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
Book Online
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.
Book Online
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.
Yankee Fleet