Bunny Clark Fishing Update

Gulf of Maine Haddock:

Recreational fishing measures - bag limits, minimum sizes, and seasons - are determined annually by NOAA Fisheries in consultation with the Council in order for catch to achieve but not exceed each stock's sub-annual catch limit (sub-ACL). The proposed 2021 recreational sub-ACL for Gulf of Maine cod is 193 metric tons (mt). For Gulf of Maine haddock, it's 5,295 mt.

The regulations above are the same regulations we had in fiscal fishing year 2020. The 2020 fiscal year will end on April 30, 2021.

Tim Tuesday, May 18, 2021

At 3:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 48°F, the sky was clear, there was no wind to write about and the visibility over it was excellent.

Another easy ride was had going to the fishing grounds. We had a very calm ocean, the visibility was nearly excellent and the air temperature was in the low 50s. We had some cloud cover but it didn't hinder a beautiful sunrise.

On the grounds, it was calm to start. The wind blew lightly out of the west once the morning got going. Wind speeds were light. Five knots or so. By mid afternoon, the wind had backed out of the southwest but only blew about 5 knots or moe. We had a one foot chop, at most, with no underlying sea swell. The air temperature reached a high of 60°F under the shade top. The visibility ranged to just about thirty miles. The tide (current) was strong for most of the day, moderate for the last third of the day. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds.The surface water temperature reached a high of 54°F.

Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 84°F with a low of 59°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 82°F (with a low of 44°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 78°F (with a low of 46°F).

The fishing was good, at best. The tidal current was just too strong to prevent the tangles. Anchoring or drifting was pretty much the same. The catching was nearly excellent. Landings were very good to excellent, excellent for three anglers. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. By starting with a minimum fork length of nineteen inches we didn't attain the boat's bag limit until a half hour before it was time to go home. We had no more that five truly sub-legal haddock caught today. In fact, I only know for sure that we had two. Legal landings also included a single pollock, a single mackerel, four redfish and thirty-three cusk. Released fish included about twenty long horn sculpins, a wolffish, fifteen cod of 5 pounds or more, seventy-six short cod, twenty-four sub-legal pollock and two sub-legal redfish. We drift fished and anchored. All terminal gear worked well.

Either Tim Rozan (ME) or Rick Schwartz (NH) was high hook with the most legal fish. For them, the catching and landings were excellent. They both had some fish on the line all day long as soon as their rig hit the bottom. Tim caught the most doubles of the day with haddock. He had five that I know of. I weighed three fish of Tim's. They included a 5.5 pound haddock, a 6.5 pound cod and a 6 pound cusk. Tim caught the most haddock that he has ever caught on the Bunny Clark today. He fishes with us a lot. Rick had doubles as well. Two of Rick's fish included the only wolffish at 7 pounds and a 7 pound cod. He too caught a pile of haddock.

Danny Clark (ME) caught the two largest fish of the trip. They included an 11.5 pound cod, the Bunny Clark's largest cod of the season to date, and a 10.5 pound pollock, the only legal pollock of the trip. Danny did not enter the boat pool. Todd Mallory (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the third largest fish, an 8.25 pound Maine state trophy haddock. This is the Bunny Clark's largest haddock of the fishing season and her only trophy haddock so far. I took a picture of Todd holding his haddock in the bow, where he was fishing. This digital image appears on the left. He also tied with Marty Buskey (NY) for the boat pool for the second largest fish, each with a fish of 8 pounds, the fourth largest fish of the trip. Marty's was a cod while Todd's was a cusk. I also weighed a 5 pound haddock for Todd. Some of Marty's other fish included a 6 pound cod and a 4.25 pound haddock.

Other Angler Highlights: Dan Bailey (NY) caught a 5 pound cusk and a 6 pound cusk right off the bat. He might have caught, collectively, the most good sized haddock of the trip. His largest haddock weighed 5 pounds. Nick Mitzov (FL) caught a 4 pound haddock early in the trip. I never did weigh another fish of his. Seth Greenwood (NY) fished with Todd on the bow. Seth's biggest fish was a 4.5 pound haddock. Tiffany Graves (ME) landed the hard luck award for catching the least number of legal fish. Well, someone has to be last.

I received a generous $50.00 from Todd Mallory sponsoring me in the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Thanks so much, Todd. You made my day once with the big haddock and then you went out and made my day again by supporting me in something I truly believe will help everyone. I do appreciate this. Thanks again!

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 62°F, the sky was mostly clear with high thin clouds and a bank of clouds towards the east, the wind was very light from the northwest and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. Ashore, the day was just about perfect. The highest air temperature that I saw was 68°F. But it should have been about ten degrees warmer. We had a light easterly or southeasterly breeze today bringing the cooler ocean air ashore. It was nearly cloudless all day. Wind speeds might have been as much as five knots. The ocean along the shore was calm. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 72°F with a low of 58°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 84°F (with a low of 48°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 77°F (with a low of 53°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind didn't blow; it was flat calm all day. The air temperature reached a high of 60°F under the canopy top. The sky was clear and sunny. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 55°F.

The fishing was excellent (no strong tide today where Ian was). The catching and landings were excellent. Most legal fish landed were haddock. In fact, not a single sub-legal haddock was caught today, a first. The haddock that were kept had to be nineteen inches fork length to go in the box. They were able to fill up the boxes with less fish, like we did yesterday. Half the haddock that were caught today were released. Legal landings also included nine pollock, one redfish and twenty cusk. Released fish included twenty-five cod of 5 pounds or better, many more small cod, a few small pollock, a few sculpins and, of course, the smaller legal haddock. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked well.

Ron Antanavich (ME) was high hook with the most legal fish. Some of his fish that Ian weighed included a 4 pound haddock and two haddock of 5 pounds each. Jack Judge (CT) won the boat pool for largest fish with the largest fish, an 11 pound cod. This is the Bunny Clark's second largest cod of the fishing season so far. The second largest fish weighed 10 pounds. There were two. Seth Greenwood (NY) caught one, a 10 pound cod, the third largest cod of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. Marty Nephew (NY) caught the other, a 10 pound pollock. Marty also tied for the Bunny Clark's largest haddock of the fishing season so far with an 8.25 pound Maine state trophy. Captain Ian took a picture of his fish with his iPhone. This digital image appears on the right. Marty also caught a 5 pound haddock. Seth also caught a 5 pound haddock and another cod that weighed 9.5 pounds.

Other Angler Highlights: Todd Mallory (NY) caught a 6 pound haddock and a 5.5 pound haddock. The 6 pound haddock is tied for the Bunny Clark's fifth largest haddock of the season to date. He also landed the hard luck award for losing a jig. Yvon Duquette (ME) landed an 8 pound pollock, his biggest fish. Dan Bailey (NY) caught a 6.5 pound pollock, his biggest fish.

I received several donations today sponsoring me in my cancer ride across the state of Massachusetts called the Pan-Mass Challenge. I support a research team who isolates the gene that creates the cancer, turns the gene off with chemical inhibitors and eliminates the cancer. Dr. Kate Janeway is the lead. Her team has, literally, cured several patients, one sent from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, New York where they had lost hope in treatment. This little girl remains cancer free a year after her parents moved to Boston to have Dr. Janeway work on her. Quite a story. Anyway, today's donors and their donations included Jack Judge (CT/ME) for $40.00, Marty & Elise Buskey (NY) for $30.00, Seth Greenwood for $25.00 and Marty Nephew for $50.00. To a person, everyone listed has donated to my cause countless times, so many times I can't keep track. All are excellent anglers. And all know how strongly I feel about the good that Dana-Farber is doing in Boston. Thank you all so very much.

Thursday, May 20, 2021

At 2:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 22°F, the sky was clear, the wind was very light from the east and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.

The wind was off the ocean when I got down to the boat in the wee hours of the morning in order to get things moving. Finding that my CHIRP sounding machine wasn't working made me sigh. There seems to always be something wrong on boats. Thankfully, I have another sounder that works well at 50 Khz but does not have the detail or clarity that my better machine has. It threw me off a bit as I spent extra time, to no avail, trying to get it running. Not! We still ended up getting off the dock a little early only because I didn't have to give the speech; all the POBs were regular anglers who have been with us many times before.

The ride to the fishing grounds was enough to sooth my spirits. The ocean was easily traveled. We had a foot chop due to a ten knot easterly wind that finally gave up on us about fifteen miles out. The ocean just got calmer and calmer until we reached our destination. The air temperature was in the 50s the whole way. The visibility was excellent. The sky was nearly cloudless.

On the grounds, it was calm almost all morning. Before noon, the wind started blowing out of the southeast. Light at first, the velocity increased to about ten knots. This produced white caps of about a foot, maybe a little more. The air temperature reached a value of 60°F under the shade top. The visibility ranged to over thirty miles. The tide (current) was moderate; much better than Tuesday's marathon trip. The sky was cloudless for most of the morning, a mix of sun and clouds during the afternoon.The surface water temperature reached a high of 52°F.

Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 69°F with a low of 55°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 81°F (with a low of 46°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 65°F (with a low of 48°F).

The fishing was very good; the current wasn't bad, the weather conditions were excellent and the ocean was calm. The current was just strong enough to create some tangles every now and again. The catching and landings were good in the morning, excellent in the afternoon. The bite was off in the morning. I could find the fish but they didn't hang with us much. We lost a bunch of fish which, to me, meant that there wasn't much of a bite. When the wind freshened, the fish turned on. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. We went with the nineteen inch fork length rule and ended up getting the boat's bag limit before the end of the trip. There might have been five haddock caught that were truly sub-legal. Legal landings also included nineteen pollock and nineteen cusk. Released fish included seven long horn sculpins, two short pollock, the legal and sub-legal haddock, a small sea raven, seventeen cod of 5 pounds or more, three short cod, a small halibut and two wolffish. Drifting and anchoring were the boating methods employed. All terminal gear worked well.

It was much too difficult to tell whom was high hook with the most legal fish. Everyone did so well. Everyone caught haddock over 4 pounds. Kevin Viel (NH) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 18 pound wolffish. This is the Bunny Clark's largest wolffish of the season so far. I took a picture of Kevin with this beautiful fish. The digital image appears on the left. The first fish of Kevin's that I weighed was a 7 pound cod. Jonathan "Griff" Griffin (MA) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 15 pound wolffish. This is the Bunny Clark's second largest wolffish of the season to date. Griff caught the first pollock of the day at 6.5 pounds. His biggest pollock weighed 10 pounds. The third largest fish was a 14 pound halibut caught by Paul Pearson (NH). To date, this is the Bunny Clark's largest halibut of the season. Paul caught some nice haddock but his biggest pollock weighed 8 pounds.

Karl Day (ME) was aboard today with Chris Roberts (MA). Both worked for my former deck hand, Tim Rider, who has been in and out of different fishing businesses since he left me. Regardless, Karl and Chris owe everything they know about fishing to Tim. Apparently, he did teach them well. Either man could have been high hook today.

Other Angler Highlights: Jim Quinney (NH) caught a 6.5 pound cod right off the bat. The largest haddock of his that I weighed was a 5 pounder. His biggest pollock weighed 10 pounds. And he had a fish big enough that it broke his monofilament leader. I have no idea what the fish was. Brian Leavitt (NH) also caught a 5 pound haddock and a 10 pound pollock. Chuck Lennon (MA) landed a 7 pound Maine state trophy haddock, his first in a long while. This ties the Bunny Clark's fourth largest haddock of the season so far. Chuck's largest cod weighed 8.5 pounds. His best pollock was 9 pounds. Steve Selmer (NH) caught an 8 pound cod, a 6 pound haddock and another haddock that weighed 6.25 pounds. Ty Kashmiry (ME) caught the most good sized haddock of the trip. He caught a lot of haddock, his, self proclaimed, best haddock day of his life. The biggest haddock of his that weighed was 6 pounds. But he lost a haddock on the surface that, for sure, was a trophy for size. Scott Leavitt (NH) boated a 9 pound pollock, his biggest fish. Bill Harding (ME) landed our third largest haddock of the fishing season today. It weighed 7.25 pounds, a Maine state trophy. But he also caught a 7 pound Maine state trophy haddock, a tie for our fourth largest haddock of the season so far. Jim "Almost Halibut" Blogett (VT) landed the hard luck award after losing the only keeper halibut we could have brought home. The halibut went after a fish that he had on the line and broke the leader.

I received three donations sponsoring me on my ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Those donors and their donations included Bill Murphy (NH) for a generous $100.00, Kevin Viel for $50.00 and Jim Blogett for $50.00. Thank you all so very much for your thoughtfulness, generosity and support. You know that this means a great deal to me. And I appreciate it very much!

Friday, May 21, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 54°F, the sky was mostly cloudy, the wind was light out of the south and the visibility over the ocean was good to very good in some haze. By 9:00 AM the sky was mostly clear and remained so for most of the day. We had some late day clouds but no clouds bearing rain. The air temperature was on the mild side on into the night with an air temperature above 60°F at 9:00 PM and a high for the day in Ogunquit of at least 70°F. The wind blew out of the south, lightly in the morning and ten to fifteen knots in the afternoon, dying out in the evening. The visibility was very good in haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 82°F with a low of 56°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 87°F (with a low of 53°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 69°F (with a low of 52°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at about ten knots. The air temperature reached a high of 58°F under shade top. The visibility ranged to fifteen miles in haze. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 55°F.

The fishing was excellent, the catching was excellent and landings were excellent for haddock. They caught hardly any other species today. The haddock bite was on from the time they arrived on the grounds until they got off. Today, however, there were some sub-legal haddock caught and released. The short haddock made up about twenty-five percent of all the haddock brought to the surface. They also released about twenty-five percent that were haddock of legal size. The bag limit was easily reached by the end of the trip. Legal landings also included a pollock and a cusk. Released fish included the haddock, both legal and small, a cod of 5 pounds or more, a few small cod, a few small pollock, one porbeagle shark and a sculpin or two. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked well.

Lewis Hazelwood (MA) was high hook with the most legal fish. Ian didn't weigh any fish of note that he caught. Actually, he didn't catch any fish of note, just a lot of them! Tim Rozan (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 7 pound cusk. He also caught the second largest fish of the trip, a 5.5 pound haddock. The third largest fish were 5 pounds. Bruce Fortier (NH) caught one, a cod. Marley Wentworth (ME) caught the other, a haddock.

Other Angler Highlights: Jonathan Griffin (MA) caught the most good sized haddock. Some of his haddock weighed 4.5 pounds, 4 pounds and 4 pounds. His 4.5 pound haddock was the first haddock that Ian could weigh to start off the boat pool. Doug Dart (ME) caught a 4 pound haddock, his best fish. Peter Bronder (ME) landed the hard luck of the trip for attaining high hurler status. Ouch!

I received two generous donations supporting my quest for a cancer free world with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. One was a $50.00 donation from Michael & Kerry Mithen (MA). The other was an even more generous donation of $110.00 from Tim Rozan. Thank you all very much for your help in this project. I believe in it. And it looks like you believe in me and the work I do to help fight cancer. I very much appreciate this!

Saturday, May 22, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 57°F, the sky was overcast, it had just stopped raining lightly, the wind was out of the south at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was good to very good in some haze. The wind never got any stronger. It did haul out of the southwest by noon and blew as much as ten knots. Mostly, the wind was blowing less than that. With the wind shift from south to southwest, the air temperature rose. It was also quite humid and muggy. I saw 75°F as the highest air temperature of the day. The visibility was good in thick haze. The sky was thinly overcast with the sun showing every now and again. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 89°F with a low of 56°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 89°F (with a low of 62°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 77°F (with a low of 57°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at ten knots, more or less. There was a one to two foot chop over a long sea swell of about four feet. The air temperature under the shade top reached a high of 60°F. The visibility ranged to ten or fifteen knots in haze. The sky was a mix of overcast and partial sun. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 55°F.

The fishing was good to very good; the sea swell disturbed some people's fishing. Almost half the anglers on the boat today were sea sick from the slow ups and downs from the sea swells. For those who fishing, the catching and landings were very good to excellent. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. They did attain the bag limit because there were too many anglers who were down and out from the dreaded mal de mer. But many individual bag limits were reached. In fact, everyone who fished got their own bag limit. Legal landings also included two redfish and four cusk. Released fish included cod that might have been legal if they could be kept, a few small cod and pollock and the haddock. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked equally well.

Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook. But he did say it was probably someone in the bow. Ron Croteau (ME)? Ron's biggest haddock might have been the 4 pounder that Ian weighed. Becky Searles (FL) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 6 pound haddock. She also followed this with another 6 pound haddock, the second largest fish of the trip. Chris Grant (ME) caught the third largest fish, a 4.5 pound haddock.

Other Angler Highlights: Sean Lacey (NH) caught a 4 pound haddock. Gideon Grant (ME) caught a 4 pound haddock. Ashton Smith (NH) also caught a 4 pound haddock. Lochlan Clark (NH) - obviously a relative of mine - was too sick to fish on his birthday and received the hard luck award t-shirt for loss of services.

Sunday, May 23, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 65°F, the sky was mostly clear with some clouds, there was no wind to write about and the visibility over the ocean was good to very good in some haze. Ashore, the wind blew out of the west southwest to start. By mid-morning, the wind hauled out of the west northwest and then northwest. After noon, the wind blew out of the west at ten knots. The air temperature was the salient feature of the day. It was hot, too hot for me. In Perkins Cove, the air temperature got up to 88°F. Around 5:00 PM, the wind hauled out of the north northeast and blew up to twenty knots. The came on all at once. And, all at once, the humidity and air temperature dropped to very comfortable levels, nearly instantly. Gusts were over twenty-five knots at times. By 8:00 PM, the wind was done, had backed out of the north and was only blowing ten knots or less. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds. The visibility was good to very good and then excellent with the northerly wind. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 90°F with a low of 62°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 86°F (with a low of 50°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 84°F (with a low of 52°F).

On the fishing grounds, there was no wind; just a three to five foot ocean sea swell under a smooth surface. The air temperature reached it's highest value yet with a figure of 67°F. The tide (current) was moderate. The visibility ranged from ten to fifteen miles in haze. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds. The surface water temperature reached a high of 58°F.

The fishing was, pretty much, excellent. The only thing to hinder it might have been the sea swells. But it didn't diminish the bite. And that's because there were so many fish under the boat all day time. The catching was excellent. Landings were very good to excellent. Landings would have been excellent had they kept every legal haddock. But that would have been too many fish. And, as you might expect, most legal fish landed were haddock. In fact, almost half of the legal fish landed were released as they would have reached the bag limit way too soon. There were only twenty haddock caught that were truly sub-legal. Legal landings also included four pollock. Released fish included a handful of small cod under 3 pounds, a couple of short pollock, a few sculpins, a small halibut and, of course, all those haddock. They drift fished for the trip. All terminal gear worked well.

Ian couldn't tell who was high hook with the most legal fish. Jack Judge (CT/ME)? I couldn't venture a guess. I would have suspected that to be the outcome before the Bunny Clark left the dock. John Anderson (NY) won the boat pool for largest fish with the largest fish, a 6 pound haddock. He also caught the small halibut of 22" long. Ian didn't weigh it but said it was about 3 pounds? Todd Pizzella (NJ) landed the second largest fish, a 5 pound haddock. The third largest fish was a 4 pound haddock caught by Morgan Olsen (NJ).

Other Angler Highlights: Jim LeMay (ME) landed the hard luck award for getting tangled in a basking shark that, eventually, sheared his line off, losing his jig.

Monday, May 24, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 51°F, the sky was mostly clear with some clouds, the wind was light out of the northeast and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. It was a bit cooler today but it was perfect. I saw a high of 64°F in Perkins Cove. There was very little wind in the morning. What little wind we did have was out of the northeast or north northeast. By noon, the wind had worked it's way around to the south. By 3:00 PM, the wind was a sustained fifteen knots. I saw a gust of twenty-two knots at 5:00 PM. White caps could be seen from the parking lot. The sky was mostly sunny, cloudless in the morning and a sun/cloud mix in the afternoon. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 66°F with a low of 55°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 71°F (with a low of 42°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 62°F (with a low of 43°F).

Maine state went to 100% capacity for restaurants and bars today. So most of my morning was spent dragging tables and chairs out of storage and bringing them down to Barnacle Billy's to be placed where they used to be. By 9:00 AM, the deck, the patio and the upper deck (over the patio) was like it was in 2019. It felt good to be back. The dining room at Billy's now has more tables but we left both partitions up in case the Governor goes backwards. We are going to feel the waters, so to say before those are removed. So it won't be totally back to normal but it is definitely closer.

There are no masks required outdoors on the property. But we are requiring individuals who are dining inside to wear masks until they get to their table; then they can take their masks off. We are getting there.

Tim Tuesday, May 25, 2021

At 3:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 53°F, the sky was mostly clear, the wind was blowing out of the southwest at a sustained twenty knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.

On the fishing grounds, the wind started out at fifteen knots out of the south southwest, swung south and then south southwest again. Wind speeds increased to twenty-five knots, more or less, during the last hour on the grounds. Wind speeds seemed to be pumping all day. For a small time period it would look like a lull in the wind. At other times, it looked like it was freshening. Seas were three to five feet, maybe a bit more during the last part of the trip. With the combined underlying swell, I was sea a difference of about eight feet in seas on the sounding machine at anchor. The highest air temperature that I saw was 57°F in the shade. The visibility ranged to over ten miles in haze. The tide (current) was wacky but a little bit more than moderate in strength. The sky was sunny with wisping high level clouds always present adding a bit of soft lighting to the ocean scene over the white caps. The surface water temperature reached a high of 53°F.

Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 79°F with a low of 53°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 83°F (with a low of 46°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 69°F (with a low of 49°F).

The fishing was good, just. The tide played a role. Certainly the wind and seas played a role, the weather cutting down on the mobility factor. But the conditions made some of our anglers sea sick, which didn't help. The catching and landings were very good overall. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. A third of the haddock caught were returned alive so we wouldn't catch the bag limit too soon. There might have been twenty haddock that were truly sub-legal by the letter of the law. The bag limit was attained near the end of the trip. Legal landings also included two pollock, two redfish, a mackerel, a herring and fifteen cusk. Released fish included one porbeagle shark (unintentionally), the haddock, thirteen small pollock, ten sculpins, seven small cod, three cod of 5 pounds or better and a wolffish. We tried drifting twice but it was too uncomfortable for the anglers. Anchoring was the main method today. All terminal gear worked well.

Either Bob Greenly (PA) or Steve Linn (PA) were high hook with the most legal fish. There was no question that they were in the zone for the whole day and not too concerned about the weather. Both are excellent anglers. Bob didn't have a fish of extraordinary qualities. Steve caught a 4.75 pound haddock, the second largest haddock of the trip.

John Patti (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 7.5 pound cod. This after hurling his guts out all day. He is one of the few anglers I have had on the Bunny Clark who actually got better as the seas got rougher in the afternoon. He wasn't perfect, by any means, but he fought on and, in my mind, beat it. He had a porbeagle shark on for a while before losing it after a long run on the surface. Mike Mendola (NY) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 7 pound cusk. The third largest fish was a 6.75 pound cusk caught by Kim Kurzdorfer (NY). Kim did very well indeed and admitted, in so many words, that she surprised herself with her success. She also caught the largest haddock of the trip at 5 pounds and caught another haddock of 4 pounds. I took a picture of Kim holding her 5 pound haddock with her boyfriend, Mike Mendola, beside and in back of her looking at the camera. This digital image appears on the left.

Other Angler Highlights: Bill Donnelly (MA) caught a 5.5 pound cusk and a 5 pound cod, his two biggest fish. He caught the most small haddock of the trip but did catch his limit of the better sized fish. Jason Ridolfi (NY) was third hook behind Steve and Bob. Shawn Lafferty (NY) caught the only wolffish. It weighed 6.5 pounds. His largest haddock weighed 4 pounds. We only caught four haddock today of 4 pounds or more. Shawn ended up winning the hard luck award for coming in at the second best hurler position and for losing two jigs. Our high hurler won the boat pool today so I couldn't give it to John!

I received several donations sponsoring me on my ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Those donors and their donations included Bill Donnelly for $50.00, Don & Shirley Spencer for $50.00 and Peter & Patti Vangsness (MA) for a generous $50.00. I also received two generous $100.00 donations, one from Steve Linn and the other from Bob Greenly, in Memory of our Great Friend, Mark Randis, Who Passed Way too Early. Another donation of $50.00 was received as an "eGift" through the PMC site from Tom Pierce (MA), a very nice surprise! Thank you all so very much for the support you give me and the help in funding cancer research. It means a lot to me to help in this project but your thoughtfulness means a bit more. So very much appreciated.

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 64°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the south southwest at fourteen knots and the visibility over the ocean was good in some haze. Ashore, the wind blew out of the southwest and then west. Wind speeds were as much as fifteen knots at times. The sky was clear and sunny but a bit hazy. The highest air temperature that I saw was 88°F. It was probably higher a couple miles inland. But it wasn't humid. It was, actually, pleasant. The visibility was very good in some haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 92°F with a low of 63°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 92°F (with a low of 60°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 88°F (with a low of 63°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at ten to fifteen knots. Seas were chops of two to three feet. The air temperature reached a high of 59°F. The visibility ranged to ten and fifteen knots. The sky was clear and sunny. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 52°F.

The fishing, catching and landings were very good today. The weather was not the debilitating factor it was yesterday, although we did have a couple sea sick. Most legal fish landed were haddock, again, by far. They were eighteen fish shy of the bag limit. But that was because they released quite a few legal haddock between seventeen and eighteen inches fork length. There were thirty sub-legal haddock released today. Legal fish landed also included seven cusk and a whiting. Released fish included just a very few small cod, one cod over 5 pounds, a couple small pollock, the haddock and a few sculpins. Drifting was the method. Bait was best today.

Tim Rozan (ME) 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 10 pound cod. He also caught the second largest fish, a 4.25 pound haddock. And he tied for the third largest fish with another haddock of 4 pounds. Buzz Leonard (ME) also caught a 4 pound haddock to spoil Tim's Ace! An Ace is achieved when one person catches the three largest fish in a trip.

Other Angler Highlights: Noah Chabdrek (NH) caught a 3 pound haddock, one of the bigger fish of the trip. Brian Bessette & Debbie Manning (both VT) landed the hard luck award for being tandem hurlers, the first tandem of the season!

Tim Rozan donated $60.00 of sponsorship money to help me fund cancer research with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. This cycling event is going off this year after doing the Covid inspired virtual ride last year. I had no interest in the virtual ride. But I am riding this year. And, really, I'm mostly interested in helping fight cancer. The fund raising. I do love to ride. And I do like seeing the friends I have met after fifteen years of being involved in this charity ride. Thank you, Tim. I appreciate your support.

Thursday, May 27, 2021

At 3:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 68°F, the sky was clear, the wind was blowing out of the west at eight knots and the visibility over the ocean was very good.

The ride to the fishing grounds was pretty straight forward. The wind was out of the west with a one to two foot chop. Wind speeds were no more than ten knots. The visibility was very good in some slight haze. The sky was overcast. It had rained lightly as we were headed down the channel. But we had no rain for the ride out. The air temperature was in the mid 50s.

On the grounds, the wind was lighter still from the west. Seas were chops of about two feet. The wind dropped out of the day by noon, leaving the ocean almost calm. Light winds from the northwest turned into northwest winds of ten knots or so.Seas increased again to one and two feet in chops. The air temperature reached a value of 65°F under the shade top. The visibility ranged from fifteen miles in the morning to thirty miles in the afternoon with the wind shift.. The tide (current) was moderate to strong (in the afternoon). The sky turned mostly clear and hour after arrival and clear with some clouds for the rest of the day. The surface water temperature reached a high of 52.5°F.

Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 83°F with a low of 62°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 75°F (with a low of 51°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 76°F (with a low of 52°F).

The fishing was mostly excellent. The weather conditions and seas were damn near perfect. The catching was just good as were the landings. It wasn't a bad trip but it was our slowest marathon trip of the season to date. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. But the average size was down. Half the boat's available bag limit was landed. Released haddock were just a skosch over the seventeen inch fork length size. Thirty percent of the haddock caught were released alive. And we had our highest count of sub-legal haddock. Legal landings also included ten pollock, nine redfish, twenty-one cusk and twenty mackerel. Released fish included twenty-two cod of 5 pounds or more, the haddock, twenty-eight short pollock, fifteen small cod, two wolffish and seven or more longhorn sculpins. We drift fished and anchored. Bait worked best.

Ny Nhath (VT) was high hook with the most legal fish and good sized cod. His largest fish was an 8 pound cusk with which he tied for the boat pool for the second largest fish. Paul Sibley (ME) also caught an 8 pound fish but Paul's was a cod. They shared the winnings. Ny also caught a 6 pound cod and a 7.5 pound cod. Bryan Martins (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 9 pound pollock.

Other Angler Highlights: Donna "DJ" Moran (NY) probably caught the most cod, both good sized and small. She didn't start catching haddock until the end of the day, when she took the jig off and replaced it with a bait rig. Dan Nye (MA) tied for the largest haddock of the day with a fish that weighed 5 pounds. His largest fish was a 7.25 pound cod. Scott Onorato (VT) caught a 6 pound pollock, his biggest fish. Dan Matusko (ME) tied with Dan Nye for the largest haddock by also catching a 5 pound haddock. Dennis Sarofeen (ME) caught a 6 pound pollock, his best fish. Dillon Martins (MA) caught a 6 pound cod. Jim Boulger (MA) was the other angler who tied for the largest haddock of the day at 5 pounds. Brandon Sibley (ME) caught the largest wolffish at 6 pounds. He also landed the hard luck award for no other reason than the guy who should have won it won the boat pool for the second largest fish!

I received a much appreciated $25.00 donation from Donna Moran sponsoring me in the Pan-Mass Challenge today. This, of course, is a cycling event where I try to generate money for cancer research through the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. I belong to a team that supports a doctor who is involved in genetic profiling where she isolates the gene causing the cancer and "shuts it off" by targeting the gene with a specific chemical, thus bypassing chemo and radiation treatments. This doctor, Kate Janeway, has been successful on seven individuals. The prospects for the future in this area of research are huge. Thanks, Donna. I appreciate the help!

Also, when I was down on the boat today, checking on everyone and making sure everyone had park properly, I noticed that I had a $50.00 bill in my from pocket of my Bunny Clark hooded sweat shirt. At first, I was perplexed. But then I remembered that I was wondering the other day if I wrote Jason Ridolfi's (NY) name down when he made a donation while I was up at the truck. I never checked until I found the fifty dollar bill. Sure enough, it was Jay's $50.00. So, thank you, Jay, for supporting me again in the Pan-Mass Challenge. It means a lot to me and I have always appreciated your support - even if I did forget to write your name down when I received it! Ouch!

Friday, May 28, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 52°F, the sky was partly cloudy, the wind was light out of the north and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. Ashore, the wind blew out of the northeast starting at sunrise and increasing to almost fifteen knots before backing off. By noon, the wind was out of the east and blowing less than ten knots. The wind went flat in the early afternoon and then hauled out of the south. Wind speeds remained below ten knots. The sky, mostly clear in the morning, saw clouds creeping in. By mid afternoon, the sky was completely overcast. It started raining at 8:00 PM. The highest air temperature that I saw in Perkins Cove was 56°F. The visibility was excellent until the advent of the rain. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 62°F with a low of 45°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 59°F (with a low of 44°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 58°F (with a low of 46°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northeast at ten to five knots. There was no wind after noon. The highest air temperature that Ian saw was 51°F. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds, more clouds on the ride in. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 52°F.

The fishing was excellent, the catching was excellent and landings were very good to excellent, a, damn near, excellent day of fishing on the ocean. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. About fifteen percent of the haddock caught today were sub-legal. The boats total bag was almost caught and would have been had they kept every legal fish that came over the rail. They didn't to that, preferring to put the bigger haddock in the boat. Legal landings also included nineteen pollock, nine cusk and twenty-five mackerel. Released fish included twenty-eight cod of 5 pounds or more, a few small cod and pollock, a few sculpins, a porbeagle shark, seventeen dogfish and a wolffish. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked well.

Kregg MacPherson (NH) was high hook with the most legal fish. His largest was a 7 pound pollock. His largest haddock weighed 4 pounds, a tie for the second largest haddock of the trip. Matt Longley (VT) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 11 pound cod. He also tied for the second largest fish of the trip with a 10 pound cod. His largest pollock weighed 9 pounds, the largest pollock of the day. Doug Maynes also caught a 10 pound cod to tie for second place. Doug also tied for the second largest haddock with a 4 pounder.

Other Angler Highlights: Andrew Cassata (NY) caught a 7 pound pollock to start off the boat pool. That was his largest fish of the trip. He also caught a 6.5 pound pollock. Caleb LeMay (VT) caught a 9.5 pound cod, the fourth largest fish of the trip. Derek Limoges (VT) caught the largest haddock of the trip at 4.5 pounds. His largest fish was an 8 pound cod. Dan Maynes (VT) caught a 9 pound cod. Tony LeMay (VT) landed a well deserved hard luck award t-shirt for allowing his internal balance to conspire with the motion of the ocean. He wasn't too sick, was he, Ian?

I received a great $30.00 donation from one of my better regular Bunny Clark anglers, Bob Mayer (ME), sponsoring me in this year's Pan-Mass Challenge today. Bob's donation came in the form of an "eGift" on line through the PMC site. Bob has been supporting me for years in this cancer research project. Thank you so much for your (continued) thoughtfulness. I appreciate it (as you know) very much!

Saturday, May 29, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 45°F, the sky was overcast, there was a steady rain, the wind was blowing out of the east at twenty knots and the visibility over the ocean was fair to good in rain, haze and, what looked like, fog. The rain kept up all morning and into the afternoon but stopped shortly after the morning ended. We were drying out for the rest of the day but the Cove was a bit wet from misting created by crashing seas in Oarweed Cove on the other side of the parking lot. The wind blew out of the northeast all day. Wind speeds of twenty-five to thirty knots pumped colder than normal air over Perkins Cove all day. The highest air temperature that I saw was 50°F at 8:00 PM. For most of the day the air temperature hovered around 46°F. The visibility over the ocean ranged from fair in the morning to good after the rain stopped. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 51°F with a low of 47°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 49°F (with a low of 42°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 50°F (with a low of 43°F).

I spent the day between both offices (Bunny Clark & Barnacle Billy's) and working the restaurants. Customers were grateful to be out. But the inclement weather prevented anyone from sitting on the deck overlooking the Cove today.

I took a break to put out storm lines off the Bunny Clark. It was dry at the time and the tide was high enough to make it easy to walk along the shore to do so.

Sunday, May 30, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 49°F, the sky was overcast, the ground and roads were dry, the wind was blowing out of the northeast at twenty knots and the visibility over the ocean was very good to excellent. The sky remained overcast all morning, or most of it, with no rain. At 11:20 AM, the clouds got closer and we experienced some misting. The roads stayed relatively dry until 11:45 AM, when it started to raining lightly. By noon, we had a steady rain. It rained for the rest of the day. Wind speeds out of the northeast increased to an average of twenty-five knots. It seemed windier. But this is because it was an onshore breeze. I saw 51°F late in the morning. That turned out to be the high air temperature in Perkins Cove. The visibility went from nearly excellent in the morning to just barely good in the afternoon. We had mist, haze and rain to keep us from seeing over the ocean. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 51°F with a low of 50°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 51°F (with a low of 45°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 53°F (with a low of 47°F).

The harsh weather didn't seem to dampen the spirits of Barnacle Billy's patrons. To a person, everyone was enjoying the day - inside. It certainly wasn't what we wanted; business would have been better had the weather been nice. But it is what it is. And you can't do anything about the weather.

Monday, Memorial Day, May 31, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 49°F, the sky was overcast, it had been raining not an hour earlier, the wind was blowing out of the north northeast at twenty knots and the visibility over the ocean was good. Ashore, it rained for most of the morning, light for the last two hours. By noon, the roads were starting to dry out. We had zero rain after noon. The wind blew lightly out of the north for the first part of the morning. Wind speeds of fifteen knots at sunrise gave way to six or seven knots by 11:00 AM. At 2:00 PM, the wind backed out of the northwest. Wind speeds were light and the ocean along the shore was calm. By 5:00 PM, the wind had hauled out of the south southwest at five knots. We had light wind going into the night. The visibility was good in haze all day. The air temperature reached a high of 59°F. At least, that was the highest air temperature that I saw in Perkins Cove. The sky remained overcast. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 62°F with a low of 51°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 59°F (with a low of 45°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 58°F (with a low of 48°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the north northeast at ten knots. This wind died out to nothing. The ocean's surface went calm half way into the fishing. Ocean sea swells started out at four to six feet but dropped to two to four feet before they made the trek back to Perkins Cove. The air temperature reached a high of 52°F under the canopy top. The visibility ranged from five to fifteen miles in fog and haze. The sky was overcast all day. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 50°F on the fishing grounds.

The fishing was very good, the catching was very good as were the landings. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. Two thirds of all the haddock caught were landed. Only a few that were released were too small. The boat bag limit was not attained. Although they were close. Legal landings also included seven cusk, a whiting and one pollock. Released fish included three cod of 5 pounds or more, twenty short haddock, a couple small cod and small pollock, a porbeagle shark, sixty dogfish and a few sculpins. Drifting was the fishing method. Bait worked best.

Tim Rozan (ME) 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 6.5 pound cod. He also tied for the second largest fish with a 5 pound pollock, the only legal pollock of the trip. He also caught the largest haddock of the day at 4 pounds. Joe Columbus (MA) also tied for the second largest fish with two cod of 5 pounds each.

Other Angler Highlights: Patti Conk (VT) caught the second largest haddock of the trip at 3.5 pounds. Ed Kim (CT) landed the hard luck award for getting the most dogfish, losing a porbeagle, all on his birthday. This was his fiftieth birthday trip. I wish I were fifty again!

I received several donations sponsoring me in this year's Pan-Mass Challenge, a ride to support cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. The donors and their donations are as follows: Dennis Hartigan (ME) for $20.00, Tim Rozan (his third donation) for generous $80.00 and Joe Columbus for $40.00. All these donors have supported me for many years and many times in a year. Thank you so much. Your help means a great deal to me!

Ian Tuesday, June 1, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 49°F, the sky was hazy clear with a half moon hanging high in the southeastern sky, the wind was blowing out of the west just under fifteen knots and the visibility over the ocean was very good in some haze. Ashore, the wind blew out of the west at ten to fifteen knots for most of the morning and then backed out of the west southwest. The sky was sunny all day. The air temperature reached a high of 79°F in Perkins Cove - or, at least, that's what I saw. The visibility was very good in some haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 77°F with a low of 54°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 78°F (with a low of 41°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 77°F (with a low of 46°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the west at ten to five knots. The ocean's surface was calm over a swell that was about three feet high in the morning and about one to two feet in the afternoon. The air temperature reached a high of 59°F. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles. The sky was hazy sunny. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 52°F.

The fishing was excellent. There was no physical ailments with today's weather, sea conditions or otherwise. The catching was excellent all day. Landings were very good overall, excellent for the first three quarters of the day and good to very good during the last quarter. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. About a quarter of the haddock caught were sub-legal but they also released almost as many legal fish for fear of catching the boat's bag limit. As it was they missed the bag limit by four fish. Legal landings also included twenty-three cusk, eight pollock, six mackerel and a whiting. Released fish included twenty-five dogfish, eight cod of 5 pounds or more, eighty-five small cod, a couple short pollock and a wolffish. Drifting was the method. Bait was best.

Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook. Marcin Korszen (NJ) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 9 pound pollock. Dave Dorr (ME) caught the second largest fish, an 8 pound cod. He tied with Dennis Hartigan (ME) for third place, both anglers catching a fish of 7 pounds. Dave's fish was a cod while Dennis' fish was a pollock.

Other Angler Highlights: Larry Mazza (MA) caught the largest haddock at 4.5 pounds. Bruno Rodzen (NJ) caught the second largest haddock at 4 pounds. He also caught the only wolffish at 6.5 pounds, the fourth largest fish of the trip. Craig Belongie (MA) was catching so many cod on the jig, he switched to bait. That did the trick as he started catching haddock! John Mazza (MA) landed the hard luck award for getting the most tangled lines.

I received two donations sponsoring me in this year's Pan-Mass Challenge, a ride to fund cancer research. Craig Belongie was one with a $20.00 donation. Tom Tovitsky (MA) was the other, also with a $20.00 donation. Thank you both so very much for thinking of me and the cancer project I am involved with. Both donations were unexpected but very much appreciated. I have to say that Craig has been very generous over the years.

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 55°F, the sky was clear with a half moon hanging high in the southeastern sky, the wind was very light out of the west and the visibility over the ocean was very good in some haze. Ashore, it was a gorgeous day. The wind was fairly light from the west or northwest in the morning. Maybe ten knots at most. The wind hauled out of the south after a brief calm spell. By 3:00 PM, the wind was blowing out of the south at almost fifteen knots. Chops could be seen from shore. The air temperature was perfect. I saw a high of 68°F in Perkins Cove - probably the result of the cooler southerly wind blowing over the parking lot. If every day would have that high temperature, it would be perfect for me. Alas, this will not happen. In fact, just a short ways inland, the air temperature was nearly 80°F. The sky was clear all day. The visibility was very good in haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 79°F with a low of 58°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 83°F (with a low of 44°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 79°F (with a low of 47°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at five knots or less. The ocean's surface was calm all day over a long two foot ocean sea swell. The air temperature reached a high of 62°F. The visibility ranged to fifteen miles in haze. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was sunny all day. The surface water temperature reached a high of 52°F.

The fishing was excellent. The catching was nearly excellent. Landings were very good overall. Most legal fish landed were haddock, again, by far, again. We are certainly thankful for this. The boat's bag limit could have been reached but was not because so many fish of the seventeen inch variety were released. Short haddock amounted to about ten percent of the haddock caught today. Legal landings also included two pollock, thirty-four cusk, six mackerel and a whiting. Released fish included five dogfish, the short haddock, one cod of 5 pounds or more, a few sculpins, two wolffish and a few short cod and pollock. Drifting was the method. Everyone used bait today.

Ian could not tell me who was high hook. How could he? Reggie Guay (NH) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 12 pound wolffish. This is the Bunny Clark's fourth largest wolffish of the fishing season to date. The second largest fish was a 10 pound cod caught by Patty Bergeron (VT). Diane Godbout (NH) caught the third largest fish, a 9 pound wolffish.

Other Angler Highlights: Randy Bergeron (VT) caught a 3.5 pound haddock, one of the bigger haddock caught early in the trip. Chris Cram (ME) caught a 6.5 pound cusk. Jody Baraks (IA) landed a 7 pound cusk. Randy Clark (VT) caught the biggest cusk at 8 pounds. This is what you would expect from a distant relative of mine! Mike Hopps (NH) caught the largest haddock of the day at 4 pounds. He was also the only angler to get sea sick. This, of course, won him the hardest luck of the day award!

I received three donations sponsoring me in my cancer fund raising drive with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. The donations and donors are as follows: $50.00 from Julie Twombly (ME) in the form of an "eGift" through the PMC site, $25.00 from Chris Cram and $40.00 from Mark Coleman (NY), who was on the boat today and who always donates to my cause. Thank you all so very much for your kindness, thoughtfulness and generosity. I do really appreciate it so much!

Thursday, June 3, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 61°F, the sky was thinly overcast with a crescent moon hanging high in the eastern sky, the wind was blowing out of the south at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was very good at least. The wind blew out of the south all day. Ten knots was the rule all morning. After noon, the southerly wind started to increase. By mid afternoon, wind speeds had increased to fifteen knots, to gusts of twenty knots later in the afternoon. Around sunset, the wind started to back off but then increased after that out of the south southwest. This wind was blowing at fifteen knots when I went to bed. The air temperature reached a high of 68°F in Perkins Cove, that I saw. The sky was sunny at, it seemed, all times. But I would say that it was mostly cloudy. It just wasn't overcast and it never rained except very briefly at 8:30 PM. The visibility was very good in haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 76°F with a low of 60°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 80°F (with a low of 60°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 69°F (with a low of 58°F).

As you know, I don't usually work in the restaurants on Thursdays. So today I was able to get a lot of work completed that wouldn't normally happen. It will be nice to start off Friday having already completed some of these tasks.

The day, overall, was quiet. There wasn't a lot of business in town. So there isn't really much to report. Next time!

Friday, June 4, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 65°F, the sky was overcast, there was rain water on the roads, the wind was blowing out of the south southwest at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was very good in some haze. Ashore, we had a mix of sun and clouds. At times it even looked like it was going to rain. But it didn't. The air temperature warmed up nicely with a high, that I saw in Perkins Cove of 79°F. The visibility seemed good to very good. The wind blew out of the southwest, to start, at almost fifteen knots. It looked this it was going to air-on. It didn't. As soon as it started to breeze up, it seemed to start dropping off. By noon, we had no wind at all. The wind blew out of the south during the afternoon with wind speeds of six or eight knots. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 81°F with a low of 66°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 80°F (with a low of 59°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 78°F (with a low of 59°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at ten to five knots. Seas were chops of a foot over a long rolling two foot swell. The air temperature reached a high of 62°F. The visibility ranged to about three miles in haze and fog. The sky was mostly overcast. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 53°F.

The fishing was excellent. Conditions were perfect for humans on the high seas. The catching was very good to excellent. Landings were good to very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. But there was a big change in size. For the first time this season, most haddock caught were sub-legal in size. In fact, sixty-five percent of all the haddock caught were too small to keep. Legal landings also included three pollock, one redfish, one cusk and twelve mackerel. Released fish included three cod of 5 pounds or more, thirty-five small cod, no dogfish, all those short haddock, a couple small pollock and twelve mackerel. I'm sure there were also some long horn sculpins thrown back but Ian didn't say anything about them. They drift fished all day. Bait worked best.

Pat Dean (ME) was high hook with the most legal fish. His largest fish was a 7 pound cod, the second largest fish of the trip. Marty Buskey (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 7.25 pound cod. The third largest fish were both 5 pounds, both cod and both caught by the same angler. Brian McCormick (VT) was that angler.

Other Angler Highlights; Dave Grabowski (MA) caught the two biggest haddock of the trip. One weighed 3.5 pounds and the other weighed 3 pounds. Roy Dean (PA) landed the hardest luck of the trip award for the most tangled lines. I don't think anyone had hard luck today. But there you are. Someone always has to be picked!

I had two anglers contribute to my cancer research fund with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Roy Dean gave a generous $100.00 in the form of an "eGift" through the PMC site while Marty & Elise Buskey donated another $30.00 to the cause. Marty & Elise donate, or have donated, all year long during most seasons. Thank you all so very much for the support and help. I appreciate it but so many other appreciate it more and, disappointing to me, will never know the true heroes of the cause.

Saturday, June 5, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 65°F, the sky was overcast, there was rain water on the roads, the wind was blowing out of the south southwest at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was very good in some haze. The wind along the shore was southwest. Wind speeds up to ten knots and more occurred after noon. Before that, southwest winds were light. The highest air temperature that I saw was 88°F. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds but mostly sunny all day. Later in the afternoon, a rain cloud showed up with very light rain for a half hour. That was all the rain we had for the day. The visibility was very good. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 91°F with a low of 63°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 91°F (with a low of 54°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 86°F (with a low of 56°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at five to ten knots. Seas were chops of one to two feet over a long ocean swell that averaged about two feet. The air temperature reached a season's high of 66°F today. The visibility ranged from a half mile in fog to five miles in haze. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was sunny all day. The surface water temperature reached a high of 55°F. The surface water is taking it's sweet time to warm this season.

The fishing was excellent. The catching was excellent. Landings would have been excellent but the fish, mostly haddock, were smaller again. Smaller fish, less pounds of fillets. With a bag limit, that is important. They had very good numbers of legal fish. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. There were just a few more legal haddock caught than sub-legal fish. Of the total haddock caught, fifty-two percent were of legal size. Legal landings also included seven cusk and twenty-five mackerel. Released fish included not a single cod of 5 pounds or more, very few small cod, a couple small pollock and the haddock. Drifting was the method. Everyone used bait and cod flies.

Hal Flanagan (MA) was high hook with the most legal fish. He also caught the third largest fish of the trip, a 4 pound haddock. Lee Foster (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 5 pound haddock. The second largest fish was a 4.5 pound haddock caught by Tim MacVeigh (NY).

Other Angler Highlights: Luke Ciesla (NH) landed the hard luck award for being on the leeward side of a patron blowing feed. Luke was actually a bit too close.

Sunday, June 6, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 71°F, the sky was mostly overcast, the wind was very light out of the southwest and the visibility over the ocean was very good in less haze than I expected. Ashore, the wind blew out of the southwest for the day. Wind speeds were light. The closest offshore buoy gave southerly winds in the afternoon. But we never did see that wind direction near shore. The air temperature was high and got to 90°F in Perkins Cove. It was muggy but the humidity wasn't what it could have been - thank God! The visibility was very good in haze. The sky was mostly clear all day with no rain. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 94°F with a low of 70°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 93°F (with a low of 62°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 87°F (with a low of 68°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at five knots, at most. The ocean was calm over a long rolling sea swell of two to three feet. The air temperature reached a high of 68°F. The visibility ranged from ten to fifteen miles in haze. There was no fog today. The sky was sunny. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 57°F.

The fishing was excellent, a perfect day for sailing humans on the high seas with very few dogfish to bother. The catching was very good. Landings were good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock size was smaller so that the boat size limit was dropped back to seventeen inches caliper fork length. There were fifty haddock released that were shorter than that. In other words, about seventy-five percent of the haddock caught were kept. Legal landings also included one pollock, one redfish, two cusk and six mackerel. Released fish included fifteen small cod, two cod of 4.5 pounds or better, two wolffish, a small halibut, eight short pollock, a mackerel and fourteen dogfish. Drifting was the method. Everyone used bait and cod flies.

Wally Reid (ME) was high hook with the most legal fish. Bruce Reid (ME) caught the largest fish of the trip, a 5.25 pound haddock. The second largest fish was a 5 pound cod caught by Tyler Brewer (ME). Troy Boyd (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the third largest fish, a 4.5 pound cod.

Other Angler Highlights: Bobby Jones (ME) caught the Bunny Clark's eighth halibut of the year today. It weighed 4 pounds. Joe Davis (ME) landed the hard luck award for catching a wolffish over 10 pounds, holding it over the water while asking Ian what kind of fish it was and then having it get off the hook and fall back in the water to swim away - never realizing that if it had dropped in the boat, Ian could have weighed it and awarded Joe with the pool money instead of the shirt!

Monday, June 7, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 71°F, the sky was cloudless, there was no wind to write about, the ocean along the shore was very calm with wind patches and the visibility over it was very good in some haze. Ashore, it got very warm. But we didn't have the high humidity to go along with it. The sky was cloudless all morning and almost cloudless in the afternoon. The wind blew lightly out of the southwest or west southwest. Wind speeds were ten knots or less. The highest air temperature that I saw in Perkins Cove was 92°F. The visibility was good to very good in some haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 96°F with a low of 73°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 94°F (with a low of 61°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 94°F (with a low of 64°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at five to ten knots. Seas were chops of about a foot over sea swell of about two feet. The air temperature reached a high of 68°F. The visibility ranged from ten to fifteen miles in haze. There was no fog again today. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was sunny all day. The surface water temperature reached a high of 59°F.

The fishing was nearly excellent, if you didn't mind a few dogfish. There were more today than yesterday. The weather was perfect. The catching was very good. Landings were good to very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was 4.5 to 1 favoring the legal sized fish. Legal landings also included six pollock, thirty-one cusk and fifteen mackerel. Released fish included two halibut that were never seen, thirty-five dogfish, twelve cod of 5 pounds or more, the short haddock and a couple small pollock. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked well.

Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook. George Hartman (WV) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 8 pound cod. George also tied for the largest haddock of the trip with a 4 pounder. There was a tie for the second largest fish of the trip at 7 pounds. Both were cod. Danny Yang (NH) caught one and Mike Graham (MA) caught the other.

Other Angler Highlights: Ben Mayol (ME) caught a 5.5 pound cusk. Chris Gatehouse (CT) tied with George for the largest haddock at 4 pounds. Chris' largest fish was a 6 pound cusk. Abraham Aviles (NY) caught the fourth largest fish, a 6.5 pound cusk. Bob Withee (NH) caught a 6 pound cod, his largest fish. He also believes that he hooked a halibut. The fight was less than a minute. George Ludington (ME) caught a 6 pound cusk.

As far as I could tell, this was Danny Yang's first trip on the Bunny Clark. He did well but he fought through sea sickness all day until he got back to the dock. I caught up with him a half hour after the Bunny Clark landed. At that time he was stuffing a sandwich into his mouth, having not had anything to eat all day. So he recovered nicely. He was fine, he told me. I found out later that he and Bob Withee came together. This made sense to me. I think that Bob makes his dory mates take a sea sick equivalency test. When Bob determines that the guy he might bring gets a touch of the mal de mer, he invites him on a fishing trip with him so that he (Bob) won't be the only one. It also takes the pressure off Bob. By the way, Danny landed the hard luck award t-shirt for his condition. I don't think Bob got sick at all today. Bob has a closet full of hard luck award t-shirts. By the way, Bob's time on the Bunny Clark is responsible for many of the good things we provide our customers on a regular basis, including the jigs sticks, to name one thing. I am very grateful to have had Bob place his trust in me at such an early stage in the life of the Bunny Clark.

I received two donations sponsoring me in the Pan-Mass Challenge today. One was an anonymous donation of $40.00. The other was a very generous donation of $500.00 from Kate Sullivan (ME) and Kathy Norton (ME). Thank you all so very much for the quality support and your kindness. I appreciate your help more than you can know.

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

At 3:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 77°F, the sky was clear, the wind was blowing out of the southwest at ten knots at most and the visibility over the ocean was very good in haze.

It was still 77°F when we left the wooden anchors at Barnacle Billy's dock and headed for the open sea. At the two mile mark it has already dropped ten degrees but it stayed around that temperature for more miles than I would have thought. But there was very little wind from the southwest. The wind did pipe up at the half way mark with a two foot chop developing. The wind was over ten knots out of the southwest. The sky was clear, the visibility was very good and the seas weren't big enough to be a factor.

On the grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at less than ten knots. Seas were chops of one to two feet. The southwest wind increased to fifteen knots with higher gusts. Seas increased to three feet in chops, more or less. This wind started to drop around noon. We were back down to ten knots out of the southwest by 1:00 PM, less than that by 2:00 PM. The wind came westerly after that. Seas were no more than a foot with a westerly wind of less than ten knots. The air temperature reached a high of 62°F under the shade top. The visibility ranged from fifteen miles in the morning to twenty or more miles in the afternoon with the wind shift.. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was clear overhead with clouds ringing the horizon. The surface water temperature reached a high of 55.5°F.

Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 95°F with a low of 75°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 93°F (with a low of 69°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 92°F (with a low of 72°F).

The fishing was good to very good. The conditions weren't bad but they were a far cry from the last few days. Plus, many more dogfish were hooked than any other trip so far this season. The catching was excellent, all day. You couldn't get your line to bottom without hooking some fish immediately. Landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. In fact, we couldn't seem to get away from them to get to the haddock. Although, the haddock was the second most prevalent species. Legal landings also included nine mackerel. And that was it. No cusk, no halibut, no redfish or even a sculpin or a sea raven. Released fish included two small cod, forty-seven cod over 5 pounds, forty-eight dogfish, two sub-legal haddock and fifty-two sub-legal pollock. Drifting was the sole method of fishing operation. We started with bait and jigs but we caught so many dogfish right off the bat that everyone went to the jig and fly combination.

There was no way to determine high hook status today unless you wanted to count fillets. And, even then, some were keeping fish together under the same number. The action was just too continuous. Ray Charles (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 20.5 pound pollock. This is the largest pollock that has been caught on the Bunny Clark this season so far I took a picture of Ray holding the 20.5 pounder and a 14.5 pound pollock that he caught shortly afterward. This digital image appears on the left. Some of his other fish that I weighed included two cod of 13 pounds each and a 10.5 pound pollock. He also caught an 8.5 pound Maine state trophy haddock, the largest haddock of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. I also took a picture of Ray holding that fish. That digital image appears on the right.

Dave Harris (MA) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 16 pound pollock. This ties the Bunny Clark's third largest pollock of the season so far. Jon Tesnakis (NY) also caught a 16 pound fish but Jon did not enter the boat pool Jon's fish was a wolffish, the second largest wolffish of the Bunny Clark season to date. Jon also caught a 13.25 pound pollock and a cod that weighed 13 pounds. The cod ties our largest cod of the season with everyone else who caught a 13 pound cod today. Some of Dave Harris' other fish included two pollock of 12 pounds each and the second largest haddock of the trip at 6 pounds.

Other Angler Highlights: Chris Cortez (NH) caught two pollock of 14 pounds each and another pollock of 11 pounds. Jason Fields (NH) caught a 5 pound haddock early in the trip. It was the largest haddock caught for most of the morning. Russ Watson (ME) had a bunch of good fish that I weighed including a 9 pound cod, a 10.5 pound pollock, a 5 pound haddock, a 12.5 pound cod, a 15 pound pollock and a 13 pound pollock. Barry Adams (ME) caught a 12 pound cod. I believe that this might have been his biggest fish today. Altough, he did land some pollock over 10 pounds that I didn't weigh. Adam LeBarron (MA) caught a couple pollock over 10 pounds that I did not weigh. I did weigh two of his cod though. One weighed 12 pounds and the other weighed 13 pounds. He landed the hard luck award for losing a jig to, what I suspect was, a porbeagle shark. It was a pelagic fish of some kind that was too slow to be a tuna. And Adam was involved in almost every tangle today.

I was very lucky to have people sponsor me in this year's Pan-Mass Challenge for cancer research. These donors and their donations included: Chris Cortez for a generous $50.00, Jason Fields for a generous $50.00 and Ray Charles for a generous $40.00. Thank you all for your generosity and support. It means a lot to me but it means the world to those living in hope of a cure. And, of course, that's the bottom line!

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 72°F, the sky was clear, the wind was very light from the south and the visibility over the ocean was good in a thick haze. Ashore, the wind was very light all day and variable in direction. Flags were limp. The sky was mostly sunny with some clouds. And we had rain. Twice. Once it rained so hard you could not see the other side of Perkins Cove from the restaurant. A hard tropical rain. It was very humid today despite the fact that the highest air temperature that I saw was 85°F. With the humidity, it felt warmer than that. The visibility was good in a thick haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 92°F with a low of 74°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 88°F (with a low of 56°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 87°F (with a low of 61°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind was light and variable. The ocean was calm with no sea swell. The air temperature reached a high of 79°F in the shade, the very highest air temperature we have seen on the fishing grounds this year so far. The visibility was hampered by fog in the morning and less so in the afternoon. The visibility ranged from an eighth of a mile to a half mile before noon. After noon, they had three to five miles of visibility. The sky was sunny all day with only high wispy clouds in the way of a perfectly clear sky. The tide (current) was moderate to strong. The surface water temperature reached a high of 61°F, the highest surface water temperature of the year so far.

The fishing was nearly excellent. The only thing to mar the fishing was the current which was a bit too strong. However, there were no dogfish. The catching was very good. Landings were good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, far and away. The haddock cull was 55/45, favoring the legal sized fish. Legal landings also included two pollock, seven cusk and twenty mackerel. Released fish included the haddock, a couple small cod, no cod of 5 pounds or more, a few small pollock, a wolffish and a halibut. Drifting was the main method. They did anchor once. I didn't hear of the anchoring success rate. All terminal gear worked well.

Peter Brown, Sr. (ME) or Peter Brown, Jr. (ME) were high hook today with the most legal fish. Bob Callahan (NH) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 12 pound wolffish. The second largest fish was an 11.5 pound halibut caught by Leo Saidnawey (ME). This is our ninth halibut for the season. It was also our second largest halibut of the year so far. We haven't caught a single legal halibut this year so far. Captain Ian took a picture of Peter Brown, Sr. holding Leo's halibut (right) while Leo (on the left) looks on. This digital image appears on the left. Leo also caught a 3 pound haddock, his biggest haddock. Actually, Peter's biggest haddock was also 3 pounds. The third largest fish was a 4 pound haddock caught by James Saidnawey (ME).

Other Angler Highlights: Jon Mandani (ME) caught a 3.5 pound haddock. Handsome Bob landed the hard luck award for the most tangled lines.

I received three donations sponsoring me in my cancer fund raising project with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. These individuals and their donations included: Rich Lawson (CO) for $25.00, David & Ilene Klein (NJ) for $25.00 and Joe Kessler (MA) for a generous $200.00. Thank you all so very much, again, for your support and generosity. It means so much to me. And it renews my faith in the human soul.

Thursday, June 10, 2021

At 3:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 60°F, the sky was hazy clear, the wind was very light from the north and the visibility over the ocean was very good.

We had a very pleasant ride to the fishing grounds with hazy clear skies, a one foot chop, light north northeast winds, mild air temperatures, plenty of visibility and very little tidal current. Since we also didn't have a full compliment of passengers, we made very good time to get to the offshore grounds.

On the grounds, the wind blew out of the north northeast at eight knots to start. This wind increased to almost fifteen knots with seas of two feet. Almost as soon as the wind started, it starting backing off. By noon, there was no wind at all. When the wind showed up again, it was the end of the fishing. A south southeast wind of eight to ten knots chased us home. The air temperature reached a high of 69°F under the shade top. The visibility ranged to over twenty-five miles. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was hazy clear with wispy clouds and cloud cover around the edges of the horizon. At one point it looked like it was going to become overcast but it never did. The surface water temperature reached a high of 59°F.

Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 76°F with a low of 59°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 79°F (with a low of 52°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 70°F (with a low of 56°F).

The fishing was nearly excellent. The weather was perfect. There were a few dogfish. But the dogfish only went after the baited hooks and not an unbaited fly or jig. The catching was excellent, similar to Tuesday's trip. Landings were very good to excellent. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was ninety-nine percent legal. There were only three sub-legal haddock caught today. The majority of the haddock caught were 3 pounds or better. Legal landings also included fifty pollock, the boat's bag limit of haddock, thirty-two redfish and twenty-one cusk. Released fish included the three short haddock, four legal haddock, forty-seven dogfish, nine short cod, twenty-three cod of 5 pounds or better, thirty-two sub-legal pollock and a wolffish. We drift fished and anchored. Anchoring gave us the most fishing success. All terminal gear worked well.

I have no proof but I do believe that Tim Rozan (ME) was high hook with the most legal fish. He had no fewer fish than anybody, he was hardly tangled and he aced the last spot when we caught most of our haddock. Plus, if you counted cod, he caught the most there as well. So I never counted anyone's fillets but I would find it hard to believe that anyone would argue with me. Some of the fish of his that I weighed included an 8 pound cod, an 8.5 pound cod, a cod double that included a 10.5 pound cod and an 8.5 pound cod (both fish caught on the same line at the same time), a 5 pound haddock, a 13 pound pollock and a 10 pound wolffish. Even I would have liked to have been Tim Rozan today!

Dave Paya (VT) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 18 pound cod. This is the Bunny Clark's largest cod of the fishing season so far. I took a picture of Dave holding his cod before releasing it. This digital image appears on the left. Some of Dave's other good fish included a 4.5 pound haddock, a 9.5 pound pollock, two haddock of 5 pounds each and the largest haddock of the trip weighing in at 5.5 pounds. He also caught the largest cusk of the day at 7 pounds.

Lewis Hazelwood (MA) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 15.25 pound cod. This is the Bunny Clark's second largest fish of the season to date. I took a picture of Lew as I did of Dave, just before Lew released his fish alive. This digital image appears on the right. Lew also caught a pollock double that included a 9 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock. He also caught the third largest fish of the trip, a 14 pound pollock. I also weighed a 7 pound cod and an 8 pound cod of his.

Other Angler Highlights: Buzz Leonard (ME) caught the most keeper haddock doubles. Some of his fish that I weighed included a 10 pound cod, an 8 pound cod, a 7.5 pound pollock and a 9 pound pollock. Penny Deforge (VT) caught a school of haddock herself. She had several 4 pound haddock but I don't believe that she ever caught one as big as 5 pounds. She caught three 6 pound pollock in a row. She also caught two pollock that weighed 10 pounds each. Abe Aviles (NY) caught a pile of fish himself. Some of his fish were two haddock of 4 pounds each, a 5 pound haddock and a 9 pound pollock. He also landed the hard luck award for losing enough line on his reel so as not to reach the bottom on one spot!

I received two more donations supporting my cancer fund raising ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Abe Aviles (NY) gave $20.00 while Dave Paya (VT) and Penny Deforge (VT), together, gave a generous $70.00. Thank you very much for helping me and those in need. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Friday, June 11, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 55°F, the sky was mostly cloudy with clear patches, there was no wind to write about, the ocean along the shore was flat calm and the visibility over it was very good. Ashore, we had mostly cloudy skies turning to overcast skies. At 1:00 PM, it started to rain. It rained lightly for about and hour or more and then stopped. The sky remained overcast for the rest of the day. The wind blew lightly out of the south or southeast. Wind speeds were no more than ten knots, much less for most of the day. The air temperature reached a high of 61°F in Perkins Cove. The visibility was very good in some haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 66°F with a low of 57°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 62°F (with a low of 51°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 61°F (with a low of 54°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the south ten knots or so, dropping to five knots by the end of the trip. Seas were chops of about a foot over a long sea swell of two feet. The sky was overcast all day. The air temperature reached a high of 58°F. The tide (current) was strong. The visibility ranged from ten to fifteen miles. The surface water temperature reached a high of 58°F.

The fishing was good. It was marred by the strong current today. There was only one dogfish caught. So that wasn't a problem. But a current creates tangles and tangles prevent success. The catching was fair to good. Landings were fair. Landings included twenty-four haddock, two pollock and thirteen cusk. Released fish included twelve sub-legal haddock, two cod of 5 pounds or more, a handful of small cod and pollock and a sculpin or two. They anchored and drift fished to cope with the strong tide. Only bait was used today.

If you asked Dave Paya (VT) how the fishing was he would have told you that it was very good. For him it was. He was high hook with the most legal fish, by far. And he won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 7 pound cusk. Between Dave and Penny Deforge (VT), they caught half of all the legal fish caught on the boat today with a full compliment of anglers! No wonder we were so successful yesterday on the marathon trip! They were two of our best anglers on yesterday's trip as well. Penny caught the second largest fish today, a 6.5 pound cusk. The third largest fish came in at 6 pounds. There were two. One was a 6 pound cod caught by Andrew Ferrell (MA) - who also caught a 5 pound cusk. The other was a 6 pound cusk caught by Mike Burke (PA).

Other Angler Highlights: Maggie Pierce (ME) landed the hard luck award for attaining high hurler status. She didn't quite go with the flow of the motion of the ocean.

And we had a family fishing outting today with the Fleming Family. They really enjoy going on the Bunny Clark even if they "catch nothing" - a quote from Mariner Fleming (ME). To commemorate the occasion, Mariner requested that Ian take a picture with his phone. Which Ian did. I felt obligated to post this digital image here. It appears on the left. Mariner is in the middle of the picture holding a 5 pound cod that he caught and released alive. To Mariner's right is John Fleming (ME). And on Mariner's left is his nephew, Luke Gaddini (CA). A good time was had by all. And that's what it's all about.

Saturday, June 12, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 57°F, the sky was overcast, it had been raining lightly an hour earlier, there was no wind to write about, the ocean along the shore was calm and the visibility over it was very good. Ashore, the day was perfect. The sky was nearly cloudless for most of the day, particularly in the morning. The wind was light out of the northwest this morning and then light out of the southwest after noon. The highest air temperature that I saw was 68°F in Perkins Cove. The visibility was very good. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 71°F with a low of 48°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 77°F (with a low of 54°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, there was no wind. The ocean was flat calm all day with no discernable ocean swell. The high air temperature was 72°F, no doubt high because there was no wind wicking the cooler temperatures off the surface of the water. With wind the waves that are created provide more surface area for colder air temperatures. I believe that 72°F is the highest air temperature we have seen this season so far. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles in haze. The tide (current) was strong but seemed to back off a bit in the afternoon. The surface water temperature reached a high of 61°F.

The fishing was good. With the weather conditions, it should have been excellent. But the current was still strong, creating tangles and affecting the bite. The catching was good. Landings were very good if your name was Dave Pineo (MA), good for everyone else. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was 60/40, favoring the legal sized fish. Legal landings also included one pollock and fifteen cusk. Released fish included twenty small pollock, eight small cod, no cod approaching 4 pounds and a wolffish. They drift fished for the trip. Every angler used bait.

Dave Pineo was high hook with the most legal fish, by far. Caleb Meacham (VT) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 5.5 pound cusk. The second largest fish was 4 pounds. There were two. Both haddock. One was caught by Alex Ramirez (MA) and the other was caught by Bruce Meacham, Jr. (VT).

Other Angler Highlights: Donna Meacham (VT) landed the hard luck award for not being able to maintain her equilibrium.

Sunday, June 13, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 60°F, the sky was clear with very few clouds, there was no wind to write about, the ocean along the shore was calm and the visibility over it was excellent. Ashore, it was a beautiful summer day. The wind was light from the south. The sky was clear, hazy clear. The visibility was good. The highest air temperature that I saw in Perkins Cove was 80°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 85°F with a low of 62°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 84°F (with a low of 49°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 84°F (with a low of 51°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at five to ten knots. Seas were chops of a foot over a long rolling sea swell of two to three feet. The air temperature reached a high of 66°F. The sky was sunny and clear. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles in haze. The tide (current) was moderate to strong. The surface water temperature reached a value of 60°F.

The fishing, the catching and landings were very good today. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was 78/22, favoring the legal sized fish. Legal landings also included three pollock, fifteen cusk, a whiting and thirty mackerel. Released fish included forty-nine dogfish, four cod of 5 pounds or more, a very few small cod, a few small pollock, a wolffish and a small halibut. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked well today.

Greg Carchid (MA) was high hook with the most legal fish. His best fish was a 3.5 pound haddock, a tie for the largest haddock of the trip. Tom Zido (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 14 pound wolffish. This is the Bunny Clark's fourth largest wolffish of the fishing season so far. Captain Ian took a quick picture of Tom holding his big cat just before releasing it alive back to the ocean. The shot appears on the right. In this shot, the fish is flipping around so much, Ian couldn't get a really good one. But the fish lived and the best part of the fish - head & jaws - could be clearly seen. Tom was the angler who tied Greg for the largest haddock with one that weighed 3.5 pounds. The second largest fish was a 13 pound Maine state trophy cusk, the Bunny Clark's largest cusk of the fishing season to date. Mark Belanger (ME) caught the third largest fish of the trip, a 12 pound Atlantic halibut. Out of the ten that have been caught on the Bunny Clark this season, Mark's is the second largest so far.

Other Angler Highlights: Andrew Gilbert (ME) caught a 7.5 pound cod, the largest cod of the trip. Nick Goldsmith (NH) landed a 7.25 pound cusk, his biggest fish. Scott Byram (ME) landed the hard luck award for getting the most tangled lines!

I received three donations sponsoring me in the Pan-Mass Challenge. One was from my college days girlfriend, Lynn Welsch (NM), in the form of an "eGift" through the PMC site for $50.00. Lynn and I keep in touch and she visits Ogunquit a time or two a year. She is what I call a fabric's artist with her quilts. Amazing what she does. Another was from Steve McGrath (NH) for $50.00, who used to own and captain a dinner boat in New Hampshire called the M/V Kearsarge. The last was from Chip Chiapponi (CT). All these wonderful people donate on a regular basis to my cancer research fund raising efforts every year. I do so appreciate their support. Thank you so much!

Monday, June 14, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 59°F, the sky was clear with very few clouds, there was no wind to write about, the ocean along the shore was calm and the visibility over it was excellent. Ashore, the wind blew out of the south at ten knots to start, increased to seventeen knots and then dropped off to about ten knots after noon. The wind backed out of the southeast at mid afternoon but the wind had no teeth with the shift and remained fairly light. The sky was hazy clear and sunny until 9:00 AM, when the sky became overcast. Light rain followed by 10:00 AM. Light rain continued until noon. We had no rain after noon but the sky remained overcast until about 5:00 PM, when a bit of sun showed. Then back into the overcast skies and light rain by 5:30 PM. The sky was overcast going into the night. The air temperature reached a high, that I saw, of 68°F in Perkins Cove. The visibility was very good in some haze and, maybe, a bit less in light showers. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 70°F with a low of 60°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 65°F (with a low of 57°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 70°F (with a low of 57°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the south at ten to fifteen knots. Seas were one to two feet in chops over a two to three foot long ocean swell. The air temperature reached a high of 64°F. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles in haze. The tide (current) had backed off to moderate after being fairly strong for the last three days. The sky was a mix of sun and overcast. The surface water temperature reached a high of 59°F.

The fishing was nearly excellent. If you don't like dogfish, it was less so. The catching was good. Landings were fair to good. One angler did very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was 55/45, favoring the legal sized fish. Legal landings also included four pollock and five cusk. Released fish included the short haddock, two cod of 5 pounds or more, a very few small cod and pollock and fifty four dogfish. They drift fished and anchored. Bait worked best.

Matt Luce (ME) was high hook with the most legal fish. He did well. Robert Carpenter (FL) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 8 pound cod. The second largest fish was a 6 pound cod caught by Larry Savoy (ME). There was a tie for the third largest fish at 3.5 pounds. Both fish were haddock. Jim "Chip" Chiapponi (CT) caught one and Josh Smith (CT) caught the other.

Other Angler Highlights: Zeke Butterfield (ME) landed the hard luck award for being the sole hurler on the boat today.

I received three more donations sponsoring me in my quest for a cancer free world with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. One was a very generous $500.00 gift from Betsy McLaughlin (NY). Another was a very generous $1,000.00 gift from Joe & Lynne Goodman. Yet another was sent in the form of an "eGift" through the PMC site for $75.00 from Bill & Marie Pimley (NH). All five have been supporting my cancer fund raising efforts for many years - generously. And I am so appreciative of their support. Thank you very much!

After all this, Steve McGrath, who was on today's extreme day trip, got a collection from anglers aboard the boat to the tune of $16.00, a donation to the Pan-Mass Challenge. Per person, it wasn't a lot. But it all adds up and is very much appreciated. Thanks, all!

Tim Tuesday, June 15, 2021

At 2:30 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 60°F, the sky was overcast with a light drizzling rain, the wind was out of the southeast so light that the only reason I knew so was that it was foggy and the visibility over the ocean was poor in black thick fog.

The fog was black thick while sneaking down the channel to the outer Cove and into the open ocean. I went between the can buoys and never saw either one of them. The whole ride out was foggy. I saw two or three boats on the radar but never actually got a visual on anything. There was a bit of a hubble on the ocean like a left over smooth chop but there was no wind and the ocean was smooth and calm. The fog never did let up until we were a third of the way from home headed back. And that lasted about ten miles before closing back in again.

On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southeast but only very lightly, a ripple on the surface of the water. Sometimes there was no wind at all. There was a two foot short roll like it was blowing offshore somewhere. But there was no wind on the grounds. And there was no wind on the ride back to Perkins Cove. The air temperature reached a high of 65°F under the shade top. The sky was overcast all day. It rained lightly during the mid morning. But this never lasted for more than half an hour. There was just enough rain to put oil gear on and then take it off again. The visibility was about ten boat lengths all day. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 59°F.

Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 73°F with a low of 62°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 77°F (with a low of 58°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 69°F (with a low of 56°F).

The fishing was excellent, the catching was excellent and landings were excellent. It would have been hard to have a better day than today. Most legal fish landed were haddock, followed by cusk and pollock, in that order. There was no haddock cull. Almost every haddock we caught was 3 pounds or better. We released five haddock that were close to being sub-legal but were probably, technically, legal. The boat's haddock bag limit was easily attained. Legal landings also included one mackerel and a halibut. Released fish included one hundred and eleven dogfish, fifty-three cod of 5 pounds or more, ten small cod, seventeen small pollock and a sub-legal halibut. We drift fished all day. Jigs and flies caught the most fish. Bait fishing worked well but was responsible for catching the most dogfish.

I don't believe there was an angler who was high hook. You could not get your line to bottom without hooking a fish. Technically, I'm sure someone had to be. But you would have had to count a lot of fillets.

Jordan Evans (MD) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 134.5 pound halibut. I figured that Jordan had a halibut on his line. But I never dreamed it was that big. When it was close enough to gaff, I wasn't really prepared. I had just a regular gaff instead of the flying gaff which I should have had. But I had called Tyler over with a gaff and I had Dave Struzik (VT) on my right hand with another gaff. The halibut came straight up with it's mouth wide open. So I put the gaff down it's throat and hooked the fish in the lower jaw. Then the fun began. I held tight while the gaffs were flying. Both Tyler's and Dave's gaffs came out of the fish but I still had the halibut tight in the jaw. When I saw that both Tyler and Dave had their gaffs in again, I said; "Let's go!" and we pulled it over the rail. The fish would have landed on me but Tyler pulled it sideways so that wouldn't happen. I couldn't believe how big it was and that it didn't take an initial run to bottom. I was a little disappointed that it didn't weigh my estimated weight of 150 pounds. But it might have weighed more had we not had to weigh it piece by piece. As it was this is the Bunny Clark's largest landed halibut. We have had bigger ones but have never landed one. Some of Jordan's other good fish included a 6.5 pound cod, an 11.25 pound cod, a 9 pound cod, a 10.5 pound pollock and a 12 pound pollock.

Jordan's father, Joe Evans (MD) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 15.25 pound halibut. It was sub-legal so we took a quick picture and released it alive. The digital image I took with Joe holding his halibut appears on the left. Joe also caught a 9 pound cusk.

The third largest fish was a 13 pound pollock caught by Russell "Rusty" Rose (DE). Rusty also caught an 8 pound cod and another pollock that weighed 7.25 pounds.

Other Angler Highlights: Dave Struzik caught a lot of fish, mostly haddock. Some of his fish that I weighed included a 7.5 pound cod, a 4.25 pound haddock, a 9.75 pound pollock, a double that included an 8 pound pollock and a 10 pound pollock (both fish on the same line at the same time) and a 5 pound haddock. Ed Setzer (NY) caught the second largest haddock of the day at 5.25 pounds. He also caught a 7 pound cod, a 4 pound haddock early in the game, an 8.5 pound cod, a 10 pound cod, an 8 pound pollock and, his biggest fish, a 12.5 pound pollock. Steve Cyr (ME) caught a 10 pound cusk and a 9.5 pound cusk. The 10 pound cusk ties for the third largest cusk of the Bunny Clark season so far. Tom Miller (NH) probably caught the most cod today. His largest that I could weigh was 9 pounds. But he caught another that weighed over 12 pounds that dropped off the hook right next to the boat. I would guess that it was 13 pounds, more or less. I knew it was close to falling off but I didn't want to gaff it and kill it. Rick Turner (NY) caught a lot of haddock. The biggest fish of his that I weighed was an 8 pound cod. Steve Clark (VT) caught the largest haddock of the day at 5.5 pounds. Sky Rose (DE) caught a 12 pound cod, his largest fish. He also landed the hard luck award for the most tangled lines and a backlash in his reel that I could not fix in a reasonable amount of time. I had to use a knife!

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

At 5:00 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 57°F, the overhead was clear with a mackerel sky pattern of clouds, the wind was light out of the northwest and the visibility over the ocean was very good in some haze. Ashore, the day was, what my father would have called, a "111" day. The sky was clear, the visibility was excellent, the air temperature reached a high of 73°F in Perkins Cove (to my knowledge) and the wind blew from five to fifteen out of the northwest. It was very pleasant day with just the right temperature, wind and sun. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 77°F with a low of 63°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 72°F (with a low of 53°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 73°F (with a low of 55°F).

On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northwest at fifteen to ten knots in the morning. After noon, the wind dropped and hauled out of the west northwest. Wind speeds had dropped to five knots by 1:00 PM. Seas were about two feet in chops over a swell of two to three feet in the morning and calm over the same sized swell in the afternoon. The air temperature reached a high of 65°F. The tide (current) was moderate to strong. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The sky was clear and sunny all day. The surface water temperature reached a high of 60°F.

The fishing was nearly excellent; the current was a bit too strong in the morning for a total excellent designation. The catching was very good to excellent. Landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was excellent as well with a rating of 10/1, favoring the legal sized fish. Legal landings also included ten pollock, fourteen cusk, five whiting and thirty-five mackerel. Released fish included eight cod of 5 pounds each, the sub-legal haddock, a few short cod and pollock and twenty-eight dogfish. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked well.

Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook. Everyone did equally well. Bob Williams won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 10.5 pound pollock. The second largest fish was a 10 pound pollock caught by Chris Sovie. He also caught one of the bigger haddock at 4 pounds. Tom Bruyere caught the third largest fish, an 8.5 pound pollock.

Other Angler Highlights: Cody Richardson caught a 6.75 pound pollock and a 4 pound haddock, his two best fish. Dave Crowder caught the largest haddock of the day at 4.5 pounds. Rick Jacobs landed the hard luck award t-shirt for hurling on the way out. He was fine for the rest of the day. He has never been sea sick before. I guess you just have to be on the right boat!

I received two donations sponsoring me in my cancer fund raising charity cycling event called the Pan-Mass Challenge. Those two anglers were Rick Jacobs who gave $25.00 and Tom Bruyere, my college roomate 1970/71, who gave $40.00. Tom has already given me $250.00 this year but this also includes some of the crew he brings, a wonderful group of individuals who can also catch fish!. Thank you so very much, everyone. I really do appreaciate your help.

Thursday, June 17, 2021

At 2:30 AM EDT/AST the air temperature was 56F, the sky was clear, the wind was light out of the northwest and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. More later.

The hunt for a number one deck for the Bunny Clark continues. I have had lots of inquiries to this date, but nothing conclusive yet. This can be a year round job if you are interested. But it is a lot of work during the season. The number to call is 207-646-2214.

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