Karen Lynn Charters Bluefin Tuna Fishing Report Gloucester,MA !

June 4, 2010

Another great day on the water as we were back at again yesterday. Once again we would be heading out in the pea soup fog, could not even see the bridge from the slip felt like we were trapped in a bubble the last couple of days. It finally lifted in the afternoon and the sun popped no doubt a mood changer for sure. Marking a decent amount of fish bouncing off the bottom feeding in the tightly packed groups of sand eels, which have not moved off the bottom much at all. Which would explain the lack of whales and birds on the bank once the temp comes up a little they should become more active.

We were quickly on a fish a half hour into fishing which is always a nice thing. Very hard fighting fish once again taking some good initial runs which create that beautiful noise we all live to hear. The fish we landed and released were in the 70 inch to 71 inch class a little smaller than the previous day. Very tough to gauge an accurate measurement while the tuna is in the water and while we are out commercial fishing we want to make sure we get it right.

We practiced a great catch and release method which has been successfully done for years a very exciting method for sure. Once we get the fish boat side which is averaging around a 10 to 20 min fight the tuna still being very green. We lay down a nice smooth tarp to keep the non skid from removing any slime or scales at all, quickly open the tuna door and slide them in. Having a small wet cloth to quickly drop over their eyes and having our large wash down pump fired up. We then drop the cloth which really keeps them calm and quickly insert the wash down hose into the mouth, on the Karen Lynn we have a large wash down hose which runs off the engine which pushes a great deal of water over their gills very important as tuna are ram breathers and must have water running over their gills. We take a very quick and accurate measurement of the fish, not over 73 inches we quickly put the boat in gear and gently push them out the door having each one kick off very healthy a nice feeling, a very neat and exciting practice for sure we seem get better each time we do it.

Fishing continues to be good hopes of more fish moving onto the bank and settling in. The bass have arrived on the bank lots of them as you will see large packs of them streaking on the fish finder. Ocean life continues to improve as both predator and prey will be in full swing very soon. Good luck to all !

Capt Collin

Karen Lynn Charters Great Striped Bass Fishing !

May 20, 2010

Great Striped Bass fishing yesturday as the ocean is starting to come to life in all aspects ! This is one of my favorite times of the year seeing the bait fish arrive with the predators right on thier tail. Plenty of Mackerel out there to be had and yes the Stripers have certaintly found them. Always exciting seeing the Mackerel chased to the surface followed by a big explosion gets the blood pumping for sure. Nice mix of Bass moving in right behind the Mackerel with sizes ranging from 28″ with our largest being about 36″. Of course you get the courageous schoolies who always amaze me on the size of the Mackerel they are willing to attack. Back at our slip last night the switch was flipped as the bass were going crazy splashes all over the place as well as right next to the boat as they were chasing the small bait fish that collected to our underwater light. Action is certaintly heating up gotta love it. Good luck to all !

Capt Collin

5/7/2010 Karen Lynn “Here We Go”

May 10, 2010

      The Karen Lynn is off and running as we had our first charter on Friday. After a long winter and much boat preparation it sure feels nice to get back out on the water. Along with routine boat maintenance on the Karen Lynn we re painted and added new non skid to the deck as well as new L.E.D deck lights and sweet new Bose speakers for the cock pit. Very excited to get the 2010 season going!
      On Friday we headed out to the bank for some ground fishing with our group from Connecticut. As the morning started off slow with a slow pick on cod we decided to run further down the bank coming across groups of feeding hump backs. In with the whales were schools of large Pollack feeding on sand eels and mackerel as the mackerel were jumping on the cod teasers as we came across small bunches of mackerel through out the day. The Pollack a.k.a Boston bluefish were very aggressive to say the least hitting jigs and teasers 20′ under the boat. As far as ground fishing goes switching up to lighter gear and butterfly jigs can be quite a blast with these large drag pulling Pollack great table fare as well.
      We ended up the day finding a few more nice bunches of cod with a few haddock. Great day overall as the bank is showing great signs of life catching cod, haddock, Pollack, and mackerel all while being surrounded by bubble feeding humpbacks. Truly an amazing event in nature as sometimes you just have to sit back and enjoy it.
      Ran into much life inshore on the steam home as there were feeding minkie whales only a few miles off of the breakwater. Marked lot’s of bait up off the bottom assuming small herring, along with coming across small batches of mackerel which should become more plentiful very soon. Action will continue to heat up as the predators are not very far behind!

Feel free to give me a call anytime regarding your custom charter aboard the Karen Lynn. Thanks
Good Luck to all!

Capt Collin

Karen Lynn Charters Bluefin Tuna Fishing Report Gloucester,MA !

October 28, 2009

Great day on the water ! Started off not so good with myself making the call of not going at 4:00am. My cousin Mike who was mate for the day was already down the boat. So we decided we should go out and give the giant’s a shot. As we were still close to home trying to make bait it was turning into a beautiful day wind died right out. I gave the charter a call back and told them we should give it a go. As it was a father and son and his son’s friend they were very excited to say the least. We picked them up at the new cruiseport inside Gloucester harbor. We then headed out to the bank with large rollers still left over not bad at all. Slow start as we arrived around 11:00am. With the Patriots game on the sun shining and a beautiful late October day the rod goes off. The two young boys we had on the boat were fishing finatics to say the least. What a great job they both did getting the fish to the boat. A short time later we boated a nice 44″ BFT turning the whole day around. A very excited crew and all glad we decided to go ahead with the trip. As we were listening to the Pats kicking butt in London we go off again. With the drag screaming pretty good we knew this was a better fish. We strapped Jackson into the harness and he went to work. We ended up boating a beautiful 68″ BFT in about 15 minutes. Which ended up giving us the slot limit and making it a banner day. Father and son trips are my favorite as it is thrilling to see the bonding that takes place. With the seas calm and the sun setting what a great ride home it was. A great trip that we all will not soon forget. Thanks
Capt Collin

Charter Fishing Gloucester,MA !

September 25, 2009

Fishing continues to be great.
We have had some great recent tuna/cod combo trips. Tuna continue to show up on the bank with all different size classes mixed in.
We have recently caught some 45″ class fish, which is very good to see. Many reports of even smaller tuna are being seen as well. Nat told me he saw some little guys up on Jeffery’s. Twenty pounders all over the place! Very exciting to see that size class making their way here.
It seems there is enough bait and excitement here for the tuna to come back year after year, hopefully! Half beaks are all over the place, a bunch were seen a couple of miles out. Always exciting to see the tuna chasing the ballyhoo, watching them sky rocket up to ten feet at times.
Hopefully the weather cooperates, as there is plenty of tuna time left!
Good Luck to all! Thanks

Capt Collin

Bluefin Tuna Fishing Report Gloucester, MA

September 11, 2009

We recently had the pleasure of fishing with a few fellow charter boat captains from Texas.
They booked the Karen Lynn for two days of Blue fin tuna fishing .They were very excited to experience the Blue fin tuna fishery we have here. Great weather was upon us, and they could not have picked a better two days to be on the water. They were so envious of the short run we have to the fishing grounds. ‘Twelve miles”… they kept saying”.We have ninety miles to run to get to our closest spot.”
We are very lucky to have such a short run. They were equally amazed at what a beautiful fishing area we have . A great reminder of how lucky we are, and to to never take it for granted.

As far as the fishing goes, they could not have hit it better. As soon as we arrived on the bank, tuna were busting all over the place! Feeding very aggressively on the half beaks, they were coming clearly out of the water a good five to ten feet. What a great site to see for these guys, and anyone for that matter!
Lines in, and about twenty minutes later we were hooked up. A short time later we boated a beautiful 67″ BFT. The crew was very excited to say the least. These fishermen had accomplished what they came to Gloucester for. Fishing continued to be great as they all had the chance to fight their own tuna.

The next day proved to be another great one. The Texas boys already had sweet tuna steaks vacuum bagged and ready to ship back to Texas. So that day was all about tagging and releasing tuna. The tuna were once again busting the surface all over the place. We quickly had a double hook up.. unfortunately pulling the hook on one early. The other came in quickly for a great tag and release. We ended up tagging one more for the day.
The guys were excited to give cod fishing a try. We ended up catching a good amount of keeper cod. They were not rookies to bottom fishing, as they do a bunch of it for grouper.

With another species to add to their list, we headed for the barn. With a great couple of days of fishing wrapped up, Ian and I were relieved that we had the chance to show them what an amazing fishery we have here in our own back yard!
Thanks!

Capt Collin

Bluefin Tuna Fishing Charters Gloucester, MA

September 1, 2009

Great day on the water. As we departed with a father, son and daughter charter aboard the Karen Lynn. The seas were some what choppy out there. As the crew was not feeling to well already. Things were not looking to bright. As we came upon some life after not seeing much. The first fish is on and the reel is screeming. Instantly the whole crew is feeling a whole lot better. We get the 14 year old girl in the harness and she goes to work. What a amazing job she did getting the fish boat side in under 15 minutes. We pull a fat 67″ fish on the deck she was amazed to say the least. What a feat for a young girl like that, truly a memory of a lifetime. Fishing continued to pick up as both the father and son getting to reel in a fish. First one was about the same 67″ tagged and released. The father had a nice one on and after a great battle. We tagged and released a nice 71″ fish. Hopefully fishing continues to improve out there. The moon is upon us always intresting to see what it brings. Good luck to all! Thanks

Karen Lynn Charters Tuna Fishing Report Gloucester,MA !

Great few days fishing out on the bank. On Friday we landed a nice 53″ tuna. Yes being excited about catching a smaller fish sounds silly. Although it is great to see a smaller class of tuna show up on the bank, for many reasons. The life continues to show on the bank more and more everyday. We have had some great Tuna/Cod combo trips on the bank this last week. High hopes for the month of September. Good luck to all! Thanks

Capt Collin

Tuna Fishing Charters Gloucester, MA !

August 25, 2009

Tuna trips have been going great. A very interesting season so far. There have been Tuna all over many great bites happening in different places.

There is a large abundance of bait this season. Small juvenile herring are all over the place. We sure have seen some amazing surface feeds this season. It’s very exciting to see the fish finder lit up with bait for over 5 continuous miles. It seems the mid water herring boat restriction is showing a very positive impact.

Stellwagen continues to hold up to it’s reputation as the life on the bank is amazing. As it should only continue to get better. Be sure to check back for our most up to date reports. Thanks good luck to all!

Capt Collin

Karen Lynn Charters Nice Giant Blue Fin Tuna Gloucester,MA !

August 3, 2009

I did an overnight recon trip to Southern Jefferies Tuesday night and Wednesday.

The good news is we got a 92″ 550# Giant and we saw some 60-90# BFT just 4-5 NM’s from Twin Lights. The fish gave us a really hard fight for an hour and a half as it’s stomach was completely empty and we ended up 1 1/2 miles from where we hooked it.

The bad news is the fish are really spread out, so unless you have very specific and current information Southern Jefferies does not offer the same kind of concentrate of bait and fish that the Bank does. The Whales and the bait seem to be quite spread out this year. Captain Collin is out in the Karen Lynn today looking for more Giants so hopefully he will do post an update, tonight or tomorrow. For now we are going to stick to the Bank and maybe to the east for Tuna Charters.

Captain Jim
Karen Lynn Charters
www.karenlynncharters.com