This past weekend I had the pleasure of welcoming guests aboard the Lady Diane who had not previously fished with me. Both charters hailed from NY (yes we do allow Yankee fans on the boat) and in fact lived within a few miles of each other. While we did not “limit out” on cod either day (the streak is over) we did experience some great fishing targeting both ground fish and tuna.

 On Saturday, June 13^th I welcomed aboard Mark O’Connor and his crew who are all experienced cod fisherman having fished many of the large overnight party boats for many years. The weather for the entire day was picture perfect…perhaps too perfect for  tuna fishing. 

We departed Gloucester harbor and headed for the bank. The plan was to head to the area I was ground fishing but if “Charlie” showed we would give chase. About 5 miles from my mark we saw bird activity and our first busting fish of the day. The 50s were set out and we trolled through the area. I marked tuna down low but unfortunately large schools of cow stripers hung above and inhaled our plugs. We landed and released a couple bass in the mid teens and decided to push on to the cod grounds.

I started up on top in the nets where we had been so successful the previous weeks. While we did take some keepers

 it was noticeable that the gillnetters have taken a huge toll on the stocks of keeper fish as the shorts outnumbered the legal fish 7 to 1. After an hour or so I decided it was time to run offshore and fish the deeper water away from the gillnets. I pointed Lady Diane’s bow to the east and steamed into the rising sun.

Along the way we found tuna and each time we worked the areas but could not get them to eat our offerings. The water clarity was very clear and coupled with the flat seas Charlie had a great advantage. I think most of the fish we spotted were simply up pushing-digesting their meals from the previous nights feed and had no interest in packing on more pounds. The full moon period is a difficult time to catch tuna because of this habit.

While we were tuna chasing, another Charter Captain called to let me know there was a decent bite happening. The Charter Boat Captains in this area, unlike other areas I have worked and fished in, work together to insure that everyone succeeds. Happy customers bring more business to everyone’s boats and with the price of fuel, insurance, etc we all need lots of happy customers to help keep us on the water.

 I steered in the direction of the friendly Captain, and found a small fleet of charter boats stacked over a mixed bag of cod, haddock and pollack.   In a short time we started putting some real nice fish in the box including some big haddock which I haven’t seen for a couple weeks. I don’t use bait on the boat (dogfish will just kill you out here) and as you can see by this photo….Haddock love Jigs!

As the day progressed we managed a decent catch of ground fish even though we would give chase to tuna as soon as we spotted some. I think the crew started getting a case of the fever, because every time I moved the boat all eyes on board were scanning the waters looking for bird/fish activity.

At 1400 we decided to head for the barn but along the way we spotted a more activity so again went we tuna wishin. This time we eased into the area and decided to throw lures into swirling waters. Mark got a hard hit and at first I thought he might have tagged Charlie  but I soon realized a very large bass was on his line. As I looked into the crystal clear waters I could see a bass about 40lbs on his bait and around and below his hooked fish were hundreds of similar size fish…just like looking into an aquarium. Mark’s striper managed to release himself, which saved me the trouble, so we proceeded back to the harbor. Stellwagen Bank is an incredible place to fish…I am so glad that I have made this my home this summer.

On the way into the harbor I asked the guys if they have ever been lobstering and would they like to pull a couple traps. With a positive response I showed how to pull and set the traps and the crew to work. In  a short time we had the string checked and had 2 keepers in the tank.

On the docks the guys loaded their coolers with 60 lbs of fillet and a couple lobsters. Considering we chased Charlie for about half the fishing time I thought we had had a fair day. The chance of putting a 200lb+ fish in the boat does come at a price but we all agreed it was worth the cost as can be seen by the smiles on the crew’s faces

There is a reason they call it Tuna Wishin. Unfortunately, once you catch one you will keep Wishin the rest of your life.

 

On Sunday, June 14^th Fred Oliver’s gang including Bobby and Keith climbed aboard the Lady Diane and we left the docks a little after 0500. I planned on fishing the offshore grounds again after making a quick stop in the net area. I wanted to stop here to give the guys a break in the 26 mile run we had and was interested to see if the cod fishing had indeed slackened as I expected.

First drop…3 rods bent…keeper cod in the boat…guess again Captain! The guys had a ball dropping jigs into shallow water and have them taken before they even had time to throw the reels into gear. This bite lasted for about 45 minutes and we put a one limit (10) cod in the box. Was today going to be the start of another streak? Unfortunately as fast the bite started it slowed until the short cod moved in and we returned to a much too high short to keeper ratio. I decided to pull the plug and head east.

After a 10 mile run I throttle back and the guys dropped their jigs to the bottom now 250ft away…Deep Sea fishing at last! It takes a lot more effort to fish the deep water but the guys were rewarded with great haddock in the 5-7lb class. We hadn’t found these fish for a couple weeks so I was glad to now know where to find them. This area holds haddock all summer so I plan on fishing here a lot.

We moved from spot to spot picking at the fish. The bite was not a slam by any means but we kept hammering away and put some real nice fish in the box including this nice market Keith stuck

But the catch of the day belonged to Bobby. In all my years of fishing I have never seen a fish of this species so large taken on any boat I have fished. I think it might be an IGFA record!

Even Starfish love Jigs!!!! We all had a great laugh over this catch…you never know what you will catch when you go fishing with Full Strike Anglers.

During the day, “Charlie” made a couple appearances so we gave chase but with similar results as the day before. The guys had not seen tuna like this, so while we only spent an hour or so chasing them, this crew  also showed signs of acquiring the fever as well…it is contagious!

Around 1330 we decided to head for the barn as we had a long ride home. So after a quick group photo,

I put the Lady Diane on course, set the autopilot, and manned the fillet table. I was surprised to see that the fish box was full to the top with nice markets and haddock. It is amazing how it all adds up at the end of the day if you just keep that jig moving. We stopped in the harbor and let the guys pull some traps for the fun of. We found lots of lobsters in the traps, but all were shorts which hopefully we will catch in years to come.

On the docks the guys loaded 30lbs haddock, 50lbs cod, and 5lbs cusk fillet into their coolers. A fair day of catching but a fantastic  day of fishing with a great crew of guys. I look forward to fishing with them again and soon!

And so ended another weekend of fishing adventures on Stellwagen Bank in the Gulf of Maine. With the moon getting darker the tuna fishing will only get better…maybe next weekend we will get our chance at putting Charlie in the Can!