flatts1
05-13-2003, 07:02 AM
Sorry for the delayed report. I went on a cod trip this past Friday with Captain's Fishing Charters out of Plum Island. I have been going out with this outfit for the past 5 or 6 years and I have never been disappointed.
Our charter had a crowd numbering in the mid 50s and we were put on a boat that was meant to accomodate 75 - so there was plenty of room.
We motored out about 28 miles to Jefferys Ledge and started fishing in about 250 feet of water using clams provided by the boat. There was quite a current and many of us got tangled despite the ample elbow room. At this spot we caught some small cod and haddock but very few keepers (need to be over 23'').
At our second spot we had less current and but the fish seemed to still be pretty small. The same could be said for the third spot.
We then drifted a bit and had some better luck. The fish were a little bigger and there was a good mix of cod and haddock.
In the end, I caught 2 keeper cod and released about 7. There were many folks who didn't catch anything but everyone seemed to still have a great time. Afterall, we saw a few seals up close on the way out of the Merrimac, and a really huge whale out on Jeffreys. The seas were flat calm, the weather was warm, the winds were light and there were many friends on board.
It would have been more fun had we caught more fish but hey that's fishing.
The pool winner was a 14 1/2 lb wolf fish caught on clams and it was caught at the front of the boat. For what it's worth though the folks toward the back of the boat seemed to have more luck, perhaps because they got tangled less.
I hope to have some pics available soon.
Our charter had a crowd numbering in the mid 50s and we were put on a boat that was meant to accomodate 75 - so there was plenty of room.
We motored out about 28 miles to Jefferys Ledge and started fishing in about 250 feet of water using clams provided by the boat. There was quite a current and many of us got tangled despite the ample elbow room. At this spot we caught some small cod and haddock but very few keepers (need to be over 23'').
At our second spot we had less current and but the fish seemed to still be pretty small. The same could be said for the third spot.
We then drifted a bit and had some better luck. The fish were a little bigger and there was a good mix of cod and haddock.
In the end, I caught 2 keeper cod and released about 7. There were many folks who didn't catch anything but everyone seemed to still have a great time. Afterall, we saw a few seals up close on the way out of the Merrimac, and a really huge whale out on Jeffreys. The seas were flat calm, the weather was warm, the winds were light and there were many friends on board.
It would have been more fun had we caught more fish but hey that's fishing.
The pool winner was a 14 1/2 lb wolf fish caught on clams and it was caught at the front of the boat. For what it's worth though the folks toward the back of the boat seemed to have more luck, perhaps because they got tangled less.
I hope to have some pics available soon.