The Isle of Shoals
Ok, so maybe we do have the smallest seacoast in the 50 states (18 miles long), but don't forget the adage about small packages. Great Bay, The Mighty Piscataqua, Historic Portsmouth Harbor, and of course the picturesque Isle of Shoals, are a few of the highlights of the New Hampshire Coast.
We met at the boat (a cherry 24' Aquasport,
docked at Witch Cove Marina),
but we were unsure of where we were going to go.
My favorite thing to do is to go out to the mouth of
Portsmouth Harbor, and if I can see the shoals, I usually go for it. I had
a feeling today they would be waving me in.
Witch Cove Marina is a little marina hidden behind Wentworth by the Sea at
the end of Berry
Brook, on the Portsmouth, Rye Line. Adjacent to
it is B.G's Boathouse. A great
place for some fish if you come in empty-handed.
Before we left, we spotted a baby sturgeon.
He was a little small, so we left him alone, and decided to go out and pick on
someone our own size.
The tide was low,
but the channel out to the mouth of the Harbor was well
marked and easy to navigate.
We turned the corner and wham, we were in the presence of the
mega yachts of Wentworth By The
Sea.
If you can see above the Yachts, in the background is the historic Wentworth
Hotel.
Buzzing by the Wentworth were plenty of commercial lobstermen
coming in from a hard days work.
After the breakwater in front of the Wentworth, we were in the
Atlantic. On the horizon:
The Isle of Shoals.
The Shoals are 10 miles out from Portsmouth Harbor, of 6 miles off the coast of Rye.
6 miles is a long swim, so some of us were smart enough to wear a life
jacket.
The seas were about 2 feet, so the 24' Aquasport made it there
easily in less than 20 minutes.
We motored down in Gosport
Harbor, between Star, Cedar, and Smuttynose Islands,
and stopped to have a beer. The beer of choice was Michelob
in the 6oz. bottles. We went with the small beers in case we landed a
fish, we could take a picture of it next to the beer and make the fish appear
larger.
It was now time to fish. We headed back to the mouth of the harbor to
catch some bait. On the way back we passed a few charters boats, including the Thomas
Laighton.
At the mouth of the harbor was the the Portsmouth
Lighthouse.
After a fierce battle, Tom landed the first catch of the day.
Dave, excited by Tom's big catch, worked his lines
furiously.
In an effort to fatten the bait up, we fed them a few Cheet-O's.
Now it was time to find some Stripers. We fished hard, but
came home empty handed. We agreed that we probably should have fed the
bait Frito's instead of Cheet-O's, and that next time we'd get it right.
It was getting dark so we soaked in the beautiful sunset
and headed to B.G.'s to eat some fish.