Tag Archives: Kirk

12/4 Report, and Fishing this Thurs-Sunday!

December 11, 2009

Sorry for the recent delay in updates!

Capt. Josh took the Yankee Freedom out last Friday, December 4 and reports a fair to good day overall. The pollock were on the move, and it was hard to effectively anchor on top of them, making their successful capture a function of Josh’s persistence at the wheel and anglers’ persistence at the rail. Most of the trip consisted of quick flurries followed by a few minutes of nothing, then another quick flurry, as schools of fish would scurry under the boat. As usual, skilled casters like Dave Parsons, who had upwards of fifteen fish himself, hooked up far more consistently than those who flopped their jigs straight down. They tried a stop for haddock at the end of the day with limited success, experiencing only a slow pick on the silver ones. A 20-pound pollock won the pool. The highlight of the day was a fat 28-30-pound codfish that snapped up a jig before being successfully lip-gaffed and released by mate Capt. Kirk. Them’s the breaks.

The Yankee Freedom is scheduled to run this coming Thursday through Sunday, weather permitting. Give the office a call for an update on the weather and to make sure there are enough anglers booked for the boat to sail.

Willy

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10/30-11/8 reports: Pollock Time!

November 11, 2009

With the closing of cod season, the Yankee Fleet has switched gears, targeting primarily pollock and haddock. Capt. Josh has typically begun the day in search of pollock, and depending on the action, sometimes switches over to haddock toward the end of the day. But the latter might become more unpredictable as we move deeper into November, so bring those jigs and plan for pollock! From here on out, all trips will be run on the 100-foot Yankee Freedom.

10/30: Capt. Kirk reports good fishing on Friday’s trip aboard the Yankee Clipper. They drifted all day in spite of a hard-running tide and it paid off; they managed to evade the dogs for the 168104most part while doing well on the groundfish. They made four long drifts, catching about a 60/40 split of haddock and codfish, the latter ranging from barely-keepers to 10-pounders. A strong pick with some solid flurries characterized each of the drifts. Jigs seemed to do better on both species and also avoided the dogs. Pete Jones took the pool with a plump 32-pound cod at the very end of the day.

10/29-10/30 overnighter: Capts. Tom and Dave report that the overnight trip on the Yankee Freedom started out with a good surge of medium pollock at sunrise, followed by a stop that produced a steady pick of haddock. Later in the morning, however, the dogfish became unbearable and they elected to make a substantial shift in search of codfish. They succeeded, drifting over obliging mixed-size schools of cod, ranging from shorts to the 19-pound pool winner. Sounds like it was a good trip overall, with some really bright moments but a few periods of slower fishing as well.

10/31: On the last day of cod season, Capt. Josh targeted codfish on the Yankee Clipper, and was rewarded with some solid action on the drift in the morning, despite breezy conditions that made tending bottom difficult. It was fish-a-cast action for jiggers, although the short:keeper ratio was in the neighborhood of 3:1. The wind eventually became too much to continue drifting, and they anchored up in the afternoon, experiencing slower action but still picking away at a mix of cod and haddock. The pool was a 19-pound cod. Josh called the trip fair to good overall, with good drift fishing in the morning and fair action on the anchor later on. So ended the 2009 cod season in the Gulf of Maine!

11/5: After a spate of bad weather, Capt. Josh ran the all-day trip on the Yankee Freedom, reporting a fair day as a whole. He found the pollock, but they didn’t bite as savagely as everyone hoped they would. Casting a jig far away from the boat was the only way to consistently hook up with the boat-shy fish. Nevertheless, they were able to put a good number of them in the boat, the largest of which weighed 18 pounds and took the pool. Also in the mix were a good number of haddock and a handful of white hake from 5-10 pounds.

11/7: Aboard the Yankee Freedom, Capt. Josh reports another fair day overall. The morning began with a good drift on the pollock, during which they put a pile of the larger models in the boat, including the pool-winning 20-pounder. After that, however, they experienced just a grinding pick on a mix of pollock and haddock with some white hake mixed in. Jig fishermen did substantially better on average than the bait dunkers.

11/8: Sunday’s day trip aboard the Yankee Freedom, Capt. Josh reports, began with an anchor stop that first offered only a slow pick, but then turned into a 45-minute pollock slam for the jig fishermen. At the same time, those fishing the clams caught a mix of haddock and small hake as well. Eventually the pollock pandemonium petered out and Josh made a shift in search of haddock. He found them; anglers enjoyed a strong pick on the silver fellows with a few coming up at all times over the course of an hour and a half. At the end of the day, they made another stop on the pollock, which once again obliged, and they put a few dozen more on the boat. A good to very good day overall, Josh said; both target species were located and were willing to bite! A pollock in the 18-pound range took pool honors.

There is an all-day trip tomorrow (Veterans Day) aboard the Yankee Freedom, departing at 7 AM and returning at 4 PM. The trip has an extremely light load of anglers and Josh has high hopes. Join us!

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Reports 10/21-10/27

October 28, 2009

When the weather allows the boats to make it out to the grounds, the fishing over the past week or so has been really solid, with cod and haddock making up the bulk of the landings but with more and more pollock showing up all the time. Dogfish have been a bit of a nuisance on some trips but should be thinning out shortly with the dropping water temperatures.

10/21: After staying tied to the dock for almost a full week due to uncivil weather, Capt. Kirk reports that last Wednesday’s day trip aboard the Yankee Patriot was good overall, despite a rather strong dogfish presence. In the morning anglers experienced a good pick on a mix of haddock and codfish (about 70% haddock), with just a handful of cusk mixed in as well as a couple of good-sized wolffish. In the afternoon, Kirk marked a pile of pollock and jig fishermen cashed in on a pollock slam for about an hour, with double-headers of larger 14-18-pound models keeping gaffs flying. Those fishing bait continued to catch cod and haddock while the jiggers bailed pollock, although the doggies were still a bit of an issue for the former. A pair of 20-pound pollock tied for the pool.

10/22: Thursday’s marathon aboard the Yankee Patriot was very good overall, according to Capt. Kirk. They drifted all day except for the last stop, catching fish everywhere they went on both bait and jigs. Dogs weren’t much of an issue at all. They ended the day by drifting over a pollock hump and putting a pile of fat specimens in the boat, although they weren’t biting quite as viciously as yesterday. A trio of 15-pounders tied for pool honors. High hooks had upwards of 15 fish.

10/22-23 Overnighter: Capts. Tom and Dave ran Friday’s overnight trip aboard the Yankee Freedom in rather sporty conditions, although the large vessel handled the seas just fine. Unfortunately, the bite never really came on strong for the hardy crew of anglers. They had a few quick flurries of large pollock in the morning, but the bite then settled into a grinding pick on cod and haddock for most of the trip. The pool was a three-way tie of 18-pound pollock. Capt. Tom dubbed the trip fair as a whole; there were always a couple of fish coming up but never quite as many as he would have liked to see.

10/23: Capt. Kirk tried to make a go of it on Friday’s day trip, but the conditions were just too snotty. He turned the Yankee Patriot around after making it out past the breakwater. Saturday’s trip was cancelled as well.

10/25: Capt. Josh reports fair fishing overall for a full load of anglers aboard the Yankee Clipper on Sunday. Anchoring into a strong tide in the morning, anglers ground away at mostly haddock, with some cusk and legal cod mixed in. In the afternoon, the tide slacked off and Josh went looking for some pollock. He found them, with some haddock mixed in too, but the action was never quite as fast as he would have liked to see. High hooks included Keith and Loretta, who had upwards of 20 fish between them, while a 21-pound white hake took the pool.

10/26: Sailing with a light load, an enthusiastic Capt. Josh called in to report a good to very good day of fishing aboard the Yankee Clipper. Codfish on jigs were the order of the day, with anglers experiencing fast action, although there were a lot of shorts in the mix; Josh estimated that one out of every 3 or 4 cod that came aboard was a keeper. In the morning, bait fishermen caught some fish too, with not many dogfish around to harass them, although jigs held the decisive advantage. In the afternoon, they made a shift and found some better quality market cod from 8-15 pounds, although this area seemed to be inundated with dogfish that even attacked the jigs. Within a few seconds of touching bottom there would be a fish on the line: either a quality codfish or a doggie. A 15-pound codfish won the pool.

10/27: Today’s limited-load trip aboard the Yankee Clipper started off with challenging conditions due to a ripping tide, according to Capt. Josh. The bite seemed to be off as well, and anglers experienced a slow pick for the first couple of hours. In the late morning and early afternoon, however, conditions improved dramatically and Josh was able to set up a couple of productive drifts, experiencing good action on mostly codfish. So, while the morning was slow, the afternoon was good, making for a fair to good day as a whole. A fat 19-pound codfish won the pool.

The Yankee Fleet intends to continue running seven days a week until November 1, when we’ll be running Thursday-Sunday. New this year, however, is the “Minuteman Club,” which will start next week: During the months of November and December, if the weather looks good on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday we’ll e-mail you 48 hours in advance to see if you’re interested in a trip, and then call to confirm the day before. There’s no obligation to get on the list, and it’s a great way to take advantage of any early-week weather windows that might pop up. Give the office a call at 1-800-942-5464 to sign up.

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10/11 and 10/15 Reports

October 18, 2009

This spate of nor’easters has made it tough to be on the water consistently, and since the last report there have been only two trips. Even so, there seem to be plenty of hungry fish out on the grounds when anglers are able to get to them!

10/11: Capt. Kirk reports a very good to excellent day of fishing on Sunday aboard the Yankee Clipper. The first three stops offered non-stop action on cod, haddock, and cusk, with haddock dominating the legal catch. Bait and jigs both produced, but the dogfish were pretty brutal for the bait guys and were eventually responsible for driving them out of spots when they became unbearable. At the end of the day, Kirk stopped on a pollock hump and jiggers experienced fish-a-cast action on ‘em, putting a couple dozen in the boat before they called it a day. One of these pollock, a 15-pounder, edged out a few others to take the pool. High hooks such as Bob West had upwards of 20 quality fish.

10/15: Capt. Josh snuck out on the Super Thursday trip on the Yankee Clipper between storms, and reports a good day of fishing in flat-calm conditions, although it was pretty chilly offshore. Bait and jig anglers enjoyed a steady pick on haddock, cod, and cusk, in that order, with the occasional flurry of haddock making gaffs fly around the boat. They ended the day with an hour and fifteen-minute-long anchor stop on some pollock, where jig fishermen caught a pile of ‘em. At the same time, those dunking clams picked away at haddock and keeper-sized cod, including a couple of markets to 12 pounds. A stout 19-pound pollock snuck past a couple of similarly-sized fish to take pool honors.

Cod season in the Gulf of Maine closes in two weeks–get ‘em while you can! Note, however, that the Yankee Fleet intends to continue fishing through November, targeting haddock and pollock.

Willy

Yankee Fleet
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10/9-10/10, Plus Overnighter Report

October 11, 2009

10/8-10/9 Overnighter: Capts. Dave and Tom report just fair fishing on the overnight trip aboard the Yankee Freedom. They anchored all day, and would experience a quick flurry on mixed-size cod and haddock before settling into a slow grind of haddock, cusk, and dogs. They covered a lot of ground, making over 10 stops over the course of the trip, but the bite never really got hot. Nevertheless, with a full 12 hours of fishing under their belts most anglers had plenty of meat to take home. A 20-pound white hake, one of a couple, won the pool.

Friday, 10/9: I made the last-minute decision to jump aboard the Yankee Clipper with Capt. Kirk at the wheel. We began the morning under overcast skies with good drifting conditions and good fishing to match, with fish-a-cast action on a mix of cusk, short and legal cod, and haddock on the first drift. Both jiggers and bait fishermen caught well, wolfies1although those using clams had to contend with doggies. However, bait anglers who fished with only a single bait hook close to the sinker managed to catch mostly haddock. On that first drift, I believe I put 5 haddock, a cusk and a scrod in the boat. The second drift offered more steady action, but the drift speed became progressively faster until we were moving almost a knot and Kirk elected to anchor up. We made four anchor stops, and with the exception of the second, which produced only a grinding pick, we enjoyed good to very good action on a mixed bag of species. Dogs were once again an issue for the bait guys, and many anglers—especially those fishing midships where I was, had a hard time avoiding tangles, since lines were scoping hard under the port side. The best stop of the day was the second-to-last, where we had fast action on mostly haddock and small-market cod to 8lbs or so. Kirk kept us out a bit late to capitalize on the strong afternoon bite. A 14-pound cod won the pool.

Overall, I’d call it a good to very good day. It was just fair for more inexperienced anglers, but those who had the drill down did quite well on a variety of species. It was one of those days when we caught fish everywhere we went, and people were surprised by how many fish they’d caught at day’s end. Indeed, Ross, Greg, and even regular angler Dave were cutting fish in the rain until we reached the Gloucester breakwater! I finished up with 8 haddock, 4 codfish, 3 cusk and a stray pollock.

Saturday, 10/10: Capt. Kirk reports another good day on the Yankee Clipper. 165894He reported that the fishing was quite similar to yesterday’s, with the exception of a good pollock blitz at the end of the day, during which a few dozen 8-14-pounders were gaffed 165895aboard. They anchored all day and caught fish at every stop. Dogs were once again an issue for the bait guys but weren’t completely intolerable. The last two stops were the best of the trip; one yielded a good pick of market-sized codfish while the other produced the pollock plus a good slug of big haddock. High hooks had around 15 fish. A 16-pound cod beat out a number of pollock to sneak out the pool.

Willy

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9/23-10/2: Good fishing!

October 4, 2009

Here’s a recap of what’s been happening since last Wednesday. With a couple of exceptions, the fishing has been great, with more quality codfish coming over the rails than in the preceding couple of weeks. Lots of haddock still, and while dogfish have at times been troublesome, overall they’ve been pretty mild.

Wednesday, 9/23:
Capt. Kirk reports a very good day on the Yankee Patriot on Wednesday. Drifting all day due to tide-into-20-knot-wind conditions, the light load of anglers put a pile of fish in the boat, almost all cod and haddock. A 14-pound cod won the pool.

Capt. Josh had a charter aboard the Yankee Clipper, reporting a fair to good day of fishing. He made 6 anchor stops of 30-40 minutes each, each of which followed a similar pattern. They’d initially experience a flurry of large (4-6-pound) haddock and then settle into a steady pick before the dogfish made it tough to continue bait fishing, at which time they’d make a shift. Mostly haddock today, with a handful of legal cod mixed in.

Thursday, 9/24:
Capt. Kirk sounded pretty pumped about the excellent day anglers experienced aboard the Yankee Clipper on Thursday’s marathon. The first anchor stop was sheer mayhem, with both bait and jig fishermen cashing in on fish-a-cast action for two hours. The catch was composed of about equal landings of haddock and cod, plus a few cusk, a couple of hake, and a couple of pollock, including a 30-pound beast that won the pool. Dogs were a non-issue. After that stop, they made a series of drifts that also provided fast action, although not quite as fierce as that first stop.

Friday, 9/25:
Capts. Dave and Tom ran Friday’s overnight trip on the Yankee Freedom, and Dave reports very good fishing overall, despite sloppy weather. Anchoring for the duration of the trip, those anglers who braved the conditions caught a 50/50 mix of haddock and quality codfish, including a number of fish in the high teens. Jigs and bait both worked well since dogs weren’t really an issue, although the better-sized cod took a liking to the jigs. A 20-pound cod took pool honors.

Saturday, 9/26:
Capt Josh reports a good day overall on the Yankee Clipper day trip. The first anchor stop in the morning provided hot and heavy action on a mix of cod, haddock, and cusk on both bait and jigs. Most of the codfish were legal-sized white-bellies to 10 pounds. Dogs were present but not a big issue. They made a total of four more anchor stops, catching a mix of the aforementioned species at each of them, mostly picking away but with a few good flurries as well. They also tried a half-hour drift, during which most anglers had a hard time tending bottom but those who were able to fish effectively did quite well. Loretta Miner, for example, caught 5 haddock on the jig on as many casts during that drift! A 13-pound cusk snuck by a bunch of codfish to win the pool.

On the Yankee Patriot, Kirk also reports a good day on the 7-4 day trip. The first anchor stop of the morning offered fast action on mostly cusk with a couple of haddock and scrod mixed in. After that, Kirk decided to try drifting using the Yankee Patriot’s new sea anchor, a large canvas sheet deployed off of the bow to help slow the drift. They enjoyed a good pick of haddock for a 45-minute span before the tide went slack and the bite disappeared. Kirk made a shift and they finished the day with a mixed-bag bite of cod, haddock, cusk and pollock. A 14-pound pollock won the pool.

Sunday, 9/27:
Capt. Smitty ran the Yankee Clipper on Sunday, in rough, challenging conditions. They tried to fish in the morning, picking away at cusk, haddock, and cod, but the weather was just not good enough to put in a quality effort, and they elected to head in early, tying up back at East Gloucester Marina a few hours early.

On the Yankee Freedom, Capts. Dave and Tom had an overnight charter and Dave reports that, despite stiff breezes and 4-6-foot seas, the fishing was once again very good. Mostly codfish this time, a number of which were in the high teens. Jigs were best both for numbers and quality. A 21-pound cod won the pool.

Monday, 9/28:
Capt. Josh reports fair to good fishing on the Yankee Clipper on Monday. The first couple of anchor stops were a pick of mostly cusk. The next two stops were more productive, with anglers catching a mix of haddock and cod, the latter at a 3:1 short: keeper ratio. They would experience 15-20-minute spurts of excellent haddock fishing, with a number of quality fish coming up at once, before the action would settle down again.

Tuesday, 9/29:
Josh reports another fair to good day on Tuesday’s limited load trip on the Yankee Clipper. They picked away at cod, cusk and haddock on the anchor for most the trip before making a few stops on the pollock at the end of the day. Those anglers who were able to cast a jig away from the boat caught a bunch of the boat-shy pollock. A 15-pounder won the pool.

Wednesday, 9/30:
Capt. Kirk, sailing with a light load aboard the Yankee Patriot, reports a very good day, catching mostly haddock and cod, with a few cusk. They drifted all morning, catching a mix of haddock and market cod to 15 pounds, the largest of which won the pool. The current then become too strong to effectively drift, so they anchored up but experienced only a pick of haddock before the dogfish showed up. At the end of the day, they went back to drifting using the sea anchor but the bite just wasn’t really there, and the had only a grinding pick. High hooks had in excess of 15 legal fish, and the catch was well-spread around the boat.

Thurs, 10/1:
Kirk reports an exceptional day of fishing on the marathon aboard the Yankee Clipper. Fishing in a stiff 25-knot northwest wind and 3-5-foot seas, anglers bailed a mix of haddock, cod, cusk, and pollock, with haddock dominating the catch. Kirk covered a lot of ground, trying a number of areas he hadn’t fished in a while and finding good action at all of them. Dogs weren’t too bad, and high hooks had over 20 keepers. A 14-pound cod won the pool.

Friday, 10/2:
Capt. Kirk ran Friday’s day trip on the Yankee Clipper, reporting a good day overall. The first stop produced a pile of cod and haddock for the first 45 minutes, then the dogfish showed up, forcing them to make a shift. They encountered more dogfish all day than they’ve been seeing in a while. The rest of the day, they picked away at cod and haddock with a couple of solid haddock flurries mixed in. A 14-pound cod won the pool.

Saturday, 10/3:
Capt. Josh tried to make a go of it on the Yankee Clipper this morning, but after seeing the nasty conditions outside of the breakwater decided to turn around and wait ‘til tomorrow.

Get out there—fall fishing is here!

Willy

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9/18-9/22 Reports

September 23, 2009

Hi Everyone,

Here’s a recap of what’s been happening on the grounds since last Friday. The big blow last Friday and Saturday limited mobility somewhat, but Capts. Tom, Josh and Kirk still managed to put a good amount of fish in the boat. The past three days have offered much more comfortable weather conditions and better fishing as well. Dogfish have returned and are proving to be a bit of a nuisance for the bait dunkers, but anglers fishing a single baited hook close to the sinker have for the most part been able to avoid them and put the good meat in the boat. Fishing a jig, of course, is another way to work around the dogs and will also likely produce the larger cod and pollock.

9/18: The second fall overnighter aboard the Yankee Freedom departed on Thursday night, with Capt. Tom at the wheel. He deemed it a “very interesting” trip weather-wise; to begin the morning on Friday, they encountered a large easterly swell running into a stiff west wind. This made for a roiled, confused sea and very difficult conditions on the anchor, with the boat constantly swinging and making tending bottom a challenge for the hardy crew of anglers. They experienced just a slow pick of cusk and haddock during the morning. In the afternoon, the wind let up and they were able to get a more consistent anchor heading, and anglers picked away at haddock and cod, enjoying a couple of solid surges of cod in the 24-26-inch range. Capt. Tom called the trip fair overall, with a slow, uncomfortable morning but with some better conditions and action on quality fish during the second half of the trip.

Capt. Kirk ran Friday’s open boat day trip aboard the Yankee Patriot. They encountered the same 25-knot west wind, and their mobility was somewhat limited. Still, for the majority of the day anglers managed to pick away at the haddock with some cod mixed in. Kirk deemed the trip fair as a whole.

9/19:
Capt. Josh was at the wheel for the 6-3 open boat on the Yankee Clipper, and reports that they once again were plagued by strong winds and big seas. Nevertheless, anglers ground it out and managed a slow steady pick on cod, cusk and haddock, with a few stray pollock thrown in for good measure.

On the Yankee Patriot, Capt. Kirk reports that anglers picked away at cusk and haddock in sloppy seas for a few hours before making the decision to call the trip a wash and head back to the dock early. They were tied back up at East Gloucester Marina by two o’clock.

9/20:
Finally, the weather was good on Sunday, and Capt. Josh reports a good day of fishing overall aboard the Yankee Clipper. In the morning, until the tide change at 11:30, anglers contended with a strong current but picked away at a mix of cusk and haddock, with a few coming up at all times. After the tide change, the haddock really began to chew, and they enjoyed a strong pick on the silver ones for last hour and forty-five minutes of the trip. High hooks had in excess of a dozen haddock.

9/21:
Capt. Kirk reports a very good day aboard the Yankee Patriot on Monday, fishing an area he hadn’t visited since earlier in the summer. Their first drift, which lasted almost two hours, yielded a mix of nice market cod in the 12-20-pound range and a pile of big haddock, averaging around five pounds each! Jig fishermen had fish-a-cast action on the larger cod and haddock while the bait guys filled up th bags with haddock. The next drift offered more of the same, with more nice cod and a large 20-pound cusk as well, the largest of the season thus far. After the bite slowed a bit, Kirk made a shift into some deeper water, where anglers enjoyed fast action on cod of mixed sizes, haddock, and the ubiquitous cusk. Kirk said that by day’s end anglers had put a few dozen cod over 12 pounds in the boat, including around 10 over 18 pounds. One of them, a 21-pounder, beat out a gaggle of close contenders to take pool honors.

Capt. Josh, who had a charter on the Yankee Clipper, also reports a good day of fishing, with large haddock making up the vast majority of legal landings. Some cusk and cod were in the mix too, including a couple of market cod in the 14-17-pound range.

9/22: Capt. Josh sailed with a light load of anglers on today’s limited trip on the Yankee Clipper, and sounded quite pleased with the results by day’s end, calling it a good trip overall. They fished on the anchor all day, enjoying steady action on cusk and haddock with the occasional slug of cod mixed in. The last stop of the day produced an 18-pound wolfish as well as six big white hake in the 15-25-pound range, the largest of which took pool honors. I suspect we’ll be seeing more of those guys as the fall progresses!

Willy

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9/14-9/17 and 9/11 Overnighter Reports

September 18, 2009

The first fall overnighter aboard the Yankee Freedom, with Captain Tom Orell at the wheel, sailed last Thursday night and fished all day Friday, from 5:00 AM - 4:00 PM. After a slow start in sloppy seas in the early morning, Capt. Tom anchored up on a patch of hungry haddock with some quality market cod mixed in as well. Anglers picked away at these two species, with the occasional spurt of haddock making for some fast action. They then stopped on a school of larger pollock that for the most part cooperated; jiggers did especially well, with one of them capturing the pool-winning 18-pounder. In the afternoon, the bite tapered off, and they scraped away at haddock and cusk with the occasional cod or pollock mixed in. Overall, Capt. Tom called the trip good overall, with a slow start and finish but a solid bite in the middle of the day to make up for it.

9/14: Capt. Kirk reports a fair to good day on Monday’s day trip on the Yankee Patriot. In the morning, anglers picked away in sloppy conditions on a mix of haddock, cusk and cod. The action was never fantastic but they continued to grind away for the better part of the morning. For the first time in a while, dogfish made their presence known and were a nuisance to bait anglers. In the afternoon, the wind let go and Kirk motor-fished for the last hour or so, putting a handful of cod and haddock in the boat. Two 10-pound codfish tied for the pool.

Capt. Josh had a charter aboard the Yankee Clipper on Monday, and reports good action on mainly cod and haddock, with just a couple of cusk and pollock mixed in. Anglers enjoyed a steady pick of haddock at each of five anchor stops with the occasional flurry of haddock or slug of keeper codfish.

9/15: Once again, Capt. Josh sounded quite pleased with the take on Tuesday’s limited-load trip on the Yankee Clipper. Once again, they experienced steady fishing on cod and haddock all day, with no lulls in the action. An 18-pound wolfish took the pool

Wednesday’s and Thursday’s trips were canceled due to weather.

Willy

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9/10-9/13 Reports:

September 14, 2009

Challenging weather conditions over the past few days have made effective fishing difficult, but Capts. Josh and Kirk and their hardy patrons have managed to string together a series of good days on the water. Here’s a recap:

9/10: Capt. Josh reports a good day overall aboard the Yankee Clipper on Thursday’s marathon. A stiff east wind and choppy seas necessitated dropping the hook, and they made four anchor stops over the course of the day. The first stop lasted forty-five minutes, yielding a mixed bag of keeper cod and haddock on both bait and jigs with some cusk slipping into the burlaps as well. The next stop was the best of the day, lasting two hours, during which anglers picked at haddock on bait with a few on at all times and a few flurries as well. The occasional flash of pollock under the boat would result in double-headers of 8-14-pounders for the jig fishermen. The next two stops, each lasting about an hour, brought more haddock with some decent codfish mixed in as well. One of the larger pollock in the 15-pound range took pool honors.

9/11: Capt. Josh, in the wheelhouse of the Yankee Clipper for Friday’s day trip, reports another good day overall. The first stop around the tide change provided a solid pick of cod and haddock with some waves of pollock spicing the catch for those working jigs. The cod short: keeper ratio was about 3:1, with most shorts falling in the 22-23.5-inch bracket, resulting in fast action, especially for the jiggers. The second stop resulted in a pick of good-sized pollock for the jig fishermen but not much else. The third and final stop produced another good pick of cod and haddock, with some pollock mixed in, including the pool winner captured by Keith Miner.


9/12: Running the 6-3 day trip on the Yankee Clipper, Capt. Josh reports that “snappy” conditions and pouring rain dampened angler effort somewhat, but that after a slow start they finished up by putting together a fair to good day overall. The first three anchor stops, each lasting about a half hour, offered a pick on a mixed bag of species, with haddock dominating the take. The last stop of the day was the best; anglers picked away at haddock and cod with a 3:1 short: keeper ratio on the codfish. Some nice white hake came up too, including the 20-pound pool-winner. Loretta Miner was high hook with 13 legal fish.

Aboard the Yankee Patriot, Capt. Kirk reports a good day of fishing despite the challenging conditions—25-knot easterly winds, 4-7-foot seas, and the occasional torrential downpour. He made five stops overall, tallying a mix of cod, haddock, and cusk, in that order. A lack of participation among anglers negatively affected the total catch on board by day’s end, but the fish were certainly there for those willing to endure the conditions. A 12-pound cod beat out a couple of medium pollock to take pool honors.

9/13: Anglers aboard Sunday’s day trip on the Yankee Clipper encountered challenging tide conditions in the morning, Capt. Josh reports. Anchoring into the tide, lines scoped straight toward the stern, resulting in a fair amount of tangles. Nevertheless, in their first three anchor stops before the tide change anglers tallied a mix of haddock and codfish.

In the late morning, when the tide slacked off, Josh made a shift to a new area. They ended the day with two productive drifts, producing a good pick of mostly keeper cod with some haddock and pollock mixed in. Bait and jigs both took their fair share of legal fish.

Josh termed the day slow to fair in the morning and good in the afternoon, making for a fair to good day overall. A 14-pound pollock took pool honors.

Capt. Ray ran the annual “No Googans!” charter aboard the Yankee Patriot today. Capt. Kirk, who worked deck, reports a good day of fishing overall. Like anglers on the Clipper, they experienced just a slow pick in the morning on cod and haddock, but in the afternoon enjoyed better action on a mix of those two species as well as a handful of cusk and pollock. A large number of sub-legal cod in the 22-23.75-inch range provided fish-a-cast action for the jig fishermen. High hooks had 13-14 fish, and a 16-pound cod won the pool.
Willy

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9/3-9/8 Reports

September 8, 2009

9/3: Capt. Josh reports fair to good action on the Super Thursday trip on the Yankee Clipper. 163331The pollock, mostly 8-15-pounders, generally cooperated in the morning, although they once again appeared to be a bit boat-shy. Those who launched their jigs away from the boat experienced fish-a-cast action on double-headers while those who dropped straight down did not have the same success. After chipping away at the pollock in the morning, Josh targeted haddock 163335and cod in the late morning and afternoon, making a pair of anchor stops that offered a steady grind on those two species, with some pollock and white hake mixed in too. A 31-pound hake took pool honors, with a 24-pound codfish taking second. Both fish took jigs.

9/4: I was aboard Friday’s day trip on the Yankee Patriot, with Capt. Kirk at the wheel. The day started off quite well, with a productive hour-long drift. I had a 13-pound codfish on my first cast and put four or five haddock in the boat plus some cusk and another keeper cod over the course of that drift. The second drift offered more steady action, but the bite seemed to taper off over the course of the drift as we approached slack tide. After those first two drifts, the bite pretty much died, and anglers worked hard to grind away at haddock, cusk, and a handful of keeper cod during the afternoon. A ten-pound cod that beat out a couple of close contenders took pool honors. Despite the rather slow afternoon, most anglers hauled surprisingly full bags of fish to the stern at day’s end; those who fished bait picked away all day. Kirk called it a good day overall, with a very good morning and a slow to fair afternoon. I ended up with 6 haddock, 5 cusk, two cod and a teeny tiny wolfish (around 2lbs) that I released.


9/5: I once again was out on Saturday, 163336this time on the Yankee Clipper, with Capt. Josh running the show. Joining me in the pulpit were my father, YF mate Ross on a busman’s holiday, and regulars Dave Sullivan and Mike Abovsky (FishWisher to you nor’east groupies). The fishing was fair overall, just a grinding bite on 163338cod, cusk, haddock and pollock. There were near-zero dogfish and very few short cod, which made the action seem slower than usual because nearly every fish that came aboard was a keeper.

Josh made six anchor stops, most of which offered the aforementioned grind, although the last two stops provided a few shots of pollock as well. The best stop of the day was the second-to-last; Ross, Mike and I were tight to doubles of good-sized pollock before hitting the bottom on our first cast. The pollock bit for a few more minutes before tapering off, but then we picked away at haddock, cusk, and cod to 12 pounds.

I ended up with 7 pollock—5 of which came on that second-to-last stop—one small market cod, 2 cusk, and a large haddock that popped off on the surface. So it goes! My dad probably hooked the most fish out of the five of us on the pulpit but dropped most of ‘em, tallying 3 pollock and a cusk. A 16-pound pollock beat out a bunch of similarly-sized ones to win the pool.

On the Yankee Patriot, Capt. Kirk reports similar action on Saturday. The bite was picky all day, and the action never really got to the level that Kirk would have liked to see. Nevertheless, they managed to pick away at cusk, haddock, pollock and cod, with a 12-pound pollock taking the pool.

9/6: Capt. Josh ran Sunday’s day trip on the Yankee Clipper. The morning started off with a stiff 25-knot northeast breeze and a five-foot cho163334p, making for an uncomfortable ride out and first couple hours of fishing. The first two anchor stops produced a grinding pick of cod, haddock and cusk, but the wind in conjunction with a strong tide made fishing effectively difficult for most anglers.

163339Around 11:30, the wind finally backed off and the tide slacked off as well. Anglers enjoyed better action after that, catching a mix of pollock, cod, and haddock, in that order. The second-to-last stop provided fish-a-cast action on pollock for those working jigs. High hooks had around 10 fish. A 28-pound white hake won the pool.

Overall, Josh called the trip fair, with a slow to fair morning and a good afternoon.

9/7: Capt. Josh reports a fair day of fishing on Monday’s all day trip on the Yankee Clipper. In the morning, the tide wasn’t strong enough to anchor up, but they weren’t able to consistently drift in one direction either, making it hard to drift effectively. Nevertheless, the anglers stuck with it and picked away at a mixed bag of groundfish. In the afternoon, they were able to drift more effectively and enjoyed an hour and forty-minute long drift during that produced a mix of cod, pollock, haddock and cusk, primarily on bait. They finished the day off with a couple of short drifts over a pile of pollock that succumbed to jigs. A 15-pound pollock won the pool.

9/8: Capt. Kirk, in the wheelhouse of the Yankee Clipper for the limited-load trip, reports a fair day of fishing overall. Despite flat-calm seas, they were forced to anchor all day due to the strong tide, which ran as fast as 1.5 knots!163333 The light load of anglers managed to pick away at haddock, cusk, and a handful of legal-sized codfish. A 10-pound cusk beat out a couple of cod to take pool honors.

Willy

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