Fishing Report: Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Captain Ian Keniston and I ran our second off shore marathon trip today. At 2:30 AM EDT, the air temperature was 63°F, the sky was clear, there was no wind and the visibility was excellent. We had a very calm ride to the fishing grounds. On the grounds, the ocean was calm and the wind was very light from the north. For the next two hours the wind stayed out of the north at a knot or two. The wind dropped out of the day by about 10:00 AM and the ocean was a mirror. It wasn't until a little before 2:00 PM that we got wind again, light from the south, leaving the ocean calm with small ripples. The wind increased from the south but so gradually that it wasn't until about 6:00 PM that we got over five knots. By then, we were just about home. The sky gave us a hazy sun with high thin clouds. For a camera buff, the lighting was soft all day. The air temperature was warm in the morning and very warm until the wind in the afternoon. Overall, it was probably a little too warm to be perfect. The visibility was about fifteen miles to twenty-five miles. The current was stronger than I would have liked it to be - all day. The highest surface water temperature I observed on the fishing grounds was 67.6°F. The high air temperature at the Portland International Jetport, Portland, Maine was 80°F (with a low of 56°F) today. In Boston, Massachusetts the high was 76°F (with a low of 66°F) today. Concord, New Hampshire's high temperature was 82°F (with a low of 50°F) today.
The fishing was good overall. Most legal fish landed cod and haddock, in that order. The cod were smaller, on average, than we have seen on the marathon trips. Mostly small markets. The haddock, however, were the biggest we have seen since April. And these were mostly long framed fish. Legal landings also included twenty-eight pollock, twelve redfish, two small wolffish (released alive), fifteen white hake, forty-three cusk and one dogfish that was treated unkindly (heartless bastard - Rick warned me about this particular angler by proxy). We drift fished and anchored. Both were productive. All terminal gear worked about the same.
Tim Williams (CT) was high hook with twenty-four legal. He caught the largest cod at 15.5 pounds. His two largest fish were both Maine state trophy white hake. One weighed 30 pounds and the other weighed 29 pounds. He released nine legal cod back to the ocean alive including the 15.5 pounder. Dan Kelley (ME) was second hook with one or two fish less. Dan released two legal cod back alive. Dan's largest fish was a 17 pound white hake. Bob Kohler (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 39 pound Maine state trophy white hake. This is the largest hake he has ever caught and it's the Bunny Clark's sixth largest hake of the season so far. I took a picture of Bob with his prize. The shot appears on the left. Andy Chornobil (NY) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 35 pound Maine state trophy white hake. Steve LaPlante (CT) and Tim Williams tied for third place, each with Maine state trophy hake of 30 pounds. Steve is well known for catching many hake at 24 pounds or less!
Other Angler Highlights: Neil Feldman (NJ) boated the largest pollock at 12.75 pounds. His largest haddock was exactly 6 pounds. Mark Stasiuk (NJ) caught a 6.5 pound haddock, his best fish. Mark LaRocca (NY) caught a 12 pound pollock. His largest fish was a 24 pound hake. Bryan Lewer (FL) boated a haddock a tenth under the minimum acceptance weight for a Maine state trophy. His haddock weighed 6.9 pounds. It was certainly long enough to be a trophy, just not enough meat on the bones. Bryan's largest fish was an 18.5 pound white hake. Scott Allison (NJ) landed the second largest cod at 13 pounds. His largest haddock weighed 6.75 pounds. And his biggest fish was a 21 pound white hake. Justin Smith (NJ) caught a 10.5 pound Maine state trophy haddock, the largest haddock of his life and a tie for the fourth largest haddock of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. It was a fat fish with a CFL of thirty inches! This is the first year where we have had more than three haddock over 10 pounds during a season. Justin's haddock makes number seven over 10 pounds to date! A picture of Justin with his big haddock appears on the right. Justin's largest fish was a 23 pound white hake. John Doryk (NJ) caught a 24 pound white hake, his largest fish. He also landed the hard luck award for getting the most technical tangle of the day! Steve Brown (ME) landed a 17 pound white hake, his largest fish.
David & Barbara Winstanley (MA) donated a very generous $250.00 and Steve LaPlante gave me another donation, this time it was $25.00, to help me with my cancer fund raising efforts with the Pan-Mass Challenge today. Thanks so much for your help and support. I appreciate it so much!