eastman's docks

My last trip dec 27 was great! seas 1-2 ft temp high 40's beyond patient and friendly staff despite tangles due to tides n continuous gaffing of large and massive pollack. they continued to hustle n smile. I've fished with them for over 13 years and wouldn't change a thing!!

With 60 fisherman on board at the peak of the pollack fishing season , whole boat had 10 legal size fish to keep. Lots of driving waiting for boat to setup . Fished same depth all day catch trow back small fish. On the way back endured tip extortion and yelling by some yahoo intimidating customers in giving tip for terrible fishing trip.

As a lover of Cod & Haddock for dinner, I've been fishing since retiring almost 15 years ago with Eastman's Fishing Fleet in Seabrook, NH. From Les Eastman Jr himself, to Kevin & Liz running the office, to Captains Phil, Mark, Nicole, Ralph, Ed, Nate, Tory & Garret, I can only say that I don't always catch many fish but I absolutely get off the boat having had a very enjoyable day thanks to the Captains and especially the Mates who are first class supporting us oldtimers as well as many I see with zero experience. You also almost always get to meet new fishing friends aboard.I most often fish on their big boat (about 90 ft), the Lady Merrilee III, on an All-Day trip out 25 miles to Jeffries Ledge where the prime target is Cod, Haddock and Pollock. Oftentimes as an extra, we get to see Humpback Whales up close, feeding Porpoises, and quiet often in Late Summer the dreaded Bluesharks that will remove 80% of a 15-20 lb Pollock as you reel it up to hopefully win the daily boat pool.On my latest trip, I took my two daughters Kim & Corey with me for their first adventure groundfishing ever. We got to the dock an hour early and secured 3 excellent spots on the Merrilee's stern. Both girls landed maybe 10 fish each, including nice 22" Haddock for each as well as a few of what Les Eastman calls Jumbo Reds. While tangles are often a problem with newcomers, I can honestly say that neither Kim nor Corey caused any profanity that day. I'll add, of course, that I caught a limit of 3 nice Haddock that gave me the family pool win for the day. We had a roomy table aboard the boat and both girls slept soundly for most of the ride back to Eastman's Docks for an early dinner.In addition to this fun day, I've fished for Stripers on Eastmans 6-pack boats as well as the 65' Lady Tracey Ann that floats the mouth of the Merrimack River 3 evenings weekly pretty with good results. I've also fished Memorial Day trips on the Tracey Ann as a Charter supporting 25 of us at about $75 per person for an all-day trip.If you live near or vist the Seabrook/Hampton, NH area between April and late Fall, you can't beat a day out on an Eastman's Fishing Fleet boat.

We went one day after being on the beach all day . We got a table out on the deck . We waited 30 minutes for a table which wasn't a big deal because we walked down the docks and the kids watch the boats come in . When we got our table and ordered our drinks the waitress seemed like she had an attitude . Asked us if we were ready to order and we haven't even seen the menus . She bought back the drinks . One of the waitress's spilled a drink all over my son . There was a bunch of young teenagers working and thought it was funny and made a joke about it . Then the waitress came back to take our order . And we asked her if we could have our check so we could leave . She was rude about it when we asked her , she kind of stomped off and scribbled on her order book . Went over to talk with someone and looked right at us pointed and gave us a dirty look , and we could her her talking across the dining room about us to this other person . Very disappointed on the professionalism of the wait staff . Was hoping of a great experience . Seeings how they a charter boats to go out deep see fishing and my husband has never had a bad trip . More then Likely we will not go back to the restaurant .

Great fishing outfit!!!. Crew and captain 100% friendly and helpful. Very clean and well maintained boats. Great price. Highly recommend.

seriously, thanks for calling in advance to tell me the trip is cancelled, that let me replan for day earlier in another place. I planned whale watching on my trip, and this professional communication helps me keep that plan.

Did a marathon trip and we did great. Cod, Haddock all day long. The mates were awesome, always looking to help you and are patient with you regardless of skill level. Captain Les came down when it got busy to help gaff fish. They are a great family owned outfit.

When I bought my senior ticket, I asked for 2 rods, one for bottom fish like cod n haddock, the other for mackerel. At $6 a rod, i thought this would be a good investment, to insure a good morning of fishing. I was told, not necessary, ask Brian or Jake for them, use them individually, not at the same time. We shook hands n I headed down the ramp. I took a spot at the back of the boat, began to finish my coffee. When the mates came around for boarding passes, I asked. He said OK, deep first, I responded works for me. After I caught my 2nd Cod n tiny dolphin fish, I switched to spinner rod, set for mackerel, They just weren"t bitting. Brian came by and we talked bottom fishing techniques. I went back to the deep rod, finished the trip with another cod. Only issue I had was the Captain changing locations every 15 minutes. Jake did a nice clean job cleaning everyones catch. I will came back in August, with some of K of C brothers,

took the half day afternoon trip yesterday. At first was disappointed that we were told we would only be going out for mackerel, the website says that the trip consists of fishing for haddock, cod and other stuff. We had 4 in our party, matt, did set the boys up with some bottom rods, so they could atleast try and get something other than makerel. Everyone on board did catch plenty of makerel and a couple includeing my son caught a few other fish with the bottom rods. The captain and crew were very nice, i would reccomend having matt as the mate with your group, he was very helpful, friendly and took the time to talk to everyone. There were only a total of about 16 to 20 of us which was great, i wouldnt have liked it at full capacity. I would go again but check ahead to see what we are fishing for.

For the second time fishing was poor, half bass try to move to find fish. Every time we anchored we drifted off and lines got tangled. After they spent an hour of my time knocking rocks out of the anchor I inspected it and found it to be bent and in disrepair. Then they lied and told us they would make up time lost by staying out longer. Guess what? They arrived at the dock with the rest of the boats. I understand fishing is tough all over the NE coast, but come on guys. I agree that some members of the crew were rude, but not horrible.

If you want to go on a boat trip, go with Eastmans. If you want to catch fish, go with some other fishing charters. Two hour boat ride out, five moves, and a two hour boat ride in. You might be able to actually fish for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The mates are good but they. cram so many people on the boats they have to spend most of the time untangling novice fisherman. Then when someone actually NEEDS a mate, it takes them forever to get to you. And don't beleive their fishing reports. I've been out with them quite a few times this year and they have lied almost every time on their reports. What a waste of time and money!!!

Just took the half day mackerel fishing trip with my father and loved it! 1/2 day perfect amount of time and caught over 20 fish!

My buddy and I fished the marathon and it was not a great day. I have fished previous marathons with Eastman's and had a pretty good time. After one of these trips, I actually sent them a letter complimenting the crew. The most recent trip with them, however, was a disaster! The two younger mates were very helpful with handling dogfish (which was all we seemed to catch- more on this later) and undoing numerous tangles. The two more experienced mates, Nicole and Nick acted as though they were doing you a favor by untangling lines. At one point Nick went so far as to accuse me of creating a dogfish tangle because I "let my dogfish swim around"??!!! Great way to treat a customer- I read another review that described him as surly- that's pretty accurate. Everyone was frustrated with the number of tangles, and short cod/haddock. Some customers did ok with 3-4 keepers pp, but most- and there were some good fisherman/women on that boat- struck out or had one. The bottom line is this: whether you catch fish or not the attitude of the mates has a great influence on the outcome of your trip.Not sure I'll fish Eastman's again.

There were 5 of us in my group. Positions 29-33. The only keeper, and possibly the $360.00 pool winner was lost by one of the mates, after I asked 3 times for him to gaff it. Instead he grabbed my line pulled and the 8-10lbs Cusk slowly swam away with my $18.00 jig.When I asked why he didn't use the gaff he had no escuse. But did tell me the fish would have qualified for the pool. Then he walked away and never returned.One friend caught bottom using braid. One of the mates took his rod, held it upside down and pulled up on the rod, which caused the braid to inbed deep into the spool, then the line snapped and the line was lost deep in the spool. 20 minutes later they handed him back a rod full of cheap mono. They had to stip all the braid off. Which was amost $100.00.The 5 of us caught 7 fish. Nothing over 15 inches.besides the 2mates, the other mates were quick to untangle everyone. Which happened almost every drop.The Capt moved us about 10 times over the 8hrs of fishing. Boat left the dock at 5am. It was almost a 2 hr trip out. We did not go out to the fingers for some reason. Each move took between 10-20 minutes. The last move was at 2:43. Which left us with a 10 minute window to end the day.Tangles were constant. A lot of drift fishing.The mates were quickboat was clean.Maybe we expected to much? 1st time with Eastmans. Last time with Eastmans.Good luck.

Today was my first all day deep sea fishing trip with Eastmans. My 8 yr. old son and I had a nice time. Boat was adequately staffed with deck hands , who were quick to assist with unhooking fish and untangling crossed lines. Unlike my last deep sea adventure with a nearby competitor , tangles were pretty few and far between, probably because they dropped anchor instead of drifting. Fishing was just o.k.. but we still enjoyed ourselves. Boat noise was minimal in comparison to our last trip on competitors boat. Food was not as good though, but still halfway decent. Got plenty of sun, and smiles from the personable staff. A couple of fillets to take home made the trip worthwhile.All in all an enjoyable day was had, and I would recommend them to others. Hopefully I can get back out with them,sometime soon.