In and around Apple Blossom time here in the Northeast it is time to leave the rifle and pick up your deep sea Rod and Reel. If you are like me and love to catch what you eat then you will not be disappointed. The Haddock and Cod are calling me and I must return to the Sea with my trusty rod. I have fished on my own for many years but I do enjoy a midweek fishing trip with Al Gauron’s fishing charters. We went to Jeffrey’s Ledge a famous off shore destination. If you want to fish with fisherman, fish  mid week as the weekends are full of tourists.

I ran into this fisherman friend named Moe. He is 86 years young and he can catch Cod and Haddock with the best of them. At 86 years old he could still jig for cod for most of the trip though we both switched to bait to give our jigging arms some relief.

No giant fish just good wholesome cod and haddock keepers for the table.

Today the Cod and Haddock were caught on both bait and jigs. The largest fish that won the pool was a Cod, I think. A Haddock on the previous trip weighed in at 14 pounds.

A Tasty treat from the briny deep!

I caught three keeper cod and two keeper haddock (out of 20 or so fish caught) making about 6 pounds of fillet after all is said and done. Paid me back for most of my trip! The weather was spectacular and the wind was less than 5 mph in early afternoon. We ran into schools of herring and pollock every where. A very good sign.

Last week the boat sat over a deep hump and everyone caught hundreds of keeper red fish, a rare occurrence.

On the way out and back I shot the breeze with Moe and Ron who are 86 and 75 years young. Moe is a former Navy man and Ron is a Marine, both were in great shape. We talked of their fishing experiences. Moe says he used to catch Cod and Haddock from shore when he was young. Times have changed. And I spoke of the era of the Steaker Cod fish in the 1980’s were it was not unheard of to bring in 40, 50 and 60 pound cod fish.

On this trip fisherman caught and released several Wolf Fish (endangered). Me too.

The captain said he rolled a big Cod and his rod bent sharply but got off the Jig. Largest hit he has got this year. Moe won the “pool” with a Cod fish around 10 pounds. I was thrilled for Moe!

I was privileged to have the time to talk to Moe and his Friend Ron as they both were elders that were still adventuresome.

Good Fishin’ © 2014