Bunny Clark Fishing Update
Written & Edited by Tim Tower
Thursday, November 6, 2025, 7:45 AM EST
Book a Trip on Line
 |
 |
Book a Trip on Line
|
|
Proposed cod & haddock regulations for the 2025 fishing season (May 1, 2025 thru April 30, 2026):
Note: These regulations still haven't been implimented for this season yet (as of September 7, 2025). So last years regulations are still in force, including an 18" haddock minimum size. But this also means that we will be able to keep a cod a person per trip for the months of September and October or until November.
Gulf of Maine cod
Gulf of Maine haddock
At 2:45 AM EDT the air temperature was 49°F, the sky was crystal, the wind was blowing lightly out of the northwest and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The wind was blowing out of the northwest in Perkins Cove, the flags waving at the southeast horizon. A mile offshore, however, the wind was out of the southwest at fifteen to twenty knots. And the wind was stronger the further off we got. Seas were three to six feet, seemingly, in chops. The sky was clear. The visibility was excellent. The air temperature hung around the low 50s for the whole ride out.
On the fishing grounds, the wind remained out of the southwest all day. Wind speeds ranged from twenty to twenty-five knots. Seas ranged from five to seven feet. Some of this was an underlying swell. But, in the morning, it was hard to tell the difference. It was choppy. But the wind and the chop started to drop around noon. It continued dropping until the fishing was over. At that time it was about ten knots with a two foot chop over a four foot rolling sea. The air temperature never got higher than 56°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty-five miles. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 54°F.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 66°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 67°F (with a low of 51°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 66°F (with a low of 46°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 64°F (with a low of 44°F).
The fishing was tough. The seas were too uncomfortable to drift, initially. Even with full oil gear, anglers were getting soaked as the chops dumped, periodically, over the rail We anchored a couple of times, used the sea anchor once (it wasn't very productive) for a long drift and, after noon, drifted for the rest of the day. Drifting was very productive. The catching was very good. Landings were good to very good. Most legal fish landed were cusk and whiting. On one drift we landed a whole fish tote full.of whiting. That hasn't happened in many years as we don't target them. Legal landings also included six cod, ten haddock, a white hake, a monkfish, twenty-six pollock and two dogfish. Released fish included thirteen sub-legal cod, a handful of cusk, forty-two or more sub-legal haddock, twenty-nine small pollock, twenty-four dogfish and a couple sculpins. All terminal gear worked well.
Shawn "Happy Halibut" Rosenberger (PA) 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, an 11 pound cod. He also won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 9.5 pound cusk. He caught over thirty cusk alone. He also caught all the other species. That included a halibut that he fought for over a half hour (I hung over it against the tide by maneuvering the boat with the engine). We got it up to where Danny could see it. I even fought it initially as Shawn was passing the rod around. But I really think that a tangle chaffed his brand new eighty pound test Spectra line. Shawn was putting the pressure on it and we got it up so I could see it on the sounding machine four fathoms down. And, as I said, Danny saw it. That's when the line broke. So did my heart. I don't think that fish had much left. We covered about an eighth of a mile of new territory before we lost that fish.
Steve Selmer (NH) won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the third largest fish, an 8.75 pound cusk. Steve caught four legal haddock, which he was very proud of. He caught the only white hake, a 7 pounder. And, he too, caught a lot of cusk but a very lot of whiting.
Other Angler Highlights: Brian St. Saviour (ME) caught the only monkfish, a small one, the first fish in the boat. I weighed a 6.25 pound cusk and a 6.5 pound cusk for Jesse Barber (CT). He also caught some pollock and two 2 pound whiting. There were actually quite a few whiting that weighed 2 pounds or more. Nick Vegeto (NY) landed an 8 pound cusk, his biggest fish. Larry Jackson (NY) caught a 5.5 pound cusk I weighed early in the day. Tod Benjamin (VT) caught a 7 pound cusk, a 5 pound pollock and a few whiting. Johnny DeClair, Jr. (NY) caught the largest pollock at 8 pounds.
A good day was had by most. Some were sea sick.
I received an anonymous $20.00 donation today sponsoring me in my cancer fundraising drive with the Pan-Mass Challenge, a cycling event that took place during the first weekend of August and, of which, I attended for the first time in two years after my back injury. Although no one but me knows the donor, I appreciate the gift to my research team at Dana-Farber very much! Thank you!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 53°F, the sky was overcast, a light rain had fallen earlier in the morning, there wasn't enough wind to write about and the visibility over the ocean was very good but seemed excellent.
When the rain did come, it came in waves. At times it was pouring rain so hard that it looked like we were in the tropics. At times, it looked like it was going to clear up. There wasn't much high cloudiness. It was all lower clouds. It seemed like the rain was coming from the south. After noon, the rain stopped and the roads dried up. It looked like the sky was going to clear at 3:00 PM. At 4:00 PM, the clouds rolled in and it started raining again, a steady light rain for about fifteen minutes. It stayed overcast after that. But I lost track of the clouds after sunset. Only a little light rain feel before I went to bed. The visibility ranged from fair to excellent depending on the rain and type of rainfall. The wind blew out of the south at ten to fifteen knots starting at mid morning. By noon, we had little or no wind at all. Later in the day the wind became established out of the south again but blew no more than ten knots. The wind was westerly when I went to bed. The air temperature got up to 64°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 67°F (with a low of 53°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 63°F (with a low of 49°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 59°F (with a low of 43°F).
The early part of my day was spent going through an hour of core exercises, writing and posting this report and opening the restaurant before 5:00 AM. Actually, our night man, Danny had the restaurant open before I got there. I had a few things I had to set up but nothing that I wasn't expecting to do.
I had a meeting with our bookkeeper and accountant at 9:00 AM. That lasted an hour. Then I had a meeting with our insurance people at 10:30 AM. I was able to get a shower in after the meetings but I was late to the restaurants where I spent the rest of my day.
The only time I spent on the Bunny Clark was to talk to my fuel guy, Drew, as he was filling up the starboard tank at 5:00 AM. Drew was a Navy man. And you can tell. Presise!
At 2:45 AM EDT the air temperature was 47°F, the sky was clear, the wind was light out of the west (twelve knots out of the southwest at the closest weather buoy) and the visibility over the ocean was very good, at least.
[The shot on the left is a digital image of Danny skinning a fillet on the ride back to Perkins Cove at the end of today's trip.]
The ride to the fishing grounds was choppy. Once we got out a few miles, the wind was from the southwest at fifteen to twenty knots. Seas were about four feet in chops most of the way, a bit larger in areas more affected by the tide. The sky was clear. The visibility was excellent. The air temperature ranged from 45°F at the gate to 52°F at the fifteen mile mark to our destination. The surface water temperature remained at 54°F for the whole ride.
On the fishing grounds, the wind was fifteen to twenty knots to start but piped up a bit to twenty knots with higher gusts about a half hour into the fishing. Wind speeds remained the same for all but the last half hour of the fishing. Seas were six feet in chops on average with the occasional queer one. The sounding machine showed a difference of eight feet. The wind direction was from the west southwest for most of the day, although I did see southwest at one point - the point where we couldn't get a fish to bite. Oddly, when it shifted back to the west southwest, the biting occurred again. The air temperature reached a high of 54°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty-five miles. The sky was a mix of sun and high cirrus clouds. The tide was moderate but strong enough to promote wave height when the current was running into the wind. The surface water temperature reached a high 54°F.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 60°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 62°F (with a low of 48°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 61°F (with a low of 38°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 59°F (with a low of 42°F).
I had some challenges today. On our second fishing stop, someone clogged up the head by using a half a roll of bum wad to clean themselves. Of course, no one could tell me who did it so I could figure out a game plan for clearing the blockage. Of course, I found what caused the problem on my hands and knees as I had the head in pieces in the toilet area. It took me half an hour. Unlike last time when I set up a drift while I was doing this and no one caught a fish as we drifted into 80 fathoms of water, this time, we bailed the pollock. Danny had laid out the pollock on the deck to weigh for the three pools we were running today. So, once I was done fixing the head, I had to weigh and record the fish.
The fish weren't big, in the 10 to 12 pound range with a few bigger fish mixed in. And I skipped weighing most of the fish as it was easy to tell which fish were the largest. Later in the day, when I went to haul the anchor, she was stuck for a bit and came free. Turns out I bent a fluke enough so that I couldn't use the anchor again. This was just as well because we caught nothing on anchor; the drift was far more productive. The last challenge was our course home after the fishing. Our course was just off the wind. So I couldn't have anyone lying in either top bunk for the ride back and I had to close the companionway door as I didn't want anglers standing in the opening and falling into the forecastle. [This has happened before]. Turns out my worst fears were unfounded and we were able to make thirteen knots for the first twenty-five miles and fifteen knots thereafter.
[The shot on the right is a digital image taken during the fishing as we were drifting along and seagulls attracted to the boat while in the process of catching. You can tell by the gulls that there were not many boats in the area where we were fishing.]
I would call the fishing fair. It was uncomfortably choppy with a few anglers sea sick or, at least, not feeling well. The drift was perfect for those who knew what they were doing. That pertained to most of the anglers today. There were a few that thought the drift was too fast. We had two excellent productive drifts with all the rest of the drifts coming in at the "fair" category. The catching was very good. Landings were good. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. We only caught five species of fish today. We saw no dogfish, sharks, halibut, redfish, wolffish, sculpins, sea ravens, herring or hake of any variety. Legal landings also included twenty-four haddock, two cod, fifty-nine cusk and two mackerel. Released fish included six sub-legal cod, thirteen sub-legal haddock and twenty-three sub-legal pollock. As I said, drifting worked the best. All terminal gear caught fish today.
Fred Kunz (NH) was high hook with the most legal fish, one fish more than Shawn Rosenberger (PA), who was fishing beside him and was second hook on the day. Nick Vegeto (NY) was third hook. Fred's largest fish that I weighed was a 10 pound pollock but he could have had a slightly larger one that I didn't weigh with all the fish on the deck after the head debacle. Shawn won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the third largest fish, a 14.5 pound pollock. Nick caught, by far, the most cusk.
Bill "Murph" Murphy (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 17.5 pound pollock. I also weighed an 11.25 pound pollock for him. Murph won the boat pool the last time he fished with me. Jay Rowe (NH) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 14.75 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Karen Atwood (VT) caught the most legal haddock with a count of seven. All these haddock were of good size and didn't have to be measured to know. She had the biggest haddock of the day. I didn't weigh it but it looked to be 4 pounds. The two largest fish of hers that I weighed were both pollock of 10 pounds each. Colby Rowe (NH) caught a 10.5 pound pollock on the first spot before I had to deal with the head. I suspect that was his biggest fish. I did weigh another pollock of his later in the morning that was 9 pounds. Darlene Chin (NH/FL) had a remarkable day with her new (amazingly good looking) rod that she bought from Martha at Surfland in Plum Island, Newbury, Massachusetts. Darlene (Darling to most of the anglers who know her fishing reputation), had her typical great fishing day. She caught the largest cusk at 8 pounds, two pollock of 10 pounds each that I weighed and was right in there around third hook. I believe Nick had slightly more but, in actuality, I don't really know for sure. Darlene's largest fish was an 11.75 pound pollock.
Pete Atwood (VT) had a 10 pound pollock that I weighed. He might have had a couple slightly bigger ones that I didn't weigh. Neil Chamberlain (NH) caught the largest cod of the day at 11 pounds. His biggest pollock weighed 10.5 pounds. Matt Colby (MA) had the best double of the day. His catch included an 11.25 pound pollock and an 11.75 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. Nino Pierdipino (NY) caught the second most haddock of the trip, right behind Karen. He was probably fifth hook.
I received three donations from anglers today sponsoring me in my cancer research project with the Pan-Mass Challenge. Those anglers included Stephen Robidoux (NH) for $40.00, Matt Colby for $20.00 and an anonymous donation of $40.00. Thank you all so very much for your support and thoughtfulness. It means so much to so many people. This may include you (or I) in the future.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 45°F at the house (42°F on the Bunny Clark), the sky was clear, the wind was light out of the west and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
There was no wind in the morning. The ocean along the shore was flat calm. Around noon, or just after noon, the wind started to blow out of the south. It wasn't until mid afternoon that we saw any velocity. But the wind never blew over ten knots until near sunset. And, then, it was only just a bit more than ten knots. I looked at the buoy reports at 8:00 PM and saw thirteen knots of wind at the closest buoy to us. The sky was clear all morning and the early part of the afternoon. After mid afternoon, clouds started to show up coming out of the northwest. At 6:30 PM, we had some rain that lasted long enough to get the roads wet. Then it stopped. The sky was overcast into the night. The visibility was excellent. The highest air temperature that I saw was 59°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 60°F (with a low of 47°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 59°F (with a low of 32°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 59°F (with a low of 36°F).
It was a restaurant day all day. We had more patrons than normal at Barnacle Billy's (Original). This is because it's our last weekend and it is Ogunquitfest weekend. It was very much fun today. I didn't feel tired at all from yesterday's fishing trip. But when I went home for a nap at 3:00 PM, I slept for unplanned hour and a half. So I must have been more tired than I thought.
The sky was clear and sunny for most of the morning. After noon, we had cloud cover but were still able to see clear sky to the east over the ocean. Over Perkins Cove, however, it became overcast. We had mostly cloudy skies with a peek at the sun every now and again until about 4:00 PM, when it was mostly sun through the clouds. It never rained. The visibility was excellent. The wind was light and variable in direction all day. The air temperature seemed cool all day. The highest air temperature that I saw was 55°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 57°F (with a low of 44°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 56°F (with a low of 31°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 56°F (with a low of 37°F).
This was our last Saturday at Barnacle Billy's (Original). And it was busy. But it was also busy because this was Ogunquitfest Weekend. We had the Hallween Parade for kids. And we had kids trick or treating in the Cove. We had candy in front of the both buildings for the kids. And many kids and parents were in the restaurants after the festivities. This wouldn't have been as much of a success had the weather been bad. But the weather wasn't bad. Everyone seemed to be really enjoying it.
For my part, I opened the restaurant, sorted lobsters, lit the cooker tanks, etc. I got back home early, did my exercising, took a shower and got back in the Cove by 10:15 AM. The trick or treating was just beginning. I stayed until 3:00 PM, went home for quick nap and then went down and stayed for closing. It was like old home week there. Many of our loyal patrons were there. Some left to say goodbye until next season. There were tears for some. Others were happy for a wonderful weather summer but were sorry it was over. Most were surprised that I was unhappy that the season was over. But, for my part, after the season is truly over, I have to organize every day. During the season, I know what I'm doing at all times every day. Only the weather changes my schedule. Plus, I have such wonderful employees behind me that it makes it so very easy for me to enjoy all aspects of restaurant happenings. As most know, there are all kinds of challenges in the restaurant business. But if you have a good team, there are no problems, just the challenges. I get a tremendous amount of support from my employees and managers.
It was a very nice fall day today with mostly clear skies, some cloudiness in the afternoon with just a hint of rain and clear skies for the later part of the afternoon on into the night. The visibility was excellent all day. The wind was light out of the north northeast in the morning to eight knots, diminishing to, probably five knots out of the northeast and then dying out to nothing around sunset. The ocean along the shore was calm all day with zero seas washing up on the beaches and rocks. It was eerie. It seemed cooler today than yesterday. But we did have the same ambient air temperature. The highest air temperature that I saw was 55°F. But most of the time the air temperature was in the low 50s. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 57°F (with a low of 43°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 55°F (with a low of 28°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 55°F (with a low of 40°F).
After opening up the restaurant, putting lobsters away, etc., I worked on the Bunny Clark for most of the rest of the morning. I bent a fluke anchoring on Thursday's offshore trip. So I replaced it with the same size anchor that I keep on the Petrel. The anchor is a 35 pound Danforth, a perfect size for the Bunny Clark but not necessary for the Petrel. I had a spare 20 pound Danforth anchor in the garage at the house that I replaced the Petrel's anchor with. One of our halon flood lights was out on the port side. So I rewired a new light. I always keep a spare at home for these occasions. The other had crimped fittings. The new light I soldered the wiring. It's not as easy but, to me, it's more reliable. I also did a little work on the engine, checking it out, warming it up and checking all systems. I was done by 10:30 AM.
I was back at the restaurants a little after noon. This was closing day at Barnacle Billy's (Original). There were so many nice people, mostly regular patrons, who came to enjoy a last night on the deck, in the dining room in front of the fire and on the upper deck. At 3:00 PM, the Ogunquit Chamber hosted the high heel dash. The best viewing point was from the Bunny Clark truck or the upper deck of Original. I don't know who won because I went home to lay down for an hour. It's a great event. And had I not been up so early this morning , I might have attended. But, after my cycling accident, I need to lay down for just a bit. Then I'm ready for the rest of the night.
When I got back to the restaurants, it was as busy as I left it. I don't think there was a person there I didn't know. I never remember everyone's names but I know them well enough to enjoy seeing them and shaking hands. There was a lot of that. And there were a lot of; "Winter Well". That was my father's favorite expression. If I didn't say it to a patron, they said it to me. Everyone there tonight has been coming to Barnacle Billy's for many years. It was fun seeing everyone. But I'm sad to see it end. It would be impractical to keep it going. But I love the season. And it always seems too short.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 38°F at the house (35°F on the Bunny Clark), the sky was mostly clear, the wind was blowing out of the northwest at eight to ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The ride to the fishing grounds was uneventful but a bit choppy. We had a three foot chop on the stern port quarter which made it okay but producing a bit of spray across the stern. It was comfortable enough but not great. The wind, for the most part, was blowing out of the north northwest or north at fifteen to twenty knots, twenty knots closer to the fishing grounds. The sky was a mix of clear areas and clouds. The visibility was excellent. The air temperature started out at 38°F as we went through the gate and 44°F just before the arrival at our destination.
On the fishing grounds, the wind started out from the north, hauled out of the north northeast, blew out of the northeast and, very slowly, dropped from twenty knots sustained to fifteen knots. Seas remained about three feet, more or less. The air temperature reached a high of 49°F. Mostly, the air temperature was 46°F. The tide (current) was moderate. The visibility ranged to over thirty miles. The sky remained a mix of sun and clouds. We could see isolated rain showers from clouds inside of us. But we never saw those types of clouds. Nor did we see the rain. The surface water temperature reached a high of 53°F.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 54°F. They also had a light rain shower that got the roads wet before stopping. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 52°F (with a low of 40°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 55°F (with a low of 26°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 54°F (with a low of 34°F).
The fishing was fair. We tried drifting but it was too quick in the morning. Anchoring didn't produce as much as I would have liked; it seemed like the fish were not interested. Later, when the drift settled down, the bite, again, wasn't as good as expected even though the fish showed well interested on the sounding machine. The weather made is uncomfortable for some anglers and made it sea sick conditions for another. The catching was good to very good, mostly for sub-legal pollock. Landings were good but no better than that. Legal landings included mostly whiting. Legal landings also included twenty-seven pollock (We could have included four more good sized pollock had we not lost them on the surface or out the scupper hole!), three cod, three cusk, six haddock, a cunner, two redfish and twenty-four mackerel. Released fish included two sea ravens, ten mackerel, nine sub-legal redfish, over forty sub-legal pollock, twelve sub-legal haddock and fourteen sub-legal cod. Everyone used jigs and cod flies.
I couldn't tell you whom was high hook for the most legal fish. Fred Kunz (NH) might have been the principle in this with over ten keepers. But there were others who had quite a few whiting. So I can't say for certain. Fred kept a 6 pound cod that he caught. His largest fish was a pollock that weighed 9.5 pounds. David Beaulieu (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 12.5 pound pollock. He also caught a 2.75 pound whiting, the Bunny Clark's fourth largest whiting of the fishing season to date. The second largest fish was an 11 pound pollock caught by Molly Fraher (CT). Mike Nelson (CT) caught the third largest fish, a 10.5 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Rich Mason (CT) landed a 2.5 pound whiting, the Bunny Clark's fifth largest whiting of the fishing season so far. He also caught an 8.25 pound pollock as a double along with another pollock of about 10 pounds, more or less, that he lost when it slid out the scupper hole next to his feet! I had the scuppers (or freeing ports) made larger than normal as I expected to be in heavy weather from time to time. Paul Lessard (ME) caught a 6 pound cod, that he kept. Aleigha Mason (CT) caught a 7.5 pound pollock and a 7 pound pollock, her two best fish. Andrew Meachum (MA) landed an 8.25 pound pollock. Shawn Rosenberger (PA) caught two sea ravens, one of which he called for a gaff before he knew what it was.
I came back to the house after taking most of my stuff off the Bunny Clark and driving up with the scooter. I felt more beat that normal and was ruminating on not being able to get a decent weather day in October yet this season. Of course, I saw my wife, Deb. As usual, she asked how I did today. I told her. Her reply (and I'm paraphrasing here); "Well, that's not very good!" Thanks, Deb! Deb is my best critic!
I received two donations from fishermen who were on the boat today sponsoring me in the Pan-Mass Challenge, an event where funding is generated for cancer research and care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. The donations I generate go to a specific group of researchers who do genetic profiling to halt the disease with drug therapy thus bypassing chem and radiation treatment. It's a wonderful program. The two who gifted these reserachers today were Molly Fraher for $20.00 and Mark Fraher (CT) for $40.00. Thank you both so very much for your thoughtfulness and support. I really do apprecaite the help!
At 6:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 40°F, the sky was, essentially, cloudless, the wind was blowing out of the north at twenty knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The air temperature seemed cooler than it was all day. We did have a high of 55°F in Perkins Cove but, like yesterday, it was a fleeting high that didn't last very long. Most of the day, the air temperature was in the lower 50s or in the 40s. The wind off the water made it seem colder. That wind, out of the northeast, blew across the parking lot all day. Wind speeds got up to twenty-five knots. The sky was cloudless or nearly so all day. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 53°F (with a low of 43°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 58°F (with a low of 28°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 56°F (with a low of 39°F).
As I was putting the Bunny Clark truck in her normal place in the parking lot at Perkins Cove this morning, Ken Young, Jr. stopped to say hello. Ken used to fish, mostly commercially, out of Perkins Cove all through my growing up. For a time he ran a highline party fishing operation with his vessel, the Judy Marie, along with Dave Burnham, another highline commercial fisherman turned party boat operation, who ran his boat of Kennebunkport for a short time. Both were very good at it. In my mind, they were the top dogs of my area. I had my ups and downs with Ken over the years, as you always do in a close knit fishing community. But I always respected him as one of the hardest working, best fishermen on the coast and an intelligent fisherman in all aspects. It was good to see him this morning.
The morning was spent writing and posting this report and getting a ton of pellets for the pellet stove. I spent an hour putting the pellets away and, then, getting ready to go to work at the restaurant.
I worked at the restaurant all day, taking a break to see my son's new daughter, Belén, at their house. Deb went up with me.
The sky remained overcast for the rest of the day. We never saw a drop of rain. The air temperature was cool all day as well, much like every other day this week, as the wind was blowing over the parking lot at twenty knots, more or less, all day. The wind was out of the northeast but seas smaller than yesterday. The wind was less as well. Wind speeds all morning and the early part of the afternoon were twenty to twenty-five knots. Most of the rest of the afternoon, the northeast wind was about twenty knots. By 5:00 PM, in typical northeast wind fashion, the wind had dropped to about twelve knots and remained about the same, more or less, on into the night. The wind never died out completely. The visibility was excellent. The air temperature reached a high of 51°F. Most of the day the air temperature was less than 50°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 51°F (with a low of 47°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 55°F (with a low of 28°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 53°F (with a low of 34°F).
Today was very much a vanilla day in the restaurant. It was busier than the same day last year, by quite a bit. But it wasn't busy. And this week, year after year, has shown as much. It's worth staying, I believe. But it's never been hugely successful. There have been times where this week was not worth being open. This because of heavy weather and poor weather predictions. We also had two Octobers where we lost power for a couple of days and had to close. These times both because of heavy southeast wind at eighty knots for one hour one time and two hours another time. That's a lot of wind. Luckily, it looks like we will make it through to closing day on Sunday without that kind of weather event.
It took me a while to post today's report as I had house chores that kept me away from it. That wasn't good as I wanted to go for a run before I was to attend an insurance meeting at 9:00 AM. I did an hour's worth of core work and stretching as I do every day. But I always try to get some aerobic exercise as well. The meeting was at Barnacle Billy's, Etc. office. And it lasted until the time I had to go home to take a shower and get to work. The hold-up was based around getting more coverage in three different areas. Our agent will get back to us on what extra money this coverage will cost us. I also had one more contract to be signed for a service to the company from a vendor outside. This should be completed before the weekend.
Working with only one restaurant this week is much easier. We have a gang at Barncle Billy's (Original) who is cleaning up after the season. They are being led through the process by Matt Pedersen. Because of this, I do not have to check on what's being done. So it's one less building that I have to be concerned with. So I spend the whole day at Barnacle Billy's, Etc. going between the office, talking to the patrons on the floor and the employees throughout. I'm well aware that I only have four more days to see our patrons and most of our employees. I will miss it all, for sure.
I canceled tomorrow's marathon trip on the Bunny Clark for the weather report and the thoughts that Hurricane Melissa's influence will have on us during the afternoon and night. Lately, I think of the ramifications of breaking down before a gale with no other vessel out there to help me if I can't get the engine started. I wouldn't think twice about going if I were commercial fishing. But taking passengers from all ranges of seaworthiness puts a different spin on things. I'm not as bold as I used to be either. And you certainly can't get away with as much as you could before the internet and the time I first started writing these reports in 1995. It isn't as if I was trying to get away with anything. But I always looked at the weather under the appraisal of being dangerously rough. If the weather wouldn't compromise our safety, I would go. I fished in many a gale. I even fished in a couple of storms, which I will not do again. I'm hoping I won't regret canceling tomorrow's trip. But I'm thinking that I probably will. I really am getting sick of getting beat up by the weather this month of October. This might be the worst October I have ever fished through. But I do have a short memory these days.
It wouldn't have been a great day out there today. I missed going. The truth is that we would have been able to make it down the channel and out to the gate without issue in the dark. All morning, the wind was out of the northeast at fifteen knots or a little more. After noon, we had sustained twenty knots of wind. From that time on, we had twenty to twenty-five knots of northeast wind and six foot seas (according to the Portland Lightship buoy). [I'm trying to defend my decision to stay in Perkins Cove today.] It never did rain during the day but it was misting after noon. The wind shifted out of the east around sunset and increased to gusts over twenty-five knots by 7:00 PM. Before midnight, I got up to find that the wind was sustained at twenty-five knots with gusts to over thirty knots. It was raining at that time. We actually had some light rain at 7:00 PM; there hadn't been much of anything before that time. The visibility decreased as the day progressed. At sunset, the visibility over the ocean was fair. The highest air temperature that I saw during the day was 51°F. But I knew the air temperature would rise in the night with the approach of this weather system. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 57°F - 10:00 PM - (with a low of 48°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 55°F - 11:59 PM - (with a low of 34°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 54°F - at 11:59 PM - (with a low of 35°F).
I had to do a bit of catching up in the office at home in the morning. After noon, I was back in the restaurant going between the office and the dining room. When I left at 3:00 PM, I didn't come back as it had been a planned night off with Deb. So only five hours at the restaurant today.
The rain was all done for the day and the sun was out a half hour after sunrise. We had a clear patch of sky for most of the morning. In the afternoon, the sky became mostly cloudy. The clouds were devoid of rain. The salient feature of today's weather was the wind. It was almost as if departing Hurrincane Melissa, sucked the wind out of the mainland to match it's power and speed offshore. It was windy. Ashore, the wind was out of the west southwest all morning at twenty to thirty knots. By the afternoon, the wind had backed out of the west. Later afternoon saw wind velocity increases to thirty knots sustained with higher gusts, some over thirty-five knots. The visibility improved to excellent over the ocean. But the air temperature, probably due to Melissa's influence, stayed high for this time of year. I saw a high of 63°F at the house today. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 60°F (with a low of 49°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 60°F (with a low of 45°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 65°F (with a low of 47°F).
I was glad I didn't sail on Thursday. Many of the local lobstermen fished in the morning that day but were back right after noon. These guys fish close to shore, within five miles or so. My worry would have been the unlikely potential of breaking down when it came time to come home. It's not like it would ever have been dangerously rough. That wouldn't be my concern. I certainly would have gone had I been commercial jig fishing. On this day, I would have been the only recreational jig boat out there with customers of varying deep sea fishing backgrounds, who had deadlines after fishing all day. The ride home would have been very uncomfortable with the wind and seas at closing time. Plus, it was misty and rainy. I was just as happy being ashore watching the seas from the parking lot.
I spent a lot of time polishing up this website today. I left the house early, after that, to start working at Barnacle Billy's, Etc. It was Halloween. All the employees, except me, were dressed as something or someone else. It was fun seeing all them. My favorite was our general manager of Etc., Sarah Cannon, who was dressed as a cop in all black. I worked there until 1:00 PM.
I left for something I needed to do.
I was back at the restaurant at 5:00 PM until, almost, closing time. I felt more tired than I have felt in a long time.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 44°F, the sky was mostly cloudy with stars peeking through the cracks, the wind was blowing out of the west at thirty-five to forty knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The salient feature of today's weather was the wind. It blew out of the west at twenty to thirty knots all morning and, damn near, the same for the afternoon. By sunset, it was finally starting to lose it's steam. It hauled out of the northwest at that time and was blowing at fifteen to twenty knots. Around my bedtime, the wind was back out of the west at twenty to twenty-five knots. Tomorrow will be better, as far as wind goes. The visibility was excellent all day. The sky was the clearest it has been in weeks. The highest air temperature that I saw was 55°F. But it felt cold all day today. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 57°F (with a low of 47°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 53°F (with a low of 41°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 54°F (with a low of 35°F).
I worked on the engine a little bit today, warming her up and checking the vitals. All seemed better than normal.
I went into Barnacle Billy's, Etc. for the last Saturday of the year today. I worked most of the day, mostly talking to patrons and working in the office. There was little to do in the office. But it was a very busy lunch. Knowing that there is only one day left that we will be open is distressing. I'm not looking forward to closing.
I'm also not looking forward to stopping with the fishing. The weather has been horrible and I feel that I have been robbed, for trips.
We had wind today but there was very little of it. Predominantly out of the west, I believe that I saw ten knots at most, maybe. The wind backed out of the south during the afternoon. Again, the most wind I saw was ten knots, maybe less. These observations were visual only. The visibility was excellent all day. The sky was clear, cloudless most of the morning. The highest air temperature that I saw was 53°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 53°F (with a low of 40°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 52°F (with a low of 27°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 52°F (with a low of 28°F).
I worked at the restaurant, earlier in the morning, posted this report afterward and then exercised until a shower and an my first appearance at Barnacle Billy's, Etc. at 11:00 AM. On a six mile, or the start of a six mile run, I pulled a hamstring muscle and had to walk for the last four miles to get home. After that I was limping all day. So it will be back on the stationary bike until I can get my right leg back.
The restaurant was busy. Of course, it was closing day. I saw many regular patrons today. It is always fun on closing. Or, it has been, over the years. Today was no exception. We even had some tables on the garden patio at, barely, 53°F. I went home at 5:30 PM so I could grab Deb and come back for our last supper at the restaurant for the season. I was sorry to see the season end.
Danny DellaMonica and I ran the extreme day trip today.
At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 33°F (31°F at the boat), the sky was mostly overcast with the, very occasional, star peeking through, there wasn't enough wind to write about and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
There wasn't a breath of wind for the part of the morning from the time I woke up until we left to head for the fishing grounds. Indeed, the ocean along the shore was mirror calm. As I passed through the gate to the open ocean, the wind was just starting to blow out of the south. I wondered how long it would take before the wind came up enough to spoil my attack plans for the day. As it was, just before reaching the fishing grounds, we had about eight knots of southerly wind and the wind had kicked up a chop that was about a foot. The wind was a steady, slow increase until we got to that point. The sky was partly cloudy the whole way. The visibility was excellent. The air temperature, like the wind, gradually rose in value the further offshore we went. The air temperature was 47°F just before we got to the fishing grounds. The surface water temperature remained at 52°F for the whole ride.
On the fishing grounds, the wind was out of the south to start at eight to ten knots. The wind steadily increased. At some point in the morning, the wind shifted slightly out of the south southwest and blew up harder. By mid-day, we had fifteen to twenty knots of south southwest wind with seas about four feet, more or less. The wind and seas might have been stronger and bigger on the way back to Perkins Cove. But it's hard to judge when you are cruising along. The air temperature reached a high of 53°F. The visibility was excellent to begin but deteriorated as the day progressed. The visibility ranged to twenty or more miles in haze. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was mostly cloudy but it never rained until we got back to the dock. And, then, it was only a light sprinkle that stopped. The surface water temperature never got any higher than 52°F.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 54°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 57°F (with a low of 39°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 54°F (with a low of 26°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 52°F (with a low of 26°F).
The fishing was, actually, pretty good. The tide wasn't bad a all and it was easy to anchor when we needed to. The seas were the limiting factor along with the fall-like air temperature with the wind. So the fishing was just good. The catching was good as well. The catching was better than good if you included the mackerel and small pollock in the shallow water. Landings were good for numbers, very good for size. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings included five haddock, ten white hake, five redfish and six mackerel. Released fish included a cod that could have been legal had we been able to keep them, four sub-legal haddock, eight small pollock, eleven small redfish and a few mackerel. We took advantage of the early morning weather and made five drifts. This was followed by anchoring. We drift fished the last spot for very few legal fish. The drift was perfect. All terminal gear worked well but cod flies caught the most fish.
Fred Kunz (NH) was, far and away, high hook with the most legal fish, mostly pollock. His biggest pollock was probably 10 pounds. I didn't weigh it as we had many other pollock on the deck that were bigger. And, by that time, the boat pool was already sewed up or so it seemed at the time.
Tom Miller (NH) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 32.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake. He also won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 30 pound Maine state trophy white hake. These two fish were caught as a double, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. This is the Bunny Clark's largest double of the 2025 fishing season and the largest double that has been caught on the Bunny Clark since Lewis Hazelwood (MA) landed a double that included a 40 pound Maine state trophy white hake and a 30.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake on July 9, 2019! Lewis' double might be the largest double that the Bunny Clark has ever seen. I took a picture of Tom and Danny D. holding Tom's two hake. This digital image appears on the left. Tom caught other fish today but nothing of note. He stopped fishing when it became too difficult to continue fishing on the bow. It's funny that I had my two best fishermen aboard today where I can say that I had an influence on their fishing abilities. But it was a guy under the tutelage of Phil Easteman (Eastman's Docks Fishing Fleet, Seabrook, NH) who got all the accolades.
The third largest fish was a 16 pound pollock caught by Hank Small (NH).
Other Angler highlights: Travis Lowell (ME) landed a 15 pound pollock, his biggest fish. He also caught a 6.25 pound white hake. Darlene Chin (NH/FL) caught the only cod on the trip. I didn't weigh it but it was 5 or 6 pounds and, probably, a keeper if it were still cod season. [I was talking to Tom Miller on the trip back to the dock about how the cod population has dropped to an unsustainable level in the last ten years. Fifteen years ago and before, if you were fishing in the same area that we fished today we would have also had totes of cod as well as the pollock. If someone had told me in the 90s that in 2025 you would only catch one cod on a ten hour trip in the Jeffrey's Ledge area, I would have laughed them off the boat. It is amazing that we have managed the cod population so poorly.] Darlene also caught a 10 pound white hake, an 8 pound white hake and her largest pollock weighed 11.5 pounds.
Ben Ayers (ME) caught a 15.75 pound white hake, his largest hake ever. Shawn Rosenberger (PA) caught a 12 pound white hake, his biggest fish. He had some other, probably bigger, hake on but dropped them. It was about the worst hake bite I have seen this season. Sam Rothwell (ME) caught one of the first pollock that I could weigh. It was 7.5 pounds. His largest pollock weighed 14 pounds. Todd Farnsworth (MD) landed a 10.5 pound pollock and a 13 pound pollock, his two biggest fish. Matt Trimble (ME) caught an 8.5 pound pollock and a 12.25 pound pollock. Marty Buskey (NY) caught an 11 pound pollock.
I received many donations today sponsoring me in this season's Pan-Mass Challenge, a cycling event that takes place the first Saturday of August every year. It's a fundraiser for cancer research. But I support a specific group of researchers who do genetic profiling. One hundred percent of your donation goes to these researchers. The whole PMC event is underwritten by businesses around the Boston area so there is no percentage taken out of your donation going to administrative costs. So all the money goes to these researchers for research! Today's donors and their donation amounts were as follows: Fred Kunz donated a generous $210.00 (after making other donations throughout the year), Jay O'Connor (ME) for a generous $200.00, in memory of Frank Noble (ME) and Captain Ian Keniston, Bob Kent (ME) for $20.00, Dave Burton (MA) for a very generous $400.00, Marty & Elise Buskey for $50.00 and Shawn Rosenberger for a generous $100.00. Thank you all so very very much for your support, kindness, thoughtfulness and generosity. I was reminded by Bob Kent today, that Ian used to say that everyone knows someone who has fought, is fighting or has passed from cancer. It's imperative that the fight to stop this disease, in all it's forms, continues. You all are helping this cause and I'm so glad you are all standing behind me to do so. I so appreciate this!
This was a strange year for me as I ran all the trips as captain this season, as Captain Ian Keniston was not with us. I was very sorry for that. He was the best. As for next season, I can't give you an answer on that yet. I will come up with a decision on the future of Bunny Clark Deep Sea Fishing. And I will post it here when I do.
At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 41°F, the sky was cloudless, the wind was out of the west at fifteen knots (twenty to twenty-five knots at the Portland Lightship buoy) and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The salient feature of today's weather was the wind. It blew. And I was so glad to be ashore today. By mid morning, the wind was blowing out of the west at twenty-five to thirty-five knots. I figured that this would be the extent of the wind today. I was wrong. Before noon, the wind was more out of the northwest than west. Wind speeds were thirty to forty knots. Early afternoon saw wind speeds of thirty-five to forty knots or more. By 3:00 PM, we had northwest winds of twenty-five to thirty-five knots again. It didn't seem like much of a relief. Finally, by 5:00 PM, the wind had backed off to twenty to twenty-five knots. An hour later, we had fifteen knots. There was no wind in the Cove when I went down to take Gill, our border collie, for a walk. Offshore, it was still blowing out of the west at fifteen to twenty knots. The sky was clear with cumulus clouds. The visibility was excellent. The ocean was a froth of white as waves were marching offshore. The highest air temperature that I saw today was 54°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 56°F (with a low of 46°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 54°F (with a low of 28°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 53°F (with a low of 39°F).
It was too rough to write the fishing report on the way in yesterday, so I spent the early part of the day writing here in the office. Once I got free of the desk work, I went down to the Cove to start working on restaurant stuff. My focus was on the winter projects. This took up most of the rest of the day. I did take a break in the afternoon to watch Champions League football. I couldn't watch all day, although I wanted to.
It must have been around 1:30 PM when my son, Micah, heard the high water alarm go off on one of the Finestkind tour boats at the dock. He called me. I called Grant, the owner, who was in Portland at a doctor's appointment. I went down to the Cove again to find that Micah had taken the hand pump out of the Bunny Clark and had bailed the boat out. The boat in question, trims to the head where the high water alarm is located. So there wasn't a lot of water that had to be pumped. But the water level did come up on the engine a bit, also located forward. I'm not sure if it was a battery issue or a switch was in the neutral position. Our harbormaster, Erin Gott, brought down a 110 volt pump and placed it in the boat until Grant could free himself from Portland to get back. The problem was easily sorted out later in the day.
In the meantime, the wind had parted a dock line. So Micah and I doubled up the port dock line to one of the other tour boats. We also ran a storm line ashore to the bow of that same boat. I doubled up lines on the stern of the Bunny Clark. It was the strongest fair weather wind that we have seen this year.
There is a storm warning out for Thursday with thirty-five to fifty knots of northwest wind that day. Fifty knots is a lot of wind.
At 5:00 AM EST the air temperature was 37°F, the sky was clear with a full moon in the trees headed to the western horizon, the wind was out of the west southwest at fifteen knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.The wind started out great guns from the west southwest with wind speeds up to almost twenty knots. By 10:00 AM, there was almost no wind at all. By 11:00 AM, there was no wind. The ocean along the shore was calm. The wind started blowing out of the south by mid afternoon. We might have had fifteen knots of southerly wind by sunset. The sky, although clear in the morning, was mostly cloudy for the rest of the day. By 4:00 PM, it was completely overcast. We had a few drops of rain but that was about it. We never saw another drop of rain until later in the night. The visibility was excellent. The highest air temperature that I saw today was 53°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 58°F (with a low of 45°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 51°F (with a low of 24°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 50°F (with a low of 31°F).
My day spent organizing and setting up work orders the restaurants; plumbing, carpentry, electrical, etc. etc. Most of my work today was on a installing a new carpet in Barnacle Billy's, Etc. But I was running around all over the place on other project issues for the winter. Some of the items that I need to address can only happen during the warmer weather, like brick work. But every year we have these challenges. There is nothing new here. I had several meetings today with a number of people.
I spent some time on the Bunny Clark today as well. Planning, again, so I can come to a decision on what I will be doing with the boat next season. I had a couple of meetings on this with Deb and others.
In the meantime, Shawn Rosenberger (PA), one of my best ever Bunny Clark anglers, was enjoying himself down with Captain Phil Eastman on the Lady Merrilee Ann (III?). By all standards, mine included, they had an excellent day. The fishing was excellent as was the catching and landings. And it sounded like the same thing that we have been doing offshore. I can't say that I wasn't a little envious. Being ashore is not my favorite place on a good weather day in November. Fall is the time of year when I love to go fishing most. It's discouraging that the month of October had so many cancellations. Man's best laid plans, right? But Shawn was very pleased to be with Phil today. And I would encourge anyone who likes to catch fish to sail with Phil and company this fall. He's on to something. And when a deep sea fishing vessel is doing well, I like to promote it. Shawn had a picture taken of him holding up a couple of 10 pound pollock that he caught today. This digital image appears on the left. Shawn will leave to go back to PA tomorrow. It's unfortunate that I didn't get to fish with him as much as I had planned to. But, as they say in St. Barth; C'est la vie!
Book a Trip on Line
Click the icon to view a complimentary copy of the 2025 Guestletter.
