April 5 Stellwagen Bank Cod and Haddock
Capt. Rich Antonino
April 9, 2008
Stellwagen Bank - Saltwater Fishing Report
We're back on the water! Did I ever mention that I loved what I do? Matt and I didn't miss a beat in getting back on the water yesterday. It just felt right. We left from Green Harbor and headed to Stellwagen Bank into a decent swell from the winds that we had the day before. There wasn't any wind to speak of, but it still kept us from going too fast. We made it out there at 20 mph comfortably, though.
We saw tons of life on the western edge of the bank, near the BE buoy; lots of whales and porpoises. We fished along the eastern edge of the bank to start the day, fishing in 150' of water and picking up cod and haddock pretty regularly, though many of them were throwbacks. We caught many more small haddock than in any other trip, ever. It was nice fishing in shallow water and being able to deploy the light tackle---the Okuma T-10's were perfect for this fishing and the light rods easily pitched a 6-9 oz jig. Most of the haddock were caught on bait and the cod were hitting the jigs.
The drift to the SE was perfect for most of the day, but the bite didn't last. We skipped around a lot looking for better schools of keepers and found a nice spot to the NE in 230' of water where we hit the haddock well in a small area. It's the same area as before (very small), where we did the same last year. We just kept drifting over that spot until the fish moved on. The bite really died with the change in tides.
The ride home was perfect--a following sea and 32 mph without any jolts. It was like old times already! Lots of smiles and laughes with some great customers who did it right--they came up from NJ the night before and stayed the night after---no 6 hour rides before or after the trip...they made a nice little trip around their fishing. It's a great way to really enjoy yourselves!
See you out there and keep having fun.
Target Species:
cod and haddock
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