Whale show and Great Cod on Stellwagen Bank
Capt. Rich Antonino
May 18, 2008
Stellwagen Bank - Saltwater Fishing Report
Do I talk about the whale show that we saw today or about the fishing? Tough question. BY THE WAY, WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY ARE LOOKING GREAT AND I HAVE THOSE DAYS AVAILABLE IF YOU'RE ABLE TO GET OUT THERE The morning fishing conditions were tough, but the whale show we saw was the best one we've ever had. There was a stiff SW wind and a strong southerly current. This gave us a very distinct rip tide that corralled all of the bait. There were huge shoals of giant sand eels and tons of stripers feeding on them. Then there were the whales...they were swimming along the rip line as fast as they could, cruising the surface with their mouths open sucking down tons of bait. Seeing giant humpback whales swimming that fast right next to the boat was amazing. And then, around 10:30, we hit the cod..
And the cod were mostly keepers. That was a great way to end the day! We bailed fish in small schools until it was time to leave. Most of the fish were keepers and were throwing out tons of sandeels. We would hit a school of cod, then do the drift over and over. It was awesome. As we have been doing all spring, we've been using light tackle and small jigs. It makes it such a blast when every fish feels huge!! Okuma T-10's and light baitcasting rods were the ticket today--also we used a couple of spinning rods and reels.
The fish won't be in the shallow water on Stellwagen Bank for ever---give us a call and we'll get you out there before the move into deeper water. Give it a shot--you'll never want to use heavy tackle for cod again!!
The end of May means PORGY in Buzzards Bay as well as HUGE BLACK SEA BASS. It's all good right now, so give us a call at 508-269-1882. We have a great-looking forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, with both days open right now!!
Target Species:
cod and haddock
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