cod from shore?
 

i was talking to an old timer over the weekend and he said when he was younger they used to catch cod from shore??? what give, can it be done or is the cod pop down so much that it would be a rare catch?? maybe off p-town where its deep close?/

try Georges Bank lol

Well, we caught them for years in the the canal when I was a young guy........I am hoping to see them return to the ditch in my lifetime......

one older guy i know use to catch them in the ditch back in the day and still tries a few times a year, hasnt caught one in the ditch in 15 years but still gives it a college try.

I caught a cod off the west wall back when I was a kid , say about 1960. I have also heard of some in the canal in the winter but only at specific spots I will not name.

Used to do OK on PI in december, after a NE stir. At night, clams. Talking late 70's early 80's though when I lived nearby.

Daignault and Coleman have both written about taking cod from shore in RI. Each winter I think about giving it a shot, each year I stay home.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Every once in a while I catch one while baitfishing for bass. Just not worth the effort nowadays. In the late 90s we got into a cool topwater bite of 28-30" cod from shore. It only lasted about 15 minutes but I'll remember it forever
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

We used to hit PI a couple times after Jan and do ok using clams an worms. surfland used to stay open on nights that the tide was high around 9pm.we alos used to hit Ptown and fish the outer beached an do ok. that ws back in the late 60's to early 80's.Still hear some rumors from time to time of people gettin a few.

so not really out of the question but far fetched to get one.. could be a fun time between semesters.. what else could be had from shore in mid of winter?? very interesting comments so far. wish i had more free time in summer than i do in winter!

On our early Spring trip we'd stop at the Canal and catch cod. The procede to Truro. Fish nights, sometimes in hellish weather, at HOM . worms and seaclams. Sometimes from the dune because the surf was too wild to fish the beach. If I did that now, 40 years later, it would probably kill me.

I thought it was almost as much fun dragging the MDC barrel down to the edge filling it with driftwood and sparking it up. Having some fire,brandy,cod and laughs passed a winters night quite well.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Buddy of mine got one about a month ago while surfcasting for bass. They're there... Just seems like no one bothers fishing for them.

15 years ago they could be had in the hole at wood end where the scallop boats hang out and shuck. That was HS not much of a desire to hoof it out there these days. If someone does keep me posted :)
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

i saw a guy catch a 10lb cod late april @ the herrin run about 20 yrs ago. he was fishing for early stripers w/ live herrin.also we would bounce red fins @ portagee hole nov and dec w/a little luck

nantasket beach

LOL. Better join the Conservation Law Foundation and advocate for Marine Protected Areas then. You and I both know it isn't happening under current politicized fishery management system....even with current court orders mandating it.

The inshore cod population is so low that it is not worth it, has been for a long time.
People tell me here that they use to commercial cod fish in the outer harbor off East Chop... but that was probably in the 50's/60's time-frame.

As depressing as that sounds...We got a couple keepers this fall while tog fishing. (on green crabs!) Next year I may put a clam on a dead stick just for the hell of it. So, maybe there is hope of a comeback someday...but unless you plan on fishing when you are 150 years old, I would bet it will not be in our lifetime.

Here is a great article Coleman wrote:
http://www.tattoostackle.com/yestery...hedfishery.php

There are a lot of great stories about cod fishing the RI surf. A member of this board was given a custom wraped harnell rod by a guy who landed a 25lber from RI's most western point. He said he would never be able to top that, quit fishing and gave away his rod and reel.

A notorious Block Island heavy hiter used to do as good of a job on them as he did on the bass, jigging one of the rivers on the mainland.

Each winter you hear a few stories buzz around about some lucky guys cashing in from the sand.

that's been the trend the last 3 years or so for us.
except the clam tends to attract doggies. stick with the crabs...

As far as a recovery? Not likely since they get pounded locally (s of n.e.) as soon as they school up south of the Block. more and more charters/heads every year.... it adds up quick.

Plum Island used to be real good in the fall and if you could stand it for most of the winter... plenty fo frosty nights i made several trips back and forth to the truck to lug my catch home..

In 1978 I caught a 38lb cod from the beach directly in front of surfland.. but most were in the 2-3lb range...I havent seen a codfish off that beach since the mid '80's.. there are pollock around now.. most are under 2lbs.. we used to catch them all winter into the spring from the jetty.. not little harbor pollock either... these fish were as large as 15lbs... they entered the river on the sand eels smashing and crashing just like bass...

I know of someone who has been catching them off the center wall, they wouldn't have to move far to make them accessible from the west wall.

A LONG time ago we did that on the soft side at Quonny. Me, Plugman, Don, Charlie and a few others that have gone to the great bass run in the sky.

i've caught a keeper size cod in the surf in early spring. most on storm shads, but had one take a pink rigged sluggo worked near the surface. luds got one about 8-10 lbs a few years ago. always say i'm going to go out earlier in the year and target them, but have only done it once and got skunked.

20 years ago we caught cod in December off the fishing pier at castle island in southie, you cast it far enough you get into a 60' channel.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Back in the early to mid 70's my Dad, uncle and I used to go to my uncles parents cottage on PI in April and fish at night with clams, we always did really well, nothing over say 20" or so but we usually filled at least a tote or so to drag back to the house. I used to have a blast, later in the 70's and early 80's when I had my driver license I used to go a few times with my friends, but it seemed to tail off until it just wasn't worth the trip anymore.

Most things never seem to change for the better.

Most things never seem to change for the better.[/QUOTE]


Boy is that the truth.

The difference between an optimist and a pessimist is, the pessimist is better informed.

I love hearing the stories from the old guard at Q. Spent MANY nights out there when I was younger in absolute awe of the stories of the old days. Not too many of them still on the rocks with me any more though. Stories of picking frost fish off the beach to use as cod bait, getting stuck on the beach in a freak snow storm as they cod fish, etc... Those kinds of stories burn in my mind each winter as I sit around not fishing and thinking about what might happen if I gave it a try. I did half a tide about 7 or 8 years ago one February night at Q. Drifted plugs, tossed jigs and cursed out the cold. Not even so much as a hit, but I had no idea what I was doing and had no expectations of success. The increased cod landings off Block the last few winters has made think there is a chance nowadays, though. Maybe this year I'll try again.

Ah the memories of bein a kid fishing in the 60's.

Back in the 1980s we use to fish cod a few times per month in February and March - all night surf fishing with store bought squid on bottom rigs. A few places in Newport and in Quonny/Deep Hole were the most productive locations. For many years my buddys best surf fish was a 39 pound cod taken from Sachuest Point one night in late February. But most fish were market size. Each year I get questions about the fishery but no one has tried it - I'd rather watch hockey but I'm sure you young guys could take a few if you put the time in. I'll give you the info - all I ask is to be notified if you catch.

DZ