Book a Trip on Line
Gulf of Maine haddock
These regulations for groundfish apply equally to anglers on privately owned recreational boats and party/charter boats as well.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 54°F, the sky was mosaic pattern of evenly spaced clouds and clear patches, the wind was light out of the west and the visibility over the ocean was very good at least.
Ashore, the day started out perfectly, with clear skies and warming air temperatures. There was no fog like there was yesterday morning. And it felt like fall coming on. Except, so far, we have had warmer air temperatures on a daily basis than we had last year. The wind blew out of the west at light speeds and then ended up out of the east at light speeds. Maybe five knots at most? The ocean along the shore was as calm as a mill pond. The sky was clear all day, cloudless for most of it. The visibility was excellent all day. The highest air temperature that I saw was 70°F. The light wind off the water kept the temperature down a bit from what I saw in other areas of the state. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 68°F (with a low of 54°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 77°F (with a low of 48°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 72°F (with a low of 50°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind was non-existent. I guess you could say it was light and variable but there really was no wind. The ocean was calm all day. Too calm for drifting in shallow water. The high air temperature, as recorded under the canopy top, was 67°F. But it wasn't as warm outside the canopy top as it was yesterday. The visibility ranged from a half mile in fog during the early part of the fishing to over twenty miles in the later morning and afternoon. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was clear and cloudy. The surface water temperature reached a high of 63°'F, a very high surface water temperature for almost the first of October.
The fishing was good. It could have been better but they were killed by dogfish in the morning and blue sharks in the afternoon. Other than that, the fishing was excellent. The catching was very good to excellent. The landings, overall, were excellent. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Ian didn't weigh a lot of fish in the 10 pound class today.Legal landings also included seven cod, nine haddock, two redfish, seven cusk, fourteen whiting and about twenty mackerel. Released fish included twelve blue sharks (and twelve jigs lost), one hundred and forty-eight dogfish, seven sub-legal cod, thirty-five sub-legal haddock, forty-one sub-legal pollock, one sub-legal redfish, a barndoor skate and a couple mackerel. They drift fished all day. No bait was used today, just jigs and cod flies.
No way could Ian tell who was high hook with the most legal fish today. It was busy in the morning but Ian and Danny were right out straight in the afternoon. And so many anglers did equally well. Dwayne Stoll (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 20 pound barndoor skate. Ian took a picture of Dwayne with only our second barndoor skate this season so far. This digital image appears on the left in this missive. The second largest fish was a 17 pound pollock caught by Michael Fisher (ME). Bryan Basile (CT) caught the third largest fish, a 16 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Aleigha Mason (CT) boated a 14 pound pollock, her largest fish. Mathias Stoll (ME) caught a 12.5 pound pollock and a 14.5 pound pollock, his two biggest fish. Mark Fraher (CT) caught a 15 pound pollock, his best. Lucas Fraher (CT) also caught a 15 pound pollock. Richard Mason (CT) boated a 14 pound pollock. Phil Hibbard (ME) caught two pollock that weighed 13 pounds each. Patrick Caron (ME) caught a 12 pound pollock. Anthony Caron (ME) caught an 11 pound pollock. Jared Stoll (ME) boated a 14.5 pound pollock, his biggest fish. Aaron Fisher (ME) landed the hard luck award for being the sole (soul?) hurler today. Not good!
I received two donations sponsoring me in the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Those wonderful individuals and their donations included $40.00 from Mark Fraher and Mary Ann Donovan & Gary Vincze (CT) for $50.00. Mary Ann's & Gary's donation was made "in memory of Pat who died last month.Thank you for all you do." And thank you for your support today and over the years. I believe that it helps so much. And I certainly appreciate the help!
At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 55°F, the sky was mostly cloudy, the wind was light out of the northeast and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
We had an easy ride to the fishing grounds as the wind never got any stronger than about seven knots or so. Seas were chops of a foot or two just by nature of the wind direction. There is a long fetch with a northeast wind. The visibility was excellent. The sky was mostly cloudy. The air temperature rose to 60°F about three miles from Perkins Cove and stayed there all the way to our destination.
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northeast or east northeast for most of the day. Although, most of the morning had an easterly lilt to the wind. And the current was certainly west (from the east). Wind speeds increased to about fifteen knots with seas that increased to three and four feet. Seas were enhanced by the tide. The air temperature stayed at 62°F all day, never wavering. The visibility ranged to over fifteen miles, near as I could tell with no reference points. The sky cleared for most of the morning but clouded up by noon. The sky wasn't totally overcast but it came as close as it gets without being so. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The surface water temperature was close to 60°F but dropped to 58.2°F by the time we were ready to head home.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 64°F with overcast skies and the wind blowing across the parking lot from the ocean. I was told that it felt raw all day in the Cove. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 66°F (with a low of 57°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 69°F (with a low of 47°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 63°F (with a low of 46°F).
The fishing was good to very good overall. You would have thought that the sea state would be a consideration. But it really wasn't. No one got sea sick and the tide wasn't strong. However, mobility and range were cut down because of the seas. The wind prevented me from drifting when I wanted to. But the biggest deterrent to the fishing were the blue sharks. They were a constant bother today. Fishing would have been nearly excellent without them. The catching was very good. Landings were very good overall. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far, many over 10 pounds that I didn't weigh. Legal landings also included fifteen cod, thirteen haddock, thirty-nine redfish, four cusk, one white hake, six whiting and four squirrel hake. Released fish included twenty-one blue sharks (probably more; we lost twenty-one jigs to blue sharks today.), seven dogfish, six legal sized cod, three sub-legal cod, one sub-legal haddock and five sub-legal pollock. We did try one drift in the morning. We anchored for the rest of the day. Jigs and cod flies caught all the fish today.
Fred Kunz (NH) was high hook with the most legal fish including the most redfish of the trip. He lost, what appeared to be, a trophy sized cusk in the morning. The fish got off the hook at the surface and swam right back to bottom. Cusk rarely do that! Instead, they stay floating on the surface until we can gaff them. Not this one. His largest cod was 10.5 pounds. His largest pollock weighed 10 pounds. Stan Johnson (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 19 pound pollock. This pollock comes in as a tie for the Bunny Clark's fifth largest pollock of the fishing season to date. He caught quite a few pollock today. Drew LaSalle (ME) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with second largest fish of the trip and the largest cod at 15.25 pounds. I did weight a 10.5 pound pollock for him.
John Ford (PA) won the boat pool for the third largest fish, a 15 pound pollock. I would wager that he caught the most pollock of anyone today. I do believe he would have caught even more pollock had he taken the hook protectors off the treble hook on his jig! I have never known John to be as much of a conservationist as he was today! Some of the other fish of John's that I weighed included an 11 pound cod, a double that included a 10 pound pollock and an 8 pound pollock (both fish caught on the same line at the same time) and a 12.5 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Dave Burton (MA) figured out how to catch more fish when he ditched the "whale wire" he had been using for the last couple of trips. He did come into it by the middle of the trip today. He caught the first fish I could weigh, an 8 pound cusk. He caught pollock up to and over 10 pounds. J.D. Willson (AR) caught the best double today. His fish included a 12.5 pound pollock and a 10 pound pollock. He also caught an 11 pound cod, a 10 pound cod and another pollock of 12.5 pounds. Phil Ashe (NY) caught the most legal cod today. His first cod weighed about 8 or 9 pounds, which he kept. He then released an 8.5 pound cod and a 12.5 pound cod. The biggest fish I weighed for Sam Yang (ME) was a 10.5 pound pollock.
Julie Mahony (ME) caught an 11 pound pollock, her best. Joe Ford (PA) caught the largest haddock at 4 pounds. Chris LaSalle (PA) caught a 10.5 pound pollock and a 14 pound pollock, his two best. Mark Belanger (ME) boated a 12.5 pound pollock. Alex Hersom (ME) caught a pollock slightly bigger at 13 pounds. Tom LaSalle (NJ) caught a 13.25 pound pollock, his biggest fish. He also landed the hard luck award t-shirt for losing the most jigs to blue sharks!
I was surprised by more donations to my cancer research fund raising project with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. These donors and their donations included Betsy McLaughlin (NY) for a very generous $500.00 - her second $500.00 donation this season - (Betsy has been so very generous over all the years that I have been involved in this project.), an anonymous donation of $50.00, a $50.00 donation from Dave Burton, who has also been very generous in this project, Fred Kunz for $15.00, a lift time supporter, and Steve McGrath (NH) for another $50.00, who has supported this fund raising drive through me since 2007! Thank you all so very much for your thoughtfulness and generosity. I am so humbled by your support and appreciate this so very much.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 51°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the northeast at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was very good, at least.
Ashore, The wind continued out of the northeast for a while but the wind didn't have any teeth. Wind speeds were approaching ten knots but never got there. By noon, the wind was out of the east at the same velocity. By 7:00 PM, there was very little easterly wind. The visibility was very good all day. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds. The air temperature reached a high of 66°F, that I saw. The wind off the water kept the air temperature down. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 66°F (with a low of 55°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 65°F (with a low of 43°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 63°F (with a low of 47°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the east at ten to five knots. Seas were swells of two to three feet under a two to one foot chop. The air temperature reached a high of 61°F. The visibility ranged to over fifteen miles in haze. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds. The surface water temperature reached a high of 60°F.
The fishing was very good today. There were only a few blue sharks, fewer dogfish and great weather with sunny skies and mild air temperatures, a perfect day for humans on the high seas. The catching was very good and landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. In fact, they had to get away from the pollock because over half the crew caught pollock with me yesterday so they didn't want anymore. The pollock were of better sizes in general than yesterday as well. Legal landings also included seven cod, eleven haddock, five redfish, four cusk, twelve whiting and ten mackerel. Releaseed fish included four blue sharks, fifteen dogfish, four sub-legal cod, twenty sub-legal haddock, twenty sub-legal pollock and a couple mackerel.
Ian, again, couldn't tell me who was high hook with the most legal fish. I don't think it was possible unless you counted fillets. Everyone did equally well. Joe Stanton, Jr. (PA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 17 pound pollock. He also caught a 14 pound pollock that tied for the third largest fish of the trip with John Ford (PA) who also caught a 14 pound pollock. Ian also weighed a 12.5 pound pollock that John caught. The second largest fish was a 16.5 pound pollock caught by Joe Ford (PA).
Other Angler Highlights: Steve McGrath (NH) caught a 13 pound pollock and a 12 pound pollock, his two best fish. Craig MacDowell (MA) landed a 12 pound pollock and an 11.5 pound pollock. Joe Stanton, Sr. caught an 11.5 pound pollock and lost three jigs to blue sharks in the process. Lindsey MacDowell (MA) caught the best double of the day. Her catch included a 12.5 pound pollock and a 10.5 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time! Ian took a picture of Lindsey holding her two pollock. This digital image appears on the right. She also caught a 12 pound pollock. And she landed the hard luck award t-shirt for being the only sea sick angler aboard today. It did not affect her fishing prowess.
Andy Armitage (ME) did cancer research a huge favor by donating $250.00 through me to the Pan-Mass Challenge today. This donation was made in the form of an "eGift" through the PMC site. He also left me a note that said: "Tim - you are an inspiration in all you do for the PMC and the money you raise for such a fantastic cause. This genuinely helps so many people fighting cancer - both now and in the future." Andy has been supporting my cancer project, almost, since the time I got involved in 2007. He is so good about it. But not quite as good as he is as a host and as a person. English football has become a major part of my life's entertainment because of Andy. There is so very much to appreciate about the man, including appreciating his support in this cancer project.
At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 52°F, the sky was overcast, there wasn't enough wind to write about and the visibility over the ocean was very good, at least.
It was flat calm from the gate at the entrance to Perkins Cove to the fishing grounds. When there was wind, it was a knot or two out of the northwest. Or just ripples on the surface. We also had about a three foot long ocean swell underneath. The sky went from overcast to clear. The visibility was very good. The air temperature hung at 61°F for the whole ride out.
On the fishing grounds, there was no wind for the first four hour of fishing. There was very little drift as well. But there was some drift. And we did have that underlying swell that ranged from three to four feet every eleven seconds. The calm ocean lasted until about 2:00 PM. After that, the wind started blowing from the south southwest. This wind slowly increased in velocity. By 3:00 PM it was blowing about ten knots. When we were on our way back, the south southwest wind blew about fifteen knots with seas of two feet or more in chops and three or four foot long following swell. The air temperature reached a high of 63°F. The visibility ranged to twenty miles in haze. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The sky was clear to start, overcast for the middle part of the fishing and clear for most of the afternoon and the ride home. The surface water temperature was mostly 58°F wherever I went.
. Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 71°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 69°F (with a low of 53°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 74°F (with a low of 48°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 66°F (with a low of 49°F).
The fishing was very good to excellent. There were a handful of dogfish and a few blue sharks but the weather was great with plenty of mobility and never had to waist time anchoring. The catching was very good. Landings were very good, excellent for size. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. I didn't weigh a lot of pollock under 11 or more pounds. As it was, I think I weighed too many. Legal landings also included seven cod, nineteen haddock, three redfish, eight cusk, twenty-six white hake and two whiting. Released fish included eighteen dogfish, four blue sharks, fifteen sub-legal cod, eighteen sub-legal haddock, nine sub-legal pollock and a mackerel. We drift fished all day. Jigs and cod flies caught all the legal fish today.
Dave Burton (MA) and Jonathan "Griff" Griffin (MA) shared high hook status with the most legal fish today. Dave won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 34.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This is our eighth largest hake of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. Some of his other good fish included a 21 pound white hake, an 11.75 pound pollock, a 15 pound white hake and a 10 pound pollock. Also, Dave caught a hake on almost every spot we fished today. Griff, for his part, didn't catch huge fish but did catch a lot of fish, as mentioned. Some of his fish included a 24.5 pound white hake, a 13.5 pound pollock, a 21.5 pound white hake, a 16.5 pound white hake and an 18.5 pound white hake. He caught many pollock under 11 pounds.
Ken Altarac (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 37 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This is the Bunny Clark's third largest hake of the fishing season so far. I took a picture of Ken with his big fish. This digital image appears on the left. I also weighed to pollock for him that were 11 and 13 pounds. Gloria Gennari (MA) won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the third largest fish, a 30 pound Maine state trophy white hake. Her largest pollock weighed 12 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Jim Koplar (CT), sans Guy Hesketh (his dory mate), landed a 24 pound white hake as his largest fish. He also caught a 10.5 pound pollock and a 13 pound pollock. But his catch of the day were the last two fish of the trip. Caught as a double, both fish on the same line at the same time, he caught a 17.5 pound pollock and a 12 pound pollock. This ties our fifth largest double of the Bunny Clark season so far. John Ford (PA) also caught a double that included an 18 pound white hake and a 14 pound white hake. That is our fourth largest double of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. Some of John's other good fish included a 13 pound pollock, another 18 pound white hake, a 12 pound pollock, an 18.5 pound white hake, a 14 pound pollock, a 20 pound white hake and another 12 pound pollock. Joe Ford (PA) caught the largest double of the Bunny Clark fishing season today - as of this writing. His double included a 24.5 pound white hake and a 21.5 pound white hake. I took a picture of Joe holding up his double. This digital image appears on the right. (Eat your heart out, Shawn!) A couple other fish of his that I weighed included a 12 pound pollock and a 22.5 pound white hake.
Jesse Barber (CT) landed a 12.75 pound pollock, a 15 pound pollock, a 12 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock. He wanted to catch a hake today. But that didn't happen for him. Shakhan "Shak" Wyche (NY) also wanted to catch a hake. Instead, he caught the largest pollock of the trip at 18 pounds. Another pollock of his weighed 10 pounds. Captain Joe Stanton, Jr. (PA) boated a 23 pound white hake, his best fish today. His largest pollock weighed 14.5 pounds. And he also caught a 15.25 pound white hake. Joe Stanton, Sr. (PA) landed an 18 pound white hake, his biggest fish. Jonathan Tyska (MA) caught an 11.5 pound pollock, a 15 pound white hake and a 10.5 pound pollock. Dana Decormier (NH) had a battle with he equilibrium today. He was okay for a while but gave in to it after a couple of hours of fishing. But not before Dana boated the third largest pollock of the trip at 17 pounds. And, yes, he landed the hard luck award t-shirt for hanging out in the Hotel Bunny Clark for the rest of the trip!
I received donations today sponsoring me in my cancer fundraising drive with the Pan-Mass Challenge. Those donors and their gifts included Gloria Gennari for $50.00, Dave Burton for a generous $100.00 (Dave has been my most generous continuous donor this season!!!), Dana Decormier for $40.00, Joe Ford for $60.00 and Captain Joe Stanton for $50.00. Thank you all so very much for your support and thoughtfulness. None of this is ever lost on me. I appreciate all the help I can get. And I do get a lot of help and support. It's humbling.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 53°F, the sky was hazy clear, there was no wind, it was perfectly still at Oarweed Cove on the other side of the parking lot and the visibility over the ocean was very good in some haze.
Ashore, there was really no wind all day. The wind we did have in the morning was from the northeast but it was only because you the hear the bell buoy that you knew the wind was out of the northeast carrying the sound to us. The ocean was calm with a long swell showing up as waves breaking on the shore. The visibility was very good in some haze. We even had a bit of fog offshore for a small period of time. The sky was clear in the morning and mostly overcast in the afternoon. It looked like it was going to rain with at 4:00 PM but it never did. The wind started to blow out of the south at 5:00 PM or so. By 8:00 PM, the southerly wind was up to twelve knots. The highest air temperature that I saw today was 68°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 79°F (with a low of 51°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 74°F (with a low of 44°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 64°F (with a low of 45°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest after a long calm period in the morning without wind. The ocean was calm all day with a two foot swell. The air temperature reached a high of 63°F. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles. The sky was sunny in the morning, as it was ashore, and overcast in the afternoon, as we had. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 60°F.
The fishing was very good today, like yesterday with just a few more dogfish and very few blue sharks. The catching was very good. Landings were good to very good overall. Most legal fish landed were pollock. Legal landings also included seven cod, nine haddock, a redfish, six cusk, a whiting and fifteen mackerel. Released fish included fifty-five dogfish, a blue shark, six legal sized cod, twelve sub-legal cod, fifteen sub-legal haddock, twenty-eight sub-legal pollock and a couple mackerel. Drifting was the method. Only jigs and cod flies were used today. No angler used bait.
Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook with the most legal fish. Jonathan Tyska (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 13 pound pollock. He also caught a pollock that weighed 10.5 pounds. Jonathan "Griff" Griffin (MA) landed the second largest fish, a 12.5 pound pollock. The third largest fish was an 11.5 pound pollock caught by Dale Blanton (NH). He also caught the largest cod at 11 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Mark Simpson (NH) boated a 10 pound pollock and a 9 pound pollock, his two biggest fish. Gloria Gennari (MA) landed the hard luck award for being the only angler to not land a fish of 10 pounds or more.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 57°F, the sky was overcast, there was no wind in Perkins Cove but the closest weather buoy was showing ten knots out of the south and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
I was going to go for a run after the boat left at 5:00 AM but I figured I would wait until the sun came up. But it started to rain lightly. So I didn't go. The rained didn't last and hardly got the ground wet. The clouds lasted for most of the morning. The sky started to break up around 10:00 AM. By noon, the sky was completely clear. The visibility was excellent, less so in the rain and haze earlier. The wind backed out of the north and blew up to ten knots. After noon, the wind was out of the northeast and stayed at about five or six knots. The air temperature was warm. By noon, it was 70°F. The high air temperature reached 74°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 71°F (with a low of 57°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 72°F (with a low of 40°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 70°F (with a low of 47°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at five knots to start then backed out of the north northwest at ten to fifteen knots. Seas swells with a one foot chop over the top at first increasing to a two foot chop with the wind shift. The air temperature reached a high of 63°F. The visibility ranged from fifteen to twenty miles in some haze. The tide (current) was strong. The sky was overcast for most of the morning but sunny after noon and the wind shift. The surface water temperature reached a high of 59°F.
The fishing was good at best today. The tide was very strong, there were many anglers sea sick (which was very unexpected) and they had a lot of blue shark strikes. There were, however, very few dogfish today. The catching was good to very good. Landings were good. Most legal fish landed were pollock. Legal landings also included eleven cod, two haddock, six cusk and fifteen mackerel. Released fish included ten blue sharks (with ten jigs), four dogfish, twenty sub-legal cod, fourteen sub-legal haddock, twenty-one sub-legal pollock and a couple mackerel. They anchored mostly but drift fished later in the day. No bait was used today; only jigs and flies.
Pat Sweenor was high hook with the most legal fish. His two best fish were a 10.5 pound pollock and a 12.5 pound pollock. Kevin Mannion won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 17 pound cod. This is the Bunny Clark's ties for the sixth largest cod of the fishing season so far. The second largest fish was a 15.25 pound pollock caught by Sam Sweenor. Sam also caught a pollock that weighed 12.5 pounds. Keith House caught the third largest fish, a 15 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Stuffy House boated a 10 pound pollock early today. His largest fish was a 13 pound pollock. Jacob Allen caught a 10.5 pound pollock. Brian Adao boated a 12.5 pound pollock, his best. Rodney Sharp caught a 12 pound pollock. Mark Espada landed a 14 pound pollock, his biggest fish. He also landed the hard luck award t-shirt for making high hurler status. Ouch! I did talk to Mark at the dock when they came back in. He had made a remarkable recovery.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 46°F (the lowest morning air temperature at my house since May 12, 2024), the sky was crystal clear, the wind was blowing out of the north at five knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The air temperature was cool all day today, making one feel that fall was fast approaching. We have had such mild weather this fall that it's going to come as a shock when cold weather does finally overwhelm us. Today's high temperature was 61°F. Or, at least, that was the highest air temperature that I saw. The wind blew out of the north all day. Wind speeds were about ten knots or less, decreasing as the day progressed. The visibility was excellent. The sky was clear and sunny for most of the day. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 62°F (with a low of 51°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 67°F (with a low of 35°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 60°F (with a low of 43°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northeast at ten knots to start and then diminished during the trip. Seas started as a two foot chop over a long swell that was also about two feet. By the end of the day there was just a long rolling swell under a calm surface. The air temperature reached a high of 60°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The sky was overcast in the morning, sunny in the afternoon through clear skies. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 59°F.
The fishing was very good, the category down a notch due to some dogfish and blue sharks. The sea state was fine. The catching was very good as were the landings. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included nine cod, four haddock, four cusk and thirty-five mackerel. Released fish included forty-one dogfish, three blue sharks (with jewelry), ten sub-legal cod, twenty-two sub-legal haddock, forty or so sub-legal pollock and a few mackerel. Oddly, most of the action was closer to noon and near the end of the trip with the better weather. Drifting was the method. Only jigs and cod flies were used. No bait was used today.
Ian could not tell me who was high hook with the most legal fish today. There was much going on. Darlene Chin (FL/VT) probably caught the most significant fish in total. She landed the largest double, which included a 14 pound pollock and a 13 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time! And she caught the second and third largest fish of the trip, a 15 pound pollock and a 16 pound pollock. Actually, her 14 pound pollock tied for the fourth largest fish of the trip. Mary Glyptis (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 20 pound pollock. This fish ties the third largest pollock caught on the Bunny Clark this fishing season so far. She had already caught a 10 pound pollock before this fish for practice. Captain Ian took a picture of Mary holding her large pollock with his iPhone. This digital image appears on the left.
Other Angler Highlights: Buzz Leonard (ME) started off the trip with the first fish to weigh, a 10 pound pollock. Later in the day he caught another 10 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock. Brian Tufts (NH/FL) caught the largest cod at 8 pounds. Chris Cichon (NJ) caught boated an 11 pound pollock, a 12 pound pollock and a pollock that weighed 12.5 pounds. Cooper Boccanfuso (ME) caught a 12.5 pound pollock, his largest fish. Dan Potyrala (MA) caught a 13 pound pollock and two pollock that weighed 12 pounds each. Ali Laflamme (ME) started off with a 9 pound but tied Darlene for the fourth largest fish of the trip with a 14 pound pollock. John Godbout (SC) landed the hard luck award for catching not a single legal fish. That takes talent; to have your terminal gear down there with so many fish and not hook a single one. How do you practice for that?
Dan Potyrala did me a huge favor today by donating $70.00 to me cancer project with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Dan's father, Chet, was the reason I decided to dedicate some time every day to help fight cancer. Chet was a regular angler on the Bunny Clark - like his son (sons). Thank you so very much, Dan. This is very much appreciated by all involved!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 57°F, the stars could be seen through a hazy sky, the wind was blowing out of the south at eight knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
By 7:00 AM, the sky was overcast. By 8:00 AM, it had started to rain. It rained all day. We had a hard rain around 8:30 to 9:00 AM. Mostly it was a misty rain. But there were brief times when it didn't rain at all. Those time periods were about ten to fifteen minutes long, at most. The sky was misting at sunset. The visibility had dropped to fair by 8:30 AM in mist, haze and some fog. The southerly wind increased to fifteen knots by 9:00 AM and over twenty knots in gusts by 10:30 AM. The wind ranged from eighteen to twenty-one knots until nearly sunset. By 6:00 PM, it had started to back off and was blowing fifteen knots, more or less, by 7:00 PM. The air temperature got up as high as 59°F. But that's as far as it got. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 61°F (with a low of 53°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 57°F (with a low of 48°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 57°F (with a low of 50°F).
I spent the day at the restaurant, getting ready for tomorrow's marathon trip and working on the Bunny Clark in the engine room of the Bunny Clark.
On September 22, 2024, Bob Withee passed away from complications with cancer. He was seventy-nine years old. But he always seemed younger than that to me. He and Danny Angerman were the two most influential anglers that I ever took out on the Bunny Clark. They made the Bunny Clark a much better fishing boat than it would have been had they not decided to go fishing with me. They introduced me to the jig stick, special jigs and a way of fishing that I had never witnessed before. They made me a better captain. And so, made my captains better captains. Bob got sea sick. But he wouldn't get sick until it got really rough. He rarely stopped fishing. But there was that occasional time where it just overwhelmed him. Bob caught several world record fish with me and witnessed other world records with anglers. I called him one time when he was in a fishing contest for the largest cod. I had found a place where I thought he would have a good chance. He caught a 72 pound cod on that trip and won the contest by a large margin. Bob was a clean dresser and stayed that way. He left the boat as clean as when he arrived, which always amazed me. And he was a very intelligent individual who I had a lot of respect for. He loved his fishing. But he loved catching big fish. I learned a lot from Bob. But he was also a good friend and always called me on my birthday to wish me a happy one. I don't particularly like my birthday. And I think that was part of his enjoyment about wishing me a good one. I will miss Bob. He was a wonderful, thoughtful individual who made me laugh. He was successful in everything he was ever involved in. A winner except with cancer.
I would have written about Bob sooner but I was having trouble getting people to find my site after the server change. And it was too much for me to write about Bob's passing right after it happened. It's hard when you like and respect someone so much and you realize that you will never see that person ever again. And, yet, I don't believe I did the man as much justice in the paragraph above as he truly deserved. He deserved better. Of course, I only knew him from fishing.
At 3:30 AM EDT the air temperature was 52°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the west northwest at eight knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The sky was starting to clear as we headed down the channel to the gate that would free us from the inshore waters. We were met by a six foot long rolling sea swell out of the southeast. Half way to the fishing grounds we had the six foot swell with the occasional queer one with a two foot chop. Wind speeds were estimated at ten knots. The highest air temperature that I saw on the way out was 54°F. The visibility was excellent. The sky was still mostly cloudy but it was a comfortable ride due to the direction we were going.
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the north northeast at ten knots to start. A couple hours later, the wind was out of the north at eight to ten knots. The wind velocity gradually dropped until there was no wind, the ocean turning glassy. We had the big ocean swells all day. They ranged from six to eight feet. They might have been smaller at the end of the day. But they weren't that small, ever. Just as we were about to leave the grounds, the wind came up out of the northwest. It was just a light breeze which we carried all the way back home. The highest air temperature was 57°F under the canopy top. The visibility ranged to thirty miles, at least. The tide was strong in the morning and moderate in the afternoon. We had a nearly cloudless sky all day. The surface water temperature ranged from 55°F to 56°F the whole day.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 65°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 66°F (with a low of 51°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 64°F (with a low of 36°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 63°F (with a low of 40°F).
The fishing was good to very good. To my knowledge we had no blue sharks. There were few dogfish. But the strong tide and the big swells made it difficult to stay on the fish and establish a rhythm while jigging. The catching was good to very good. Landings were just good, no better. Most legal fish landed were pollock. Legal landings also included eight white hake, a monkfish, a whiting (about 2 pounds), three haddock, three cod and over twenty mackerel. Released fish included thirteen dogfish, nine sub-legal cod, five sub-legal haddock, eighteen sub-legal pollock, a sculpin and about twenty mackerel. We anchored and drift fished. Only jigs and cod flies were used today.
I could not tell you who was high hook with the most legal fish. Everyone did equally well. I did not count fillets.
I carried a particularly fast drift off the edge into deeper water. As I did, James Jones (PA) hooked into what seemed like a good fish. I couldn't really tell as he has an electric reel. So it's deceiving when watching someone reel any fish in with an electric reel. The small ones look like big ones and the big ones don't look like much. As a matter of fact, I lost interest until Danny called out and said; "This is the biggest of these we have caught this year!" It was a huge hake. And it looked huge!. At 49.5 pounds, it's the largest hake that I have seen since Joe Columbus (MA) caught a 50.5 pounder in July of 2020! Needless to say, King James won the boat pool for the largest fish with this Maine state trophy white hake. James couldn't hold it up himself so Danny helped while I took a picture of both. This digital image appears on the right. Danny is the one with the orange oil gear on. James' biggest pollock was 10 pounds or so. He also caught a 7 pound cod.
I continued the drift into deeper water after boating the big hake. The result was a few more hake including a double that Ted Harris (PA) caught that included a 13.5 pound white hake and a 23 pound white hake, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. This is the Bunny Clark's fourth largest double of the fishing season to date. Ted won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the 23 pound hake. Ted also caught a 5 pound monkfish. Even though this is a fairly small monkfish, it is our third largest monkfish this season so far.
The third largest fish was a 20 pound white hake caught by Rudy Burton (PA). Rudy's biggest pollock weighed 13.25 pounds. Rudy also landed the hard luck award t-shirt for rediscovering his breakfast early into the trip. He was the sole (soul) hurler today.
Other Angler Highlights: Terrence Jenkins (PA) caught the first fish of the trip, a 12 pound pollock. Six hours later he caught another 12 pound pollock. Gus Carter (PA) caught the largest cod of the day at 10 pounds. Leonard Walker (PA) caught a 13.5 pound white hake. His biggest fish was a 19 pound white hake. Mike "Madison" Williams (PA) boated a 15 pound white hake, his largest fish. His largest pollock weighed 12.5 pounds. Cornell Brown (NJ) caught the largest pollock of the trip at 15 pounds. His biggest fish was an 18.5 pound white hake. And he caught another pollock that weighed 11.5 pounds. Don "Manly Number Twelve" Stancil (NJ) boated a 14.5 pound pollock and a 12 pound pollock, his two biggest fish.
Mike Williams sponsored me in my quest for a cancer free world today with the Pan-Mass Challenge by donating $50.00 to the cause. I haven't seen Mike for four years as he was battling his own cancer demon. He is safe right now and looks great. Thanks, Mike. I appreciate your support so very much!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 47°F, the sky was overcast, the wind was blowing out of the west southwest at eight knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The day was a beautiful fall day. The sky was clear and nearly cloudless. The visibility was excellent throughout. The wind blew out of the west with gusts up to fifteen knots in the morning and less than eight knots in the afternoon. The high air temperature that I saw was 62°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 65°F (with a low of 50°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 63°F (with a low of 34°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 62°F (with a low of 39°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the west at ten knots. Seas were chops of a foot or two over long rolling sea swells of three to four feet. The air temperature reached a high of 60°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was clear and sunny. The surface water temperature reached a high of 55°F.
The fishing was very good to excellent today. They had a few dogfish but not too many and the sea state was very manageable with smaller sea swells and less current. The catching was very good. Landings were better than they were yesterday or better than good! Most legal fish landed were pollock. Legal landings also included four cod, six haddock, one redfish, five cusk, ten whiting and twenty mackerel. Released fish included thirty dogfish, eight sub-legal cod, ten sub-legal haddock, thirty sub-legal pollock and a few mackerel. This was the second day in a row without a blue shark sighting. No angler used bait today. Just jigs and cod flies or, rather, cod flies and jigs. Drifting was the method.
Terrence Jenkins (PA) was high hook with the most legal fish. His largest fish was a 12 pound pollock. He also caught an 11 pound pollock and a double that included a 9 pound pollock and another 11 pound pollock, both fish on the same line at the same time. Gus Carter (PA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 17 pound pollock. Gus also landed a 10 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock. The second largest fish was a 14 pound pollock caught by Leonard Walker (PA). Leonard also caught an 11 pound pollock. The third largest fish was a 12.5 pound pollock caught by Ted Harris (PA). Ted also landed the hard luck award for the most tangled lines. But, really, there was no good reason, Ian told me, to give Ted the shirt. There just wasn't a lot of hard luck aboard today.
Other Angler Highlights: King James Jones - he's still the king in my book - (PA) landed the first fish to be weighed, a 9 pound pollock. His largest fish was a pollock that weighed 10 pounds. Rudy Burton (PA) caught an 8 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock.
At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 49°F, the stars could be seen between the clouds, the wind was blowing out of the northwest at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The ride to the fishing grounds was uneventful. The wind was out of the north at fifteen knots or so. Seas were chops of two to three feet with a barely discernable swell underneath. The visibility ranged from over twenty-five miles. The air temperature hung around 52°F for the whole ride out.
On the grounds, the wind continued out of the north at fifteen knots with sea in chops of three feet, more or less. Again, there was no discernable ocean swell. The northerly wind diminished all day. By 2:00 PM, it was calm with the lightest of northerly wind. When it was time to head back to Perkins Cove, it was still nice. But as we started, the wind struck out of the northwest. It blew up to twenty-five knots. We carried this wind all the way to Perkins Cove. The sky was cloudless for most of the morning, a mix of sun and clouds in the afternoon. The air temperature reached a high of 57°F. The visibility ranged to over thirty miles. The tide (current) was strong all day. The surface water temperature ranged from 53 to 55°F.
The wind was right on the nose going home with chops of four feet to five feet. I had to tell everyone in a bunk down below to come out of the forecastle and stay on deck. I could hardly see out the windows. I certainly didn't want come down off a queer one and hurt someone down below. These guys have been with me in rougher weather and knew the routine. So they weren't surprised. This happened with sixteen miles to go. I was able to back off the speed to about nine or ten knots. With that small a drop in speed as close as we were we only lost about twenty minutes off the ETA. This was a reminder that winter is coming. I'm sorry to see the good weather go.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 59°F, or so I heard. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 60°F (with a low of 47°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 57°F (with a low of 36°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 59°F (with a low of 40°F).
The fishing was good to very good. The sea state wasn't the best but the strong tide made it tough to drift or anchor. The drag on the lines made tangles more frequent. But there were no blue sharks (one porbeagle attack) and the dogfish were few. The catching was very good. Landings were good to very good. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Thank God for the pollock this fall. They were of smaller size on average today. Legal landings also included seventeen white hake, ten red hake, one cod, four haddock, two redfish and a cusk. Released fish included twenty-nine dogfish, three sub-legal cod, two sub-legal haddock, five sub-legal pollock and a porbeagle shark. I actually didn't see the shark but the pattern of teeth marks on a pollock suggested this. We did some drift fishing but mostly every spot was fished on anchor. Everyone used jigs and cod flies.
Ted Harris (PA) had to be high hook today with the most legal fish. He caught half of all the haddock, the only cod and the third largest fish of the trip, a 24 pound white hake. His other fish of note included a 13.5 pound white hake, a 15 pound white hake and a 10.5 pound pollock. Leonard Walker (PA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 30.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This is the largest hake he has ever caught. I took a picture of Leonard holding his trophy. This digital image appears on the left. Lenny also caught the best pollock double of the day. His catch included an 8 pound pollock and a 12.5 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time! The second largest fish was a 26 pound Maine state trophy white hake caught by Rudy Burton (PA). Rudy tied with James Jones (PA) for the best double of the day. Rudy's double included a 13.5 pound white hake and a 14.5 pound white hake. Rudy also caught a 22 pound white hake.
Other Angler Highlights: Cornell Brown (NJ) landed a 20 pound white hake, a 23 pound white hake and a 16 pound white hake as his biggest fish. He had a big pollock on his line at the end of the day. But all the fish were biting so poorly. Cornell wasn't even half way off the bottom when he lost that fish. James Jones' double included a 13 pound white hake and a 15 pound white hake. King James also caught a 14 pound white hake, a 17 pound white hake and a 13 pound pollock. Gus Carter (PA) boated a 12 pound pollock and a 13 pound white hake, his two biggest fish. Mike "Madison" Williams (PA) caught a 16.5 pound white hake, his biggest fish, He caught quite a few pollock. Terrence Jenkins (PA) landed a 10 pound pollock that I weighed. Don "Manly Number Twelve" Stancil (NJ), now a New Jersey boy, caught a 12 pound pollock, his largest fish of the trip. He had no problem catching pollock today. I also realized that he has quite a singing voice! Don landed the hard luck award today for being involved in the worst tangle. Tangles really weren't that bad today. But I had to give the shirt to someone!
Don Stancil did me a huge favor today by donating a generous $100.00 to my cancer project with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. I believe he has supported me in this charity event since I became involved in 2007. He has always been very generous. Thanks so much, Don. Your time with us on the boat is always too short! Much appreciated; all of it!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 43°F, the sky was cloudless, the wind was blowing out of the west at ten knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
It was another beautiful fall day ashore today. The sky was clear all day, cloudless in the morning, with not a hint of rain. There was very little humidity. The day started off cool but warmed up quickly. But not by summer standards. By 11:00 AM, the air temperature had reached the 60°F mark. The highest air temperature that I saw was 66°F that was reached around 2:00 PM. The visibility was excellent all day. The wind blew out of the west to west northwest up to fifteen knots or more. But you could tell that this was more of a land breeze than anything else. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 70°F (with a low of 47°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 67°F (with a low of 45°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 64°F (with a low of 39°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the west at about ten knots to start, dropping to five knots or less in the afternoon. Seas were chops of two feet in the morning over a two to three foot long ocean swell that lasted all day. Chops diminished to just about nothing in the afternoon. The air temperature reached a high of 61°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles, probably over thirty miles. The tide (current) was moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 55°F.
The fishing was very good. There were a few more dogfish than normal but the sea state was fine. The catching was very good to excellent. Landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included eight cod, fifteen haddock, two redfish, two cusk, a porbeagle (mackerel) shark, ten whiting and five mackerel. Released fish included sixty-five dogfish, four legal sized cod, eight sub-legal cod, twenty-eight sub-legal haddock, twenty-four sub-legal pollock and a mackerel. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked well but jigs and cod flies worked the best.
Ray Westermann (MA) was high hook with the most legal fish. Some of his fish included a 9.5 pound pollock, a 13 pound pollock and an 11.5 pound pollock. Dave Harris (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 80 pound porbeagle shark. We have only landed one other porbeagle shark this season. Dave's is the largest one we have boated this year to date. Ian took a picture of Dave Harris (with Danny in the orange oil skins) holding his prize shark. This digital image appears on the right. Dave also caught the second largest fish, a 16 pound pollock. The third largest fish was a 14 pound pollock caught by Adam LeBarron (MA). Adam also landed a 10 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Steve Grasse (NY) caught the largest cod at 10 pounds. His biggest pollock weighed 12 pounds. Charlie Harris (MA) did not catch a tuna today. His best fish, to my knowledge, was a 10 pound pollock. Sal Salvatore (MA) also caught a 10 pound pollock as his largest fish. And he landed the hard luck award t-shirt for losing a jig.
After yesterday's marathon trip, upon checking the engine as we do after every trip, I noticed an engine bracket that had broken. I was able to fix it. But it meant that I had to start after Danny was finished cleaning the boat. So it took me until almost 9:00 PM to get the job done. This was not what I wanted to do after a long trip. But, without doing so, we couldn't have run the trip today. Along with that, this is the last holiday weekend the restaurants will see, aside from Halloween, until next year. Certainly the last holiday season Barnacle Billy's (Original) will see. So I was busy today. Plus, I had to drive to Portsmouth this morning to pick up parts in case the bracket didn't hold, so I could more easily repair it next time it happens. I certainly would not have been able to run another marathon trip today. It's nice to have a captain like Ian on the boat. But there is no other captain like Ian. I'm very lucky.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 55°F, the sky was cloudless, the wind was blowing out of the southwest at nearly twenty knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
By 8:00 AM, the wind had hauled out of the northwest and was blowing thirty knots. The rest of the day saw strong northwest winds or west northwest winds to thirty knots with occasional gusts to thirty-five and forty knots. Limbs came down everywhere, including during an eight mile walk/run in back of Berwick Road to the west of town. I wasn't in danger as it fell more than ten feet away. But we haven't had this much wind all summer. So there were a lot of dead limbs waiting to drop. The air temperature was surprisingly mild with a high of 66°F at one point during the day. The visibility was excellent. The sky was clear but dotted with clouds. There was no hint of rain today. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 72°F (with a low of 50°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 66°F (with a low of 35°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 64°F (with a low of 38°F).
Indeed, it was a busy day in Ogunquit, Perkins Cove, to be specific. It was also busy uptown, I heard, as well. So my time was consumed at the restaurants. A lot of good people there and some very interesting discussions were had. I ended up staying until 9:00 PM.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 44°F, the sky was overcast with a cloudless sky to the southeast, the wind was light out of the west and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
By sunrise, it was still clear to the east southeast and the sunrise was rosey. But that was the clearest it every got, for the sky. Every other part of the sky was overcast, particularly to the west. By 8:00 AM, the sky was fully overcast. It was raining lightly. We had periodic light rain for most of the morning and part of the early afternoon. Then it seemed to stop raining for the rest of the afternoon until 5:00 PM, when the light rain started again. The sky stayed overcast all day. It rained harder into the night but nothing that I would class as a heavy rain. I walked home from the restaurant at 7:20 PM. At that time all I needed was a hooded rain jacket to keep me dry. The visibility remained excellent the whole day. Plus, it was cold all day, the coolest it has been since at least May. Today's high that I saw was 48°F. The wind blew out of the west at about ten knots or less all day. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 53°F (with a low of 43°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 47°F (with a low of 33°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 55°F (with a low of 38°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the west at ten to five knots, then backed out of the southwest at five knots or less. Seas started as two foot chops over a two foot swell but ended up with a chop less than a foot over the same sized swell. The air temperature reached a high of 53 to 54°F. The visibility ranged to over fifty miles as they could see the snow on Mt. Washington. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was overcast all day but it didn't rain. The surface water temperature reached a high of 54°F.
The fishing was very good, just outside of excellent with the dogfish that were also caught. The catching was excellent or nearly so. Landings were good. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included seven cod, eight haddock, five redfish, eight cusk, fourteen whiting and fifteen mackerel. Released fish included seventy-five dogfish, nine sub-legal cod, twenty-four sub-legal haddock, fifty sub-legal pollock and a handful of mackerel. Drifting was the method. Only jigs and cod flies were used.
Rick Gurney (MA) was high hook with the most legal fish. His largest fish was a 9.5 pound pollock. Shawn Rosenberger (PA) was second hook with his largest fish, a pollock of 11 pounds. The largest fish of the trip was a 17 pound pollock caught as a double with another pollock of 14 pounds, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. The angler was Yiting Yang (NY). He did not enter the boat pool. The 14 pound pollock was the second largest fish of the trip. The double is the Bunny Clark's sixth largest double of this year's fishing season so far. Zack Grimm (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the third largest fish, a 13 pound pollock. He caught this pollock as part of a double with another pollock that weighed 12 pounds.
Other Angler Highlights: Darlene Chin (VT/FL) landed a 10 pound pollock, her largest fish. Hang Hua (NY) landed the hard luck award for getting into the most tangles. Well, that's better than being sea sick!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 48°F, the sky was overcast, there was a thunder storm at 3:00 AM with lightning and heavy rain, the wind was blowing out of the northeast at twenty-five knots and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The wind never blew as hard out of the northeast as it did in the early morning. By 7:00 AM, the wind had dropped to a sustained twenty knots or less. By 9:00 AM, the wind had backed out of the north and was blowing fifteen or twenty knots. After noon, the northerly wind was ten to fifteen knots. There wasn't much wind at all after 6:00 PM. I didn't stay up much later to see what the wind did after that. The sky was overcast all day. It rained lightly for most of the morning, halting before noon. I swear I saw a patch of blue sky to the west at 5:00 PM. But I can't be sure. The visibility was excellent. The air temperature stayed cold all day. The highest air temperature that I saw was 50°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 53°F (with a low of 43°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 51°F (with a low of 40°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 48°F (with a low of 38°F).
I spent most of the morning working out the logistics of cutting our fishing season short. Realizing that I would not be able to continue as long as I had planned, I made adjustments to alter course. It's hard when things on the outside force you to be undependable. I hate that. As you might have noticed, we have changed our ending date to October 24th, a marathon trip. That will be the last trip of the season. I am so sorry to have to say this. For you and, selfishly, for me.
The rest of the day I spent at the restaurants. It was slow, business wise. But that just meant that I could spend more time with the customers that we did have. But the time did go by slower than normal.
I was home by 5:00 PM to get ready to fish tomorrow.
Danny DellaMonica and I ran the marathon trip today.
At 4:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 39°F, the sky was clear, there was a light westerly breeze ashore with fifteen knots from the west at the Portland Lightship (or where it used to be) and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
The visibility was excellent after we left the gate to Perkins Cove. We had somewhat of a following sea. So it was a comfortable ride to the first fishing spot as well. The wind was out of the west. Wind speeds were about fifteen knots or more with chops that increased to about three or four feet by the time we got to the fishing grounds. The air temperature was 40°F when passed the can buoys. It increased to 48°F by the time we got to the grounds. The sky was clear.
On the grounds, the wind was blowing westerly at fifteen to twenty knots. Seas were chops of three or four feet with the occasional queer one. This was, pretty much, the wind and sea state that we had for the rest of the day. Sometimes the wind seemed a bit stronger. Other times it would look like it was dying out but the pipe right up again. The highest air temperature I observed was 52°F. And that's where it stayed for most of the day. The visibility was excellent. The sky was cloudless for most of the morning and mostly cloudy for the afternoon. It wasn't overcast but there weren't many clear spots in the sky either. The tide (current) was strong in the morning, moderate in the afternoon. The surface water temperature hung around 52°F all day long.
When it was time to end the trip and head back to Perkins Cove, we took a pounding the whole ride in. I had to get everyone out of the cabin for the trip back as I didn't want anyone to fall out of a bunk and hurt themselves. Because of the angle going back, I was able to run at nearly ten knots for most of the ride back. Had it been directly on the nose, we would have been lucky to maintain six or seven knots.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 53°F, or so I heard. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 55°F (with a low of 42°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 53°F (with a low of 32°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 54°F (with a low of 34°F).
The fishing was good, at best. The sea state cut down the mobility tremendously and limited my options as to where to go to fish. The tide being as strong as it was kept the fishing down a bit. The catching was very good but mostly for smaller fish. Landings were fair for a marathon trip. Most legal fish landed were pollock. Legal landings also included seven cod, eight haddock, two redfish, ten cusk, six mud hake, thirty-five mackerel, and a few whiting, mostly small. Released fish included twenty-three dogfish, twenty-three sub-legal cod, a sea raven, two sculpins, twenty-one (or more) sub-legal haddock [Fred Kunz (NH) had eight small haddock, some of which I did not see.], fifty-two sub-legal pollock and a handful of small whiting and mackerel. We drift fished and anchored according to the occasion and the spot chosen. Everyone used jigs and cod flies with the occasional bait used that caught dogfish.
I would have to say that Shawn Rosenberger (PA) was high hook with the most legal fish caught. He did not land any fish of note, as far as size goes. He did land four fish from each significant species including the most haddock and cusk. Matt Luce (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 16.5 pound pollock. He also won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the third largest fish, a 13.5 pound pollock. Paul Pearson (NH) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 15 pound pollock. Some of Paul's other fish that I weighed included a 9.5 pound pollock and two pollock that weighed 12 pounds each.
Other Angler Highlights: Dave Burton (MA) could have been close to high hook but I never did get a bead on numbers. John Russell (ME) had the best double. His catch included a 13 pound pollock and a 9.5 pound pollock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time. Chopper Sawyer (ME) boated a 12 pound pollock, his largest fish. Eric Lake (NH) lost what I suspect was a bigger cod. It looked big on the sounding machine before it headed back to bottom without being connected to Eric's line. Eric's biggest fish was an 11.5 pound pollock. Tim Rozan (ME) caught the largest cod of the trip. It weighed 11 pounds. Bill Kelson (MA) was replaced by Bruce Kelson who caught fish up to 8 pounds.
Ken Altarac (NY) didn't feel great all day long. And it prevented him from fishing, finally taking a bunk in the Hotel Bunny Clark. I was going to give him the hard luck award shirt. But I had run out of his size. And he already had a shirt. So I gave the shirt to John Russell who lost a jig.
I received two donations sponsoring me in the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Dave Burton (MA) donated another $50.00, one of the many $50.00 donations he had given me this year. Bill Kelson gave me another donation. This time it was for $30.00. Thank you both so very much for your thoughtfulness and, certainly, your generosity. This is so very much appreciated by so many.
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 42°F, the sky was partly cloudy, the wind was blowing at ten knots out of the west at the house but showing twenty knots of westerly wind with higher gusts at the closest weather buoy and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
Ashore, the wind blew out of the west at twenty to twenty-five knots in the morning and west northwest to northwest after noon at twenty knots, more or less. The sky started off mostly cloudy but became cloudless after noon. The visibility was excellent or as good as it gets. The air temperature reached a high of 56°F but I felt cold all day. This was probably because I was over-tired from fighting the wind and the seas on yesterday's trip. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 55°F (with a low of 42°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 53°F (with a low of 32°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 54°F (with a low of 34°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the west at twenty to twenty-five knots. Seas were four to six foot, plus, chops with the occasional queer one. After noon, the wind backed out of the northwest and dropped. The seas dropped as well, to two and three feet, by the time Ian was ready to make the trip back to Perkins Cove. However, at the nineteen mile mark, the northwest wind had picked up, as did the chops, so they had as bad a ride as we did for fifteen miles.There was no underlying swell today, which was just as well. The highest air temperature was 52°F. The visibility ranged to over thirty miles. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds, very few clouds on the ride back in. The tide (current) was strong in the morning and moderate in the afternoon, just was we had it yesterday. The surface water temperature reached a high of 52°F.
The fishing was tough with the wind and seas in the morning. We had better sea conditions in the morning yesterday and a worse ride home. Today, they had worse morning sea conditions but a better ride home. The catching was very good today. Landings were good to very good and much better than it was yesterday. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included three cod, twenty mackerel and thirty whiting. Released fish included twenty-seven dogfish, probably fifty mackerel, five sub-legal cod, five sub-legal haddock (the only trip this year where we didn't see a legal haddock), one porbeagle shark and thirty sub-legal pollock. They anchored but drifting worked the best. Everyone used jigs and cod flies today.
Tristan Winslow (MA) was the fisherman of the day. He was high hook with the most legal fish and he won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 16 pound pollock. The second largest fish was a 13 pound pollock caught by Nick Zito (CT). Shawn Rosenberger (PA) caught the third largest fish, an 11 pound pollock. Shawn also caught two pollock of 10 pounds each.
Other Angler Highlights: Tyler Heindl (OR) caught the first fish to be weighed, a 10 pound pollock. Mathew Winslow (MA) landed the hard luck award for getting a bit green around the gills.
At 3:30 AM EDT the air temperature was 35°F, the steps to the boat ramp were already starting to ice up, the sky was clear with a full moon hanging nearly overhead, there was no wind to write about and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
By the time that anglers were ready to board, ice had formed on the steps at the patio before the dock to the ramp that leads to the float where the Bunny Clark resides. Luckily, Danny Neumann, Barnacle Billy's caretaker and "night man", was there with a hose to keep the steps thawed so anglers wouldn't slip and fall. I am always the last on the boat. The steps were fine when I ventured down for the last time to take my charge out to sea. This is the first ice of the season and our first coastal frost.
The tide was nearly dead low when we left the float to head down the channel. The air temperature was 35°F, cold enough to see whisps of sea smoke dancing on the surface as we headed under the bridge. Light northerly wind chased us out to the fishing grounds as the full moon was setting in the west. The moon was perfectly round in a cloudless sky. Seas were chops of a foot. The visibility was excellent. The air temperature reached the 48°F mark as we were approaching our destination.
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the north for while and then hauled out of the northeast. We never had more than five knots of wind. It would start to breeze up and then die out, breeze up and die out. By noon, the wind did die out, only to start blowing out of the north. It was lightly blowing out of the north when we started to head back, flat glassy calm for the whole ride to Perkins Cove. The air temperature reached a high of 56°F. It was warmer on deck. The visibility ranged to over thirty miles. The tide was moderate or light. The sky was mostly clear, cloudless for a while in the morning. The surface water temperature stayed at 53°F
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 76°F (with a low of 57°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 77°F (with a low of 55°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 70°F (with a low of 58°F).
The fishing was nearly excellent today. There were few dogfish, only one big shark attack (A porbeagle shark took off with Darlene Chin's (FL/VT) terminal gear during the last part of the trip.) and the fishing conditions (sea state, drift, etc.) were perfect. The catching was very good. Landings were good, mostly for size and not as much for numbers. We stayed in mostly deep water today so most legal fish, by far, were white hake and whiting. Legal landings also included a cod, nine haddock and a pollock. Not a single mackerel was caught that I saw. Released fish included fifteen dogfish, two sub-legal cod, no sub-legal pollock (that I saw), eleven sub-legal haddock, that one porbeagle shark and probably thirty small whiting. Drifting was the method today. The drift was perfect all day. Bait, jigs and cod flies worked equally well.
I could not tell you who was high hook with the most legal fish. I never did see how many fillet bags each angler had. Nor were there any standouts. My concentration, at the end of the trip, was focused on getting into Perkins Cove before dead low water with this moon tide. We got to the float at the Barnacle Billy's dock a half hour before low water. Any later and we would have been stuck in the channel. As it was, with everyone on the bow or in the forecastle, we plowed our way up the channel, through the mud and detritus, to get to the bridge. At one point, in the middle of the channel, we were hung up so hard on bottom that I had to run almost 1500 rpms to keep moving forward. I stopped at the fuel dock, just outside the bridge, where there was just enough water to tie up, get off the boat and look to see how high up on the bank the middle town floats were setting so I could decide if I wanted to move on. I asked Danny what he thought. His reply; "I like taking a chance." So we did. And we made it - with a half hour to spare!
Shawn Rosenberger (PA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 33.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake. And he won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 30 pound Maine state trophy white hake. These are the two largest hake that Shawn has caught this year to date. I didn't weigh another fish of his today. The third largest fish was a 25.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake caught by John "Buddha" Hayes (MA). John was not in the boat pool. Two of John's other fish included an 11 pound white hake and a 15 pound white hake. Scott Bugbee (NH) won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the fourth largest fish, a 23.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake. I took a picture of Scott with his "almost trophy white hake". This digital image appears on the left.
Other Angler Highlights: Dave Burton (MA) boated a 21 pound white hake, his largest fish. Mark LaRocca's (NY) largest fish was a 16.5 pound white hake. I believe he had two white hake of that exact size. Although he lost a couple of fish that could have been bigger. I weighed a 12.5 pound white hake and a 17 pound white hake for Tod Benjamin (VT). Dave Haberl (VT) caught a 15.5 pound white hake. Andriy Andruntsiv (NJ) caught a 15.25 pound white hake, a 22 pound white hake and a 10 pound cod, his three best fish. Hannah Smith (VT) landed a 12.5 pound white hake, her biggest fish of the trip. Nick Zito (CT) caught one slightly smaller at 12 pounds. Fred Kunz (NH) boated a 21.5 pound white hake, his best. He caught the most haddock, legal and sub-legal. Andre Zak (CT) landed a 22 pound white hake. Marcin Korszen (NJ) boated a 15 pound white hake. Dan Harris (NH) caught a 17 pound white hake, his biggest fish. Marty Buskey (NY) caught not a single legal fish (except some very small whiting) and landed the hard luck award t-shirt for his efforts! It was the second worst day he has ever had on the Bunny Clark. The worst day included an illness that was not related to sea sickness.
I received a several donations today sponsoring me in my cancer fundraising drive with the Pan-Mass Challenge. The anglers responsible and their gifts to cancer research included: Dave Burton, again, for $50.00, Mark LaRocca for $90.00, Andriy Andruntsiv for $30.00, Marty & Elise Buskey for another generous $100.00, Hannah Smith for $30.00 and Dave Haberl for $30.00. Thank you all so very much for your support, generosity and thoughtfulness. For Dave, Marty & Elise, thank you for your continued support throughout the season and for being so exceptionally generous. This means so much to me, the researchers, those suffering and those who will be suffering less because of you. So much appreciated!
At 4:30 AM EDT the air temperature was 43°F, the sky was clear with a full moon heading west, the wind was out of the north at ten knots here at the house (more offshore) and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
Ashore, the wind blew out of the north at fifteen knots or more to start. I ran on the beach at after 9:30 AM and I felt like a hand was pushing on my chest as I ran into the wind. The sky was clear all day. The visibility was excellent. The highest air temperature that I saw was 64°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 60°F (with a low of 43°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 67°F (with a low of 27°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 63°F (with a low of 33°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the northeast at fifteen to ten knots. Seas were chops of three to four feet to start but diminished to two and three feet. The air temperature reached a high of 57°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The sky was clear and sunny with few clouds, cloudless at times. The tide (current) was moderate to strong. The surface water temperature reached a high of 53°F.
The fishing would have been excellent except for the weather. For a minor few, the conditions put anglers into sea sick mode. However, there were few dogfish and no blue sharks. The catching was very good. Landings were fair to good. Most legal fish landed were pollock. Legal landings also included four cod, six haddock, twelve cusk, thirty-one whiting and over seventy-five mackerel. Released fish included one unknown shark that took a jig, ten dogfish, eight sub-legal cod, eighteen sub-legal haddock, over fifty sub-legal pollock and quite a few mackerel. They anchored and drift fished. Everyone used jigs and cod flies.
Ian could not tell me who was high hook with the most legal fish. Dave Gallant (MA) was the shining star of the day. He won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 13 pound pollock. And he also caught the second, third and tied for the fifth largest fish of the trip! Because he caught the three largest fish, he captured, what we call, the "Ace". Only two other anglers this season have captured an Ace on the Bunny Clark this season. The other two anglers are regulars, John Lambert, Jr. (NY) and Buzz Leonard (MA). This is Dave's first trip on the Bunny Clark! His other fish included a 12.5 pound pollock, a 12 pound pollock and a 10 pound pollock. It was a great day to be Dave Gallant!
Other Angler Highlights: Tod Benjamin (VT) caught the largest cusk at 8 pounds. His largest fish was a 10.5 pound pollock. John "Buddha" Hayes (MA) caught a 10 pound pollock, his best fish. Roger Lamoureux (VT) also caught a 10 pound pollock, his biggest fish. Bill Gulaski (MA) landed the hard luck award t-shirt for attaining high hurler status today. Ouch!
At 4:30 AM EDT the air temperature was 43°F, the sky was clear, there wasn't enough wind to tell you about and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. By 7:30 AM, the air temperature had dropped to 38°F, the ocean was flat calm the sky was cloudless with a partial moon three quarters of the way to the western horizon.
Ashore, the there was no wind in the morning. The ocean was flat calm for almost that whole time period. After noon, we got a light breeze from the southwest. Seas along the shore were just tipping over a white cap at 3:00 PM with a one foot chop. The visibility was excellent all day. The sky was clear all day with a bright sun. The highest air temperature that I saw was 71°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 67°F (with a low of 42°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 74°F (with a low of 29°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 66°F (with a low of 36°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the west at five to ten knots after a calm ride to the fishing grounds. Seas were long swells of three to four feet over a calm surface. The air temperature reached a high of 57°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The sky was clear and sunny all day. The tide (current) ranged from moderate to strong. The surface water temperture reached a high of 53°F.
The fishing was excellent today. There were few dogfish and the weather was nearly perfect for humans sailing on the high seas. The catching was excellent. Landings were fair to good; there were a lot of small fish and mackerel caught today. Legal fish landed included five cod, fifteen haddock, ten pollock (on the small size today), eleven cusk, one monkfish, fifty-two whiting and one hundred and sixty-two mackerel. Released fish included twenty dogfish, five sub-legal cod, fifty-one sub-legal haddock, fifty sub-legal pollock and a lot of mackerel. Drifting was the method. All terminal gear worked equally well.
Hal Flan (MA) was high hook today with the most legal fish. His biggest fish was the second largest fish of the trip, a 5 pound cusk. Dave Burton (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 7 pound cod.
Other Angler Highlights: Chad Niquette (VT) landed the hard luck award for being the most sea sick today.
For my part on this earth today, Grant Hubbard, the manager/owner of Finestkind Scenic Cruises, let me take the Finestkind II with a close family to dump the ashes of their parents off Ogunquit Beach. I have known this family, it seems, forever. I promised them a long time ago that I would do this. Because of the dredging and the tight fishing schedule, I couldn't do this from the Bunny Clark. It was so nice of the Grant to allow me to take one of their boats to complete the mission.
I received three major donations today sponsoring me in this year's Pan-Mass Challenge today. This money goes directly to cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. These donors and their donations included: Dave Burton (MA), again, for $50.00, Michael & Kerry Mithen (MA) for a generous $100.00 and Howie & Barbara Goldenfarb (ME) for $750.00. Thank you all so very much for your gifts of support to my cancer project. I appreciate this so very much!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 43°F, the sky was clear with a partial moon hanging high overhead with a tilt to the west, the wind was blowing lightly out of the southwest and the visibility over the ocean was excellent. By 7:30 AM, the air temperature had dropped to 39°F, there was zero wind along the shore and the sky was cloudless.
The day was excellent, certainly a gift of great weather for this time of year. There was no wind to write about in the morning. The ocean was flat calm for most of it. In the later afternoon, the wind blew lightly out of the south and, then, southwest. The visibility was excellent. The sky was clear and sunny all day. The highest air temperature that I saw was 73°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 77°F (with a low of 45°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 74°F (with a low of 29°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 68°F (with a low of 34°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at five knots or less. The ocean surface was calm over long sea swell of three to four feet. The air temperature reached a high of 62°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The sky was sunny and clear. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The surface water temperature reached a high of 53°F.
The fishing was excellent due to a lack of dogfish, sharks of any kind and wonderful weather. The catching was excellent. Landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included five cod, twenty-six haddock, four redfish, ten cusk, two whiting and over one hundred mackerel. Released fish included eight dogfish, twelve sub-legal cod, sixty-two sub-legal haddock, fifty-five sub-legal pollock and quite a few mackerel. Drifting was the method. Jigs and cod flies reined supreme.
Captain Ian couldn't tell me who was high hook with the most legal fish. Mike Tirrito (VT) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 16.5 pound pollock. The second largest fish weighed in at 11 pounds. There were three of them caught by three different anglers. Jerry Worden (NH) caught one, Darlene Chin (VT/FL) caught one and Buzz Leonard (ME) caught one. Buzz also caught a 10 pound pollock before the larger one.
Other Angler Highlights: Tom Martas (ME) landed a pollock that weighed 10.5 pounds. Stephen King (NH) landed the hard luck award for getting a hook in his thumb that he didn't feel comfortable having it takne out while on the boat. The hook was past the barb and pointed to the bone of his thumb. So, after he got off the boat, he took a trip to York Hospital! Ouch!
I received two donations sponsoring me in this season's Pan-Mass Challenge today, funding cancer research. The event is over but the fundraising goes on until the end of the year. Cancer never sleeps! The donors and donations were: Dave Burton (MA) for $50.00, his total for this season well over a $1,000.00 total, and Mark Girard (NH), who also has been overly generous with earlier donations. Mark's donation was made in the form of an "eGift" through the PMC site. He also left me a note that said: "Tim, thanks for helping me navigate my way to honor the loss of Marion Perry to cancer....."
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 58°F, the sky was clear with a, nearly, half moon hanging directly overhead, the wind was blowing lightly out of the southwest and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
Ashore, the salient weather feature was the air temperature. By noon, the air temperature had risen to 76°F. By 1:00 PM, the air temperature was 81°F. And this air temperature stayed this night for most of the afternoon. The sky was cloudless all day. The wind blew out of the northwest up to fifteen knots. The visibility was excellent. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 83°F (with a low of 52°F). The high temperature of 83°F, recorded today, is the highest air temperature recorded in Boston since they have been keeping records (since the mid 1800s). The previous record high for this date was 82°F, set in 1920. The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 80°F (with a low of 38°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 78°F (with a low of 43°F). The high temperature of 78°F, recorded today, is the highest air temperature recorded in Portland since they have been keeping records (for about eighty years). The previous record high for this date was 75°F, set in 1979.
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at ten to fifteen knots. Seas were chops of a foot or two over an ocean swell of two to three feet. The air temperature reached a balmy 60°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The sky was nearly cloudless all day. The tide was moderate to strong, into the wind at one point where they weren't even drifting over the bottom; stuck in one spot! The surface water temperature reached a high of 53°F.
The fishing was tough. There were a lot of dogfish today and, as mentioned, the tide into the wind on part of the trip created tangles we don't normally see. Overall the fishing was good, no better than that. The catching was very good, excellent if you included the dogfish. Landings were good, at best. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Most were small legal pollock in the 3 pound range but there were a few bigger ones as well. Legal landings also included three cod, eleven haddock, four redfish, a cusk, sixteen whiting and over fifty mackerel. Released fish included seventy-five dogfish, twenty sub-legal cod, seventy-one sub-legal haddock, fifty-five sub-legal pollock, two sharks of unknown species with jewelry and a few mackerel. Drifting was the method. Jigs and flies worked the best.
Shawn Rosenberger (PA) was high hook with the most legal fish. His largest fish was a 12 pound pollock, the second largest fish of the trip. And he landed the hard luck award t-shirt for losing two jigs. Mike Kinney (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 13 pound pollock. The third largest fish was an 11.5 pound pollock, caught by Bill Herman (MA).
Other Angler Highlights: Bruce Randall (NY) caught an 11 pound pollock, his largest fish. Dave Harris (MA) didn't catch a porbeagle shark today. Nor did his son, Charlie, catch a tuna. But Dave did boat a 10 pound pollock.
I received two donations today sponsoring me in this year's Pan-Mass Challenge, a cycling event to raise money for cancer research. Dave & Rebecca Symes (ME) donated a generous $100.00 on top of another earlier donation. This donation was made "In memory of Nikki Brown". I also received a very generous $500.00 donation from William "Ledgy" Mitchell (NH). Ledgy's donation was made in the form of an "eGift" through the PMC site.Thank you both so very much for your support and belief in my and my project with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. This is so very much appreciated!
At 3:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 61°F, the sky was clear with a moon that was just shy of being half, overhead, the wind was blowing lightly out of the west and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
We had the easiest ride to the fishing grounds. Once we got a couple of miles offshore, the wind left us. We had zero wind for the whole ride out. The ocean was flat calm with no discernable swell. The sky was cloudless. The visibility was excellent. The air temperature at the helm stayed at 61°F the whole ride out.
On the fishing grounds, the ocean stayed flat glassy calm until almost 10:00 AM. Just before 10:00 AM, the wind started to breeze up lightly from the northeast. The northeast wind never let go after that. Very gradually the wind increased all day. By closing time, we had eight knots of northeast wind and a one foot chop. [We saw northeast wind a bit more than ten knots on the ride home with two foot chops.] The highest air temperature that I saw was 62°F. The visibility ranged to over fifteen miles in haze. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The sky was cloudless all day. The surface water temperature reached a high and an average of 55°F.
. Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 71°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 72°F (with a low of 55°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 77°F (with a low of 42°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 67°F (with a low of 47°F).
The fishing was nearly excellent. I say "nearly" because we did have a few more dogfish than expected. They weren't horrible by any means. Every other fishing factor was perfect. The catching was excellent. Landings were very good to excellent. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far, of all sizes, to an upper limit of 15.5 pounds. Legal landings also included eighteen cod, a monkfish, thirty-seven cusk, six haddock, forty-seven white hake and a mackerel. Released fish included thirty-five dogfish, nine sub-legal cod, five sub-legal haddock and seventy-three sub-legal pollock, maybe more. We weren't bothered by any species of big shark. We drift fished for the whole trip. All terminal gear worked well but bait caught the most dogfish.
Shawn Rosenberger (PA) was high hook with the most legal fish. He also won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the third largest fish, a 30.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake. He caught this as part of a double which also included a 21.5 pound white hake, both fish caught on the same line at the same time! This is the Bunny Clark's largest double of the fishing season with two more trips to go. I took a picture of Shawn holding his big double. This digital image appears on the left. Shawn also caught two other hake doubles. Those doubles included a 12.5 pound white hake with a 19 pound white hake and a 19 pound white hake with an 11 pound white hake. Some of Shawn's other fish included a 26 pound Maine state trophy white hake, a 13 pound pollock, a 23 pound white hake, a 17 pound cod and a 21 pound cod. The bigger cod was the largest cod of the trip and the Bunny Clark's second largest cod of the fishing season to date. It was a good day to be Shawn.
Dave Burton (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 36 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This is the largest hake that Dave has ever caught. It's also the Bunny Clark's fifth largest hake of the fishing season so far. I took a picture of this fifty inch long fish with Dave holding it for the iPhone. This digital image appears on the right. Dave caught the only monkfish, about a 4 pounder; I didn't weigh it. He also caught a 12.5 pound Maine state trophy cusk, his first ever trophy cusk. Some of his other fish included a 21 pound white hake, a 16.25 pound white hake and a 13 pound cod. He also caught pollock in the 10 pound range.
The second largest fish was a 33 pound Maine state trophy white hake caught by Steve Brown (ME). He did not get into the boat pool. He also caught the second largest cusk at 10 pounds. He landed many pollock between 5 and 11 pounds. And, he landed the hard luck award t-shirt for not getting in the boat pool knowing full well that he had the expertise to get the big one today.
Matt Tingos (NH) won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the fourth largest fish, a 28 pound Maine state trophy white hake. Matt caught a double today that included an 8 pound white hake and a 14.5 pound white hake. Some of his other notable fish included a 13 pound cod, a 22 pound white hake, a 12 pound pollock, a 24.5 pound white hake and a 24.75 pound white hake.
Mark LaRocca (NY) caught the fifth largest fish today, a 27 pound Maine state trophy white hake, his largest hake this season. He also caught a 24 pound white hake, a 17.5 pound white hake, a 17 pound white hake and a 22.5 pound white hake. Mark, Dave Burton, Shawn and Matt caught three quarters of all the hake caught today.
Other Angler Highlights: Bruce Randall (NY) caught a 20 pound white hake, his largest fish. Charles Wallace (NY) caught a 20 pound white hake, a 19.5 pound white hake, a 17 pound white hake and a pollock that weighed 10 pounds. He probably caught bigger pollock that I didn't weigh. Bill Harding (ME) caught a 17.5 pound white hake and a 17.5 pound cod, the Bunny Clark's sixth largest cod of the season to date and the second largest cod caught today. Terry Lernihan landed a 17 pound white hake and an 11 pound pollock, his two best. John Tanguay (MA) boated a 15 pound white hake, a 10 pound pollock an, 11.5 pound pollock and a 12.5 pound cod, his four best. Dave Grasso (ME) caught a 19 pound white hake and the largest pollock of the trip at 15.5 pounds. Erik Grove (ME) caught a 19 pound white hake and a 17.5 pound white hake, his two biggest fish. Barry Ano (NY) caught a 15 pound cod and a 15 pound pollock, the second largest pollock of the trip. Peter Atwood (VT) caught a 16 pound white hake, his biggest fish. His wife, Karen Atwood (VT), out-fished Pete but her largest was an 11.5 pound white hake. Neil Feldman (NJ) caught a 21 pound white hake and a 16 pound cod, his two best fish. He caught a lot of pollock to 11 pounds.
I received three donations today sponsoring me in my cancer fundraising drive with the Pan-Mass Challenge. Those wonderful people and their donations included: Dave Burton for a very generous $180.00 [So far, Dave has donated over $2,000 the season alone!], Matt Tingos for $50.00 and Barry Ano for $50.00 [I haven't added up all the donations that Barry has passed my way this season!]. Thank you all so very much for your thoughtfulness and generosity. It means so very much to me but, as I say, so much more to provide for top end researchers and the research tools that are required to keep up with the new breakthroughs and modern technology used to make improvements in cancer care and cure. It's important to all of us. And I certainly do appreciate the support in this arena!
At 4:30 AM EDT the air temperature was 51°F, the half moon was directly overhead sailing through the thin cloud cover, there wasn't enough wind to write about and the visibility over the ocean was poor in black thick fog. By 7:00 AM, the fog had moved inland and was so thick as to make it look like the sky was overcast.
Ashore, before 10:00 AM, the fog backed off and the sky became cloudless. The sky remained cloudless for the rest of the day. There was no wind for most of the morning. By noon, the wind was starting to blow out of the south. By 4:00 PM, the southerly wind was ten knots or more. Twenty knots of southerly wind was the scene at 7:00 PM. The visibility was excellent after the fog left. The air temperature reached a high of 76°F. It was much warmer inland, away from the wind, I was told. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 78°F (with a low of 51°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 79°F (with a low of 45°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 65°F (with a low of 50°F).
On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest and, then, south at ten to fifteen knots. Seas were swells of two to three feet under a one to two foot chop. The air temperature reached a balmy 61°F, warm for this time of year. The visibility was poor to start. They had fog. By noon, the fog was gone and the visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide (current) was moderate to strong. The sky was cloudless after the fog left. The surface water temperature reached a high of 54°F.
The fishing was nearly excellent. There were few dogfish, no sharks and the sea state was very good. The catching was excellent but the fish were mostly small, sub-legal and mackerel. Landings were good. Legal landings included eight cod, ten haddock, twenty-two pollock, a cusk, twenty-two whiting, a monkfish and over a hundred and twenty mackerel. Released fish included twenty dogfish, one legal cod, six sub-legal cod, forty-two sub-legal haddock, twenty-one sub-legal pollock and a lot of mackerel. They drift fished and anchored. Jigs and cod flies worked best.
Fred Kunz (NH) was high hook with the most legal fish. He never got a single tangled line and was unusually quiet all day today. Marty Buskey (NY) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 16 pound (what he called; "small") pollock. The second largest fish was a 12.5 pound cod caught by John Stotz (ME). Mark Girard (NH) caught the third largest fish, an 11 pound pollock.
Other Angler Highlights: Jeff Larson (NH) caught a 10.5 pound pollock, his biggest fish. Jack Cadigan (MA) caught the second largest cod at 9 pounds. Barry Ano (NY) landed the hard luck award for cutting his finger.
I received a generous $100.00 donation at Barnacle Billy's, Etc. restaurant from Peter & Patti Vangsness (MA), while they were eating lunch, sponsoring me in the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Peter & Patti have been overly generous over the years and, certainly, a refreshing part of what I try to do to raise money for cancer research. Like so many, they have been very thoughtful, generous and concerned. I so appreciate them for who they are and how they support my efforts. Thank you so very much, both of you!
At 3:30 AM EDT the air temperature was 57°F, the sky was a mosaic of high clouds and clear patches, a half moon was making its way to the top of the sky, the wind was light out of the west and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
It had been blowing out of the southwest offshore all night, dropping in velocity while I was getting the Bunny Clark ready to complete our last fishing trip of the season. By the time I broached the gate to head out, there was no wind. We had no wind all the way to our first fishing spot. But we did have a two to three foot left over chop from the southwest wind that was. The air temperature was mild, not a typical October day. We carried 62°F at the helm all the way to the fishing grounds. The sky was a mix of clear sky and clouds. The visibility was excellent.
On the fishing grounds, the ocean was calm for the first, almost, two hours. Then the wind showed up out of the north. This northerly wind gradually increased for the next two or three hours. The wind speed got as high as thirteen knots with seas in chops of two to three feet. Then the wind backed off. By the time we were done fishing for the day, the northerly wind was about four knots, at most, with a one foot chops. We had a long two to three foot ocean swell all day. The air temperature started at 61°F but dropped to 58°F when the wind showed up. The visibility ranged to over twenty-five miles. The tide (current) was light to moderate. The sky was mostly cloudy all day. It seemed to clear and cloud up quite often. The surface water temperature reached a high of 54°F.
Ashore, these were the air temperatures in selected New England cities: In Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine the high air temperature was 71°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 72°F (with a low of 51°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 65°F (with a low of 36°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 69°F (with a low of 46°F).
The fishing was excellent. There were no dogfish, one porbeagle shark and one tuna to disrupt things. It was perfect other than those items. The catching was good overall. Landings were just fair. Most legal fish landed were white hake. We could not find the pollock in any quantity today. I would like to blame it on some factor but I think I only had myself to blame. Legal landings also included a single haddock, fourteen pollock, eight redfish and nineteen whiting. Released fish included the porbeagle shark (about an 150 pounder), two dogfish, four sub-legal haddock, one sub-legal cod, thirty-five sub-legal pollock, the bluefin tuna and a handful of sub-legal redfish. We drift fished and anchored. Drifting seemed to work the best. All terminal gear seemed to work about the same.
I believe that Fred Kunz (NH) was high hook with the most legal fish. Fred won the boat pool for the third largest fish with the third largest fish, a 30 pound Maine state torphy white hake. This is a half pound shy of his largest hake this season. I took a picture of Fred holding his big hake. This digital image appears on the right. He also caught a 17.5 pound white hake and a couple of smaller ones I didn't weigh. He caught the two largest pollock of the trip, an 11 pounder and an 11.5 pounder. He caught the two fish as a double, both fish on the same line at the same time.
Chris Cichon (NJ) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 42 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This is Chris' largest hake and the second largest hake of the Bunny Clark fishing season. I took a picture of Chris holding his monster hake. This digital image appears on the left. The picture doesn't do the hake justice as Chris is a big guy, making the fish look smaller than it was! Chris also won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 31.5 pound Maine state trophy white hake. The only other fish that I weighed from Chris was a 22.5 pound white hake.
Other Angler Highlights: Buzz Leonard (ME) caught the first fish that I could weigh today, a 15.5 pound white hake. Dave Burton (MA) caught a 25 pound Maine state trophy white hake. He also caught a 16 pound white hake. Jonathan "Griff" Griffin (MA) caught the best double of the day. His catch included a 22.5 pound white hake and a 19 pound white hake. This is the Bunny Clark's third largest double of the fishing season! He lost a big hake and he boated another white hake that weighed 21 pounds. Jay O'Connor (ME) lost two big hake that we never saw. Jay boated a 24.75 pound white hake and a 15.5 pound white hake. Mike Morin (NH) landed a 19 pound white hake. Shawn Rosenberger (PA) could only muster an 18 pound white hake and a 16 pound white hake today. However, had he landed the bluefin tuna today, things would have been much different. Bob Cross (MA) caught a 16 pound white hake, his biggest fish.
Eric Charbonneau (MA) Landed an 18 pound white hake. Neil Chamberlin (NH) caught the fourth largest fish of the trip, a 27 pound Maine state trophy white hake. Greg Felter (NY) landed the hard luck award t-shirt for spending most of the day leaning over the rail and calling the fish. I am not going to reveal what he called them.
I received a four donations today sponsoring me in my cancer fundraising drive with the Pan-Mass Challenge. Fred Kunz donated $40.00 for, yet, another donation of the many has bestowed upon me, Barry Ano (NY) for $50.00, also a regular donor every time he fishes with us, Dave Burton for $40.00, having passed on over $2,000.00 in donations this year alone, and Shawn Rosenberger for $50.00. Thank you all so very much for your support, generosity and for trying to make the world a safer place for all. It means so much to me on a personal level but it means more for researchers who need the funding and those who will benefit by the advances made in this research!
At 5:00 AM EDT the air temperature was 44°F, the sky was cloudless, a crescent moon climbing to the apex of the sky, the wind was blowing out of the north at ten knots (more offshore) and the visibility over the ocean was excellent.
Ashore, where I will be for quite some time now, it was a beautiful fall day. The sky was cloudless for the morning. Indeed, for most of the day. The visibility remained excellent. The wind blew out of the north at ten to fifteen knots, dropping out before the end of the morning, calm at noon and then southerly for the rest of the day. Wind speeds out of the south were light at first, up to fifteen knots after sunset. The highest air temperature that I saw was 60°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 56°F (with a low of 45°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 61°F (with a low of 29°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 59°F (with a low of 40°F).
I spent my day wrapping my head around stopping our season so early and not being able to fish anymore this season. I've been suffering with a cold/flu that came on Wednesday and peaked (I hope) during yesterday's trip. I didn't feel good today either. But I was able to take something to make myself feel better. And I wasn't so physically challenged today as I was yesterday. But being sick might have enhanced mooning over not being able to go fishing. The end always stops too abruptly for me. It seems that there are always more places to go, more and bigger fish to catch.
Our closing weekend at Barnacle Billy's (Original) starts tomorrow. Sunday night we will close there for the season, at 8:00 PM. It has been a much better season this year than last. There was too much rain to draw in the business I would have liked to have seen in the 2023 season. Not so much, this season. The spring was not great for weather. But the weather was super after July 1 through until today and, as expected, through the weekend. Oddly, the best weather season we ever had was in 2020, the year of Covid, where we really couldn't take advantage of it. But where we really did as we couldn't sit patrons inside and the outside weather was perfect, except for one day. So we are ending another season. Deb says that I am ready for it to end. My mind tells me that I would like to go another month - but only if the weather was good. And that, of course, will not be the case.
Next weekend, Barnacle Billy's, Etc. will close on Sunday, November 3rd at 8:00 PM. After that, I will be able to start the winter projects I have planned for both the restaurants and the Bunny Clark. I'm not crazy about the off season. I have to organize every day. In the summer, I know where I will be at any given moment. Not so the winter. By the time I get used to the change, the season will be upon us again. Then I can get back into my comfort zone.
The dredging of Perkins Cove is supposed to commence on November 1. All the mooring chains have been removed. Almost all the boats are gone. There are a few of us left, including the Bunny Clark. But the Bunny Clark is ready to leave at any time that the Harbormaster wants the boat to leave. I have already set this up with Safe Harbor in Eliot, Maine. The plan is to start taking the Bunny Clark apart on Monday, after Barnacle Billy's is closed. Then the boat will leave when we are told that we have to leave.
Ashore, the wind blew out of the west with wind speeds up to fifteen knots or more. By noon, the wind had come around out of the northwest. Wind speeds were a little stronger. We also had some cloud cover move in that made it chilly outside and forced people from the deck, at Barnacle Billy's, inside. The sky cleared a bit later but the deck never filled up again. The air temperature rose to 64°F around noon but dropped back down around 60°F for the rest of the early afternoon, dropping further as the sun set. The visibility was excellent. The sky was a mix of sun and clouds. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 67°F (with a low of 48°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 63°F (with a low of 29°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 63°F (with a low of 37°F).
I spent the whole day at the Barnacle Billy's restaurants, at both Etc and Original. It was a fairly busy day with Ogunquitfest in full swing and the weather to propel it to new levels. Tomorrow will be the high heel race around the Cove. We had the Trick or Treat kids part of Ogunquitfest in the Cove at 10:45 AM today. We posted employees outside with candy to give out at Original. The same was done at Barnacle Billy's, Etc at the front door entrance, open an hour before Etc was supposed to be open. There were a lot of happy people around.
I went home for an hour nap to straighten out my back. Then went back down and stayed until 8:30 PM or so.
Ashore, it was a beautiful fall day today, albeit, a bit cooler than I was hoping it would be. The sky was clear in the morning, nearly cloudless, and it stayed that way for the day. The visibility was excellent and stayed excellent. The wind blew out of the west at fifteen to almost twenty knots all day. The ocean along the shore was very calm with wavelets and, further out, white caps, moving to the east. The air temperature dropped to 35°F by 7:00 AM but rose to nearly 40°F by 9:00 AM. The highest air temperature that I saw today was 55°F. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 55°F (with a low of 41°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 54°F (with a low of 27°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 53°F (with a low of 32°F).
I spent my time, exclusively, at the restaurants today, mostly at Barnacle Billy's (Original). It was our last day of the season today, the last day of Ogunquitfest, as well. Closing day is not as busy as opening day in April. But it's still very busy. And like all closing days, it's like old home week with many regular patrons who I see periodically throughout the season. It's a bit sad for me; I hate to see the season end. But everything has it's time. This was our time to close today. We have been very fortunate to have such wonderful weather for as long as we have had it this fall. It would be hard to imagine a better weather September and October. It certainly helped Ogunquit's businesses. Thank you all for making it such a wonderful restaurant season. It's so nice to come to work and see so many wonderful people. As my father would have said; "Winter Well!"
The sky was clear to the east before sunrise. An hour or so later, that clear section of sky moved over us. The sky remained clear for the rest of the day. The day was cool with the air temperature dropping to 35°F before climbing up to 50°F, the highest value that I saw. And, actually, the air temperature didn't get out of the 40s until the southerly wind started blowing off the water. The wind only blew over ten knots before sunrise. The wind speeds were dropping as the daylight morning came on. By 9:00 AM, there was barely any wind at all. By the afternoon, the wind was light out of the south. In Boston, Massachusetts (Logan International Airport) the high air temperature was 49°F (with a low of 38°F). The Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 50°F (with a low of 25°F). The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 48°F (with a low of 25°F).
I spent the morning at the restaurant and at the desk at home. I also voted this morning in an absentee ballot. Ian Keniston and Danny DellaMonica arrived at the Bunny Clark to start breaking her down at 8:30 AM. We talked over our strategy for the time spent from now until we haul the Bunny Clark out of water.
By 11:30 AM, I was back in the restaurant ready to go. But I left at 12:20 PM to join a combined Recreational Advisory Panel/Groundfish Advisory Panel meeting. There we discussed the cod situation and how to manage the cod for recreational anglers and commercial fishermen. Regardless of what was said, both groups are going to take a hit next year on cod landings. And, since cod is a trigger species, the chance of catching cod will diminish the scope of fishing participation in the fishery. How this shakes out as far as we are concerned we will know later, maybe as early as the end of November? We shall see. I didn't get out of the meeting until 5:45 PM.
After the meeting, I went directly back to Barnacle Billy's, Etc. to work until 7:15 PM before coming back home to eat and get to bed early.
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