comm gillnetting bluefish

[Christian]

anybody ever done this? im curious. i want a brain to pick.

[Fly Rod]

There is a boat out of New Bedford that commercial fishes for them.

I do it with my rod and reel permit, some days they are 50cents and some days they are a dollar a lb..

Pays for gas and the good thing is you do not need to gut em.

[sokinwet]

"the good thing is you do not need to gut em"
As far back as I can remember we always had to market gut and bleed em unless they were going for lobster bait? Care to share the buyer info.??

[ProfessorM]

Atlantic doesn't require them bleed or gutted and Joe's followed suit. They do have you fill out a sheet about how you caught them, time, when iced down or not and your #. They do pay a decent price though, but I hardly caught any this year
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[Nebe]

Originally Posted by Fly Rod

There is a boat out of New Bedford that commercial fishes for them.

god bless them.

[niko]

i've seen comm prices for them as whole and dressed

[MakoMike]

Good prices. When I used o commercial fish them off Montauk we would be lucky to get .30 a pound.

[ProfessorM]

When you had to gut them and all I wouldn't even bother as it was just too messy and I did gut 60 lbs one day on the water and I said that is it for this crap and all you would get was .30 cents. The guy at Atlantic told me he has a buyer for them, thus the good price, but they require them to be handled appropriately so he can deliver a good product. I got a buck a lb this year a few times and once .70 cents, but like I said I did not get many. Last year it was not unusual to get 70 lbs but that many make a hell of a mess, but can save a bad day.

[jmac]

As far back as I can remember we always had to market gut and bleed em unless they were going for lobster bait? Care to share the buyer info.??

...Northern Wind, Whaling City, Bergy's, maybe International ...all New Bedford (at least during bass season)....

[fatcow]

If you have over a 100 lbs at Atlantic they subtract I belive 10 or 25 lbs do them drying out
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[Fly Rod]

Keep them well iced while fishing. Ice, salt water brine, you may need to add salt to the brine. Hands get very, very cold reaching in to take them out.

15lb. bag of ice at Market Basket 2.50 I usually get 3 bags.

[sokinwet]

Thanks for the info. guys. I remember pulling the tin boat up on the beaches at Osterville in front of some millionaires houses with the old man back in the day and proceeding to gut about 30 or 40 big blues....not a pleasant task...and one frowned upon by the local marine police.

[MakoMike]

Originally Posted by Fly Rod

Keep them well iced while fishing. Ice, salt water brine, you may need to add salt to the brine. Hands get very, very cold reaching in to take them out.

15lb. bag of ice at Market Basket 2.50 I usually get 3 bags.

You're getting ripped off, I pay 2.50 a TOTE at the ice house. A tote=100 lbs.

[Fly Rod]

Originally Posted by MakoMike

You're getting ripped off, I pay 2.50 a TOTE at the ice house. A tote=100 lbs.

Convenience!

ice house - 6.00 a tote
auction - 4.00 a tote
friend - Free

[MakoMike]

Originally Posted by Fly Rod

Convenience!

ice house - 6.00 a tote
auction - 4.00 a tote
friend - Free

But that's not what you said! Free is definitely the way to go.

[redlite]

Gillnetting bluefish is a nightmare. Either a supa heavy duty net or be like Besty Ross. A real good sewer. When we would get them in the pogie gill net it was a shat show. Tore it to hell.
You would need a bigger boat than a skiff in order to handle the weight of the type of net you would need.
I once did 160#s GUTTED of bluefish one morning from shore at Race Point. Could barely get them all in the old Land Rover. Even had em piled on the passenger side floor. SUCKED gutten em all.

They changed the regs on bluefish this past season that they now need to be below I believe it was 56 degrees in order for the dealer to take them. Dealers were SUPPOSED to take and record the time and temperature of EVERY single bluefish they took in. Was a real problem down in Westport as the water was 75 degrees. Guys were coming in with bluefish that were so fresh they were still moving and the dealer had to reject them because, DUH, they were the same temperature as the friggin water they just came out of.......Was asinine. They would have to pack them in ice for a day just to get them to the acceptable temperature........So much for "fresh" bluefish.

[Fly Rod]

Originally Posted by MakoMike

But that's not what you said! Free is definitely the way to go.

I had already mentioned Market Basket -2.50 for 15lb. bag of ice. I get 45 lbs. total. Going to Market Basket I consider conveience. Takes ten minutes. I do not go to my friend for ice. Use to go to ice house and the auction, which is to much of a hassel.

Market Basket is 3minutes from my boat.

willing to pay more for conveience.

[macojoe]

I love having my own Ice machine! 300# a day

[big jay]

macojo - what did the ice machine run you?

[macojoe]

I bought it 2 years ago on crigslist for $100! Its the best hundred bucks I have ever spent!

Another friend got a 600 pound machine its huge for $200 off there.

Just keep looking they are out there!!

[codfeesh]

cool video maco.i see mark on more peoples boats...always with a life jacket...

[MakoMike]

Originally Posted by Fly Rod

I had already mentioned Market Basket -2.50 for 15lb. bag of ice. I get 45 lbs. total. Going to Market Basket I consider conveience. Takes ten minutes. I do not go to my friend for ice. Use to go to ice house and the auction, which is to much of a hassel.

Market Basket is 3minutes from my boat.

willing to pay more for conveience.

Guess I doomed myself, went to the ice house last weekend and the price went up to $3 for a tote full!

[macojoe]

Also ck out your local McDonald's, they were selling ice $1 for 10 pounds last year