Bunny Clark Fishing Update
Written & Edited by Tim Tower
Monday, October 21, 2024, 6:00 AM EDT
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Gulf of Maine haddock
These regulations for groundfish apply equally to anglers on privately owned recreational boats and party/charter boats as well.
At 4:30 AM EDT the air temperature was 61°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the northeast at twenty plus knots and the visibility over the ocean was very good in some misty haze.
On Friday's, it's my day to open the restaurant. I was down at the Cove at that time. The wind was blowing with gusts to thirty knots at the time. It seemed like it was going to howl. But, by 7:00 AM, the wind had backed off. Wind speeds for the rest of the day were twenty knots or less. Still not good enough to have a great trip but not bad enough to worry about waves carrying rocks pelting the cars in the parking lot with the astronomical high tide we were going to have after noon. Just before midnight, the wind picked up again. Northeast wind speeds were gusting to twenty-five knots at that time. The visibility over the ocean in the morning dropped to good in mist. It was very good again during most of the afternoon. It was damp all morning with some very light rain. The afternoon was dry with the exception of some very light rain around 5:00 PM. It started to rain again after 8:00 PM. It rained all night. The air temperature never did get very high today. I saw 65°F, the highest value that I could see. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 65°F (with a low of 59°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 68°F (with a low of 59°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 67°F (with a low of 58°F).
It was another day working at Barnacle Billy's. I got home around 9:15 AM, after working at the restaurants for the morning. I spent the rest of the day at the restaurant after a short time at home.
We did have some splash-over at the parking lot across from Barnacle Billy's (Original). This was around 1:00 PM. A couple got knocked over by a wave and got soaked. They didn't get hurt but getting totally wet did not make them feel great.
I ended up tying a storm line off the Bunny Clark to the middle town floats. I didn't think it was totally necessary but it's better to be safe than sorry.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 58°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the north northeast at twenty plus knots and the visibility over the ocean was very good at least.
Ashore, today was the windiest day with the highest of tides of the last three days. The wind blew out of the north northeast most of the day at twenty knots sustained with higher gusts. Unlike yesterday, today's wind didn't back off until close to sunset. Seas, however, were a little less in height, more in the eight foot category rather than ten feet as it was yesterday. This was probably due to the northerly component in the wind. The sky was overcast all day. It was misty all morning with the occasional light rain. We had no rain after noon. But it did become a little misty between 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM. The visibility was very good to excellent over the ocean with less visibility in the morning. The high air temperature that I saw in Perkins Cove was 62°F. If the air temperature had a higher value, I didn't see or feel it. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 60°F (with a low of 57°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 64°F (with a low of 57°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 64°F (with a low of 53°F).
Today's tides were the highest. Pushed by the wind, the water in the Cove went over the dock leading to the float at high tide around 2:00 PM. It never got high enough to enter the dining room at Barnacle Billy's (Original). Since the sea height was down, we didn't have as much surge in the Cove either. We also had a better business day than I was expecting today. It rained in Boston all day so I figured that we would see less people here. But there were a fair number of Canadians and people from the Boston area in the restaurant today, many of whom I have seen many times before. This always makes it more fun for me.
So my whole day was spent in the restaurants. I ended up coming home by 8:30 PM.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 55°F, the sky had a high thin overcast with a waning moon sailing through the clouds directly overhead, the roads were dry for the first time in three days, the wind was blowing out of the north at ten to thirteen knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
It turned out that canceling was the best move for today. It was windier ashore than was during the last three day. Sustained winds were twenty knots with flags right straight out. This wind didn't come up until after noon. Before noon, the wind started out from the north, stayed at twelve to fifteen knots. The wind hauled out of the northeast during the mid morning and increased. By 2:00 PM, the northeast wind had increased to twenty knots with gusts to twenty-five knots. Seas increased again to eight feet every eleven seconds at the closest offshore buoy, about nine miles out. The sky was mostly cloudy in the morning with some sun. After noon, the sky was clear. By 4:00 PM, the sky was overcast followed by clear sky again after 5:00 PM. The visibility was excellent all day. The highest air temperature that I saw was 65°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 66°F (with a low of 57°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 68°F (with a low of 47°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 67°F (with a low of 52°F).
Again, I spent the day at the restaurants. The tide didn't come up as high as it did yesterday. The Cove's water level never did go over the dock as it did the last couple of days. The water level was a couple inches shy.
I spent the day at the two Barnacle Billy's restaurants.
I received a $40.00 donation from Tom "Ollie" & Debbie Bruyere (NY) sponsoring me in this year's Pan-Mass Challenge today. Tom & Debbie donate early in the winter every year. So this is something extra and much appreciated! Thank you very much for your thoughtfulness and generosity!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 54°F, the sky was mostly clear with a half moon directly overhead, the wind was blowing out of the northeast at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
Ashore, the wind blew out of the northeast at light speeds in the morning, ten knots or more. The wind picked up a bit after noon, blowing an easy fifteen, maybe a little more. Seas were still large but they were more short rollers than chops, not quite a swell but not a chop. The sky most mostly cloudy with sunny spells and a mix of sun and clouds. The visibility was excellent. The highest air temperature that I witnessed was 65°F. The highest air temperature that I saw was 65°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 65°F (with a low of 55°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 65°F (with a low of 44°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 64°F (with a low of 47°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the east northeast at ten to fifteen knots. Seas were chops of a foot or two over a six to eight foot swell. The air temperature reached a high of 60°F. The visibility ranged from ten to fifteen miles in haze/mist. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was overcast for the whole time fishing. The surface water temperature reached a high of 60°F.
The fishing was poor, the swells made ninety percent of the anglers sea sick. In fact, by the end of the trip, only two anglers were still fishing. And they came in over an hour early because of the conditions and the desires of most anglers. There were also a few dogfish and a couple blue sharks. The catching and landings were very good. I would venture to guess that if everyone were fishing, the catching and landings would have been excellent. Landings were excellent for two anglers. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far, a slam. Legal landings also included a cod, a haddock, six cusk and quite a few mackerel. The pollock would not let another fish get to the hook first. Released fish included fifty or more dogfish, six sub-legal cod, twelve sub-legal haddock, two blue sharks, a few mackerel and twenty sub-legal pollock. They drift fished for every spot. Jigs and flies caught the most fish by far.
Chris Cote and Phil Milligan shared high hook status for the most legal fish. They were the last two anglers left standing. Some of Chris' fish included an 11 pound pollock, a 13 pound pollock and a 10 pound pollock. Some of Phil's fish included a 12 pound pollock, an 11 pound pollock, a 13 pound pollock and a 12.5 pound pollock. Jack Bryant won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 15 pound pollock. The second largest fish was a 14 pound pollock caught by Tyler Meisner. He also landed a double that included a 13 pound pollock and a 10 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. To date, this is the fourth largest double of the Bunny Clark fishing season so far. Four anglers shared in the third largest fish at 13 pounds. All were pollock. As you now know, Chris, Tyler and Phil all landed 13 pound pollock. Jeff Irish also landed a 13 pound pollock. Jeff also boated a 12 pound pollock and a 12.5 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Brandon Coates caught a 10 pound pollock. Danny Brown was the highest of hurlers and landed the hard luck award Bunny Clark t-shirt for proving his malidacious mettle. He actually called it before they went under the bridge this morning!
At 2:45 AM EDT the air temperature was 54°F, the sky was crystal clear with a half moon making it's way to a position overhead, the wind was blowing out of the northeast at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
We had a big swell coming in the outer Cove. There was sea foam everywhere on the surface of the water there, being heaved up and down by the large swells and waves crashing on the rocky shore. Leaving the Cove looked like we were going to have a rough ride out. But it really wasn't bad once we got away from the land. Still it wasn't the kind of morning that you would go charging out to the fishing grounds at full cruise in the dark. So, I took it easy and kept speed at eleven knots. The sky was clear for the whole ride, the air temperature hung around 59°F, the visibility was excellent and the wind was out of the northeast at about ten knots. Seas were chops of two feet over swells that ranged from six to eight feet.
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northeast at ten knots at first, then hauled out of the east northeast and blew between ten and fifteen knots but backed off to about eight knots by the time we were ready to go home. Seas were chops of two feet to start but dropped to a foot sometime before noon. The chops stood over big sea swells that measured eight to ten feet with the occasional twelve footer. These swells had dropped to six and eight feet by the end of the fishing. The air temperature reached a high of 63°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide (current) went from moderate in the morning to strong in the afternoon. The sky was clear with a very bright sun. The surface water temperature reached a high of 58°F
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 65°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 66°F (with a low of 53°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 68°F (with a low of 41°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 64°F (with a low of 46°F).
The fishing was good to very good. Dogfish, blue sharks and the sea state kept the fishing out of the excellent category. The catching was very good if you included all species. Landings were good to very good, excellent for size. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. We didn't have the slaughter that Captain Ian had yesterday but the average size was bigger. Legal landings also included seven cod, eight haddock, five redfish, six cusk, two whiting, a jonah crab and four mackerel. Released fish included seventeen dogfish, nine blue sharks (which we lost gear to), seven sub-legal cod, twenty-one sub-legal haddock, nine sub-legal pollock, a barndoor skate and a couple of red hake. We alternated between drifting and anchoring. Jigs and cod flies caught the most fish.
Ron Neil (MA) was high hook with the most legal fish. His two largest fish were the second and third largest fish of the trip. Those two fish were a 20 pound pollock and a 19 pound pollock. These pollock are the second and third largest pollock of the Bunny Clark fishing season so far. He did not get into any of the boat pools today. I took a picture of Ron holding his 20 pound pollock. This digital image appears on the left. He also caught the Bunny Clark's third largest double of the season today, to date. His double included a 14 pound pollock and a 14.5 pound, both fish caught on the same line at the same time! Some of his other good fish included a 14 pound pollock, a double that included a 13 pound pollock and a 10.5 pound pollock, a 13.5 pound pollock, a 12.5 pound pollock and a good sized jonah crab!
Erik Grove (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 22.5 pound barndoor skate. This was the last fish to be hooked today. Erik also won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the fifth largest fish, a 17.25 pound cod. He caught this as part of a double that also included a 7 pound cod. I took a picture of Erik holding his cod double. This digital image appears on the right. Some of Erik's other good fish included an 11.5 pound pollock, a double that included a 10.5 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock, Another double that included two pollock of 13 pounds each, a 15 pound pollock and another double that included a 12 pound pollock and a 9 pound pollock. Erik's biggest double is, currently, the fourth largest double of the Bunny Clark fishing season. If Erik wasn't second hook he was damn close!
Phil Wilson (TX) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the fourth largest fish, a 17.5 pound pollock. Some of the larger fish of Phil's that I weighed included a 12.5 pound pollock, a 14.75 pound pollock, a 15.25 pound pollock, a 10 pound pollock, a 17 pound pollock and a 13.5 pound pollock. Phil also lost seven rigs, mostly to blue sharks! Ouch! 'Tis the season.
Other Angler Highlights: Mark Hesselink (NJ) fought a few blue sharks himself. Some of his bigger fish that I weighed included a 13.5 pound pollock, a 16.5 pound pollock, an 11.5 pound pollock and a 9 pound cod. He also caught a 7 pound cod. Dave Burton (MA) caught the largest redfish of the day and the largest redfish we have seen in some time. The fish weighed 2.25 pounds, a Maine state trophy by a quarter of a pound. He also caught an 8 pound cod. Captain Matt Clark (MA) landed an 11.5 pound pollock, his largest fish of the trip. Bob Meskell (MA) landed an 8 pound pollock after spending almost the whole day in the Hotel Bunny Clark. Yes, he was a bit under the weather today and landed the hard luck award t-shirt for his condition.
I received four donations sponsoring in the Pan-Mass Challenge today. I received a very generous $1,000.00 from Andy Barowsky (FL) - Andy has been very generous since I got invovled in 2007 - $50.00 from Dave Burton, yet again, $40.00 from Phil Wilson and $40.00 from Erik Grove! Thank you all so much for your generosity and for your thoughtfulness. I do really appreciate your support. But so many others appreciate it more than I, those who may never know the names of those who helped!
At 5:00 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 over the ocean was excellent.
Ashore, the wind blew out of the northeast all morning. Wind speeds were about ten knots until noon. After noon, the wind hauled east with the same wind velocity. By 8:00 PM, the wind was out of the southeast at ten knots or more. The sky was overcast all day, threatening rain. But it never did rain. The visibility was excellent. The air temperature reached a high, that I saw, of 63°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 64°F (with a low of 60°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 61°F (with a low of 49°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 61°F (with a low of 48°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the east at five to ten knots. Seas were chops of about a foot over deep sea swells of four to six feet. The air temperature reached a high of 62°F under the canopy top. The visibility ranged from ten to fifteen miles. The tide (current) was moderate to strong. The sky was overcast all day, as it was ashore. The surface water temperature reached a high of 59°F.
The fishing was very good, the catching was nearly excellent and landings were very good indeed. Most legal fish landed were pollock, yet again. Thankfully, there are a lot of pollock around as compared to the other species. Legal landings also included seven cod, twelve haddock, five redfish and nine cusk. Released fish included twenty-one legal sized cod, ten small cod, eighteen sub-legal haddock, twelve sub-legal pollock, six blue sharks, fifteen dogfish and five sub-legal redfish. Drifting was the method. Jigs and cod flies worked the best.
John Lambert, Jr. (NY) was the fisherman of the day. He was high hook with the most legal fish. He also won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 12 pound cod. His second largest fish was an 11 pound cod, a tie for the second largest fish of the trip. Ron Terrio (NY) and Doug Nevison (ME) also caught cod of 11 pounds. Some of Ron's other fish included a 10 pound cod and an 8 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Andrew Desourdy (NY) caught a 10 pound cod, his biggest fish. Doug Dewitt (ME) landed the hard luck award for being the last angler to boat a legal fish. He also landed the most dogfish of the trip.
At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature in Perkins Cove was 60°F, the sky was overcast, it was raining, there was no wind in the Cove proper, offshore a bit the wind was blowing out of the south southeast at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was, still, very good in precipitation.
The outer Cove was hubbly with waves crashing on the rocks surrounding it coming from a large offshore swell. Sea foam was present on the surface and, to the unseasoned observer, I'm sure it looked like it was going to be rough ride out. It really wasn't. Although we did have large ocean swells, they were well spaced under a one to two foot chop. It had stopped raining before we left the float to head to the fishing grounds. And it remained so for the whole ride out. At dawn, we could see showers at different places around us but we never saw rain ourselves on the way. The air temperature hovered around 62°F for most of the ride. The visibility was good to very good or plenty good enough to see looking forward.
On the grounds, we had overcast skies all day. In the morning we had a few early periods of mist where it looked like it was going to rain. But it never did rain for the whole time fishing. Again, it looked like I could see showers around us in different places but we never had rain. The wind was out of the south southeast at five knots or more in the earlier part of the morning. The wind flipped to the south during the later morning. It gradually increased throughout the afternoon. When we left the grounds, the wind had increased to fifteen knots or more with wind speeds up to twenty knots on the ride back to Perkins Cove. Seas all day had deep sea swells of eight to twelve feet as I measured them on the sounding machine. I don't know how this equates to the reading you get from a weather buoy. We had a one foot chop over these seas in the morning which turned into a two foot chop later in the day and, then, a three foot chop on the way in. The highest air temperature that I saw was 63°F taken under the canopy top. The visibility ranged to ten miles or more. The sky was overcast all day. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 59.8°F.
Ashore, I was told that it rained all day. In fact, ten miles from getting back to Perkins Cove, we ran into rain that continued the whole way in, upon arrival and through the night - my night. The high air temperature in Perkins Cove today was 64°F, I was told. These were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 70°F (with a low of 60°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 61°F (with a low of 55°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 61°F (with a low of 56°F).
The fishing for the first part of the morning was fair to good. The seas were a hinderance, the blue sharks overpowered us and we had dogfish. The fishing after 10:00 AM was very good despite the sea state. Although we did have an angler who was feeling lousy all day who finally succumbed to his feelings and hit the rack in the forecastle for the last hour of fishing. The catching was very good overall, as were the landings. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far, the theme as of late. Legal landings also included twelve cod (our limit), three haddock, two redfish, two cusk and a monkfish. Released fish included over seventeen blue sharks (I'm sure there were more but the seventeen represents the number of jigs we lost to them, most before 9:00 AM!), nine dogfish, twelve legal cod, three sub-legal cod, three sub-legal haddock, twelve sub-legal pollock and quite a few mackerel. We drift fished and anchored, alternating between the two methods. We only used jigs and cod flies today.
If I were to guess, I would stay the Mike Schetter (NY) was high hook with the most legal fish today. I don't know this for sure. Mike did win the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 23 pound pollock. This is our largest pollock of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. What is even better is that he caught this as part of the double with another pollock that weighed 15 pounds, both fish caught on the same line at the same time! This is the Bunny Clark's second largest double of the 2024 fishing season to date. I took a picture of Mike holding this double on a platform where it was hard to stand up with the sea state the way it was! This digital image appears on the left. Mike also won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the third largest fish, an 18 pound cod. This is the Bunny Clark's fourth largest cod of the season as of this writing. I also took a picture of this fish as well with Mike holding it. This digital image appears on the right. Some of Mike's other good fish that I weighed included a 10 pound pollock, an 11.5 pound pollock and a 12 pound cod.
Mike Hall (NY) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 19.5 pound pollock. This is the Bunny Clark's fourth largest pollock of the season to date. Some of Mike's other good fish included a 13.5 pound pollock and a 15.5 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Joe Sinkler (NY) thought he was going to have a bad day, although it didn't start out that way. After a couple hours of fishing, he lost his rod overboard. Luckily, someone else got tangled in the line from the lost rod and Joe was able to handline the rod back to the surface! So a bad day averted thanks to his fishing mates! Some of Joe's fish included 14.5 pound pollock, a 17.5 pound pollock, a 15 pound cod and a 13.5 pound pollock.
Tim Ryder (NY) caught a 10.5 pound pollock early. His largest pollock weighed 17 pounds. His largest cod weighed 13.5 pounds. John Spignardo (NY) caught an 11 pound pollock, two pollock of 14 pounds each and a 6.5 pound monkfish. The monkfish is only the second largest monkfish that we have seen on the Bunny Clark this season so far. Chris "Buzzy" Benoit (VT) landed a double that included a 10.5 pound pollock and a 13.25 pound pollock. Only a week ago this would have been the Bunny Clark's fourth largest double of the season. I also weighed an 11.5 pound pollock for him. His dory mate, Scott Miller (VT) caught a 12 pound pollock, a 10 pound pollock, an 11 pound pollock and a 13 pound cod. Dave DeGraw (NY) had some nice fish as well including a 17 pound pollock, a 16 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock. Bob Vogel (NY) landed a 14.75 pound pollock as his biggest of that species. His largest cod weighed 12 pounds. Ed Vross (NY) caught a 12.5 pound cod. I believe he caught some bigger cod that I didn't weigh. In fact, there were a lot of pollock over 10 pounds that I didn't weigh today. Senator Tony Mazziotti (D-NY) caught a 16.5 pound pollock. His largest cod weighed 13.5 pounds. He also landed the hard luck award for being under the weather more than is normal for him!
Three wonderful individuals sponsored me for my part in the Pan-Mass Challenge today, a cycling event to fund cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. Also known in New England as the Jimmy Fund, this even (as of the middle of this summer) has raised a billion dollars to fight cancer since 1986. I got involved in 2007. Since that time I am only less than $700.00 away from a total of a half a million dollars that I have raised for cancer research since I started. Those who are helping me to reach that today were Bob Bready (NY) for $30.00, Mike Schetter (NY) for $50.00 and Scott Miller (VT) for another $40.00. All have helped me to reach that goal in the past as well. Thank you all so very much for your generosity and for the support you have given me in this project over the years. I really appreciate it!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature in Perkins Cove was 57°F, the sky was clear with a crescent moon hanging high over the eastern horizon, the roads were dry, the wind was light out of the north northwest and the visibility over the ocean was very good in some haze.
Ashore, it was a beautiful summer-like day. The sky was clear all day except for a cloud patch in the late afternoon that moved off the east. The visibility was excellent. The wind was light out of the west and then light out of the south. The ocean along the shore was calm with a much smaller sea. The air temperature reached a high of 76°F in Perkins Cove. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 80°F (with a low of 63°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 76°F (with a low of 51°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 74°F (with a low of 54°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the west at five knots or less. The ocean was calm over sea swells of about three feet. The air temperature reached a high of 65°F. The visibility ranged from a quarter of a mile in fog to fifteen and twenty miles in some haze. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was sunny and clear all day. The surface water temperature reached a high of 61°F.
The fishing was good. The weather was fine but the dogfish were up and there are still enough active blue sharks to keep the fishing category down a couple of pegs. The catching was very good. Landings were good, very good for size. Most legal fish landed were pollock, yet again. Legal landings also included eleven cod (today's limit), sixteen haddock, two redfish, five cusk, two whiting and over forty mackerel. Released fish included about seventy-five dogfish, more or less, six blue sharks, two legal sized cod, twelve sub-legal cod, thirty-two sub-legal haddock, over forty sub-legal pollock, seven sub-legal redfish, a sculpin and a few mackerel. Drifting was the method. No one used bait, all jigs and cod flies.
Anne Caputo (NY) was high hook with the most legal fish. She had a banner day. Her two largest fish, or the largest fish that Ian weighed, included a 10 pound pollock and a 10.5 pound pollock. Clarence Hagadorn (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 15 pound pollock. Clarence's second largest fish was an 11.5 pound pollock. There was a tie for the second largest fish at 12 pounds. Both were pollock. Leo Wood (NY) caught one. Rich Maciaszek (MA) caught the other.
Other Angler Highlights: Steve Schultz (NY) caught the largest cod at 11 pounds. Brett Wood (NY) caught a 10 pound pollock, his best fish. Jeff Wood (NY) also caught a 10 pound pollock. Ron Terrio (NY) landed a pollock that weighed in at 10.5 pounds. Rick Hagadorn (NY) caught an 11 pound pollock, his biggest fish. Dom Caputo (NY) landed the hardest luck of the day award for losing four jigs, three to blue sharks!
I received five donations today sponsoring me in this season's Pan-Mass Challenge today. Harry Bajakian (NJ/ME) donated $250.00, Mark Goodman (MA) also donated $250.00. Both donations were made in the form of an "eGift" through the PMC site. Both have donated to my cause many times before. I consider both donations very generous. The other donations included $50.00 from John Lambert, Jr. (NY), $40.00 from Rick Hagadorn and a generous $100.00 from Scott & Nancy Simpson (ME). All have helped me in this project. The donations are very much appreciated. Thank you so very much!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 54°F, the sky was clear with a sliver of a moon hanging above the eastern horizon, the wind was light out of the north and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
Ashore, we had a light wind off the ocean. It was out of the northeast in the morning but came around out of the east in the afternoon. Wind speeds were ten knots at the highest but seemed pretty close to that most of the day. The sky was clear and sunny in the morning but clouds started creeping in after noon. By 2:00 PM, we had overcast skies. The sky remained overcast for the rest of the day on into the night. The visibility remained excellent. The highest air temperature that I saw was 68°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 68°F (with a low of 59°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 72°F (with a low of 48°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 70°F (with a low of 52°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the east northeast at five to ten knots. Seas were chops of a foot or less over swells that ranged from two to three feet. The air temperature reached a high of 64°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide (current) was strong. The sky was sunny. The surface water temperature reached a high of 61°F.
The fishing was tough. There were a lot of dogfish and the tide was strong, promoting tangles. Not a great fishing scene and not conducive to great landings. The catching was good, excellent if you included the dogfish. Landings were fair. Legal landings included a cod, ten haddock, eight pollock, ten cusk, two white hake and six mackerel. Released fish included over one hundred and fifty dogfish, seven blue sharks, seven sub-legal cod, thirty sub-legal haddock, twenty-four sub-legal pollock and a mackerel. They anchored and drift fished, trying to cope with the strong tide. Jigs and cod flies did slightly better than the bait rigs.
Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook with the most legal fish. There was just too much going on. David Schilling (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 8 pound pollock. There was a 6 pound cusk that Ian weighed but never got the angler's name, thinking that there would be a bigger fish landed. And there was a white hake that came in at 5 pounds. No name on the angler who caught that fish as well.
Other Angler Highlights: Steve Levigne (NY) landed the hard luck award t-shirt for losing three jigs, I suspect, to blue sharks.
Tyler Canterbury (MA) did me a huge favor by donating $30.00 to help me with cancer research through the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Thank you very much, Tyler. This is very much appreciated!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 52°F, the sky was thinly overcast with some stars showing through, the wind was light out of the north northeast and the visibility over the ocean was suspect as I could not see Boon Island Light.
Ashore, once daylight arrived, we I found a fog bank setting just offshore. Fifteen minutes later, the coast was enshrouded in fog. The fog moved out and then in again and then stayed offshore for the rest of the day. The fog finally vanished a bit after noon. The sky cleared completely by sunrise. The sky stayed clear all day with some clouds in the afternoon. The wind was very light and variable in direction until later afternoon when a light southerly breeze picked up. The ocean along the shore was calm all day. The visibility ranged from poor in the fog to excellent in the afternoon. The highest air temperature that I saw was 68°F around mid afternoon. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 80°F (with a low of 62°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 70°F (with a low of 49°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 68°F (with a low of 53°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the east at about five knots and then just expired. The ocean was calm for the whole time fishing. The air temperature reached a high of 65°F under the canopy top but it was hot on deck under the sun. The visibility ranged from a quarter of a mile to ten miles in the morning fog. After noon, the fog disappeared with over twenty miles of range. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 61°F.
The fishing was very good today despite the larger number of dogfish. Of course, without the dogs, the fishing would have been excellent. The catching was excellent, with or without the dogs. Landings were very good to excellent. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included fifteen cod, eleven haddock, one redfish, three cusk, a white hake, six whiting and over thirty mackerel. Released fish included over one hundred and twenty-five dogfish, one legal sized cod, five sub-legal cod, twenty-six sub-legal haddock, twelve sub-legal pollock, a few mackerel, two blue sharks and one basking shark that got in the way. They drift fished all day. Jigs and flies worked best by far.
Ian could not discern who was high hook. There was just too much going on. Everyone did so equally well. "Almost ten" year old Lewis Dobrow (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 15 pound pollock. The second largest fish was a 14.5 pound pollock caught by Rick Valentine (ME). Rick also caught the only white hake that weighed 12 pounds. And he caught another pollock that weighed 11.5 pounds. Steve Aluisy (MA) boated the third largest fish, a 12.5 pound pollock. He also caught a 10 pound pollock and a pollock that weighed 10.5 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Matteo Aluisy (MA) caught a 10 pound pollock right off the bat to start the pool. Jason Wormwood (ME) caught the best double that included an 11.5 pound pollock and a 7 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. His largest fish was a 12 pound pollock. Erik Travis (NH) boated a 9 pound pollock. Jon Camacho (CT) landed a 10 pound pollock, his biggest fish. Kris Carr (MA) caught a 10 pound cod, a tie for the largest cod. Jorge Torres (CT) also caught a 10 pound cod. Matteo Aluisy actually also landed the hard luck award for breaking his pole. I don't know the details but I can well imagine how it happened.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 54°F, the sky was mosaic pattern of evenly spaced clouds and clear patches, the wind was light out of the west and the visibility over the ocean was very good at least.
Ashore, the day started out perfectly, with clear skies and warming air temperatures. There was no fog like there was yesterday morning. And it felt like fall coming on. Except, so far, we have had warmer air temperatures on a daily basis than we had last year. The wind blew out of the west at light speeds and then ended up out of the east at light speeds. Maybe five knots at most? The ocean along the shore was as calm as a mill pond. The sky was clear all day, cloudless for most of it. The visibility was excellent all day. The highest air temperature that I saw was 70°F. The light wind off the water kept the temperature down a bit from what I saw in other areas of the state. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 68°F (with a low of 54°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 77°F (with a low of 48°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 72°F (with a low of 50°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind was non-existent. I guess you could say it was light and variable but there really was no wind. The ocean was calm all day. Too calm for drifting in shallow water. The high air temperature, as recorded under the canopy top, was 67°F. But it wasn't as warm outside the canopy top as it was yesterday. The visibility ranged from a half mile in fog during the early part of the fishing to over twenty miles in the later morning and afternoon. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was clear and cloudy. The surface water temperature reached a high of 63°'F, a very high surface water temperature for almost the first of October.
The fishing was good. It could have been better but they were killed by dogfish in the morning and blue sharks in the afternoon. Other than that, the fishing was excellent. The catching was very good to excellent. The landings, overall, were excellent. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Ian didn't weigh a lot of fish in the 10 pound class today.Legal landings also included seven cod, nine haddock, two redfish, seven cusk, fourteen whiting and about twenty mackerel. Released fish included twelve blue sharks (and twelve jigs lost), one hundred and forty-eight dogfish, seven sub-legal cod, thirty-five sub-legal haddock, forty-one sub-legal pollock, one sub-legal redfish, a barndoor skate and a couple mackerel. They drift fished all day. No bait was used today, just jigs and cod flies.
No way could Ian tell who was high hook with the most legal fish today. It was busy in the morning but Ian and Danny were right out straight in the afternoon. And so many anglers did equally well. Dwayne Stoll (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 20 pound barndoor skate. Ian took a picture of Dwayne with only our second barndoor skate this season so far. This digital image appears on the left in this missive. The second largest fish was a 17 pound pollock caught by Michael Fisher (ME). Bryan Basile (CT) caught the third largest fish, a 16 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Aleigha Mason (CT) boated a 14 pound pollock, her largest fish. Mathias Stoll (ME) caught a 12.5 pound pollock and a 14.5 pound pollock, his two biggest fish. Mark Fraher (CT) caught a 15 pound pollock, his best. Lucas Fraher (CT) also caught a 15 pound pollock. Richard Mason (CT) boated a 14 pound pollock. Phil Hibbard (ME) caught two pollock that weighed 13 pounds each. Patrick Caron (ME) caught a 12 pound pollock. Anthony Caron (ME) caught an 11 pound pollock. Jared Stoll (ME) boated a 14.5 pound pollock, his biggest fish. Aaron Fisher (ME) landed the hard luck award for being the sole (soul?) hurler today. Not good!
I received two donations sponsoring me in the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Those wonderful individuals and their donations included $40.00 from Mark Fraher and Mary Ann Donovan & Gary Vincze (CT) for $50.00. Mary Ann's & Gary's donation was made "in memory of Pat who died last month.Thank you for all you do." And thank you for your support today and over the years. I believe that it helps so much. And I certainly appreciate the help!
At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 55°F, the sky was mostly cloudy, the wind was light out of the northeast and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
We had an easy ride to the fishing grounds as the wind never got any stronger than about seven knots or so. Seas were chops of a foot or two just by nature of the wind direction. There is a long fetch with a northeast wind. The visibility was excellent. The sky was mostly cloudy. The air temperature rose to 60°F about three miles from Perkins Cove and stayed there all the way to our destination.
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northeast or east northeast for most of the day. Although, most of the morning had an easterly lilt to the wind. And the current was certainly west (from the east). Wind speeds increased to about fifteen knots with seas that increased to three and four feet. Seas were enhanced by the tide. The air temperature stayed at 62°F all day, never wavering. The visibility ranged to over fifteen miles, near as I could tell with no reference points. The sky cleared for most of the morning but clouded up by noon. The sky wasn't totally overcast but it came as close as it gets without being so. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The surface water temperature was close to 60°F but dropped to 58.2°F by the time we were ready to head home.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 64°F with overcast skies and the wind blowing across the parking lot from the ocean. I was told that it felt raw all day in the Cove. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 66°F (with a low of 57°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 69°F (with a low of 47°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 63°F (with a low of 46°F).
The fishing was good to very good overall. You would have thought that the sea state would be a consideration. But it really wasn't. No one got sea sick and the tide wasn't strong. However, mobility and range were cut down because of the seas. The wind prevented me from drifting when I wanted to. But the biggest deterrent to the fishing were the blue sharks. They were a constant bother today. Fishing would have been nearly excellent without them. The catching was very good. Landings were very good overall. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far, many over 10 pounds that I didn't weigh. Legal landings also included fifteen cod, thirteen haddock, thirty-nine redfish, four cusk, one white hake, six whiting and four squirrel hake. Released fish included twenty-one blue sharks (probably more; we lost twenty-one jigs to blue sharks today.), seven dogfish, six legal sized cod, three sub-legal cod, one sub-legal haddock and five sub-legal pollock. We did try one drift in the morning. We anchored for the rest of the day. Jigs and cod flies caught all the fish today.
Fred Kunz (NH) was high hook with the most legal fish including the most redfish of the trip. He lost, what appeared to be, a trophy sized cusk in the morning. The fish got off the hook at the surface and swam right back to bottom. Cusk rarely do that! Instead, they stay floating on the surface until we can gaff them. Not this one. His largest cod was 10.5 pounds. His largest pollock weighed 10 pounds. Stan Johnson (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 19 pound pollock. This pollock comes in as a tie for the Bunny Clark's fifth largest pollock of the fishing season to date. He caught quite a few pollock today. Drew LaSalle (ME) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with second largest fish of the trip and the largest cod at 15.25 pounds. I did weight a 10.5 pound pollock for him.
John Ford (PA) won the boat pool for the third largest fish, a 15 pound pollock. I would wager that he caught the most pollock of anyone today. I do believe he would have caught even more pollock had he taken the hook protectors off the treble hook on his jig! I have never known John to be as much of a conservationist as he was today! Some of the other fish of John's that I weighed included an 11 pound cod, a double that included a 10 pound pollock and an 8 pound pollock (both fish caught on the same line at the same time) and a 12.5 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Dave Burton (MA) figured out how to catch more fish when he ditched the "whale wire" he had been using for the last couple of trips. He did come into it by the middle of the trip today. He caught the first fish I could weigh, an 8 pound cusk. He caught pollock up to and over 10 pounds. J.D. Willson (AR) caught the best double today. His fish included a 12.5 pound pollock and a 10 pound pollock. He also caught an 11 pound cod, a 10 pound cod and another pollock of 12.5 pounds. Phil Ashe (NY) caught the most legal cod today. His first cod weighed about 8 or 9 pounds, which he kept. He then released an 8.5 pound cod and a 12.5 pound cod. The biggest fish I weighed for Sam Yang (ME) was a 10.5 pound pollock.
Julie Mahony (ME) caught an 11 pound pollock, her best. Joe Ford (PA) caught the largest haddock at 4 pounds. Chris LaSalle (PA) caught a 10.5 pound pollock and a 14 pound pollock, his two best. Mark Belanger (ME) boated a 12.5 pound pollock. Alex Hersom (ME) caught a pollock slightly bigger at 13 pounds. Tom LaSalle (NJ) caught a 13.25 pound pollock, his biggest fish. He also landed the hard luck award t-shirt for losing the most jigs to blue sharks!
I was surprised by more donations to my cancer research fund raising project with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. These donors and their donations included Betsy McLaughlin (NY) for a very generous $500.00 - her second $500.00 donation this season - (Betsy has been so very generous over all the years that I have been involved in this project.), an anonymous donation of $50.00, a $50.00 donation from Dave Burton, who has also been very generous in this project, Fred Kunz for $15.00, a lift time supporter, and Steve McGrath (NH) for another $50.00, who has supported this fund raising drive through me since 2007! Thank you all so very much for your thoughtfulness and generosity. I am so humbled by your support and appreciate this so very much.
Captain Ian Keniston and Danny DellaMonica ran the extreme day trip today.At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 51°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the northeast at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was very good, at least.
Ashore, The wind continued out of the northeast for a while but the wind didn't have any teeth. Wind speeds were approaching ten knots but never got there. By noon, the wind was out of the east at the same velocity. By 7:00 PM, there was very little easterly wind. The visibility was very good all day. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds. The air temperature reached a high of 66°F, that I saw. The wind off the water kept the air temperature down. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 66°F (with a low of 55°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 65°F (with a low of 43°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 63°F (with a low of 47°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the east at ten to five knots. Seas were swells of two to three feet under a two to one foot chop. The air temperature reached a high of 61°F. The visibility ranged to over fifteen miles in haze. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds. The surface water temperature reached a high of 60°F.
The fishing was very good today. There were only a few blue sharks, fewer dogfish and great weather with sunny skies and mild air temperatures, a perfect day for humans on the high seas. The catching was very good and landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. In fact, they had to get away from the pollock because over half the crew caught pollock with me yesterday so they didn't want anymore. The pollock were of better sizes in general than yesterday as well. Legal landings also included seven cod, eleven haddock, five redfish, four cusk, twelve whiting and ten mackerel. Releaseed fish included four blue sharks, fifteen dogfish, four sub-legal cod, twenty sub-legal haddock, twenty sub-legal pollock and a couple mackerel.
Ian, again, couldn't tell me who was high hook with the most legal fish. I don't think it was possible unless you counted fillets. Everyone did equally well. Joe Stanton, Jr. (PA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 17 pound pollock. He also caught a 14 pound pollock that tied for the third largest fish of the trip with John Ford (PA) who also caught a 14 pound pollock. Ian also weighed a 12.5 pound pollock that John caught. The second largest fish was a 16.5 pound pollock caught by Joe Ford (PA).
Other Angler Highlights: Steve McGrath (NH) caught a 13 pound pollock and a 12 pound pollock, his two best fish. Craig MacDowell (MA) landed a 12 pound pollock and an 11.5 pound pollock. Joe Stanton, Sr. caught an 11.5 pound pollock and lost three jigs to blue sharks in the process. Lindsey MacDowell (MA) caught the best double of the day. Her catch included a 12.5 pound pollock and a 10.5 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time! Ian took a picture of Lindsey holding her two pollock. This digital image appears on the right. She also caught a 12 pound pollock. And she landed the hard luck award t-shirt for being the only sea sick angler aboard today. It did not affect her fishing prowess.
Andy Armitage (ME) did cancer research a huge favor by donating $250.00 through me to the Pan-Mass Challenge today. This donation was made in the form of an "eGift" through the PMC site. He also left me a note that said: "Tim - you are an inspiration in all you do for the PMC and the money you raise for such a fantastic cause. This genuinely helps so many people fighting cancer - both now and in the future." Andy has been supporting my cancer project, almost, since the time I got involved in 2007. He is so good about it. But not quite as good as he is as a host and as a person. English football has become a major part of my life's entertainment because of Andy. There is so very much to appreciate about the man, including appreciating his support in this cancer project.
At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 52°F, the sky was overcast, there wasn't enough wind to write about and the visibility over the ocean was very good, at least.
It was flat calm from the gate at the entrance to Perkins Cove to the fishing grounds. When there was wind, it was a knot or two out of the northwest. Or just ripples on the surface. We also had about a three foot long ocean swell underneath. The sky went from overcast to clear. The visibility was very good. The air temperature hung at 61°F for the whole ride out.
On the fishing grounds, there was no wind for the first four hour of fishing. There was very little drift as well. But there was some drift. And we did have that underlying swell that ranged from three to four feet every eleven seconds. The calm ocean lasted until about 2:00 PM. After that, the wind started blowing from the south southwest. This wind slowly increased in velocity. By 3:00 PM it was blowing about ten knots. When we were on our way back, the south southwest wind blew about fifteen knots with seas of two feet or more in chops and three or four foot long following swell. The air temperature reached a high of 63°F. The visibility ranged to twenty miles in haze. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The sky was clear to start, overcast for the middle part of the fishing and clear for most of the afternoon and the ride home. The surface water temperature was mostly 58°F wherever I went.
. Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 71°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 69°F (with a low of 53°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 74°F (with a low of 48°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 66°F (with a low of 49°F).
The fishing was very good to excellent. There were a handful of dogfish and a few blue sharks but the weather was great with plenty of mobility and never had to waist time anchoring. The catching was very good. Landings were very good, excellent for size. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. I didn't weigh a lot of pollock under 11 or more pounds. As it was, I think I weighed too many. Legal landings also included seven cod, nineteen haddock, three redfish, eight cusk, twenty-six white hake and two whiting. Released fish included eighteen dogfish, four blue sharks, fifteen sub-legal cod, eighteen sub-legal haddock, nine sub-legal pollock and a mackerel. We drift fished all day. Jigs and cod flies caught all the legal fish today.
Dave Burton (MA) and Jonathan "Griff" Griffin (MA) shared high hook status with the most legal fish today. Dave won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 34.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This is our eighth largest hake of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. Some of his other good fish included a 21 pound white hake, an 11.75 pound pollock, a 15 pound white hake and a 10 pound pollock. Also, Dave caught a hake on almost every spot we fished today. Griff, for his part, didn't catch huge fish but did catch a lot of fish, as mentioned. Some of his fish included a 24.5 pound white hake, a 13.5 pound pollock, a 21.5 pound white hake, a 16.5 pound white hake and an 18.5 pound white hake. He caught many pollock under 11 pounds.
Ken Altarac (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 37 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This is the Bunny Clark's third largest hake of the fishing season so far. I took a picture of Ken with his big fish. This digital image appears on the left. I also weighed to pollock for him that were 11 and 13 pounds. Gloria Gennari (MA) won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the third largest fish, a 30 pound Maine state trophy white hake. Her largest pollock weighed 12 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Jim Koplar (CT), sans Guy Hesketh (his dory mate), landed a 24 pound white hake as his largest fish. He also caught a 10.5 pound pollock and a 13 pound pollock. But his catch of the day were the last two fish of the trip. Caught as a double, both fish on the same line at the same time, he caught a 17.5 pound pollock and a 12 pound pollock. This ties our fifth largest double of the Bunny Clark season so far. John Ford (PA) also caught a double that included an 18 pound white hake and a 14 pound white hake. That is our fourth largest double of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. Some of John's other good fish included a 13 pound pollock, another 18 pound white hake, a 12 pound pollock, an 18.5 pound white hake, a 14 pound pollock, a 20 pound white hake and another 12 pound pollock. Joe Ford (PA) caught the largest double of the Bunny Clark fishing season today - as of this writing. His double included a 24.5 pound white hake and a 21.5 pound white hake. I took a picture of Joe holding up his double. This digital image appears on the right. (Eat your heart out, Shawn!) A couple other fish of his that I weighed included a 12 pound pollock and a 22.5 pound white hake.
Jesse Barber (CT) landed a 12.75 pound pollock, a 15 pound pollock, a 12 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock. He wanted to catch a hake today. But that didn't happen for him. Shakhan "Shak" Wyche (NY) also wanted to catch a hake. Instead, he caught the largest pollock of the trip at 18 pounds. Another pollock of his weighed 10 pounds. Captain Joe Stanton, Jr. (PA) boated a 23 pound white hake, his best fish today. His largest pollock weighed 14.5 pounds. And he also caught a 15.25 pound white hake. Joe Stanton, Sr. (PA) landed an 18 pound white hake, his biggest fish. Jonathan Tyska (MA) caught an 11.5 pound pollock, a 15 pound white hake and a 10.5 pound pollock. Dana Decormier (NH) had a battle with he equilibrium today. He was okay for a while but gave in to it after a couple of hours of fishing. But not before Dana boated the third largest pollock of the trip at 17 pounds. And, yes, he landed the hard luck award t-shirt for hanging out in the Hotel Bunny Clark for the rest of the trip!
I received donations today sponsoring me in my cancer fundraising drive with the Pan-Mass Challenge. Those donors and their gifts included Gloria Gennari for $50.00, Dave Burton for a generous $100.00 (Dave has been my most generous continuous donor this season!!!), Dana Decormier for $40.00, Joe Ford for $60.00 and Captain Joe Stanton for $50.00. Thank you all so very much for your support and thoughtfulness. None of this is ever lost on me. I appreciate all the help I can get. And I do get a lot of help and support. It's humbling.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 53°F, the sky was hazy clear, there was no wind, it was perfectly still at Oarweed Cove on the other side of the parking lot and the visibility over the ocean was very good in some haze.
Ashore, there was really no wind all day. The wind we did have in the morning was from the northeast but it was only because you the hear the bell buoy that you knew the wind was out of the northeast carrying the sound to us. The ocean was calm with a long swell showing up as waves breaking on the shore. The visibility was very good in some haze. We even had a bit of fog offshore for a small period of time. The sky was clear in the morning and mostly overcast in the afternoon. It looked like it was going to rain with at 4:00 PM but it never did. The wind started to blow out of the south at 5:00 PM or so. By 8:00 PM, the southerly wind was up to twelve knots. The highest air temperature that I saw today was 68°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 79°F (with a low of 51°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 74°F (with a low of 44°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 64°F (with a low of 45°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest after a long calm period in the morning without wind. The ocean was calm all day with a two foot swell. The air temperature reached a high of 63°F. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles. The sky was sunny in the morning, as it was ashore, and overcast in the afternoon, as we had. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 60°F.
The fishing was very good today, like yesterday with just a few more dogfish and very few blue sharks. The catching was very good. Landings were good to very good overall. Most legal fish landed were pollock. Legal landings also included seven cod, nine haddock, a redfish, six cusk, a whiting and fifteen mackerel. Released fish included fifty-five dogfish, a blue shark, six legal sized cod, twelve sub-legal cod, fifteen sub-legal haddock, twenty-eight sub-legal pollock and a couple mackerel. Drifting was the method. Only jigs and cod flies were used today. No angler used bait.
Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook with the most legal fish. Jonathan Tyska (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 13 pound pollock. He also caught a pollock that weighed 10.5 pounds. Jonathan "Griff" Griffin (MA) landed the second largest fish, a 12.5 pound pollock. The third largest fish was an 11.5 pound pollock caught by Dale Blanton (NH). He also caught the largest cod at 11 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Mark Simpson (NH) boated a 10 pound pollock and a 9 pound pollock, his two biggest fish. Gloria Gennari (MA) landed the hard luck award for being the only angler to not land a fish of 10 pounds or more.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 57°F, the sky was overcast, there was no wind in Perkins Cove but the closest weather buoy was showing ten knots out of the south and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
I was going to go for a run after the boat left at 5:00 AM but I figured I would wait until the sun came up. But it started to rain lightly. So I didn't go. The rained didn't last and hardly got the ground wet. The clouds lasted for most of the morning. The sky started to break up around 10:00 AM. By noon, the sky was completely clear. The visibility was excellent, less so in the rain and haze earlier. The wind backed out of the north and blew up to ten knots. After noon, the wind was out of the northeast and stayed at about five or six knots. The air temperature was warm. By noon, it was 70°F. The high air temperature reached 74°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 71°F (with a low of 57°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 72°F (with a low of 40°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 70°F (with a low of 47°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at five knots to start then backed out of the north northwest at ten to fifteen knots. Seas swells with a one foot chop over the top at first increasing to a two foot chop with the wind shift. The air temperature reached a high of 63°F. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles in some haze. The tide (current) was strong. The sky was overcast for most of the morning but sunny after noon and the wind shift. The surface water temperature reached a high of 59°F.
The fishing was good at best today. The tide was very strong, there were many anglers sea sick (which was very unexpected) and they had a lot of blue shark strikes. There were, however, very few dogfish today. The catching was good to very good. Landings were good. Most legal fish landed were pollock. Legal landings also included eleven cod, two haddock, six cusk and fifteen mackerel. Released fish included ten blue sharks (with ten jigs), four dogfish, twenty sub-legal cod, fourteen sub-legal haddock, twenty-one sub-legal pollock and a couple mackerel. They anchored mostly but drift fished later in the day. No bait was used today; only jigs and flies.
Pat Sweenor was high hook with the most legal fish. His two best fish were a 10.5 pound pollock and a 12.5 pound pollock. Kevin Mannion won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 17 pound cod. This is the Bunny Clark's ties for the sixth largest cod of the fishing season so far. The second largest fish was a 15.25 pound pollock caught by Sam Sweenor. Sam also caught a pollock that weighed 12.5 pounds. Keith House caught the third largest fish, a 15 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Stuffy House boated a 10 pound pollock early today. His largest fish was a 13 pound pollock. Jacob Allen caught a 10.5 pound pollock. Brian Adao boated a 12.5 pound pollock, his best. Rodney Sharp caught a 12 pound pollock. Mark Espada landed a 14 pound pollock, his biggest fish. He also landed the hard luck award t-shirt for making high hurler status. Ouch! I did talk to Mark at the dock when they came back in. He had made a remarkable recovery.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 46°F (the lowest morning air temperature at my house since May 12, 2024), the sky was crystal clear, the wind was blowing out of the north at five knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The air temperature was cool all day today, making one feel that fall was fast approaching. We have had such mild weather this fall that it's going to come as a shock when cold weather does finally overwhelm us. Today's high temperature was 61°F. Or, at least, that was the highest air temperature that I saw. The wind blew out of the north all day. Wind speeds were about ten knots or less, decreasing as the day progressed. The visibility was excellent. The sky was clear and sunny for most of the day. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 62°F (with a low of 51°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 67°F (with a low of 35°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 60°F (with a low of 43°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northeast at ten knots to start and then diminished during the trip. Seas started as a two foot chop over a long swell that was also about two feet. By the end of the day there was just a long rolling swell under a calm surface. The air temperature reached a high of 60°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The sky was overcast in the morning, sunny in the afternoon through clear skies. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 59°F.
The fishing was very good, the category down a notch due to some dogfish and blue sharks. The sea state was fine. The catching was very good as were the landings. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included nine cod, four haddock, four cusk and thirty-five mackerel. Released fish included forty-one dogfish, three blue sharks (with jewelry), ten sub-legal cod, twenty-two sub-legal haddock, forty or so sub-legal pollock and a few mackerel. Oddly, most of the action was closer to noon and near the end of the trip with the better weather. Drifting was the method. Only jigs and cod flies were used. No bait was used today.
Ian could not tell me who was high hook with the most legal fish today. There was much going on. Darlene Chin (FL/VT) probably caught the most significant fish in total. She landed the largest double, which included a 14 pound pollock and a 13 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time! And she caught the second and third largest fish of the trip, a 15 pound pollock and a 16 pound pollock. Actually, her 14 pound pollock tied for the fourth largest fish of the trip. Mary Glyptis (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 20 pound pollock. This fish ties the third largest pollock caught on the Bunny Clark this fishing season so far. She had already caught a 10 pound pollock before this fish for practice. Captain Ian took a picture of Mary holding her large pollock with his iPhone. This digital image appears on the left.
Other Angler Highlights: Buzz Leonard (ME) started off the trip with the first fish to weigh, a 10 pound pollock. Later in the day he caught another 10 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock. Brian Tufts (NH/FL) caught the largest cod at 8 pounds. Chris Cichon (NJ) caught boated an 11 pound pollock, a 12 pound pollock and a pollock that weighed 12.5 pounds. Cooper Boccanfuso (ME) caught a 12.5 pound pollock, his largest fish. Dan Potyrala (MA) caught a 13 pound pollock and two pollock that weighed 12 pounds each. Ali Laflamme (ME) started off with a 9 pound but tied Darlene for the fourth largest fish of the trip with a 14 pound pollock. John Godbout (SC) landed the hard luck award for catching not a single legal fish. That takes talent; to have your terminal gear down there with so many fish and not hook a single one. How do you practice for that?
Dan Potyrala did me a huge favor today by donating $70.00 to me cancer project with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Dan's father, Chet, was the reason I decided to dedicate some time every day to help fight cancer. Chet was a regular angler on the Bunny Clark - like his son (sons). Thank you so very much, Dan. This is very much appreciated by all involved!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 57°F, the stars could be seen through a hazy sky, the wind was blowing out of the south at eight knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
By 7:00 AM, the sky was overcast. By 8:00 AM, it had started to rain. It rained all day. We had a hard rain around 8:30 to 9:00 AM. Mostly it was a misty rain. But there were brief times when it didn't rain at all. Those time periods were about ten to fifteen minutes long, at most. The sky was misting at sunset. The visibility had dropped to fair by 8:30 AM in mist, haze and some fog. The southerly wind increased to fifteen knots by 9:00 AM and over twenty knots in gusts by 10:30 AM. The wind ranged from eighteen to twenty-one knots until nearly sunset. By 6:00 PM, it had started to back off and was blowing fifteen knots, more or less, by 7:00 PM. The air temperature got up as high as 59°F. But that's as far as it got. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 61°F (with a low of 53°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 57°F (with a low of 48°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 57°F (with a low of 50°F).
I spent the day at the restaurant, getting ready for tomorrow's marathon trip and working on the Bunny Clark in the engine room of the Bunny Clark.
On September 22, 2024, Bob Withee passed away from complications with cancer. He was seventy-nine years old. But he always seemed younger than that to me. He and Danny Angerman were the two most influential anglers that I ever took out on the Bunny Clark. They made the Bunny Clark a much better fishing boat than it would have been had they not decided to go fishing with me. They introduced me to the jig stick, special jigs and a way of fishing that I had never witnessed before. They made me a better captain. And so, made my captains better captains. Bob got sea sick. But he wouldn't get sick until it got really rough. He rarely stopped fishing. But there was that occasional time where it just overwhelmed him. Bob caught several world record fish with me and witnessed other world records with anglers. I called him one time when he was in a fishing contest for the largest cod. I had found a place where I thought he would have a good chance. He caught a 72 pound cod on that trip and won the contest by a large margin. Bob was a clean dresser and stayed that way. He left the boat as clean as when he arrived, which always amazed me. And he was a very intelligent individual who I had a lot of respect for. He loved his fishing. But he loved catching big fish. I learned a lot from Bob. But he was also a good friend and always called me on my birthday to wish me a happy one. I don't particularly like my birthday. And I think that was part of his enjoyment about wishing me a good one. I will miss Bob. He was a wonderful, thoughtful individual who made me laugh. He was successful in everything he was ever involved in. A winner except with cancer.
I would have written about Bob sooner but I was having trouble getting people to find my site after the server change. And it was too much for me to write about Bob's passing right after it happened. It's hard when you like and respect someone so much and you realize that you will never see that person ever again. And, yet, I don't believe I did the man as much justice in the paragraph above as he truly deserved. He deserved better. Of course, I only knew him from fishing.
At 3:30 AM EDT the air temperature was 52°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the west northwest at eight knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The sky was starting to clear as we headed down the channel to the gate that would free us from the inshore waters. We were met by a six foot long rolling sea swell out of the southeast. Half way to the fishing grounds we had the six foot swell with the occasional queer one with a two foot chop. Wind speeds were estimated at ten knots. The highest air temperature that I saw on the way out was 54°F. The visibility was excellent. The sky was still mostly cloudy but it was a comfortable ride due to the direction we were going.
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the north northeast at ten knots to start. A couple hours later, the wind was out of the north at eight to ten knots. The wind velocity gradually dropped until there was no wind, the ocean turning glassy. We had the big ocean swells all day. They ranged from six to eight feet. They might have been smaller at the end of the day. But they weren't that small, ever. Just as we were about to leave the grounds, the wind came up out of the northwest. It was just a light breeze which we carried all the way back home. The highest air temperature was 57°F under the canopy top. The visibility ranged to thirty miles, at least. The tide was strong in the morning and moderate in the afternoon. We had a nearly cloudless sky all day. The surface water temperature ranged from 55°F to 56°F the whole day.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 65°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 66°F (with a low of 51°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 64°F (with a low of 36°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 63°F (with a low of 40°F).
The fishing was good to very good. To my knowledge we had no blue sharks. There were few dogfish. But the strong tide and the big swells made it difficult to stay on the fish and establish a rhythm while jigging. The catching was good to very good. Landings were just good, no better. Most legal fish landed were pollock. Legal landings also included eight white hake, a monkfish, a whiting (about 2 pounds), three haddock, three cod and over twenty mackerel. Released fish included thirteen dogfish, nine sub-legal cod, five sub-legal haddock, eighteen sub-legal pollock, a sculpin and about twenty mackerel. We anchored and drift fished. Only jigs and cod flies were used today.
I could not tell you who was high hook with the most legal fish. Everyone did equally well. I did not count fillets.
I carried a particularly fast drift off the edge into deeper water. As I did, James Jones (PA) hooked into what seemed like a good fish. I couldn't really tell as he has an electric reel. So it's deceiving when watching someone reel any fish in with an electric reel. The small ones look like big ones and the big ones don't look like much. As a matter of fact, I lost interest until Danny called out and said; "This is the biggest of these we have caught this year!" It was a huge hake. And it looked huge!. At 49.5 pounds, it's the largest hake that I have seen since Joe Columbus (MA) caught a 50.5 pounder in July of 2020! Needless to say, King James won the boat pool for the largest fish with this Maine state trophy white hake. James couldn't hold it up himself so Danny helped while I took a picture of both. This digital image appears on the right. Danny is the one with the orange oil gear on. James' biggest pollock was 10 pounds or so. He also caught a 7 pound cod.
I continued the drift into deeper water after boating the big hake. The result was a few more hake including a double that Ted Harris (PA) caught that included a 13.5 pound white hake and a 23 pound white hake, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. This is the Bunny Clark's fourth largest double of the fishing season to date. Ted won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the 23 pound hake. Ted also caught a 5 pound monkfish. Even though this is a fairly small monkfish, it is our third largest monkfish this season so far.
The third largest fish was a 20 pound white hake caught by Rudy Burton (PA). Rudy's biggest pollock weighed 13.25 pounds. Rudy also landed the hard luck award t-shirt for rediscovering his breakfast early into the trip. He was the sole (soul) hurler today.
Other Angler Highlights: Terrence Jenkins (PA) caught the first fish of the trip, a 12 pound pollock. Six hours later he caught another 12 pound pollock. Gus Carter (PA) caught the largest cod of the day at 10 pounds. Leonard Walker (PA) caught a 13.5 pound white hake. His biggest fish was a 19 pound white hake. Mike "Madison" Williams (PA) boated a 15 pound white hake, his largest fish. His largest pollock weighed 12.5 pounds. Cornell Brown (NJ) caught the largest pollock of the trip at 15 pounds. His biggest fish was an 18.5 pound white hake. And he caught another pollock that weighed 11.5 pounds. Don "Manly Number Twelve" Stancil (NJ) boated a 14.5 pound pollock and a 12 pound pollock, his two biggest fish.
Mike Williams sponsored me in my quest for a cancer free world today with the Pan-Mass Challenge by donating $50.00 to the cause. I haven't seen Mike for four years as he was battling his own cancer demon. He is safe right now and looks great. Thanks, Mike. I appreciate your support so very much!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 47°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the west southwest at eight knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The day was a beautiful fall day. The sky was clear and nearly cloudless. The visibility was excellent throughout. The wind blew out of the west with gusts up to fifteen knots in the morning and less than eight knots in the afternoon. The high air temperature that I saw was 62°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 65°F (with a low of 50°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 63°F (with a low of 34°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 62°F (with a low of 39°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the west at ten knots. Seas were chops of a foot or two over long rolling sea swells of three to four feet. The air temperature reached a high of 60°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was clear and sunny. The surface water temperature reached a high of 55°F.
The fishing was very good to excellent today. They had a few dogfish but not too many and the sea state was very manageable with smaller sea swells and less current. The catching was very good. Landings were better than they were yesterday or better than good! Most legal fish landed were pollock. Legal landings also included four cod, six haddock, one redfish, five cusk, ten whiting and twenty mackerel. Released fish included thirty dogfish, eight sub-legal cod, ten sub-legal haddock, thirty sub-legal pollock and a few mackerel. This was the second day in a row without a blue shark sighting. No angler used bait today. Just jigs and cod flies or, rather, cod flies and jigs. Drifting was the method.
Terrence Jenkins (PA) was high hook with the most legal fish. His largest fish was a 12 pound pollock. He also caught an 11 pound pollock and a double that included a 9 pound pollock and another 11 pound pollock, both fish on the same line at the same time. Gus Carter (PA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 17 pound pollock. Gus also landed a 10 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock. The second largest fish was a 14 pound pollock caught by Leonard Walker (PA). Leonard also caught an 11 pound pollock. The third largest fish was a 12.5 pound pollock caught by Ted Harris (PA). Ted also landed the hard luck award for the most tangled lines. But, really, there was no good reason, Ian told me, to give Ted the shirt. There just wasn't a lot of hard luck aboard today.
Other Angler Highlights: King James Jones - he's still the king in my book - (PA) landed the first fish to be weighed, a 9 pound pollock. His largest fish was a pollock that weighed 10 pounds. Rudy Burton (PA) caught an 8 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock.
At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 49°F, the stars could be seen between the clouds, the wind was blowing out of the northwest at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The ride to the fishing grounds was uneventful. The wind was out of the north at fifteen knots or so. Seas were chops of two to three feet with a barely discernable swell underneath. The visibility ranged from over twenty-five miles. The air temperature hung around 52°F for the whole ride out.
On the grounds, the wind continued out of the north at fifteen knots with sea in chops of three feet, more or less. Again, there was no discernable ocean swell. The northerly wind diminished all day. By 2:00 PM, it was calm with the lightest of northerly wind. When it was time to head back to Perkins Cove, it was still nice. But as we started, the wind struck out of the northwest. It blew up to twenty-five knots. We carried this wind all the way to Perkins Cove. The sky was cloudless for most of the morning, a mix of sun and clouds in the afternoon. The air temperature reached a high of 57°F. The visibility ranged to over thirty miles. The tide (current) was strong all day. The surface water temperature ranged from 53 to 55°F.
The wind was right on the nose going home with chops of four feet to five feet. I had to tell everyone in a bunk down below to come out of the forecastle and stay on deck. I could hardly see out the windows. I certainly didn't want come down off a queer one and hurt someone down below. These guys have been with me in rougher weather and knew the routine. So they weren't surprised. This happened with sixteen miles to go. I was able to back off the speed to about nine or ten knots. With that small a drop in speed as close as we were we only lost about twenty minutes off the ETA. This was a reminder that winter is coming. I'm sorry to see the good weather go.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 59°F, or so I heard. 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 57°F (with a low of 36°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 59°F (with a low of 40°F).
The fishing was good to very good. The sea state wasn't the best but the strong tide made it tough to drift or anchor. The drag on the lines made tangles more frequent. But there were no blue sharks (one porbeagle attack) and the dogfish were few. The catching was very good. Landings were good to very good. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Thank God for the pollock this fall. They were of smaller size on average today. Legal landings also included seventeen white hake, ten red hake, one cod, four haddock, two redfish and a cusk. Released fish included twenty-nine dogfish, three sub-legal cod, two sub-legal haddock, five sub-legal pollock and a porbeagle shark. I actually didn't see the shark but the pattern of teeth marks on a pollock suggested this. We did some drift fishing but mostly every spot was fished on anchor. Everyone used jigs and cod flies.
Ted Harris (PA) had to be high hook today with the most legal fish. He caught half of all the haddock, the only cod and the third largest fish of the trip, a 24 pound white hake. His other fish of note included a 13.5 pound white hake, a 15 pound white hake and a 10.5 pound pollock. Leonard Walker (PA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 30.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This is the largest hake he has ever caught. I took a picture of Leonard holding his trophy. This digital image appears on the left. Lenny also caught the best pollock double of the day. His catch included an 8 pound pollock and a 12.5 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time! The second largest fish was a 26 pound Maine state trophy white hake caught by Rudy Burton (PA). Rudy tied with James Jones (PA) for the best double of the day. Rudy's double included a 13.5 pound white hake and a 14.5 pound white hake. Rudy also caught a 22 pound white hake.
Other Angler Highlights: Cornell Brown (NJ) landed a 20 pound white hake, a 23 pound white hake and a 16 pound white hake as his biggest fish. He had a big pollock on his line at the end of the day. But all the fish were biting so poorly. Cornell wasn't even half way off the bottom when he lost that fish. James Jones' double included a 13 pound white hake and a 15 pound white hake. King James also caught a 14 pound white hake, a 17 pound white hake and a 13 pound pollock. Gus Carter (PA) boated a 12 pound pollock and a 13 pound white hake, his two biggest fish. Mike "Madison" Williams (PA) caught a 16.5 pound white hake, his biggest fish, He caught quite a few pollock. Terrence Jenkins (PA) landed a 10 pound pollock that I weighed. Don "Manly Number Twelve" Stancil (NJ), now a New Jersey boy, caught a 12 pound pollock, his largest fish of the trip. He had no problem catching pollock today. I also realized that he has quite a singing voice! Don landed the hard luck award today for being involved in the worst tangle. Tangles really weren't that bad today. But I had to give the shirt to someone!
Don Stancil did me a huge favor today by donating a generous $100.00 to my cancer project with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. I believe he has supported me in this charity event since I became involved in 2007. He has always been very generous. Thanks so much, Don. Your time with us on the boat is always too short! Much appreciated; all of it!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 43°F, the sky was cloudless, the wind was blowing out of the west at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
It was another beautiful fall day ashore today. The sky was clear all day, cloudless in the morning, with not a hint of rain. There was very little humidity. The day started off cool but warmed up quickly. But not by summer standards. By 11:00 AM, the air temperature had reached the 60°F mark. The highest air temperature that I saw was 66°F that was reached around 2:00 PM. The visibility was excellent all day. The wind blew out of the west to west northwest up to fifteen knots or more. But you could tell that this was more of a land breeze than anything else. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 70°F (with a low of 47°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 67°F (with a low of 45°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 64°F (with a low of 39°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the west at about ten knots to start, dropping to five knots or less in the afternoon. Seas were chops of two feet in the morning over a two to three foot long ocean swell that lasted all day. Chops diminished to just about nothing in the afternoon. The air temperature reached a high of 61°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles, probably over thirty miles. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 55°F.
The fishing was very good. There were a few more dogfish than normal but the sea state was fine. The catching was very good to excellent. Landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included eight cod, fifteen haddock, two redfish, two cusk, a porbeagle (mackerel) shark, ten whiting and five mackerel. Released fish included sixty-five dogfish, four legal sized cod, eight sub-legal cod, twenty-eight sub-legal haddock, twenty-four sub-legal pollock and a mackerel. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked well but jigs and cod flies worked the best.
Ray Westermann (MA) was high hook with the most legal fish. Some of his fish included a 9.5 pound pollock, a 13 pound pollock and an 11.5 pound pollock. Dave Harris (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 80 pound porbeagle shark. We have only landed one other porbeagle shark this season. Dave's is the largest one we have boated this year to date. Ian took a picture of Dave Harris (with Danny in the orange oil skins) holding his prize shark. This digital image appears on the right. Dave also caught the second largest fish, a 16 pound pollock. The third largest fish was a 14 pound pollock caught by Adam LeBarron (MA). Adam also landed a 10 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Steve Grasse (NY) caught the largest cod at 10 pounds. His biggest pollock weighed 12 pounds. Charlie Harris (MA) did not catch a tuna today. His best fish, to my knowledge, was a 10 pound pollock. Sal Salvatore (MA) also caught a 10 pound pollock as his largest fish. And he landed the hard luck award t-shirt for losing a jig.
After yesterday's marathon trip, upon checking the engine as we do after every trip, I noticed an engine bracket that had broken. I was able to fix it. But it meant that I had to start after Danny was finished cleaning the boat. So it took me until almost 9:00 PM to get the job done. This was not what I wanted to do after a long trip. But, without doing so, we couldn't have run the trip today. Along with that, this is the last holiday weekend the restaurants will see, aside from Halloween, until next year. Certainly the last holiday season Barnacle Billy's (Original) will see. So I was busy today. Plus, I had to drive to Portsmouth this morning to pick up parts in case the bracket didn't hold, so I could more easily repair it next time it happens. I certainly would not have been able to run another marathon trip today. It's nice to have a captain like Ian on the boat. But there is no other captain like Ian. I'm very lucky.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 55°F, the sky was cloudless, the wind was blowing out of the southwest at nearly twenty knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
By 8:00 AM, the wind had hauled out of the northwest and was blowing thirty knots. The rest of the day saw strong northwest winds or west northwest winds to thirty knots with occasional gusts to thirty-five and forty knots. Limbs came down everywhere, including during an eight mile walk/run in back of Berwick Road to the west of town. I wasn't in danger as it fell more than ten feet away. But we haven't had this much wind all summer. So there were a lot of dead limbs waiting to drop. The air temperature was surprisingly mild with a high of 66°F at one point during the day. The visibility was excellent. The sky was clear but dotted with clouds. There was no hint of rain today. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 72°F (with a low of 50°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 66°F (with a low of 35°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 64°F (with a low of 38°F).
Indeed, it was a busy day in Ogunquit, Perkins Cove, to be specific. It was also busy uptown, I heard, as well. So my time was consumed at the restaurants. A lot of good people there and some very interesting discussions were had. I ended up staying until 9:00 PM.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 44°F, the sky was overcast with a cloudless sky to the southeast, the wind was light out of the west and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
By sunrise, it was still clear to the east southeast and the sunrise was rosey. But that was the clearest it every got, for the sky. Every other part of the sky was overcast, particularly to the west. By 8:00 AM, the sky was fully overcast. It was raining lightly. We had periodic light rain for most of the morning and part of the early afternoon. Then it seemed to stop raining for the rest of the afternoon until 5:00 PM, when the light rain started again. The sky stayed overcast all day. It rained harder into the night but nothing that I would class as a heavy rain. I walked home from the restaurant at 7:20 PM. At that time all I needed was a hooded rain jacket to keep me dry. The visibility remained excellent the whole day. Plus, it was cold all day, the coolest it has been since at least May. Today's high that I saw was 48°F. The wind blew out of the west at about ten knots or less all day. 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 47°F (with a low of 33°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 55°F (with a low of 38°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the west at ten to five knots, then backed out of the southwest at five knots or less. Seas started as two foot chops over a two foot swell but ended up with a chop less than a foot over the same sized swell. The air temperature reached a high of 53 to 54°F. The visibility ranged to over fifty miles as they could see the snow on Mt. Washington. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was overcast all day but it didn't rain. The surface water temperature reached a high of 54°F.
The fishing was very good, just outside of excellent with the dogfish that were also caught. The catching was excellent or nearly so. Landings were good. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included seven cod, eight haddock, five redfish, eight cusk, fourteen whiting and fifteen mackerel. Released fish included seventy-five dogfish, nine sub-legal cod, twenty-four sub-legal haddock, fifty sub-legal pollock and a handful of mackerel. Drifting was the method. Only jigs and cod flies were used.
Rick Gurney (MA) was high hook with the most legal fish. His largest fish was a 9.5 pound pollock. Shawn Rosenberger (PA) was second hook with his largest fish, a pollock of 11 pounds. The largest fish of the trip was a 17 pound pollock caught as a double with another pollock of 14 pounds, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. The angler was Yiting Yang (NY). He did not enter the boat pool. The 14 pound pollock was the second largest fish of the trip. The double is the Bunny Clark's sixth largest double of this year's fishing season so far. Zack Grimm (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the third largest fish, a 13 pound pollock. He caught this pollock as part of a double with another pollock that weighed 12 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Darlene Chin (VT/FL) landed a 10 pound pollock, her largest fish. Hang Hua (NY) landed the hard luck award for getting into the most tangles. Well, that's better than being sea sick!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 48°F, the sky was overcast, there was a thunder storm at 3:00 AM with lightning and heavy rain, the wind was blowing out of the northeast at twenty-five knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The wind never blew as hard out of the northeast as it did in the early morning. By 7:00 AM, the wind had dropped to a sustained twenty knots or less. By 9:00 AM, the wind had backed out of the north and was blowing fifteen or twenty knots. After noon, the northerly wind was ten to fifteen knots. There wasn't much wind at all after 6:00 PM. I didn't stay up much later to see what the wind did after that. The sky was overcast all day. It rained lightly for most of the morning, halting before noon. I swear I saw a patch of blue sky to the west at 5:00 PM. But I can't be sure. The visibility was excellent. The air temperature stayed cold all day. The highest air temperature that I saw was 50°F. 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 51°F (with a low of 40°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 48°F (with a low of 38°F).
I spent most of the morning working out the logistics of cutting our fishing season short. Realizing that I would not be able to continue as long as I had planned, I made adjustments to alter course. It's hard when things on the outside force you to be undependable. I hate that. As you might have noticed, we have changed our ending date to October 24th, a marathon trip. That will be the last trip of the season. I am so sorry to have to say this. For you and, selfishly, for me.
The rest of the day I spent at the restaurants. It was slow, business wise. But that just meant that I could spend more time with the customers that we did have. But the time did go by slower than normal.
I was home by 5:00 PM to get ready to fish tomorrow.
Danny DellaMonica and I ran the marathon trip today.
At 4:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 39°F, the sky was clear, there was a light westerly breeze ashore with fifteen knots from the west at the Portland Lightship (or where it used to be) and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The visibility was excellent after we left the gate to Perkins Cove. We had somewhat of a following sea. So it was a comfortable ride to the first fishing spot as well. The wind was out of the west. Wind speeds were about fifteen knots or more with chops that increased to about three or four feet by the time we got to the fishing grounds. The air temperature was 40°F when passed the can buoys. It increased to 48°F by the time we got to the grounds. The sky was clear.
On the grounds, the wind was blowing westerly at fifteen to twenty knots. Seas were chops of three or four feet with the occasional queer one. This was, pretty much, the wind and sea state that we had for the rest of the day. Sometimes the wind seemed a bit stronger. Other times it would look like it was dying out but the pipe right up again. The highest air temperature I observed was 52°F. And that's where it stayed for most of the day. The visibility was excellent. The sky was cloudless for most of the morning and mostly cloudy for the afternoon. It wasn't overcast but there weren't many clear spots in the sky either. The tide (current) was strong in the morning, moderate in the afternoon. The surface water temperature hung around 52°F all day long.
When it was time to end the trip and head back to Perkins Cove, we took a pounding the whole ride in. I had to get everyone out of the cabin for the trip back as I didn't want anyone to fall out of a bunk and hurt themselves. Because of the angle going back, I was able to run at nearly ten knots for most of the ride back. Had it been directly on the nose, we would have been lucky to maintain six or seven knots.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 53°F, or so I heard. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 55°F (with a low of 42°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 53°F (with a low of 32°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 54°F (with a low of 34°F).
The fishing was good, at best. The sea state cut down the mobility tremendously and limited my options as to where to go to fish. The tide being as strong as it was kept the fishing down a bit. The catching was very good but mostly for smaller fish. Landings were fair for a marathon trip. Most legal fish landed were pollock. Legal landings also included seven cod, eight haddock, two redfish, ten cusk, six mud hake, thirty-five mackerel, and a few whiting, mostly small. Released fish included twenty-three dogfish, twenty-three sub-legal cod, a sea raven, two sculpins, twenty-one (or more) sub-legal haddock [Fred Kunz (NH) had eight small haddock, some of which I did not see.], fifty-two sub-legal pollock and a handful of small whiting and mackerel. We drift fished and anchored according to the occasion and the spot chosen. Everyone used jigs and cod flies with the occasional bait used that caught dogfish.
I would have to say that Shawn Rosenberger (PA) was high hook with the most legal fish caught. He did not land any fish of note, as far as size goes. He did land four fish from each significant species including the most haddock and cusk. Matt Luce (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 16.5 pound pollock. He also won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the third largest fish, a 13.5 pound pollock. Paul Pearson (NH) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 15 pound pollock. Some of Paul's other fish that I weighed included a 9.5 pound pollock and two pollock that weighed 12 pounds each.
Other Angler Highlights: Dave Burton (MA) could have been close to high hook but I never did get a bead on numbers. John Russell (ME) had the best double. His catch included a 13 pound pollock and a 9.5 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. Chopper Sawyer (ME) boated a 12 pound pollock, his largest fish. Eric Lake (NH) lost what I suspect was a bigger cod. It looked big on the sounding machine before it headed back to bottom without being connected to Eric's line. Eric's biggest fish was an 11.5 pound pollock. Tim Rozan (ME) caught the largest cod of the trip. It weighed 11 pounds. Bill Kelson (MA) was replaced by Bruce Kelson who caught fish up to 8 pounds.
Ken Altarac (NY) didn't feel great all day long. And it prevented him from fishing, finally taking a bunk in the Hotel Bunny Clark. I was going to give him the hard luck award shirt. But I had run out of his size. And he already had a shirt. So I gave the shirt to John Russell who lost a jig.
I received two donations sponsoring me in the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Dave Burton (MA) donated another $50.00, one of the many $50.00 donations he had given me this year. Bill Kelson gave me another donation. This time it was for $30.00. Thank you both so very much for your thoughtfulness and, certainly, your generosity. This is so very much appreciated by so many.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 42°F, the sky was partly cloudy, the wind was blowing at ten knots out of the west at the house but showing twenty knots of westerly wind with higher gusts at the closest weather buoy and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
Ashore, the wind blew out of the west at twenty to twenty-five knots in the morning and west northwest to northwest after noon at twenty knots, more or less. The sky started off mostly cloudy but became cloudless after noon. The visibility was excellent or as good as it gets. The air temperature reached a high of 56°F but I felt cold all day. This was probably because I was over-tired from fighting the wind and the seas on yesterday's trip. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 55°F (with a low of 42°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 53°F (with a low of 32°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 54°F (with a low of 34°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the west at twenty to twenty-five knots. Seas were four to six foot, plus, chops with the occasional queer one. After noon, the wind backed out of the northwest and dropped. The seas dropped as well, to two and three feet, by the time Ian was ready to make the trip back to Perkins Cove. However, at the nineteen mile mark, the northwest wind had picked up, as did the chops, so they had as bad a ride as we did for fifteen miles.There was no underlying swell today, which was just as well. The highest air temperature was 52°F. The visibility ranged to over thirty miles. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds, very few clouds on the ride back in. The tide (current) was strong in the morning and moderate in the afternoon, just was we had it yesterday. The surface water temperature reached a high of 52°F.
The fishing was tough with the wind and seas in the morning. We had better sea conditions in the morning yesterday and a worse ride home. Today, they had worse morning sea conditions but a better ride home. The catching was very good today. Landings were good to very good and much better than it was yesterday. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included three cod, twenty mackerel and thirty whiting. Released fish included twenty-seven dogfish, probably fifty mackerel, five sub-legal cod, five sub-legal haddock (the only trip this year where we didn't see a legal haddock), one porbeagle shark and thirty sub-legal pollock. They anchored but drifting worked the best. Everyone used jigs and cod flies today.
Tristan Winslow (MA) was the fisherman of the day. He was high hook with the most legal fish and he won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 16 pound pollock. The second largest fish was a 13 pound pollock caught by Nick Zito (CT). Shawn Rosenberger (PA) caught the third largest fish, an 11 pound pollock. Shawn also caught two pollock of 10 pounds each.
Other Angler Highlights: Tyler Heindl (OR) caught the first fish to be weighed, a 10 pound pollock. Mathew Winslow (MA) landed the hard luck award for getting a bit green around the gills.
At 3:30 AM EDT the air temperature was 35°F, the steps to the boat ramp were already starting to ice up, the sky was clear with a full moon hanging nearly overhead, there was no wind to write about and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
By the time that anglers were ready to board, ice had formed on the steps at the patio before the dock to the ramp that leads to the float where the Bunny Clark resides. Luckily, Danny Neumann, Barnacle Billy's caretaker and "night man", was there with a hose to keep the steps thawed so anglers wouldn't slip and fall. I am always the last on the boat. The steps were fine when I ventured down for the last time to take my charge out to sea. This is the first ice of the season and our first coastal frost.
The tide was nearly dead low when we left the float to head down the channel. The air temperature was 35°F, cold enough to see whisps of sea smoke dancing on the surface as we headed under the bridge. Light northerly wind chased us out to the fishing grounds as the full moon was setting in the west. The moon was perfectly round in a cloudless sky. Seas were chops of a foot. The visibility was excellent. The air temperature reached the 48°F mark as we were approaching our destination.
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the north for while and then hauled out of the northeast. We never had more than five knots of wind. It would start to breeze up and then die out, breeze up and die out. By noon, the wind did die out, only to start blowing out of the north. It was lightly blowing out of the north when we started to head back, flat glassy calm for the whole ride to Perkins Cove. The air temperature reached a high of 56°F. It was warmer on deck. The visibility ranged to over thirty miles. The tide was moderate or light. The sky was mostly clear, cloudless for a while in the morning. The surface water temperature stayed at 53°F
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 76°F (with a low of 57°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 77°F (with a low of 55°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 70°F (with a low of 58°F).
The fishing was nearly excellent today. There were few dogfish, only one big shark attack (A porbeagle shark took off with Darlene Chin's (FL/VT) terminal gear during the last part of the trip.) and the fishing conditions (sea state, drift, etc.) were perfect. The catching was very good. Landings were good, mostly for size and not as much for numbers. We stayed in mostly deep water today so most legal fish, by far, were white hake and whiting. Legal landings also included a cod, nine haddock and a pollock. Not a single mackerel was caught that I saw. Released fish included fifteen dogfish, two sub-legal cod, no sub-legal pollock (that I saw), eleven sub-legal haddock, that one porbeagle shark and probably thirty small whiting. Drifting was the method today. The drift was perfect all day. Bait, jigs and cod flies worked equally well.
I could not tell you who was high hook with the most legal fish. I never did see how many fillet bags each angler had. Nor were there any standouts. My concentration, at the end of the trip, was focused on getting into Perkins Cove before dead low water with this moon tide. We got to the float at the Barnacle Billy's dock a half hour before low water. Any later and we would have been stuck in the channel. As it was, with everyone on the bow or in the forecastle, we plowed our way up the channel, through the mud and detritus, to get to the bridge. At one point, in the middle of the channel, we were hung up so hard on bottom that I had to run almost 1500 rpms to keep moving forward. I stopped at the fuel dock, just outside the bridge, where there was just enough water to tie up, get off the boat and look to see how high up on the bank the middle town floats were setting so I could decide if I wanted to move on. I asked Danny what he thought. His reply; "I like taking a chance." So we did. And we made it - with a half hour to spare!
Shawn Rosenberger (PA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 33.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake. And he won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 30 pound Maine state trophy white hake. These are the two largest hake that Shawn has caught this year to date. I didn't weigh another fish of his today. The third largest fish was a 25.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake caught by John "Buddha" Hayes (MA). John was not in the boat pool. Two of John's other fish included an 11 pound white hake and a 15 pound white hake. Scott Bugbee (NH) won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the fourth largest fish, a 23.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake. I took a picture of Scott with his "almost trophy white hake". This digital image appears on the left.
Other Angler Highlights: Dave Burton (MA) boated a 21 pound white hake, his largest fish. Mark LaRocca's (NY) largest fish was a 16.5 pound white hake. I believe he had two white hake of that exact size. Although he lost a couple of fish that could have been bigger. I weighed a 12.5 pound white hake and a 17 pound white hake for Tod Benjamin (VT). Dave Haberl (VT) caught a 15.5 pound white hake. Andriy Andruntsiv (NJ) caught a 15.25 pound white hake, a 22 pound white hake and a 10 pound cod, his three best fish. Hannah Smith (VT) landed a 12.5 pound white hake, her biggest fish of the trip. Nick Zito (CT) caught one slightly smaller at 12 pounds. Fred Kunz (NH) boated a 21.5 pound white hake, his best. He caught the most haddock, legal and sub-legal. Andre Zak (CT) landed a 22 pound white hake. Marcin Korszen (NJ) boated a 15 pound white hake. Dan Harris (NH) caught a 17 pound white hake, his biggest fish. Marty Buskey (NY) caught not a single legal fish (except some very small whiting) and landed the hard luck award t-shirt for his efforts! It was the second worst day he has ever had on the Bunny Clark. The worst day included an illness that was not related to sea sickness.
I received a several donations today sponsoring me in my cancer fundraising drive with the Pan-Mass Challenge. The anglers responsible and their gifts to cancer research included: Dave Burton, again, for $50.00, Mark LaRocca for $90.00, Andriy Andruntsiv for $30.00, Marty & Elise Buskey for another generous $100.00, Hannah Smith for $30.00 and Dave Haberl for $30.00. Thank you all so very much for your support, generosity and thoughtfulness. For Dave, Marty & Elise, thank you for your continued support throughout the season and for being so exceptionally generous. This means so much to me, the researchers, those suffering and those who will be suffering less because of you. So much appreciated!
At 4:30 AM EDT the air temperature was 43°F, the sky was clear with a full moon heading west, the wind was out of the north at ten knots here at the house (more offshore) and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
Ashore, the wind blew out of the north at fifteen knots or more to start. I ran on the beach at after 9:30 AM and I felt like a hand was pushing on my chest as I ran into the wind. The sky was clear all day. The visibility was excellent. The highest air temperature that I saw was 64°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 60°F (with a low of 43°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 67°F (with a low of 27°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 63°F (with a low of 33°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northeast at fifteen to ten knots. Seas were chops of three to four feet to start but diminished to two and three feet. The air temperature reached a high of 57°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The sky was clear and sunny with few clouds, cloudless at times. The tide (current) was moderate to strong. The surface water temperature reached a high of 53°F.
The fishing would have been excellent except for the weather. For a minor few, the conditions put anglers into sea sick mode. However, there were few dogfish and no blue sharks. The catching was very good. Landings were fair to good. Most legal fish landed were pollock. Legal landings also included four cod, six haddock, twelve cusk, thirty-one whiting and over seventy-five mackerel. Released fish included one unknown shark that took a jig, ten dogfish, eight sub-legal cod, eighteen sub-legal haddock, over fifty sub-legal pollock and quite a few mackerel. They anchored and drift fished. Everyone used jigs and cod flies.
Ian could not tell me who was high hook with the most legal fish. Dave Gallant (MA) was the shining star of the day. He won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 13 pound pollock. And he also caught the second, third and tied for the fifth largest fish of the trip! Because he caught the three largest fish, he captured, what we call, the "Ace". Only two other anglers this season have captured an Ace on the Bunny Clark this season. The other two anglers are regulars, John Lambert, Jr. (NY) and Buzz Leonard (MA). This is Dave's first trip on the Bunny Clark! His other fish included a 12.5 pound pollock, a 12 pound pollock and a 10 pound pollock. It was a great day to be Dave Gallant!
Other Angler Highlights: Tod Benjamin (VT) caught the largest cusk at 8 pounds. His largest fish was a 10.5 pound pollock. John "Buddha" Hayes (MA) caught a 10 pound pollock, his best fish. Roger Lamoureux (VT) also caught a 10 pound pollock, his biggest fish. Bill Gulaski (MA) landed the hard luck award t-shirt for attaining high hurler status today. Ouch!
At 4:30 AM EDT the air temperature was 43°F, the sky was clear, there wasn't enough wind to tell you about and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. By 7:30 AM, the air temperature had dropped to 38°F, the ocean was flat calm the sky was cloudless with a partial moon three quarters of the way to the western horizon.
Ashore, the there was no wind in the morning. The ocean was flat calm for almost that whole time period. After noon, we got a light breeze from the southwest. Seas along the shore were just tipping over a white cap at 3:00 PM with a one foot chop. The visibility was excellent all day. The sky was clear all day with a bright sun. The highest air temperature that I saw was 71°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 67°F (with a low of 42°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 74°F (with a low of 29°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 66°F (with a low of 36°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the west at five to ten knots after a calm ride to the fishing grounds. Seas were long swells of three to four feet over a calm surface. The air temperature reached a high of 57°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The sky was clear and sunny all day. The tide (current) ranged from moderate to strong. The surface water temperture reached a high of 53°F.
The fishing was excellent today. There were few dogfish and the weather was nearly perfect for humans sailing on the high seas. The catching was excellent. Landings were fair to good; there were a lot of small fish and mackerel caught today. Legal fish landed included five cod, fifteen haddock, ten pollock (on the small size today), eleven cusk, one monkfish, fifty-two whiting and one hundred and sixty-two mackerel. Released fish included twenty dogfish, five sub-legal cod, fifty-one sub-legal haddock, fifty sub-legal pollock and a lot of mackerel. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked equally well.
Hal Flan (MA) was high hook today with the most legal fish. His biggest fish was the second largest fish of the trip, a 5 pound cusk. Dave Burton (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 7 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Chad Niquette (VT) landed the hard luck award for being the most sea sick today.
For my part on this earth today, Grant Hubbard, the manager/owner of Finestkind Scenic Cruises, let me take the Finestkind II with a close family to dump the ashes of their parents off Ogunquit Beach. I have known this family, it seems, forever. I promised them a long time ago that I would do this. Because of the dredging and the tight fishing schedule, I couldn't do this from the Bunny Clark. It was so nice of the Grant to allow me to take one of their boats to complete the mission.
I received three major donations today sponsoring me in this year's Pan-Mass Challenge today. This money goes directly to cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. These donors and their donations included: Dave Burton (MA), again, for $50.00, Michael & Kerry Mithen (MA) for a generous $100.00 and Howie & Barbara Goldenfarb (ME) for $750.00. Thank you all so very much for your gifts of support to my cancer project. I appreciate this so very much!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 43°F, the sky was clear with a partial moon hanging high overhead with a tilt to the west, the wind was blowing lightly out of the southwest and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. By 7:30 AM, the air temperature had dropped to 39°F, there was zero wind along the shore and the sky was cloudless.
The day was excellent, certainly a gift of great weather for this time of year. There was no wind to write about in the morning. The ocean was flat calm for most of it. In the later afternoon, the wind blew lightly out of the south and, then, southwest. The visibility was excellent. The sky was clear and sunny all day. The highest air temperature that I saw was 73°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 77°F (with a low of 45°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 74°F (with a low of 29°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 68°F (with a low of 34°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at five knots or less. The ocean surface was calm over long sea swell of three to four feet. The air temperature reached a high of 62°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The sky was sunny and clear. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 53°F.
The fishing was excellent due to a lack of dogfish, sharks of any kind and wonderful weather. The catching was excellent. Landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included five cod, twenty-six haddock, four redfish, ten cusk, two whiting and over one hundred mackerel. Released fish included eight dogfish, twelve sub-legal cod, sixty-two sub-legal haddock, fifty-five sub-legal pollock and quite a few mackerel. Drifting was the method. Jigs and cod flies reined supreme.
Captain Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook with the most legal fish. Mike Tirrito (VT) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 16.5 pound pollock. The second largest fish weighed in at 11 pounds. There were three of them caught by three different anglers. Jerry Worden (NH) caught one, Darlene Chin (VT/FL) caught one and Buzz Leonard (ME) caught one. Buzz also caught a 10 pound pollock before the larger one.
Other Angler Highlights: Tom Martas (ME) landed a pollock that weighed 10.5 pounds. Stephen King (NH) landed the hard luck award for getting a hook in his thumb that he didn't feel comfortable having it takne out while on the boat. The hook was past the barb and pointed to the bone of his thumb. So, after he got off the boat, he took a trip to York Hospital! Ouch!
I received two donations sponsoring me in this season's Pan-Mass Challenge today, funding cancer research. The event is over but the fundraising goes on until the end of the year. Cancer never sleeps! The donors and donations were: Dave Burton (MA) for $50.00, his total for this season well over a $1,000.00 total, and Mark Girard (NH), who also has been overly generous with earlier donations. Mark's donation was made in the form of an "eGift" through the PMC site. He also left me a note that said: "Tim, thanks for helping me navigate my way to honor the loss of Marion Perry to cancer....."
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 58°F, the sky was clear with a, nearly, half moon hanging directly overhead, the wind was blowing lightly out of the southwest and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. More later.
We have room on some upcoming trips: The Tim Tuesday marathon trip of October 22 has nine fishing spots available, the extreme day trip of Wednesday, October 23, has seventeen fishing spots available and the last trip of the season, a marathon trip on Thursday, October 24, has four fishing spots available. We are starting to see more and bigger pollock. We are also seeing white hake everywhere we go. We can keep cod. And we are finding cod on every trip. And there are few dogfish and no blue sharks. Fall is one of my favorite times of the year to fish. I am very excited about the rest of October.
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