Bugs and Bass 2011

[jimi4290]

Thank you Dave and Joe for the great read, and the monster bass pics.

[zimno1]

hey? look who is not on the boat? jimi bud....... how the hell are you? hello family...... who needs a gym? lmao.... roc's got dave an ear to ear smile that only comes from fishing with him..

[Captain Ahab]

Great stuff

That injured bass looks like a line slice - or a net did that.

Seen one like that after it got hooked and then tail wrapped while a buddy was landing it - the line sliced right into it caught under the scales

[Coalman]

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.

[Coalman]

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...........................

[Coalman]

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 graciously 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.

[Coalman]

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.

[Coalman]

09-17-11
The state gave the OK to harvest shellfish from the waters of the Bay's last weekend. I have been waiting for this all summer.

Met Joe at the honey hole about 10AM where he already had a pile of oysters on the culling board. We sorted until the tide said it was time to clam. It didn't take long and we had our peck of clams each.

The lobsters were biting too. I knew as the cooler filled up it was time to make my annual landowner appreciation cruise. It is amazing what doors you can open to a meal of shellfish and lobsters.

Today the lobster traps saw the last of my bait. The traps will be going dry dock next weekend.

Sampson's Bay is calling Coalman and the yellow dog to the October first opening of grouse season.

And Bay wants no distractions.

[Coalman]

Team Sampson continued our pre-season training with a game against Team Pheasant. With a little sadness we started our hunt today without one of our veterans. Jay’s English Springer, Piper, graciously gave way to Jay’s rookie a German Shorthair named Yogi (right). Our yellow lab, Great Bay Babe, in her second season played our backfield. Our returning veteran was Cory’s German Shorthair, Rose (left). The cool weather at the start of the game was in our favor. We squeaked out a win this year with two bonus chukka partridge. The final score was Team Sampson 8 and Team Pheasant 6. The most valuable player award again this year went to our returning veteran, Rose.



Great Bay Babe brought the bounties from her namesake to today’s game. After the hunt we had a tailgate feast.

Our cook, Jay.



We started with fresh clams and oysters.



After the appetizer we ate all the birds we won from Team Pheasant.



We finished off the feast with some Great Bay Bugs.



It is time now for the regular season. The Coalman and Bay are playing away against Team Grouse on October 1.

Thank you Rose and Yogi for helping Bay see the light.

[Coalman]

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.

[Coalman]

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.

[Willy-C]

It's been great following your adventures....Thanx for bringing us along....

~WC~

[Coalman]

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.