By Bill C
The haddock fishing continues to be very good. We have also had quite a few cod in the 15 to 20lb pound range. The Captains are trying to stay one step ahead of the pesky green eyed dogfish. Most of the fish have been caught on bait.
Half day fishing has been very steady. We are still catching quite a few Haddock and some big redfish. Great fun for the whole family.
The Fish’n Chicks trip was, again, a big success. This all Female fishing trip has proven to be a great time for all the Ladies. Of course, it wouldn’t be the same without that handsome 1st mate George.
We are going to be heading out to Stellwagen Bank for a couple mid summer night blue fish trips 8/7 and 8/14. There have been reports about lots of bluefish on the Bank. These should be exciting evenings. Med to light tackle makes this fishing a great time.
Our Pool winners were Jonathan Grant of Dedham 15lb cusk, Howie (high hook) Hill of Roxbury 15lb cusk. Sandy Bozar of Ct. 20lb Pollock. Alan Wilson of Haverhill 22lb cod. Jeff Waytkus of Hoosac Falls NY 20lb cod. Dave Sullivan of Methuen a double header pool winner this week and I think all time high season pool winner - 10lb cod and a 15lb Pollock
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By Tom O
The fishing continues to be good overall, with some days better than others. The catch has mainly been haddock but there has recently been a good showing of scrod to small-market-sized cod as well as some medium pollock. The dogs have been positively vicious, proving a nuisance even to the jig fishermen! Here’s a brief recap of the past few days:
7/20: Capt. Kirk took a light load of anglers on the Yankee Patriot in positively gorgeous weather on Monday. He was able to drift all day, which kept the dogs somewhat at bay, although they were present everywhere he went. The fishing was fair to good overall, a steady pick on haddock with some keeper cod mixed in and a few flurries of faster action over the course of the day. A ten-pound cod took pool honors.
7/21: Capt. Josh ran Tuesday’s limited-load trip aboard the Yankee Clipper and reports a fair to good day of angling. Conditions were tough at best, breezy with a ripping tide that caused the boat to wag bag and forth on the anchor, resulting in many tangles. Because they had to anchor, the dogs were positively vicious, which combined with the tangles made it hard to fish at “maximum efficiency” for much of the day. Nevertheless, those who stuck with it, fishing through the tangles and dogs, managed to put as many as ten legal fish in the bag by day’s end. Mostly haddock, although they did have a few slugs of 5-8-pound codfish as well as some small to medium pollock.
7/22: Capt. Kirk reports another fair to good day on the Yankee Patriot on Wednesday. The fishing was good in the morning, when they were able to drift over productive patches of bottom and put a good number of cod and haddock in the boat while evading the dogfish. The tide began to smoke in the afternoon, however, and they were forced to anchor, a combination which resulted in slower fishing, tangles, and a dogfish assault.
7/23:
I was aboard the Yankee Clipper with Capt. Josh today for the Super Thursday trip. I fished in the pulpit with none other than the now-infamous decimator of groundfish and pool 
maven, David Sullivan. In a fit of ego-stroking boldness I decided to challenge Mr. Sullivan to a “buck a fish” competition for the day. It took a bit of cajoling but I finally got him to agree to said challenge.
The day began in somewhat shallower water than Josh has been fishing recently, in search of some codfish. On his first cast, Dave came tight to a double-header of fat 7-pound resident codfish, while I hooked a good fish, promptly dropped it, and then flipped my jig. Not a good omen. We made three short drifts in the shallow stuff, which offered fish-a-cast action for the jig guys, but mostly on short fish, with a few haddock, smallish pollock (“smollock”) and small market cod (“smarkets”) mixed in. I did drop one fish that felt substantially larger but which relieved itself of my jig about 20 feet from the bottom during a spate of head-shaking nastiness. The bait guys had a few keepers as well, although they were also troubled by some beastly (6 pounds plus) female dogfish. Most of the cod were residents, however, and Josh wasn’t satisfied, so we headed out into the deeper water. The tally at that time: 3 cod and a haddock for Dave, 1 pollock for me…
We made a few quick drifts in the deeper area to start, but they only offered a slow pick of short cod and a few haddock, as well as the ever-present squalids. It became evident that if we were going to have success, anchoring would be a must. The first anchor stop confirmed that suspicion while at the same further deflating my ego. We enjoyed fish-a-cast action on cod ranging from shorts to 10 pounds, haddock, the occasional pollock, and…dogfish. Dave quickly put a few small markets in the boat while I bailed the shorts and then lost my first keeper cod of the day trying to swing it over the rail. I dropped my next keeper cod 10 feet from the surface. Dave caught three haddock on his teaser on as many casts; I caught a double-header consisting of a foul-hooked short cod on the teaser and a dogfish right in the mouth on the jig. As I was unhooking them and retying my chafed-up leader, a first-time gentleman who had been taking a “power nap” walked out of the cabin, flopped his 17.5 oz stainless Norwegian jig to the bottom, and caught a double header of eight-pound fish.
The current was rather strong, but manageable—those who could cast a jig could hold with 10 or 12 ounces. Tangles were frequent because the lines were scoping toward the stern. Dogs were unbelievable—Capt. Kirk, who was working deck, said they were the worst he’d ever seen. He, Josh, and mate Greg were running around like madmen untangling lines and unhooking dogfish from start to finish. I caught 11 dogfish on the jig, a new personal record. Dave caught 1.
We made four or five anchor stops over the course of the day, all of which offered fish-a-cast action for the jiggers on various species. There were a surprisingly large number of short codfish—I must have caught 40 of them by day’s end. Although haddock were the majority of the legal fish, jigs were far more efficient at catching them due to the brutality of the dogs, and many anglers had switched to jigs by the late morning.
Back to the important stuff: Dave was simply “on” today, catching the quality and dropping very few fish, whilst I was plagued by small fish and dogs, and typically rolled three or four fish before I could stick one on the jig.
The last anchor stop proved my saving grace—I caught two keeper cod and three haddock in as many casts while Dave for once was kept busy by the tiny set. Meanwhile, regular angler Pat, who had been quietly minding his own business behind us whilst we engaged in piscatorial warfare, snuck in a fat 22-pound steaker on his final cast of the day to take pool honors. Nothing was even close—the second-largest fish was probably ten or 12 pounds.
The time came to do “the count,” and my fears were affirmed: Mr. Sullivan captured 17 legal fish—9 cod and 8 haddock—while I obtained 15—8 cod, 6 haddock, and a smollock. And yes, I paid the man—by check, with $0.07 interest for his troubles in depositing said banknote. A humbling day, for sure. Masochist that I am, I suspect I’ll challenge him to a similar endeavor next time we meet.
Overall, it was a very fun, action-packed trip. Josh deemed the day “good” overall, but had certain things gone our way I think it could have been an even better trip. There were a LOT of fish down there, as evidenced by the numbers that we hooked and dropped jigging on the pulpit. The fierce combo of tides and dogfish put a dent in our total landings, but everyone went home happy with a pile of fillets to last them ‘til next time. And for summer fishing, I’ll take fifteen quality keepers any day! Hopefully this solid bite on haddock and keeper codfish will continue—you might have to work through the doggies, but there are plenty of the “right kind” to be found down there as well.
7/24: Friday’s trip was cancelled due to the nor’easter.
Willy G.
By Tom O
7/19: Getting better!
It looks like the fishing has picked up over the past few days, a trend capped by the great day that I enjoyed aboard the Yankee Clipper with Capt. Smitty today. Here’s a brief recap:
7/15: Capt. Josh reports another fair day aboard the Yankee Clipper last Wednesday. They enjoyed a quality bite of haddock during which they put perhaps three dozen fish in the boat during the first twenty minutes of an anchor stop. Other than that, it was a steady grind of haddock with 10-12 fish coming up at each stop, as well as cusk and some more jig-friendly keeper codfish than they’ve been seeing. A severe tide made anchoring imperative for the duration.
7/16: This week’s Super Thursday trip on the Yankee Clipper, says Capt. Josh, was quite a good one, with the 32 anglers on board doing a number on a mix of cod, haddock, and pollock. The day began with a good shot of pollock on the jigs before settling into a steady pick of haddock with a few good flurries of market cod to 18 pounds as well. High hooks had numbers in the low 20s, mostly haddock and pollock, and the pool fish was a 21-pound wolfish.
On a personal note, on both Wednesday and Thursday I was aboard the Yankee Patriot with the campers of Go Fish!, a fishing camp of 10-12-year-olds that I help run out of Brookline, MA. Capts. Tom and Kirk as well as mates Ross and Greg were fantastic with the kids, and we enjoyed good action on both days, catching a mix of small cod, redfish, sculpins, whiting, and even a few keeper cod and haddock during our two 3.5-hour outings. The kids all had a great time and can’t wait to get back out there. Thanks guys!
7/17: Capt. Ray reports a fair to good day on the Yankee Patriot on Friday, with haddock constituting the majority of keepers but with some quality market cod and pollock coming up as well. A handful of nice cod in the high teens came to gaff as did the 22-pound pool-winning pollock.
Capt. Dave had a charter aboard the Yankee Freedom on Friday, and also reports fair to good fishing. He had a number of haddock on board as well as a large pile of redfish and some market cod to 14 pounds. Dogs were a nuisance for the bait anglers and forced them to move on a number of occasions.
7/18: Capt. Smitty reports fair fishing on Saturday’s day trip on the Yankee Clipper. The haddock were there but so were the dogs, which were absolutely brutal at times. A dozen keeper cod and a pile of cusk spiced the catch as did the 20-pound pool-winning wolfish.
7/19:
I made the last-minute decision to jump aboard the Yankee Clipper with Capt. Smitty today, and I’m glad I did! Weather was spectacular, with light winds and a mild current enabling us to drift all day. Four long drifts constituted our outing. The first drift offered absolutely insane fishing on haddock—we got them following the clam slick behind the boat and the action was hot and heavy. The dogs, unfortunately, were out in force too and put the only blemish on what would otherwise have been an absolutely perfect day on the water. Bait guys had to pick through them all day, which actually may have made jigging more efficient in terms of targeting the haddock. Speaking of which, they were pounding the jigs like none other—it was like pollock fishing for haddock! On the first drift, which lasted an hour and fifteen minutes, I put eight haddock in the boat including my first ever jig/teaser double-
header, 2 keeper codfish, and a cusk, plus numerous short cod. And yes, I did catch a handful of doggies on the jig over the course of the day as well! Drifts 2 and 3 didn’t quite offer the same action with quality fish, but it was still for the most part fish-a-cast action—in fact, I only had 4 fishless casts all day! Good stuff. The last drift offered more of the same except most casts resulted in yet more haddock rather than short cod as had the second and third drifts. A stray pollock and a few wolfs came up over the course of the day as well. The pool fish was an 11-pound cod that snuck past a similar-sized wolf. I ended the day with 14 haddock, 3 cod, and four decent-sized cusk. A very good day, overall, I’d say. Doesn’t get much better than that for a mid-summer day trip!
Willy G.
Other pics:
By Bill C
Bill at Yankee Fleet reports that the fishing at the beginning of the week was on the slow side. Capt. Josh worked hard at putting the fish on the boat as he always does. His hard work paid off, the fishing has improved every day. More haddock were caught than cod. The cod that were brought aboard were nice fish.
Our resident fish reporter and blog specialist Willy Goldsmith brought some Kids up from the Park School in Brookline for a two day fish camp. Turned out to be a great success. Everyone had a great time and even a historic harbor tour.
Capt. Dave has done a great job with our half day fishing. He has zeroed in on the inshore haddock and managed to avoid most of the dogfish. It is a great family outing. Give it a try.
Our best wishes are with one of our oldest friends. Harold (Big Fish) Diggs. He is having a hip replaced. He thinks it might help his fishing. But we don’t think so! Also another long time friend Ed Guziak informed us that he is hanging up his fishing gear after close to thirty years fishing at Yankee Fleet. He will be missed by all of us. But mostly me!
Our pool winners this week were Jim Brennan of Gloucester. 15lb cod. Edward Grzymajlo of New Britain Ct. 25lb catfish. George Deveau of Gloucester. 15lb cod. Ed Lackely of Chelmsford 10lb cod. David Mycue of North Reading. 10lb haddock. All the pool fish were caught on bait.
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By Tom O
Hi all,
Capts. Kirk and Josh report similar action out on the grounds over the past week, generally characterized by fair to good haddock fishing with a smattering of cusk, pollock, and codfish mixed in. Here’s a day-by-day recap:
7/7: Capt. Kirk ran the all-day trip aboard the Yankee Patriot, while Capt. Josh had a charter on the Yankee Clipper. Pouring rain dampened angler effort somewhat, but both boats experienced fair fishing for those willing to brave the deluge. Almost all keepers were haddock, with a few cusk thrown in. Dogs were everywhere but never became a nuisance to the point that it affected where or how the boats fished.
7/8: Capt. Kirk reports a fair to good day on the Yankee Patriot, despite rough conditions and tough fishing in the morning. But the light load of anglers stuck it out and when the weather improved in the late morning, they had a good pick of haddock with some solid flurries mixed in to finish off the day.
7/9: Capt. Josh ran the Super Thursday trip on the Yankee Clipper and enjoyed the best trip of the week. They were able to fish around two tide changes, and had the best bite on the haddock around those periods of transition. The action never got hot and heavy, but there were a handful of fish coming up at all times and by the end of the day the numbers added up. They were able to drift all day in deeper water due to favorable conditions and skilled anglers. High hooks Pete Jones and The Big Kahuna had 15 or 16 keepers apiece with many anglers having 10 or 12. Mostly haddock, with more keeper cod than they’ve been seeing as well as the ubiquitous cusk. A rogue pollock came aboard too.
7/10: Capt. Josh reports just a fair day aboard the Yankee Clipper on the all-day trip. Drifting proved more effective today but also caused numerous tangles for anglers unaccustomed to having to tend bottom during a drift. Those who put in the time managed to pick away at haddock and cusk. A 14-pound wolffish took pool honors.
7/11: Another “fair-ish” day on the Yankee Clipper, Capt. Josh reports. They began the day drifting and had a good pick of haddock but once the tide started cranking, the lines got crazy and they were forced to anchor up for the remainder of the day. The first few anchor stops offered a mix of haddock and cusk as well as some small market cod to 10 pounds. Josh then made a three-mile shift, where they had the best stop of the day to finish off the trip, a twenty-minute strong flurry on haddock followed by a steady pick for the next hour.
Capt. Kirk had the all-day trip on the Yankee Patriot on Saturday, and reports similar fair fishing. Every stop they made produced fish, at first a good pick of haddock, cod, and cusk but later petering out to a grind on small cod, cusk, and dogfish, at which point they’d haul the anchor and make a shift. Despite the dogfish, bait definitely had the edge over jigs today.
7/12:
Capt. Kirk once again ran the Yankee Patriot, and reports a fair day. The more experienced anglers had as many as ten legal fish by day’s end, mostly haddock, with some cusk and cod mixed in too. Light winds and a mild tide enabled them to drift all day, which helped the cause. A 10-pound cod took the pool.
7/13:
Capt. Josh reports a fair to good day aboard the Yankee Clipper on the all-day trip. The haddock bit best around the tide change, when there was a good flurry, but other than that it was a grinding pick for the duration. The bait-dunkers once again enjoyed more success than the jiggermen.
7/14: Sounds like it was a slow day aboard the Yankee Clipper on the limited-load outing today. Capt. Josh reports just a slow pick of cusk and haddock, with not a whole lot of excitement at any point. It just wasn’t happening today. Better days are coming.
Willy G.
By Tom O
With the exception of last Friday’s (7/3) trip aboard the Yankee Clipper, which produced only a slow pick of haddock, short cod, and cusk, over the past week Capts. Josh, Kirk, Smitty and Pete report fair to good haddock fishing on the anchor. High hooks have had ten-plus haddock per trip, with some cod, cusk, and the occasional pollock or wolffish thrown in too. Lots of hour-plus anchor stops that start with a good flurry of haddock, cusk, and maybe a few cod and then settle into a steady pick with two or three fish on at a time.
The dogs have arrived and have been a nuisance at times, but have so far been pretty manageable—it seems to take them at least a half-hour after anchoring to follow the clam scent trail to the boat and onto anglers’ hooks. Bait fishermen who use a small piece of clam on a single hook just above the sinker have been doing quite well on the haddock while mostly avoiding the dogfish. Jiggers have been taking some haddock as well as cusk, pollock, and the occasional keeper codfish, but it sounds like bait is the way to go for quantity at the moment. There do, however, seem to be some better codfish in the mix, with a handful of fish in the 25-pound range having been jigged up over the past few days.
Willy G.
By Tom O
This was caught on a jig by Loretta Miner of Vermont. Loretta and her husband come just about every other week . Quite the catch. Obviously showing off her great skill and sportsman ship by returning this large female lobster back to the deep blue.
Loretta Miner Lobster
Yankee Fleet
