To begin with, I have decided to establish the Full Strike Anglers Captain’s Pool for this year. The three largest groundfish (cod, pollack, haddock, or halibut etc) will be awarded FSA Gift Certificates good to use on any charter in the 2011 season. First Place-$100, Second Place $50, and Third Place $25. All anglers on any charter are automatically entered into the pool at NO CHARGE! I thought it would be fun to have a little competition going to see who can gain bragging rights for 2010.

The first charter of the season was on Tuesday, April 20^th, and Jake Williamson and his crew from VT headed east from Gloucester Harbor at 0600. Being the first trip I relied upon  a previous scouting mission I had taken the week before and some reports from other Captains in the harbor (Cape Ann Marina Charter Captains are simply the best!) to decide where to fish.

We pulled up on the numbers and were immediately attacked by huge schools of Pollack….not bad for the first drop of 2010. We grabbed a quick photo of the first catches of the season with the crew

We moved off the Pollack after taking quite a few and found the schools of market cod I knew where in the area. The fish where in small pods so I had to be very aggressive in getting jigs on them quickly. Typically I mark the fish, put the Lady Diane in hard reverse, and fire away. This went the rest of the morning and by 10:30 the box was getting full.

That is a 150 qt cooler full of dressed market cod averaging 8-14lbs…perfect eating size.

Sometime in the morning Jake landed a nice market which  currently holds 3^rd place in the FSA Captains Pool.

We limited out on cod at some point in the morning and played a little C&R (catch & release). To finish the day we took a little ride to see if we could find some haddock and did manage to put 4 in the boat.

We headed for the barn around 1330 and I manned my position behind the fillet board as the Lady Diane brought us home on auto pilot.

We arrived at the dock at 1530 and loaded over 200lbs of fillets into the coolers for the trip home to Vermont. Not a bad start to the 2010 season.

 

On Wednesday, April 21, Ed Brammer and his crew from CT headed east with me in search of the brown bombers. Ed was to have fished with me on the 17^th, but Mother Nature decided to change our plans. It turned out for the best,  the weather was perfect and the fish where ready to eat. 

We departed Gloucester Harbor at 0530 and steamed east at 28knts…I was anxious to get these guys on the fish. We pulled up to the numbers, dropped the jigs and slammed the Pollack. Double headers were common and soon the tote was full of perfect eating size 8-12 lb torpedoes. 

We then moved a little deeper, and simply put,  absolutely hammered the cod. Ed’s crew is all experienced fisherman so all I had to do was put them on the fish and they did the rest. Sometime during the morning Ed got on the board with the current 1^st Place Holder of the 2010 FSA CP-  a beautiful 25lb steaker cod.

 

We limited out on cod and the crew posed for a quick photo

and then decided to do some exploring for haddock. I went to some numbers I hadn’t fished on this year to see if the bugeyes were around. We started on some cod but pretty soon one of the crew got a tell tale rap bite and soon a nice 4 haddock hit the deck. By no means a slam but by the end of the trip 8-10 nice haddock where in the boat including this nice bull taken by Ed Jr.

Notice the secret bait that I fish haddock with…Iron Clams!

We left for the barn and hit the dock around 15:30. The guys loaded 200lbs+ into their coolers and reminded me that they would be back for more in May. 

 

On Day 3,  Kevin Phelps and the guys from northern NH decided to try their luck. We left the dock at 0515 and headed for the grounds. Not to be repetitive but it was like Ground Hog Day the movie…Pollack slam follow by a cod slam. The fishing was fast and furious and our cod limit was reached in short time. I must have been getting a little tired by this point as I don’t think I took some photos on this trip. I did find two blank photos on the camera so maybe it was pilot error so I apologize to the guys for not getting something for the page...you will just have to come down and do it again! 

I do know when we got back to dock the guys had a problem with lifting coolers stuffed again with over 200lbs of fillet up the gangway. They are a fun bunch to fish with and I look forward to having them on board again soon.

 

Friday was my day off until my good buddy Capt. Artie of Shelia DII charters called to say his first charter was running and he didn’t have a mate and wondered if I was interested. Sleep or fish...tough decision…of course those of you that know me, know what I did. 

 Turns out it was a noon time charter departure so I had time to prep my boat for the following day. That being finished, I  made the quick run to Beverly Harbor and off we went with 5 guys looking for some fun. A quick synopsis was Capt Artie found the fish (same general area I fish) and 5 guys put 50 cod, 35 pollack (we shut them off), and 4 haddock in the boat in 2.5 hours. Makes me think about doing some quick afternoon runs to the bank for those that don’t want to spend all day. We both cut fish for over an hour at the dock and I finally got home at 2330 totally exhausted.

Day Four found a breeze from the north that pushed "Jersey" George and his gang to the promised land of Stellwagen Bank. George had brought his son Zack and buddy Scott with his son Jack so we had a boat filled with high hopes and expectations.

While the Pollack bite was excellent the past 3 trips...today it was insane. Within 15 minutes the guys filled a commercial tote with market Pollack and were working on the second when the fun began. The wind increased to 20 knots from the north making diamonds in the rough on the seas's surface and the boat traffic increased to the point where it resembled the start of Bristol Bay AK salmon season opener. 

Everyone was jockeying for position on the fast moving schools of pollack and cod. You needed eyes in the back of your head to keep track of everyone around you as the fishing intensified. The wind got so strong and the drift so fast I needed to search for the fish going upwind (power washing the deck along the way) and then drift over them going downwind. As soon as a marked appeared on my machine the jigs were released and you had about 10 seconds of jig time to hook up...fortunately hookup time was around 6 seconds.

We spent the day on this spot and the Dads and boys put a ton of fish in the boat filling every tote and cooler we had.

Jersey George won bragging rights today with a nice 18lb market which currently holds 2^nd place in the FAS CP for 2010. He is pictured here (3^rd from the left) with the rest of the crew holding his prize cod.

The wind finally let go when we needed to head for the barn and since I hadn’t been able to fillet during the day I had 2 hours of cutting ahead of me. Once we cleared the fleet the Lady Diane’s auto pilot was engaged and we headed home at a leisurely 8 knots while I cut fish.

I started this business because I love to see people have fun catching fish. Nothing makes me happier than seeing a photo like this:

 

Two young men happy and exhausted after spending a day with their dads catching a ton of fish and learning a lot about life. George and Scott are proud parents and rightfully so. I commend them for taking the time to be involved with their children in an activity they can do together the rest of their lives. I still remember the days I spent on Lake Thompson in western Mass catching bullheads at night with mom and dad. Mom was a fanatic bullhead fisherman who taught me  how to handle those guys without getting horned. Funny how memories last a lifetime and I am sure Zack and Jack will have many to reflect on in later years.

I cut for 2 hours straight and still had half dozen big markets to do at the dock. The guys loaded up their truck and headed south to NJ with well over 200 Lbs of fillet and I collapsed. 

I can honestly say that this fishing is the best I can remember from my entire life.  I have never seen a better bite in terms of both  quality and quantity.  It simply dosent get any better than this.

It was a marathon week for sure but at the end of the rainbows laid Stellwagen Bank and the fishing trips one dreams about.

Tight Lines,