much. I very much appreciate your support!
The fishing was terrible but the catching, like yesterday, was fair. It would have been better if Zach Freitas (MA) and good fishermen like Zach were fishing more often. This is the first day that Zach has ever been touched by the dreaded mal de mer on the Bunny Clark. Instead of fishing all day, he caught one good fish and then stopped. Most legal fish landed were cod. Legal landings also included one haddock, one redfish and that was it. They anchored for the trip. Jigs would have worked the best.
Zach Freitas won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 12 pound cod. The second largest fish was an 11 pound cod caught by John Gorski (MA). Ed Weigold (MA) caught the third largest fish, a 9 pound cod. Brendan Parker (ME) caught a 7 pound cod. Jill Czeck (MA) landed the hard luck award for being high hurler.
The fishing was just awful but the catch was good. The current ran a river, the jigging action couldn't be controlled for the seas, the fish were biting best on the drift but you couldn't drift and anchoring, the only method left, was just not getting the job done. Still they caught quite a few fish, more than any other trip this week except for Thursday's marathon trip. Most legal fish landed were cod. Legal landings also included thirteen haddock, twenty-three pollock, six dogfish and a herring. Jigs and flies worked the best. Bait would have worked better if you could have kept it still enough.
I don't know who was high hook. Ian didn't have a clue. Alec Levine (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 18 pound cod. His largest pollock weighed 15.5 pounds, the third largest fish of the trip. Matt Savarie (NY) boated the second largest fish of the trip, a 16.5 pound pollock. His largest cod weighed 14 pounds. Incidentally, his father, Chris, caught a 12 pound haddock with me years ago during an offshore marathon trip. This is a tie with two other haddock of 12 pounds, a tie for the Bunny Clark's third largest haddock ever.
Other Angler Highlights: Dan Kelley (ME) caught an 11 pound cod, his best. Dave Baillargeon (MA) caught a 10.5 pound cod and a 15 pound cod, his two best. Dave Harris (MA) landed a 12 pound cod as his biggest fish. Sam Readinger (PA) boated the largest haddock. It weighed 6.5 pounds, a half pound shy of a Maine state trophy. Rich Lusis (MI) caught a 12.5 pound cod, his largest fish. Schuyler Stuart (NY) boated the hard luck award for high hurler. There were a couple!
Good morning Regis Jauvin!Captain Ian Keniston and I ran the Tim Williams (CT) offshore marathon trip charter today. At 2:30 AM EDT, the air temperature was 62°F, the sky was overcast, it was drizzling rain, the wind was blowing out of the north northeast at ten knots and the visibility was good in haze and precipitation. The wind blew out of the northeast at ten to fifteen knots with two foot chops over seas up to six and seven feet the whole ride to the fishing grounds. On the grounds, the wind kept up but you could tell it had no teeth. It wasn't long before it started to drop in strength. By noon, the wind had hauled out of the north. The wind stayed out of the north for the rest of the day and all the way home. Wind speeds ranged from five to ten knots with seas in chops of a foot or slightly more. There was still a bit of a left over swell but there wasn't much of one. The sky remained overcast and it rained at times during the trip. Mostly it was misty and wet (requiring full oil gear the whole day). We had some brief periods of light fog but the visibility was mostly very good. The air temperature was perfect. The surface water temperature on the fishing grounds reached a high of 54.2°F. The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 70°F (with a low of 62°F) today. In Boston, Massachusetts the high was 67°F (with a low of 58°F) today. Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 70°F (with a low of 63°F) today.
The day was billed as a discovery trip so discover I tried. I had variable success in that department. We spent a bit of time looking and not fishing, fishing and not catching and trying some other ideas that didn't pan out. We did find some good spots, had one hell of a cod bite for about an hour or more and caught some of our biggest fish of the year and boated a new species (new for this season). Most legal fish landed were cod (far and away). Some of these cod were released because we had enough. Legal landings also included six white hake, one wrymouth, three haddock, eight pollock, thirteen redfish, seven cusk and probably eighteen dogfish. We drift fished and anchored. All terminal gear worked about the same for most of the day. Jigs were best on the cod.
I couldn't tell you who was high hook but the count was probably fifteen legal (not including dogfish). There were a lot of great fishermen aboard today. Dick Lyle (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 46 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This is the largest hake of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date, the largest hake that Dick has ever caught (his previous largest hake weighed 35 pounds) and a tie for the largest hake the Bunny Clark has seen in six seasons! A picture of Dick holding his big fish appears at the upper left. Dick was destined to win the boat pool from the beginning. He led all day long. It started with two 9 pound pollock, was increased with a 9. 5 pound cod but stopped after he lost a really big halibut. Yes, that's right, Dick had a halibut on for five to ten minutes or so. I don't know how it happened but the line broke above the jig. This after several smoking runs to bottom. Looking at the line, it looked like the fish inhaled the jig, shredding the leader material on the teeth. It's the largest fish that Dick has ever had on a line. Only an hour after losing the halibut, he hooked and boated the huge hake.
T. Williams (CT) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 37 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This isn't T's largest hake but it is tied for the fourth largest Bunny Clark hake so far. The third largest fish was a 26 pound Maine state trophy white hake caught by Will Gawel (CT). He did not enter the boat pool for the third largest fish. This was Will's first trip deep sea fishing in Maine so every fish was a first for him. His largest cod weighed 10 pounds and he released three legal cod back to the ocean alive. Ron Roy won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the fourth largest fish, a 25.75 pound Maine state trophy white hake. Ron's largest cod also weighed 10 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Jon Tesnakis (NY) boated the first wrymouth we have seen in a couple of years. It weighed 5.5 pounds and was thirty-six inches long. I have caught quite a few of these fish while lobstering in the winter (mostly on the gravel in 60 fathoms of water) but we rarely catch one with a hook. And, for years, the only wrymouth we would see would be one taken out of the stomach of a cod or hake. We may have caught four of these fish in the thirty-one years I have been partly boat fishing. A picture of Jon and his fish appears on the right. This "eel like" fish was released alive right after the picture was taken and it wriggled its way back to bottom in a flash. Dan Payne (ME) caught the largest cusk and the largest cod of the trip. His cod weighed 13.25 pounds and the cusk was a Maine state trophy of 12 pounds. Dan Kelley (ME) caught his first Maine state trophy redfish of the season. It weighed 2.5 pounds. His two biggest cod weighed 10 pounds and 12.75 pounds. Dave Gray (VT) caught an 11 pound cod, his largest fish. Tim Williams' largest fish was a hake of 11.5 pounds. Sixteen year old Bryan Lewer (FL) caught eight legal cod in a row. His largest fish was an 18 pound white hake. And Will Gawel landed the hard luck award for losing a jig and not getting in the third fish pool!
I received a nice note with a check for $50.00 in the mail from the Ron/Rowland Mortensen Family (NJ) supporting me in my ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge, coming up in just about a month. Thank you so very much for your help. It was a nice surprise and a nice thing for all.
The fishing was good overall. Most legal fish landed were cod, by far. Legal landings also included twelve haddock, thirty-three pollock, four cusk and seven dogfish. They anchored and drift fished. Jigs and flies did the most damage.
Tim Williams (CT) was the fisherman of the day - sore back and all! He was high hook with fourteen legal and he won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 23.5 pound cod. Tim's largest pollock weighed 13 pounds. The second largest fish was a 14 pound pollock caught by Dan Kelley (ME), who also lost a big cod half way off bottom. Dan probably had eleven keepers. T. Williams (CT), Tim Williams and Jeff Philbrick (NH) tied for third. T caught a 13 pound pollock as part of a double keeper catch that also included a 10 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. Jeff caught a 13 pound cod, his largest fish of the trip. T's largest cod weighed 12.5 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Harold Hatfield (NY) caught a 10.5 pound cod, his best fish. Mike Hatfield (NY) boated a 12 pound pollock and a 10 pound cod, his largest fish in each species. Eric Nelson (NH) prayed to the cod gods all the way out and all through the day. He was so far over the rail hurling on the way out that Captain Ian had to send Jared back to make sure most of his body was inboard! And, yes, he landed the hard luck award t-shirt.
Captain Ian Keniston and I ran the second Tim Williams (CT) offshore marathon trip charter today. At 2:00 AM EDT, the air temperature was 60°F, the sky was overcast, it seemed misty but the roads were dry, the wind was out of the north at five knots and the visibility was fair in some fog and haze. There was no wind to speak of for the whole trip to the fishing grounds and on it. We got some light puffs of wind out of the northeast, northwest, southwest and south, just a ripple on an otherwise calm ocean surface all day. The sky was overcast in the morning but was probably clear after mid morning. I say probably because we had thick fog from the time we left the dock until we got to a point twenty miles from home. Sometimes the fog was thin enough vertically to see the sun. Other times, the fog blotted it out. The air temperature was warm and the visibility ranged from a few boat lengths to about a half a mile. The closer we got towards home (on the ride in), the better the visibility and the more sun we saw. The surface water temperature on the fishing grounds reached a high of 54.4°F. The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 75°F (with a low of 61°F) today. In Boston, Massachusetts the high was 74°F (with a low of 60°F) today. Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 80°F (with a low of 58°F) today.We discovered no new good spots. We did discover some interesting places but only interesting in a geologic way. Most of the morning was spent catching very little. I ended up working with areas where I have done well in the past. Overall, the fishing was good with two excellent catching spots. Most legal fish landed were cod. Legal landings also included thirty-nine haddock, thirty-four pollock, twenty-one redfish, forty-two cusk (we released some as well), one wolffish, twelve white hake (all small milting males to 9 pounds), one squirrel hake, one dab (flounder) and seven or more dogfish. We drift fished all day. All terminal gear worked well.
Catching a lot of fish was not the design of the trip but there were several anglers who caught over twenty legal. I couldn't tell you who was high hook. No one counted. Gloria Gennari (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 19 pound cod. She also caught the only trophy fish of the trip, three of them! Two were Maine state trophy haddock, one of 7 pounds and the biggest a 7.5 pounder. The other trophy was a redfish of 2.5 pounds. The digital image on the left is a picture of Gloria with the 7.5 pound haddock. Gloria also caught the most haddock and, maybe, the most legal fish. Brian Murphy (NH), of fishtunes.net fame (and one hell of a musician and singer), won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, an 18.5 pound cod. Brian caught exactly twenty legal fish. Jared Keniston won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the third largest fish, a 14.5 pound cod. Jared caught the fourth biggest haddock at 6 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Chris Porter (MA) boated an 11 pound cod, his largest fish of the trip. Tim Williams (CT) caught the third largest haddock at 6.5 pounds. His largest fish was a 12 pound cod. Dick Lyle (PA) may have been high hook. His three largest fish were a 9.75 pound cod, a 9.75 pound pollock and a 9 pound white hake. Ryan Keniston (ME) caught an 11.5 pound cod, his best fish. T. Williams (CT) landed the biggest pollock of the trip. It weighed 12 pounds. Marco Morin (ME) landed the hard luck award for catching the least number of legal fish - six. Fred Kunz (NH) was high hand-out. So there, Stettner (legal halibut my ass). Bob Nixon (NH) was here - and did well.
Brian & Marian Murphy (NH) gave me a generous $50.00 and Gloria Gennari donated another $50.00 (she had already donated $50.00 earlier this year to my cause) to help with my fund raising bicycle ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge, coming up on August 1st. I'm hoping to raise at least $10,000.00 by the day of the ride. Last year I had raised $15,000.00 by that date. We'll see. At any rate, I appreciate the Murphy's and Gloria's support very much (they have supported me every year). Thank you so much, Brian & Merv and Gloria!
Captain Ian Keniston and Jared Keniston ran the full day trip today. At 5:00 AM EDT, the air temperature was 63°F, the sky was partly clear, the wind was very light from the south and the visibility was good in haze. At 6:00 AM, there were rumbles of thunder. By 6:20 AM it sounded like we were going to get a major thunder storm with very frequent thunder at regular short intervals. It started pouring rain just before 6:30 AM. Just what we needed; more rain! The rain stopped by 7:00 AM, the sky cleared, it became sunny, warm and calm. On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the south light and then out of the southwest to ten knots and over with chops of one to two feet. The visibility ranged from a mile to three miles in patchy fog, the air temperature was perfect and the sky remained clear. The surface water temperature on the fishing grounds reached a high of 55.5°F. The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 75°F (with a low of 57°F) today. In Boston, Massachusetts the high was 84°F (with a low of 66°F) today. Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 86°F (with a low of 63°F) today.The fishing and catching were both excellent. Most legal fish landed were cod. Five of these fish were released back to the ocean alive. Legal landings also included twenty-three haddock, five pollock, eight cusk and four dogfish. They drift fished for the trip. All terminal gear worked well.
Karl Dence (NY) was the fisherman of the day. He tied for high hook with Jim Brady (NY) - they each caught twenty legal - and he won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 17.25 pound cod. Karl also caught a 10 pound cod and a 12.5 pound cod. Jim's best fish included a 12 pound cod, a 10 pound cod and a 15 pound cod. The 15 pounder was the third largest fish of the trip. Eight year old Thomas Rizzo (CT) landed the second largest fish, a 16.25 pound cod. A picture with this cod, taken by Captain Ian, with Dad and Thomas appears on the right. Thomas also released his second largest fish, a 12.5 pound cod, back to the ocean alive. What a great angler, that Thomas!
Other Angler Highlights: Our own Sam Robichaud (ME/FL) caught a 9 pound cod. Don Franke (ME) boated a 12.5 pound cod. Mike Brady (NY) caught two cod of 11.5 pounds each. Ray Wiggins (ME) caught a cod of 11.5 pounds and another of 12.5 pounds, his two biggest fish. Gene Jablonski (NY) landed a 10 pound cod. Mike Goodman (TX) was high hurler and, for this, got the hard luck award.
Captain Ian Keniston and Jared Keniston ran the afternoon half day (4PM - 8PM) trip. We had a brief thunder shower just before the trip boarded to get ready for the ride to the fishing grounds. When they headed to sea, the sky was still overcast. By the time they got the grounds, the sky had cleared. The sky remained clear for the rest of the day. The wind was light and variable for the trip, the ocean was calm, the air temperature was warm and the visibility was very good to excellent.
The fishing was perfect but the landing of legal fish was just fair, poor really. Landing included twenty sub-legal cod, one legal cod, eight dogfish, one squirrel hake and one whiting. They anchored for most of the night but completed one drift as well. Almost everyone used bait.
Jera Binton (VT) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 5 pound legal cod, and caught the third largest fish, a cod of 4 pounds. The second largest fish was a 4.25 pound sub-legal cod caught by David McGrath (MA). Jean Laiviere (QC) boated a 3.5 pound sub-legal cod. Carol Williams (NY) boated the hard luck award for being the best of the hurlers. There were a couple, but she was the best!
I received a nice letter and a $20.00 donation from Bryan Kelly (CT) supporting my 192 mile bicycle ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge. This event, of course, raises money for the Jimmy Fund to help fight cancer. One hundred percent of your donation goes right to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute with no percentage taken out for administrative costs. It's a wonderful thing and I'm glad that Bryan feels the same way. Thanks a lot Bryan and "best fishes" to you too!
The dogfish arrived today. They were found in great numbers on the fishing grounds, mostly on the surface. The dogfish slowed the catch rate. This mostly because, when caught, they swim around the other fishing lines pulling them into dogfish range which creates more dogfish hookups and more tangles. Ouch! And it was that kind of day. Most legal fish landed were cod but only a few more in count than they had in legal pollock. Legal landings also included thirteen pollock, six haddock, eight cusk and too many dogfish. They drift fished all day. Jigs and flies caught the most good fish.
I don't know who was high hook. Ian said that whoever it was probably had six or seven legal fish. Ian Croteau (ME) won his first ever Bunny Clark boat pool with a 12.5 pound pollock. This was the largest fish of the trip. The second largest fish was a 12 pound cod caught by John Shalbey (MA). John grew up summers in Perkins Cove. As a kid, I had him work for me cleaning the boat when we got back to the dock. I would take him out fishing when I knew it was going to be good. This trip is probably the first "spur of the moment" trip he has ever taken on the old B.C. And the first time without me as his abusing captain. I certainly would have liked to have been there today! John White (NY) boated the third largest fish, a pollock of 11.5 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Ben Bevis (MA) turned twelve years old today. And, in celebration of this most momentous of occasions, he caught a cod of 11 pounds, the fourth largest fish of the trip. Matt Miller (NH) "skun" in under the wire to record a 10.25 pound cod as his largest fish. Leslie Scoville (NY) was high hurler and landed the hard luck award for her efforts.
Robert Cary (MA) made a very generous "egift" of $150.00 supporting my ride in the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Bob has helped me every year that I have been involved in the Jimmy Fund. As a matter of fact, Bob has guided me through life! A story for another time. Thanks so much for your support, Bob. It means a great deal to me.
The fishing and catching were good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. Legal landings also included fourteen cod, seven pollock, seventeen cusk and about twenty dogfish. They anchored for each spot. All terminal gear worked well but the biggest fish were caught on jigs.
I don't know who was high hook. I do know that Dan Pikens says he caught twenty-six legal but "he only kept one". Kirk Washington won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 14 pound cod. Jim Dicicco and Tom Boucher tied for the second largest fish. Jim's was a 10 pound cod and Tom's fish was a 10 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Bob Clark caught a 9 pound pollock. Jonathan Conderino landed the hard luck award for getting a touch of the mal de mer as we (Regis Jauvin and I) say in Quebec.
I received two donations from anglers supporting my fund raising efforts with the Pan-Mass Challenge. The Challenge is an 192 mile (two day) cycling event that spans the length of Massachusetts to generate funding for the Jimmy Fund. Ron Croteau (ME) donated $25.00 yesterday while Dan Pikens donated $60.00 today. Thank you both very much for your unselfish help. I do so appreciate it.
And I continue to hear that Betsy McLaughlin remains basking in sunshine while we, here on the coast, battle the rain every day. Thanks, Betsy!
Captain Ian Keniston and Jared Keniston ran the extreme day trip today. At 5:00 AM EDT, the air temperature was 57°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the northeast at ten knots and the visibility was fair in haze and fog. On the fishing grounds, the wind was light and variable with a calm surface over a three foot long rolling swell. The sky stayed overcast all day (it rained for most of the day ashore) with only a slight sprinkle of rain at the most. The air temperature was perfect and the visibility ranged from a quarter of a mile to three miles in patchy fog. The surface water temperature on the fishing grounds reached a high of 55.2°F. The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 63°F (with a low of 56°F) today. In Boston, Massachusetts the high was 75°F (with a low of 61°F) today. Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 73°F (with a low of 62°F) today.The fishing and catching overall was good. Most legal fish landed were cod and haddock, an almost equal number of both. Legal landings also included ten pollock, one cusk, one wolffish and about fifteen dogfish. They drift fished all day. All terminal gear worked about the same.
Jack Henke (NY) was high hook with fifteen legal fish. Nine of Jack's fish were haddock, the most legal haddock for an individual for the trip. His two largest fish included a 13 pound pollock and a 13.5 pound cod. Mark LaRocca (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 19 pound Maine state trophy wolffish. This is the largest wolffish he has ever caught and, to date, is the second largest wolffish of the Bunny Clark fishing season. A picture of Mark, taken by Captain Ian, appears on the left. Joe Martineau (MA) boated the second largest fish, a 17.5 pound cod. He also caught a 12 pound cod. The third largest fish was a 17 pound cod caught by Jeff Silverberg (MA). Jeff's second largest fish was a 10 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Ken McLaughlin (ME) landed seven legal fish. His two largest were a 14 pound pollock and a 14 pound cod. David Martineau (NH) boated a cod of 14.5 pounds. Pat Lavoie (CT) caught a 13 pound cod, his best. Branden McMiller (MA) caught a 13.5 pound pollock. Steve Martineau (MA) landed a 15 pound cod, his largest fish of the trip. Jay O'Connor (ME) released four good sized cod. The two biggest that he released included a 10 pound cod and an 11 pound cod. Steve Guilmet (MA) landed the hard luck award for losing the most jigs - two! Normally he gets better awards than that!
Sid Kaufman (FL), my oldest angler, died on Friday, June 26, 2009. He had just celebrated his 90th birthday only a week or two earlier. He was diagnosed with lung cancer six weeks before he died. At this moment, I feel very sorry for myself for losing such a wonderful individual and I feel sorry for those who will lose a wonderful father and husband. Sid meant the world to me on and off the boat. I will truly miss him.
Captain Ian Keniston and I ran our fifth offshore marathon trip today. At 2:00 AM EDT, the air temperature was 58°F, the sky was overcast, it was drizzling, the wind was blowing out of the northeast at ten knots and the visibility was fair in haze and fog. For once, we saw no rain all day. The wind blew lightly from the northeast in the morning and then backed around until it was southeast, light, on the ride home. The ocean was calm all day with the occasional ripple on the surface with no appreciable swell. The air temperature was just too cool to wear a t-shirt but perfect just the same. We never did see the sky for the fog - it was foggy all day. The visibility ranged from two boat lengths to a few hundred yards in fog. The surface water temperature on the fishing grounds reached a high of 57.1°F. The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 61°F (with a low of 57°F) today. In Boston, Massachusetts the high was 65°F (with a low of 59°F) today. Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 72°F (with a low of 58°F) today.The fishing was very good overall, excellent for five or six drifts (two real long ones). Most legal fish landed were haddock, the most legal haddock landed on any Bunny Clark trip this season so far. We also caught the most hake of the season to date, the most state trophy fish for a trip and some of our biggest hake and cusk of the season. Legal landings also included three redfish, eight cusk and a quite a few dogfish. Except for one short anchor stop, we drift fished for the trip. Jigs and flies caught the most fish - including haddock.
I couldn't tell you whom was high hook. There were five candidates who caught a lot of fish. Jay O'Connor (ME) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the largest fish (he entered the second biggest fish pool only), a 44 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This is the second largest hake of the Bunny Clark fishing season so far and Jay's biggest groundfish ever! His picture holding this monster appears on the left. The second largest fish of the trip was also caught by Jay O'Connor, a 42.5 pound Maine state trophy hake. This is Jay's second largest groundfish ever and the Bunny Clark's third largest hake to date! Jay also released five legal cod to 9 pounds back to the ocean alive. Jay also caught seven legal haddock. Larry Cross (NY) and Ken Selmer (NH) tied for the boat pool for the largest fish of the trip with two of the third largest fish of the trip. Larry and Ken each caught a 40.5 pound Maine state trophy hake. I weighed both of these fish and they were exactly the same weight. Ken boated a 16.5 pound Maine state trophy cusk and another hake of 24.5 pounds. The cusk is the Bunny Clark's second largest of the season to date and it's Ken's largest cusk ever. Larry had a story of another kind. He hooked into a big fish and broke his favorite Surfland made $300.00 jig stick! I think they still put a drag system in the reel he was using? I would have given him the hard luck award but I have a hard time giving this award to someone who wins a boat pool!
Other Angler Highlights: Sixteen year old Bryan Lewer (FL) scored the most "counters" for any Bunny Clark trip this season with six trophy/sows. These best fish included a 12.25 pound Maine state trophy cusk (the fourth largest Bunny Clark cusk of the 2009 fishing season to date), a 29.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake, a 28 pound Maine state trophy white hake, a 37.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake (a tie for his largest hake ever), a 25 pound Maine state trophy white hake and a 22.5 pound white hake. There was no one even close. He also lost a big cod that stripped twenty-five yards of line before breaking off and he broke off another fish that was probably a big hake. He caught nine legal haddock and a few cod. Steve Selmer (NH) boated a 39.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake as his largest fish. He might have caught the most legal haddock as well. I know that he caught at least fifteen legal haddock - all caught with a jig! Mark LaRocca (NY) landed a 39 pound Maine state trophy white hake, a 30 pound Maine state trophy white hake and a 24.5 pound white hake, his three largest fish. Dan Kelley's biggest was a 23.75 pound white hake. Tim Williams (CT) caught a 34 pound Maine state trophy white hake as his largest fish. Ben Labunski (SC) caught two of the biggest haddock of the trip. One weighed 6 pounds and the other weighed 6.5 pounds. He also landed the hard luck award for losing three jigs. This alone was sufficient enough to win him the award. The salient point was that he has never lost a single jig while fishing on the Bunny Clark - ever! And he has fished with me a long time.
Walter Dusza (RI) caught a 36 pound Maine state trophy white hake as his largest fish. This is the largest hake he has ever caught. He too caught one of the two biggest haddock of the day at 6.5 pounds. Eric Vigneault (QC) caught his first two big hake today. At the very end of the trip he boated, first, a 24.75 pounder and, right afterward, a 22 pounder. Next he has to work on getting a trophy! Dave Gray (VT) caught two 36 pound Maine state trophy white hake, his two biggest fish. He also caught quite a few haddock. Bill Kelson (MA) caught his first Maine state trophy white hake. It weighed 32.5 pounds. I took a picture of he and his fish that can be seen right.
This next to last paragraph I am devoting to Jack Henke (NY) who had a great day. He caught the largest cod of the trip at 15 pounds. He also boated the largest hake he has ever caught with me at 34.5 pounds, a Maine state trophy. His legal haddock count was exactly fifteen fish. He also caught a 30 pound Maine state trophy white hake. But his most impressive catch included Jay O'Connor. Jack won't claim the 32 pound Maine state trophy white hake that he also caught. This after laying his rod down on a bench after dropping his jig to bottom. The hake took the jig while his back was turned, pulled the line hard enough to eventually (with the help of a swell) launch it over the side and right to bottom! Jack was devastated. My jig sticks cost in excess of $500.00 each and he assumed he would be paying for it! He would have tried had it not been for Jay who hooked his line and brought it back to the surface! Thankfully, Jack had locked the eccentric lever (that would otherwise have thrown the reel into "free spool") so that Captain Ian and I could handline in his 32 pound hake and then his rod & reel! It was a much happier day for both Jack and I after that!
I received two nice donations toward my fund raising efforts for a cancer cure with the Pan-Mass Challenge on the boat today. Jack Henke (before he lost the rod overboard) gave me $20.00 while Ben Labunski donated $25.00. I also received a nice $25.00 donation from Chris Savarie (NY) yesterday. Chris had been meaning to donate during a previous trip that he attended. Thank you all very much for your support. Obviously, you all think highly of the Jimmy Fund and my efforts to help. I appreciate it as will those where it strikes closer to home.
Captain Ian Keniston and Jared Keniston are running the full day trip today. At 5:00 AM EDT, the air temperature was 57°F, the sky could not be seen, the roads were wet from ... (rain or heavy fog?), the wind was barely blowing from the northeast and the visibility was poor in thick fog. On the fishing grounds, the weather was very similar to yesterday's trip. There was more wind than yesterday as it was mostly ten knots with a one to two foot chops with a wind out of the southeast. However, the fog was as dense, if not denser, than yesterday with a quarter of a mile visibility at the most (mostly less) for the whole day. (Ashore, it was foggy along the shore from the time I got up until the time I went to bed - with no breaks in the visibility) The sky appeared overcast, the air temperature was perfect and there were long sea swells of two feet or more for trip. The surface water temperature on the fishing grounds reached a high of 56.9°F. The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 59°F (with a low of 56°F) today. In Boston, Massachusetts the high was 63°F (with a low of 58°F) today. Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 63°F (with a low of 58°F) today.
The fishing was fair (too much current) but the catching was good overall. Most legal fish landed were an equal number of cod and haddock. Legal landings also included three pollock, two cusk and probably eighteen dogfish. They anchored and drift fished. All terminal gear worked well.
Ray Meunier (ME) was the fisherman of the day. He was high hook with over twelve legal fish and he won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 12 pound cod. The second largest fish was a cod of 11.5 pounds caught by Brian Beneway (MA). There were no other fish of 10 pounds or more caught on this trip.
Other Angler Highlights: Mike Atkins (NH) caught the largest haddock of the trip at 6.75 pounds, just a quarter of a pound shy of a Maine state trophy. Wilfred Buzzell (NH) celebrated his 86th birthday today. Wilfred's best birthday catch of his day was a double keeper catch that included a 6 pound cod and a 4 pound haddock, both caught on the same line at the same time. Happy Birthday, Wilfred! Eric Drew (NH) drew the mal de mer card and got awarded for his high hurler status.
Captain Ian Keniston and Jared Keniston ran the afternoon half day (4PM - 8PM) trip. The fog was black thick along the shore as the boat headed out to the fishing grounds. On the grounds, the wind blew out of the east at five to eight knots with seas in chops of one foot over rolling swells of two feet. The visibility was poor in thick fog, there were rain showers throughout the trip and the air temperature was cool (and wet). The sky stayed overcast for the evening.
The fishing was good, the catching was fairly good but landings of legal fish was poor. Not one legal fish was boated on this trip. Anglers like Bill Socha (NH) caught four or five cod but no legal ones. All went back alive. There were also plenty of dogfish that were caught but all were released. Tracy Jameson (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 3.5 pound sub-legal cod. Bill was second with a sub-legal cod of 3.25 pounds. Kevin Flanagan (NY) landed the hard luck award for being the high hurler of the trip.
I received two donations, both nice but one very generous one, sponsoring my ride in the Pan-Mass Challenge, cycling for a cancer cure with the Jimmy Fund. Ed Dwyer donated $5.00 while Mike Harris (ME) donated another $500.00! This is the second time that Mike has donated $500.00 this year. This because of an inspiring local program about a guy being treated with pancreatic cancer at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute who is now in remission because of their wonderful work. Thank you Ed and Mike. Very nice of you to help me in this most wonderful cause.
We also have room on many upcoming fishing trips. For reservations you can call 207-646-2214.
