Cod Round Up 2/24/2011 Island Current Report

[DarkSkies]

May not be any cod pictures I believe it's against the law to post pictures of juveniles without parental consent

Ouch! Finchaser trash-talking the Block Is bite.
Hey I know ya been seeing the big cod in the 20's from NJ, and you can't figure out why all us mooks are driving to Montauk and Rhode Is when there are bigger cod and pollock on the wrecks in NJ.

Maybe the bird life up there is better....

[DarkSkies]

This is Greg. He got the pool winner early in the night, around 13#. He gave me the head and rack, which I used to make codfishhead soup. More on that in another thread.
Nice to meet ya, Greg, and thanks!







One of the mates, Chris, weighing the pool fish. Chris was a top-shelf mate, running around like a madman to help with all the tangled rigs and action. Great guy, nice meeting ya Chris.

[DarkSkies]

We fished next to a great bunch of people. One such group was John, Dale, & Bill from Putnam County, LI. Members of the Kent Rod & Gun Club.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kent-R...b/260485592027

They're into fishin, and deer & turkey hunting. One of them showed me a pic of a 12pt buck he shot. He's also into bowhunting, and is a professional turkey hunt guide. His biggest turkey was 22#, that's a big drumstick!

Nice meetin ya's.

Some pics of them and their nicest cod...

[DarkSkies]

Fast Eddie the Miracle Man!

He's been in and out of hospitals 60 times since 1996! He got discharged from his latest hospital visit 3 weeks before he came out with us that night.

He's been to death's door and back again many times, and he always manages to pull through. He was an inspiration to us and others on board. We became fast friends as he told me stories of growing up fishing and his daily commutes from the Bronx to Two Guys in NJ, one of the places he worked.

He's a regular on the IC and Celtic Quest trips. He and his buddies had IC hats and hoodies. Hardcore rail yams, they are, with some great stories to tell of last year's fishin for all species.

Great meetin ya, Eddie, and God bless.

Here he is with one of the cod that were caught earlier in the night. WTG.

[DarkSkies]

Does anyone know what it means when the Capt. blows the whistle three times?

Yeah it means you have to get ready to stop....like an amber light!
I know I was bad, it's hard for me to stop when the fishin is that hot. I picked up 2 more fish as he blew the 3 whistles. And I gotta be honest, the last one was cutting it close. I pulled it in like I trolled it, it came in skipping across the water as the boat gained speed. I know it was a boneheard move, I failed in my beginner rail yam etiquette class.
But I did get to give Fast Eddie an extra keeper.











I want to talk about Mick the jig master. When the end was near Mick decided to start jigging. Not too much action at first, but after he got into it for a bit, he managed 4 fish, mostly short, but still fun anyway. And more of a challenge than fishin meat!

If we had more time I would have been jiggin them, but with the clam it was drop your rig to the bottom and within 30 secs you either had a fish or missed one. Insane.

Here's some pics of Mick with the fish he got on jigs.... proud of ya, Mick!
















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And some video of the closeness between boats.

Drifting within 20' of the boat next to you....Insane stuff, unless you have been in the middle.

[BassBuddah]

3. The cod stocks may already be in danger, despite the fishery only being reopened for the last 2 years for recreationals. Not many would be willing to bring this up, because of worries they might shut it down again. In fact, some may be irritated at me, by posting this statement here. That's fine, if that's your reaction to reading this.

However, this is not just an opinion, it's a collection of opinions and shared perceptions from private conversations with guys who have been codfishing for years, and are well-aware of the ups and downs.....

think about it, 2 years ago when the fishery was re-opened, the stories of the 40 and 50# cod were coming in daily, with pics to back it up.
thats not the case just 2 short years later.
In NJ there are currently no total limits on cod, where they are hyping the bite as well, and sometimes hammering them.
In LI, the 10 fish "limit" is only "suggested". No one will stop someone from catching and keeping 2, 3, or 4 times your legal limit of minimum sized fish.


Mick said this very clearly and simply, folks. Being greedy with these fish will hurt us all in the long run, and as of now, the "long run" is projected to be a short window before people start whining "Where are all the big cod, did they go offshore to some secret spot?"

Dark, your are not alone on your observations above. Here is a statement from a Montauk Capt I found on the web, Capt Gene. He basically states the same thing, that he feels the stocks are already being affected by the intense pressure:


"Head boats and the few charterboats that were involved in codfishing are starting to relax a little, since the rush is over. All the carpetbagger boats have left. There are still some cod around, but not like it was and most of them are shorts. Plus, I guess those hardy souls who don’t mind freezing their fingers off for a bunch of cod fillets are just about cod-fished-out. It was a great couple of months for them though. But, I think there are probably going to be some tweaks to the regs for next season. As it is, New York allows ten cod per person right now, but boats fishing under federal permits have no bag limits. Maybe that’s why it’s getting harder to catch legal fish now."