Sunday September 28th, 2014


Who would have guessed? Calm seas, bright sunshine, 80 degrees during apple picking season? Many customers have chosen that activity, but many people still enjoy an afternoon on the ocean during my favorite time of year to fish. This weekend we had enough anglers to run a Sunday afternoon trip with perfect ocean conditions, probably too nice. There was not much of a bite, people that caught fish had to really work at it, and a fairly strong current made tending lines a little difficult for the less experienced angler. In the mix we caught some 3 to 4 lb cod, we caught many small haddock, we had about 10 whiting, a few dog fish and a few small Pollock. The big Pollock have not moved into the half day grounds yet. Fun day on the water, whales are starting to show up again, blue sharks should start making their way to warmer climates and the fall fishing only gets better from here.

We are offering trips in October, we would love to get enough anglers to run a full day trip to the full day fishing grounds where we know boats are catching large Pollock, hake, cusk and red fish. As of November 1, haddock will re-open. Anyone interested in doing a fall charter, our books are open and we will work with what best fits your group. Let us know, plenty of fishing still to be done before we need the snow shovels.

From the Deck of the M/V Lady Sea
Captain Mike & Crew

June Weekend Fishing Report Wrap-Up

June 27th, 28th & 29th
Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Weekend  Update

Two weekends in a row of outstanding weather. Gloucester was alive this weekend with the Fiesta. Fun and festivities rule the harbor.

The Lady Sea had 3 full boats on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. All three days were pretty much the same. A slow pick from stop to stop. The fish have spread out throughout the fishing grounds, we are not seeing the big balls of bait anymore as that has spread out as well. We stop, we pick, we move. That is how we are getting it done. We still fight through a number of short fish, roughly 5 short fish for every keeper. The dog fish have been very manageable and we continue to see some real nice cod and haddock. Pool winners continue to be 6-8 lb cod, haddock and cusk.

On Sunday, the crew hosted a full day corporate fishing charter for 50 people. More than we usually take fishing, but this group was full of energy, created some great fun for themselves and the crew. As happy as they were to be on the ocean, the crew was just as happy to have them. The fishing was ok, the cigars were outstanding, and thanks Jimmy for showing us how not to come down the back stairs. Looking forward to next year.

The ocean is alive, we had a friendly seal visit on Friday and Saturday, dolphins were around all three days, and some distant whale spouts were also seen. It won’t be long before the blue sharks arrive and give a new challenge.

This week we have space available for the All Day trip on Wednesday, a 3/4 day on the 4th of July from 8am-2pm for those who don’t want to get up too early and make it back early enough for an afternoon cookout.  Saturday and Sunday we have both the 3/4 day and half day trips available.  

From the Deck of the M/V Lady Sea
Captain Mike & Crew

June 25 Fishing Report

Wednesday, June 25th
Fishing Report

Well, after 9 straight days of warm, calm weather the fish officially went to sleep yesterday. No way to sugar coat this report, Wednesday was not a good day of catching. It can only get better from here. We moved frequently, would stop on some fish and they immediately scattered. We threw bait, jigs and cod flies at them and nothing seemed to get their attention. Though disappointing in the catching department, it certainly was better than being on land where the hazy, hot and humids ruled the day. The pool winner was a 6 lb cod. We did see some dolphins around today, we are also hearing of a pretty good whale show not far from where we were fishing.

St. Peter’s festival is in full swing in Gloucester, a weather system pushed through overnight, hopefully that will shake things up a bit and get the fish motivated to bite. The weekend weather looks absolutely fantastic, lots of fun to be had. We still have room for the July 4th holiday week, with all day trips on Wednesday the 2nd and Friday the 4th, together with the 3/4 day and half day trips for Saturday and Sunday.  

 A HAPPY AND SAFE, ST. PETER’S FIESTA AND 4TH OF JULY TO EVERYONE. 

Marathon Trip and Weekend Wrap-Up

June 20th, 21st & 22nd
Marathon Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Weekend  Wrap-up

With weather like this, what could possibly go wrong? For the customers, it was great weekend to be on the water, for the crew, a little pain and suffering, but we all survived.

Friday’s marathon, we had a light crowd, at the request of some of our ‘regular’ anglers, sometimes I like to call them irregular, but we headed to parts seldom traveled by the Lady Sea to southern Jeffries, pretty much as far north as we go. It was a slow start to the catching of legal size fish, plenty of small haddock, but that’s not what we want. We worked our way to the south, picking away at the fish. By the afternoon, we were on Tillies which is where we found the rest of the fishing armada, boats from Boston to New Hampshire in the area we typically fish on our day trips. The pick was a little better and we scraped together a decent day, depending on who you ask. The low point of the trip was when deckhand Mike decided to lodge a circle hook into his hand, that pretty much put him on ice for the majority of the day and a trip to the ER upon our return. Sorry Hammer, you don’t get that hook back!

Saturday we again had a light crowd for the ¾ day trip. Fishing was good, lots of activity, a mix bag of fish, some very nice cod and haddock have appeared on the ¾ grounds. We had a bachelor party among us, only appropriate that the groom to be catches a 6 lb cusk and wins the pool. While cutting fish, deckhand Joey decided to slip the filet knife over his middle finger knuckle, which required a call to the bullpen for another meat cutter. In the afternoon, we hosted a boy scout troop, an eager group of 40, many of whom have never been on the ocean. As luck would have it for them, one of our regular anglers is also a registered merit badge counselor for Fishing merit badge, so with a little prework by the scouts, we were able to complete the badge for 5 scouts and 3 are just about done. Great fun, great day, great group of people.

Sunday, we had a full boat for the ¾ day trip, the fishing was good, the dog fish took a nap today which made our overall keeper production higher. We had a nice mix of cod, haddock, red fish and cusk. Just as the captain called the trip a lucky angler landed an 8 lb cusk to take the pool. One person had 7 legal fish, pretty good for a ¾ day trip. The half day trip was a little on the slow side, the weather has lulled the fish to sleep, we caught a few nice haddock and cod, but not enough to send everyone home with fish.

 It was really a fun weekend to be aboard the Lady Sea. This week, Gloucester has ST Peter’s Fiesta, one of the summer highlights.

From the Deck of the M/V Lady Sea
Captain Mike & Crew

We have scheduled trips this week for Wednesday, the 25th and Friday the 27th for the All Day Trip

June 15 Weekend Fishing Report Warp-Up

Saturday, June 14th, and Sunday, June 15th
Fishing Report

Friday’s full day trip was cancelled due to strong SE winds, 5 to 8 foot seas and heavy rain, a day that certainly would have had a negative impact on the customer experience.

Saturday we were able to run the 3/4 day trip in the morning as we turned out of the harbor, we were greeted by a leftover swell from the SE and fog. A perfect recipe for some sea sickness for all. Even some of the seasoned anglers were felling a little off balance. The catching of fish was not very good. We tried as best we could, found some piles of fish, pick away at a few, but slower than we like it. The kicker was the starter piston in the port engine failed, which left us with out a winch to haul the anchor, so the captain and crew had to manually haul it from 240 feet. No need for Crossfit that night.
Sunday, a perfect weather day, winds out of the NW, felt like the end of September weather. Fishing was much better than it has been, and the dog fish have arrived. Of course, the dogs created some of our better tangles of the year, but this expected on a party boat and our experienced crew can get things straightened out quickly. We were able to pick through the dogs and put some really nice cod, haddock and cusk in the filet bags. The pool winner was a 12 lb cod.
This week, we have and all day trip on Wednesday, the Marathon on Friday, 3/4 Day on Saturday, and the 3/4 Day and Half Day on Sunday.  Call for reservations soon as trips fill up fast.

From the Deck of the M/V Lady Sea
Captain Mike & Crew

June 8 and 9 Fishing Reports

Sunday, June 8th & Monday, June 9th
Fishing Report

Sunday we ran our first 3/4 day, 1/2 day open boat trips. Both trips were a little on the slow side in terms of catching fish, as it was the whole weekend according to most captains. Good signs of fish starting to show on the inshore grounds along with some bait. Some tuna being reported in the area as well, though not a target fish of the Lady Sea, it is a good sign that there is bait and fish in the area. We worked mostly hard bottom as that has been most productive for keepers and fish variety. Thus we caught some cod, cusk, redfish, and mud hake (south shore calls them ling), all of which can produce a decent meal. A 9 lb cusk won the largest fish of the day honors.

The Monday’trip was another full day charter. It was better than it was on Friday and Saturday’s charter, but still not good enough for us to be satisfied. The bait was there, the fish were there, but the bite still lagged. With all the bait around, don’t be afraid to throw on a jig for a while, if bait isn’t producing, try something different. There were some whales around on Monday chasing the bait, but not as actively as last week. A 13lb white belly cod won the pool on Monday, our largest cod/fish of the year.

This week we are planning on having a full day trip on Friday, 3/4 and 1/2 day trips on Saturday, and our Sunday Father’s Day full day trip with a free rod rental to all fathers. Good weather is forecast so let’s go fishing, we don’t guarantee catching, but we try like hell!

From the Deck of the M/V Lady Sea
Captain Mike & Crew

Weekend Fishing Report Wrap-Up

Friday, June 6th & Saturday, June 7th
Fishing Report

Friday, we took a repeat group of customers on their all day fishing charter. The fish were there, as they have been all year, but maybe there is to much bait on the fishing grounds right now, or maybe they are just not interested, but fresh clams were not what they were looking for. We tried many different depths and locations, all showing fish, but just couldn’t get a bite going. We ended up wit a couple dozen keepers, but certainly the numbers we expect this time of year.

On Saturday, we took another full day charter with some first time customers. A group of experienced anglers, again we had high hopes. We changed the location from Friday, only to have a repeat of Friday. We were among a couple other party boats, a few 6 packs, and many private boats. Everyone seemed to be doing the same thing, pick a few and move. Everyone was crisscrossing the bank looking for that hungry group of fish. We were able to drift fish for most of the day which gave us more mobility and we picked away throughout the day. The short to keeper ratio was about 5 shorts for every keeper. One angler with a jig caught the most fish, but most were foul hooked. An 8 lb cusk took pool honors.

The whale show from last week was not back this week, but we did see our first basking shark of the year. The water temperature is increasing which makes it more comfortable for everyone. The chili was sweet and spicy, and though the fishing was tough, good times were had by all.

MORE TO COME FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY

From the Deck of the M/V Lady Sea
Captain Mike & Crew

Weekend Fishing Report Update

May 30th, 31st & June 1st
Weekend Report

Saturday and Sunday fishing certainly changed from Friday. The weather was good for ground fishing, but the catching was less than desired. some would say quality over quantity, and we did have some nice fish. Saturday’s pool winner was a 7 lb cod, on Sunday, 6’s were wild, 6 lb cusk, 6 lb cod, and a 6 pound haddock, but the 8 lb cod took pool honors. On Sunday some of the GF regular anglers were happy with 4 keepers and felt that was the best they could do. Again, bait beat jigs by a large margin. The old adage, ‘fishing, not catching’ seemed to be the rule.

The real show on Tillies is the whale show. On Saturday, we were on anchor and had a whale surface within 50 yards of the stern. On Sunday, we arrived at the fishing grounds, we had balls of bait being chased to the surface. The surface feeding whale show as truly unreal, all around the boat until about 1pm, then it was over. There had to have been 40 whales, Finback, Pilot and Humpbacks. It was crazy awesome.
The crew put together a delicious fresh fish chowder for patrons to enjoy. This week, we are booked solid, Friday, Saturday, and Monday with charters, on Sunday, we will be having our first open boat 3/4 day, 7am-1pm, and half day 1:30 to 6pm.
Pick up this month’s North Shore Magazine for summer activities in and around Cape Ann, including a nice article about the Gloucester Fleet.
 
From the Deck of the M/V Lady Sea
Captain Mike & Crew

Another Marathon Day

MARATHON FRIDAY – MAY 30TH

Friday’s marathon was exactly what a marathon should be. Good fishing, good exploring and happy customers. We headed out at 5am under partly cloudy skies with a solid southerly wind that made it a little chilly. It was chilly all day with the water temperature still in the 50s. It was a comfortable day of fishing with only 20 anglers willing to take advantage of this limited load marathon. Haddock and cod ruled the day with a few cusk mixed in. Our largest cod was caught by our own Kristy G. with an 11 lb cod. The pool winner had a nice 9 lb cusk.  We had plenty of cod in the 5-7 lb class and many haddock in the 4 lb class. We were very close to limiting out on haddock for the day, only a handful of fish shy of our limit. Bait seemed to have the advantage over jigs.

We also enjoyed another great chili and chili dogs that Kevin made for the galley to serve. We had a finback whale cruise by, checking us out about 100 yards off our port side. Just another great day on the Atlantic. We still have room for Sunday’s full day trip with perfect weather forecasted.
THANK YOU FROM THE DECK OF THE M/V LADY SEA
Captain Mike & Crew

Memorial Day Weekend Fishing Report

May 24th, 25th & 26th
Holiday Weekend Fishing Report

Everything comes in 3’s, this weekend, we had 3 full boats, 3 beautiful sailing days, and 3 good fishing days. The fishing grounds are coming alive. We saw many balls of herring on the screens. This is always a good sign. For the first time that we can remember, we brought a halibut aboard, a tiny, 2 lb halibut, but an interesting catch non the less. In addition, we caught a mixed bag of cod, haddock, cusk, and red fish, with a few dog fish and a wolf fish (released) to round out the catch. It seems anyone that wanted fish, went home with fish. The legal to sub legal was about 1 to 5. There was a better sign of cod in the 5-9 lb range this weekend, with nice, clean white bellies. Pool winners were a 7 lb haddock on Saturday and two 9 lb cod on Sunday and Monday, all of which were coughing up herring, thus, finally, the jig had some success.

Sunday and Monday we had the bonus of having some Finback whales around, especially on Sunday, they came within 200 yards of the boat and gave a good view of their flukes.

This week, we still have room on Friday, May 30th marathon, taking 30 people at $80 pp from 5am to 5 pm. Saturday is the last day for the Spring Special of $54.50.  Sunday is the last full day from 7am to 4pm at our full price of $64.00 pp.  We are now starting our summer schedule offering the 3/4 day and half day trips on the weekends.  Always call for reservations as we only put 40 people on a boat and it fills up fast.

Thank you for a great weekend.

From the deck of the M/V Lady Sea
Captain Mike