Bunny Clark Fishing Update
Written & Edited by Tim Tower
Sunday, October 20, 2019, 6:00 AM EDT
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At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 41°F, the sky was cloudless with a two thirds moon overhead, the wind was blowing out of the northwest at five knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
Like Tuesday's trip, we had a northwest wind of about five knots and a one foot (or more) chop follow us out to the fishing grounds. Almost to our destination, the air temperature had warmed to 54°F. For the whole ride out we had a cloudless sky, excellent visibility and smooth sailing.
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the north at ten knots, maybe more, at sunrise. An hour later the wind was blowing out of the north northeast at ten knots or less. Seas were chops of one to two feet. The wind might have blown out of the northeast before it started to die out. But later in the morning the wind did drop. There was no wind by 1:00 PM. The ocean stayed calm with no wind for almost two hours. By 3:30 PM, the wind started to blow out of the south. We carried light southerly winds all the way back to Perkins Cove. The air temperature reached a high of 71°F in the shade. The visibility ranged to over thirty miles. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was cloudless all day. The surface water temperature reached a high of 62°F.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 65°F with a low of 50°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 71°F (with a low of 33°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 68°F (with a low of 38°F).
The fishing could have been excellent had it not been for the blue sharks. We had twenty-four encounters with them and lost twelve jigs in the process. The catching and landings were very good overall. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included ten redfish, twelve cod, Thirty-five haddock and nine cusk. Released fish included thirteen cod over 5 pounds, seven small cod, ten sub-legal haddock, one small pollock, three small redfish and twenty-nine dogfish. We anchored a couple of times but we caught most of our fish on the drift. All terminal gear worked well.
Paul Pearson (NH) was high hook with the most legal fish today, at least for the first half of the trip. In the end, it was hard to say between Paul and Joe Columbus (MA). Paul doesn't count his fish so I can't really conclude one way or the other. Joe did better on the bow for the second half of the day. Paul had bigger fish, overall. Paul's best catch was a double that included a 15 pound pollock and a 12.5 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. That was the best pollock double of the day. Some of his other good fish included a 12.75 pound pollock, an 11.75 pound pollock and an 11 pound cod. Joe caught the first fish of the trip, a 13 pound Maine state trophy cusk. This is the largest cusk that Joe has ever caught. And it was the largest cusk we caught today. I took a picture of Joe holding his big cusk. This digital image appears on the right. Joe also had, what looked to me on the sounding machine, a halibut. He fought it for quite a while. Ten minutes? The problem was that Joe also had a fly above the jig. On that fly a pollock of about 7 or 8 pounds was hooked. When he finally got the pollock/halibut combination into the warmer water above the thermocline, a blue shark grabbed the pollock. In the process, the shark bit off most of the pollock's body (leaving the head hook on the fly) and broke the halibut off that was on the jig. I never did get a visual on the halibut. So it could have been something else. But my experience and gut says, that if I had to guess, I would have to believe it was a halibut.
Ed Brozo (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 21.25 pound cod. He caught this fish as part of a double that included another cod that looked to be anywhere from 14 to 17 pounds. I tried to lift smaller the cod out of the water by the jig but it was barely hooked, fell back in and swam to bottom. I don't have it in me to gaff a fish we can't keep just to say that Ed caught one of the top five doubles of the year! Ed had caught an 11 pound cod just before that. Gene Casey (MA) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 20.5 pound pollock. This is the biggest pollock that Gene has ever caught and it's the sixth largest pollock of the Bunny Clark season so far. Gene's second largest pollock weighed 14.5 pounds.
The third largest fish of the trip weighed 19 pounds. There were two. One was a pollock and the other was a cod. Dennis Reissig (NY) caught the cod. Rory Casey (VT) caught the pollock. Some of Dennis' other good fish included a 13 pound pollock, an 11 pound pollock and a 15.5 pound pollock. He also had a small halibut that he brought to the surface only to have a shark bite the flat fish from behind. In so doing, it broke Dennis' line so that we never even got to land the head of the small halibut. How small. I can't tell you. The halibut was down far enough that I could see the fish and the shark but couldn't determine the size of either fish. Suffice it to say, it if was a legal halibut, it was probably in the 30 pound range. There is some doubt in my mind as to it being large enough to keep. Rory's other good fish included an 11 pound pollock, a 13 pound pollock, a 10 pound pollock and a 2.25 pound Maine state trophy redfish. I believe this is Rory's biggest redfish. I took a picture of Rory holding his redfish. This digital image appears at the upper left of this entry.
Other Angler Highlights: Mike Cushman (NH) had a bunch of nice fish. The ones that I weighed included a 10.5 pound pollock, a 10.25 pound pollock, a 10 pound pollock, a 12 pound pollock, another 10 pound pollock and an 11.5 pound cod. Craig Belongie (MA) caught a 12 pound pollock, his largest fish. Quentin Tonelli (ME) caught a cod between 14 and 16 pounds that I tossed back without weighing. I don't know what I was thinking. That was his biggest fish of the trip. Milton Woods (NH) landed the hard luck award for being the sole hurler of the trip. And he did hurl! However, after walking on the float next to the boat for a while, he vowed that he would be back to try it again!
I received a few donations sponsoring me on my ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Those donors and their donations included Ed Brozo for $40.00, Joe Columbus (ME) for $30.00 (Joe has given me so many PMC donations this year I can't begin to know what the total is without taking the time to count and add!), Dennis Reissig for $40.00, Mike Cushman for $25.00 and George Harrington, Jr. (NY) for a generous $100.00. Thank you all so very much for your support and generosity. It means so much to me that you believe as I do. And, as well, I have done much research in an attempt to earn all this trust. I really appreciate your help.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 46°F, the sky was cloudless again, the wind was blowing out of the west at five knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. Ashore, we had barely any wind at all. The ocean was flat calm all day. Actually, the surface of the ocean was calm. After noon, an ocean swell started to build. By 5:00 PM, these deep swells were about eight feet and long. There was a surge in Perkins Cove with the boats going back and forth on their moorings. If you watched, it looked like the boats were all heading out of the Cove at the same time. Then they would all be backing. The sky was sunny all day. The air temperature reached a high in Perkins Cove, that I saw, of 76°F. It was probably higher than that. The air was dry with zero humidity. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 79°F with a low of 52°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 81°F (with a low of 35°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 81°F (with a low of 42°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the west at five knots. The ocean surface was calm over a long rolling sea swell of four feet. The air temperature reached a high of 67°F. The tide (current) was moderate. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The sky was clear. The surface water temperature reached a high of 61°F.
The fishing conditions were good to very good. The fishing could have been better had the ocean not been so calm, there were a few less dogfish around and the blue sharks weren't so ravenous. The blue sharks weren't as bad as they were yesterday. But they were pretty bad. The catching was good. Landings were good at best. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was 68/32, favoring the legal sized fish. Legal landings also included eighteen pollock, seven cusk, thirteen cod and a monkfish. Released fish included three cod over 5 pounds, a handful of small cod, a couple small pollock, sixty dogfish and few blue sharks. Drifting was the method. Most used jigs and cod flies but all terminal gear worked equally well.
I never did ask Ian who was high hook. Lewis Hazelwood (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 22 pound Maine state trophy monkfish. This was the first fish caught on the boat today! It's also the largest monkfish caught aboard the Bunny Clark this season so far. Ian took a picture of Lew holding his prize catch. This digital image appears on the left. Scott Hubbard (NY) caught the second largest fish, a 16 pound cod. The third largest fish was a 14 pound cod caught by Jody Martin (ME).
Other Angler Highlights: Tim Rozan (ME) caught the largest pollock of the trip at 10 pounds. He also caught a 10 pound cod. Dennis Reissig (NY) caught a 13 pound cod, the fourth largest fish of the trip. Michael Powers (CO) landed a 9.5 pound pollock. Steve Fornier (ME) landed the hard luck award for losing three jigs, two to blue sharks!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 59°F, the sky was almost completely clear, there was no wind and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. Ashore, the weather was very quiet. The wind was light and variable in direction. The ocean along the shore was calm all day. The air temperature rose to summer-like temperatures. The high air temperature that I saw in Perkins Cove was 83°F. The visibility was excellent. The sky was cloudless for most of the day. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 83°F with a low of 65°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 85°F (with a low of 48°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 82°F (with a low of 54°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northwest at five knots, at most. The ocean was calm all day over a long three to five foot ocean swell. The air temperature reached a high of 71°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide (current) was very light. The sky, as it was ashore, was nearly cloudless all day. The surface water temperature reached a high of 61°F.
The fishing conditions were excellent, the catching was very good and landings were good, overall. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was two to one or for every three haddock caught, two were of legal size to keep. Legal landings also included ten cod, seven pollock, eleven cusk and two white hake. Released fish included four cod of 5 pounds or more, twelve dogfish and few small cod and pollock. No rigs were lost to blue sharks today. Drifting was the only boating method that could be utilized under the weather conditions presented. All terminal gear fished equally well.
Again, I didn't ask Captain Ian who was high hook. I had to get right into the engine room to change out the sacrificial anodes (zincs) and was preoccupied with getting this done quickly so Anthony could get home. So I missed the big ask! Roger Hopkins (RI), in particular Roger Hopkins fashion, won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 15 pound white hake. His second largest fish was a 10 pound cod, a tie for the third largest fish of the trip. Joe Dugas (ME) also caught a fish of 10 pounds, a white hake. The second largest fish of the trip was an 11 pound cod caught by Steve Boivin (VT).
Other Angler Highlights: Matt Edgar (VA) caught the largest pollock weighing 8 pounds. Angela Ridley (ME) landed the hardest luck of the trip award for being the most sea sick today. It must have been the sea swells. I can't think of anything that would make anglers sick on such a calm day as today.
I received two donations sponsoring me in my drive for better cancer research with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Roger Hopkins and his daughter, Kara Hopkins, gave a generous $50.00 while Betsy McLaughlin (NY) gave a very generous $500.00! Thank you all so very much for your thoughtfulness, generosity and support (of me) in this cancer project. I appreciate this so very very much!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 55°F, the sky was crystal clear, the wind was light out of the south southwest and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The day warmed up gradually. The air temperature was 75°F by 10:00 AM. However, when I looked at the thermometer at 1:30 PM, it read 86°F. I suspect that was the highest air temperature in the Cove today. The sky was nearly cloudless. The wind blew out of the south southwest at ten knots, maximum today. The visibility was very good, reduced a bit with the warm temperatures creating a haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 89°F with a low of 62°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 86°F (with a low of 54°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 80°F (with a low of 55°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at five knots to start. The ocean was calm. As the day progressed, the wind picked up to about ten knots. Seas increased from calm to a foot or two in chops. The air temperature reached a high of 67°F. The visibility ranged from ten to fifteen miles in haze. The tide (current) was light. The sky was sunny all day. The surface water temperature reached a high of 62°F.
The fishing conditions were excellent, the catching was very good and landings were good to very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull, like yesterday, was two to one or for every three haddock caught, two were of legal size to keep. Legal landings also included forty-three pollock, eleven cod over 5 pounds, seven redfish, eight cusk, two white hake and three whiting. Released fish included two dogfish, two cod of 5 pounds or more, a few small cod and two wolffish. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked equally well.
Phil Moon (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 20.5 pound cod. The second largest fish was a 16 pound cod caught by Dave Powell (ME). Xavier Dejesus (MA) caught the third largest fish, a 15.5 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Dale Jackson (ME) caught an 11 pound cod, his best fish. Mike Matrishon (MA) did one better with a 12 pound cod. Jeff Goebel (ME) landed an 11 pound cod, his best fish. Walter Collins (ME) landed a 10 pound cod. Troy Boyd (ME) caught the largest white hake. It weighed 10 pounds. Vincent Pernice (MA) landed a 13.5 pound cod, his biggest fish of the day. Jody Farnsworth (VT) landed the hard luck award t-shirt for not catching a single legal fish!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 67°F, the sky was hazy clear with a nearly half moon almost over head, the wind was blowing out of the southwest at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was very good at least. The sky was mostly sunny with clouds. After 5:30 PM, the clouds started to thicken around Perkins Cove. By 6:00 PM, it was raining, lightly. This lasted an hour or so before stopping. It was humid today, the visibility a little less than it has been but good to very good still. The air temperature soared to a high of 88°F in Perkins Cove. It was a bit too warm for me. But people in the Cove reveled in the feeling that, although it was the first day of fall, it was the best day of the summer! The wind blew all day, fifteen knots mostly, out of the southwest. It did die down a bit towards evening. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 92°F with a low of 70°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 86°F (with a low of 60°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 89°F (with a low of 68°F). Today's high of 89°F in Portland breaks the record for the highest air temperature for this date of 86°F set in 1941. Generally, I don't put much stock in the way they measure Portland's weather as it's always warmer than anywhere else when the sun is out. Yes, I know! But I think today's high air temperature was within a degree of being accurate.Of course, nowhere else were any records broken. That's because Portland has only been recording high temperatures for less than eighty years.
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at ten knots to start and fifteen knots by noon. Seas went from chops of a foot or two to two to three foot chops. The air temperature reached a high of 68°F. The visibility ranged from ten to fifteen miles in haze. The tide (current) was light. The sky was overcast in the morning (unlike it was ashore) and clear in the afternoon. The surface water temperature reached a high of 62°F.
The fishing conditions weren't the best, sea state wise. However, the catching was very good as was the landings. The catch didn't seem as big as it could for the anglers aboard but that's because everyone was expecting pollock. Instead, they landed the most haddock we have seen than any day this whole month, by far. It seemed like a newer crop of haddock as well since most were seventeen inches fork length exactly. Had every haddock been a pollock, we might not have had boxes enough to hold them all. The haddock cull was three to one or for every four haddock caught, three were of legal size. Legal landings also included twenty-seven pollock, ten cod, one redfish, eleven cusk, two white hake and two whiting. Released fish included one blue shark, thirty-eight dogfish, two cod over 5 pounds, seven or eight small cod and a couple of small pollock. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked well but bait was best for the haddock.
I didn't ask who was high hook. And most fish were smaller today than normal. Serghei Rojco (NH) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 10.5 pound cod. He also caught the third largest fish, a 9 pound pollock, which was also the second largest pollock of the trip. Buzz Leonard (ME) landed the second largest fish of the trip, a 10 pound pollock. Don Miller (MA) attained high hurler status. He was also the only angler to get sea sick. For this he captured the hard luck award t-shirt. I hope it doesn't fit as well ashore as it did on the boat!
At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 68°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the west at ten knots (offshore, the wind was out of the southwest at ten knots) and the visibility over the ocean was very good at least.
We had about five knots of southwest wind on the ride to the fishing grounds. Seas were three to four foot deep left-over rolling chops. Just a little ways off shore, the sky cleared and the visibility was excellent. The air temperature never got below 65°.
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the south southwest at ten knots, maybe more, at sunrise. Seas were three or four feet in close left over big old chops. The wind and seas diminished all day. When it was time to leave the grounds, the wind was light out of the southwest and the ocean was fairly calm Half way home we ran into rain showers. Until that time the sky had been sunny and clear with very few clouds. The air temperature reached a high of 68°F in the shade. The visibility ranged to over thirty miles. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 62°F.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 80°F with a low of 63°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 76°F (with a low of 50°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 80°F (with a low of 52°F).
The fishing, catching and landings were very good today. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included forty-six haddock, seven cod,eighteen redfish and six cusk. Released fish included five blue sharks, two dogfish, one sub-legal pollock, nine cod over 5 pounds, thirty-three small cod, six sub-legal redfish and one cusk. We anchored in the morning until the wind let go. The rest of the day we spent on the drift. All terminal gear worked well. Bait was best for haddock and cod flies were best with pollock.
I can't tell you for sure who was high hook but I suspect that it was Phil Wilson (NH). His biggest fish was a 12 pound pollock. Zee Bourque (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the third largest fish, a 13 pound pollock. Some of Zee's other good fish included a 12.75 pound pollock, an 11 pound pollock and a pollock that weighed 11.5 pounds. L.J. French (ME) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the largest fish of the trip, a 14 pound pollock. L.J. also caught the second largest fish, a 13.5 pound pollock. The only other fish of his that I weighed was an 11 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Aaron Chase (MA) probably did the best overall if you consider numbers of bigger fish and action together. Some of his fish included two pollock of 10 pounds each, the largest cod at 12.5 pounds (he chose to release it), an 11 pound pollock, a 10.5 pound pollock and an 11.5 pound cod. Mark Randis (PA) caught the most haddock, by far, of anyone. For the last long drift of the day, he fished exclusively with bait and caught a haddock (legal or sub-legal) for almost every drop. We caught quite a few doubles today. The only double I weighed was one that Mark caught early in the trip that included a 10.5 pound pollock and an 8 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. Some of Mark's other good fish included 12 pound pollock, a 12.5 pound pollock and an 11.5 pound pollock. Larry French (ME) caught the largest haddock of the day, a 4.5 pounder. Larry's largest fish was a 12 pound pollock. I also weighed a 10 pound pollock for him. Erik Grove (ME) landed a 10.5 pound pollock and a 10.5 pound cod, his two biggest fish. I also weighed a 10.25 pound pollock for him. And Erik also landed the hard luck award. He received this award after he hooked up with a very active blue shark that could have been a small tuna, it acted so erratic. In fact, on one run, he had me convinced that the fish he had on the line had great potential of being a small bluefin. After fighting it for a while (fifteen minutes or more?) we were able to get a visual and found, to our dismay, that it was in fact a blue shark. It was a tiring fight that resulted in the loss of Erik's jig and fly. He definitely deserved the shirt!
I received several donations sponsoring me on my ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. The ride occurred during the first weekend in August but the fund raising, with me, never stops and, of course, cancer doesn't either unless we do something about it. Those donors and their donations included Mark & Gail Randis for a generous $100.00, Phil Wilson for $50.00, Al & Dawn Hanson (MA) for $68.00 and Peter & Patricia Vangsness (MA) for a generous $100.00. Thank you so very much for all your thoughtfulness, generosity and support. You humble me! I do so appreciate the help!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 51°F, the sky was crystal clear with a sliver of a moon hanging high over the eastern horizon, the wind was blowing out of the northwest at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. Ashore, it started to warm up slowly, 55°F by 8:00 AM. The highest air temperature that I saw was 70°F. There was no wind all morning. Late in the afternoon, the wind started blowing out of the southwest. Wind speeds were light. In the evening, the southwest wind picked up to thirteen knots. This was around 7:00 PM. The sky was clear and sunny all day. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 76°F with a low of 59°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 70°F (with a low of 43°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 71°F (with a low of 48°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northwest at five knots or less. This wind died out and the ocean remained calm for the whole time they were fishing. At one point, there was no drift at all. The wind was light out of the south southwest on the ride back to Perkins Cove. The air temperature reached a high of 70°F. The visibility ranged to fifteen and twenty miles in haze. The tide (current) was barely anything, to none to very light. The sky was clear and sunny with few clouds. The surface water temperature reached a high of 62°F.
The fishing conditions were too good, excellent in fact. But super weather conditions don't make for the best of bites, with the exception of the haddock. And that's where Ian finally decided to place his alliance. Certainly not a great day for pollock but an okay day for cod. All this was played out during the trip. The catching was very good. Landings were good to very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was a 75/25 split, favoring the legal sized fish. Legal landings also included eighteen cod, thirty-one pollock, seven redfish and twelve cusk. Released fish included eighteen cod over 5 pounds, twelve dogfish, one blue shark and a handful of small cod. Drifting was the only method available with the light current and no wind. All terminal gear worked well but cod flies caught the most fish today.
Rick Gurney was high hook with the most legal fish. His best fish was a 5 pound haddock. Mike Kruszyna won the Club pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 17.5 pound cod. Kim Martin won the Club pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 12.5 pound cod. The Club pool for third place was won by Bill Lewis with an 11.5 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: George Sweet caught a 10 pound cod, his largest fish. Dick "Le Pew" Carpenter landed the hard luck award for getting "skunked". I don't exactly know what that means. I'm just writing this after reading Ian's "Day Sheet" for the first time without Ian here to question.
At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 53°F, the sky was hazy clear, the wind was blowing lightly out of the southwest and the visibility over the ocean seemed excellent.
I was happily surprised to find a lack of wind when I started to get the boat ready in Perkins Cove. I was happier still when the ride to the fishing grounds was as easy as it was. We had light southwest winds with a chop that was barely a foot and comfortable sailing the whole way. The air temperature warmed to 60°F before we were even five miles off. And the visibility was excellent with very little traffic on the water to think about.
On the fishing grounds, the wind was light, again, to start. But it wasn't long before the wind started to increase. By 10:00 AM, the wind was over ten knots with a one foot chop building. Noon saw eighteen knots sustained with a two to three foot chop. But it really never got any stronger than twenty knots with higher gusts. During the afternoon, we had four foot chops, more or less, with the occasional queer set. Two thirds of the way home we had rain showers with a northwest wind of fifteen or twenty knots. From there it rained all the way to the dock and most of the evening. Back on the grounds, the highest air temperature that I noticed was 66°F. There was very little tide (current). What tide we did have was into the wind. So drifting was an option for the whole trip. The visibility was over twenty miles in some haze. The surface water temperature reached a high of 62°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 77°F (with a low of 44°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 72°F (with a low of 48°F).
The fishing conditions were fair. One thing we didn't have was dogfish, the first time in many weeks. Not a one! What we did have was blue sharks. They completely forced us off two spots. It was so bad that we couldn't get a fish to the boat. One spot saw fifteen jigs lost to them. And countless fish were also lost. As a consequence, landings were low for the first few hours. Once I had a change of venue, we started to do better and we finished off the day with a bang going from a potential bad trip to good trip in the end. From late morning until the end, the catching and landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were pollock. And this was what our charter wanted. They didn't want me to focus on any other fish. This, of course, makes it much easier for me. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included eleven haddock, eight redfish, three cusk, nine cod and one white hake. Released fish included three sub-legal cod, one wolffish, thirty blue sharks, one small pollock, seven sub-legal haddock and a mackerel. We drift fished, anchored and used the kellet for the first time in years. The kellet worked remarkably well. Cod flies caught the most fish by far.
I don't know who was high hook. It could have been Mike Schetter. Mike caught the biggest double of the day. His catch included a 12.5 pound pollock and a 13 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time! I was hoping it was one big one. And he had to work through quite a few tangles to get his two fish which, remarkably, came up unscathed! Mike caught the largest haddock of the day weighing 4.75 pounds. Doug Garmley won the boat pool for the largest fish with the second largest fish of the trip (charter rules), a 13.5 pound cod. He also caught the largest fish of the trip, a 14 pound wolffish. His largest pollock weighed 12 pounds. Three anglers tied for third place with pollock of 13 pounds each. Mike, of course, was one as part of his double, John Spignardo was another and Ron "I hope I can catch a fish today" D'Aprile caught the other. I also weighed a 10.5 pound pollock for John. And Ron, despite his worries about not catching anything, did very well on fish count indeed, recording a couple of doubles in the process! I don't believe the captain inspired enough confidence at the start of the trip.
Other Angler Highlights: Ed Ross caught the first fish I could weigh through a pile of blue sharks. It was a pollock of 9.5 pounds. Charlie Bodine followed with a pollock of 10 pounds. Senator Tony Mazzioti (D-NY) caught a 12 pound pollock while hanging on for dear life in the bow - the good Senator got the best workout of the day today! Bob Vogel caught two pollock of 11 pounds each and one pollock that weighed 12 pounds. George Delahay caught a double that included an 11 pound pollock and a 12 pound pollock, the second largest double of the day. I also weighed a 10.5 pound pollock for George. Ray Hickman landed the hard luck award for letting the motion of the ocean take over his equilibrium at the end of the day after doing so well for the first half.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 51°F, the sky was clear, the wind was blowing out of the west at fifteen knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The wind blew out of the northwest in the morning and then the southwest in the afternoon, after blowing west for a while before daylight. Wind speeds were about ten to fifteen knots with a lull between wind shifts. The air temperature reached a high of 71°F in Perkins Cove. The visibility was excellent. Sky was sunny and mostly clear all day. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 74°F with a low of 58°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 73°F (with a low of 41°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 69°F (with a low of 49°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northwest at ten knots during the morning, went calm and then hauled out of the southwest at five knots after noon. The air temperature reached a high of 68°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide (current) was none! The sky was sunny all day. The surface water high temperature increased a degree to 63°F.
The fishing conditions were very good. There were very few dogfish, the sea state was nearly perfect, the weather conditions were very comfortable, no blue sharks and the drift was exceptional. The catching was very good. Landings were good overall, very good on the haddock. Most legal fish landed were haddock. In fact, they caught more haddock today than we caught total fish on yesterday's marathon trip. The haddock cull was 67%/33%, favoring the legal sized fish. Legal landings also included fifty-four pollock, four redfish, seven cusk, six cod and three white hake. Released fish included three cod over 5 pounds, fifteen dogfish, a wolffish, the short haddock and a handful of small cod and pollock. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked well.
Dan Kelley (ME) was high hook with the most legal fish. John Russell (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 12 pound wolffish. The second largest fish was an 11 pound pollock caught by Dody Bleau (VT). Frank Smith (VT) caught the third largest fish, a 10 pound cod. Aram Setian (NY) landed the hard luck award for landing nary a single legal fish!
James Rust (NY) sponsored me in the fight against cancer with the Pan-Mass Challenge by donating $25.00 to the cause. Thank you so much, James. I appreciate the support and your generosity. All the best to you!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 54°F, the sky was clear, the wind was blowing out of the southwest at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The morning started off on the cool side and was slow to warm up. But the wind picked up around 9:00 AM out of the southwest and it did get warm. The highest air temperature that I saw was 79°F. The wind blew up to fifteen knots along the shore. And it looked like one of those smokey souwesters where one gets his ass kicked while fishing. And I thought about that on and off during the day. The sky was mostly sunny with a mix of high clouds and lower more formative ones. The visibility dropped to very good in the haze. And it was much more humid than it was during the morning. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 82°F with a low of 60°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 82°F (with a low of 43°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 73°F (with a low of 51°F).
On the fishing grounds, the sea state was not pleasant. The wind blew out of the west southwest to start at fifteen to twenty-five knots with four to five foot chops. Then the wind readjusted out of the south southwest at fifteen to twenty-five knots. Quite a few were sea sick. The air temperature reached a high of 68°F. The visibility ranged from fifteen miles to twenty miles. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was sunny with few clouds. The surface water temperature reached a high of 61°F.
The fishing conditions were much less than ideal. The catching was fair to good as were the landings. Some anglers did good throughout, for landings. Most legal fish landed were haddock. There were less haddock caught than there were on yesterday's trip. But the percentage of legal fish was much higher, The cull being 80/20, favoring the legal sized fish. Legal landings also included eighteen pollock, five cod and one white hake. Released fish included one blue shark, six dogfish and a small handful of small cod and a couple small pollock. They anchored and drift fished. All terminal gear worked about the same. There was no real great bite anywhere.
Tim Williams (CT) and Fritz Heckel (NH) shared high hook status for the most legal fish. Neither angler really had a problem catching fish. But both anglers found the sea state interesting, fun and were able to focus on the fishing. Fritz, his son, Si Heckel (NH), and Tim Williams all tied for the second largest fish of the trip at 7 pounds each. All three fish were pollock. Art Foster (NH) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 12 pound white hake. Scott Parent (NH) was the "high hurler" for the day and landed the hard luck award for his condition.
I received two much welcomed donations sponsoring me in my Pan-Mass Challenge ride for cancer research. Fritz Heckel donated a generous $50.00 while Si Heckel donated $25.00. Thank you both so very much for your support and help. Always good to see both of you aboard the Bunny Clark. And I certainly appreciate your help in this my thirteenth year of my campaign against cancer.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 66°F, the sky was mostly clear, the wind was blowing out of the west northwest at five knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. At sunrise, the wind hauled out of the north and blew up to ten knots. The wind continued out of the north all morning before dying out and hauling out of the west in the afternoon. The sky was clear all day, indeed cloudless for much of the morning. The visibility was excellent. The air temperature rose to a high value, that I saw, of 75°F. And it was a bit humid. It was a lovely day in Perkins Cove. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 75°F with a low of 58°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 70°F (with a low of 39°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 70°F (with a low of 48°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the north at fifteen knots. Seas were two to four feet in chops. As the day progressed, the wind dropped. After noon, the northerly wind was ten knots with chops of one to two feet. The high air temperature was 65°F under the canopy top. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was nearly cloudless with a bright sun. The surface water temperature reached a high of 61°F.
The fishing conditions were good. There were no dogs, the sea state wasn't bad and the blue sharks were light. The catching and landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, far and away. The haddock cull was good too at 85/15 favoring the legal sized fish. Legal landings also included ten cod, seven pollock, twenty-five cusk and one white hake. Released fish included one dogfish, one blue shark, one wolffish, twenty-four cod of 5 pounds or more, a handful of small cod, one small pollock and the short haddock. They drift fished all day. All terminal gear worked well but bait was best for the haddock.
Fred Kunz (NH) was the fisherman of the day. 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 13 pound cod. His second largest fish was a 10 pound cod. Paul Guenthner (MA) caught the second largest fish, a 12.5 pound white hake. Like Fred, Paul also caught a 10 pound cod. The third largest fish was a 12 pound cod caught by Peter Grant. Peter also caught the largest pollock at 10 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Yvon Duquette (ME) caught the first fish to be weighed for the boat pool, a 10 pound cod. His largest fish was a cod that weighed 11.5 pounds. Wade Colby (ME) landed an 11.5 pound cod, his best and biggest fish. He also landed the hard luck award for being the sole hurler on the trip. He still kept fishing, though!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 45°F, the sky was mostly clear, the wind was blowing out of the northeast at fifteen knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. By 10:00 AM, the air temperature had risen to 53°F. The wind blew out of the northeast at ten to fifteen knots during the morning. After noon, the wind started to back off. The wind was blowing lightly out of the east by 2:00 PM. By 5:00 PM, the wind was blowing lightly out of the south. The air temperature in Perkins Cove got up to only 59°F. It felt a bit cool with the wind. The sky was sunny and mostly clear all day. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 62°F with a low of 52°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 61°F (with a low of 34°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 59°F (with a low of 42°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the north northeast at ten to fifteen knots. Seas were chops of three to five feet. By mid morning, it was starting to die out. After noon, the wind dropped to five knots or less from the east. Seas dropped to a foot or so and then went calm. The air temperature reached a high of 60°F, being greatly influenced by the surface water temperature. The visibility ranged to over twenty-five miles. The tide moderate, into the wind during the morning and light in the afternoon. The sky was sunny. The surface water temperature reached a high of 61°F.
The fishing conditions were good. Even with the stronger than normal wind, the drift was slow and straight up and down. With only eight dogfish and a couple of blue sharks, the conditions were much better than expected. The catching and landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was two to one or for every three fish caught, two were of legal size. Legal landings also included forty-seven pollock, two redfish, six cusk and seventeen cod. Released fish included nine cod of 5 pounds or more, eight dogfish, two blue sharks and just a handful of small cod. They drift fished for the day. All terminal gear worked well today.
Ian didn't volunteer any information on high hook status today. Nor did I pursue this. Dave Symes (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 31.5 pound cod. This is the largest cod of the Bunny Clark fishing season so far and it may remain as suck. And it's the first cod that looked to me to be coming in from offshore. In other words, it didn't look like a resident fish. Ian took a picture of Dave holding this cod. I will post it on the index page when I have time. Dave also caught the third largest fish, an 18 pound cod. The second largest fish was an 18 pound cod caught by Dick Taylor (MA).
Other Angler Highlights: Neil Hickey (VT) caught a 13.5 pound cod, his best fish. Jamin Van Order (VT) caught an 11 pound cod, the first fish that Ian weighed for the boat pool. Austin Marino (NH) landed the hard luck award for losing three jigs today.
The hard luck award might have gone to Dave Harris (MA) had everyone seen what he had hooked. It was a huge fish that sounded to me (and Ian) to have all the characteristics of a halibut. If it was a halibut,it was very big. But the fish never wavered from the straight up and down position. It was caught on the bottom, made runs to the bottom and the leader line wasn't chaffed, as a shark would do, when he got his leader back. That's life; you win some and lose some!
I received two donations sponsoring me in this year's Pan-Mass Challenge cycling event, a ride that took place during the first weekend of August. This was my thirteenth year completing the ride. And I can happily say that I have raised over $340,000.00 in the years that I have been involved. However, to get to this mark, I needed just a little more money that was provided in two donations today! The first was a generous $100.00 donation from Dave & Rebecca Symes (ME). The second was a very generous $1000.00 donation from Andy Barowsky (ME/FL). I also received a $20.00 donation from an anonymous source. Thank you all so very much for continuing to support me in my cancer fund raising efforts. Both the Symes and Andy have been annual donors. I appreciate this so much, you can't know. All the best!
At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 55°F, the sky was overcast (it had been raining earlier), the wind was blowing out of the south at fifteen knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
It was raining when we left the gate behind to head to the fishing grounds. In fact, it rained most of the way out. The wind was out of the south southwest at a good fifteen knots with seas, for the first half of the ride, averaging four feet in chops. For the second half of the ride the wind stayed about the same but the chops dropped to three feet, even less as we went further. I found out later that the tide, a strong tide, was with the wind, dropping the height of the seas. The wind, seas and rain made the visibility more difficult than normal so I had to cut the cruising speed down. Eleven knots was the best I could do until the seas dropped. We never did make more than twelve knots of speed.
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the south southwest at fifteen to twenty knots with gusts to twenty-five knots. When it was the windiest, the seas were only about four feet in chops. But the tide (current) and the wind were going in the same direction. By the time the tide started to head in the opposite direction, the wind had already dropped to about ten knots. The wind remained at ten knots with a two foot chop for the rest of the day. The air temperature reached a high of 63°F in the shade. The visibility ranged to over ten miles in haze. The sky was mostly overcast. It never rained while we were fishing, although it looked like it was going to all day long. The surface water temperature reached a high of 62°F.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 72°F with a low of 57°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 69°F (with a low of 51°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 64°F (with a low of 54°F).
The sea state and the current made the fishing very challenging. To anchor on any spot required much more scope than I was used to. So I wasted some time on the first spot and ended up with three attempts before I got on the spot I wanted to be. Because of all the scope, we skated on every spot we anchored on. With the seas and current, conditions were fair. The catching was good as were the landings, despite it all. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included eight haddock, ten redfish, two cusk, one white hake, two butter mullet and a monkfish. Released fish included six blue sharks. In fact, one blue shark had Smokey Dorsey's pollock in it's mouth when I gaffed the pollock. Unfortunately, the shark took a little more pollock and took the gaff hook as well. So instead of pulling the pollock out of the sharks mouth, I was pulling the shark by the corner of it's jaw. It didn't take long for the shark to rip the gaff out of my hand and head to bottom. That's the last I saw of my gaff! Released fish also included six cod over 5 pounds, three cod less than that, three sub-legal haddock, one sub-legal pollock and three sub-legal redfish. We anchored all morning. During the afternoon we used the sea anchor to no avail and drift fished. Drifting worked the best. All terminal gear worked about the same, although no one used bait.
I can't tell you who was high hook. I would suspect it was Kevin Viel (NH). But I am not certain. Kevin did win the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 22 pound cod. Being a day late, he had to let the fish go. But not before I got a couple of shots with my iPhone. He also caught the third largest fish of the trip, a 16 pound Maine state trophy cusk. This is the largest cusk that Kevin has ever caught. I took a picture of him holding his fish. This digital image appears on the left. Some of Kevin's other good fish included a double that included a 10 pound pollock and a 6 pound pollock. His largest pollock of the trip weighed 12 pounds.
Tom Miller (NH) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 16.5 pound white hake. He was the one person today who wanted a hake more than any other fish. So it was fitting that he got to take one home. His two biggest pollock were 11 pounds each.
Other Angler Highlights: Jim Taylor (NY) caught a double that included a 10 pound pollock and a 9 pound pollock. Some of his other fish included an 11 pound cod, another 10 pound pollock and a 14 pound pollock, the largest pollock of the trip. I fished for a little bit and caught a 12 pound pollock as my best fish of the day. That was after I spent an hour taking apart a clogged marine toilet! Dennis Pine (PA) caught the strangest double of the day. His catch included 10 pound monkfish and a 7 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. Smokey Dorsey (NC) caught a 13 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock, his two biggest fish. He also landed the hard luck award for losing two jigs to blue sharks!
I received two donations sponsoring me on my ride with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Kevin Viel gave a generous $60.00 after already donating earlier in the year and Smokey Dorsey gave a generous $50.00. Thank you both very much for your support and generosity. I really do appreciate it. And I really do appreciate all who have made this my best fund raising season ever! And we still have a long way to go until the end of December!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was an amazing 70°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing lightly out of the southwest and the visibility over the ocean seemed excellent. After daylight, it looked like it was going to rain. It did eventually rain but it wasn't until around 10:00 AM that the drizzle started. It never rained hard. I didn't think it would. It wasn't that kind of day. We had a little fog around noon. After blowing out of the southwest for a time after daylight, the southwest wind backed off. At 9:30 AM or so, the wind became light out of the northeast. By 11:00 AM, the northeast wind was about ten knots. The wind was stronger than that, probably just under fifteen knots out of the east at 6:00 PM. The sky was overcast all day. The visibility went from excellent to very good to good. But, of course, the visibility was fair to poor for the short time that there was fog. The air temperature had dropped to 64°F by 2:00 PM. By 8:00 PM, it had dropped to 53°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 79°F with a low of 57°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 70°F (with a low of 51°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 66°F (with a low of 54°F).
I spent the day at the restaurant, mostly in the office. During the early part of the morning I did the office work at the restaurants. That was about two hours. Then I worked in the office at home until it was time to go back to the restaurant. With the two offshore trips a week, it takes much to get caught up at the restaurants. Plus, this time of year, we are short of help. So that's extra work. And when we aren't busy, it's certainly more challenging for the management staff at the restaurant.
After 5:00 PM, I got to work provisioning the Bunny Clark, checking the engine and getting the boat ready for the trip tomorrow. I checked one of the Racor filters shutting off the valves into and out of them but forgot to turn the valves back to open before starting the engine. I left the engine running as I walked up the ramp to the truck only to hear the engine stop. Of course, I knew right away what the problem was. This took me an extra half hour to bleed the fuel lines to get everything back to normal. It seems that I spend my life making more work for myself - continuously!
At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 44°F, the sky was mostly clear, the wind was blowing out of the north at fifteen knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The wind was northerly ashore so I figured we might have an easier ride to the fishing grounds than expected. Not! We went through seven foot seas as we passed through the gate outside Perkins Cove at high tide. So I knew it was going to be a long ride. And a long ride it was. The best cruising speed I could make was 9.3 knots. And, mostly, it was slower than that. Seas were five or six feet for the first fifteen miles and four to five feet after that. Wind speeds were backing off from what they were earlier as we only saw twenty knots at the most. I steered for most of the way out. Ian steered for six or seven miles while I took a nap.
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northeast at fifteen to twenty knots. Seas were four foot chops. After an hour, you could tell the wind had no teeth. By 10:00 AM, we had fifteen knots of wind at most with seas of two to three feet. At the end of the fishing, we had no wind with a left over hubble on the surface of the ocean. Light southerly winds chased us home. The air temperature reached a high of 53°F in the shade. The sky was mostly sunny in the morning and mostly cloudy after noon. We had overcast skies during the late afternoon. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide was moderately strong all day.We had no rain. 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 55°F with a low of 51°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 51°F (with a low of 43°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 52°F (with a low of 38°F).
The fishing conditions started out looking like it was going to be poor. But, in actuality, it wasn't bad in the morning. After noon the conditions were good. The catching and landings were good, no better than that. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was five to one or for every six haddock caught, five were of legal size. Legal landings also included forty-six pollock, twelve redfish, a cusk, two butter mullet and one white hake. Released fish included two dogfish, seven blue sharks (we lost seven jigs to the blue devils), six cod of 5 pounds or more, three butter mullet, thirteen sub-legal redfish, two small pollock and a handful of small cod. We anchored for most of the morning, drift fished for the rest of the day. All terminal gear worked well but cod flies did the best.
Mark Doody (CT) was high hook with the most legal fish. His largest fish was a cod that I would estimate to be 13 pounds. It was barely hooked and I didn't want to gaff it and kill it. So I tried lifting it. As I was doing this I made an attempt to get my hand under the gill plate. Before I could do so the cod fell back into the water and swam right to bottom. It could have been one of the two pool fish today. And if it really was 13 pounds it would have taken the second one. The largest fish that Mark boated was a 10.25 pound white hake. His two biggest pollock both weighed 9 pounds each.
Jim Taylor (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 15.25 pound pollock. This was the only fish Jim caught that weighed over 10 pounds. Jonathan "Griff" Griffin (MA) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 12.5 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Smokey Dorsey (NC) caught the first good fish I could weigh today, a 9 pound pollock. His largest fish was a 10.5 pound cod. Ray Westermann (MA) caught an 11.5 pound pollock, his biggest fish. He also caught a 10 pound pollock. Bill Otto (PA) did not catch a fish of 10 pounds or better. He did catch, far and away, the most haddock. He also landed the hard luck award t-shirt for losing two jigs to blue sharks.
I received a $15.00 donation from Mark Doody helping raise money for cancer research with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Donations are slowing down at this time of year. But, regardless, any donation is much appreciated. And whenever I get anything, I feel lucky that someone would support me in my quest. Thank you very much, Mark, for your support and generosity. Much appreciated!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 46°F, the sky was overcast, it had been raining earlier and was still drizzling a bit, the wind was light out of the south and the visibility over the ocean was good enough. After sunrise, the sky cleared and you could see scudding on the horizon to the east. By mid morning, the clouds were back, enough so that it became overcast and, almost, looked like it was going to rain. Before that happened, the sky cleared and we had a mostly sunny day. The wind blew out of the north at fifteen to twenty knots along the shore. On the fishing grounds, it was pretty much the same. It did blow hard out of the north but not until 5:00 PM. Wind speeds of thirty-three knots were recorded at the lightship off Portland. It never really seemed too breezy here in Perkins Cove. The air temperature got up as high as 57°F. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 62°F with a low of 46°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 57°F (with a low of 36°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 57°F (with a low of 41°F).
I spend my day here working at home early, at the restaurant until 9:30 AM and then at home in the office until I had to go back to the restaurant. It wasn't a very busy day as compared to the same Friday last year. But it was good enough.
And the cat, Ecco, that Deb and my daughter, Halley, got form my birthday twelve years ago is dying of salivary gland cancer. It very aggressive and a lot has happened since she was diagnosed. It's not good and so sad.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 35°F, the sky was clear, the wind was blowing out of the northwest at ten knots with a few higher gusts and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The air temperature dropped before sunrise to 33°F and 34°F. There was ice on the dock leading the float at Barnacle Billy's where the Bunny Clark resides. The air temperature did warm thanks to light winds and a bright sunny sky. The sky was clear all day. The highest air temperature that I saw was 60°F. The wind blew out of the northwest at ten knots or so, dropped to nothing and then hauled out of the southwest in the afternoon. The ocean along the shore was calm. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 57°F with a low of 42°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 60°F (with a low of 27°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 61°F (with a low of 32°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the north northwest at fifteen to ten knots to northwest at five knots or less and calm on the ride back to Perkins Cove. The seas were chops of two to three feet dropping to a smooth surface later in the day. The air temperature reached a high of 57°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The sky was sunny and bright. The surface water temperature reached a high of 60°F.
The fishing conditions were good to very good, the catching was good and landings were fair to good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was 50/50, legal to sub-legal fish. Legal landings also included twelve pollock, a whiting and five cusk. Released fish included one cod of 5 pounds or so, a few smaller cod, twenty-five dogfish and a bluefin tuna? They anchored and drift fished. All terminal gear worked about the same but bait was best for the haddock.
I didn't ask Ian as to whom was high hook with the most legal fish today. The day really centered around Duane King (MA) who fought, what I believe, was a bluefin tuna for forty-five minutes only to lose it to a break in the monofilament leader about three inches down from the uni-knot that held the leader to the Spectra main line. They never did see the fish but the way it fought led both Ian and I to believe it was a tuna. Duane fought it for most of the time but his son, Justin King (NH), did the rest. The fight lasted about forty-five minutes. Ian told me that both did a masterful job in the fight, albeit, to no avail.
Duane King ended up winning the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 8 pound pollock. The second largest fish was a 7 pound pollock caught by Jesse Getbehead (NY). Alissa Yohey (NY) landed the hard for attaining high hurler status. There were a couple sea sick anglers today.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 39°F, the sky was clear, the wind was blowing out of the southwest at almost fifteen knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The wind continued out of the southwest before hauling out of the south later in the morning and increasing in strength. Wind speeds were sustain at twenty knots out of the south with higher gusts. Seas offshore were five feet in chops, according to the weather buoy reports. The air temperature reached a high of 63°F by 11:00 AM and then decreased with the wind switch as the this wind came more over the parking lot from the open ocean. The sky was clear and sunny for most of the morning but became overcast around noon and remained overcast for the rest of the day. The visibility was good to very good in some haze. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 70°F with a low of 45°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 63°F (with a low of 27°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 62°F (with a low of 33°F).
My day was spent in the restaurant dividing my time between working the dinning rooms of both buildings and the office. Sundays are big order days for product coming in on Monday.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 65°F, the sky was overcast, it had been raining lightly two hours earlier, the wind was blowing out of the south at fifteen knots and the visibility over the ocean was very good, at least. The wind blew out of the south at twenty knots, more or less, during most of the daylight hours until late afternoon. The sky was mostly cloudy in the morning, overcast sometime after noon and light rain at about 5:00 PM, just about the same time as the wind died down. Today's salient weather feature was the air temperature that soared up to 77°F in Perkins Cove. The visibility was good in some haze over the ocean. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 81°F with a low of 61°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 71°F (with a low of 55°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 71°F (with a low of 57°F).
There was much going on ashore today, too much to get into here. A lot of it was catching up from a busy summer/September. This is the time of year we can pick up some of the pieces and make plans for winter repairs. Some decisions have been harder for me to make as they concern replacing a specific individual who has been the key component in maintenance of the restaurants over many years. He has helped us since my father bought the restaurant in the early 60's and is unable to continue on. I have struggled with this decision and still haven't come up with someone. In fact, no one will totally fill his shoes. But I have balked on this decision. Although, I have done my research.
Other than working on things I need to do for the future, the businesses ran as normal, albeit, a little slow with the weather report for the week. The weather is playing a big part in keeping the Bunny Clark ashore as well. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday do not look good for taking anglers on the high seas. C'est la vie!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 54°F, the sky was overcast, it was drizzling rain, the wind was blowing lightly out of the west and the visibility over the ocean was very good, at least. The sky remained overcast through the dawn but, then, cleared up and became sunny. We had mostly sunny skies for the rest of the day. The air temperature got up to the mid 60°s but I never did look for an exact value. The wind was light all day, during the day. The wind direction was mostly from the north or, later, east. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 65°F with a low of 56°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 66°F (with a low of 43°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 66°F (with a low of 47°F).
Since it was a Tuesday when I am normally on the boat, I took the day off from the restaurant. Not exactly true, I worked in the office for a while, worked on orders and had a meeting for a total of less than two hours. From 7:00 AM until 1:00 PM, I was involved with changing out the house batteries in the Bunny Clark, the batteries that control all the electronics, pumps, lights, etc. There are two 140 pound 8D batteries. Ian Keniston came down to help me. Once we had the old batteries out, Ian drove them to Portland (Ed's Batteries, Westbrook) to drop them off and pick new ones that I had waiting for me. He also brought a curtain to be repaired. We have been having these battery problems since the middle of the spring where they wouldn't hold a charge as long as expected. They were getting bad enough that I didn't feel that I could wait until the end of the season. Plus, I wanted to have a few trips under my belt to know that it wasn't associated with an inherent electrical problem. The batteries were old enough that they needed replacing anyway.
The rest of the day I spent at York Hospital with my mother who fell yesterday morning and hurt her leg. The leg wasn't broken but she wasn't strong enough to walk on her own and needed medical attention. She will be there for a couple more days until she can walk on her own.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 48°F, the sky was hazy clear, the wind was blowing out of the northeast at twenty knots and the visibility over the ocean seemed very good. The sky, although partly cloudy when I got up this morning until about mid morning, became overcast and remained overcast for the rest of the day. It never did rain. The wind picked up five more knots by mid morning but never freshened any more than that. In fact, the wind dropped to about fifteen knots around the time of sunset. The visibility over the ocean was very good. The highest air temperature that I saw was 57°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 60°F with a low of 55°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 60°F (with a low of 40°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 59°F (with a low of 48°F).
The early morning today was filled with desk work, both at home and at the restaurant. After that it was mostly calling in orders, scheduling maintainence items and general every day business things. My mind was so cluttered at one point that I decided to jump on the bike for a few miles and get away from it all. I took a few calls during the ride that I was expecting. I was back in the restaurant at noon doing my normal restaurant duties. At 5:00 PM, Hez (Paul Haseltine) and I teamed up to tie storm lines on his boat and my two boats. That took more than an hour to complete. Once done there, I changed and went back to the restaurant. With business winding down at 8:00 PM, I jumped in the car to drive to the hospital to see how my mother was doing. From there I went home to bed.
Tomorrow is another day, of course. Hopefully, I will be in it. One never knows. But, to me, it seems that this storm is backing away from us. I don't believe we will see the rain that was predicted. But we shall see.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 47°F, the sky was hazy clear, the wind was blowing out of the north northeast at twenty knots or more and the visibility over the ocean was very good. The wind blew out of the north northeast all day with wind speeds up to twenty-five knots. The wind backed off after noon, dropping as low as thirteen knots around 3:30 PM and staying under twenty knots until well into the night. The surge in Perkins Cove from thirteen foot seas prompted me to tighten up storm lines and make sure all the boats on the Barnacle Billy's float were secure. The air temperature got up as high as 57°F in Perkins Cove. The visibility over the ocean remained very good. The sky was mostly cloudy all day with some bits of blue sky (rare) and some sun (rare again). Mostly it was overcast with no rain at all. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 57°F with a low of 53°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 58°F (with a low of 37°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 61°F (with a low of 48°F).
More of the same at work while also trying to help my mother to adapt to her new environment in the hospital.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 49°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the north northeast at twenty-five to thirty knots and the visibility over the ocean was very good. The wind continued to range in velocity from twenty to over thirty knots. And the wind rolled from different directions starting out of the north northeast and remaining so all morning but, then, hauling out of the northeast and east before backing out of the north northeast again. Seas were sometimes eighteen feet but mostly less than that. The surf along the shore was wild. The sky was overcast all day without rain in the morning but with light misting rain after noon and throughout the afternoon, periodically. The surge in the Cove was great with boats moving fore and aft on their moorings, giving the impression that all the boats were headed to sea at the same time and then deciding to back down just as fast. It left me with an uncomfortable feeling for most of the day. And, indeed, some lines were parted and some of the boats bumped. The visibility was good in the mist. The highest air temperature that I saw in Perkins Cove was 59°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 57°F with a low of 53°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 61°F (with a low of 47°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 61°F (with a low of 50°F).
It was a challenging day for me working at the restaurant, on the phone with social workers, doctors and nurses for most of the morning, meetings (business), checking boats, discussions of future dredging projects and dealing with family issues.
The best things were being able to continue business because the storm was far enough offshore to keep most of the rains and the stronger winds away. And that my daughter and her fiancé were home for the weekend. The worst things were having to put my cat down and telling my mother at the hospital that she couldn't come home with me. I think, without going into detail, that you can imagine how my feelings were all over the map today.
Over the last couple of days some wonderful people stepped up to sponsor me in this years Pan-Mass Challenge. Of course, the ride is over. But "cancer never sleeps" and the fund raising never stops, at least with me. I will certainly be continuing on next year. This years total donations give me the highest value I have ever attained in a year. And the year isn't even over yet! Rich & Donna McGuinness (GA) pushed me over the $33,000 mark with a donation in the form of an "egift" of $50.00. They did this on October 8th. On October 10th, I received a $300.00 donation from Dawn Fuda (ME) in honor of Henry Bethune (WA) who is fighting his own cancer. And, today, I received a $60.00 donation from Dawn Beckwith & Sally (ME). Thank you all so very much for your thoughtfulness, support and generosity. I do so appreciate your help in fighting cancer with good research. I truly believe it will put us on the path to a better future!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 49°F, the sky was overcast, it was misting rain just a few minutes earlier, the roads were wet, the wind was blowing out of the north northeast at twenty to twenty-five knots seas were fifteen feet every eleven seconds at the closest weather buoy and the visibility over the ocean was good. The wind and seas started to back off by 9:00 AM, maybe sooner. By noon, we had northerly winds of about fifteen knots. By 4:00 PM, we barely had ten knots of northerly wind. After sunset there was not enough wind to write about. The sky was overcast with periodic light rain and mist for most of the morning. The rain and mist disappeared by noon. By late afternoon we started to see some clearing in the skies with patches of blue before sunset. The visibility remained very good all day. The highest air temperature that I saw in Perkins Cove was 58°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 58°F with a low of 53°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 57°F (with a low of 50°F).
Today was much the same as the last two except that we were busier at the restaurants, particularly during the evening. I had less problems to face today but some ongoing situations remained with the same involvement. It's Hell getting old!
I received a generous $100.00 donation from Brian & Merv Murphy (NH) today sponsoring me in the Pan-Mass Challenge cancer research project I'm involved in. Brian & Merv have supported me with a donation every year since I started in 2007. The donation came in as an on-line "egift" through the PMC site. Thank you both so very much for your help and support, and just for thinking of me. It means a lot!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 47°F, the sky was clear, there was no wind to write about and the visibility over the ocean was very good, at least. The wind stayed light all day. The ocean was calm on the surface with larger than normal swells underneath making the view along the Marginal Way, with the waves crashing up on the rocks, spectacular. The sky was mostly sunny all day. The air temperature rose to a value of 68°F. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 70°F with a low of 52°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 67°F (with a low of 39°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 65°F (with a low of 48°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind was light and variable in direction. The ocean's surface was calm over long rolling sea swells of four to six feet. The air temperature reached a high of 62°F under the shade top. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was mostly overcast. The surface water temperature reached a high of 56°F.
The fishing, conditions, were good to very good. Very few dogfish bothered, there were no blue sharks, the drift was good and the weather was pleasant. The catching was very good. Landings were good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. The haddock cull was 50/50 legal to sub-legal fish. Legal pollock came in a distant second. Legal landings also included three redfish, six cusk and one white hake. Released fish included two cod over 5 pounds, a handful of small cod, a small pollock, twelve dogfish and the short haddock. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked about the same.
Brian Tufts (VT/FL) was high hook with the most legal fish. His largest fish was a 9 pound pollock, the fifth largest fish of the trip. Former Bunny Clark deck hand, Captain Ally Fuehrer (ME), caught the two largest fish, both pollock, that weighed 10.5 pounds each. She did not enter the boat pool. Greg Johnson (NH) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the third largest fish, a 10 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Mike McKaig (NY) landed a 9.5 pound pollock, the fourth largest fish of the trip. Tony DiNova (NY) landed the hard luck award for losing two fishing rigs. There was no one sea sick on the Bunny Clark today.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 48°F, the sky was overcast or seemed it, there was no wind to write about and the visibility over the ocean was poor in fog. It was damp, cool and foggy after daylight until about mid morning. It remained overcast until almost 11:00 AM, when the sun came out. The sky remained mostly clear and sunny until 4:00 PM, when the sky became overcast again. There was no wind for most of the morning. What wind we did have was light northeast. Before noon, the wind hauled out of the west and blew up to six or seven knots. The westerly wind remained with us for the rest of the day. After the fog rolled out, the visibility was very good. The highest air temperature that I saw was 60°F in Perkins Cove. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 65°F with a low of 52°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 68°F (with a low of 36°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 63°F (with a low of 53°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the south at five knots. The ocean surface was calm over a two foot long sea swell. The air temperature reached a high of 60°F under the canopy top. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was overcast. The surface water temperature reached a high of 56°F.
The fishing conditions were very good, the catching was nearly excellent and the landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far, the best haddock day we have seen on the boat since Labor Day. The haddock cull was nearly 50/50 legal to sub-legal fish, favoring the legal fish. The second most prevalent species was the pollock. Legal landings also included two redfish, nine cusk, one white hake and three mackerel. Released fish included thirty-five dogfish, nine cod of 5 pounds or more, a couple pollock, a few small cod and the large number of sub-legal haddock. Ian believes that Fred Kunz hooked into a porbeagle shark. They drift fished for the trip. Bait was best today.
Sean Rosenberger (PA) and Fred Kunz (NH) were so close in legal fish count that Ian could not separate them. So both were considered to be high hook today. Shawn's largest fish was a 9 pound cod, the third largest fish of the trip. He also caught a 7 pound monkfish, the only monkfish caught in the last week and a half. Fred caught the second largest fish of the trip, a 10 pound pollock. Tim Rozan (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 15 pound cod. His largest pollock weighed 8 pounds.
Buzz Leonard (ME) landed the hard luck award for losing two jigs.
I received a generous $100.00 donation from John Andreychak (NJ) sponsoring me in the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Thank you so very much, John. I didn't expect it at the time you gave it to me this morning. Those donations are the best kind! Very much appreciated.
I spent about eight hours today working on getting my mother out of the hospital and into a rehab center so I could, eventually, get her back home along with private duty care. I don't know much about this stuff so it was a long process. The first four hours were focused just on that, along with a trip to the hospital to see her and talk to the social worker who was taking her case. By the end of the day I came up with, what I thought, was a very good plan. At least I feel very comfortable with my decisions at the end of the day. And I don't mean to leave my sisters or my wife, Deb, out of this. They have been there with me all the way, the support I need to move forward with this. And, of course, they have been visiting her on a regular basis, more than I have. At times I found myself trying to keep it together. It's a very difficult process but I want to be able to keep her safe, happy and as independent as the situation allows. That's the goal.
Sean Devich and I ran the marathon trip today. At 4:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 50°F, the sky was clear, the wind was out of the north at five knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The first half of the ride to the fishing grounds was easy with fifteen knots of northwest wind and two foot chops on the bum. We had excellent visibility, mild temperatures and a partly cloudy sky. The wind died for a bit and then hauled out of the north. This too blew up to about fifteen knots with a two foot chop.
On the fishing grounds, the wind continued to blow out of the north at fifteen knots. Seas were chops of two feet over a long rolling three foot swell. You could tell, though, that this wind had no teeth. A couple hours after sunrise, the wind started to drop. We had three knots of northerly wind with barely a chop at noon and then no wind for three hours after that. We had a light southerly wind on the ride home. The air temperature reached a high of 58°F in the shade. The sky was mostly sunny in the morning and cloudless after noon. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide (current) was light all day. The surface water temperature reached a high of 55°F.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 64°F with a low of 49°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 61°F (with a low of 33°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 61°F (with a low of 39°F).
The fishing conditions were very good, the catching was very good and landings were good. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included thirty-seven haddock, two redfish, ten cusk, seventeen white hake, two squirrel hake and two cunners. Released fish included fourteen dogfish, seven cod of 6 pounds or more, ten small cod, two sub-legal pollock, twenty-five sub-legal haddock and three small redfish. We drift fished and anchored, as I saw fit. All terminal gear worked well but bait was best on the haddock and hake. Flies were best on the pollock.
Shawn Rosenberger (PA) was high hook with the most legal fish and the most good sized fish. His largest fish, a 26 pound Maine state trophy white hake, was the fourth largest fish of the trip. He caught this hake as a double with another hake of 13 pounds, both fish caught on the same jig! One of the hake was caught on the stinger hook located at the top of the jig while the other was caught on the treble hook at the bottom. This is the second largest double of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. Some of Shawn's other good fish included two pollock of 11 pounds each, a 9.5 pound cod, an 8 pound cod, a 10.5 pound pollock, a double that included two pollock of 9.5 pounds each, a 12 pound pollock, a 19 pound white hake and a 14.75 pound hake. It was a good day to be Shawn Rosenberger!
Dana Decormier (NH) was having a hard day. He had hurled once, but not enough to quit fishing, couldn't catch a legal fish to save his soul and just didn't "feel it". That was the first half of the trip. During the second half, he started to catch some pollock. Maybe that changed it for him because, after the smoke cleared and we were heading home, he had won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 33 pound Maine state trophy white hake. Dana also caught two other white hake. One weighed 16 pounds and the other weighed 16.5 pounds. And the morning wasn't as bad as he made it out to be. He was leading the boat pool for most of the day with a 15 pound cod, the largest cod of the trip. And he also caught an 11.5 pound cod to lead the boat pool for the second largest fish of the trip for almost as long. The 11.5 pound cod was the second largest cod of the day. I did take a picture of Dana's big hake, the largest hake we have seen since nearly the first week of July. This digital image appears on the left.
Adam Quimby (ME) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 31 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This is the largest groundfish that Adam has ever caught. The second largest groundfish of his was an 18 pound pollock that he caught with us a couple of years ago. I took a picture of Adam with his prize fish. This digital image appears on the right. His second largest fish of the trip was a 12.5 pound white hake.
Nick Vegeto (NY) landed a 28.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake, the third largest fish of the trip and the largest hake he has ever caught. Some of his other good fish included another white hake of 22 pounds, the fifth largest fish of the trip, and a 10 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Chris Oliver (ME) caught a double that included an 11.5 pound cusk and a 17 pound white hake. This ties for the sixth largest double of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. His largest pollock weighed 10 pounds. Ernie DiStefano (NY) caught two pollock of 10.5 pounds each. His largest pollock weighed 10.75 pounds. But he had a huge groundfish of some kind on the line that he lost because he said I made him talk too much during the fight. Ah, if it hadn't been me, he would have blamed someone else! Joe Oliver (ME) caught a 16.5 pound white hake, a 10 pound pollock, a 10.5 pound pollock and a 17 pound white hake, his four largest fish. Dave Kozlowski (NY) was in Decormier mode for the first half of the trip. Unlike Dana, though, he clicked on one spot around noon and caught nine pollock in a row. At the same time, there were only fifteen pollock caught the period that we were on that spot. There was just something about Dave that made him very successful and made his whole trip. His two biggest fish on that one stop included a 10 pound pollock and a pollock that weighed 11.5 pounds. Margaret St. Germain (NY) landed an 11 pound pollock and a 9 pound white hake, her two largest fish. She caught quite a few haddock as well. Margaret also landed the hard luck award t-shirt for creating the best tangle of the day!
By the way, Thursday's marathon trip has been canceled as well.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 38°F, the sky was clear, the wind was out of the north at five knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The day started as a beautiful fall day with zero wind, clear skies and a mirror flat calm ocean looking from the parking lot in Perkins Cove. As we approached noon, clouds were approaching from the south and west. The air temperature got up as high as 59°F. I never did see a higher air temperature today. The wind picked up out of the south and was blowing over twenty knots by mid afternoon. At that time the sky was totally overcast. The sky remained overcast well into the night with very light rain occasionally but nothing you had to wear oil gear for. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 63°F with a low of 46°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 61°F (with a low of 28°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 59°F (with a low of 33°F).
It was good that the boat wasn't going today, for me. I was informed that my mother was to be discharged from York Hospital at 12:30 PM yesterday. I found that out on the way in from fishing. I had planned to pick her up in the red car she first owned, that I bought from her six years later. This I did. I brought her to a rehab facility. She needed to go to rehab since she wasn't strong enough to go back home and live on her own. And, until she spends some time in rehab, we won't know if she will ever be able to live on her own. I am planning to bring her home, hopefully within a week or two. And, when I do, it will be with someone at the house 24/7 - to start. It's easier, in my mind, if I go with as much help as I can get and back off later rather than the other way around.
It took me quite a while to get my mother to accept being in a new facility. She wanted to go home. As much as I explained it to her, she would bring up the subject again. When I left her around 4:30 PM, it seemed like she had understood what I told her - to some degree. So I went back to work at Barnacle Billy's restaurants. We were not that busy but it was busy enough. And I had orders to complete. I was done at 7:30 PM and was planning to go to the rehab facility to see my Mom when Deb called telling me that the facility called and told her that I needed to come back; my mother had dressed and was going to "walk up the hill" and go home. And that's where I found her when I got there, in the hall, dressed and a holding a bag ready to walk out the door. It was heart rending, to say the least. It took me two hours to talk my mother into staying. And as I drove out at 10:30 PM, I thought that, surely, they would be calling me to come back. And I truly considered sleeping on a couch there just in case. The reason I didn't was that we had a coastal storm warning that could, potentially, compromise the boats and the restaurant. When I got into bed, I left all the phones in the house on the bed stand preparing myself for a call. The call never came.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 54°F, the sky was overcast, it was raining lightly, the wind was out of the east southeast at thirty-five knots with higher gusts and the visibility over the ocean was poor. It had poured rain during the night, filling most of the skiffs and punts tied to the floats in Perkins Cove. Wind gusts of sixty knots were reported at around 4:00 AM. By mid-morning, the wind had backed out of the west and was blowing a good thirty-five knots with gusts over forty knots. Thirty-five knots was the rule for the rest of the day. I never did look at the high air temperature for the day but I suspect it was better than 60°F. The visibility increased to very good. The sky remained mostly overcast with light rain showers on and off until about 6:00 PM, when the sky cleared and the moon could be seen above the horizon. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 64°F with a low of 52°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 57°F (with a low of 45°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 57°F (with a low of 44°F).
I was still in bed at 4:45 AM when the power went out. I had not planned on sleeping that late but the emotional roller coaster yesterday with my mother must have taken the starch right out of me. And I did go to bed later than normal. And I knew I didn't have to get ready for a fishing trip. So it really didn't matter that I woke later. But it really did matter with a power outage. So, before the sun was up, which I wouldn't have been able to see anyway (cloud cover), Matt Pedersen and I had the generator down at Barnacle Billy's (original) running so we could keep the lobsters in the lobster tanks alive. Later, Eric Littlefield was down with a generator for Barnacle Billy's, Etc. He and Tom Sullivan hooked the generators up to maintain the temperatures inside the refrigerators. I couldn't get any dialog from Central Maine Power. And, indeed, their web site couldn't give us any details as to when the power would come back on. By 10:00 AM, I had made the decision to close "Original". At 10:30 AM, I made the decision to close "Etc" as well.
While I was running around with boats and restaurants, my wife, Deb, and my sister, Meg, went to the rehab facility to visit our Mom. I had called early to find that, after I left last night, my mother did well. She slept like a baby and never woke up until 4:00 AM. When she did wake up, she was very happy and the nurses told me that they were delighted with the way my mother acted. And they were pleased to have her there. But they were not the same nurses who were on the shift before when my mother had decided she was going home!
Back to the restaurants; we got together and started a watch system through the day, through the night and into the morning. Depite multiple calls to CMP, I couldn't get a human voice until mid afternoon. And that human voice wasn't very helpful. I learned nothing. By the end of this, we will have lost quite a bit of product. Oh, it could be worse; we could be living in the lower Bahamas I suppose. But it certainly isn't what we hoped to be doing these last few days.
At 6:00 PM, Deb, Meg and I went back and visited our mother, who was in great spirits and seemed to be settling in, much to my surprise. We also met with a woman who has a nursing service for 24/7 care. With her, we will go through my mother's house to make sure it is made a bit safer for her, make those changes and get a plan in place to make her happier, safer and give her a bit more independence. Certainly a work in progress.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 45°F, the sky was clear, the wind was blowing out of the west at eight knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The wind stayed out of the west at speeds of ten to, almost, fifteen knots until sometime before noon when the wind hauled out of the northwest and increased in velocity. Northwest wind speeds of twenty knots or more continued throughout the day. The air temperature increased to 60°F in Perkins Cove before the wind shift. By 6:00 PM, the air temperature had dropped to 48°F. The sky was clear, nearly cloudless, all day. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 62°F with a low of 48°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 56°F (with a low of 43°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 59°F (with a low of 39°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the west northwest at fifteen to twenty-five knots. Seas were chops of two to four feet but a little bit larger on the way back - right into it. The high air temperature for the trip was 55°F in the shade. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds. The surface water temperature never got any higher than 52°F.
The fishing conditions were only less than excellent because of the weather. There were no dogfish, no blue sharks and very few tangles. The catching was very good. Landing were good to very good. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included forty-three haddock, one redfish and two cusk. Released fish included eight cod over 5 pounds, twelve sub-legal haddock, a handful of small cod, a couple small pollock and one porbeagle shark. They anchored and drift fished. All terminal gear worked well but cod flies caught the most pollock.
Dave Haberl (VT) and Shawn Rosenberger (PA) tied for high hook today. Both had a pile of pollock. Dave's largest was a 10 pound pollock, the third largest fish of the trip. Shawn didn't have a pollock that large. Christian Rice (CT) won the boat pool for largest fish with the largest fish, an 11.5 pound pollock. He also caught a 9.5 pound pollock. Corben Spring (PA) landed the second largest fish of the trip, an 11 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Laura McRee (VT) landed the hard luck award for being the sole hurler for the trip.
For my part, today, I stood watch at the restaurants from 6:00 AM until around 9:00 AM. Eric Littlefield and Danny Neumann were there early (Danny had the shift before me). Tom Sullivan showed up at 8:00 AM and then was I joined by Matt Pedersen at 9:00 AM and, later, the rest of the gang (Chuck MacDonald, Chad Schools and Stu Dunn). We got power back to Perkins Cove at 11:30 AM. From there on, I worked getting everything back to normal, ordering new product, throwing out anything that could potentially be bad and helping organize our opening tomorrow. I have a wonderful group of managers, all of whom make me look like I know something, those mentioned above. Without them I would be hard pressed to do as good a job. Truth of the matter, they did most of the work while I hung out on the fringes.
Working at the restaurant lasted most of the day. At 2:30 PM, I drove to see my mother at her rehab facility and to sign papers and get everything documented. She was okay but wanted to go home. We will get her there as soon as we can.
I received a wonderful $60.00 donation from Dave Haberl sponsoring me in the Pan-Mass Challenge. Dave has supported me for a number of years in this, my cancer project. Thanks so much, Dave. I very much appreciate your help!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 39°F, the sky was clear, the wind was blowing out of the west at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. The wind was light all day. The westerly died out and was replaced by north northwest wind about ten knots, which died out and then hauled out of the southwest. Wind speeds were no more than ten knots. The sky was clear all day, cloudless for most of it. The visibility was excellent. The highest air temperature that I saw was 59°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high was 62°F with a low of 44°F). Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 60°F (with a low of 31°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 59°F (with a low of 35°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northwest at fifteen knots, dropped to ten, and then five, went calm and then hauled out of the southwest at five to ten knots. Seas were chops starting at two feet and dropping to calm followed by chops of about a foot. The sky was sunny all day. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The air temperature reached a high of 54°F. The surface water temperature reached a high of 52°F.
The fishing conditions were excellent, the catching was nearly so and landings were very good, a very good day overall. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. They caught quite a few haddock legal haddock as well. The haddock cull was five to one, favoring the legal sized fish. Legal landings also included two redfish and four cusk. Released fish included one dogfish, twelve cod over five pounds, a handful of small cod and pollock and the short haddock. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked well.
Mike Cody was the official high hook today and won the charter pool that they had for high hook as well. Justin Brown may have been high hook but didn't count his fish. So Justin lost out on the prize money. But he did land the Bunny Clark's hard luck award t-shirt for putting himself in that position! Mike's largest fish was a 10.5 pound cod, the largest cod of the day. Justin caught the best double which included a 10 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time! The 11 pound pollock was the third largest fish of the trip.
T. J. Altomer won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 13 pound pollock. The second largest fish was a 12 pound pollock, caught by Bill Cody.
Other Angler Highlights: Bob Payne (NY) caught a 10 pound cod, his largest fish. Greg Caswell landed a 10.5 pound pollock.
I received two generous donations sponsoring me in my cancer research project with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Mike Cody donated $100.00 while Bill Cody matched it with another $100.00 donation. Thank you both so very much for your support and generosity. I so truly appreciate the help. Cancer never sleeps. Nor should the fund raising to fight it. All the best to both of you until next season!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 34°F, the sky was clear, the wind was light out of the north and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. More later.
We have many angler openings for future fishing trips. You can look on line yourself by clicking the "reservations on line boat icon". The weather has been much calmer, overall, as compared to last summer. And, of course, the haddock are much more plentiful than last season. To make a reservation you can call 207-646-2214 or book on line. Be there or be square!
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