Just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your stories. Keep em coming.

08-06-11
I left the dock just after the tide turned out this morning. The bugs seem to be gone. Greenheads, deer files, mosquitoes and no seem'ums I mean. I can't remember when or where insects tried to spoil my day.

Traditionally August is the worst month to trap lobsters in the Great Bay's. You have to stay mobile. The traps set on flat hard bottom today were full of debris. The eel grass rots on the surface and sinks. The swift tides on the flat hard bottom roll the decaying grass right into your trap. The few traps I had set in the rocks last week produced well today. So I went looking for rocks and uneven bottom.

Lots of short lobsters today. That is always a good sign. I treat them as prodigy. Half the keepah's were culls too. Seems like we are scraping the barrel at the bottom of the Bay.

After I transferred today's bounty into the lobster car I went looking for striped bass. My expectations were low. I saw Acnes on his way in this morning. He was on bass but said the bite ended when the sun appeared. We traded stories and went our ways.

It took a couple drifts but I found the bass. In a beating down late morning sun with live eels for bait I put five striped ones in the boat. Two were keepers. I let them swim for another day.

These bass can fight. I can only hope the pogies are on their way with mama and daddy stripers not far behind. You know you had a good day on the water when your arms are reminding you of your age.

The only pictures I stored today were electrical impulses in my brain. The Great Bay is my summer play land.

08-10-11
A Working Man's Tide

I love to fish the top of the tide. Last nights high tide was 10PM. Perfect for the working man. You can fish, go home and sleep for a few hours and then with a double shot of coffee start your next work day off with a smile.

Last night I took ownership of the bow of the USS Roccus. The easterly blow kept us on drift for the incoming tide. The outgoing tide was more of a challenge.

It was no slam dunk. We worked for our fish. Joe told me we were fishing for the "One". I knew that meant a lot of casting. I had to kick the devil off my left shoulder when my right shoulder started to complain. There was fire in the water last night. I saw the devil slip beneath the surface with a smile.

It wasn't long and Joe hooked into the one. At one point we thought the line was wrapped up on debris because the fish held the boat against the tide and wind. After a couple 360's around the boat and some careful net handling we had "Her" aboard.

I know Joe could feel the burn as we stole her picture.



All I could say was "let's do that again".

And again Joe was on.



I could tell the captain was happy as he whistled a tune while relocating the boat for another drift.

A sign of any good captain is wanting to get his sport onto fish. Joe maneuvered the boat like a master trying to get me into the best casting position. He was even routing for me from the stern.

Joe said I hit this torpedo on the head. It took my bait as soon as it hit the water.



While fishing with Joe is always a treat I told the Captain my favorite part of the night was watching all the bass we caught slip back into the fire looking for the devil.

Thank you Captain Roccus.

08-20-11
Joe was on the Bay first thing this morning. He said there was a worm hatch from the Squamscott River to Great Bay Marina. Again the bass were skimming the surface with their mouths open. He said there was acres of schoolies in the riiver He went and got mackerel off shore.I met him at Fox Point I fished a couple of mackerel he gave me after I finished the lobster line. Only one bite on a trolled mackerel at ............ Joe lost a big one at the ................

The mackerel lived just fine in the inland sea.

Lots of short lobsters today. Next shed their dead. When I put the keepah lobsters in the car at the dock the water was swarming with drops. Might be alewives? Whatever they were there was a lot of them. They were not silversides. They were too small and didn’t flash.

Our Great Bay bass are well fed and under fished.

Did I say that.

The USS Coalman left the dock with Captain Dave bright and early Saturday morning. I bet there wasn't a ripple in the water from the trestle to Adam's Point. Lots of drops busting the surface just outside the trestle. Looked like very small stripers chasing them.

And not a soul fishing the railroad bridge.

No fish bait was put in the traps today because all my gear was hauled to shallow water close to shore. The plan was to group the steel on the northwest side of natural barriers be it shoreline or islands. The predicted blow from Irene is said to be coming from the nor'east. I am not to worried. The Bay may have ocean water but lacks swells and wave action. The rollers will be coming from the Newington and Greenland side of the Bay. I suspect the shoreline of Stratham, Newmarket and Durham will see the brunt of the storm.

I have no complaints about the bugging this summer in my Great Bay Family Grounds. While only a small percentage of my total gear in the barn slept with the fishes the combined haul has been better than a pound per trap all season. Another reason this trapline has been a success to date is I never had to buy bait. Thanks goes to fishstarcraft, Marcus270 and Cwclasvi for keeping my freezer stocked.

If anyone has old or freezer burnt meat or frozen fish bait in their freezers they would like to get rid of please send me a PM. I'll take hamburg if it comes with steaks. The burger bleeds through the bait bags as it thaws. I've never had much success using it.

I half heartily drowned an eel after the line was complete. There was no striped interest in my offering.

My vessel now calls our driveway her berth. I didn't want to chance leaving the boat on the slip. I powered up the Squamscott River into downtown Exeter about 1 PM to catch the high tide. With my son piloting the Ford and myself on the winch it took one try and the boat rose out of the water firmly centered on the trailer. That doesn't happen often.

Because of the expected rain totals from Irene, that dilute the salinity of Great Bay, I brought today's bugs home. While my wife might not agree I like the smell of boiling lobsters. I get another nasal fix of that low tide essence from the safety of our kitchen.

Did someone say soft shell clamming season is only a few short weeks away? If not you heard it here first.

Stay tuned...........................

Hoping you came through the blow unscathed!

09-10-11
While the weather was picture perfect today on the Bay, NH F&G closed the opening day of clamming season. Our clam flat tradition will have to wait another week.

The USS Coalman left the dock at the bottom of the tide this morning. On board was a bucket of mackerel generously donated by Danny. Two weeks ago I put all my gear shallow in preparation for Irene. Last weekend I moved my gear into water my log said has been good to me in the past.

That record keeping paid big dividends. Today was the best check of the lobster line all season. The bio-mass has arrived. The bugs are on the move.

Working the line is like going to the gym. And I like the exercise.

09-11-11 Daybreak at Sandy Point, Great Bay Stratham, NH.

A tribute photo to 9/11. Without those sworn to protect this day would not have been possible.

I will never forget.

Mel and Mike are coming to visit next week. Lobster trapping was good Saturday so a boat ride is in the plans to lighten the car of its bounties.

I can smell a lobster boil already.

09-24-11
Bugs and Bass 2011 is coming to and end and the yellow dog is glad to see it go.

When the rain quit this morning the USS Coalman with a crew of one left the dock with a plan. The bait is gone. Parh'tridge season starts next week and I need to concentrate on Bay. The traps are heading to the barn.

The last couple checks of the line we've dialed in on the lobster. I put all my eggs in one basket last week. All the gear was moved shallow and in the mud. The creeping fog only allowed me to put eight traps on the boat. Those traps held better than two pounds a parlor. Six more traps are still fishing. Weather permuting they will be on the dock tomorrow. I'm hoping for a single high one check of the line tomorrow.The record is twenty seven keepers in fourteen traps two weeks ago. I need a bigger cooler.

The bounty didn't end there. Low tide found best friends sorting oysters.



And then low tide on the clam flats.



Waiting for the tide to return.



V for victory.



Great Bay bounties.

The traps are on shore. The next trip is to the barn. Ended the line with a person best.

Nine keepers in one trap.



The last trap today had two keepers. The first lobster was a big pound and a half hard shell male. With him was a female lobster of equal size.

I notched her tail and let her go. That is my gift back to the resource.

The spirit of the Bayman lives within.

You are making me so hungry!!! Love your stories and pictures!!

The USS Coalman made her way down the Squamscott River this afternoon heading for the Port of Exeter. What a difference two years makes. The last time I made this October trip I about froze to death. It was shorts and tee shirt on this 85 degree afternoon.

I ran the least amount of traps this year since I started buggin' fifteen years ago. It was good to back fishing the Bay's after a short absence. I wanted it to be fun. I consider twice that many traps a job. And as I age I dislike work more and more each day.

Recently hunting with Bay has shown me that repetition is what we need to concentrate on. King Neptune has gone into hibernation in my life. He is being replaced by my love, Artemis.

Thank you for coming along.