5/10 - Happy Mother's Day! Boat is in!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful women who have loved and cared for us dudes since the beginning of time. We were fortunate up here to have a beautiful day to help show our appreciation for all the moms out there. 

Mother's Day is also special for another reason, it usually sets the stage for the beginning of our striped bass season up here on the Merrimac River. I took my Mom and Dad out today to scout around for the seasons first stripers! We went to all the usual jaunts from just out front of the beaches all the way up the river. Not much was going on striper wise, but the bait - sand eels and herring - were abundant and were getting assaulted aerially by birds and by seals from below. 

It's still a few days early (My first stripers last season were on May 17th, May 15th in 2013, and May 20th in 2012. The difference between last year and this year is the water temps! Even after a record winter in the snow and cold department, the temperatures are higher now than at this time last year. Out on the beach front I was reading 53 degrees which is prime striper temps and up to 65 degree in the river! The magic number we look for is 50 degrees as it is the optimal signal for striper arrival. To put in perspective, we had mid to high 40 degree temps in June last year. The Cape has had a recent blast of schoolies move through and I'm hearing they are reaching Boston Harbor and points north within the past 2 days. I believe we will start seeing our first batch of fish sometime during the week, with things picking up over the weekend. 

We have had a very, very good wind pattern to set up our early season with a sustained blow coming from the south. I believe last years constant North/Northwest spring winds is what led to abnormally slow start to the fishing season for many up and down the coast. I really believe last year was abnormal and things should be back to where it usually is for 2015! 

Lastly, for those people who like a nice June Morning charter trip, I still have some PRIME dates open; Particularly, June 6th, June 20th, and June 21st (Fathers Day!). If you are reading this and are interested in a Newburyport fishing charter I would grab these dates by clicking here.

I will be fishing hard in the afternoons this upcoming week to land the first striper of the year! Stay tuned!

Tight Lines, 

Capt. Chris Valaskatgis

A Few Weeks Away

The boat is all cleaned, waxed, and almost ready to roll. This last week we finally installed our new trolling motor set up and will be installing the autopilot next week. I can't wait to try out the new toys! They will certainly put us on even more stripers on your Newburyport fishing charter! Fresh schoolies are making their way up the coast with most recent reports coming from Rhode Island! The water temp has steadily rose from 40 degree to 46 in a matter of 8 days. Another 4 degrees and we will be ready to to start targeting stripers for 2015! The herring run in the Parker River has been strong and things are shaping up right for us to be on fish by the first or second week of May. For you light tackle striper enthusiasts, keep an out here, Facebook, and Instagram for up to date Newburyport fishing reports and come aboard for an afterwork special when the fishing is hot!

On Saturday May 2, I will be giving an hour long presentation on fishing for Merrimack River Stripers at the Phoenix Room in Newburyport. Unfortunately, this is limited to 100 people and only available to members who belong to Newburyport Harbor Marinas, which some of you are! So if you're around please stop in and say hi and check it out as I expose roughly 83% of my secrets! 

Manolin Charters will be targeting the schoolies and even bigger fish for the early run of Merrimack River stripers this year with an assortment of Gibbs Lures. We recently picked up Gibbs as a sponsor and will continue to fish these awesome, classic wooden plugs to score some nice fish! Gibbs has a long history with northeast striper fishermen and have built many famous plugs that have been copied but never replicated. Add to the fact they outfit their lures with high quality components and paint jobs, these lures will catch and land the baddest of all fish, even tuna! 

We have also picked another sponsor VSN who makes the V.360 camera! This thing is super cool as it films a 360 picture you can scroll through (Click their image on the right bar to check out their website!). I already have outfitted the boat with multiple mounts to provide clients with the highest quality video to share with your friends and family. VSN is a relatively new company that will compete with the GoPro brining on a fresh, new idea to the world of action camera. You guys are going to love what this product puts out. 

Over the winter, I had been selected as the Secretary of the Northeast Charterboat Captains Association. Our next meeting is in May to cap off the 2014 - 2015 meetings. Our next meeting will be held in September and open to the public. We had some great speakers the past few months from local Plum Island surfcasting guide Steve Gallant to our member Mauro DiBacco from "Wicked Tuna!" If you are not a captain, you can join for $25 as an associate member and reap all the benefits by joining the association.

Manolin Charters has also created a new Instagram account. You can follow us @ manolin_charters. We are slowly building an audience, but will be adding way more real time photos as the season progress. If you have an account please follow, like, share, and comment on our photos!

Gear wise this year we upgraded our light tackle/spinning outfits with brand new Fin Nor Lethal 40's and 20 pound Power Pro Superslick line. We will also be adding two Shimano Baitrunner spinning set ups to fish live bait as some people feel more comfortable with a spinning rod! Not to be outdone, all our conventional outfits are now upgraded to a full set of Shimano Teremar rods of the highest quality.

I still have some weekends open in June. If you are looking to get out with friends, family, or coworkers June is typically a fantastic month! Get the date YOU want now for a Merrimack River Charter before things fill up. 

On the offshore note, I'm pretty excited to have 6 sharking trips already booked including the Newburyport Shark/Tuna Tournament in August. It's the 2nd year of the tournament and I had to miss last year's tourney due to football obligations. This year, I will be there and I couldn't be more excited to have a local big game tournament. I have fished tournaments before in Long Island and the Cape and its super, super fun! 

Come back here every now and again and check out real reports of when our buddies start showing up! The water temp is on the cusp and any day those stripers will catch up to the herring that are already here!

Tight Lines, 

Capt. Chris Valaskatgis

NCCA Fishing Flea Market THIS SATURDAY April 4 in Newbury, MA

This Saturday from 7:00 - 11:00 in the annual Northeast Charterboat Captain Association Flea Market at the Newbury Fire Station in Newbury, MA. There will be all kinds of gear new and used from fresh to salt, The prices are great and there are some really cool raffle prizes.  I will be there all day at my table with a ton of stuff (mostly rods) that were either lightly or never used. Come check it out, buy some stuff cheap, and hang out for a bit!

http://www.northeastcharterboatcaptainsassociation.com/flea-market.html

With the nice weather this weekend, I'm getting under the shrink wrap and reconfiguring my battery sitatuation to handle the new trolling motor apperatus. I'm getting very antsy!

41 more days till the marinas open!

Tight Lines, 

Capt. Chris

88 More Days till the Marina Opens!

So just like most of you I just finished dealing with more snow yet again! Sure makes the time from May 15th till late October all that more special. I'm hitting the wall hard with all this winter stuff and all I can think about is getting back on the Merrimack River and catching stripers!

Despite the weather, I have been using my time indoors this past weekend productively by giving the website a little facelift! I'm really happy with the new layout and design. It is more streamlined and updated than in the past. The mobile app is pretty slick to go along with it, making it much easier to search and contact me. I updated the pic section with pictures from last season along with some oldies, but goodies. As always, if you have Facebook it's best to check out the Manolin Charters Page during the season to look at pictures super up to date fishing reports. The season can be hectic;  it's MUCH easier for me to upload them there: in real time! Please feel free to like our page and follow along with us! 

Another great feature of the website is the ANNOUNCEMENT BAR across the top of the page. Look for special pricing, openings, and updates throughout the season. Next snow storm we get maybe I'll have a discounted price offer if you book that day! It will list any fishing tournaments we may be participating in, last minute openings, and hot bite reports!

As my returning customers know, I am a middle school teacher and this snow is having an affect on my June availability as well. As of now, I am in school until the 25th of June, which means if your looking to book an early morning trip, grab a weekend date EARLY. I get a rush of bookings in early May. You must not forget the mid week afternoon Striper Charter June Specials! That time of year and that time of day is my favorite fishing of the season. Less crowds and hungry stripers! Plus a little discount on your trip! What's also great about these trips is the opportunity for you guys who like tossing plugs around Joppa Flats. I have saved up some personal days as well, but those are very limited. I have availability to take 3 trips during the week between June 1 - June 23 (Have to be in school the last two days! Sorry guys!) 

I'm excited for the upcoming season and once this snow clears, we will be adding two big improvements to the "Mary Jocelyn" - auto pilot and an electric trolling motor. These two additions will make us even more versatile, especially in our live bait trolling and light tackle casting applications.

Stay safe in the snow everyone and just remember spring striper fishing in Newburyport is right around the corner!

Tight Lines,

Capt. Chris 

12/14 - End of 2014 Season Report

Been a long while since I have posted a report up here. The fishing had remained solid since our last report at the end of July. We ran a lot of charters since then, but it was back to football and teaching with some fishing on the weekends. Now we are into the winter doldrums and I am already missing he boat as I look at it's looking lonely wrapped up in the yard. So many things to talk discuss about this past season. The general outlook was that it pretty slow all the way up and down the coast, with the exception of a few weeks of good fishing here and there. However, we made the best of it and did some really cool fishing. The numbers weren't fantastic, but we got onto some really nice stripers this year!

Family Fishing on Manolin Charters

Before I lead on with the report, I want to thank every customer that came out on Manolin Charters this year. In our second year of operation, we surpassed my year 4 goal of charters run! In fact, we had doubled the number of trips from year 1! Many repeat customers and a bunch from word of mouth, with the website gaining a little traction as well. We are very proud of operation and very lucky to have been able to host so many wonderful people from all various demographics. Thank you so much for coming out with us! The business is really about you and your experience. I feel like I have made a bunch of new friends over the past two years, and there is still nothing better than watching a kid nail their first keeper striper!

Now on to the fishing! 

Early Season Stripers are fun on light tackle and fly rods!

The early season started about two weeks later than the previous 3 seasons, which had been abnormally early to begin with. The middle of May we started up river catching micro bass on plugs, plastics, and even on the fly! The past few years we hadn't seen these micros in the spring. These fish were a blast on appropriate light tackle. It's always to spend 2 hours from dock to dock and catch 20 + fish. The amount of smaller fish was incredibly encouraging because this fish were from the record high 2011 YOY class in the Chesapeake Bay (spawning grounds) that safely made their way in our river system. Although it will take a few years for these stripers to become of legal size, the future looks very bright!

If using light tackle, casting lures, fly fishing for non stop action is your thing, please contact my in mid to late May to have a special 3 hrs afternoon schoolie charter at a discounted rate. It's super fun as these fish are hungry and we fish different areas then we do the rest of the season. It's a good way to get into the mindset that fishing season is upon us

First Keeper of 2014 Caught on a Live Mackerel in the Merrimack River

A few weeks later, we started making bait out at the usual early season spots. With that came the bigger bass. We caught our first keepers on 5/24. But as was the pattern that continued all throughout the summer, the changing wind patterns and constant cold fronts made it extremely difficult to pattern and get on these fish. 

June started and we are in generally prime striper month! We had fish around, but the numbers were not like they should be. It seemed like every trip we would have frontal conditions that would shut down the bite for a few days. Everyone was struggling, but we were managing a 6-8 fish a day with 3 or so keepers in the mix. One trip we had 15 keepers and another 8 shorts on top of it. 

Big Day for the guys from Maine - Limited out in 2 drifts!

First 40 inch bass of the year!

At this point in June, it was evident the bigger bass were WAY up river still gorging on the massive amount of herring than came up through the spring. It was a waiting game until the fish dropped back. And when they did it was an epic two days of fishing! Then, another cold front!

Having fun with schoolies just before "Organized Chaos!"

With June in the books, things started picking up a bit more. Mackerel fishing remained outstanding. A complete reverse from 2013 when we had massive amounts of stripers, but were always on the move for mackerel we now could get the macks in a manner of minutes, but had to find something to feed them too. 

As July progressed, the same pattern would emerge: Catch 12 keepers one day, 4 the next, and then struggle to get a bit on the third. Repeat. Super frustrating. On off days I was fishing solo from 5 AM till 7 PM most days trying everything I could think of to get on a quality pile of fish. All that worked paid off in mid July. 

Big 40# bass -- The longest of the season at 52" caught live lining a monster mackerel

Mid July brought some of the most epic bites of big fish I have ever witnessed. Our tactics had to adapt and change with the situation that presented itself. We had some banner days, landed 7 fish over 40 pounds, had one day with 35+ keepers and another 20 or so just short stripers. This saved our season and part of the reason for the lack of reports during this time, as we were being a little sneaky! It really opened my eyes about a few things that just made complete sense and now have another tool in the tool box!

August was August. Some good days, not as hot as July, but action to be had. We did a shark trip, which was sweet as I hadn't sharked much at all this past season, and caught some nice blue dogs and got to see some whales and porpoises while we were out there. 

Football started up for me and I did a few more trips on the weekends. We had two days of catching bluefish on Labor Day weekend, all on top water and trolling! This was fantastic as we barely had any bluefish in 2013. However, this again was short lived as we caught 15 blues one day, then 7, then 4, then 2, then 1. Argh!! I caught them from the mouth to 12 miles south to 8 miles east to off the coast of New Hampshire. Those bastards can swim!

Didn't do much tuna fishing. I think I went once or twice when I had the time. I missed a big bite on Southern Jeffries due to a few weddings I was a part of (Seriously guys, getting married in October during football and prime tuna season? So selfish!) and couldn't get out there. 

So to sum it up:  Not our typical year, in fact probably one of the worst on record in terms of keeper bass. However, let's talk about the positives that happened:

• Bait was fantastic - Mackerel, Herring, Pogies, Sandeels, Whiting, all were in abundance the entire season
• Big Girls Showed Up - The slow fishing led to re-evaluation of the conditions and brought us to some of the most epic fishing I have been apart of for about 6 weeks
• The new boat is the real deal - Loved every minute I spent on it! So much more room for customers and designed perfectly for how I like to fish
• The Life - Seals, whales just of the beach and offshore, dolphins, etc...
• Bluefish made an appearance 
• Micro bass and schoolie stripers - The previous years it seemed I would only get a handful of fish under 28 inches and it had me worried about the future. With the micro bass making a return and the amount of 22 - 26 inch fish was the widest range of distribution I have seen in a while. The numbers were solid from this aspect and should lead to a productive future.
• Being with friends and family all summer long catching fish!

I'll be reporting over the winter announcing our big winner for biggest fish of the year as well as fishing related blogs dealing with the new limits on stripers, a gear guide/review, and some other neat stuff!

Tight Lines, 

Last striper of the year! A 35 inch bass on top water almost exactly where I caught my first of the year!

Capt. Chris

7/22 - Big Fish in the Merrimack River Report!

Striper fishing has been stellar the past two weeks. The quality has been outstanding! Lots of HUMONGOUS stripers around. Since 7/11  (ironically the day after my last Merrimack River fishing report) we have been hammering slobs! In the past 7 trips, we have boated 4 fish over 40 POUNDS! With around 10 - 12 in the 25+ range (over 40 inches). Some days we put a hurting on them (Monday the 14th we got over 35 keepers!), other days it had been a steady pick of 30 - 45 inch bass.  Everyday it seems we are bending rods with schoolies to keep up busy while we wait for Momma. It still going on today as Madison (With a little help from Dad, Lee!) picked up a fatty! Just at 45 inches, but weighed in at 42 Pounds! It was so fat! She didn't even bother to take pictures of her other two keepers.

Madison with her relatively short and stocky 40# striper caught in the Merrimack River on 7/22/14

Earlier in the week, Justin an accomplished fisherman caught his Personal Best at 43 inches and 30 pounds while on a solo charter fishing trip with Manolin Charters out of the Merrimack River

Justin with a Striper caught on Manolin Charters in Merrimack River on 7/14/14

Me with the two biggest from Monday 7/21/14, both cleared 40 inches prepping for Tuesday's fishing charter

My 4th biggest striper ever at 48 pounds, caught out of Newburyport on 7/11/14

I even got in the action a couple days and took home a 48 and 45 pounder, while releasing a bunch more for you guys! Another day I got a 31# and a nice 24 # to go along with plenty of fish over 34"! Not a bad day for a Charter boat Captain on his day off!

Craig's group got in with some action and 3 nice keeper stripers and a bunch of shorts despite the wind cranking on us during their striped bass charter in Newburyport.

Craig's group with 3 nice 30 - 33 inch keepers despite tough conditions to go along with a bunch of schoolies to go along with "Fred" the biggest mackerel I have ever seen

Sorry some of the pics are kind of lame. I have a ton more of other charter trips and of other stripers. There are better ones on my phone and clients phones, but I don't want the spots I am fishing in the background! Once people see which houses/dunes/lobster pots/water towers/alien spacecraft are in the background, they'll litter it up!

Get out here now!!!!!!!!

7/10 Merrimack River Striper Fishing - Up and Down

Sorry for such a long gap in fishing reports. Have been super busy with a lots of time on the water the past couple weeks. Fishing right now has remained consistently inconsistent. We have been getting decent sized keepers and more schoolies than I can remember. Certainly have't been setting the world on fire, but decent fishing none the less. While mackerel fishing remains excellent, the stripers have been on here today gone tomorrow type of pattern; not what you expect to hear from me, but the truth.

The Joubert family with a sweet 35 inch Striper caught trolling live mackerel

Lindsey with a nice Merrimack Striper on Manolin Charters

Friday the 27th, Michelle Joubert's charter led us to some nice fish including a 35 inch striper for her daughter Lindsey! The fishing inside the Merrimack River over the weekend remained consistent with about 5 keepers being the norm. 

Billy with one of a dozen stripers caught on a Merrimack River Charter

Monday morning the 30th, was an epic tide. The bigger fish dropped back from upriver finally and everyone thought it was game on from there. The afternoon tide also provided a good bite for Kevin Donahue's charter with plenty of action. The fish I filleted for the crew were stuffed with adult herring, which was an excellent sign. 

Wednesday,  i had Adam Joffre and his friend Danielle aboard and we fished the turn of the incoming tide and landed a few schoolies and a couple keepers. Danielle had a PIG on her line early in the trip, but in true Merrimack River form, some dude ran her line over! ARGH! 

Danielle smoked them with 4 fish including this keeper. She lost a monster when someone ran over her line!

Tim with a nice 33 inch Striper caught live lining mackerel on Manolin Charters!

The next few days remained pretty decent. I took a few days off the water to readjust during the 4th. Was back at it Sunday with Andy Decola's Half Day Charter in Newburyport where we nailed 11 keepers and a bunch of shorts all through out the tide. Again, it started to look like it was about to open up!

Julia with a 34 inch Striper caught on July 6th in front of Newburyport!

Monday, I went out solo and it had slowed down dramatically since the day before. I landed 4 nice fish in the 33 inch range and lost what was probably going to be the biggest fish of the year to a pulled hook! I couldn't stop this thing! Seriously...

The past 2 trips have been difficult for everybody. I think it may have to do with the full moon. Tuesday, Kevin and his boys came out again and it shut right off. They never gave up and fished hard, had a few non aggressive hits, and got a schoolie or two to the boat.

Wednesday was especially tough. A little more challenging to get bait, but we still loaded up the well. Steve LeBlanc and his crew hung tough and got a couple schoolies and a keeper with a few more bites mixed in. Of course, I forgot to take a pic of the keeper at the docks!

Looking forward to this weekend as we fall off the full moon. Going on the first shark trip of the year on soon. Reports from the tuna guys are that they have been getting some big blue sharks Will report back!

To sum it up, you just have to get out there and fish. It has been unpredictable for sure, but the days we have hit have been excellent and there have been some big fish around!

Tight Lines, 

Capt. Chris

6/25 Weekly Report

Matt and Grandfather Brian with their first ever striper! Caught while drift the mouth of the Merrimack River aboard Manolin Charters!

The past week has been a tough one all the way around. Things were looking good on Thursday 6/19 as we got 5 keepers and plenty of shorts. Then, the wind started to blow hard from the NW shutting down the bite again. Friday and Saturday we landed 3 keepers each trip with a dozen or so shorts mixed in including our first 40 incher of the year. Sunday i explored some areas and caught a few keepers. Monday was tough to find the bigger fish but had some action with a bunch of 26 inch fish including 2 keepers. Tuesday we again had to deal with the wind machine making for very tough conditions and we only got 2 schoolies. Pretty much the same type of action around the fleet as well. 

Nick here with a nice 40 inch Striper caught on Manolin Charters in the Merrimack River

Girls can fish too! Especially Maria here with a nice Keeper Striper caught out of Newburyport, MA 6/21/2014

This weekend is lining up to be beautiful and the water temp finally broke 60 yesterday. I have trips Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday with Saturday and Sunday wide open for anyone who wants to catch some fish on what is shaping up to be a beautiful weekend!

Tight Lines,

Capt. Chris Valaskatgis