Bait shops stock sea worm in April for winter flounder and early season striper. Below are some bait shops in North Shore.
Bridge Street Sports
280 Bridge Street, Salem, MA
Located near Salem train station. Sea worm is available year round and reasonably priced. The only choice in early April.
Al’s Bait & Tackle
24 1/2 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA
Across the R1A from Beverly Pier. Sea worm is available from the middle of April. Competitive price. Good variety of tackles, too.
Beverly Bait & Tackle
114 Bridge Street, Beverly, MA
On another Bridge street in Beverly. It is only for bait. Although tackles are no good, sea worm is sold at competitive price and some local information is available.
Three Lantern Marine & Fishing
7 Parker Street, Gloucester, MA
Convenient when you fish in Gloucester. Although sea worm is more expensive than shops above, the advantage is that you don’t have to drive away from the highway. They stocked all sizes of LavJigs in this season.
Tomo’s Bait & Tackle
104 Wharf Street, Salem, MA
I think this shop has some bait, too. It is open from early morning. Stocks excellent variety of squid jigs.
12/17/2013
12/14/2013
December Eastman’s Pollock
When I looked into the weather forecast, Sunday was cold but light wind. Report of Eastman’s for Friday trip was excellent. Lots of big pollock were caught. I made a reservation Saturday morning for Sunday allday trip. The man in the office said that they could add one. Might be they had good number of crowd.
Allday trip became 7-4 after summer time ended. I made lunch and left home at 5. When I got into the boat, cabin seats were not available anymore. It is not unusual for Eastman’s. Some fishermen drove more than 100 miles to the fleet. After keeping a spot at port side near the stern, I brought my cooler box to the cabin for seating. Several were at the deck but jumped into the cabin as the boat sailed out. Temperature was low 20s and it was very tough to stay out.
Lady Merrilee Ann 3 got anchored at 9 and we started fishing. There was no bait and all started with jig or flies on a high-low rig. I set a 14 oz LavJig and a pink hand-tied cod fly (6/0 O'Shaughnessy) to Ugly Stik BWB1140 6’6’’ and Okuma Classic Pro XP-452L. The spot was relatively deep, 300 feet. I got a hit at the bottom. It was a baby size pollock. After another small pollock, I got a keeper. It was not so big, 4 lb size. I found that I was only fisherman without gloves. Although heated rail helped a lot to warm up my hands, I should have prepared ones.
I realized that pollock was the only game that day. I tried squidding, reeling up 30-40 turns and falling to the bottom. I got hits during reeling, 20-30 feet above the bottom. In most case, the fish was hooked on the teaser. I kept 4 pollock up to 8 lb until 10:30. After a few resets, I got a double and a nice 13 lb one. Both came up with tangle. There were too many people. It was impossible to avoid tangle once you got a pollock. I had to cut braided main line twice. It was the last thing I expected in a trip in December!
Catch got slower before noon. The captain reset the boat. Small hake, redfish and cod showed up there. I wanted to catch redfish. Although I looked for Gulp in my jig box, I didn't have any. I changed a treble hook to a smaller one with an octopus bait and switched a cod fly with a gummy shrimp. As I stuck to the bottom, I felt like a snag. When I pulled the line, it moved. I thought it was a nice fish. I guessed it might be a cod because it didn’t run like pollock. After reeling in, what I found was a nice pollock, with tangle as usual… After another slow hour, fishing ended at 1:30.
I kept 8 and released 3 shorts. In the boat, some caught a dozen and others just got 2. Several per person was average. I saw several 20 lb up pollock, too. I had fish filleted and got some milt as well. Although it was not a super trip, I enjoyed steady catch with a few 10 lb class. Fish tasted good. I would like to thank the captain and the mates providing a nice fishing trip in this season!
Allday trip became 7-4 after summer time ended. I made lunch and left home at 5. When I got into the boat, cabin seats were not available anymore. It is not unusual for Eastman’s. Some fishermen drove more than 100 miles to the fleet. After keeping a spot at port side near the stern, I brought my cooler box to the cabin for seating. Several were at the deck but jumped into the cabin as the boat sailed out. Temperature was low 20s and it was very tough to stay out.
Lady Merrilee Ann 3 got anchored at 9 and we started fishing. There was no bait and all started with jig or flies on a high-low rig. I set a 14 oz LavJig and a pink hand-tied cod fly (6/0 O'Shaughnessy) to Ugly Stik BWB1140 6’6’’ and Okuma Classic Pro XP-452L. The spot was relatively deep, 300 feet. I got a hit at the bottom. It was a baby size pollock. After another small pollock, I got a keeper. It was not so big, 4 lb size. I found that I was only fisherman without gloves. Although heated rail helped a lot to warm up my hands, I should have prepared ones.
I realized that pollock was the only game that day. I tried squidding, reeling up 30-40 turns and falling to the bottom. I got hits during reeling, 20-30 feet above the bottom. In most case, the fish was hooked on the teaser. I kept 4 pollock up to 8 lb until 10:30. After a few resets, I got a double and a nice 13 lb one. Both came up with tangle. There were too many people. It was impossible to avoid tangle once you got a pollock. I had to cut braided main line twice. It was the last thing I expected in a trip in December!
Catch got slower before noon. The captain reset the boat. Small hake, redfish and cod showed up there. I wanted to catch redfish. Although I looked for Gulp in my jig box, I didn't have any. I changed a treble hook to a smaller one with an octopus bait and switched a cod fly with a gummy shrimp. As I stuck to the bottom, I felt like a snag. When I pulled the line, it moved. I thought it was a nice fish. I guessed it might be a cod because it didn’t run like pollock. After reeling in, what I found was a nice pollock, with tangle as usual… After another slow hour, fishing ended at 1:30.
I kept 8 and released 3 shorts. In the boat, some caught a dozen and others just got 2. Several per person was average. I saw several 20 lb up pollock, too. I had fish filleted and got some milt as well. Although it was not a super trip, I enjoyed steady catch with a few 10 lb class. Fish tasted good. I would like to thank the captain and the mates providing a nice fishing trip in this season!
12/06/2013
Sabiki Rig 2
Tying Sabiki is fun for a winter work. I tried new combinations this year. Detailed procedure is described in another post.
Film
Mirror film for windows is available at Home Depot. It is excellent because it is shiny and transparent, mimicing bait fish very well. Another characteristic I like is that it can make round 3D shape which imitates bait fish seen from any direction. I remove clear film, then remove glue scratching with a finger. I do this worrying if fish may dislike chemical in glue. An hour of work is good enough to get film for 100 sabiki.
Silver holo ribbon is also good. I got the ribbon below at Target. It is sturdier than mirror film.
Fiber
Nylon hair accessories disappeared from stores this year because of the end of boom. However, I found an online store selling nylon hair for dolls.
http://www.dollyhair.com/nylonhair.htm
I got several colors of materials for sabiki rigs and cod flies. Items of 38" hank are good. These materials are soft and frizzy. Good for flasher type of sabiki. Below is a silver color one, called Moonlight. I think fly tying materials are also good.
Hook
I got made-in-Japan hooks this season. They are super sharp and bulk packs of 100 hooks are reasonably priced.
http://www.fishhook.co.jp/pricelist/index_1_5_tataki_barb.html
Ooaji(No.9747) #13 and Shinkairyo Chinu (No.6663) #8 are good size and shape for mackerel sabiki. O'Shaughnessy #2 is also available.
Sabiki made of Ooaji#13, mirror film and nylon hairs of Daiquari Ice (light blue), Pussycat (light pink), Mango Tango (orange), and Spring Meadow (green).
Film
Mirror film for windows is available at Home Depot. It is excellent because it is shiny and transparent, mimicing bait fish very well. Another characteristic I like is that it can make round 3D shape which imitates bait fish seen from any direction. I remove clear film, then remove glue scratching with a finger. I do this worrying if fish may dislike chemical in glue. An hour of work is good enough to get film for 100 sabiki.
Silver holo ribbon is also good. I got the ribbon below at Target. It is sturdier than mirror film.
Fiber
Nylon hair accessories disappeared from stores this year because of the end of boom. However, I found an online store selling nylon hair for dolls.
http://www.dollyhair.com/nylonhair.htm
I got several colors of materials for sabiki rigs and cod flies. Items of 38" hank are good. These materials are soft and frizzy. Good for flasher type of sabiki. Below is a silver color one, called Moonlight. I think fly tying materials are also good.
Hook
I got made-in-Japan hooks this season. They are super sharp and bulk packs of 100 hooks are reasonably priced.
http://www.fishhook.co.jp/pricelist/index_1_5_tataki_barb.html
Ooaji(No.9747) #13 and Shinkairyo Chinu (No.6663) #8 are good size and shape for mackerel sabiki. O'Shaughnessy #2 is also available.
Sabiki made of Ooaji#13, mirror film and nylon hairs of Daiquari Ice (light blue), Pussycat (light pink), Mango Tango (orange), and Spring Meadow (green).
11/30/2013
Flounder and Tautog
It was a sunny Sunday in May. High tide was around noon. Although I had to go to the airport for a business trip in the evening, I had time before that. I thought I could catch some flounder. After getting two dozens of sea worms at Beverly B&T, I went to State Pier with my daughter.
When we arrived at the pier at 11, the spot I usually fish was open. Rigs are one-hook spreader rigs with 17 LB fluorocarbon leader and Aberdeen #4 hook. Sinkers were 1/2-2 oz. Main lines were 15-20 LB braided spooled on small spinning reels. I set 3 rods. The first fish hit on a 5.5’ toy rod. I asked my daughter to reel in. What showed up was a nice winter flounder, 17’’ one. I grabbed the gill of the fish and landed.
Soon after that, another fish hit on a 6.5’ freshwater medium rod. I had her reel again. It looked a little bigger. I picked it up from the water when she reeled it up to the surface. It was even better 18.5’’ one! Both fish hit near the pier. There was no action on a surf rod I casted farther.
As the bite became slower after high tide, I moved to Beverly pier. I wanted to consume the rest of baits. I knew there were lots of crabs so I thought fishing there was good to consume sea worms. I set the same rigs and dropped around the pier.
When I set the second rod, I found a strong hit. As I saw the rod tip bent, I thought it was not a flounder. After fighting carefully, what I found was not flat. I grabbed the main line and landed a black fish. It was a keeper tautog, 17’’ one! I was very lucky because I could catch it with a skinny Aberdeen hook. If I set hook strongly or I tightened the drag, the hook would bend and I couldn’t keep the fish. As it passed the middle of outgoing tide, I wrapped up.
I got all 17’’ up fish within 30 YD from the pier. Fishing in May is phenomenal!
When we arrived at the pier at 11, the spot I usually fish was open. Rigs are one-hook spreader rigs with 17 LB fluorocarbon leader and Aberdeen #4 hook. Sinkers were 1/2-2 oz. Main lines were 15-20 LB braided spooled on small spinning reels. I set 3 rods. The first fish hit on a 5.5’ toy rod. I asked my daughter to reel in. What showed up was a nice winter flounder, 17’’ one. I grabbed the gill of the fish and landed.
Soon after that, another fish hit on a 6.5’ freshwater medium rod. I had her reel again. It looked a little bigger. I picked it up from the water when she reeled it up to the surface. It was even better 18.5’’ one! Both fish hit near the pier. There was no action on a surf rod I casted farther.
As the bite became slower after high tide, I moved to Beverly pier. I wanted to consume the rest of baits. I knew there were lots of crabs so I thought fishing there was good to consume sea worms. I set the same rigs and dropped around the pier.
When I set the second rod, I found a strong hit. As I saw the rod tip bent, I thought it was not a flounder. After fighting carefully, what I found was not flat. I grabbed the main line and landed a black fish. It was a keeper tautog, 17’’ one! I was very lucky because I could catch it with a skinny Aberdeen hook. If I set hook strongly or I tightened the drag, the hook would bend and I couldn’t keep the fish. As it passed the middle of outgoing tide, I wrapped up.
I got all 17’’ up fish within 30 YD from the pier. Fishing in May is phenomenal!
11/22/2013
Top 10 Tasty Fish
If I choose top 10 tasty fish from species I have caught in NE, I pick up following.
10. Cod
White and flaky flesh with faint sweetness. Relatively small 20’’ size tastes best. Fresh is much better than frozen.
9. Smelt
Sweet white meat with moderate fat. I like baked one.
8. Fluke
Plain white meat, good for sashimi.
7. Mackerel
Super fresh one tastes excellent. Fall fish is the best with oil. Excellent source of omega-3.
6. Winter Flounder
Soft flaky flesh with solid taste. Good for everything.
5. Red fish
Flesh tastes excellent, faintly sweet. Sashimi tastes good, too. I would rank it in top 3 if it is not bonny.
4. Squid
Tastes excellent both fresh and frozen. Good for pasta as well as simply boiled.
3. Scup
Very strong savory taste with rich fat. Excellent fish-like fish especially when it is super fresh. Ice is necessary to keep them away from becoming fishy.
2. Blackseabass
Excellent white flesh with mild taste. Excellent for both sashimi and cooked. Frozen fish tastes excellent, too. I cannot find a weak point.
1. Tautog
It is hard to describe precisely. Simply I love it. Moderately fatty, moist and flakey, perfect balance. Excellent for both sashimi and cooked.
Although I wondered if I should include haddock and striper, I couldn’t drop cod and smelt.
10. Cod
White and flaky flesh with faint sweetness. Relatively small 20’’ size tastes best. Fresh is much better than frozen.
9. Smelt
Sweet white meat with moderate fat. I like baked one.
8. Fluke
Plain white meat, good for sashimi.
7. Mackerel
Super fresh one tastes excellent. Fall fish is the best with oil. Excellent source of omega-3.
6. Winter Flounder
Soft flaky flesh with solid taste. Good for everything.
5. Red fish
Flesh tastes excellent, faintly sweet. Sashimi tastes good, too. I would rank it in top 3 if it is not bonny.
4. Squid
Tastes excellent both fresh and frozen. Good for pasta as well as simply boiled.
3. Scup
Very strong savory taste with rich fat. Excellent fish-like fish especially when it is super fresh. Ice is necessary to keep them away from becoming fishy.
2. Blackseabass
Excellent white flesh with mild taste. Excellent for both sashimi and cooked. Frozen fish tastes excellent, too. I cannot find a weak point.
1. Tautog
It is hard to describe precisely. Simply I love it. Moderately fatty, moist and flakey, perfect balance. Excellent for both sashimi and cooked.
Although I wondered if I should include haddock and striper, I couldn’t drop cod and smelt.
11/16/2013
July Clipper
I planned on going to allday cod trip with my friends. Weather looked OK so it was the matter of fleet choice. I heard they wanted to jig. Drifting boat works better for jigging because you don’t have to cast a jig. I reserved spots at Clipper Fleet. Clipper fleet always tries to drift as weather permits.
I got a few Lav Jigs of 12-14 oz at Three Lantern before the trip. Weather forecast for Saturday was few showers. During summer time, this forecast is very good because it usually reduces crowds and most likely shower doesn’t matter if any.
We kept 3 spots at bow. As I expected, there were only 20 on board and only 5 on port side. It couldn’t be better for jigging, super spacious. Challenger left the dock at 7 and started fishing at the first spot minutes past 9. I brought Ugly Stik and Okuma reel with level wind as usual. The rig was 14 oz Lav Jig and a yellow cod fly as a teaser.
All three of us started with jigs. We caught fish steadily but they were small pollock. Bait fishermen got some undersize haddock. I got a hit of nice one but lost it during the reeling. When I got another hit, I reeled it in carefully. It was a side-hooked whiting. Around 10 o’clock, the captain decided to move to deeper water.
After sailing 20 minutes, the boat started drifting. I got a keeper pollock soon. New spot seemed better. I kept 5-6 of pollock/cod/haddock mix during the drift. My friends kept some, too. When the fishing became slow, the captain reset a drift. Next drift started with dogs even on jigs. The captain gave up the spot soon.
I switched to bait around noon. I felt bites but couldn’t hook up. As the current got weaker, my friends started to try smaller jigs. After a short reset, I got back to jigging, seeking for the pool fish.
Cusk were caught during the new drift. It seemed like rocky bottom. A friend of mine caught a nice pollock on a jig. He said it bit 20-30 feet off the bottom. I tried squidding up to 30 feet and got a hit. Although I didn’t felt it big during reeling, what I found was a nice 10 LB pollock. It was the biggest of my catch that day. I got another pollock of just 19’’ off the bottom soon. I released it because I kept 10 or so at that time. The fishing ended a little before 2.
I kept 11 fish, mix of pollock, cod, cusk, haddock and whiting. They kept several. It was very good for the catch of jig at this time of year. Bait guys kept up to 4-5 so jigs out fished. My biggest pollock won the pool. Steady catch, a bunch of species, drift perfect weather and super spacious boat all made the trip excellent!
I got a few Lav Jigs of 12-14 oz at Three Lantern before the trip. Weather forecast for Saturday was few showers. During summer time, this forecast is very good because it usually reduces crowds and most likely shower doesn’t matter if any.
We kept 3 spots at bow. As I expected, there were only 20 on board and only 5 on port side. It couldn’t be better for jigging, super spacious. Challenger left the dock at 7 and started fishing at the first spot minutes past 9. I brought Ugly Stik and Okuma reel with level wind as usual. The rig was 14 oz Lav Jig and a yellow cod fly as a teaser.
All three of us started with jigs. We caught fish steadily but they were small pollock. Bait fishermen got some undersize haddock. I got a hit of nice one but lost it during the reeling. When I got another hit, I reeled it in carefully. It was a side-hooked whiting. Around 10 o’clock, the captain decided to move to deeper water.
After sailing 20 minutes, the boat started drifting. I got a keeper pollock soon. New spot seemed better. I kept 5-6 of pollock/cod/haddock mix during the drift. My friends kept some, too. When the fishing became slow, the captain reset a drift. Next drift started with dogs even on jigs. The captain gave up the spot soon.
I switched to bait around noon. I felt bites but couldn’t hook up. As the current got weaker, my friends started to try smaller jigs. After a short reset, I got back to jigging, seeking for the pool fish.
Cusk were caught during the new drift. It seemed like rocky bottom. A friend of mine caught a nice pollock on a jig. He said it bit 20-30 feet off the bottom. I tried squidding up to 30 feet and got a hit. Although I didn’t felt it big during reeling, what I found was a nice 10 LB pollock. It was the biggest of my catch that day. I got another pollock of just 19’’ off the bottom soon. I released it because I kept 10 or so at that time. The fishing ended a little before 2.
I kept 11 fish, mix of pollock, cod, cusk, haddock and whiting. They kept several. It was very good for the catch of jig at this time of year. Bait guys kept up to 4-5 so jigs out fished. My biggest pollock won the pool. Steady catch, a bunch of species, drift perfect weather and super spacious boat all made the trip excellent!
11/09/2013
June Viking Scup
I was interested in the scup fishing of spring run. I talked with the father of a classmate of my daughter and scheduled a trip for the first week of June. When I called Hyline in the middle of May, I heard they had a charter schedule on 6/2. Helen H didn’t have enough spots. I looked into options of Buzzards Bay and found Viking Fleet. Although the ticket price was a little more expensive, they had a reasonable child price and the vessel was huge 140’, which would help in choppy condition if any. I made a reservation. My friend living in neighbor also joined.
I picked up my friend in early morning and drove to New Bedford. When we got into the boat, there was plenty of space on the port side. I kept spots for five in the middle. Soon the father and the son arrived. I set rigs and told the boy how to.
I used a surf rod and an Okuma spinning reel with 50 LB PowerPro and mono leader. When I fished scup in summer, I felt it a little tough to reel in because scup was an excellent fighter. I brought a conventional cod tackle for my daughter. It should be easier to handle. In addition to them I prepared a light tackle. When I compared the sturdiness of light rods, I found Shimano Sojourn 7’ was the toughest. I set a medium spinning reel with 30 LB PowerPro and mono leader.
As for rigs I made a bunch with 30 LB mono. I wondered which size of hooks work best. Although baitholder #2 worked best for July scup, fish of spring run seem bigger. The recommendation of Viking was #1/0. For me, Baitholder #1 looked versatile and I mainly used this size. For kids, I made dropper loop ones for easy untangle. For adults, I made a kind of high-low rigs. At 12’’ below the end loop for connecting main line, I made a dropper loop of 1’’ for a branch. I put a swivel to the dropper loop and connected 5’’ of branch. Another larger dropper loop for a sinker was made at 20’’ below the branch. Another hook was tied at 10’’ below the sinker. This rig can minimize the twist of the branch. We started with 6 oz sinkers except for my daughter, using 8 oz because of the cod tackle. I put a 4 oz one to the light rod.
The boat left the dock at 5 and arrived at the spot around 6:30. As soon as I dropped the rig for my daughter, fish bit on. I couldn’t have time to set mine. She got a big one soon and it was a big seabass. Great start! I started fishing with my rod. We kept steadily and the cooler was filled in high pace. Average size was 12-13’’ and occasionally 15’’ size showed up. Fish filled 60% of cooler space in one and a half hour. It was still before 8! Others did well too. Although my friend wanted to catch a seabass, he continuously reeled in scup after every drop.
Around 9 o’clock, the wind got stronger as the weather forecast said. If the wind came from the bow, the boat would be pretty stable because of the size of the boat. However, the strong current that day also pulled the boat to the different direction. The wave hit directly to the side of the boat and the boat started to roll. The boy got sick after a while. My daughter also got tired of the fishing and went to the cabin.
Fathers kept fishing with mix of seabass. I switched to the light rod and enjoyed for a while. I found a little higher frequency of losing fish. Maybe setting hook was incomplete with the soft rod. Another con of light rod was that I had to grab the leader to pull fish into the boat. I switched again to the cod tackle and caught a seabass. Maybe 8 oz sinker worked better for seabass.
As the tide changed, the rolling got milder. She started fishing again. In the last 1 hour, there was very little space in my cooler box. Smaller keepers were all released. Hook up became a little difficult. She needed to set hook several times to get one. The fishing ended around 11. We all literally ‘filled’ coolers.
I and my daughter kept 52 scup and 3 seabass. Although the bag limit of scup for two was 90, a 50 QT cooler couldn’t hold that many. Fathers did awesome jobs! They kept catching all trip long, stepping on the lid of the cooler box in the end. I was impressed with the tremendous catch of spring run! I enjoyed eating for months, too!
I picked up my friend in early morning and drove to New Bedford. When we got into the boat, there was plenty of space on the port side. I kept spots for five in the middle. Soon the father and the son arrived. I set rigs and told the boy how to.
I used a surf rod and an Okuma spinning reel with 50 LB PowerPro and mono leader. When I fished scup in summer, I felt it a little tough to reel in because scup was an excellent fighter. I brought a conventional cod tackle for my daughter. It should be easier to handle. In addition to them I prepared a light tackle. When I compared the sturdiness of light rods, I found Shimano Sojourn 7’ was the toughest. I set a medium spinning reel with 30 LB PowerPro and mono leader.
As for rigs I made a bunch with 30 LB mono. I wondered which size of hooks work best. Although baitholder #2 worked best for July scup, fish of spring run seem bigger. The recommendation of Viking was #1/0. For me, Baitholder #1 looked versatile and I mainly used this size. For kids, I made dropper loop ones for easy untangle. For adults, I made a kind of high-low rigs. At 12’’ below the end loop for connecting main line, I made a dropper loop of 1’’ for a branch. I put a swivel to the dropper loop and connected 5’’ of branch. Another larger dropper loop for a sinker was made at 20’’ below the branch. Another hook was tied at 10’’ below the sinker. This rig can minimize the twist of the branch. We started with 6 oz sinkers except for my daughter, using 8 oz because of the cod tackle. I put a 4 oz one to the light rod.
The boat left the dock at 5 and arrived at the spot around 6:30. As soon as I dropped the rig for my daughter, fish bit on. I couldn’t have time to set mine. She got a big one soon and it was a big seabass. Great start! I started fishing with my rod. We kept steadily and the cooler was filled in high pace. Average size was 12-13’’ and occasionally 15’’ size showed up. Fish filled 60% of cooler space in one and a half hour. It was still before 8! Others did well too. Although my friend wanted to catch a seabass, he continuously reeled in scup after every drop.
Around 9 o’clock, the wind got stronger as the weather forecast said. If the wind came from the bow, the boat would be pretty stable because of the size of the boat. However, the strong current that day also pulled the boat to the different direction. The wave hit directly to the side of the boat and the boat started to roll. The boy got sick after a while. My daughter also got tired of the fishing and went to the cabin.
Fathers kept fishing with mix of seabass. I switched to the light rod and enjoyed for a while. I found a little higher frequency of losing fish. Maybe setting hook was incomplete with the soft rod. Another con of light rod was that I had to grab the leader to pull fish into the boat. I switched again to the cod tackle and caught a seabass. Maybe 8 oz sinker worked better for seabass.
As the tide changed, the rolling got milder. She started fishing again. In the last 1 hour, there was very little space in my cooler box. Smaller keepers were all released. Hook up became a little difficult. She needed to set hook several times to get one. The fishing ended around 11. We all literally ‘filled’ coolers.
I and my daughter kept 52 scup and 3 seabass. Although the bag limit of scup for two was 90, a 50 QT cooler couldn’t hold that many. Fathers did awesome jobs! They kept catching all trip long, stepping on the lid of the cooler box in the end. I was impressed with the tremendous catch of spring run! I enjoyed eating for months, too!
11/03/2013
May Captain’s Halfday
Captain’s started halfday mackerel trips in the middle of May. As I checked the weather forecast, wind would calm down on Memorial day Monday. I made a reservation for the morning trip. I thought it was in the peak season and expected 50 fish. The only concern was the lower temperature during the last two days. I prepared the 6’8’’ Shimano Sellus and a small Daiwa reel as usual. A bobber stopper was tied on 15 LB PowerPro.
It had been a while since I went to Captain’s for a half day mack trip before. I got some cube ice on the way at Shaws. The boat was Captain George as usual. About a dozen of people were on board. The captain said the last trip was the last weekend and it was pretty good. Although wind blew at the dock, the sea was calm and flat once we sailed out of Merrimeck river. The captain said we would get to the spot in 30 minutes.
I brought several sabiki rigs. At the beginning, I picked up a 2-hook rig of mirror film. The hooks are Chinta, super sharp one. When I started fishing, I found the current was very strong. I had a hard time keeping the right depth range using a 1/2 oz mackerel jig. I switched the jig with a 2 oz sinker soon. It enabled me to have an idea of the depth I was fishing. As I dropped the rig to the bottom, I got herring. In the meantime, people began to catch mack. I got a double of nice size mack in relatively deeper water. Although I thought they were regular size of the day, fish became smaller. Flurries lasted for 30 minutes and I kept catching doubles. After 1 hour from start, the catch became slower and the captain decided to reset. At that time, I kept 18 mack including several 12’’ class.
I thought a jig would work better than a sinker. I switched the sinker with a 2 oz Crippled Herring. It was affected more by the current. As I dropped it to the bottom, a sculpin bit immediately. I released it. I tried 15 feet range but it didn’t work. Others didn’t catch either. This spot was no good and the captain sought for the school again. At 10:30, there were 20 fish in the cooler box. I wanted a little more.
As the current was still strong, I got back to a sinker and switched the rig to a 4-hook mirror sabiki. I tried to make the most of flurries. The new spot was good and we had steady catch. I got full hooks of fish 3 times or so. The captain said fish were in deeper water. However, I got fish at both regular 15 feet range and deeper range around 30 feet. It was a little tricky. Finally the captain reset again and drifted for the last 15 minutes. As the wind became stronger, it was difficult to fish without heavy sinker or jig. I managed to catch one and the time was up at 11:50.
I kept 34 mack and 2 herring. There were only 7 good size mack and the rest were tinkers. They were still good for eating. We had missed super fresh fish for a while. Although there was slower time, I enjoyed the first mack trip of the season.
It was the first time I used the mirror film sabiki. The mirror film was sturdier than the iridescent cero film I used in the season before and I found no tear of the mirror film. Nylon hair was still disturbed after catching some but it became stable overall. I caught full hooks of fish when schools came and lost few. I was happy with the performance. I also found that the Sellus could make a difference. Light weight, superfast taper and perfect power for mack fishing. It was really a good deal!
It had been a while since I went to Captain’s for a half day mack trip before. I got some cube ice on the way at Shaws. The boat was Captain George as usual. About a dozen of people were on board. The captain said the last trip was the last weekend and it was pretty good. Although wind blew at the dock, the sea was calm and flat once we sailed out of Merrimeck river. The captain said we would get to the spot in 30 minutes.
I brought several sabiki rigs. At the beginning, I picked up a 2-hook rig of mirror film. The hooks are Chinta, super sharp one. When I started fishing, I found the current was very strong. I had a hard time keeping the right depth range using a 1/2 oz mackerel jig. I switched the jig with a 2 oz sinker soon. It enabled me to have an idea of the depth I was fishing. As I dropped the rig to the bottom, I got herring. In the meantime, people began to catch mack. I got a double of nice size mack in relatively deeper water. Although I thought they were regular size of the day, fish became smaller. Flurries lasted for 30 minutes and I kept catching doubles. After 1 hour from start, the catch became slower and the captain decided to reset. At that time, I kept 18 mack including several 12’’ class.
I thought a jig would work better than a sinker. I switched the sinker with a 2 oz Crippled Herring. It was affected more by the current. As I dropped it to the bottom, a sculpin bit immediately. I released it. I tried 15 feet range but it didn’t work. Others didn’t catch either. This spot was no good and the captain sought for the school again. At 10:30, there were 20 fish in the cooler box. I wanted a little more.
As the current was still strong, I got back to a sinker and switched the rig to a 4-hook mirror sabiki. I tried to make the most of flurries. The new spot was good and we had steady catch. I got full hooks of fish 3 times or so. The captain said fish were in deeper water. However, I got fish at both regular 15 feet range and deeper range around 30 feet. It was a little tricky. Finally the captain reset again and drifted for the last 15 minutes. As the wind became stronger, it was difficult to fish without heavy sinker or jig. I managed to catch one and the time was up at 11:50.
I kept 34 mack and 2 herring. There were only 7 good size mack and the rest were tinkers. They were still good for eating. We had missed super fresh fish for a while. Although there was slower time, I enjoyed the first mack trip of the season.
It was the first time I used the mirror film sabiki. The mirror film was sturdier than the iridescent cero film I used in the season before and I found no tear of the mirror film. Nylon hair was still disturbed after catching some but it became stable overall. I caught full hooks of fish when schools came and lost few. I was happy with the performance. I also found that the Sellus could make a difference. Light weight, superfast taper and perfect power for mack fishing. It was really a good deal!
11/02/2013
July Hyline Seabass
Hyline Cruises has two different trips in summer time, bottom fishing and captain’s choice. When I went to the bottom fishing for scup, I heard at the ticket office that they were fishing blackseabass at the other trip and doing well. A fisherman I talked at the dock kept ten. It sounded very good. I planned the next trip for seabass.
Spots should be different from scup fishing, likely deeper water. Probably the boat fishes rocky bottom with drifting. I thought I needed 8 oz sinker and a rod which could handle the weight. I picked up the 9’ Shimano surf rod. The reel was Okuma spinning with 50 LB PowerPro and mono leader. I also carried a light tackle. As for rigs, I made a few high-low rigs.
When I got to the dock, I looked at a rental tackle. It was a bottom fishing gear similar to scup one but used a Shimano rod and a 12 oz sinker with a triangle swivel. What surprised me was the boat let fishermen/women fish only on starboard side. The boat would drift as I expected and limited the number of people to fill only one side of the boat. Excellent!
It took an hour from the dock to the spot. Fishing time was only two hours. Squid strips were the bait. I started with a high-low rig with an 8 oz sinker. Although regulars fishing at stern caught nice seabass steadily, I couldn’t get any. After a while, I got a small one. Soon after that, I got a better one, too. At that time, I found I always got hits during I felt the sinker bumping the bottom. I talked with a father of a family that it seemed like keeping the bottom was the key. After a few resets, I gave up a high-low rig and switched to a single hook rig with a triangle swivel. I also increased the hook size to 3/0.
I asked a regular catching many about tips to catch. He said that you had to keep the bottom. He used a 16 oz sinker but he lost it. Got it. Keeping the bottom was the key and the 8 oz sinker was too light for the drift speed of the day. The heaviest sinkers I had were 8 oz ones that day. I asked him if it was a good idea to put two 8 oz sinkers. He replied that I could borrow one the boat had for rental tackles. I asked a mate to allow me to use a sinker and set the 12 oz sinker to my rig.
Until this stage, I kept the rig ‘around’ the bottom once I felt the bottom. Considering the drifting situation, depth should change continuously. I should have released the line as I missed the feeling of bumping the bottom. I hadn’t done that diligently worrying about the tangle with others. I changed the handling of the rig to keep the sinker always bumping the bottom. After that, I began to outfish next fishermen significantly!
I brought some small squid I got at a local pier. This bait worked deadly as well. I had non-stop action with a few nice ones. Meanwhile, I tried the light tackle with an 8 oz sinker. It worked well as long as I could keep the bottom. However, the rod was too soft to reel in a big seabass against the drift. After getting back to the Shimano rod, I kept 2 more. The captain called the end of fishing at 11 o'clock. I kept 11 fish. Regulars kept 20, limited out.
The biggest fish was 18’, weighed 2.6 LB. As I cleaned fish, I found they ate mostly small crabs. They preyed on crabs swimming around rocks. It makes sense. If you pull out the sinker a few feet from the bottom, you have no chance.
Spots should be different from scup fishing, likely deeper water. Probably the boat fishes rocky bottom with drifting. I thought I needed 8 oz sinker and a rod which could handle the weight. I picked up the 9’ Shimano surf rod. The reel was Okuma spinning with 50 LB PowerPro and mono leader. I also carried a light tackle. As for rigs, I made a few high-low rigs.
When I got to the dock, I looked at a rental tackle. It was a bottom fishing gear similar to scup one but used a Shimano rod and a 12 oz sinker with a triangle swivel. What surprised me was the boat let fishermen/women fish only on starboard side. The boat would drift as I expected and limited the number of people to fill only one side of the boat. Excellent!
It took an hour from the dock to the spot. Fishing time was only two hours. Squid strips were the bait. I started with a high-low rig with an 8 oz sinker. Although regulars fishing at stern caught nice seabass steadily, I couldn’t get any. After a while, I got a small one. Soon after that, I got a better one, too. At that time, I found I always got hits during I felt the sinker bumping the bottom. I talked with a father of a family that it seemed like keeping the bottom was the key. After a few resets, I gave up a high-low rig and switched to a single hook rig with a triangle swivel. I also increased the hook size to 3/0.
I asked a regular catching many about tips to catch. He said that you had to keep the bottom. He used a 16 oz sinker but he lost it. Got it. Keeping the bottom was the key and the 8 oz sinker was too light for the drift speed of the day. The heaviest sinkers I had were 8 oz ones that day. I asked him if it was a good idea to put two 8 oz sinkers. He replied that I could borrow one the boat had for rental tackles. I asked a mate to allow me to use a sinker and set the 12 oz sinker to my rig.
Until this stage, I kept the rig ‘around’ the bottom once I felt the bottom. Considering the drifting situation, depth should change continuously. I should have released the line as I missed the feeling of bumping the bottom. I hadn’t done that diligently worrying about the tangle with others. I changed the handling of the rig to keep the sinker always bumping the bottom. After that, I began to outfish next fishermen significantly!
I brought some small squid I got at a local pier. This bait worked deadly as well. I had non-stop action with a few nice ones. Meanwhile, I tried the light tackle with an 8 oz sinker. It worked well as long as I could keep the bottom. However, the rod was too soft to reel in a big seabass against the drift. After getting back to the Shimano rod, I kept 2 more. The captain called the end of fishing at 11 o'clock. I kept 11 fish. Regulars kept 20, limited out.
The biggest fish was 18’, weighed 2.6 LB. As I cleaned fish, I found they ate mostly small crabs. They preyed on crabs swimming around rocks. It makes sense. If you pull out the sinker a few feet from the bottom, you have no chance.
10/18/2013
Jigs for Shore Mack Fishing
I have several types of jigs in the tackle box for shore mackerel fishing. Kastmaster is usually the primary choice. I use 1/4 to 3/4 oz chrome or chrome/blue depending on the wind, distance and depth. Alternates from South Bend or Cabela’s also work although the quality of the hook is not very good. Fluttering action at the falling is outstanding. The method I often use is jigging and falling near the bottom after casting. When I need the casting distance, I use 3/4 to 1 oz Crippled Herring. It also sinks slowly. Zingama jig is popular at Willows. I use 1-1/4 to 2 oz one when the strong wind blows. It is a fast sinking and fast semi-horizontal jigging to have mack chase is the way to go.
For the fishing from the pier, I tie the hook with 15 lb mono line instead of a split ring. I like to jig near the bottom. Fishing bottom is sometimes very productive especially in the middle of day. If you fish in such a way, snags are inevitable. I use 15 to 20 lb PowerPro for main line and 20 lb mono for sabiki main line. In most case, I can recover the jig at a snag, losing only a treble hook. I have tried a single hook as well but it didn’t work as I expected. It also snagged frequently at the spots I fished. I usually switch the jig when I lose the hook. In addition to the substitute jigs, I carry a few bulk hooks of #6 and #8.
For the fishing from the pier, I tie the hook with 15 lb mono line instead of a split ring. I like to jig near the bottom. Fishing bottom is sometimes very productive especially in the middle of day. If you fish in such a way, snags are inevitable. I use 15 to 20 lb PowerPro for main line and 20 lb mono for sabiki main line. In most case, I can recover the jig at a snag, losing only a treble hook. I have tried a single hook as well but it didn’t work as I expected. It also snagged frequently at the spots I fished. I usually switch the jig when I lose the hook. In addition to the substitute jigs, I carry a few bulk hooks of #6 and #8.
10/16/2013
May Pavilion Beach Flounder
Google satellite is an excellent tool to search for sandy spots. In early spring, I picked up several spots for the flounder fishing. Pavilion Beach was the one I wanted to try. I went there in the middle of May.
High tide was 16:30. After getting a dozen of sea worms at Three Lantern, I started fishing around 5 pm. I set a 12’ telescope rod, an 8’ surf rod and a 6.5’ freshwater medium rod. Spreader rigs with 1/2 to 2 oz sinkers were used. Single Aberdeen #4 hook was tied with 20’’ of 17 lb fluorocarbon leader. I put a whole sea worm to the hook.
I casted rigs in various directions. Some spots had eelgrass. When I reeled in the rig, I occasionally felt like a snag. As I understood the situation of the bottom, I found a hot spot. When I checked the telescope rod, I found a fish on. I reeled in carefully and found a nice flounder. I grabbed the main line and pulled it. I picked up a scale from a backpack and measured. It was 16’’.
Soon after that, I found another hit on the surf rod. I counted 10 seconds and set hook. I felt it swam differently. I wondered it might be a schoolie but what showed up was another nice flounder. It was even bigger, 17’’! I casted rigs to the spot I caught. I got another but it was a little shorter than 12’’ and was released. Although I fished until a little before 7 pm, the under size was the last one.
I fished there for the first time and had never seen anyone catching flounder there. Spotting fish is the most important for the catch. I think the spot determine 70% of the catch of the day. Finding new spots is the key to expand the options. And so much fun when it is successful!
High tide was 16:30. After getting a dozen of sea worms at Three Lantern, I started fishing around 5 pm. I set a 12’ telescope rod, an 8’ surf rod and a 6.5’ freshwater medium rod. Spreader rigs with 1/2 to 2 oz sinkers were used. Single Aberdeen #4 hook was tied with 20’’ of 17 lb fluorocarbon leader. I put a whole sea worm to the hook.
I casted rigs in various directions. Some spots had eelgrass. When I reeled in the rig, I occasionally felt like a snag. As I understood the situation of the bottom, I found a hot spot. When I checked the telescope rod, I found a fish on. I reeled in carefully and found a nice flounder. I grabbed the main line and pulled it. I picked up a scale from a backpack and measured. It was 16’’.
Soon after that, I found another hit on the surf rod. I counted 10 seconds and set hook. I felt it swam differently. I wondered it might be a schoolie but what showed up was another nice flounder. It was even bigger, 17’’! I casted rigs to the spot I caught. I got another but it was a little shorter than 12’’ and was released. Although I fished until a little before 7 pm, the under size was the last one.
I fished there for the first time and had never seen anyone catching flounder there. Spotting fish is the most important for the catch. I think the spot determine 70% of the catch of the day. Finding new spots is the key to expand the options. And so much fun when it is successful!
10/08/2013
October Willows Mack
We planned on a field trip for Sunday but rainy weather pushed it back by weeks. I knew the high tide were around noon. As l checked the radar, the rain would stop late in the morning. I decided to go to Willows pier for fishing mack. I thought this rainy condition would definitely reduce the crowd and most likely mack would school near shore this time of year.
When I got to the pier around 9:45, it still rained. I saw a fisherman leaving and asked him about the fishing. He said he started early morning and kept 5 mack. He also said another fisherman got an under size striper too. I carried 2 rods. There was a fisherman casting jig&sabiki at the end of the pier. I heard he started at 8 and had kept 3. Wind was against although it was not so strong. I set up Daiwa Acculite AL SS902MFS 9’ salmon rod with a medium Shimano spinning reel. The rod was the one I bought for casting a long sabiki rig easily especially at Willows. The reel was a wide spool one, which was designed for the surf casting. I spooled 15 lb PowerPro to it. The rig was a 4-hook mirror film sabiki made of O’Shaughnessy #2 with 1/2 oz Kastmaster.
I began with the center spots. The fisherman got one soon near the pier. I dropped the rig and jigged for a while but no action. I started casting again and fished different depth ranges. You need to catch fish when schools come. Keeping casting is the key. That is what the shore mackerel fishing is all about. The 9’ rod was a little tough to handle because I got used to use a 5’ UL rod. Due to the wind, I felt like the casting distance was shorter than usual. After 30 minutes, I changed the jig to a LaFesta 24 g. This jig worked better. Jig reached farther at a light swing. I also increased the Jigging speed to fit this fast-sinking jig. As I reeled, feeling the bottom, the jig occasionally hooked a piece of seaweed or shell. The rig stayed near the bottom as I tried to keep.
Although I thought the rain would stop soon, it became heavier. I wore a rain gear but was a little upset. When I started to think about leaving around 11, I felt something as soon as the jig reached the bottom. After a jig and a fall, fish hit. As I reeled in at a steady speed, more fish bit and the rod bent more. The fisherman asked me if I got and I replied I thought I got at least a few. Soon I found full hook of 5 mack! I couldn’t pull out the entire rig with the rod so grabbed the line and took them on the pier. Yes! I didn’t lose any! I took a photo, bled them and put them into the cooler. All fish were 12-13’’size.
As I kept jigging, I got snag. I thought I could recover the jig because I tied the hook with mono line instead of a split ring. However, the main line broke when I pulled it. I lost one of 2 LaFestas, which were out of stock years ago. I thought the casting distance was important that day. I put Zingama 1-1/4 oz under the 4-hook sabiki. I got a decent mack soon. After pulling five fish at the same time, it felt very light.
It stopped raining around 11:30. I found the fisherman got some. As I asked him “Got it?”, I saw a surface blitz! I quickly reeled in the rig and casted beyond the blitz. Pulling the rig at 5-6 ‘ range, I got hits. Full hook again! I tried pulling with the rod this time. After reeling to 5’’ above the swivel, I pulled out the fish. All the mack jumped into the pier. When I put fish in the cooler and got back to the fishing, the blitz was gone. No action around the area any more. After that I got a double but lost one. I wrapped up at noon. I got plenty. All of 12 fish were nice 12-13’’ ones and tasted delicious! Fabulous!
I thought I could get some if I had a spot in the pier. Actually it was much better than I expected. Willows tackles; a 9’ rod, 1 oz jigs and hand-tied sabiki rigs worked perfectly to catch schools. In addition to Zingama, I would like to test some 1 oz size jigs. Seems like fast sinking small 1 oz ones are easy to handle.
When I got to the pier around 9:45, it still rained. I saw a fisherman leaving and asked him about the fishing. He said he started early morning and kept 5 mack. He also said another fisherman got an under size striper too. I carried 2 rods. There was a fisherman casting jig&sabiki at the end of the pier. I heard he started at 8 and had kept 3. Wind was against although it was not so strong. I set up Daiwa Acculite AL SS902MFS 9’ salmon rod with a medium Shimano spinning reel. The rod was the one I bought for casting a long sabiki rig easily especially at Willows. The reel was a wide spool one, which was designed for the surf casting. I spooled 15 lb PowerPro to it. The rig was a 4-hook mirror film sabiki made of O’Shaughnessy #2 with 1/2 oz Kastmaster.
I began with the center spots. The fisherman got one soon near the pier. I dropped the rig and jigged for a while but no action. I started casting again and fished different depth ranges. You need to catch fish when schools come. Keeping casting is the key. That is what the shore mackerel fishing is all about. The 9’ rod was a little tough to handle because I got used to use a 5’ UL rod. Due to the wind, I felt like the casting distance was shorter than usual. After 30 minutes, I changed the jig to a LaFesta 24 g. This jig worked better. Jig reached farther at a light swing. I also increased the Jigging speed to fit this fast-sinking jig. As I reeled, feeling the bottom, the jig occasionally hooked a piece of seaweed or shell. The rig stayed near the bottom as I tried to keep.
Although I thought the rain would stop soon, it became heavier. I wore a rain gear but was a little upset. When I started to think about leaving around 11, I felt something as soon as the jig reached the bottom. After a jig and a fall, fish hit. As I reeled in at a steady speed, more fish bit and the rod bent more. The fisherman asked me if I got and I replied I thought I got at least a few. Soon I found full hook of 5 mack! I couldn’t pull out the entire rig with the rod so grabbed the line and took them on the pier. Yes! I didn’t lose any! I took a photo, bled them and put them into the cooler. All fish were 12-13’’size.
As I kept jigging, I got snag. I thought I could recover the jig because I tied the hook with mono line instead of a split ring. However, the main line broke when I pulled it. I lost one of 2 LaFestas, which were out of stock years ago. I thought the casting distance was important that day. I put Zingama 1-1/4 oz under the 4-hook sabiki. I got a decent mack soon. After pulling five fish at the same time, it felt very light.
It stopped raining around 11:30. I found the fisherman got some. As I asked him “Got it?”, I saw a surface blitz! I quickly reeled in the rig and casted beyond the blitz. Pulling the rig at 5-6 ‘ range, I got hits. Full hook again! I tried pulling with the rod this time. After reeling to 5’’ above the swivel, I pulled out the fish. All the mack jumped into the pier. When I put fish in the cooler and got back to the fishing, the blitz was gone. No action around the area any more. After that I got a double but lost one. I wrapped up at noon. I got plenty. All of 12 fish were nice 12-13’’ ones and tasted delicious! Fabulous!
I thought I could get some if I had a spot in the pier. Actually it was much better than I expected. Willows tackles; a 9’ rod, 1 oz jigs and hand-tied sabiki rigs worked perfectly to catch schools. In addition to Zingama, I would like to test some 1 oz size jigs. Seems like fast sinking small 1 oz ones are easy to handle.
10/05/2013
Float Rig
Float rigs are popular for shore mackerel fishing in October. A slip float is versatile because you can handle the rig with 6.5-7’ short rods. The float in a photo below is a representative one. This package contains beads and stoppers. For this float, a 1/4 oz egg sinker fits. Usually 7 to 10 feet from the float to the hook works. Small cubes of herring, mackerel or shrimp are good for bait. Although I like Gamakatsu split shot/drop shot #1 hooks, anything #2-#1 size would work. I usually use 12 lb fluorocarbon leader. Once a mackerel bites, the float rapidly sinks so it is pretty easy to catch the action.
10/01/2013
Early Season Flounder
I found Al’s bait opened at the beginning of April. As I looked into tide for Saturday, high was around noon. Water warmed up in the river would come out to the mouth in the afternoon. I thought it was ideal in early season. So I planned on fishing flounder at Willows pier with my daughter.
Unfortunately, Al’s didn’t have sea worm yet. I drove to Bridge Street and got a dozen on the way. We started around 2:45. I used a rig with a kind of spreader bar. Sinker was 1/2- 1 oz. Aberdeen #4 was tied with 16’’ of 17 lb fluorocarbon leader. I set a 12’ telescope rod, a 6.5’ medium rod and a 5.5’ medium rod. Reels were small ones with 15 or 20 lb PowerPro. There were no crabs unlike in summer. I wondered it might be too early.
Meantime boys on bikes came to the pier. When I talked with them a little, one boy found something bit on a telescope rod. I took the rod on hand and found that it was not wind but fish. I counted 15 seconds and set hook. What showed up as I reeled in was a 12’’ plus of winter flounder.
I casted all rigs to the same area but didn’t have any action after that. I wrapped up around 5. It was a warm sunny day so things worked as I expected. However, it was a surprise for me to catch a flatty in the first week of April. This year might be special because water temp was higher than average at this time of the year.
When I enjoyed flakey seafood for dinner, I realized with excitement that the season started. Where would I explore next?
Unfortunately, Al’s didn’t have sea worm yet. I drove to Bridge Street and got a dozen on the way. We started around 2:45. I used a rig with a kind of spreader bar. Sinker was 1/2- 1 oz. Aberdeen #4 was tied with 16’’ of 17 lb fluorocarbon leader. I set a 12’ telescope rod, a 6.5’ medium rod and a 5.5’ medium rod. Reels were small ones with 15 or 20 lb PowerPro. There were no crabs unlike in summer. I wondered it might be too early.
Meantime boys on bikes came to the pier. When I talked with them a little, one boy found something bit on a telescope rod. I took the rod on hand and found that it was not wind but fish. I counted 15 seconds and set hook. What showed up as I reeled in was a 12’’ plus of winter flounder.
I casted all rigs to the same area but didn’t have any action after that. I wrapped up around 5. It was a warm sunny day so things worked as I expected. However, it was a surprise for me to catch a flatty in the first week of April. This year might be special because water temp was higher than average at this time of the year.
When I enjoyed flakey seafood for dinner, I realized with excitement that the season started. Where would I explore next?
9/29/2013
July Eastman’s Marathon
July 4th was Thursday. As I reviewed fleet schedules, Eastman's had a marathon. It seemed that spots were still available as of Wednesday evening. I decided to leave early morning and try. I would go to allday if a spot was not available. As I called a little before 4 on my way, I could reserve a spot. So I kept driving to the office and checked in. The spot was the middle of starboard. Most of the people looked regulars, who were willing to go fishing for 12 hours that day! There were only several of rental rods. Main stream were 7-8’ sturdy jigging rods. Lady Merrilee Ann 3 left the dock at 5 and went out for 2 hours.
I brought 6.6’ UglyStik with Okuma level wind reel. Jigs were 14 oz Eagle Claw, which I bought at Kittery trading post for $9.99 sale price. Two regulars next to me brought in a big bleeding bucket and two 150 QT size cooler boxes with full of crushed ice. They got a few pollock very soon, removed gut and gill, bled in the bucket, and placed on ice neatly. I asked if it made difference. They said that meat would become lighter color and taste good. What marathon ready people!
I got steady bites of pollock too although it was slower than the party next to me. They casted a jig in long distance and continuously jigged up and down with holding a rod on the rail. Although I tried to copy them, I could not catch up them. They also got more cod. I managed to keep one cod but mostly 6-8 lb size of pollock. I kept yo-yo jigging. Catch didn’t change much, little shorts, no dog and no big ones. In the end, I got 10, 9 pollock and 1 cod. Although it was not very good as a marathon, it was not a bad trip. I would say good.
Compared to the next regulars I was way behind for casting distance and the number of keepers. I could get some on the stainless type of jig that day but they used Angerman. I wondered that Angerman jig or Lav jig might really outfish. As I saw the cleaning, 10 keepers were not so bad in the boat. I got dinner and some stock for lunch!
I brought 6.6’ UglyStik with Okuma level wind reel. Jigs were 14 oz Eagle Claw, which I bought at Kittery trading post for $9.99 sale price. Two regulars next to me brought in a big bleeding bucket and two 150 QT size cooler boxes with full of crushed ice. They got a few pollock very soon, removed gut and gill, bled in the bucket, and placed on ice neatly. I asked if it made difference. They said that meat would become lighter color and taste good. What marathon ready people!
I got steady bites of pollock too although it was slower than the party next to me. They casted a jig in long distance and continuously jigged up and down with holding a rod on the rail. Although I tried to copy them, I could not catch up them. They also got more cod. I managed to keep one cod but mostly 6-8 lb size of pollock. I kept yo-yo jigging. Catch didn’t change much, little shorts, no dog and no big ones. In the end, I got 10, 9 pollock and 1 cod. Although it was not very good as a marathon, it was not a bad trip. I would say good.
Compared to the next regulars I was way behind for casting distance and the number of keepers. I could get some on the stainless type of jig that day but they used Angerman. I wondered that Angerman jig or Lav jig might really outfish. As I saw the cleaning, 10 keepers were not so bad in the boat. I got dinner and some stock for lunch!
9/23/2013
August Frances Fluke
When I checked south of cape fleets, I was interested in fluke trips. It seems that peak season is August. As I talked with a fisherman I met often at local piers that let us go fluke fishing in summer, I scheduled a trip in middle August. We drove to Frances fleet.
As I found in the report that fluke up to 7 lb were caught, I brought in a rod for cod with Okuma Avenger ABF50 spinning reel with 50 lb PowerPro I used for striper. I also prepared a 5.5’ light rod with Shimano reel with 30 lb braid. As for a rig, I had no idea what was the right rig before the trip. I brought bulk hooks of bait holder 5/0 and some leaders, and planned to make a rig after seeing what other fishermen do. I also bought Gulp swimming mullet and a 3 oz SPRO bucktail jig.
When we got to the dock at Point Judith around 6:40, most of the spot were occupied. We managed to find spots near port stern. After reviewing rigs on the boat, I decided to make a bait rig. I made a high-low rig with triangle swivel. Lower leader was 20’’ with a 5/0 hook. Thirty inches above the swivel, I set a branch of 5’’ and tied a smaller hook. I used a bunk sinker of 8 oz. As for rods, most were salt medium, much softer than cod one. The boat, Gail Frances, left the dock at 7. We arrived at the first spot around 8:20.
The boat started to drift. It was pretty comfortable with light wind. Baits were spearing and strip of squid. I put Gulp, spearing and squid on lower hook and only squid on higher hook. At the beginning, several skates came into the boat. I also got one. After 30 minutes or so, keeper fluke began to come on board. I got a 15’’ seabasss as the first keeper. After a while, I felt something and hooked up a 20’’ fluke. In an hour, I got another similar size fluke and a larger one. A fluke was definitely different from a skate, which came up like seaweed without swimming.
Around 10:30, the captain moved for 30 minutes or so to a spot near Block Island. I kept a seabass and three fluke at that time, not so bad. I wanted to try a light tackle with a buck tail jig if the drift speed was not so fast and the depth was not so much. So I prepared a rig during the move. When the drift started, I found the bottom was a little rough. I saw some seabass came in with a few fluke on port side. When I felt like a little hard to settle the jig at the bottom as the wind became stronger, I got something like snag. As I pulled, it moved. I thought it should be a big fish. The tip of the light rod ran toward the water. I reeled in without being pulled the line from the reel whose drug was adjusted to the 15 lb of load. What I witnessed was a huge door-mat size of fluke! I had a monster netted by a mate. Awesome! He told me not to bleed just in case of pool competition. It fit in my 50 QT cooler although the tail has to be bent a little.
I continued to use the SPRO but snagged soon. I thought it would happen sooner or later at this rough bottom. I lost the only bucktail jig I carried that day so I got back to a bait rig. Meantime a mate brought a cod caught at bow. It looked like at least 12 lb. I thought it would win the pool of the day. Catching got slower around noon. The boat moved to south of the island. When I walked to bow, I found a fisherman I had seen at school. I talked with him and found that he got the big cod. He said he didn’t join the pool. He also said that several big fluke also came into the boat around bow.
The boat started to drift about a mile away from the island. Fishing was slow. I had a spearing taken by half. As I found smaller seabass on board, I put strips of squid only on hooks. That didn’t work. Half an hour left. The boat moved toward the dock and drifted for 15 minutes. Then the captain called the end. After all, I caught nothing in the second half.
I took the biggest fluke to stern for pool competition. Compared with a huge one in the basket, mine was heavier by a little. As mates cleaned fish, it was compared with big ones. I found two more huge ones but mine beat both. Yes, I won the pool as a first timer! It was 28’’, 9 lb monster. About 50 fluke were on board that day but some got several and others had no-keeper. Although 3-4 of 9 lb size were landed, it was a little spotty fishing. I realized that no medium heavy rod was needed for fluke. Salt water medium works as long as it can handle 8 oz sinker.
I kept 4 fluke with a big seabass, and won the pool. Definitely an excellent trip!
As I found in the report that fluke up to 7 lb were caught, I brought in a rod for cod with Okuma Avenger ABF50 spinning reel with 50 lb PowerPro I used for striper. I also prepared a 5.5’ light rod with Shimano reel with 30 lb braid. As for a rig, I had no idea what was the right rig before the trip. I brought bulk hooks of bait holder 5/0 and some leaders, and planned to make a rig after seeing what other fishermen do. I also bought Gulp swimming mullet and a 3 oz SPRO bucktail jig.
When we got to the dock at Point Judith around 6:40, most of the spot were occupied. We managed to find spots near port stern. After reviewing rigs on the boat, I decided to make a bait rig. I made a high-low rig with triangle swivel. Lower leader was 20’’ with a 5/0 hook. Thirty inches above the swivel, I set a branch of 5’’ and tied a smaller hook. I used a bunk sinker of 8 oz. As for rods, most were salt medium, much softer than cod one. The boat, Gail Frances, left the dock at 7. We arrived at the first spot around 8:20.
The boat started to drift. It was pretty comfortable with light wind. Baits were spearing and strip of squid. I put Gulp, spearing and squid on lower hook and only squid on higher hook. At the beginning, several skates came into the boat. I also got one. After 30 minutes or so, keeper fluke began to come on board. I got a 15’’ seabasss as the first keeper. After a while, I felt something and hooked up a 20’’ fluke. In an hour, I got another similar size fluke and a larger one. A fluke was definitely different from a skate, which came up like seaweed without swimming.
Around 10:30, the captain moved for 30 minutes or so to a spot near Block Island. I kept a seabass and three fluke at that time, not so bad. I wanted to try a light tackle with a buck tail jig if the drift speed was not so fast and the depth was not so much. So I prepared a rig during the move. When the drift started, I found the bottom was a little rough. I saw some seabass came in with a few fluke on port side. When I felt like a little hard to settle the jig at the bottom as the wind became stronger, I got something like snag. As I pulled, it moved. I thought it should be a big fish. The tip of the light rod ran toward the water. I reeled in without being pulled the line from the reel whose drug was adjusted to the 15 lb of load. What I witnessed was a huge door-mat size of fluke! I had a monster netted by a mate. Awesome! He told me not to bleed just in case of pool competition. It fit in my 50 QT cooler although the tail has to be bent a little.
I continued to use the SPRO but snagged soon. I thought it would happen sooner or later at this rough bottom. I lost the only bucktail jig I carried that day so I got back to a bait rig. Meantime a mate brought a cod caught at bow. It looked like at least 12 lb. I thought it would win the pool of the day. Catching got slower around noon. The boat moved to south of the island. When I walked to bow, I found a fisherman I had seen at school. I talked with him and found that he got the big cod. He said he didn’t join the pool. He also said that several big fluke also came into the boat around bow.
The boat started to drift about a mile away from the island. Fishing was slow. I had a spearing taken by half. As I found smaller seabass on board, I put strips of squid only on hooks. That didn’t work. Half an hour left. The boat moved toward the dock and drifted for 15 minutes. Then the captain called the end. After all, I caught nothing in the second half.
I took the biggest fluke to stern for pool competition. Compared with a huge one in the basket, mine was heavier by a little. As mates cleaned fish, it was compared with big ones. I found two more huge ones but mine beat both. Yes, I won the pool as a first timer! It was 28’’, 9 lb monster. About 50 fluke were on board that day but some got several and others had no-keeper. Although 3-4 of 9 lb size were landed, it was a little spotty fishing. I realized that no medium heavy rod was needed for fluke. Salt water medium works as long as it can handle 8 oz sinker.
I kept 4 fluke with a big seabass, and won the pool. Definitely an excellent trip!
9/21/2013
May Yankee Clipper Haddock/Cod
Originally I planned a scup trip in early May. When I called Hyline on Thursday, the office lady said they were catching several tautog in the boat. Situation was the same on Saturday so I gave up scup fishing. I didn’t want to go out next a couple of Sundays so searched for another good option. I found 6 am Yankee allday cod trip. The boat returns to the dock at 3 pm so arrival time home is similar to a cape morning trip. After checking weather forecast and asking my daughter if she would go, I reserved two spots.
I replaced scup tackles in a backpack with cod tackles. I found bait rigs were running short so decided to make some. I found a leader twisted as I reeled in a small cod last time and was interested in small dropperloop-swivel-leader design. Although I didn’t know how it works at that time, I made a few.
I prepared lunch around 4 am and left home at 5 with my daughter. Temperature was still low so we found cloud on river on the way. When we got into Yankee Clipper after checking in, there was still plenty of space except for stern. We kept spots at the starboard bench just behind the bow. I used UglyStik BWB 1140 6'6''with Okuma ClassicPro XP452L. My daughter used SturdyStik BWB 125 6'6'' and Okuma Classic CLX450L without level wind. As the captain said we would start with haddock, I set bait rigs to both of rods. The boat left the dock at 6 o’clock.
When the boat went out of the Gloucester harbor, the sea became rough. We got into the cabin and took a nap for a while. The boat arrived at the first spot around 7:30. I felt a little dizzy but my daughter was fine at least after the boat was anchored. My rig was a new swivel-leader high-low one. Her rig was a classic dropper loop high-low one, which was easy to untangle.
As we started, a few haddock came into the boat. I got a decent one soon. Size limit of haddock went up from 18’’ to 21’’ from May. I measured the fish and found it was OK to keep. My daughter got fish, too. A bigger one she got was a nice pollock, around 8lb. Modification of the reel was very successful because she could reel in this size of fish without any trouble. I tried jigging as I saw a pollock but snagged in one drop. I carried only two jigs that day so I got back to a bait rig. We kept 5 fish around 9 o’clock.
At the next spot after a reset, cod bit on. She reeled in nice fish, which turned out to be double keeper cod! I got double too but one was under. Some jig fishermen caught cod, too. So I re-tried jig. During an hour I used jig, she got nice haddock and cod one after another with a huge wolfish! Mates, captain and other passengers were all surprised at her performance. I took photos when she got nice ones. I got a good one felt like a pool cod but it was a side-hooked haddock, which was actually smaller than a pollock she caught.
I got into slow bite after catching three and meantime she went far away. I found cod were still being caught on bait rigs in port side so got back to the bait rig. I added two keeper cod in some shorts. She said she caught around 15 including released under size. I kept 5, got at most 10 including shorts. Fishing became slow and ended before 1 pm. As I counted at the time on cleaning, we got 14; 7 haddock, 6 cod and 1 pollock. Probably I kept 5 and she kept 9. Seemed like average was 6-7 pp. She did better than others, not only her dad.
I did all of works for two sets such as bait change, unhook fish, untangle and unsnag, which made the fishing time different indeed. However, I thought what made difference was that fish schooled around our spots bit on the bait rig when I fished with jig. The boat moved up and down by about 5 feet. She didn’t always catch up with the movement to keep the bottom. She just kept the rod in the middle; the line slacked at the bottom and the sinker taken from the sea floor by a foot at the top. It worked that day. Small movement of the rig attracted fish and helped her to set hook. I guessed softness of a solid glass rod also worked positively for sure bite of keeper fish. She did better than me, not complaining about sore arm. She was not a novice any more. It was very good trip and super fun for us!
I replaced scup tackles in a backpack with cod tackles. I found bait rigs were running short so decided to make some. I found a leader twisted as I reeled in a small cod last time and was interested in small dropperloop-swivel-leader design. Although I didn’t know how it works at that time, I made a few.
I prepared lunch around 4 am and left home at 5 with my daughter. Temperature was still low so we found cloud on river on the way. When we got into Yankee Clipper after checking in, there was still plenty of space except for stern. We kept spots at the starboard bench just behind the bow. I used UglyStik BWB 1140 6'6''with Okuma ClassicPro XP452L. My daughter used SturdyStik BWB 125 6'6'' and Okuma Classic CLX450L without level wind. As the captain said we would start with haddock, I set bait rigs to both of rods. The boat left the dock at 6 o’clock.
When the boat went out of the Gloucester harbor, the sea became rough. We got into the cabin and took a nap for a while. The boat arrived at the first spot around 7:30. I felt a little dizzy but my daughter was fine at least after the boat was anchored. My rig was a new swivel-leader high-low one. Her rig was a classic dropper loop high-low one, which was easy to untangle.
As we started, a few haddock came into the boat. I got a decent one soon. Size limit of haddock went up from 18’’ to 21’’ from May. I measured the fish and found it was OK to keep. My daughter got fish, too. A bigger one she got was a nice pollock, around 8lb. Modification of the reel was very successful because she could reel in this size of fish without any trouble. I tried jigging as I saw a pollock but snagged in one drop. I carried only two jigs that day so I got back to a bait rig. We kept 5 fish around 9 o’clock.
At the next spot after a reset, cod bit on. She reeled in nice fish, which turned out to be double keeper cod! I got double too but one was under. Some jig fishermen caught cod, too. So I re-tried jig. During an hour I used jig, she got nice haddock and cod one after another with a huge wolfish! Mates, captain and other passengers were all surprised at her performance. I took photos when she got nice ones. I got a good one felt like a pool cod but it was a side-hooked haddock, which was actually smaller than a pollock she caught.
I got into slow bite after catching three and meantime she went far away. I found cod were still being caught on bait rigs in port side so got back to the bait rig. I added two keeper cod in some shorts. She said she caught around 15 including released under size. I kept 5, got at most 10 including shorts. Fishing became slow and ended before 1 pm. As I counted at the time on cleaning, we got 14; 7 haddock, 6 cod and 1 pollock. Probably I kept 5 and she kept 9. Seemed like average was 6-7 pp. She did better than others, not only her dad.
I did all of works for two sets such as bait change, unhook fish, untangle and unsnag, which made the fishing time different indeed. However, I thought what made difference was that fish schooled around our spots bit on the bait rig when I fished with jig. The boat moved up and down by about 5 feet. She didn’t always catch up with the movement to keep the bottom. She just kept the rod in the middle; the line slacked at the bottom and the sinker taken from the sea floor by a foot at the top. It worked that day. Small movement of the rig attracted fish and helped her to set hook. I guessed softness of a solid glass rod also worked positively for sure bite of keeper fish. She did better than me, not complaining about sore arm. She was not a novice any more. It was very good trip and super fun for us!
9/20/2013
September Atlantic Queen
Seems like blue hadn’t come this summer. Halfday trip was still fishing mackerel in September. Usually mackerel trip is not available until the end of September so I planned on going late September or early October with my daughter. However, it is better to go in warmer season if you can. I found weather forecast for 9/15 was fine with light wind so I scheduled a trip for the day.
I thought the boat was not crowded at that time of year. I waited until the day came close to make sure the weather forecast. I called Al Gauron on Thursday and found that they wouldn’t have a half day on Sunday because of a charter schedule. I knew Eastman’s wouldn’t have a halfday that day either so Captain’s and Atlantic Queen were the option. I called Atlantic Queen and reserved spots. They would go off Hampton, same area as Al Gauron goes. Also ticket price for a child is a little less expensive than Captain’s. I took my daughter. A friend of mine came too. My daughter’s class mate, his brother and their father also joined. The fleet reported Saturday trip was excellent, that excited me a lot the nigh before.
Sunday morning, I arrived at Rye Harbor with my daughter around 7. My friend also arrived a little earlier and we kept spots at stern. The boat had spacious cabin and rod holders. Along the side deck, there was a kind of roof. It would be good when it was rainy but the rod tip hit when I handled a rod there. It was better fishing at bow or stern.
The boat left the dock at 8 and got to the first spot in 30 minutes. I prepared 5 sets of the tackles for mack. I set rigs of sabiki and jig for the boys' family and my daughter. I started with a jig-only rig with UL. In addition to them, I arranged a set for blue with 2 oz Hopkins and wire leader. I also brought in a sturdy ice rod. I had seen mates sometimes tried to use such tackles. So I wanted to try what I had.
Shortly after the boat got anchored, a flurry came in. Mack bit on rigs in double or triple. Busy time started. I took care of my daughter and other kids. We kept several nice fish by 9 o’clock. I tried an ice fishing rod meantime. I got two, one of which was nice 14’’ one. Although I expected it was super fun to get mack on the ice rod, it was not actually very good. The rod is too short so I felt like I just reeled in. Five-foot rod was way better.
We had another flurry and occasional bites until 10. I kept around 15 with my daughter. However, the bite was completely gone after that. The captain moved a few times, close to Hampton and near shore. I tried various actions in different ranges but the only fish I hooked were mini-size blue. My daughter explored the boat and ate lunch and snack in the cabin with her friends.
The trip ended after one and a half hour of not-a-single-action period. We ended up with 16 mack, I caught around 10 and my daughter got the rest. The boys’ family also kept around 16. My friend got 10-15. Although the number was just fine, there were several large ones, which were really tasty.
As the fleet rated the trip as very good in their repot, it seemed to be better compared to the ones in August. It was true a few really good flurries came in but overall catch was just good. I think it would have been better if I had used sabiki from the beginning because some active flurries came and those just didn’t last long.
Although it was a little too early for the peak season fall run, I was happy for going out that day because the weather was perfect, kids took some, fish were tasty and the catch didn’t increase the pressure to our freezer for another trip!
I thought the boat was not crowded at that time of year. I waited until the day came close to make sure the weather forecast. I called Al Gauron on Thursday and found that they wouldn’t have a half day on Sunday because of a charter schedule. I knew Eastman’s wouldn’t have a halfday that day either so Captain’s and Atlantic Queen were the option. I called Atlantic Queen and reserved spots. They would go off Hampton, same area as Al Gauron goes. Also ticket price for a child is a little less expensive than Captain’s. I took my daughter. A friend of mine came too. My daughter’s class mate, his brother and their father also joined. The fleet reported Saturday trip was excellent, that excited me a lot the nigh before.
Sunday morning, I arrived at Rye Harbor with my daughter around 7. My friend also arrived a little earlier and we kept spots at stern. The boat had spacious cabin and rod holders. Along the side deck, there was a kind of roof. It would be good when it was rainy but the rod tip hit when I handled a rod there. It was better fishing at bow or stern.
The boat left the dock at 8 and got to the first spot in 30 minutes. I prepared 5 sets of the tackles for mack. I set rigs of sabiki and jig for the boys' family and my daughter. I started with a jig-only rig with UL. In addition to them, I arranged a set for blue with 2 oz Hopkins and wire leader. I also brought in a sturdy ice rod. I had seen mates sometimes tried to use such tackles. So I wanted to try what I had.
Shortly after the boat got anchored, a flurry came in. Mack bit on rigs in double or triple. Busy time started. I took care of my daughter and other kids. We kept several nice fish by 9 o’clock. I tried an ice fishing rod meantime. I got two, one of which was nice 14’’ one. Although I expected it was super fun to get mack on the ice rod, it was not actually very good. The rod is too short so I felt like I just reeled in. Five-foot rod was way better.
We had another flurry and occasional bites until 10. I kept around 15 with my daughter. However, the bite was completely gone after that. The captain moved a few times, close to Hampton and near shore. I tried various actions in different ranges but the only fish I hooked were mini-size blue. My daughter explored the boat and ate lunch and snack in the cabin with her friends.
The trip ended after one and a half hour of not-a-single-action period. We ended up with 16 mack, I caught around 10 and my daughter got the rest. The boys’ family also kept around 16. My friend got 10-15. Although the number was just fine, there were several large ones, which were really tasty.
As the fleet rated the trip as very good in their repot, it seemed to be better compared to the ones in August. It was true a few really good flurries came in but overall catch was just good. I think it would have been better if I had used sabiki from the beginning because some active flurries came and those just didn’t last long.
Although it was a little too early for the peak season fall run, I was happy for going out that day because the weather was perfect, kids took some, fish were tasty and the catch didn’t increase the pressure to our freezer for another trip!
9/18/2013
How to Make a Sabiki Rig
Sabiki rigs of this design have worked really well. They caught tons of mack!
Materials
Film
Anything shiny and sturdy works. I like mirror film for windows but Doritos bag and ribbons also worked.
Nylon and holo hair accessories
For nylon hair, I prefer light color such as white and cottoncandy pink. I mix three strips of holo hair with nylon. Available at Claire’s or Five Below.
Hooks
O’Shaughnessy #2 - #1 (Mustad 3407) is good for mackerel. I like short shank sharp point hooks as well.
Leader
Mono15 lb branch with 20 lb main line is the best. Fluorocarbon is not recommended.
Tools
Scissors, Marker, Krazy Glue Advanced, Scotch tape, Pattern mat and Scale
1. Cut film to a half-inch-wide strip and fold.
2. Draw the guide line using a pattern mat and a marker.
3. Cut into desired shape. I use from 1-1/2" to 1-5/8" length.
4. Make a slit for flexible tip. It makes the tip fluffy like the tail of a bait fish.
5. Bundle nylon hair and holo hair with scotch tape.
6. Hold fibers together and trim the end with scissors.
7. Overlay fibers on the film. Trim again if you need.
8. Slide a hook in the film.
9. Tie 15 lb mono leader over the film.
10. Fix the knot with Krazy Glue Advanced. The glue fixes fibers as well.
11. Cut fibers and leader.
12. Make rigs as below.
Materials
Film
Anything shiny and sturdy works. I like mirror film for windows but Doritos bag and ribbons also worked.
Nylon and holo hair accessories
For nylon hair, I prefer light color such as white and cottoncandy pink. I mix three strips of holo hair with nylon. Available at Claire’s or Five Below.
Hooks
O’Shaughnessy #2 - #1 (Mustad 3407) is good for mackerel. I like short shank sharp point hooks as well.
Leader
Mono15 lb branch with 20 lb main line is the best. Fluorocarbon is not recommended.
Tools
Scissors, Marker, Krazy Glue Advanced, Scotch tape, Pattern mat and Scale
1. Cut film to a half-inch-wide strip and fold.
2. Draw the guide line using a pattern mat and a marker.
3. Cut into desired shape. I use from 1-1/2" to 1-5/8" length.
4. Make a slit for flexible tip. It makes the tip fluffy like the tail of a bait fish.
5. Bundle nylon hair and holo hair with scotch tape.
6. Hold fibers together and trim the end with scissors.
7. Overlay fibers on the film. Trim again if you need.
8. Slide a hook in the film.
9. Tie 15 lb mono leader over the film.
10. Fix the knot with Krazy Glue Advanced. The glue fixes fibers as well.
11. Cut fibers and leader.
12. Make rigs as below.
9/11/2013
Big Mack from Shore
It was late October. High tide was 4:30 pm on Sunday. I planned a fishing for afternoon. I arrived at State Pier around 3:30. There were several fishing boats limiting space. I started with a bait rig. As I prepare another rod, small pollock bit on frequently. When I casted the second rig, a young fisherman came and talked to me. He came for fishing smelt. I said that I had caught some a week before and people fished in the evening. He casted a sabiki rig for smelt but caught only pollock and cunner.
As a vessel left the pier around 4:00, I moved to the spot. There were lots of actions mostly stealing bait. I checked rigs often. Meantime I got a middle size mack. The number of polock was reduced at this spot. After a while I got a good hit on a rod casted in distance. I took the rod and felt something. During reeling it suddenly felt light. I wondered it might be a blue but what I found was a mack and a smelt. Seemed like the mack swam toward the pier. This mack was a little bigger. The smelt fisherman asked if he could exchange mack with smelt when he got a mack. I replied yes.
Action became slower as the high tide got close. I started to set a rod with a jig&sabiki rig. This rod was 9’ Daiwa Acculite with a 4-hook rig of 1’’ Rexbait silver holo and a 1/2 oz Kastmaster. Sometimes I got snag upon hit on a bait rig. Maybe a crab was feeding. I lost a few rigs and I made one. As I put fresh bait, I got a few smelt mixed in pollock.
When it got slightly dark around 5:30, he brought a large mack. As he put a piece of cunner on a no-sinker rig, it bit on. I exchanged it with 3 smelt I had kept. Soon I got a bite on a shorter rod. I thought it was a cunner and moved the rig not to have bait stolen. Doing that, a fish hooked up. As I reeled in, fish began to run. Should be a mack bit on during retrieving. With a cunner, a nice 15’’ mack came up. Active time had come.
I thought mack were in middle range. If so, it was time to use a sabiki rig. I didn’t set the bait rod and took the rod with a jig&sabiki. I casted the jig, counted down for 5 seconds as usual and jigged. At the second jigging, I felt multiple fish bit on, definitely nice ones. I reeled in trying not to let them run very much. What I saw soon were triple big mack! Got it! Although I lost one on the jig upon pulling, I kept two 15’’ mack at the same time.
All of the fishermen there started to cast jigs immediately (seriously!) but the hit did’t last. I wrapped up at 6. I kept 6 mack, 2 regular size and 4 big ones. It was spectacular as a shore mackerel fishing.
It was really perfect time to use a sabiki. I also thought the combination of Rexbaits and Kastmaster outfished because they looked like menhaden, which were schooling at that time. One hour after high was typically the best time from my experiences. Everything fit. It was a great day!
As a vessel left the pier around 4:00, I moved to the spot. There were lots of actions mostly stealing bait. I checked rigs often. Meantime I got a middle size mack. The number of polock was reduced at this spot. After a while I got a good hit on a rod casted in distance. I took the rod and felt something. During reeling it suddenly felt light. I wondered it might be a blue but what I found was a mack and a smelt. Seemed like the mack swam toward the pier. This mack was a little bigger. The smelt fisherman asked if he could exchange mack with smelt when he got a mack. I replied yes.
Action became slower as the high tide got close. I started to set a rod with a jig&sabiki rig. This rod was 9’ Daiwa Acculite with a 4-hook rig of 1’’ Rexbait silver holo and a 1/2 oz Kastmaster. Sometimes I got snag upon hit on a bait rig. Maybe a crab was feeding. I lost a few rigs and I made one. As I put fresh bait, I got a few smelt mixed in pollock.
When it got slightly dark around 5:30, he brought a large mack. As he put a piece of cunner on a no-sinker rig, it bit on. I exchanged it with 3 smelt I had kept. Soon I got a bite on a shorter rod. I thought it was a cunner and moved the rig not to have bait stolen. Doing that, a fish hooked up. As I reeled in, fish began to run. Should be a mack bit on during retrieving. With a cunner, a nice 15’’ mack came up. Active time had come.
I thought mack were in middle range. If so, it was time to use a sabiki rig. I didn’t set the bait rod and took the rod with a jig&sabiki. I casted the jig, counted down for 5 seconds as usual and jigged. At the second jigging, I felt multiple fish bit on, definitely nice ones. I reeled in trying not to let them run very much. What I saw soon were triple big mack! Got it! Although I lost one on the jig upon pulling, I kept two 15’’ mack at the same time.
All of the fishermen there started to cast jigs immediately (seriously!) but the hit did’t last. I wrapped up at 6. I kept 6 mack, 2 regular size and 4 big ones. It was spectacular as a shore mackerel fishing.
It was really perfect time to use a sabiki. I also thought the combination of Rexbaits and Kastmaster outfished because they looked like menhaden, which were schooling at that time. One hour after high was typically the best time from my experiences. Everything fit. It was a great day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)