Woke up early this morning.  "Daddy." "Daddy!"  "DADDY!" Dang boy.  At 6am the sky here in Boothbay was dark from clouds that ended in the far eastern sky.  As a result, the sky looked pitched black over the snowscape and dark ocean ending in a horizon of dim light.  There was absolutely nothing about that sky that said let's go for a boat ride.

Nonetheless there are many guys from town who have switched over to shrimping.  Rusty Brewar, captain of the 38'(that's a guess) F/V Look Out, has been helping me with basketball and telling me about Shrimping.  Yesterday he eyed my boots and said,"You could come on the boat with me this winter with those babies."  I let Rusty think I could handle it out there this time of year but I am not so sure.  Guys shrimping go out in all kinds of weather.  "The shrimping season is like a sprint" Rusty told me.  Indeed, they haul in all kinds of shrimp and supply the entire state with Maine shrimp for year round consumption in just a few short months.

That is the fishing report from this area right now.  In southern maine ice is just beginning to form on Lakes and Rivers.  We are supposed to have a warm up this weekend too so the beginning of ice fishing season will be delayed for many.  Smelting will be delayed even longer.  Bummer.  I just got a brand new ice auger and I would love to feel a little tug.

Happy Holidays.

The Fat Lady Has Not Yet Sung!

Guess what. You guessed it. There are still fish here in the Gulf of Maine. Over the weekend I went out with some friends including Matt and Mark Piccerelli from Rhode Island and Captain George Harris of Super Fly Charters. We had a real good time despite the wind and the temps and defied all odds and caught fish. I got a nice 30" and we cut up two more fish and made some delightful grilled Striper for dinner that night.

Yesterday George slayed the Groundfish off of Monhegan and today he is catching Stripers with clients. Conclusion? There are still fish to be caught on the coast of Maine. However, I am done for the season. If you want your fix you should give George a call. George runs the same boat as I and he knows his stuff. He has done almost 140 trips this season alone.

Anyway, not sure what fishing news will be here till next May but I am sure there will be something. I will update anytime I catch a fish through the ice or I hear about something of interest. Make sure you have the Fishwhistle in your RSS reader.

October

Holy shit! Its cold on the ocean. Water temps are mostly in the 50s, but Sunday Morning while on a fishing film shoot for my film making class we endured air temps in the upper 30s. Standing still was fine. Moving was the problem.

We Macked up by the Cucold's Lighthouse and the sunrise was terrific. We captured great HD video and I will share more of it eventually. What a cold ride! You can see a little bit of the footage below.




Today, its raining like cats and dogs but the fishing reports from the week have not been real promising. Our season, therefore, may be over. Too bad. This time of year I just can not get enough tugs as I have been able to fish myself quite a few times over the last month. The fishing has been real consistent too so its real sad for me to have put the rods away.

The next time I haul in a fish it may be through the ice. I will let you know if the Fat Lady has sung after this weekend.

What We Do When We Get a Babysitter

Today Mimi and Papa came up from Falmouth to babysit and Gayle and I hit the water. After the grandparents showed up at 10:00am we found the Macs by Spruce Point. We trolled over them and jigged back until we had more than we needed.Bundled up and packing bait we headed upriver. We were soon stopped by the Coast Guard for a safety check. Rafted up with their Zodiak, the Coasties went through our gear and paperwork. Twenty minutes later we were on our way and 20 minutes after that we stopped in Bath for some lunch.After a cheese steak and meatball parm we got back on the river. Cloudy skies and northeast winds made for a dreary day. When we made it to the hot spot there were several other boats there already including my friend George Harris. Yesterday George won the Kennebec River Pro Am Fly Fishing Tournament. George's presence alone means fish. Gayle and I both caught several Striped Bass up to 30"and Gayle took several cool shots with my cell.
Sure hope these fish stay around. I have the fishing bug hard right now. Cannot catch enough. The weather is getting colder and I know my fishing days are numbered.

Uneventful, frigid, and beautiful ride home. Cut up a fish and back in time for the in-laws to go play golf if they want to brave the cold too.

September

I am ignorant. One spot in the Kennebec River has made me stupid. Maybe all that is a little harsh but its been about a month since I have become a weekend fisherman and during all that time, every single weekend day, I have fished the same spot. As a result, I really do not know first hand if there are fish anywhere else. The problem is, that from the reports I hear, and the lack of fish that I see, I am stuck in this one spot.

The good thing is we have caught a ton of fish every weekend. Most of the fish have been above the slot as they have been all year. We have not gotten fish out of the mid-30s but my pal George Harris boated this beauty in the same spot one super fishy morning.

Anyone following me on Facebook will know that many of these weekend fish have been wrestled away from seals. To be honest, I think the same two or three seals just hang out in the same spot. One is small and black and the other is big and kind of speckled. Anyway, that is probably crazy talk but taking your fish back from the seal is serious. Today, we relentlessly circled over the seal until he released the Striper he stole. We aggressively scooped the fish into the net, just ahead of the marauding seal and landed it safely inside the boat. Today's 34" survivor was then released somewhere downstream. Later, a serious Kennebec River fisherman came alongside and said,"You have the worst luck with seals this year." Dang.


The spikes have grown into Tinkers but they can be had right in the harbor. There is also a ton of tiny herring there too but harder to catch those little buggers. No point in trying anyway since the Macs are small and plentiful.

My boy Colin Yentsch caught his 18th and maybe more BFT today too. He was anchored up within sight of land down off the coast of southern Maine. He went down Saturday night after dinner. He needs to get into the spot at night to get bait under his lights. He can't fish at night, however, for the BFTs because the bluefish are so thick down there.

That's all for now. I guess the next big question is will there be something worth posting about in October?

August

I am entering a new part of my season. I am going from the time of the summer when I think I am ready for it to be over, to the part where I become nostalgic about fishing and chartering. This morning, as I waited for my clients, I sat swinging in a chair watching the light slowly creep into the horizon. Just twenty five minutes later, the sun still had not come up and we had completely blacked out my baitwell with Spikes. Spikes are Mackeral so small they are beyond Tinkers. Basically, the perfect bait. There are plenty of Herring around too but the Spikes make terrific baits in just about all situations. You can see what the Spikes look like on the finder when they are really thick.

As we cruised to the spots, sun coming up, wind down, I wondered do I have a great summer job or the greatest summer job?

We began on a mud flat in just two to three feet of water. The wind was down so we could all see Stripers swirling on bait in an area roughly three acres. The Stripers were rolling and eating crabs off the bottom. We took two fish, one keeper and one too big in the shallows.

When we lost water on the flat, just ten minutes cruise from there, we began fishing structure in the Kennebec. We had several double hookups and caught Stripers up to 31". The river seems to have turned back on and I am looking forward to a strong week.

Only two weeks left till school begins. I have some openings at the moment, but I expect to be busy right up till I go back to school on August 30th.

Fishing report

Ok, I am sorry about my blog neglect. My apologies. I have decided to try bullet points in the hopes it will inspire me to write stuff down more often. Problem is, I am kind of sore from all the banging around and a little beat too and this hurts my ambition.

Here you go:

1. Spike Macs 4" to 5" have invaded Boothbay
2. Herring can be jigged up regularly in the morning hours if you know where to go
   
3. Stripers are being caught on the ledges in the Kennebec in current
4. Stripers are also being caught on the flats in just a few feet of water
5. Bluefish have appeared inland way above the Bath bridge
   
6. Tuna are showing up, both giants and shorts some inside of Seguin

This place is fishy right now.

bait

On Thursday, Striper fishing in the Kennebec and Sheepscot rivers will truly open. Bait restrictions are lifted and anglers may keep one fish a day either 20" to 26" or over 40".

Tonight, I ventured out to assess the bait situation in the harbor. It was a very fishy calm evening. Light wind made it easy to see fish on the surface. Several times diving Osprey gave away the bait's position too. I found Mackeral but it seems quite obvious that the abundance of Macs we had a few weeks ago is, for the moment, a memory. However, this could turn around any day and I was able to catch Mackeral, it just wasn't the free for all you like to have.

There were herring availible for me as bait tonight as well. My fishfinder picks them up perfectly and I just drifted into them in the middle of the harbor. They were smaller herring then the ones I caught earlier this year. These baits are absolutely ideal.

The Latest Fishing Report

I would like to apologize. I have let Facebook make me lazy. For the past month I have neglected this blog and relied all updating of fans of Sweet Action Charters to Facebook. By so doing I have also neglected to share any real detail about fishing the mid coast. Lame.

The season is in full swing and the fishing has been good. More fish, in more places, in my opinion, then in some years. We have been most successful in the early morning on top water lures. The rest of the time we have had luck jigging or casting lead headed jigs with plastic bodies. Most of the fish caught this year have been slot fish(20 "-26") or above. While we have had lot's of success this year with artificial lures I will be excited when bait restrictions in the Kennebec are lifted on July 1.

Speaking of bait, there is a lot around. We have had terrific Mackeral catches and there looks to be a ton of herring around as well. I have heard tell of Bluefish and the Mackeral drying up in their path so Boothbay might be next.

Happy Father's Day to all the daddy Fish Whistlers!

The season is definitely getting closer

I just got back from an early morning cruise. At 4:30 am Boothbay Harbor was a quiet place. Smooth glassy water interrupted only by swirls, seals, birds, and me. There are tons of Jellyfish out there right now but they will be gone when the macs come in. I am hoping that Mackeral will arrive this year by Memorial weekend. We have good weather coming up and everything seems two weeks ahead of last year.

Early Macs means early traps so I will be getting the lobster gear together in the coming weeks too. I noticed this morning that there was quite a bit more lobster gear in the water now tight to shore so those guys must be thinking the same thing as I.

The other question on my mind is, when do I go over to the Kennebec River and give it a try for Stripers? There are basically a couple things that will influence when my first scouting mission will be. First, my calander is pretty crazy. Until a project at school comes to its conclusion on May 26th, I don't really have prayer of going. Also, my wife is going to a wedding in Cartagena, Columbia from May 28 to June 4. My mom is coming to help so there is a small chance of fishing then. My last day of school is June 15 so after that fishing will become my job. The second main factor that determines when my first trip is are the reports I hear. Some guides, like Peter Fallon and Gordon Gillies of Gillies and Fallon guide service, live on the Kennebec and they can scout the river as easy as I can cover Boothbay Harbor. People like that are terrific sources.

Gayle took the shot below last evening. She and I went to Five Islands for dinner while the kids were at the grandparents. We took the boat which meant a chilly but calm ride around Cape Newagen. If you have never had the pleasure of going to five islands by boat you should make an effort to give it a try. The place was empty which is unusual. Its one of the prettiest places around and it has a great Maine feel to it. Gayle had a fried haddock sandwich with Cilantro mayo and I had fried shrimp and we were both happy.

Garmin is Money

Some of you may remember that I had strange power issues with my Garmin 5212 last year. Well, about a month ago I called Garmin and explained my problem to them. Despite being a month over on my two year warranty, Garmin agreed to fix or replace my bottom machine/gps. I sent it in two weeks ago, and today, I received a brand new unit! You can see it above, pictured on our porch, with the screen sticker still on it. I can not say enough about this fine machine. It has terrific clear radar, a vivid fishfinder, and the gps is top notch. The best part is its intuitive touch screen interface. Now I am extremely impressed with Garmin's customer service too.

Progress

Yesterday, the boy had his first experience of the season on the boat. I figured he would not tolerate his life jacket or being stuck in such a small area, and, as always, he proved me wrong. All day long he kept urging me to put his life jacket on him to go on a boat ride. I think we went out on the boat twice and we had to drag him off each time.

Gayle took the kids to Falmouth today! Yeehaw. What a pleasure to be able to get stuff done. Did a bit of school work and then went down to the boat. Got the radio working and re-installed it in the overhead drybox. I also got the livewell running and secured. Tied up more gear too.

Then, I took Jonne Trees, Our local television station's master video guy, out to Burnt Island to scope camera shots for a student's film.

My electrician, Howie, dropped by too and took out my Garmin so I can send it back.
Anyway, it was a lovely day of progress and I am now looking forward to the family's return.

the ladies

Iz did a great job running the boat today. I felt comfortable leaving her in charge and she seemed to really enjoy having the wheel. It does help that there are few lobster buoys in the harbor to avoid right now.
The water temp was a chilly 43 degrees but the air temp over the next few days should help. The boat is running well and I can not wait for the fish to arrive in force. Over the next few weeks I hope to hear reports of Stripers beginning to show up in some of the rivers of Southern Maine. It would be lovely if we had warm water and fishable numbers by Memorial Day. Of course I won't be fishing over Memorial Day because Gayle is off to Cartagena, Columbia for a wedding.

Back to Blogging

Time for me to get back to my blog. I apologize for not updating in so long.

Time to get myself, the boat, and the business back into gear. The picture above shows that my dock is being put back into the water. Other signs of the changing seasons are present in Boothbay too. Businesses in town seem to have more activity and buds on the trees are making tangible progress. I would say the trees look a few weeks ahead of last year.

So, I will be sending a newsletter out to former clients in the next few weeks. We will probably get the boat uncovered soon too. I need to update the Garmin 5212 to its latest version, paint the bottom, and re-install my radio, and off we go. Another fishing related task will be to hit LL Beans, where, as a member of the Maine Guide Association, I get 33% off. I am going to be purchasing 5 Shimano Stradic Reels for fishing light tackle and other saltwater goodies.

We had a great string of warm weather. Its now cold and rainy. Hopefully, we get some more heat, so we can get those water temps up, and get our season started. I can not wait.

A More Detailed Update on My Wife's Condition

Gayle's surgery was a success. Dr. Sisti was able to remove the vast majority of the tumor. At the same time, he preserved the facial nerve, and partially saved some of the Cochlear nerve.

As a result, Gayle will be free of the numbness and facial weakness she has been experiencing for months and the tumor will never threaten Gayle's life again. The size of the tumor left behind will not need surgery and if it did grow, which is unlikely, they could radiate it.

Preservation of the facial nerve means that, hopefully, the only long term effect Gayle will have is the loss of hearing on the affected side. But, because Sisti preserved some of the Cochlear nerve, Gayle will retain a little of her hearing and might benefit from improvement in hearing aid technology sometime in the future.

At 5:15 today, I was able to get in to visit Gayle. She was out of it, nauseous, in some pain, but expressive. It was quite an effort for her to open her eyes which she forced herself to do when she heard my voice. She looked at me and made me switch sides of her bed. In a silent somewhat pained way she asked me to talk. She reacted to my news of Tom and Bess and Ralph hanging all day with a partial smile. Then, I tried to tell her about all the people calling,texting,and writing on Facebook and she definitely smiled again. Big relief.

Smelting 2010 Dresden, Maine

Hoops and stuff

What could be worse than going 2-11? Going 2-12. In just a few hours, we play Georges Valley, a team we lost to while I was investigating possible surgeons for my wife's Acoustic Neuroma in New York City. I have watched the video of that game several times and we should definitely get a W tonight. Put all sharp objects away if we lose.

Soon, I will get it together and write something down about Costa Rica. Considering what a terrific experience I had, one would think I would have shared more about it by now. Oh well, life has been nuts lately. Anyway, I promise to write about it soon. For those of you who love to fish you must go. Its unreal. I embedded one of our fishing videos below. If you have been following Sweet Action Charters on Facebook you will recognize it.