12 of us ended up leaving Holiday Harbor around 5:45am and got set up on our first wreck around 8:45am. We were fishing in 145 feet of water, and as soon as the first baits got to the bottom, cod inhaled the clams and it was game on.
The first rod to the surface had a double header of cod, a 15 pounder on the high hook, and a 6 pounder on the low hook. For the next 2 hours, it was drop and reel fishing for a mix of Cod, Blackfish, ling, conger eels, wreckfish and a few very large sea bass.
When things slowed down we made a 1/2 hour move to our second spot in 160 feet of water. Again we had drop and reel fishing for about an hour and a half. We landed many more Cod and ling, and a few sea bass.
Not sure of the exact tally, but we filled a big igloo cooler 4 times with fish. All fish were dumped into a big insulated ice box, and photos were taken of the fish. I will post them and action shots from the day when they are emailed to me. (hopefully later today)
A conservative estimate would be 100 keeper cod, countless throw backs, 25 ling, a dozen very large sea bass, and 6 blackfish up to 6 pounds.
We short drifted a few more wrecks on the way home just to scout them out, and they were loaded as well. Don't miss the next open boat trip on the Islander when they plan to hit the 30-50 mile wrecks.
**The next Open Cod Trip will be Friday October 22. $100 per person We need 12 to sail and there will be a max of 20 people. Fresh Clams included.
E-mail NJsportfishing@aol.com or call me @ 609-290-8900
