Roger reported a very good day of fishing overall aboard the Gail Frances. The day started a little on the quiet side but as the day wore on the bite improved. The last forty minutes all heck broke loose with much bigger scup and sea bass inhaling the clam baits as soon as they hit the bottom if not before! Just about everyone ended up with a nice bunch of scup and sea bass with a fair amount of limit catches recorded on the sea bass and a decent number of anglers had ten to fifteen good size scup apiece. A few 4 lb plus sea bass but generally lots of beautiful 1.5 to 2.5 lb stuff. Biggest sea bass noted was taken by longtime regular Richard from Lee Mass who had one well over 4 lbs. A few more of the platter size scup up to 2.5 lbs back in the mix today as well. A few nice ling. A lot of good size ocean perch. Quite a few blue fish of varying sizes from 1lb to “alligators” in the lower teens but the blue fish did not shut the bite down today like they did yesterday. For the cod, there were a couple handfuls and they were not all that spread out unfortunately. John Moore from Brooklyn NY was hi hook with four nice keepers today, John put on a rather impressive fin fish clinic today as he had hi hook or near hi hook honors on big porgies and sea bass as well as the cod. John also had a nice size ling and several blue fish. Another angler had three nice cod to 11 lbs(biggest cod of the day), an easy limit of good size sea bass, a bunch of nice scup, a mess of big perch and several good size blue fish. Even deck hand Troy managed to sneak in a cast and promptly landed a fine fat market cod today! Some short cod as well. Those who had cod today reported the bite again to be on the soft side. Always make sure there is a piece of bait on your hook which has some of the belly which is what the cod relish. We did see a couple of very green fish today and there were a couple yesterday as well so hopefully there are a few more new fish moving into the area. Both drifting and anchoring was employed today by Capt. Rich but the best method was anchoring up as it was just a bit too breezy for the drift. A few unmentionables this morning but they quickly evaporated after the first drop. Next trip right now is scheduled for Wednesday leaving at 7 am aboard the Gail Frances with Capt. Rich at the helm. Some pictures today showcasing angler hi lights are provided courtesy of Roger.
Capt. Mike reported a respectable early season day of togging. There were one or two limit catches and a few who were not far behind and some quality tog in the 5 to 6 lb range today. Biggest fish around 7.5 lbs. A fair number of shorts as well. More keeper sea bass in the mix today as well with some anglers having several apiece to take home in addition to the togs. A nice size Striper in the lower teens took the pool today. Next tog trip is set to sail tomorrow morning at 6 am with Capt. Mike at the helm.
Roger