By tomconley
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.
By tomconley
Bill at Yankee Fleet only has a few trips to report this week. Once again the weather has kept us tight to the dock. The few days we were able to get out, the fishing was very good. Mostly Haddock and Pollock,
A few nice Cod were caught and most of the action was on bait. The Thursday Marathon produced great fishing. Almost every face on the boat recognizable
We will continue running daily trips throughout the fall. Starting November 1st our all day trips will be going Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 7am. As always, reservations are a good idea, so you don’t get stuck on the dock. We will have the option to run two boats when needed, as well.
A new idea we have come up with is the “Minute Man” club. We are looking for people that want to fish in the month of November and December as much as possible. If we see a nice day to go fishing we would email you 48 hours in advance and call and confirm the trip the day before. If you are interested in getting notice of trip that we will put on the schedule, give the office a call to sign up. There is no obligation to get on the list. Give us a call at 800-942-5464.
By tomconley
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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By tomconley
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, 
although 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. 
He 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 
aboard. 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
By Bill C
We are happy to report that the wind isn’t blowing today! We haven’t had much in the way of good weather over the past week. However the few days we were able to get out the fishing was still above average. Some nice cod and haddock with shoulders were caught on both bait and jig. More and more good size Pollock are being caught as well. We also had a couple nice wolfish on the gaff.
John Barrelli and his gang from Granby, Ma chartered the Yankee freedom for an overnight trip this past week. They braved heavy rain and seas and managed to pull off a good trip, even in the tough conditions. There are three overnight trips remaining, October 16, 23, and 29. All these trips depart at 10pm the night before.
All day trips will continue until some time in November. We are running 7-4 ever day but Thursdays. That is Marathon day 5am-5pm. Weekends we will run 6am - 3pm and 7am- 4pm. half day fishing will continue weekend mornings at 8am until the end of October.
If you’re planning on coming fishing with us give us a call and make a reservation at 800-942-5464 or reserve online.
By tomconley
Today’s and yesterday’s trips (Wed & Thurs) were blown out due to weather, but patrons aboard the Yankee Clipper with Josh at the wheel enjoyed some good action on a variety of groundfish on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
10/4: The fishing in the morning on Monday’s trip produced a steady pick of keeper codfish and a handful of haddock, but the dogfish were pretty tough and at around 11:00 Josh elected to make a substantial shift. They ended the day with a good anchor stop, sitting there for two hours. During that time, they picked away at cod ranging from shorts to a 25-pound steaker, haddock, cusk, and a pile of wolfish. All told, seven wolfish came into the boat, four of which were over 20 pounds, with the largest tipping the scales at 24 pounds! But they were edged out by the aforementioned codfish for pool honors. Josh called the day fair to good overall, with fair fishing in the morning and a good bite on that last anchor stop in the afternoon.
10/5: Fishing on Monday was good overall, Capt. Josh reported. They sat on the first anchor stop for an hour, enjoying a steady pick on cod, cusk, haddock, and a handful of white hake including a burly, surly 30-pounder that took the pool. The next stop, also lasting about an hour, was even better, a very good pick on haddock with some solid flurries during which anywhere from a dozen to fifteen haddock would come up at once. Some market cod to about 14 pounds were mixed in too. They finished the day with a couple of anchor stops that weren’t quite as good as those in the morning but which produced a bunch of cod, cusk, and haddock.
10/6: Tuesday’s fishing wasn’t quite as fast-paced as Monday, a fair to good day overall. They picked away on the anchor at haddock, cusk, and cod, with a good flurry on cod and haddock occurring around the tide change at 11:30. Other than that, however, the fish didn’t really seem to be in a biting mood, and they ground away all day, with a couple of fish coming up at all times. A 10-pound cod won the pool.
Willy
By tomconley
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
By Bill C
It is amazing the stretch of fishing we have had. Although the sea conditions haven’t been the greatest. The fishing remains very good. We have even had a couple days the cod bite has been better than the haddock bite. Bait and jigs are both working well
Back to back overnight trips last week produced a lot of fish for everyone on board. There is still time to join us for one or more of Yankee Fleets over night trips. Our next trip is 10/8-9 10/15-16 10/22-23 10/28-29 the boat departs at 10pm on the first date listed and returns between 6 and 7pm the second date listed.
Our all day fishing will continue into November. Trips are running everyday at 7am Thursdays will continue to be marathon day. 5am to 5pm. Weekends we will be running a 6am and a 7am all day boat. Weekend half day fishing will continue - call for times.
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