7/7-7/14 Reports

By tomconley

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.