Deep sea fishing in Gloucester: the groundfish and tuna fleet, ranked

Deep sea fishing in Gloucester is three fisheries off one old fishing town on Cape Ann. The bread and butter is groundfish, cod and haddock and pollock on Stellwagen Bank and Jeffreys Ledge, the grounds the New England fleet has worked for centuries. The headline is giant bluefin tuna, the summer and fall fishery that put Gloucester on television as the home port of Wicked Tuna. And close to shore, striped bass and bluefish fill out the warm months. This page ranks the Gloucester charters worth booking on our published method, from the head boat fleet that has run since 1944 to the six pack tuna boats that carry the deepest reviews in the port.

One thing shapes the whole port: the season and the rules. The Gulf of Maine is cold and rough in winter, so the fleet runs roughly April into November. Haddock is the steady keeper, open most of the year, while cod is tightly protected and open only in a short fall window, so a cod in the box is a bonus rather than the plan. The bluefin retention and the cod and haddock seasons shift year to year, so confirm the current rules with NOAA Fisheries and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries before a season specific trip.

What you catch and when

Gloucester fishes by the calendar more than most ports, because the water is cold and the rules are strict. Haddock carries the season, open from April into late February and the reliable box filler on Stellwagen Bank and Jeffreys Ledge, with pollock, cusk, and redfish alongside it. Cod is the fish the rules protect: a short recreational season in the fall, one fish, a 23 inch minimum, and a federal closure that can overlap, so treat a keeper as a bonus. The giant bluefin tuna run is the summer and fall headliner, trolled and jigged offshore and mostly released or tightly limited under a federal permit. Striped bass come close in from May into October on a 28 to under 31 inch slot, with black sea bass and bluefish filling a nearshore mixed bag.

The boats and operators

The Gloucester fleet splits into three kinds of boat, and the right one depends on your group and your budget. The head boats, the Yankee Fleet and the Gloucester Fleet, are big inspected party boats that sell seats by the person, the cheap, walk on, beginner friendly way onto the cod and haddock grounds. The private six packs are the heart of the ranking, small boats you book by the day under a named captain, most of them fishing groundfish in the cool months and giant bluefin tuna in the warm ones. Gloucester is the Wicked Tuna town, so several boats trade on that television fame; the ones that rank here do so on their fishing and their reviews, not the brand. A separate, large inshore fleet runs striped bass and light tackle in the harbor and the sounds, a different day from the offshore groundfish and tuna this page covers. Most of the fleet runs spring through fall and ties up for the winter.

How the field ranks

The field is deep and closely matched, with one boat clear at the top and a strong run of six packs behind it. At the top is Tuna Tail Charters at 8.5, a freshly restored 35 foot Duffy under a 45 year senior captain, with a near perfect record, an all included price, and Best of Gloucester honors; the only trade is that it is a six pack, so it books early. 10 Point Charters is second at 8.3, the port’s giant bluefin specialist with a flawless deep review record, held just back by a restored 1976 hull that cruises slowly on the long runs. Lyla Rose follows at 8.2, the most reviewed boat in Gloucester by a wide margin, a 4.9 across hundreds of trips, held back only by a 28 foot boat that takes just four anglers.

In the strong middle, two boats land level at 8.1. Sweet Dream edges ahead on posted pricing and a rare shared open boat seat, a fast 38 foot boat with rave reviews whose countable volume is just harder to pin, and Toby Ann carries a deep, spotless record on a comfortable wide beam hull but does not post its prices on its own site. Coastal Fishing Charters is sixth at 8.0, a veteran captain licensed since 1983 with a full rate card, held to mid field by a cash only rule and a required 20 percent gratuity.

The two head boats anchor the value end. The Yankee Fleet at 7.7 is the 1944 institution and the cheapest way out at $50 a half day, marked down for a crowded rail and a sense among regulars that the catch has slipped, and the Gloucester Fleet at 7.3 runs the Lady Sea party boat with a crew reviewers like, ranked last as a smaller, less proven operation with a couple of cancellation complaints. The cards below carry each boat’s verdict and score.

Trip types and what they cost

Gloucester fishes two ways, and the price gap is wide. The cheap way out is a seat on a head boat: the Yankee Fleet runs from $50 for a half day up to $99 for a 12 hour marathon, and the Gloucester Fleet from $65 to $125, both per person with the rod, bait, and license included, so a beginner can walk on with nothing. Everything else is a private charter, booked by the boat for your own group: roughly $400 to $850 for a short or small boat trip, and $1,300 to $1,900 for a full day of groundfish or giant tuna on a six pack, with the longest tuna marathons reaching $2,000 to $2,900. Most boats include the tackle, the license, and often bait and cleaning, though a couple add a fuel surcharge or, on Coastal, a cash only rule with a required gratuity, so ask. The one shared middle option is Sweet Dream’s open boat groundfish seat near $275 a person. Our cost guide breaks down the tiers, and the head boat versus private charter guide helps you choose the format.

How to pick the right trip

Start with your group and your target. If you are new to it, watching the budget, or fishing solo, take a head boat seat for cod and haddock and keep expectations to a sociable day on a full rail, or split a Sweet Dream open boat seat. For your own boat without a tuna budget, a half or full day of groundfish on a six pack like Tuna Tail, Coastal, or the small, deeply reviewed Lyla Rose is the call. For a giant bluefin tuna trip, the fishery Gloucester is known for, 10 Point is the specialist and Tuna Tail, Toby Ann, and Sweet Dream all run them. Then match the date to the fish: haddock through the season, the short fall window if you want a shot at a cod, and midsummer into fall for the bluefin. Book the tuna and the summer weekends well ahead, and keep a flexible date, since the Gulf of Maine weather makes the final call.

Getting there and what to bring

Gloucester sits on Cape Ann, about 40 minutes north of Boston off Route 128, with the charter docks around the inner harbor and at Cape Ann Marina on the Annisquam River. Offshore trips leave early, often 5 to 7 a.m., so arrive 30 to 45 minutes ahead to load and check in, and confirm the trip the day before in case the weather turns. The Gulf of Maine runs cold even in summer, so bring warm, waterproof layers on top of shorts weather clothes, plus sunscreen, a hat, food and drink, and a cooler with ice for your fillets. No fishing license is needed on a licensed charter or head boat here. Set your expectations by the rules, since cod is mostly off limits and haddock is the keeper, and the first time guide walks a beginner through the rest.

Gloucester anchors the North Shore end of the Massachusetts fleet. The state’s other port we cover is Cape Cod to the south, the Massachusetts hub groups them, and the Atlantic Northeast hub lists every port we rank from the Mid Atlantic to Maine.