Bunny Clark Fishing Update
Written & Edited by Tim Tower
Monday, January 26, 2026, 8:00 AM EST
Book a Trip on Line
 |
 |
Book a Trip on Line
|
|
Note: Note: The Western Gulf of Maine regulations for the season's 2024 and 2025 appear directly below this paragraph. The National Marine Fisheries Service, or some entity within, dropped the ball the last few years resulting in implementing the regulations for the year well after the start of the fiscal fishing year (May 1 of every year) or, like 2025, not at all. So the following regulations were what we had for all of fiscal 2025. The fiscal 2025 season ends after April 31, 2025.
Gulf of Maine cod
Gulf of Maine haddock
The sky remained overcast for the morning and the early part of the afternoon. It never did snow again during the daylight hours, at least that was the case in southern Maine. Downeast, they got a half a foot of snow to our inch. The wind was again the dominant feature of our weather today. By sunrise, the wind had backed out of the west again. We have had a lot of westerly wind this winter. It blew out of the west until the middle of the morning when I noticed there was a little bit of a northerly lilt to the wind. With that slight wind change, we got an increase in the wind velocity yet again. By noon, the wind was blowing at twenty-five to thirty-five knots. After, it increased again from the west northwest at thirty to thirty-five knots. This kept up for the rest of the daylight hours and on into the night. I never did see in back off while I was awake. The visibility remained excellent all day. The 27°F value that I saw in the morning was the highest air temperature that I saw all day. Mostly, the air temperature during the day was 24 to 22°F. When I walked Gill at 7:00 PM, the air temperature had dropped to 16°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 33°F (with a low of 17°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 24°F (with a low of 7°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 28°F (with a low of 6°F).
During the morning, I spent all my extra time working on the Guestletter. I had lunch at 11:00 AM. By noon, I was in the truck headed to Massachusetts to see a friend in rehab. He was presently in the critical care wing of the facility. He has recovered enough to be moving to the rehab part of the facility tomorrow. There he will be physically rehabbed seven days a week with exercises, walking, swallowing drills, speech therapy (although he can talk pretty well), etc. That ate up the rest of my day.
I did take the dog, Gill, for a walk under an, almost, full moon. It was beautiful out. With the light snow cover, I almost bought the farm twice. I was more cavalier walking tonight than I should have been. We only walked a mile as Gill is starting to develop problems with his hips. It's hard for him to get up off the floor as it is. But, if I walk him too far, either Deb or I have to help him off the floor. And that is not good. So I have been backing off on the distance as of late. Almost half a week or so ago we walked for three miles. That turned out to be well over the limit for Gill. He won't tell me if it's too much lately because we haven't been able to get out as much. He would walk for ever if I kept going. And Deb is afraid of the ice and snow. Plus, she has been sick. So she has been unable to take him when I can't. So I will be making the walking decisions on distance for a while.
After saying I was going to post the Guestletter today I found that I just didn't have time. I'm almost there and would have been there had it not been for the disruption of time at the ATT store two days ago and a surprise visit I had to make to a friend in a rehab center in Massachusetts today. It's amazing how much better I can write when I have time to leave the piece alone for an extended period of time and then revisit it after a week or so. It should be the best one that I have written so far. But I will leave you all to judge that. It should be up late morning tomorrow.
I received two new donations for the upcoming 2026 Pan-Mass Challenge cancer fundraiser. This will be my twentieth year of involvement. The donations were from my wonderful sister, Meg, for a wopping $2,000.00. And one of $100.00 from Peter Bradley (CA), a good friend, former triathlete and a guy I worked with at the restaurant growing up. Meg always likes to be the first to donate every year. When I put my new PMC site up, I will show both Meg's and Peter's contributions there. In the meantime, thank you both very much for your continued support, generosity and your thoughtfulness. It is very very much appreciated by so very many, including me!
The sky cleared up during the morning and, pretty much, stayed that way for the rest of the day. The visibility remained excellent. The wind blew out of the west all morning and part of the afternoon. Wind speeds ranged from twenty to twenty-five knots. The westerly wind dropped a bit after noon but gained a northerly lilt and picked up again before sunset. I don't believe I saw any change in the wind direction later. Wind speeds seemed to be over twenty knots every time I looked after dark. The air temperature was cool all day. It wasn't until mid morning that I saw the air temperature above 20°F. The highest air temperature I saw was 26°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 29°F (with a low of 16°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 25°F (with a low of 0°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 22°F (with a low of 7°F).
I spent all morning working on doing the final edit on the Guestletter. I was done and had it posted just before noon. I did have to edit it one more time when Fred Kunz (NH) texted me to tell me that he started fishing with me in 1990, not 1991, as I had originally thought. You know, it's funny, I did that all by memory, which really isn't like me. I could have gone back and checked for sure. However, I didn't. Of course I didn't have to because I have Fred! That guy has a head for figures. I've learned never to debate the man when it comes to numbers. I always lose!
Deb and I left the house at noon to go to the ATT store to get her phone back on line. One of the attendants working there had to call in a favor to take her phone off the fraud list held by ATT. This after she talked to the fraud department from a phone at the ATT store. Regardless of all she could prove, they still wouldn't take the phone off the list for her. Luckily the guy who was working with us today had been there for twenty years and had connections. She still has to wait for something else to clear before she can get a phone (Maybe Tuesday?). But, in the meantime, her old phone is back working again.
We got back at 3:00 PM, when I started to work on setting up the 2026 Pan-Mass Challenge site.
I received a very generous $500.00 donation from Dennis Pietro (NH) sponsoring me is this year's Pan-Mass Challenge today. Dennis has been a long time fisherman on the Bunny Clark and is responsible for hooking the largest fish we have ever brought to gaff on the Bunny Clark, a 26' basking shark. We fought that fish for three hours and it took us seven miles before we were able to get the fish up beside the boat. It was fought with a Bunny Clark jig stick and sixty pound test line to the limit of both the rod's and the line's breaking strength. It was a typical Dave Miller (MA) charter where something amazing always happens. Thank you so very much for your thoughtfulness and generosity, Dennis. I very much appreciate your support. It means a great deal to me!
I was seriously mentally drained by 5:00 PM so I never did take Gill for a walk. Nor did I jump on the trainer for a spin. I normally ride at least sixty minutes after working in the winter. Not this day.
The sky stayed clear all day with occasional random clouds. The wind didn't blow as hard today - for once. Winds were predominantly from the west at fifteen to twenty knots in the morning and early afternoon, less in the later afternoon and evening. When I walked Gill at 6:00 PM, there seemed no wind at all along the shore while the closest offshore buoy showed westerly winds still blowing fifteen to twenty knots. The sky at that time was clear overhead with clouds preventing us from seeing the moon above the eastern horizon. The visibility was excellent all day. The highest air temperature that I saw was 30°F around 1:00 PM. Portsmouth, New Hampshire also showed 30°F at 2:00 PM. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 32°F (with a low of 18°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 29°F (with a low of 1°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 27°F (with a low of 13°F).
Except for watching one futbol game while on the trainer, I worked at the computer all day. I spent the majority of my time making up the 2026 Pan-Mass Challenge site. I did complete the project by 5:30 PM. I will edit it once more tomorrow and then put it up.
After I was done working, I took Gill for a 2.2 mile walk, half on Shore Road and half on the Marginal Way. There were places on the Marginal Way that were treacherous with ice. One spot in particular had a double fall line river of ice where I slid ever closer to the edge to a fifteen foot sheer drop off the path. Gill was right beside me looking up at me as if to say; "What's wrong with you?" It was, actually, quite funny, if not for the fact that I thought for a moment I was in serious trouble. We always walk at night so I didn't have a good visual of the area from distance. Otherwise I would have taken a different path. I almost fell about five times. But when I saw the first tricky part, I kept my knees bent every time I came to, what looked like, a potential icy area. The northern part of the Marginal Way was much icier than the southern part. This resulted in a total of one hour of walking, which was slower than we normally go but perfect for Gill with his sore hips. He was a very happy dog. Or was he just laughing at me? He didn't seem sore or tired from the walk.
By daylight, there was a patina of snow on the roads, making them completely white with zero depth to it. It seemed that once the roads were covered, the weather gods were satisfied and no more snow was released from the sky. Later in the morning the sky cleared and remained clear for the rest of the day. The visibility was excellent by 8:00 AM. The wind was light for the morning. The buoy reports gave the wind direction from the north or northwest. By noon, the ocean along the shore was calm. The wind was out of the northwest at fifteen to twenty or more knots ashore by mid to late afternoon. After sunset we saw twenty-five knots of cold wind out of the northwest. This wind direction and velocity was prevalent through the part of the night where I was awake. The highest air temperature that I saw was 29°F. Portsmouth, New Hampshire showed 28°F at 1:00 PM. This was the same exact time that I also looked at the thermometer, although I didn't realize it at the time. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 31°F (with a low of 23°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 26°F (with a low of 16°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 24°F (with a low of 13°F).
I spent the morning writing and posting this report and editing my Pan-Mass Challenge for the last time and posting that as well. Cancer never sleeps and so the fundraising shouldn't stop. The rest of the day I got all the chores I needed to complete before starting the first work week after the holidays. At 1:00 PM, Deb and I drove to a rehab hospital to visit a good friend of ours who will probably be there for a couple more weeks. We are hoping for less time. On the way back we did some grocery shopping.
I took Gill for another walk after watching a bit of the Patriots game. I like to go after dark as there is usually no person on the Marginal Way. Actually, we only walked the southern, less slippery, portion of the Marginal, spending most of our 2.2 mile walk on the road or on the land between summer houses. We did walk through the Cove and over the Perkins Cove footbridge to continue walking over at the other side of the Cove and down shore road. There were no cars so it was a good night to walk there. Normally, it isn't. I never walk there with the dog in the summer, even with a leash. I took a picture of Gill on the footbridge. The Christmas lights are all still there. This digital image is below.
The sky was clear all morning. A haziness started to creep into the sky after noon. We had a hazy sun by 2:00 PM. Overcast skies reigned before sunset. It started to snow at 6:00 PM. It was a light continuous snow that had the ground covered in about a half hour. We had a northwest wind that started tapering off as the morning progressed. By 9:30 AM, there was no wind at all. The ocean along the shore was flat calm. The wind stayed light and the ocean calm for the rest of the daylight hours. When I took a walk with Gill at 6:00 PM, the wind was light out of the southwest, maybe seven knots? It was about ten knots at 8:00 PM. The visibility was excellent all day until the snow started to fall. The highest air temperature that I saw was 23°F at around 1:00 PM. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 27°F (with a low of 16°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 20°F (with a low of 3°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 19°F (with a low of 4°F).
It was a cold day all day. The house was freezing until I finally relented and turned up the thermostat.
Today was manic Monday on steroids. This is always a crazy day, the first Monday after January 1. I worked all morning and part of the afternoon and, then, gave up. I was on the phone a lot, working to set up meetings and going off a long list of items that have to be completed. It always seems too much, looking ahead, on this day.
I did walk Gill for a mile, a little after it started to snow at 6:00 PM. The snow had covered everything by 6:30 PM. I was prepared to fall and I did. Ice under the snow. I didn't get hurt as I was ready for it. But I did crawl around on the ice until I found the edge of the ice patch. It was a slow walk, favoring Gill. If I walk too fast, Gill stops doing his dog routine and just follows me at a pace. If I slow down, he does his own thing. So a slow mile was perfect for him.
The sky was mostly overcast for the first hour or two of daylight. The sky was mostly clear in the morning with clouding in the afternoon. The sky was overcast and misty at 6:00 PM with an air temperature of 28°F. In fact, that was the highest air temperature that I saw today. The air temperature in Portsmouth, New Hampshire got up to 29°F for a high. The wind started out at ten knots out of the north but diminished as the day progressed. There was no wind at noon. The ocean along the shore at that time and all through the afternoon was calm. The wind was light out of the northeast after sunset. But there wasn't enough wind to blow out a candle while I was still awake. The visibility was excellent during all but the last hour of daylight. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 36°F (with a low of 25°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 30°F (with a low of 17°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 30°F (with a low of 16°F).
I spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon on licensing. I concentrated on Maine state licensing mostly. There is always some glitch that I run into every year on all licensing online every year. Maine licensing is no different. This year was no exception. The state has decided to make a separate license for charter boats. And any vessel that takes passengers for hire, fishing, comes under this new license. So it's not a party/charter designation as it is with the Federal licenses. It's a charter boat license. What I don't understand is; does this allow a party boat, like the Bunny Clark, to fish close to shore as can those with tide water permits, and fish for striped bass? And does this waive the test you have to take in order to get this tide water guide's license? This I have to look into closer. Also, unlike the other online licenses, you have to give them a copy of your vessel's certificate of inspection (COI), the inspection required by the U. S. Coast Guard for carrying more than six passengers. You don't need a COI if you carry six passengers or less. Somehow, six passengers aren't as important to keep safe as having more than six passengers is. This isn't automatic like the other licenses, including the lobster license. It has to be approved. So once I figured as much out as I could, including two calls to the Department of Marine Resources and filling out the appropriate forms online, I was left waiting to be approved. This isn't a problem but it's just a little bit of an added annoyance. So we wait.
My Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), the one I have on the Bunny Clark, is now out of date, totally. This is a unit with a float free option if the vessel sinks that gives out an emergency radio signal to satellites and boats in the area. The model is old enough so that I can't get a new battery for it. The battery has expired. In fact, the whole unit has expired. And that's just as well. I had ordered a new unit. A much more advanced unit with more life saving capabilities than the previous model. It was ready today. So I drove over to York, Maine to pick it up. By the time I got back home, I had about a half hour to get ready to drive a half hour for my six month eye check-up. During that time I called the Beacon Registration office in Washington to let them know that I needed to take the old EPIRB offline as I was going to register a new EPIRB tomorrow. This is what they did. They are always super helpful and nice on the phone. Always have been. Once I register the new unit tomorrow, I will call back and they will link the information I have there with our lobster/tuna boat, the Petrel.
I got back home from the eye doctor's office at 6:00 PM. I only walked a third of a mile with Gill this night. It was just as well. We took our time more than normal so he could still get all his smells in. He seemed a very happy dog.
I received a $50.00 donation from Bill Devon (VT) today sponsoring me in this season's Pan-Mass Challenge. Bill has donated to my cancer project since I started getting involved in 2007. He dedicated his donation in memory of his former wife, Kathy. She couldn't survive her bout with the disease. On the inside of the card that he sent with the check was a message to me: "Enjoy each other.". No truer words from someone who gives that sentence very special meaning. You, as a person, tend to take so much for granted when everything seems to be going so well for so long. Thanks for everything, Bill. The lot of it, including you, is very much appreciated.
The occasional sleet was well over by 9:00 AM. We were left with cloudy skies and icy conditions everywhere. A Cove Committee meeting was canceled today because the Ogunquit town hall closed for the day. The wind blew out of the north at fifteen knots or more for most of the morning. There may even have been a little east in there during the early part. When I checked after lunch, the wind had more westerly in it, although not directly out of the northwest. Near sunset we had northwest wind of about ten knots. A gentle wind day, I would call it. The sky stayed overcast most of the day. I never did see the sky clear. But I never looked at the sky from mid-day onward. The air temperature hung below freezing for the longest time. We saw the air temperature reach the freezing mark at noon. The highest air temperature that I saw was 34°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 38°F (with a low of 32°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 36°F (with a low of 26°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 33°F (with a low of 23°F).
Today was the first day where Portland had a temperature reading above freezing in 2026. We had a cold December as well. If it stays cold through January and February, it will be a different fishing season starting in the spring. How different? I suspect the haddock will be late. This means the commercial effort will be harder on the haddock before we see them. But who knows, really. Warm winters have always seen the haddock in easy to find places on the first trip. And closer to shore. There are so many other variables that come into play that it's foolish to bet your season on what you think is going to happen. It does make it a lot of fun to try to figure it all out during the fishing.
Today was a sit in front of the computer day. I spent the majority of my day working on my captain's license renewal. I forget how long the whole process takes. Getting my medical certificate was harder this time. This only because I didn't pay attention. And this only because of how I felt the tests ran. They took my blood pressure and it came out at 160/80, the highest blood pressure reading I have ever had, to my knowledge. I don't have high blood pressure. But the figure remains in the testing documents. I should have had them take it again. It was only taken once. So I submitted other readings from other doctors. Am I too anal? Will this be a red flag when they look at the documents I sent today? I don't want delays in getting my captain's license. Hopefully, this won't hold it up. I worry if my blood pressure is 130/70!
Except for an hour taken to go down and talk to our harbormaster about Cove issues coming up, I spent the time from 4:00 AM until 5:00 PM in front of the computer, mostly online. I also called the Coast Guard's regional exam center about six times just to make sure I filled out the documents correctly. They are always so very nice.
The sky was clear or partly cloudy all day. The wind was light and variable all day as well. The ocean along the shore was calm. The visibility was excellent. The air temperature was mild, as compared to what we have been experiencing. The highest air temperature that I observed today was 44°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 48°F (with a low of 34°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 42°F (with a low of 21°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 43°F (with a low of 22°F).
As soon as the town office opened up, I went in to reschedule the Harbor Committee meeting after it was canceled with the weather on Wednesday. By law, you have to give the town's people a seven day notice. And since I didn't specify a rain date, I had to post the meeting for next Wednesday on the 14th.
From there, I drove to the Safe Harbor yard in Eliot to discuss working on improvements for the Bunny Clark. Before I finalize this I will have to consult the Coast Guard to make sure I complete what they want me to have done before the upcoming fishing season.
That done, I had to travel to Kittery Eye to order new lenses for my glasses. Glasses are so expensive now.
At noon, Deb and I met Betsy & Fred Kunz for lunch at Greenleaves. It was great to see them both. We had a good time. And it was nice to catch up with Betsy, where we haven't seen her in a long time.
The afternoon was spent on the computer setting up the plans for tomorrow and the weekend. I plan to come up with the schedule over the weekend. This will mean creating this year's reservation book, planning the long trips and working on prices. The weekend is a good time as I won't be pestered by vendors, etc.
I hate to admit it but I had a very interesting and enlightening talk with Greg Veprek today. Apparently, he has his health in order and is a physical force to reckon with. I don't know as he has gone so far as to train with the Celtics. But. knowing him, he probably has the training staff on speed dial in case he needs help. We did compare training routines, life, fishing and who we think should be the fishery Czar moving forward in the management scene. I'll give you a hint on who that would be; he loved fishing with Captain Kenton Geer on the Bunny in the old days. So everything is right in the world of Greg Veprek. No, we didn't discuss his love life. He also warned me that he would be seeking my presence for a future luncheon in Feburary. I've got to remind myself to get some sleep beforehand so I can stay sharp enough to sustain his dry wit when we meet. That's a challenge, for sure.
I did walk the dog this evening, where I didn't yesterday. Too much was going on to make the time. So tonight, at 6 PM, we walked. It was icy. And, to further protect myself, I wore wrist braces that I used to wear roller blading when I was ski training in the summer. Tonight, Gill had a harder time walking than I did. It was icy but also crusty over two inches of snow cover, with the glaze on top. At that time of night, the air temperature was slightly below the freezing mark. All those spots that warmed up during the day, melting spots, were black ice tonight. I stayed off the sidewalk so I could see where I was walking and stayed mostly on the Marginal Way, which wasn't as bad as the sidewalks. Anyway, we were slower, which is good for Gill. And we only completed 1.66 miles, which was also good for an aging border collie.
The sky stayed clear for most of the morning with clouds moving in. By mid afternoon, the sky was overcast. We saw the first drops of rain around 4:00 PM. But the rain became steady at 6:30 PM. The visibility went from excellent to good after sunset. The wind was light for most of the morning with a west to northwest bent. After 10:00 PM, the wind became established out of the south. Wind speeds were fifteen to twenty knots out of the south after noon and on into the night. The closest offshore weather buoy report showed a wind gust up to thirty-one knots at 6:30 PM. We did not see that along the shore here. I was walking Gill along the Marginal Way at that time. Sustained winds felt like fifteen knots at that time. The air temperature was mild all day. The highest air temperature I saw was 45°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 52°F (with a low of 27°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 48°F (with a low of 19°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 43°F (with a low of 17°F).
I had a lot of running around to do today. Canvasworks for side curtain repairs, the town office to pay the new year's bills, sponsoring the Ogunquit Playhouse, supporting Great Works Regional Land Trust, finalizing the requirements of the Coast Guard for the Bunny Clark inspection in April, setting up the new year with the Ogunquit Chamber for both Barnacle Billy's restaurants and the Bunny Clark, etc., etc. It was a run around day trying to get things done before the weekend.
At 3:00 PM, I took part in a meeting with representatives from NOAA, the Northeast Fisheries Center and the Planning and Development Team of the New England Fishery Management Council under the organizer, Kimberly Bastile, for an informational class on how to run the new tool to make model runs for acceptable recreational fishing regulations for the Western Gulf of Maine. We had a similar tool last year but some, me included, had a hard time running the tool. Last year I ended up having someone run the tool for me to come up with acceptable regulations that I ended up crafting into a motion that was accepted by all parties but was never implemented last season. This year, the tool has been made easy enough so that even I can handle the different model runs. It's also a lot quicker. And you can plug in all kinds of ideas (including cod season length, minimum size of both haddock and cod, bag limits, etc.) to see if they meet the muster. So, for the first time, in practice, I was able to get on line and start to run the tool. It goes online Monday. From then on, I should be able to come up with meaningful regulations that meet the acceptance parameters.
My main concern is keeping cod in May. We haven't been able to keep cod in May since 2014. So a proper model including May for keeping cod does not really exist. There is so much of a difference between the availability of cod in 2014 and now as to be almost unworkable. If a May cod season is accepted by all regulatory parties we could conceivably go over the acceptable sub-ACL (or recreational cod quota for the year). If so, we will be penalized in 2027. The thought in my mind is that if you have a directed cod fishery in May on spawning fish, this could have a huge negative impact on the spawning stock biomass. We do not know how much damage this could do in the places where cod spawn. The cod aren't spawning in May. But groups of potential cod spawners do stop in certain areas as they move to the spawning areas to settle in. I have tagged cod in these areas before actual spawning time and found that they did indeed end up in known spawning spots. So I'm uneasy about opening up the cod fishing in May. Just my thoughts.
Like so many days this last week, the sky started off clear for most of the morning. And like so many days this week, by noon, the sky was headed to the overcast route, which it became in the afternoon. By 6:00 PM, today, it was overcast and looked like rain. It was raining two hours later. It rained through the night. The wind was somewhere else in the world today. It was calmest day I have seen all year. From 8:00 AM until sunset, the ocean was flat mirror calm all day. The wind started to blow out of the east at 6:30 PM or there abouts. By 9:00 PM, the wind was fifteen knots out of the east. I lost track after that. The visibility was excellent during the morning, good in the afternoon in haze. The highest air temperature that I saw was 45°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 52°F (with a low of 38°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 48°F (with a low of 36°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 46°F (with a low of 28°F).
I spent the whole day on this coming season's reservations. As I wrote earlier, we are only doing the marathon trips this season. There will be no more extreme day trips (trips I invented for Ian Keniston and Jared Keniston), no full day trips and no half day trips. I loved all those trips. But, without an ace, like Ian, I have no desire to do them. So we will have fifty-nine marathon trips, my favorite trips, maybe a couple more. Or, maybe, less, depending on the weather, of course.
Deb and I went over pricing and the actual dates we will be running. I spent the rest of the day building the reservation book. In the old days, with a full season's worth of trips, it would take about fifteen hours to complete the reservation book. My father and I designed the book. For thirty years, he used to do it with me. It started by me going to the office at the restaurant where the copy machine resided. He was always there working, regardless of the time of year. He offered to help from the very beginning. The winter of 2012 was the last winter that he helped me. He passed away in 2013, July 16 to be exact, while I was on the Ultra Marathon trip. I was giving the boat pool to Ray Westermann for a pollock that was over 20 pounds at the exact moment he passed. I didn't find out about it until the Bunny Clark was an hour out. The boat was 59 miles offshore when it happened. I still build the reservation book the way I used to do it with my father. But, now, of course, it is without him. But I always think of him every time I start to work on it, in the office at the restaurant where it all started.
It took me seven hours to complete the book today. Some parts always take me the same amount of time. But there are less pages. So that took much less time. I got back home at 6:00 PM. Gill and I went for a damp walk of 2.1 miles. There was only one slab of ice on the Marginal Way that doesn't seem to want to disappear. Reminds me of the memories that I hope will never die.
After I had posted this report, I checked the visibility over the ocean and found that I could see the light on Boon Island clearly. I have to look out the very edge of the window. So I probably wasn't close enough during the initial viewing. The visibility was excellent all day. The sky remained overcast, I would say, all morning. I didn't pay that close attention to this. The rest of the day was mostly cloudy with clear patches of sky throughout. It was still mostly cloudy after sunset but there were plenty of stars that could also be seen. The wind settled in out of the north for the day. Almost twenty knots at times in the morning, by noon there was barely ten knots at the closest weather buoy. Less than five knots ashore. The afternoon saw very light wind and a flat calm ocean along the shore. We started to see westerly winds up to twenty knots at 8:00 PM. The air temperature reached a high of 42°F in the afternoon but was in the high 30s and low 40s all day. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 44°F (with a low of 34°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 43°F (with a low of 31F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 37°F (with a low of 31°F).
The first thing I worked on after posting this report was the schedule and rates for this coming Bunny Clark fishing season. So the stage is set. I have completed these winter projects much earlier than I did in the last twenty years. Of course, there are a lot fewer trips, were a lot fewer trips last season and less to write about and do this winter. I had more time. But I'm also leaving for England to watch football games for a week. So I had more drive than normal to get things done. Doing this won't leave Deb handcuffed while I am gone. She doesn't go with me to England. She does not like the climate. I love it.
I spent some time working with the model tool that came online for the first time for us fishery managers with the New England Fishery Management Council. It works great. The biggest problem, as I have mentioned previously, is taking cod in May. This is the time of year when the cod are first starting to spawn. But on top of this, the model tool has no data for cod since 2014 to run with. So anything we come up with on the cod side will be artificial with any tool presented to us. And I don't believe there are enough cod to catch. This has been proven to me over and over again in the last ten years of fishing. The cod we could potentially catch in May may be the spawners. This is the only way that the recreational angler can have an adverse impact on the cod stocks. We don't make a dent in numbers. We are a small fish as compared to the commercial effort in that regard. But, by fishing on spawning fish, we disrupt the system. We are catching too many cod commercially. We need to slow down on that end. But we certainly don't want to be adding to the impact on the recreational side. If we find, statistically or scientifically, that we took too many cod in this coming season, it will definitely affect what we can keep in fiscal fishing year 2027. This could come in the form of less haddock that we can keep per angler and no cod for the fall. This is not in the recreational angler's best interest. And how can you depend on bookings for the party/charter fleet if we don't have reliable consistent regulations that the patron can depend on to book trips in advance.
In an ideal world the angler would have a set of regulations that would be the same from year to year instead of being able, for example, to keep five haddock this year, ten or fifteen the next, cod one year and no cod the next. It makes a difference to those people who want to utilize the party/charter fleet. We, as managers, should strive for regulation stability. To do this I don't think we can keep cod in May. My opinion, of course.
I was able to get all my licensing requirements completed today. The two outstanding licenses right now are my captain's license and my letter of authorization for the Bunny Clark to fish on the closed commercial fishing areas, the western Gulf of Maine and the Cashes Ledge area.
Gill and I had a great two mile walk tonight. It was mild, 38°F, at 6:00 PM when we went. And there was no ice for the old man to fall on. One thing I will say, I don't take a flashlight and I don't walk where there are lights, if I can help it. So my route is a mile or more of the Marginal Way and around now uninhabited summer houses. Without the snow, it's much harder to see where you are going, like tonight. So Gill and I were slower. Or, I should say, I was slower and Gill had to follow. He stays right with me, fast or slow.
I also signed up for the Pan-Mass Challenge again today. This will be my twentieth year with this cancer project. In that time I, personally, with my involvement have saved lives and kept those who, finally, did pass to live longer. Of course, it wasn't me specifically as it was those donors who helped me fund research more than I ever could myself. So thank you. And I hope you will help me this year.
The air temperature dropped to 23°F at the house before rising again after sunrise. Just after noon, I saw an air temperature of 37°F. I never looked at a thermometer again. The wind, although very strong initially, started backing off at sunrise. It was still strong all day. Just not as strong. Wind speeds of twenty-five knots or so with higher gusts lasted through the morning. After noon, the wind started to back off even further with only a few gusts over twenty knots. After sunset, the wind was blowing out of the west southwest at twenty knots. The sky was mostly clear all day. The visibility remained excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 39°F (with a low of 28°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 37°F (with a low of 23°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 35°F (with a low of 23°F).
After posting this update, I had calls to make and painters to let into Barnacle Billys, Etc. They were there all day. At 9:00 AM, I had called a managers meeting at Etc. It didn't actually commence until 9:45 AM. This is a meeting I schedule every year at this time to start going over the employees who will be with us for the season, who wants to come back and who won't be coming back for various reasons. The meeting lasted until before noon. With the wind, it seemed cold today after such a mild spell.
After lunch, I continued off a list of items I need to address, including running the fishery model tool on various regulation changes and ideas. Work in the office took me until 5:00 PM.
Gill and I had a short walk tonight, a mile only. I thought it would be cold but, in fact, it was 34°F at the time of the walk at 6:00 PM.
The sky was a mix of sun and clouds today. Sometimes the sun won out but, other times, the sky was almost overcast. The visibility was excellent all day. The wind blew out of the west southwest at ten to fifteen knots for most of the day. I noticed that the wind was out of the south at sunset. But the wind wasn't much at 6:30 PM on the Marginal Way. The air temperature was mild today with a high of 43°F seen. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 45°F (with a low of 32°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 43°F (with a low of 25°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 43°F (with a low of 29°F).
Today was a mixture of restaurant related activities, Bunny Clark stuff and fishery management calls and decisions, on my part. This took me through the whole day. There was nothing really that interesting to write about that hadn't been mentioned in previous missives here.
Our border collie, Gill, has been benefiting by our nightly walks. He seems a lot less lame and with much more energy. Tonight, starting at 6:30 PM we walked, two miles. In the process, we did a combination of light sprints up the hills and slow walking. When I came to the base of a hill, I would run to the top, only to find Gill right by my side when I got there. And, I must say, he was very pleased with himself. At the end, he seemed the most happy that he has been. This may be an anthropomorphic thing on my part. But it really did seem it. In the house, a half hour later, he was laid out, dead to the world.
The thin overcast became thicker and thicker as the day progressed. It started raining around 5:30 PM. It continued to rain lightly until I went to bed. The visibility was excellent until it wasn't around sunset. It was very good at that time but deteriorated as the night progressed. It was another mild day throughout southern Maine. The highest air temperature that I saw was balmy 50°F. The wind blew out of the south southwest to fifteen knots max for the first part of the morning, dying out as the morning progressed. For the rest of the day, the afternoon and evening, the wind blew out of the south. Seemed that every time I checked it was ten knots. The house faces the south so we had the full brunt to know. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 29°F (with a low of 6°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 9°F (with a low of -1°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 7°F (with a low of -6°F).
I worked on getting this site up to 2026 standards for the early part of the morning. For the rest of the morning and the afternoon, I worked at Barnacle Billy's, Etc. restaurant. The painters were there and the carpenters were there shoring up the dining room floor in preparation for the new carpet tiles. I'm hoping these carpet tiles will be a vast improvement in the looks and maintenance in the future. Later in the morning, Jay, from Canvasworks, met me at the restaurant to start the design and production of bench seat cushions. He had also completed the repair of the side curtains for the Bunny Clark. So he brought those with him, saving me a trip.
By 3:45 PM, I was ready to chair the annual meeting of the Ogunquit Harbor Committee in the fire station in town. This lasted an hour and a half. Basically, we were all informed of the footbridge project which is being put on hold until the National Environmental Policy Act permit is in our hot little hands. This is a federal permit needed to start construction. We can't even hire anyone to start until this is received. It almost seems that it will be the winter of 2027/28 before we can get this off the ground. By then, prices will have increased.
The rest of the time spent was on house keeping issues and three ideas we want to put before the Select Board. Hopefully, I will be able to get the minutes of the meeting written up tomorrow morning.
It was raining when I finally found time to walk our dog, Gill. So it wasn't a good night for a freedom run. Nor did I have the time to do so.
I left to meet Andy Armitage at Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts on the afternoon of January 16th. We flew overnight to London, England to begin a nine day spell of watching English football games until I was to fly back today, which I did. I got home at 3:00 PM. There was a couple of inches of snow at Logan when we landed. In fact, there were only two flights that left London today for arrival in the coastal U.S. north of Florida. Mine was the only flight from England to Boston. Andy's flight to Charlotte, North Carolina was canceled on the same day, due to fly out tomorrow. He stayed in London and watched football games all day and the Patriots' game at night.
I believe that this is the seventh year that I have flown to England to watch football games. I am totally enamored by it. I wouldn't have given you the powder to blow the notion of watching a soccer game out of the room before the World Cup over eight years ago, before that. I could have cared less. But then Leicester City, located in the eastern Midlands, England, won the Primier League (England's biggest league) in May of 2016. Andy Armitage is as huge Leicester fan. I had been riding road bikes with him for a few years before. He had become a good friend of mine by the time that Leicester had won the League. He was excited about the win. His excitement spilled over on to me. Slowly but surely I got interested in the game as I became less and less enchanted with the National Hockey League, a sports league I had loved, the Boston Bruins specifically, since I was a young boy. The NHL has been diluted so much in the last fifteen years, I have lost interest. I still like to watch a Bruins hockey game occasionally. But I don't follow it enough to even know the players now. When I do need to know anything, I call my brother, Courtland, to give me the details. I have become a sad Leicester City fan first (They haven't been doing well as of the last three years). All the other American sports come in second. I have always been a Patriots fan. But I have never been an American football fan in general.
So Andy drove me around England to watch Leicester City games, three of them. One in Wrexham, Wales, one in Coventry, England and a home game in Leicester. They didn't play well in any of the games we attended. It rained the whole time we were there until Saturday, yesterday. We saw every other football game we could on TV or the computer. We walked the English countryside and got soaked a couple of times. I loved it! But I'm glad to be back.
I got up at 3:00 AM this morning to go through my exercise routine, feed the dog and assess my snow shoveling demands for the day. I do an hour of core work every day including 180 to 230 pushups every morning, plus, before I start doing anything (except feed the dog - he gets fed at 4:00 AM). At 5:30 AM, I started an hour of shoveling. At 6:40 AM, the plow truck showed up to clear the driveway enough to get my truck out. They couldn't complete the job because we are supposed to get four inches of snow tonight, it was much slower getting everyone plowed and he needed to get everyone operational before he fine tuned all their jobs. I was happy they got me this early as I could have gotten the truck out if I had to.
I oversaw the plowing and then started some chores around the house. I settled in writing this update after 7:15 AM.
Book a Trip on Line
Click the icon to view a complimentary copy of the 2025 Guestletter.
