After yesterdays slow ride home I was hoping the cold front had pushed offshore far enough and the strong NW winds would lay down for the days trip.  I greeted Robert Ploss and his buddy John at the dock and we departed the docks a little after 0500.  Both Robert and John are very experienced fisherman as was witnessed by the custom made cod sticks and high speed jig reels they brought on board...high hopes were riding with all the crew.

 We cleared the harbor, headed east and were greeted by a spectacular sunrise. You dont see this on shore!

As you can see the NW wind was still blowing and about 10 miles off the beach I asked the guys if they wanted to keep going or head back in.  Robert said they had never had to return to a dock and wanted to give it a try.  I knew the Lady Diane could handled the seas safely, so even though I knew it was going to be a sloppy day we pushed east with a 20 knot NW wind pushing us along.

We arrived on the grounds and started fishing the deep water where I have been doing very well on past trips.  The guys tried using some butterfly jigs to start with but the drift was just too fast even though the big Suzuki was in reversed stemming the tide.  I suggested they switch over to the heavier jigs I use in these conditions and they immediately started nailing nice market cod.  With experienced fisherman on board like these I could concentrate on finding fish and holding them on them while they worked their rods.  The wind continued to freshen and the seas built to a solid 3-5 ft with some bigger sets thrown in.  I was marking nice schools of fish but with the fast drift we could get a couple out of each pods before we were blown off them.  The guys never gave up and as the morning progressed the box began to fill with nice market cod. 

Around noon the wind finally let go as I was able to stand still long enough to take a quick photo of John and Robert holding a couple markets.

During the morning we never saw another boat so I decided to take a ride to an area I fish (when no one else is around) as when the slammer pollack are in I can usually fill the boat with them there.  The guys took a little rest and I steered the Lady Diane to the honey hole.  We arrived at the top of the tide, the machine lit up, jigs headed to the bottom but they never made it as they were inhaled 30 ft off the bottom.  For the next two hours the guys pounded the pollack which were in the 10-15lb class...not the big slammers but perfect eating size.  The action was fast and much more enjoyable as the seas had laid down and the sun had warmed us to the point where we could finally remove our heavier outer clothing.

We headed for the barn around 1430 and enjoyed the first smooth ride of the day...a great relief from the morning's surfing adventures.  We arrived on shore around 1700 and loaded bags of fillets into the coolers.  Before I wrote this article I called Robert to get a couple details I had forgotten.  In our conversation he mentioned that he weighed the days catch and to my surprise he said the total weight was 213lbs.  I was amazed to find out  that the fillet bags I had been estimating to hold 20lbs of fillet were actually holding 35lbs when fully packed as I do..  That means that all year I have been under estimating every days catch by many pounds...this is a great problem to have! 

I had a great time with Robert and John and I hope in the future to be able to fish with them many more times. Now if that wind would only give me a break!

Captain George