Category: REPORTS

Heather from the Black Hawk office reports that we hauled the boat this week for general maintenance- paining the bottom, waxing the hull, etc. and we’ll be ready to head out codfishing in April.

We had a great weekend in Suffern, New York at the World Fishing & Outdoor Expo. We met some great new friends and look forward to fishing with everyone this season. We’re looking forward to our next show, in Edison, New Jersey, and then our final show in Hartford in April.

As always, keep in touch with our Facebook page and website for updates. We look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Heather from the Black Hawk office reports that while we didn’t fish this week, we were still busy! We had a great seal watch on Saturday as a fundraiser for the New London Maritime Society. It was a beautiful day and we saw hundreds of seals, all while raising money for a great local organization. We do lots of these fundraisers, so if you’re looking for a way to raise funds for your organization or cause, let us know how we can help!

We were also getting ready for our next couple of sports shows. We’ll be heading to Suffern, NY, on March 1 for the Suffern World Fishing Expo. It’s always a great time and we look forward to seeing everyone there. Be sure to stop by our booth and say hello! We’ll also be heading to Edison, NJ, later in March- so we hope to see you soon!

Heather from the Black Hawk office reports that we brought the boat back home to Niantic. We’ve got a seal watch fundraiser heading out on Saturday, February 24, then we’ll haul the boat for our annual spring maintenance (paint the bottom, wax the hull, etc). We’ll be looking and keeping an eye on the codfishing, and if it improves like it did last April, we’ll head back to Stonington and get out there.

In the meantime, we’ll be heading to some more sports shows in Suffern, New York, Edison, New Jersey and Hartford, Connecticut. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone at these shows and meeting some new friends as well.

As always, you can check our website and Facebook page for updates and more info. We hope to see everyone soon!

It was a busy week for the Black Hawk! On Friday, Capt. Matt went on an exploratory mission with just the mates. They went offshore to some far away wrecks, but didn’t find that much – just a little handful of cod, some ling, and a lot of seabass that needed to be returned to the water. Then they jumped around just just trying to find something. Saturday’s trip was just a grind- one boat did pretty darn good on a far away wreck to the Southeast, but everybody else from all the boats struggled. The codfish didn’t bite where we had been fishing, west of Coxes Ledge. We had nice weather, so in another attempt to try to put something together Matt took off for a far away wreck that hadn’t been hit. We put in a lot of effort for a handful of cod fish, some ling, and again some nice seabass that we couldn’t keep.

Given the current conditions, we’re going to hold off on fishing for the next week or so until we can find some body of crowd pleasing codfish. In the meantime, we’re going to do some spring maintenance in hopes that it is going to be better in the upcoming weeks. Last April, we had a pretty good shot of ’em for a few weeks, and we’re hoping the same thing happens this year.

We were at the Hartford Boat Show this weekend, Thursday through Sunday, and had a great time seeing old friends and meeting some ones. We had Walter, our white shark, there with us and the kids loved seeing him and getting a chance to “fight like a fish”.

On Saturday, while the boat was out, the boat was out fishing, we had a crew in Hartford, and Capt. Greg was a seminar speaker at the Saltwater Sportsmen’s National Seminar Series in Bridgeport. What a busy day for the Black Hawk!

On Saturday, February 24, we’re pleased to once again be hosting a seal watch fundraiser for the New London Maritime Society. Tickets are selling out fast, so be sure to grab a spot before they’re all sold out. Check our website for details.

As usual, stay tuned to our website and to Facebook for updates and information. We look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Heather from the Black Hawk office reports that the weather kind of prevented us from fishing much this week except on Wednesday. Wednesday we we got a little break in the weather, and the fishing was pretty darn good. A lot of people were approaching their limit of cod and everybody went home with a nice bag for the fillets. The weather this weekend didn’t look good and unfortunately, although we had trips scheduled on Saturday and Sunday, we had to cancel them. It looks like the weather will cooperate on Tuesday, so we’ll be heading out from Stonington. We hope to see you there! As always, check our website and Facebook page for more info.

We’ve also got a busy weekend coming up. We’ll be at the Hartford Boat Show Thursday through Sunday, so stop by and say hello! Capt. Greg will also be at the Salt Water Sportsmen National Seminar Series on Saturday. At the boat, at the show, or at the seminar, we hope to see everyone soon!

It’s a very finicky fishery at at best, this winter codfishing, reports Capt. Matt from the Black Hawk.  These fish are spawning in relatively open bottom, and the abundant codfish love radiating in the water greatly affects their feeding habits. This Monday’s trip was one of those banner days  Flat calm weather conditions with phenomenal fishing, literally chewing the bottom of the boat out (check out our live video on Facebook).  Our entire boatload of customers had their limits including the crew and even Heidi, our dedicated galley woman- she had her limit too!  The Black Hawk left ’em biting and came in early with cod to 30 pounds.

Tuesday and Wednesday were “no-go”s, with high winds and rough seas.  Thursday we sailed once again, with breezy Northwest winds, but anticipating another lock and load day.  It didn’t happen!  We marked piles of fish on the exact same spot as Monday’s massacre, but they had lockjaw and only a handful were caught.  Friday’s trip was worse for all the boats.  Saturday and Sunday we canceled due to weather.

And so it goes on…pick your day, hopefully with decent weather and with hungry cooperating fish.  Dress appropriately and let’s get it done.

Heather reports that as usual, we’ll be sailing out of Stonington for these trips.  Reservations are required and can be made online on our website.  We are also looking forward to the Hartford Boat Show next weekend.  Stop by and see Capt. Greg, the crew, and the great white shark.  We look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Today was like codfishing back in the 80’s- fast and furious! “Drop ’em to the bottom and ya got ’em”- it couldn’t have been any better with nice size fish to 30 pounds and everyone getting their limit. With loaded coolers, tired arms and smiling customers we came in early from the battle. The weather doesn’t look great for Tuesday or Wednesday, but we’ll plan on going out Thursday and Friday, and the weekend too if weather permits. Grab your tickets online from our website or call the office for more info.

We’re keeping the boat in Stonington, and we will continue to fish as long as the weather cooperates. As always, check our website and Facebook page for updates and details.

Happy New Year from the Black Hawk!

Heather from the Black Hawk office reports that everyone is putting another log on the fire and hoping it’s going to warm up! The unusually frigid weather and harsh winds kept us tied to the dock. It did, however, give us a little bit of extra time to get ready for our winter sports shows. We hope to see everyone at our first show this weekend- we’ll be at the Garden State Outdoor Sports Show in Edison, New Jersey. Stop by and see Capt. Greg and the great white shark!

We will be posting trips for the next fishable day, so stay tuned to our website and Facebook page for updates. We hope to see everyone soon!

Capt. Greg from the Black Hawk reports, “Absolutely, without a doubt, the coldest, toughest day that we’ve ever had, probably in my career- and I used to commercial fish in the wintertime. Absolutely terrible on Friday, December 29. Bitter cold- it was hard to stay at the rail for any length of time. We did catch a few cod, a few seabass, a few scup, but it was simply unmerciful. Saturday, the following day, it was about 25 degrees out and it felt like a heatwave. Fishing was much better, mostly because people could stay at the rail. We had some nice codfish up to 15 pounds, we had some seabass, a few scup, we had a lot of ling, including some big ling, and everybody went home with a bag of fillets. We even had a haddock, which is kind of unusual in this area. A much better day than Friday.

We want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and all the best in 2018. We’ll still be fishing on a weather basis, so stay tuned to our website for details. We are also getting geared up for our winter show schedule- for our first one, come check us out at the Garden State Outdoor Sports Show in Edison, NJ, January 11-14. We’ll also be in Hartford and Suffern later in the season.

We look forward to seeing everyone soon, either on the boat or at a show. Happy 2018!

“We were able to fish 3 days this past week,” reports Capt. Matt from the Black Hawk. We got out Monday, Thursday and Friday, with Monday being the premier day of the three. Simply excellent fishing with full limits of sea bass, scup, and a nice mix of codfish up to 30 lbs. The scup were so thick we had to move to avoid them- they were huge! Thursday and Friday was more of a steady grind; a lot of limits on the scup and sea bass with a mix of cod to 17 pounds. Nowhere near the fantastic action of Monday’s trip. The fish have definitely left the Block Island area and have moved to the southeast. Saturday’s trip was cancelled due to miserable wind and rain conditions. We will be posting more trips as the weather allows, and they will be by reservation only. Tickets can be purchased on line through our website. As usual, continue to check our Facebook page and website for schedules and details.

Heather from the office, on behalf of the entire Black Hawk family and crew, would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. We look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Heather from the Black Hawk office reports that our trip on Friday was fantastic. The weather may have been cold, but the fishing was red hot. Limits of seabass, a good mix of nice codfish, and some porgies as well. The porgies are still around, although we are not specifically targeting them, so we’re getting more cod and seabass than the porgies now.

Sunday’s trip started off a little slower, but as the wind died down the fishing picked up. Once again, the boat limit of seabass, a steady pick of cod all day, and a nice mix of jumbo porgies too. Now is the time to get out there and fill your freezer!

As you know, we’re heading out from Stonington now- we plan on fishing Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with weekday trips when the weather permits. As always, be sure to check our website and Facebook page for updates and details about upcoming trips and events. We look forward to seeing everyone soon.

We are also busy getting ready for our winter shows- check out our website for our schedule and be sure to stop by to see us this winter.

On behalf of the entire Black Hawk family, we wish you and your family a happy holiday season!

“At this time of year, we lose a few scheduled trips to the weather. Not much we can do about it; we have Mother Nature as a business partner, reports Capt. Greg. We fished Monday, Friday, and Saturday with Friday being the best production of the three. Limits every day of the jumbo Black Hawk sea bass, and Friday not only had wonderful flat calm weather but a really good shot of codfish throughout the entire day. Fish to 20 lbs. and plenty of ’em. Saturday’s trip was hampered by the snowstorm, which brought cold freezing sleet and just miserable conditions. We put a trip together; those who stayed at the rails did okay, but quite a few kept seeking the warmth of the heated cabin, along with a cup or two of hot coffee.

Porgies are still thick around certain structures, even though we’re trying not to target them. A lot more draggers were seen outside of us this week in the deeper water; an indication of more activity. Draggers working off the Watch Hill reefs had some good squid the past few weeks. A lot of seals and porpoise around the 900 line and a few whales around the areas we’re actually fishing. Considerable activity overall.

We still plan on fishing Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with weekday trips as the weather permits. As always, be sure to check our website and Facebook for details and updates. We look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Capt. Matt reports we’ve had fabulous weather for a full five days in a row which resulted in excellent production on the Black Hawk. Thursday’s trip was a combo where we spent half the day on the sea bass and cod, then the rest of the day on the togs. Steady pick on the blackfish to 10 lbs. with limits of sea bass and a good mix of codfish to 15 lbs. Saturday’s trip was the best of the week on the codfish with a good pick of nice green cod to 20 pounds. Sunday’s trip had a full boat limit of seabass, with a nice mix of codfish to 15 pounds. All trips have a good amount of action on the porgies even though we’re not targeting them. There has been a few pollock, bluefish and ling mixed in. Monday’s trip is going to be another combo with the togs targeted first and then the sea bass and cod.

We’ll be sailing steadily, weather permitting, from our winter dock at Dodson’s Boatyard in Stonington Borough. Stay tuned to our website & Facebook for available dates and daily fishing reports, pictures and video. We hope to see everyone soon!

Mother nature finally smiled on us, giving back to back days of beautiful weather and simply EXCELLENT fishing. Friday and Saturday trips had boat limits of jumbo sea bass, monster porgies, a good mix of codfish, with few pollock and even a keeper weakfish.

It’s going to be a December to Remember coming up. Trips are limited and by reservations, sailing from our winter dock at Dodson’s Boatyard in Stonington Borough. Keep in touch and informed through our website and FaceBook. Dates are posted weekly with regard to weather. “We Catch Em’……Ask Around.”

“We’re turning up the heat on sea bass, codfish and porgies,” reports Capt. Greg from the Black Hawk. Wednesday and Saturday’s Block Island trips had nice water and great fishing. Boat limits of both jumbo sea bass and monster Black Hawk porgies, with a good mix of codfish to 20 pounds, left customers arm weary with full coolers and smiles on their faces. These trips, limited to only 35 passengers and by reservation only, are sailing out of Dodson’s Boatyard in located in Stonington Borough, Connecticut, providing easy access to Block Island. The weather might be chilly but the fishing is red hot!! We plan on fishing Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with additional trips added based on the weather. Check our website for weekly dates based on weather conditions. “We Catch Em’……Ask Around.”

Heather reports from the Black Hawk office that Capt. Matt had the boat on Thursday- he had some nice weather and it was really “one drop shopping”. He anchored up on a spot with jumbo porgies, huge “black hawk” seabass, and a whole bunch of codfish. Boat limits all around on the seabass and porgies and 15-18 codfish. On Friday, as everyone knows, the weather unfortunately turned lousy, and that blustery northwest wind kept everybody tied to the dock.

Saturday morning Capt. Greg had the boat. There was still a little bit of wind in the morning, and was bitter cold. but everybody bundled up. We stopped just south of Block Island first, anchored up on some porgies, and caught the heck out of them. Then the wind dropped out so we went outside and anchored up on a pile of sebass and caught just huge, huge seabass- the biggest kind, with a good combo of porgies. Again, boat limits all around. Not as many codfish, we had 6-8 codfish up to about 17 pounds. It ended up being a beautiful day with excellent fishing. On the way home it was flat calm, and a few whales were even spotted!

Sunday, the weather was beautiful. As of this writing, the boat has already been to the porgy grounds and loaded up, and then headed out to get the seabas and cod. We anchored on the heap of ’em, and it was another one drop spot. Limits of porgies and seabass, with some nice cod in the mix. In addition to a really excellent day of bottom fishing, Wayne from Pittsburgh pulled up a 24 pound striped bass! And yes, it was caught on a clam and a seabass hook! Good going Wayne!

For these late season seabass, cod and porgy runs, we have new rods from J&B Tackle, and new reels loaded with braid line on all our rental equipment. We’re giving everyone that might not have used braid before a chance to try it out. It certainly is the way to go.

We plan on fishing Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and will be adding more trips as the weather permits, including this Wednesday. Don’t forget to stay tuned to our website, Facebook and emails for details and more trips! We hope to see you soon!

Capt. Greg Dubrule of the Black Hawk reports that the tremendous winds kept them tied to the dock the first part of the week. Capt. Matt was at the helm Friday and Saturday and fished Block Island with monster sea bass the intended target. Fishing was excellent with boat limits; fish in the 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 lb range. Jumbo porgies and 12-15 codfish per trip nicely rounded out the coolers.

Once again, Heather from the office would like to remind everyone that the Black Hawk is now settled into our winter dock at Dodson’s Boatyard in Stonington Borough, providing a short boat ride to Block Island. From now until December 31st, serious fishing for serious fisherman who want to fill their coolers and have a lot of fun will be happening on the Black Hawk. We plan on sailing as often as we can during the week and weekends pending weather conditions. Trips will be posted on our website and are limited to 35 anglers and by reservation only. Stay informed; like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. These trips fill up fast, so don’t be disappointed- book your trip today!

Heather reports from the Black Hawk office that the black sea bass season opened up in Federal waters on Sunday October 22 and the Black Hawk took full advantage of it. Sunday & Monday the boat sailed to Block Island and had an excellent mix of jumbo sea bass, cod and monster porgies. Most customers had limits with a good mix of market cod up to 16 lbs.

Tuesday and Wednesday were a wash-out. High winds kept us tied to the dock. Thursday’s trip started out to be a real grind. Weather was still rough and blowing; we had to hide for most of the morning hours waiting for the tide and wind to change. When it did, we were able to get in the Watch Hill reefs and pound the porgies. The proceeding two days left the waters riled up but the scup still chewed. We put some overtime in to make up for the slow morning hours but all customers went away happy.

On Friday’s trip, with the weather being back to normal, Capt. Matt targeted the sea bass first, loading up, and then came back to the previous day’s porgy spot and had a nice 2 1/2 hour shot of scup. Happy customers with plenty of fish.

Saturday, with nice weather and a full compliment of anxious anglers, the Black Hawk went back out to Block Island. Once again, the results were very good with a mixed combination of sea bass, porgies and a few cod. We did see a few dog fish mixed in, something that’s inevitable with all the Southeast winds we’ve had.

Capt. Greg would like to remind everyone that this was the last weekend sailing from our home port of Niantic. We’re moving the boat this week to Dodson’s Boatyard, our winter dock in historic Stonington Borough, 194 Water Street. It’s a really first class marina, easy to get to off of I-95 and a short boat ride, just over an hour, away from Block Island . It just doesn’t get any better. Oh yeah….the popular Dog Watch restaurant is right there at the dock, open year round and serving the best chowder in New England!

The best fishing is yet to come November and December. The last two years has been great!! We’ll be sailing as often as possible, weather permitting. So get your rods ready, fill your reels with a new load of braid, dress warm and bring your coolers. The next 60 days are gonna be hot!!

These trips are limited to only 35 people and by reservation only. On-line tickets are available. Stay tuned to our website, our emails and Facebook for dates. “We Catch Em’….Ask Around.”

Capt. Greg Dubrule of the Black Hawk reports the porgy fishing is still providing non-stop action, all week long. Drop ’em to the bottom and you got ’em!! Customers having no problem filling their coolers with the 45 fish per man limit. Sunday the 22nd brought the re-opening of the sea bass season to both Rhode Island and federal waters and Capt. Matt took full advantage of the beautiful day by going to Block Island for a combination of porgies, sea bass and cod. The weather and the fishing were excellent with smiling customers happy as could be.

We will continue to fish daily at 7:00 am from Niantic through October 31. Be sure to check our website and Facebook page for updates, photos, reports and more!

Heather from the office wants to remind everyone, once again, that the Black Hawk is getting ready to make its annual migration to Dodson’s Boatyard in Stonington Borough in early November. Stay tuned for updates and trips.

Block Island is only a short ride away and the fall fishing will be at its peak. Where most boats are laid up and done for the season, the Black Hawk will be sailing steady. Porgies and sea bass season doesn’t end until December 31st and with the codfish in there too, the big 3 will provide some dynamite fishing. These trips are limited and by reservation only, so stay tuned to our website and weekly emails for details. We look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Porgy fishing remains excellent, reports Capt. Greg from the BlackHawk, with most customers if not getting their 45 limit coming very close. We’re fishing in Rhode Island waters quite a bit where sea bass is closed until October 22, so we are forced to throw back a lot of nice fish. We have been stopping in NY & CT waters, when time and tide allows, and picking away on some sea bass, but nothing like the quality in the closed Rhode Island and federal waters.

Diamond jigging in the bluefish also remains excellent. Sunday’s trip with Capt. Matt had customers arm weary. On these trips during the slack tide, we’ve been bottom fishing on the porgies and sea bass, giving everyone an opportunity to try a different fishery with some fine eating fish. Hopefully, the blues will remain around for a few more trips.

On our last night striped bass trip (Tuesday night ) conditions were excellent and so was the fishing; similar to the previous two trips. Capt. Matt was at the helm once again and customers were treated to some excellent big bass numbers. These trips are limited to only 18 anglers and after getting their boat limit, they caught and released almost 30 more big fish!! Pool fish that night was just shy of 40 lbs. Great weather and fantastic fishing! Stay tuned to our website and FaceBook for upcoming dates in these trips. They book up fast. We Catch Em’……Ask Around!

Heather from the office reports that our schedule remains the same, fishing every day at 7:00 am. We do have a few days when we don’t have open trips, so be sure to check our website for our full schedule and updates. Follow us on Facebook for daily fishing reports and photos. We look forward to seeing everyone soon!