By tomconley
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
By Bill C
The weather Gods haven’t been very kind to us over the past week. Although the trips we have been able to make, have been very good. Still a great bite on both bait and Jigs. Haddock, cod, and Pollock are making up most of the catch.
Our last overnight trip was a great success, even though the weather was not so cooperative, some nice cod and some big haddock were caught.
There are still a few more of these great trips available. Call for more info.
We are running all day trips every day. Tuesday is limited capacity we take 40% fewer people. Thursday is Marathon day. 5am to 5pm.
For info on all of our trips give us a call at 800-942-5464 or check out our website at www.yankeefleet.com
Our pool winners this week were Ryan Cleary of Lyden Ma 12lb cod. Charles Iohlamb of Lynn Ma 20lb cod. David Bayly of Speculator NY 8lb cusk. Peter Vangsness of East Long Meadow Ma 18lb Wolfish.
By tomconley
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
By tomconley
The fishing is still top notch. Both jig and bait fishermen are doing well. Some of the bigger fish are coming up on jigs.
Our Thursday marathon trips have been excellent. Lots of heavy coolers came off the boat. If you are looking for a little more elbow room. Our Marathon and Limited capacity trips are the way to go. We will continue running daily through the fall at 7am. Weekends we will run at 6 and 7am.
There are also a few more overnight trips available. As always, please call for reservations so you don’t get left at the dock.
Half day fishing will also continue though Columbus Day weekend. Our trips will be on Saturday and Sunday. Call us at 800-942-5464 for details or visit us out at www.yankeefleet.com
Our pool winners this week were
Mike Cutting of Webster Ma 15lb Pollock. Harrison Guerro 12lb Revere Ma 12lb Pollock. Marlene Guntkowski Tunkhannock Pa. 30lb hake. Mike Robertson Holyoke Ma. 16lb Pollock. Peter Lavick of Sutton Ma. 8lb cod
Orlando Pacheco of Providence RI 15lb Pollock.
By tomconley
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
By Bill C
The fishing is still top notch. Both jig and bait fishermen are doing well. Some of the bigger fish are coming up on jigs.
Our Thursday marathon trips have been excellent. Lots of heavy coolers came off the boat. If you are looking for a little more elbow room. Our Marathon and Limited capacity trips are the way to go. We will continue running daily through the fall at 7am. Weekends we will run at 6 and 7am.
There are also a few more overnight trips available. As always, please call for reservations so you don’t get left at the dock.
Half day fishing will also continue though Columbus Day weekend. Our trips will be on Saturday and Sunday. Call us at 800-942-5464 for details or visit us out at www.yankeefleet.com
Our pool winners this week were
Mike Cutting of Webster Ma 15lb Pollock. Harrison Guerro 12lb Revere Ma 12lb Pollock. Marlene Guntkowski Tunkhannock Pa. 30lb hake. Mike Robertson Holyoke Ma. 16lb Pollock. Peter Lavick of Sutton Ma. 8lb cod
Orlando Pacheco of Providence RI 15lb Pollock.
By tomconley
9/3: Capt. Josh reports fair to good action on the Super Thursday trip on the Yankee Clipper. 
The 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 
and 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, 
this 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 
cod, 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 cho
p, 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.
Around 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!
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
By Bill C
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Fishing this week has been great. Both Capt. Kirk and Capt. Josh have had a fantastic week putting some nice cod, haddock, and Pollock on the boat.
Both bait and jig have been productive. Looks like the Fall Pollock run has started. We are anticipating great fishing this fall. We also have room on our remaining overnight trips. Give us a call for details.
Capt Dave aboard the Yankee Freedom continues to stay one step ahead of the dogfish. He has had a great summer putting some nice haddock and steaker redfish aboard. Half day fishing will continue to run on weekends after Labor Day.
Our pool winners this week were
8/28 - Pat Ceruolo - Framingham MA -16lb. pollock - Clipper - Jig
8/30 - Ken Mosher - Binghamton, NY, - 25 lb. cod - Patriot - Jig
8/31 - Santo Arce - MA - 15 lb. pollock - Clipper - Jig
9/1 - Jay Snow - Agawam MA - 25 lb pollock - Clipper - Jig
9/2 - Bob Angiletta - Meridan CT - 20 lb pollock - Patriot – Bait
For information on all of our trips - Check us out at www.yankeefleet.com or call us at 800-942-5464
Book Online
By tomconley
Capt. Kirk reports another solid day of fishing on board the Yankee Patriot on Wednesday. The morning started off with fast action on a mixed bag of species, including haddock, market cod, cusk, pollock, and a few wolfish. Their first drift lasted two hours and forty minutes, and they caught fish the entire time!
After noon, they made a few more drifts in the same area but the bite was significantly slower, just a grinding pick on haddock and cusk. Kirk deemed it a good day overall, with very good fishing in the morning but just fair success in the afternoon. High hooks had upwards of 15 keepers, mostly haddock.
Capt. Josh has the Yankee Clipper for the Super Thursday trip tomorrow—look for a report in the afternoon!
Willy
By tomconley
As we begin to enter the fall fishing season, I’ll try to stay more on top of reports, hopefully checking in every couple of days or even daily, depending on how things go. To get started, here’s a recap of Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Anglers enjoyed good fishing on a variety of species, with haddock, 6-10-pound cod, and medium-sized pollock in the 8-12-pound range comprising the majority of the legal catch. The pollock, which the captains have been marking on the machine over the past couple of weeks but which have frequently refused to cooperate, are finally begin to feed more consistently, a promising sign for those who enjoy tangling with these hard-pulling gadiforms.
8/30: Capt. Ray, in the wheelhouse of the Yankee Patriot on Sunday, reports a fair to good day overall, with a steady pick of haddock, cod, and cusk on the anchor. High hooks had as many as 10 haddock in the bag by day’s end. Bait was key for numbers, but those who put in their time with the jig captured some good-sized haddock in addition to some small market cod in the 6-8-pound range.
8/31: With classes starting on Wednesday, I elected to jump on the Yankee Clipper with Capt. Josh to sneak in one last trip
before the academic grind begins. The morning started off a bit snappy, with a brisk northwest wind of 15-18 knots greeting us offshore, but it tapered off to a refreshing breeze by late morning. Nevertheless, the wind, which blew perpendicular to a moderate tide for much of the day, made anchoring imperative, and we made four anchor stops over the course of the trip. The tide/wind combo made for challenging conditions, but the group of 25 anglers worked hard and was able to fish effectively for most of the day. Joining us on this adventure were fisheries observers Brandt and Brad from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, who measured and weighed each fish that came aboard today.
The morning started off with the best of omens. On my first cast, before the jig reached the bottom, line started zipping frantically off of my reel in spurts, a signal that any seasoned ground fisherman knows well. I put the reel in gear and cranked tight, and there they were—double-header pollock, ripping line off the spool and shaking their heads nearly in unison as they sought to dislodge the Lavjig and Cocahoe Minnow teaser, 
respectively. No dice for them, and after a few minutes a pair of 10-pound pollock flopped about in the pulpit.
A pollock slam looked to be in the making, but it was not to be. Other jig anglers caught a few right away, but the action tapered off quickly. My next cast resulted in a short cod; my next, a little 20-inch pollock. Josh wasn’t happy with what he was seeing, and made the “lines up” call.
The next stop was better. Much better. We sat on the anchor for close to two hours, with jig fishermen capturing a mix of pollock and short-to-small-market-sized codfish, while the bait anglers caught haddock, short cod, and the oh-so-occasional dogfish. Jiggers who dropped their jigs straight down caught the occasional pollock, but the fish seemed to be boat shy, and while a pack would sometimes streak under the boat, resulting in many anglers hooking up at once, being able to cast the jig was the ticket for fish-a-cast action. At this stop, almost every time I casted out, I hooked up with one or two pollock in the 8-14-pound range before my jig touched bottom. No secrets, just casting. We had a smallish (150-pound) blue shark around the boat that harassed us for a bit, including me when it grabbed a pollock ten feet below the surface and after a bit of a tussle made off with the aft portion. It seemed to get bored quickly, however, and left us alone after a few minutes.
The action eventually tapered off on Spot 2, and Josh made a substantial shift. Our third anchor stop resulted in still more pollock but with more haddock and cod mixed in too. I even captured my token cusk, a fat 5-pounder. The final stop of the day resulted in more mixed-bag action for both the bait and jig fishermen, with a good number of large haddock coming up on the clams.
All told, Josh deemed it a good day overall. There was roughly an equal number of haddock and pollock on board, with keeper cod coming in a distant third and just a few cusk. As I mentioned, jig fishermen who could cast away from the boat did far better with the pollock than those who dropped straight down, while bait anglers who put in their time and kept their baits close to the bottom dragged a burlap-full of cod and haddock to the stern when the time came to get their catch filleted.
According to DMF observer Brandt, by day’s end I had captured 25 pollock, all 7-15 pounds except for one 20-incher. In addition, I managed one barely-legal cod that I released, 2 haddock, and a cusk, plus eleven short codfish. I’d call that a heck of a good day trip by anyone’s standards, and as I mentioned, all it took was the ability to cast the jig away from the boat. A 15-pound pollock beat out a number of similarly-sized specimens to take the pool. The largest cod weighed 9 pounds.
9/1: An enthusiastic Capt. Kirk called in to report a very good to excellent trip aboard the Yankee Patriot on the limited-load day trip today. Unlike yesterday’s trip, where pollock made a strong showing, only two large specimens were caught today. Instead, anglers put a hurting on the haddock and codfish, with a number of nice market cod in the 10-15-pound range hitting the deck. Bait was best for numbers,
but jigs caught most of the larger codfish, including the high-teens pool winner. They anchored in the morning, enjoying a 2-hour stop to begin the day that yielded a pile of haddock with some cod mixed in. They then made two drifts of 1.5 hours each, continuing to assault the haddock and catching more cod than they’d seen in the morning too. Anglers averaged 7 or 8 keepers apiece, and high hooks had around 20 fish each. Sounds good to me!
Willy
Yankee Fleet