Captain's Log!  This weeks adventures updated 06/19/08
                                         
                                             Captain Satchie's ... Wells harbor Weekly

                                                             " Please scroll down for your latest  pictures and updates"

                                 
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                                               Reservations for the 2008 season began Saturday Morning March 1st. at 8am....

             JOIN US TO ENJOY A DAY ABOARD OUR "VERY POPULAR"  FAIR WEATHER  FISHERMAN'S OFFSHORE TRIPS..


          


                                                                                                        

     " Fair weather fishermen club" offshore trips for individual anglers..  Available every Friday and most Mondays.. Throughout the season!  Our 10 hour offshore trips depart @7:30 -5:30..  Please Call Satch  @ (207) 337-0800 if your interested in making a reservation.
                               
                     We fish every day during the season..The "India Marie" is avaliable to fish all other days for 6 person charters only!
  
                                                          There are just 6 persons maximum on the "India Marie" at all times!


 The Gath IV also offers four and six hour inshore fishing trips for individual anglers every day from Memorial day through Labor day!

 


                                                                                                                                                            Best Capt Satch.....


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 Week ending 6/19/08.. Very lucky and busier than ever... Just a few moments to update a some highlights from the last ten days.Even in these uncertain econimic times our crew has been busier than ever taking our super friends and guests fishing and we really appreciate your goodwill and support.  So much so, that I haven't had time to properly update the web-site. This week USCG has also fully approved the New Gath IV to take begin taking ten guests, we are just waiting on our final documentation paperwork. Keith,Whit and the Bobinator have been working double shifts installing the new head and all the other added comforts on the new boat.

On the fishing front the action has been very good on almost all our trips. Inshore there are more mackerel than I've seen in over 20 years. Folks are catching bucketfuls off Gath and India, as well as the local jetties and docks. It's truly a blast for the kids. The stripers have been a little slow in coming this June probably due to the great influx of these mackerel,there are just so many they big fish seem full,and have a lot of bait to choose from. But we are setting up for some slam bam action in the next few weeks.
 
  Whits very first striper landed on the new Gath IV was this  41.75 inch, 32 pound Maine state trophy landed by Dave Willis (NH). "Left" Dave was kind enough to release his fish unharmed. Jamie Bennet (MA) also released The Gath IV's second trophy striper of the 2008 season. Jamie's Maine state trophy was 40.75 inches long and weighed in at 31 pounds.  Capt.Whit didn't get a picture due to the rainy conditions. Anyway thanks to these two conservation minded anglers for releasing these two breeders for future generations.


                                           


Pictured on the right is Grampy D's, 12 year old grandson Andrew Park (NJ). Andrew on his first ever offshore trip landed our largest cod of the new season a Maine state trophy 43 pounder. Andrew also was caring enough to release his cod back to the ocean unharmed after this picture was taken. Andrew edged out his twin brother Shane who fished hard all day and landing a nice 13 pounder.

Offshore the weather and the fishing have also been very good on almost all this weeks trips. We had the best weather and some of the best offshore fishing on last weekends seasonal overnight trip.' Left" Tom P. helps Mackerel Bob Engvold climb into his futuristic sleeping accommodations Friday night on India's back deck. "Right Bob Posner (NH) with his 18 pound Cod. Bob's buddie Brian actually won the pool with a nice 19 pounder. A great ime was had by all, but we sure missed the fun we usually have with Bob's little brother "CH Engvold" who was busy selling cup holders in China.

                 


A couple other notable trophies landed last week include a tie for the largest haddock ever landed on the India Marie. Linda Paul (ME) with her 11 pound trophy haddock is shown on the left. Seth Havens "Oceanview Campsite" largest cod of his career is shown on the right. Seth's Maine state trophy weighed in at 27.5 pounds.Congratulations and thanks to all !

 

                                        

 
  Week ending 6/03/08... Our great guests... It's easy to remember why my crew works so hard to get the boats ready every spring. After months of preparation the return of our kind and considerate friends and guests remind us of why we enjoy our jobs as much as we do.

  Despite the prayers of my new friend Rev.Tom Gregg (NY),Wednesday's Butch Anderson's charter produced less fish than any trip in the last three years. Mike Towner (NY) won the pool with a 10 pound cod but there where very few other notable fish caught. Even with the slow fishing our newest crew was very understanding and we had a lot of fun on a beautiful day offshore. But by God, we  managed to change our luck with the return of my good friends from Connecticut the following day.We managed to land a slew of nice cod, pollock and haddock. Thanks to the "Riddick Family" I was able to regain my fishing confidence. Walter "Irving" (left) landed the largest cod of the day a 17.25 pounder only to be beaten for the pool by Rev.Guy Riddick's 20 pound spring pollock. We had a wonderful trip. "Doc" James Gatling enjoyed his furthest trip offshore landing an 11 pound pollock and some nice cod while taking in the fin back whale show. Norm Andrews was easily high hook landing nice keeper cod fairly steadily once Keith got the right colors on his rig. Guy his dad Jerry and I (Right) with a matched pair of nice pollock. We're really blessed to have such fine families fishing with us.
        
                                     


On the "Baisley Boys" (NY) offshore trip the good fishing continued, the newest member of the group Rob Buzzeo used his beginners luck to catch all the big ones just before they bit on to poor Clay Blackburn's hook who was fishing right beside him. Buzz landed a half dozen fish over 10 pounds including this nice 15 pound cod (left), and the largest pollock of the year a 24 pounder which won him both boat pools. George Delahey (NY) had a blast and thoroughly enjoyed his day off fishing off the pulpit.He must be one hell of a worker to keep up with ol' Ed Baisely whose up a to dawn ready to cut any tree that dares to cross his path. George (right) with one of his 14 plus pound pollock.Ed landed three nice keeper haddock. Anyway we all had a great time and I sincerely thank you for your good will.
 Also thanks to the folks who understood our desire to reschedule the rough weather trips this weekend. I'm fairly certain your confidence in our decision will make your next outing a more enjoyable one.


                                    

 
 Week ending 5/26/07..Memorial day weekend. A moment to remember all the caring men and women who sacrificed so much for us to have the freedom our grandchildren enjoy today. Wells Harbor came alive Friday with so many of our returning guests arriving for the first time to fish with us for the 2008 season.  Our good friends Bear and Pam Both (NY) brought his dad Tom and Elana for their first trip aboard the Gath IV, one of our very 1st guests Al Maynes (MA), joined Al Timms (MA),and Dennis Cassidy and his dad Clyde on Gath's Saturday morning outing. Tom (left) landed our very first sculpin of the new season, as apprentice mate Nick Corbett spends his first day aboard learning the ropes..so to speak, doesn't seem that long ago that I was learning to tie a few lines and sharpen a knife or two... Hey Dwight!



                             
                    
  We had three good days of offshore fishing this weekend. While we really didn't slam the fish at any one spot just about everyone caught a few really nice fish. On Friday Doug Maning's (VT) little brother Shane landed the largest cod of his career a 13 pounder. Frank J. Davis (ME) hung on to win the pool with a 14.5 pounder. On Saturday's Ron Legault (VT) charter John Audette won the pool with this nice 15.5 pound cod, shown on the left with his dad Mike. John also landed our 1st trophy haddock of the new season. On Monday's Don Rush Charter (CT), one of Don's newest guests "Army Mike" won the pool with our largest pollock of the season a 22 pounder, the largest pollock we've ever landed in May. Mike also landed a nice 12 pound wolfish,just two pounds heavier than Keith's 10 pounder landed just minutes before. On Monday morning I wondered if I did the right thing canceling Monday's John Manser's offshore charter but by noon time I was sure we my hunch was right as the wind blew up out of the southwest at over 30 knots creating a 3 foot chop in Wells Harbor with breakers crashing across the jetty mouth .Hopefully we'll get a few good days in this week ...stay tuned.


                                   

Week ending 5/20/06..Off to a strong start... We had a couple of very enjoyable offshore trips this week with two great crews. On Sunday we experienced very good fishing with Greg Perham and his crew from Vermont. After a fairly long ride with one or two slow stops we were able to find large schools of herring and krill and some nice schools of cod actively feeding. We caught fish steadily throughout the afternoon. Even though we had to throw back a number of 23.75 inchers "Just a 1/4 inch shy of keeper size" Right Paul! ....... We easily landed the largest amount of good size keepers so far this season. Matt Halliday "VT" (left) won the pool with this 15 pounder, just about everyone else landed cod in the 8 to 10 pound range. Greg landed our first haddock of the new season.

 On yesterdays trip we hosted the Jerry Riddick family "CT. Jerry is one of the nicest folks we take and it's always a real pleasure and a lot of fun to have him and his crew aboard. It was a chilly day with a steady breeze that kept us all bundled up as the wind blew across the 49 degree water.Despite finding more schools of fish than I've seen on any other trip this season the catching was slow. We just  had a hard time enticing them to bite.Tracy Banks "CT" won the pool with our largest cod of the new season an 18.5 pounder (right). We landed a few more nice keepers and a few reds, but it was a slow day overall for a crew that works hard at it.

Our offshore trips are completely booked over Memorial day weekend with the exception of the one spot on Friday that has just opened up. India is certainly ready for action and the weather report is good, so hopefully Tuesday's update will be worth watching.. I've been forced to raise the "10 hour offshore charter price" by $25 dollars to $950 on any future reservations. I would rather do this and have our guests know the upfront cost rather than having a fuel surcharge. But as you well know fuel costs especially diesel are just outrageous. Hopefully folks will rise up and vote to take a little anti-trust action to break up the oil monopoly this fall.



                                    
 
Meanwhile Whit and the Bobinator are very busy working with USCG chief warrant officer Richard Smith on the Gath IV's certification and inspection for the 2008 season. Much of the work is paperwork, documentation, transferring fishing permits, radio operators licenses, upgrading captains licenses, crew drug tests, registering emergency equipment, reinspecting fire extinguishers and life rafts ect. Bobinator spent yesterday doing fiberglass work, installing a watertight crash bulkhead in the forward compartment. Kieth is spending his day off today building a new head facility which should rival the  "India Marie's" cleanest most comfy head in the state.

Gath IV will be operating as a six person only vessel over Memorial day weekend. Whit also has room for one guest on Saturday's 4 hr morning striper trip. There are still plenty of openings on Sunday and Monday inshore trips. Because of our latest upgrade with the new 4 cylinder John Deere engine, we have not had to raise our prices on our inshore trips, so it's still a very good value for your families vacation dollar this summer... Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Please remember not to use e-mail, I do not have time to look at when I'm fishing every day. Please call Beth or I with any questions or reservations (207) 337-0800..


Week ending 5/17/06.. A new boat in Wells harbor... We officially began our 2008 fishing season yesterday with "India" making her first offshore trip of the new year, and "Gath IV" making her first ever debut inshore trip with Captain Whit at the helm.

                                                      

                                      Bass Harbor Head light, Mt Desert Island Me. 5:30 AM 5/11/08 (Photo Captain Whit McMahon)


 It was a very busy week for my crew. Last Friday May 10th, Captain Whit, Keith, Frank Davis and I launched the new "Gath IV" in Southwest Harbor on Mt Desert Island and prepared her for the 127 mile ride home to Wells. It was a very windy, cold afternoon and we decided to stay safely secured to the town dock for the night. We all spent a cold night on board waiting for the north wind to subside. Dawn broke @ 4:15 and it was a crisp 39 degrees as Frank climbed out of his sleeping bag. The wind was still a brisk 15 to 17 knots out of the north with high overhead clouds but it was time to make a run of it. By 5 am, Whit, Keith and I shoved off, sailed pass the Hinkley yacht yard and around Bass harbor light house while Frank, our new shore captain, drove the truck to the half way mark at "Port Clyde" to await us at our refueling stop. We sailed the entire inside passage so that the strong northerly winds would least effect us. North of Swan Island, pass the sleepy village of Stonington, then north of the island of Vinalhaven, through the Fox Island thouroughfare.By 8:30 we pulled into the  a small dock at North Haven Island that advertised fuel and general merchandise for a cup of coffee. We found  the village still in winter slumber with only one nice lady who was very surprised to see us and no coffee ready for guests. By 11 am we had crossed Pennobscott Bay, passed Owl's Head and Tennants Harbor and arrived at Port Clyde the half way mark to find Frank,Val and the Bobinator waiting for us at the general store. Keith finally got his morning coffee, we fueled up added Bob to the crew and after a quick 20 minute stop headed past Friendship on the last leg of our journey to Wells Harbor. All systems ran flawlessly and we rode the big swells across Casco Bay with the wind at our back. We arrived in Wells at 6:37 PM where the entire family welcomed us home from our successful journey. Many thanks to all who helped.

 

                 


 Captain Whit at the helm steering past Isle Au Haut while a chilly Keith awaits his coffee. Gath IV and India along side the dock in Wells preparing for our first fishing day of the 2008 season. We had a successful 1st day yesterday with both crews sincerley enjoying themselves even though the fishing was slow both inshore and offshore. Captain Whit and Bob took good ole "Doc Tom Collins" (Sanford) and his family. It was a bachelor party for Mike Tecci who won the pool with a 16 inch mackeral. On our offshore trip Keith and I hosted the Frank Hughes/Greg Gallagher annual spring charter. Greg won the pool with our first cusk of the new season. Despite a great effort I found the water cold and fishing slow. We also landed about a half dozen cod, a handful of redfish and a herring. Frank's son Conner is showm below with ur first offical cod of the season. Better fishing days are coming soon, we did see good amount of krill and alot of very small mackerel moving into our area. The Gath IV on her maiden trip with Doc Collins.