Sweet Dream Sport Fishing Charters Fishing Adventures
2023 Season Wrap Up and look forward to 2024
2023 was a solid fishing year overall but not without some challenges. The first challenge was the weather. Rain and wind on many weekends through the summer caused more trip cancellations than what is typical. Hopefully 2024 brings more settled weather.
We started fishing in mid-April and there is both good news and bad news. The good news is, we caught a lot of cod. The bad news is we caught a lot of cod and had to release them (we cannot keep cod in the Spring). We had to work hard to find good schools of haddock that out numbered the cod. As we progressed into May, we got more dialed in on haddock bottoms and schools. Customer’s took home plenty of fish. Cusk, pollock and some redfish rounded out the catches. We found the deeper edges of Tillies Bank holding quality haddock right into June and avoided dog fish as best we could before we transitioned to tuna fishing.
The weather kept us from making an iron man trip out Fippennies Ledge but we stayed closer to home on Tillies bank and did plenty of catching.
Tuna arrived in mid-June and we were able to get the first bites and fish on the deck by the 3rd week of the month. Early in the tuna season, there was a lot of here today, gone tomorrow kind of fishing as the fish were on the move. As the season goes on, more fish arrive and settle in and finding them becomes more predictable. As a whole, the populations of bluefin tuna continue to grow and the stock is very healthy. This has resulted in increased annual quotas over the last several years.
There were two predominant fish classes around most of the year, mid 80 inch fish weighing around 250-300 pounds and 100 to 105 inch fish in the 600+ pound class. School tuna made periodic showings with the best numbers in late fall but were often mixed with giants. In early August, a group landed the second largest giant bluefin tuna we have ever caught. After over a two-hour epic battle, they beat the 112 inch long and over 700 pound giant.
The Fall tuna bite, September into December, was nothing short of excellent. We were on the fish and it was just a matter of getting them to bite and stay buttoned up. We enjoyed the opportunity to catch fish in multiple different locations. Most days ended with a fish on the deck. Our last two fish came on December 2nd and 3rd, with the fish on the 2ndbeing landed by a brave late season charter patron. With two fish in three trips in December, we called it quits for the year.
In 2024, we will try to take more advantage of the late October and November tuna fishing. There are high numbers of giant and school fish around with little fishing pressure (the commercial season is typically closed, so giant tuna is catch and release only but we can keep recreational fish for the table). Ground fishing can be very good as well, often with many pollock around. We just have to pick our weather days and bundle up.
Sharks were more abundant this year than we would have liked, especially when they harassed us while tuna fishing. We hooked several large threshers and more porbeagles and blue sharks than I care to count. Some of the increased shark activity is due to the abundance of forage we have been seeing which also attracts the tuna and keeps them here from June to December.
Another highlight of the year was Eric earning his captain’s license early-summer. For our customers, this means we will be able to offer more dates for fishing charters in 2024.
Overall, we had a great season, both ground fishing and tuna fishing. We want to thank everyone that fished with us and helped make 2023 an enjoyable and successful season. We look forward to seeing you in 2024!
2023 Season Wrap Up
2022 Season Wrap up and a look forward for 2023
2022 was a fantastic year for Sweet Dream Sport Fishing. The season started with solid haddock fishing on the grounds about 12-14 miles from the harbor and then the fish filled in to some near shore bottoms only 6 miles from the harbor. This year saw the resurgence of a lot of young cod on all these bottoms. We had trips where we had to go seek more haddock than cod in order to fill our fish boxes. Unfortunately we still are restricted from keeping cod for most of the year but given the numbers of 2-3 year old fish we saw, there is hope regulators will relax the restrictions in the future. There was also excellent haddock fishing on middle Jefferies in June that we took advantage of. Haddock boat limits were reached on many full day trips and the near shore 6 hour trips usually tallied 40 to 60 fish for the less adventurous.
Due to weather and near shore bookings and a little bit of COVID, we only ran a single Iron Man Trip in June to Fippennies Ledge but it was an excellent trip. Many large haddock and unlimited numbers of 5-15 pound pollock came over the gunnels. Topping off the catch we landed a boat best 60” and over 80 pound Atlantic Halibut.
Our giant tuna season was excellent. We were on the fish on most trips and had more than our share of bites. We sent more fish to market than any other year plus our customers caught and released a number of giants during commercial fishing closures. Because of the commercial closures we fished less days but had a higher percentage of bites and landings especially during the fall. We landed two giants on our first tuna charter in mid June and caught fish every month there after, ending with two 600 pound giants in December in three trips. Customers released several giants larger than that during the closures. The school tuna made a solid but short appearance in mid-July and we did target them successfully with stand up gear and trolling. We caught them sporadically thereafter as we pursued giants. We broadened our pursuit of tuna by venturing to more areas based on strong networking with other fisherman and our own on the water experience and it paid off with higher bite to trip ratios. As usual a few fish got the better of us and there may still be one swimming away from the boat that we could not stop. We did accomplish our goal to have many of our customers catch their bucket list fish of a lifetime. It is a great feeling to help them live that dream.
Looking ahead to 2023, haddock has an increased bag limit from 15 to 20 fish per person so there will be an even bigger load of fish to take home for your fish fries. Cod regulations will remain the same as 2022 with brief cod openings in early April and for a month in September and early October with a single 21” fish per person bag limit. Unfortunately, these openings are ill timed. The April opening is the first half of the month when the weather is generally poor and realistically, the boat is not rushed into the water for this. The September and October opening is prime tuna fishing time and the significant number of dogfish around make ground fishing less fun and productive. To maximize fishing productivity, we will focus on haddock fishing from April into early July and then tuna from mid-July until the snow starts to fall. We generally try to get to Fippennies Ledge in pursuit of Halibut in late May and June. I expect tuna fishing to continue to improve as it has the last 4 seasons. The science shows the stocks continue to rebound and we have had great bait present to attract them. This coming year we have been allocated additional quota as well. We continue to refine our techniques to get bites and keep them buttoned up so you can experience the thrill and challenge of a lifetime that is catching a giant bluefin tuna.
Enjoy the 2022 video and we hope you will be part of the 2023 video!
2021 season summary and look ahead to 2022
2021 was a record setting year for Sweet Dream Sport Fishing. We rebounded off a COVID-19 shortened 2020 season by running more charters and catching more giant bluefin tuna than any previous season. We also experienced consistently good haddock fishing closer to home than in past seasons. Our season started in late April with solid haddock fishing on several bottoms 12-14 miles from the harbor. Through the season, we never needed to go further and by June we had consistent fishing about 8 miles out. This short ride helped facilitate our 6-hour haddock trip which was a popular choice for many families and fisherman not quite up to a full day offshore. Boat limits were the norm on most full day trips plus healthy numbers of short haddock, wolffish and cod caught and released. Pollock, cusk and red fish also added to fillet count. In all, 200-300 fish over the gunnels was typical for full day and 60-80 for the 6-hour trip. Due to weather and other bookings, we only ran a single Iron Man Trip to Fippennies Ledge. It was a solid trip with many large haddock and unlimited numbers of 5-15-pound pollock with some over 20 pounds.
Our giant tuna season was the best ever. Most trips had bites and a record number of fish were hooked (a few too many were lost for my liking). We sent more fish to market than any other year plus our customers caught and released a number of giants during commercial fishing closures. The school tuna only made sporadic appearances through the season. Herring and Mackerel were ever present on Stellwagen Bank and we experienced strong bodies of fish in July, August and September, a bit of a lull in October and then excellent fishing in November into early December. We landed giant tuna in every month from July through December with the last fish of the year on December 8th measuring 99” and over 500 pounds. The largest fish that we kept was 102” and a barrel at 675 pounds. Customers released several larger than that during the closures. The majority of the fish we landed were 94” to 100” in the 450 to 600 pound class. We were also able to combine tuna fishing with haddock fishing on a number of trips to send our customers home with memories of a life time after catching a giant tuna plus several meals’ worth of tasty haddock fillets.
Looking ahead to 2022, haddock and cod regulations will remain the same as 2021 with a 15 haddock per person bag limit (plus captain’s and mate’s share), meaning there will be plenty of fillets going home. There will be brief cod openings in early April and for a month in September and early October with a single fish per person bag limit. Unfortunately, these opening are ill timed. The April opening is first half of the month when the weather is generally poor and realistically, the boat is not rushed into the water for this. The September and October opening is prime tuna fishing time and the significant number of dogfish around make ground fishing less fun and productive. To maximize fishing productivity, we will focus on haddock fishing from April into early July and then tuna from mid-July until the snow starts to fall. I expect tuna fishing to continue to get better as it has the last 3 seasons. The science shows the stocks continue to rebound and we have had great bait present to attract them. This coming year we have been allocated additional quota as well. We continue to refine our techniques to get bites and keep them buttoned up so you can experience the thrill and challenge of a lifetime that is catching a giant bluefin tuna.
Enjoy the 2021 video and we hope you will be part of the 2022 video!
2020 season summary and look forward to 2021
We lost all of April and the majority of May due to the being shut down by the state due to the COVID-19 virus. In the end we ran about half the number of charters we typically do for the season. I very much appreciate the cooperation we got from our customers for taking the appropriate COVID-19 safety precautions prior to your trips and on board resulting in keeping all our crew and customers virus free. Our reward for tolerating some inconveniences was generally good fishing every trip.
- Boat limits of haddock most trips
- 3 Iron Man Trips to Fippennies Ledge that saw 2 Halibut to the boat and 1 long release in addition to the usual boxes of jumbo haddock, pollock and cod (releases).
- More school Bluefin tuna than any recent years, many of which were tagged and released.
- Excellent giant tuna fishing early in the season but then extremely warm water temps in mid August diluted the number of fish on the grounds for the balance of the season. We did tag and release an estimated 600 pound, 100" tuna, on November 28th which set a new record for latest in the year tagged fish date for the large pelagics tagging program.
- A positive side effect of the virus situation was an extended opening for cod for 4 weeks in September and early October. We expect a similar opening in 2021.
- Unfortunately I took very few people pictures and did almost no social media posts this season due to the virus, but I was able to conger up enough for the video below.
Looking ahead to 2021, I expect to be COVID-19 vaccinated prior to season start in April and am hoping we can start to return to normal. We will start the year with a 15 haddock per person bag limit so there will be plenty of fillets going home. I expect a cod opening similar to last season overlapping September and October. I think tuna fishing will continue to get better as it has the last 3 seasons. Once they show up, it is getting pretty close to a guarantee that we are going to get a bite on nearly every trip.
Thanks again to all of you that fished with us, braving the virus, to make these memories. Everyone, enjoy the video and we hope you will be part of the 2021 video!
2019 season summary and look forward to 2020
2019 was a record setting year for Sweet Dream Sport Fishing in many dimensions. We ran more charters, caught more giant bluefin tuna and landed more haddock than any previous season. Our season started in April with solid haddock fishing but unlike recent years the fish never moved up into the shallow water on Stellwagon bank. Instead we pursued them in the deeper waters of Tillies Bank from April through the entire season. Boat limits were the rule on most trips plus healthy numbers of short haddock, wolf fish and cod caught and released, plus pollock, cusk and red fish added to fillet count. In all, 200-300 fish over the gunnels was typical. We haddock fished throughout the year as the haddock season in now basically year-round due to the abundant stocks and removal of closures. For those less adventurous. we ran near shore 6-hour haddock trips that yielded good numbers of keepers while staying close to home. Starting in late May, we ran Iron Man Trips to Fippennies Ledge finding limits of large haddock and unlimited numbers of 5-15-pound pollock with some over 20 pounds. Unfortunately, Halibut eluded us as the sheer numbers of haddock, cod and pollock just piled on the jigs on nearly every drop with double headers common.
Our giant tuna season was the best ever with bites on most trips and a record number of fish hooked and sent to market plus a number of tagged and released during commercial closures. We also tagged a number of school tuna and kept a few for the table. We landed giant tuna in every month from June through November but a December fish eluded us this year. The largest fish was 107” and over 700 pounds and the majority of the fish were mid 90’s and in the 400-pound class. We also combined Tuna fishing with haddock fishing on a number of trips to send our customers home with memories of a life time after catching a giant tuna plus several meals’ worth of tasty haddock fillets.
Looking ahead to 2020, we will start the year with a 15 haddock per person bag limit so there will be plenty of fillets going home. I expect a cod opening at some point but I have no clue as to when or what the bag limit might be. I expect tuna fishing to continue to get better as it has the last 3 seasons. Once they show up, it is getting pretty close to a guarantee that we are going to get a bite on nearly every trip.
Thanks again to all of you that fished with us to make these memories. Everyone, enjoy the video and we hope you will be part of the 2020 video!
2018 Summary Report and Look forward to 2019
The following short video captures some of the action in 2018. 2018 was an outstanding season from end to end. We caught boat limits of Haddock on every Stellwagon Bank trip in April, May and June. Our giant tuna season was the best ever with bites on most trips and a record number of fish hooked and sent to market. Giant tuna were landed in every month from July through December. This included 4 fish over 100 inches and 600 pounds. We set a new boat record with a monster fish that was 118 inches long and over 960 pounds. Striped Bass fishing provided consistent inshore action in the summer for those less adventurous. We even added a few family flounder trips in June that yielded good numbers of the tasty critters. As a result of strong conservation measures we are expecting more abundant fish stocks and larger bag limits and quotas for 2019 for both Tuna and Groundfish. Enjoy the video and we hope you will be part of the 2019 sport fishing video!
2017 IN REVIEW AND A LOOK FORWARD TO 2018
The following short video captures a lot of the catching we did in 2017. In short, 2017 was a season filled with Haddock limits on nearly every trip we targeted them from April through August. Our giant season was the best ever with bites on most trips including one amazing day with 7 giant tuna hook ups. Striped Bass fishing provided consistent inshore action in the summer for those less adventurous. As a result of strong conservation measures we are expecting more abundant fish stocks and larger bag limits and quotas for 2018 for both Tuna and Groundfish. Enjoy the video and we hope you will be part of the 2018 sport fishing video!
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