Got out to Platts today on a comm jig trip, all the bait and big fish have moved off leaving the resident markets and some small pollack. We scraped together our limit in spite of some Very cold water. At least the weather was nice.
Bob
Bob
codfishing
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cod.....im going out of boston this weekend on walshes.....is that anywhere near steelwagon banks?
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hey bob, sounds like i didn't miss too much. What was the biggest fish, and how was the weather??? Weather looks snotty for this sunday, nw 20-30, 4 to 8 ft, but they'ver been changing every report, so we'll see. If they're going,I'm going. I need to fish. Haven't been in a month and a half.
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Helen H - Skunked
At about 4:30 p.m. on Friday, we got the word that the Helen H was "go" for Saturday, 2/1. Good news, since the boat had not been able to make it out for the past two weeks.
We show up at the boat at 2:30 a.m. with about forty other guys and take off at 3:30 a.m. Everyone was happy and enthusiastic. We set up our gear and prepared for what everyone thought would be a great day on the Helen H.
The harbor was clear of ice. Weather was mild. Seas were calm.
Fifteen minutes out, we ran into ice six inches thick. It was so bad it ground us to a halt. The captain made every effort to continue but it was to no avail. For a while there I thought we were going to be locked in. Finally, we were able to turn around and return to port.
What a bummer!!
Hats off the the Helen H, as everyone got a full refund and the pool money, nearly $800, was returned. To be honest, I felt worse for the captain and crew than I did for the patrons. This has been a two week ordeal for the Helen H. Bad weather and ice has literally ground their operation to a halt.
Not to be deterred, we made some calls to the Jamaica and discovered that things look like a "go" for Saturday night. So we jumped in our trucks and headed south. We're now awaiting confirmation from the Jamaica that they are heading out tonight. If so, we're booked and ready to go.
So it looks like codfishing on the Helen H is temporarily on hold, but I hear they're hammering the sea bass, ling and pollack on the Jamaica.
Hey, things could be worse, right?
At about 4:30 p.m. on Friday, we got the word that the Helen H was "go" for Saturday, 2/1. Good news, since the boat had not been able to make it out for the past two weeks.
We show up at the boat at 2:30 a.m. with about forty other guys and take off at 3:30 a.m. Everyone was happy and enthusiastic. We set up our gear and prepared for what everyone thought would be a great day on the Helen H.
The harbor was clear of ice. Weather was mild. Seas were calm.
Fifteen minutes out, we ran into ice six inches thick. It was so bad it ground us to a halt. The captain made every effort to continue but it was to no avail. For a while there I thought we were going to be locked in. Finally, we were able to turn around and return to port.
What a bummer!!
Hats off the the Helen H, as everyone got a full refund and the pool money, nearly $800, was returned. To be honest, I felt worse for the captain and crew than I did for the patrons. This has been a two week ordeal for the Helen H. Bad weather and ice has literally ground their operation to a halt.
Not to be deterred, we made some calls to the Jamaica and discovered that things look like a "go" for Saturday night. So we jumped in our trucks and headed south. We're now awaiting confirmation from the Jamaica that they are heading out tonight. If so, we're booked and ready to go.
So it looks like codfishing on the Helen H is temporarily on hold, but I hear they're hammering the sea bass, ling and pollack on the Jamaica.
Hey, things could be worse, right?
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hey bob. Tom Loves Cod got out yesterday on walsh's. He said it was an awesome day, with limits all around and the pool winner at 28.
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Skunked on the Helen H - Hammered on the Jamaica
After the blowout on the Helen H, we headed south to Brielle, NJ and got on the Jamaica at 11 p.m. Saturday night. We should have known something wasn't right as the group coming off the previous trip said things were rough. The boat was nearly full - about 50 fares.
So we motor nearly eight hours to the site. The seas were getting rougher. Started fishing at about 7 a.m. Seas weren't good - probably 8 to 10 feet. Fishing on the first drop was poor. So we moved to a second site. The conditions got worse, 14-16 foot seas, wind was howling, and we were taking hits over the bow and stern. Fishing was poor. No limits and probably noone even close. Pool was won by a 30ish pound cod. Second place to a nice pollack. Relatively few sea bass caught. Fair amount of ling.
In my opinion, this trip should have been cancelled. The earlier trip reported sloppy seas and poor fishing and the weather was deteriorating. Howard Bogan, owner-captain of the Jamaica, didn't do anyone any favors on this one. He did give us a $20 chit as we left the boat. Not much consolation.
You win some and you lose some. Maybe I'll do Walsh's next week.
After the blowout on the Helen H, we headed south to Brielle, NJ and got on the Jamaica at 11 p.m. Saturday night. We should have known something wasn't right as the group coming off the previous trip said things were rough. The boat was nearly full - about 50 fares.
So we motor nearly eight hours to the site. The seas were getting rougher. Started fishing at about 7 a.m. Seas weren't good - probably 8 to 10 feet. Fishing on the first drop was poor. So we moved to a second site. The conditions got worse, 14-16 foot seas, wind was howling, and we were taking hits over the bow and stern. Fishing was poor. No limits and probably noone even close. Pool was won by a 30ish pound cod. Second place to a nice pollack. Relatively few sea bass caught. Fair amount of ling.
In my opinion, this trip should have been cancelled. The earlier trip reported sloppy seas and poor fishing and the weather was deteriorating. Howard Bogan, owner-captain of the Jamaica, didn't do anyone any favors on this one. He did give us a $20 chit as we left the boat. Not much consolation.
You win some and you lose some. Maybe I'll do Walsh's next week.
Meirowitz,
I was on the Helen-H on the 02-01 trip.
The Jamaica is notorious for not cancelling even in rough weather. There are several party boats in that category and the boat is one of them.
My friend fished on the Jamaica on Saterday and had limt catch. But only one section of the boat had good bites.
I went to north after the cancelation of the Helen-H and had a good time in a smelt shanty in Main. I didn't catch many smelt but had a good sleep which I missed on the Helen-H.
I was on the Helen-H on the 02-01 trip.
The Jamaica is notorious for not cancelling even in rough weather. There are several party boats in that category and the boat is one of them.
My friend fished on the Jamaica on Saterday and had limt catch. But only one section of the boat had good bites.
I went to north after the cancelation of the Helen-H and had a good time in a smelt shanty in Main. I didn't catch many smelt but had a good sleep which I missed on the Helen-H.
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There are several party boats in that category
Which other boats would you include in this category?
Which other boats would you include in this category?
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Kilsong, I saw the group coming off of the Jamaica on Saturday night and spoke to several of them. I can tell you they didn't look or sound like happy campers. In any case, the reports were fairly consistent that conditions would worsen and, sure enough, they did. If you're bottom-fishing at the stern of the boat and there's a sixteen foot heave going on, you can imagine it's hard to maintain bottom.
Anyway, not to be too philosophical about this, but I really think it's incumbent upon the captain to make sensible decisions about the comfort of the patrons and the likelihood of a limited catch due to adverse conditions. Not everything should be measured only in terms of $$.
Thumbs up to the Helen H; thumbs down to the Jamaica in terms of respect for the patrons.
Anyway, not to be too philosophical about this, but I really think it's incumbent upon the captain to make sensible decisions about the comfort of the patrons and the likelihood of a limited catch due to adverse conditions. Not everything should be measured only in terms of $$.
Thumbs up to the Helen H; thumbs down to the Jamaica in terms of respect for the patrons.
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Codkiller, aside from the fact that we were determined to go, given the distance we had travelled, and the report that the Jamaica would go out, I spoke with Howard Bogan just before we boarded the Jamaica and asked him about conditions. His response was that conditions weren't bad. I took him at his word.
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Cod fishing - Why all the way to Platts?
I've gotta look back at my charts, but I thought platts was a good distance east (say 20 miles) and a touch north of Jeff's Ledge. I don't get out this time of year, and am fairly new to cod fishing, but have been under the impression that you didn't have to go so far during this season. What gives?.. Is that due to commercial reg's or is the fishing just that much better, making it worth the trip?..
To CodKiller, You guys limited out, what is your current size & weight limit? You said commercial jig fishing, is that single line rod & reel as I'm seeing in the picture? It would be great if that was how all commercial fishing was done.
Jon
I've gotta look back at my charts, but I thought platts was a good distance east (say 20 miles) and a touch north of Jeff's Ledge. I don't get out this time of year, and am fairly new to cod fishing, but have been under the impression that you didn't have to go so far during this season. What gives?.. Is that due to commercial reg's or is the fishing just that much better, making it worth the trip?..
To CodKiller, You guys limited out, what is your current size & weight limit? You said commercial jig fishing, is that single line rod & reel as I'm seeing in the picture? It would be great if that was how all commercial fishing was done.
Jon
Meirowitz
Thats too bad. Hope nobody got hurt and I can understand everybody wanting to go but somebody has to have a clear head. Of course it should be the capt but the fisherman have to know their limits as well.
Leakyrivot its about 32 miles from Perkins cove and it has everything to do with regulations. Northern Jeffries is closed and when you go on a commercial jig trip ( rod&reel) you are almost targeting bycatch as much as cod. Once you have your 500 lbs of cod you really want to find a school of pollack and load the boat. This time of the year up here the pollack are offshore. A couple of years ago I did feb trip with Tim to Fippannies ( it was open then) and we picked away at the cod in the morning till we had our limit and then cruised around till we found the pollack, in few hours we put over three thousand lbs of pollack in the boat.This was fishing 3 or 4 bugs above the jig and you couldn't get to the bottom without multiple hook-ups.
Good fun but a 5 hour ride home.
Bob
Thats too bad. Hope nobody got hurt and I can understand everybody wanting to go but somebody has to have a clear head. Of course it should be the capt but the fisherman have to know their limits as well.
Leakyrivot its about 32 miles from Perkins cove and it has everything to do with regulations. Northern Jeffries is closed and when you go on a commercial jig trip ( rod&reel) you are almost targeting bycatch as much as cod. Once you have your 500 lbs of cod you really want to find a school of pollack and load the boat. This time of the year up here the pollack are offshore. A couple of years ago I did feb trip with Tim to Fippannies ( it was open then) and we picked away at the cod in the morning till we had our limit and then cruised around till we found the pollack, in few hours we put over three thousand lbs of pollack in the boat.This was fishing 3 or 4 bugs above the jig and you couldn't get to the bottom without multiple hook-ups.
Good fun but a 5 hour ride home.
Bob
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