Welcome to Bugs and Bass 2011

There was no Bugs and Bass 2010. The USS Coalman was tired. The deck and transom needed work. She was showing signs of her age of 38 years. Last summer we had her retrofitted back to original condition.

I missed most of the summer of 2010 on the water. I never set a lobster trap. My thank yous go to Roccus, Danny and Andy for carting my butt on the flats, bays and open seas while the fiberglass set up.

The 2011 lobster and striped bass seasons are just around the corner. The layoff last summer was welcomed as I trained my yellow lab to hunt. But I can't keep the salt out of my veins which is giving me the itch to write.

I would like to thank Freddy for allowing me to ramble my writings here at VA Turkey. Comments to this thread are always welcome.

The boat is still in the barn. But the lobster traps are talking to me. I have my license and have sent for my tags. The process has started.

I need to get through spring gobbler season before I can concentrate full time on my striped bass fishing and lobster trapping hobby. While this thread might start slow the horsepower will increase with the amount of daylight each day.

Thank you for coming along.

USS Coalman retrofit 2010









We launched late last summer just in time for the Blue Angles air show at Pease. This year Pease is hosting the Thunderbirds. I predict a Great Bay parking lot.

Coalman..as always good pics from you...good luck on those longbeards up your way...just wish My Knuckle Headed Deer huntin buddy in Maine was a turkey hunter...he is coming down this way deer hunting this fall..I just may send him in the wrong direction...lol...j/k..

04-03-11
You can't catch lobsters without traps. I spent a few hours yesterday weeding through gear. I plan on fishing twenty pots. More if I can find free bait.

Those that have saved their fish bait after a day of fishing have been rewarded well with a boil of bugs.

Man it looks like that boat will give you another 35 years on the water. Glassed the whole floor and the transom looks super hardy, 4 or so layers of marine plywood. Wow. Good luck on your voyages. Look forward to the stories.

Vic

06-05-11
Today was launch day. The USS Coalman floats. Welcome to Bugs and Bass 2011.



The tide was incoming to the top while a made the final checklist. The Ugly Stick was in the cuddy. Fresh bait was on the menu.



Even with two navigational aids heading up the Squamscott River..



I'm pretty sure the boat could find the trestle in the dark.



It's been seven months since I have been through the strait at Adam's Point. The whole Great Bay fills and drains through this
narrow passage



And the striped bass.........they are home.

Justv waitin' on some pics of what you catch.

Bugs, Bass and the Deadliest Catch 06-11-11

I was in forward fast Saturday hoping to beat the weatherman's rain prediction. There were 11 lobster traps in the bed of the Ford.

They would be worthless unless they were lying on the floor of the Great Bay.

Since my lobster trapping hiatus last summer I forgot how intense the preparation is just to get to this far. It started in February when I purchased my license. After my license arrived it was time to buy my traps tags that traditionally take a month to process. An early April trip to the barn accomplished sorting out the traps I would sink first.

By the beginning of May I had the first leg complete, license and tags. Then came turkey season. That put lobster preparation into a 30 day holding pattern. By the first of June I was ready to complete leg two of my journey by getting the USS Coalman seaworthy. First came getting the boat out of storage. Then to dry dock in my driveway where a list was put together of the supplies I would need.

The weather was beautiful last weekend to complete leg three. I took an early morning trip to West Marine and New England Fishing Gear to purchase the “stuff” on my list. It must be noted that both businesses were very helpful and attentive to my needs.

I arrived back at dry dock and got busy with my engineering duties. There was a pot hauler and battery switch to install. Then the engine got some pre-trip TLC. I ended the first day of the weekend giving anything with exposed wood a Thompson’s Water Seal bath. Sunday I hooked the boat to the truck and launched the USS Coalman on to her slip.

Now that I was OTW it was time for Part 4, lobster trap preparation. Friday i was back at the barn checking and modifying the gear I had selected in April. By darkness leg four was complete.

With the tide creeping ever higher and the clearance under the trestle getting ever lower I elected to only bring seven traps out on the first trip. A few miles into my journey I met Joe. He was fishing for the striped ones. His fishing skills proved better than his luck.



Six miles from the dock I arrived in the fishing grounds. Every lobster trapper has his favorite holes. As I approached each set location I was encouraged by the lack of any other buoys. There were no traps set in my Family Grounds. It didn’t take long to sink my pots.

As Mother Nature would have it, it started raining on the trip back to the dock. Heeding the warning of our dock master I postponed setting the rest of my gear. As he predicted the rain started coming down heavy. I took this time to go back to the barn and get a few more traps ready.

But my day wasn’t over yet. This was the night Jonathan and Andy Hillstrand along with Captain Sig Hanson of The Deadliest Catch were coming to the Hampton Beach Casino. I had been looking forward to this day for some time. So for a few hours this evening I got to listen and laugh with my marine trapping mentors. There was no bleeping of the audio tonight. I felt like the cameraman who sits in the wheelhouse filming their odyssey. They were as real and down to earth as I could have ever imagined. Andy is quite the accomplished musician and we were treated to three of his songs about life on the Bering Sea. During his tribute song to Captain Phil I looked around the crowd. There were a lot of watery eyes. I have to admit mine included.

Meeting the Captains was the highlight of my night. I only wish the pictures came out as crisp and clear as our conversations. While Karen got in her hugs with Andy and Sig, Jonathan and I discussed that a squid painted on the front fender of his Harley was much better than an octopus. Thank you Killer Paint.





I thank the Lord for his countless blessings. I know the bounties come from my faith in Him.

I went out Thursday afternoon and set eight more lobster traps. I checked the seven I had in and ended up with one short and one keepa. Even though I had high hopes for Family Grounds it didn't produce. I'll be back.

Instead of playing the radio game and looking for free advice I moved the gear to where and what I hope is more promising water. It is early in the season. Time to prospect.

Our resident osprey's were busy with nest tending duty.



This was the first afternoon I have tended traps in two years. It was almost low tide and the pungent smell of seaweed and salt water were in the air. I forgot how much I missed that.

There was no weather or high seas to contend with. The Bay was like glass and the sunset light show was intense.



It is good to be home.

After a generous invitation I laid claim to the bow of the USS Roccus last night. Even if the fishing had been slow the company would have made up for it.

Thanks Joe!

Leaving the harbor at sunset.



Captain Roccus



First mate Coalman



No bass were harmed in the making of this post.

Then how'd you eat them? Number 2 looks especially tastey.

Vic

Vic, they were released unharmed so mine and your grandchildren will get a chance to catch them again.

The weather has been poor. It has rained for four days. The lawn needs to be mowed. The lobster traps need to be checked.

Guess which one I chose?

With the threat of thunderstorms at ten percent it didn't take long to prep the boat.



After the poor catch on Family Grounds last week it was time to prospect.



I'm starting to dial in.

WOW, pretty neat, how much are lobster going for these days at the market by the pound. last time i was there they were 2.49 a pound at the 7-11.

I can tell you haven't been north in a while. Father's Day weekend at the supermarket I saw them for $5.99 a pound. I get a little more than that but it is any size and they are fresh.

I went back fishing Sunday morning. There was a sea worm hatch going on. These bass wouldn't bite anything except what they were feeding on.

Check out the videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNzfOw121cw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1_nLEiitvc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RRlE11oTRQ

I had a short window of a couple hours after work last night to get out and check my lobster traps. My adrenaline always runs high when I am preparing to run any trap line be it fur or crustaceans.

I arrived at my first trap with high hopes. Those hopes were quickly dashed as the first trap was empty. Have no fear I said to self. Pull it and set it in another location.

That is how my evening started. It ended on a much higher note.
As I began to pull traps the lobsters started to fill the cooler. Some traps had three, some four and even a few held five keepers. I was quickly running out of cooler space. Just before sundown the line was complete. I must have averaged better than two pounds per trap.

While I do not have to face severe weather on my hobby line I still feel the joy and frustration of my crab trapping mentors.

For now the spirits are high for the one man crew of the USS Coalman.