NH

[vikesdad]

Anybody have experience with any New Hampshire party boats ? I am thinking about driving up there next week to try redfishing as well as capitalizing on the haddock open this weekend. Seems like they fish in 200 ft of water so it looks like I just have to bring the offshore sea bass tackle. Any thoughts on rigging ? do I need to bring a specific bait they might not provide ?

any help would be great..Just looking to thoughts if it is worth it to make the haul all the way up there or should I stick closer to home and roll the dice that the stripers flip the switch before Monday/Tuesday

[MVP]

Eastmans runs a great operation up there
I would give them a call

[vikesdad]

Thats where i was thinking but didnt know if it was a tourist type place . Didnt know if we d run for 2 hrs fish for 10
Mins and run home for 2 hrs. Not going to drive the car 5 hrs to get aggravated. I could do that closer to home !

[howarda780]

You will be going 2 hours. For Redfish they live in 400' so its a haul.

Haddock is closer and a lot shallower. Im guessing 50-80.

[toller]

Sorry I can't help you with the fishing, but the Tuna Striker Pub, which is at the dock next to Eastman's, is a good place to get a bite and a beer. Also, remember to take advantage of NH cheap liquor prices:D. There a state store nearby. Looking forward to hearing about your catch. I'll be up there in June and was thinking of doing some fishing with them also. Best of luck.

[tautog]

Eastman's is good. You will get at least 4 hours of fishing time. Bring 12-20oz sinkers.

[vikesdad]

Thanks for the help. Similar set up as sea bassin ?

[tautog]

Haddock have a soft mouth so I actually like 6/0 circles because you either hook them solidly or they come off in two cranks and you can drop back down. The bait seems to stay on better and you don't usually lose them when you swing them into the boat. Otherwise 5/0 octapus is good.

[MohawkJD]

Eastman's is as good as it gets. Other good boats across the bridge in Hampton Beach are good too. Call and have spot reserved before you go. These trips sell out and you can get turned away if you're not on the list. Haddock opens this week, so that will be the targeted fish. They might look for reds if haddock is slow. High-low rig, haddock are down low. 5/0 or 6/0 C or J hook. It'll be 16 oz with the full boat, but could be 20oz. 175-225', no more than 250. They usually use the same rigs for reds, but you can go 3 hooks. Jigs work, but bait is better. You can bring clams from NJ, sometimes their bait isn't so great. Jigs if pollack are around, but they could attract the green dogs (cod).

[vikesdad]

Thanks for the advice

[jigmup]

as previous posts, Eastman's in NH and also Newburyport, Ma has some PB as there used to be good operation on New Englander

[vikesdad]

Wound up driving up to fish yday on the Eastman Fleet. Called ahead and made reservation. Couldnt have been easier, got up there at 4:30a, checked in at the ticket office, put rods on the boat and had breakfast right there. Nice boat (Lady Marilee Ann ) , very good mates and good crowd. Although they said it was "sold out", the boat didnt feel packed. Fishing was excellent, keeping not so much so. I probably had 20 pollack ( 1 keeper and 19 shorts), 30 haddock ( 7 keepers and 23 shorts ) and 5 redfish. There were piles of small fish to keep the rod bent. Only issue I had was that he dropped on a motherload of redfish where the action was hot, only to pull off the piece after 15 mins because guys were getting hung up. Would have been nice to fill the cooler up a bit more. I will definitely be back, next time I would try one of the "marathon" trips just to stretch the day out a bit more. It seems like the Spring/Fall are the times to hit the fleet, many of the regulars complain that they cater too much to the tourist crowd in the Summer. Think next time I would try to find a hotel up there and try one of the many Lobster shacks I saw on the way to the boat

[vikesdad]

BTW - grabbed 1/2 bushel on NJ clams to bring up. There was no difference in production. Clams that were provided were very good.

Left dock at 6:59a was back to dock around 3:30 - 3:45p..decent trip for $63

[MrAC1980]

I'm supposed to be going this Friday, but it looks like a blow out. I too am considering doing a Monday marathon trip. I'll PM you a non sponsor charter that I recommend too.

[chenju]

fishing on eastman 6 pack on Sunday. limited haddock and 40 red. good day

[tautog]

Up there, they will pull away from redfish and pollack if there is a haddock bite. They are also not as used to loosing gear as we are as they mostly fish open bottom.

[stevelikes2fish]

I'm supposed to be going this Friday, but it looks like a blow out. I too am considering doing a Monday marathon trip. I'll PM you a non sponsor charter that I recommend too.

Call me

[MohawkJD]

I'm supposed to be going this Friday, but it looks like a blow out. I too am considering doing a Monday marathon trip. I'll PM you a non sponsor charter that I recommend too.
Friday's trip is cancelled.

[MrAC1980]

Wait 6 months only to get blown out! :mad::mad::mad:

I'm on for Monday with a non-sponsor. Hope we load up on Haddock and also make a few drops for reds!

[Madcrab]

Wound up driving up to fish yday on the Eastman Fleet. Called ahead and made reservation. Couldnt have been easier, got up there at 4:30a, checked in at the ticket office, put rods on the boat and had breakfast right there. Nice boat (Lady Marilee Ann ) , very good mates and good crowd. Although they said it was "sold out", the boat didnt feel packed. Fishing was excellent, keeping not so much so. I probably had 20 pollack ( 1 keeper and 19 shorts), 30 haddock ( 7 keepers and 23 shorts ) and 5 redfish. There were piles of small fish to keep the rod bent. Only issue I had was that he dropped on a motherload of redfish where the action was hot, only to pull off the piece after 15 mins because guys were getting hung up. Would have been nice to fill the cooler up a bit more. I will definitely be back, next time I would try one of the "marathon" trips just to stretch the day out a bit more. It seems like the Spring/Fall are the times to hit the fleet, many of the regulars complain that they cater too much to the tourist crowd in the Summer. Think next time I would try to find a hotel up there and try one of the many Lobster shacks I saw on the way to the boat

I'm planning on going on the marathon trip. Can you tell me how deep was the drop? Thanks!

[vikesdad]

we fished in about 200 feet of water. It took about 2 hrs from the dock. I used 16 oz of lead with 50 lb braid and had zero problem holding bottom. There were many small fish , I had to wait for a more legitimate hit before setting the hook.

[Madcrab]

we fished in about 200 feet of water. It took about 2 hrs from the dock. I used 16 oz of lead with 50 lb braid and had zero problem holding bottom. There were many small fish , I had to wait for a more legitimate hit before setting the hook.

Thanks for the tip!

[MrAC1980]

Another tip is they provide sinkers on the boat so you don't have to break your back carrying lead down to the boat. I usually bring one or two heavier ones just in case if the tide is ripping a bit.

[MrAC1980]

Just came back from a trip to Plymouth MA for Haddock on a NS. Fished the SE corner of Stellwagon in 85ft of water for all the drop and reel Haddock you wanted! Easy limit of quality fish by lunch time and off we went looking for other species. Ended up stopping on the mother load of cod with a few double header nice fish coming up. Unfortunately the season is closed so they all had to go back for another day. Many coming up on the jig/teaser and a few on bait.

[tautog]

How big are the haddock running this year? Mostly 18"-20" or are there some decent fish about.

[MrAC1980]

Mostly all 18"-24" fish. Limit i think was 17" but we set our own boat limit to like 20"+.


http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p279/mrac6969/Mobile%20Uploads/16268.jpeg (http://s130.photobucket.com/user/mrac6969/media/Mobile%20Uploads/16268.jpeg.html)

[stevelikes2fish]

It was a great trip with an awesome crew.