Sunday June 19, Father’s Day, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Father’s Day always brings out a nice crowd. We left the dock a little late with a full boat after a few technical difficulties. Many times during the trip, we were not sure if we could successfully finish the trip, but with some Yankee ingenuity, and a little luck, we were successful.
The fishing was very difficult today, mostly caused by the ever increasing SW wind causing the boat to swing angrily on the anchor. This led to an increase of tangles limiting some fish catching time for most anglers. The forecast was 10-15 knots, 2-4 ft, we had steady 20 knots right out of the gate. The wind continued to freshen and by the time we headed back to Gloucester, we had solid 3-6 foot chop hitting the boat sideways. A new level of rockin and rollin.
Those that could manage to tend their lines were rewarded with a nice pick of haddock, many nice cod were caught and released, and a few nuisance dog fish. Despite the weather challenge, this hearty group of anglers seemed to enjoy their Father’s Day.
Saturday June 18, ¾ Day Open Boat
The ¾ day fishing grounds have been producing a nice mixed bag of fish. This day was just perfect to be on the water, we had a full boat. The fishing was good to very good with a mix of keeper haddock, cusk and red fish coming aboard. We also had a few dog fish, but very manageable. Close to 100 keepers were bagged today. Just one note: It is not okay to spit sunflower seed shells on the galley floor.
Saturday June 18, Half Day Charter
After attempting to clean the sunflower seed shells from the morning trip, we played host to a wedding celebration ½ day fishing charter. This was our first trip to the ½ day fishing grounds. The members of this charter made it memorable for the staff as the bride and groom came dressed as pirates, we had many Captain Stubings, a bunch of Gilligans, an Olive Oyl, and a mermaid.
It was a fun trip for the customers and crew.
The fishing was not very good, we caught a few haddock, whiting and mackerel, but this group was more about having a good time and that they did.
Welcome Aboard Mates!
Friday June 17, Full Day Charter
We took a small group of 14 people out fishing on a sun splashed calm day. The fishing was very good all day, we started the day with a long drift that produced many nice haddock. We made a couple moves, continued to drift and catch fish, but we also got caught up in some ghost gear. So we made a long move and finished the day on the anchor picking away at more haddock. A nice gathering of haddock and cusk went home with this charter, a great day to be on the water.
We also had a few close up shark sightings, we had a blue shark investigate our presence,
a huge basking shark swam by our stern,
and it looked like a porbeagle shark followed a fish to the surface.
Wednesday June 15, ¾ day trip
We were able to put a trip together for 20 people that took us to the ¾ day grounds. It was a nice day with good fishing from start to finish. We caught some nice haddock, released some very nice cod, and caught some of the largest red fish we have seen this year. A couple cusk rounded out the table fare captured today.
This weeks trips are:
Wednesday, June 22nd, Half Day Trip 1:30pm – 6pm
Friday, June 24th, All Day Fishing 7am -4pm
Sunday, June 26th, 3/4 Day Fishing 7am – 1pm
Sunday, June 26th, Half Day Fishing 1:30pm – 6pm
For reservations, please call us at 978 559 1978.
From the Deck of the Lady Sea
Captain Mike & Crew
Friday June 10, 2016 Marathon Mania
It was a bumpy ride to the fishing grounds this morning. It stayed that way until late morning when the wind backed off and the ocean settled down. After that, it was a beautiful day to be on the water. The fishing was terrific from start to finish.
Most fish caught today were haddock, we came within 10 fish of reaching our boat limit for the day with many anglers getting their personal limit. That’s over 300 haddock on the boat! If this were August, we would have easily captured our cod bag limit as well, but all cod were released for another day. Sprinkle in some cusk and pollock to round out the keeper catch. We anchored most of the day, but finished with a long drift that produced from start to finish. We had to spend some time outside the harbor to complete our fish cutting and processing before docking.
It appears a new body of fish have invaded our fishing grounds with many more haddock in the 4-6lb category, which is a good thing. One keeper for every throw back is the best ratio we have had this year.
Hi, this is Mike Rivette, here are some pics from our 6-10 trip, the Odog fishing club had a great time! Thanks for the enjoyable trip.
Mike
Saturday June 11, 2016
Today we played host to a private full day charter. The fishing was very good most of the day with a little dry spell during mid day. The weather was calm in the morning, late morning the clouds started to approach and by the time we headed home, the wind kicked up out of the south 15-20 knots with white caps slowly forming.
Most fish caught were haddock, with cod coming in a close second. We had some nice cusk and pollock appear as well. The big fish for the day was a nice 10 lb cusk. High hook had 12 keepers, with most getting 4-6 keepers. Dog fish chased us from a couple fishing spots as the big females have made their way to the fishing grounds. It is that time of year.
Available trips for this week:
Wednesday, June 15th – 3/4 Day Trip 7am – 1pm
Thursday, June 16th – All Day Trip 6am – 3pm
Saturday, June 18th – 3/4 Day Trip 7am – 1pm
For reservations, please call 978 559 1978.
From the Deck of the Lady Sea
Captain Mike & Crew
Saturday June 4, 2016, Mixed Bag Event
Today we hosted a mix of a charter and open boat trip with many of our regulars in attendance. We left the dock under cloud covered skies with light mist. As we headed out past Ten Pound island and the breakwater, the fog engulfed us and we carried that to the fishing grounds. We met a 2-3 ft easterly swell that we banged through to the fishing grounds. On the fishing grounds, we had mostly foggy conditions, flat calm seas, the sun tried to show through the fog and it did from time to time.
The fishing was a mixed bag of good to very good with a variety of fish at every stop. We did some exploration in the morning to different parts of the bank, unfortunately we came across some ‘ghost gear’ at our first couple stops that made it challenging, though we were able to pick a few fish off those spots. The catch included cod up to 18 lbs, a good number of haddock with 1 legal fish for every 3 sub legal fish that we caught today, a couple cusk and 5 keeper pollock, the most keepers of pollock this year. If you didn’t hear, Andy caught a pollock today, a solid 5 lb pollock, about half the size of the pool winning 10 lb pollock, but if you didn’t hear, Andy wants everyone to know he caught a Pollock along with some nice haddock. Only a handful of dog fish today, which is a good thing.
The ride back to the dock was uneventful with foggy conditions all the way back to the breakwater and the same 2-3 ft. swell carrying us home. A very nice day of fishing aboard the Lady Sea.
Sunday June 5th, 2016
Our first 3/4 day open bot trip left the dock under muggy, mostly skies. Driving into the fog, it was chilly with calm seas. When we returned to the dock, the sea breeze made it very chilly.
The fishing was good, we had a good ix of fish, most fish were cod which were returned to the ocean and a number of haddock and few small Pollock. We have not spent much time on the inshore grounds to figure what is really going on, but still a very good trip. A 6 lb haddock with shoulders was the largest fish though there was no boat pool due to lack of interest. A couple dog fish and a small wolf fish round out the catch.
This week we are looking to fill the following trips…..
Wednesday, June 8th, Half Day Fishing 1:30pm – 6pm
Thursday, June 9th, All Day Fishing 7am – 4pm
Friday, June 10th, MARATHON TRIP 5AM – 5PM
Sunday, June 12th, 3/4 Day Fishing 7am – 1pm
Sunday, June 12th, Half Day Fishing 1:30pm-6pm
Please call 978 559 1978 for reservations.
From the Deck of the Lady Sea
Captain Mike & Crew
Monday May 30, 2016 All Day Fishing
Full day fishing on Memorial Day with 24 anglers aboard, we headed out the river under cloudy, rainy skies. It did not look like much fun when we left the harbor, a little southerly wind with a light 2 foot chop in heavy rain. But as luck would have it, the wind died out, the rain went away, and the ocean became flat calm. A great day on the ocean, the fish were hungry and we were there to feed them.
Letting the customers write the fish report as they left the boat, “great trip” “lots of fun” “really had a great time” “yeah, we got fish, lots of fish!” The fishing was good in the morning, very good during mid day, and we left the haddock biting at the end. When it was all done, everyone was tired of seeing the elusive cod that hampers our catching ability of keeper haddock, they have almost become dog fish type nuisance. I guess in the end, that is a good thing, sort of.
Catch included mostly cod again, a good number of haddock, better than yesterday, a few more cusk in the mix with a couple more pollock. A 10# cusk stole the pool today, but not a surprise, as haddock don’t have the density of cusk. Another very good day aboard the Lady Sea.
Next week we have the following trips available………..
Friday, June 3rd, All Day Fishing 7am – 4pm
Saturday, June 4th, All Day Fishing 7am – 4pm
Sunday, June 5th, 3/4 Day Fishing 7am – 1pm
Sunday, June 5th, Half Day Fishing 1:30pm – 6pm
Give us a call at 978 559 1978 to make your reservations soon.
From the Deck of the Lady Sea
Captain Mike & Crew
Sunday May 29, 2016 THERE IS LIFE IN THESE WATERS!
We left the dock with a full boat of eager anglers under cloudy skies and a brisk ENE wind. We sailed around the breakwater and pounded into a 3-5 foot sea. A couple miles offshore the fog settled with us with those seas creating a great recipe for sea sickness. By the time we got to the fishing ground, we had visibility of less than a mile, chilly breeze and a cabin full of less than eager anglers, about 1/3 of the patrons fell victim to the dreaded motion of the ocean.
On the way to the fishing grounds we sailed through the first school of tuna pounding the surface that we have seen this year. Fishing was very good for most of the day, after the mid day tide change, the bite somewhat dissipated and became a steady pick. Most fish caught was by far the protected cod species, many of which would be keepers in August, close to 150 cod were caught and released today. Haddock was our second most captured species, roughly 2 shorts for every keeper, I know a couple anglers had between 6-8 keepers, and a few others had 4-6 for those who attempted and stayed at the rail.
Rounding out the catch was a cusk, a pollock, a handful of dogfish, a sculpin, and our largest wolffish and largest fish of the year, at 20+ lbs, and released alive. 
The cusk was a 5 lb pool winner for our trip today caught by one of our regular retired Marines, only appropriate for Memorial Day, Semper Fi!
On the way back to the dock, we had some dolphins jump past our bow, with the seas to our stern, it was a very comfortable ride home. Many were very happy to see the breakwater emerge through the fog.
From the Deck of the Lady Sea
Captain Mike & Crew
Saturday May 28, 2016
3/4 Day Charter
Once again, we entertained a private school from Vermont on a 3/4 day trip. This is our first 3/4 day trip of the year. We got off to a late start, something about a wheel barrow in the road on the ride to Gloucester.
We arrived at the fishing grounds during slack tide under beautiful sunny skies and calm seas. The fishing was a slow pick for the first 2 stops, the final stop was very good. We caught many cod at all stops, probably would have limited out under August rules, but we were able to keep a bunch of red fish, haddock, and a cusk to send them home with a decent catch.
Hope to see you all again next year. Have a great summer!
From the Deck of the Lady Sea
Captain Mike & Crew
Thursday – May 19th, 2016 Memorial Service
The Lady Sea has the pleasure of doing a Burial at Sea for the family of Russell and Terri Hachey. The weather cooperated. The sky was blue and the wind calm. There were over 40 family members attending this special event.
Here is a picture of what happened after the ashes were put in the water.
In their own words,”It was pretty amazing”.
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Friday – May 20th, 2016, OPEN BOAT FISHING
Full boat today, 40 anglers headed to the fishing grounds under perfect weather conditions. The fishing was very good all day for everyone that heeded our advice to change your bait frequently. Yes, it’s extra work to reel it in, but those putting the effort in, are usually rewarded with more fish. We had the full variety of fish today, many cod in the 8-12 lb range which were released, a steady pick of haddock of all sizes with a much better ratio of keepers to shorts than past trips, some big redfish have appeared this week on the fishing grounds, more cusk are being caught, a 12 lb wolf fish was caught and released, and a 10 lb pollock our largest of the season won the boat pool.
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Saturday – May 21st, 2019, ALL DAY CHARTER
Saturday was a beautiful day on the water, with just around 8 knots of westerly wind and a whole lot of sunshine. We had a private bachelor party aboard the Lady Sea, with only 15 guys who wanted to drink a few beers and catch some fish. Because of the light winds, we started our day off drifting in 220 ft of water on Tillies ledge. The fish started biting almost instantly, and we stayed with the same drift for almost 2 hours, catching fish the whole time. We never left that spot, making 2 more drifts and pulling up a mix of nice haddock, cusk and pollock. We also caught some really nice codfish, that I’m pleased to say, swam away unharmed after we released them. It was one of the best days yet this year.
As our May special of $56 per person for all day fishing winds down, we have space available on the following trips……
Friday May 27th
Sunday, May 29th
Monday, Memorial Day, May 30th
Please call us at 978 559 1978 to make your reservations. Spots are going FAST!
From the Deck of the Lady Sea
Captain Mike & Crew
Friday, May 13th, 2016. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
We left the dock at high tide with partly sunny skies. It was a great day to be on the ocean, a little wind, a little fog, and a little sun. Sea sickness was not a problem.
We went to a little different place today, a little research mission, but reports were good in this area. It was a slow pick of cod, Pollock, haddock, and redfish before noon. After the tide change, it was very good, haddock, redfish, and cod became somewhat savage. Very few lines got to bottom without a fish………BUT, we also had to deal with dog fish! Everywhere we went, had some doggies. We had to work around them as best we could.
We made many moves today, typical of spring fishing, but when it was all said and done, people seemed happy, 
5-8 fish per person, and the crew was still cutting fish
through the breakwater.
FROM THE DECK OF THE LADY SEA
CAPTAIN MIKE & CREW
Saturday May 7, 2016 All Day Trip
Sorry for the late report, technical difficulties.
We left the dock today, a little late due to the extreme low tide and lack of water under the boat. We had heavy fog all day which makes everything just a little more difficult. Slight breeze from the north stayed with us all day, cold hands were the common among those that stayed at the rail. Once we passed the breakwater, we found seas 4 to 5 foot in a long rolling swell. With the fog and the ocean, a perfect recipe for sea sickness for those not on the ocean every week. About 1/3rd of the anglers suffered from the mal de mer today. May is tough, forecast for land was upper 50s, with ocean temps in the upper 40s along with wind and sea…..the Gulf of Maine just isn’t the same.
The sounding machine was offering plenty of life on the ocean bottom, but the catching results were not so positive. Jigs only snagged fish and bait was a very slow pick. A number of fishermen did not wet a line today which negatively impacted our catch today. We had a number of regulars, people that catch fish in any condition, that struggled today to get a bite. Pool winner was a 4 lb haddock.
We have better days ahead, much to the crew and anglers delight. From reading other fishing reports, we were not alone, it was just one of those days, bad weather, bad catching.
From the Deck of the Lady Sea
Captain Mike & Crew
