Thursday night Gambler

[Ol Pedro]

We left at 7:35 pm with a good crowd to calm seas and a slight breeze. Set up and caught a few nice Seabass and some Ling. The Macks started to show. Some of the fish were coming up with their tails bit off! Started catching small Bluefish on hi-lows and Ling rigs. Could see them in the chum and the Macks shut off. The bite built with some 4 lbers mixed in. Some limits early with white tail diamond jigs and dropper rigs with wire leaders doing most of the damage. We caught multiple doubles on hi-lows while customers were trying to catch Ling/Seabass. The pool fish was a 4-5lb Bluefish. Released a 6-7lb Cod. That broke my heart. That's the second keeper Cod that I have released this season. Everyone went home with sacks of fish.
We had some horrendous braid tangles that took way too long to undo. 20-25 foot mono top shots would have helped with all those fish wrapping lines. Again a lot of people brought too light tackle. This is PARTYBOAT fishing not a guided Charter. Watched one guy lose all his jigs because he was using 10 lb test. Spliced a 30 lb mono topshot to the 10 lb and problem solved.
This trip reminded me of pre-Sandy Bluefishing. Got to love those bloody decks. Hope we do it again tonight.

[Slip It In]

Great detailed report and good news about the bluefish around again.

I am confused regarding the cod, 21inch size with no limit is what i have known for years. Please let me know how i am reading that incorrectly.

Thanks

Peter

[Ol Pedro]

Originally Posted by Slip It In

Great detailed report and good news about the bluefish around again.

I am confused regarding the cod, 21inch size with no limit is what i have known for years. Please let me know how i am reading that incorrectly.

Thanks

Peter

We can't keep Cod in Federal waters(outside of three miles/the EEZ). This is a recent thing that the feds Instituted.

[Broad Bill]

So commercials wipe out another stock and the recreational anglers pays the price. Catching a 21 inch cod within the 3 mile EEZ would be the equivalent of catching a tile fish in the shark river inlet. So for all practical purposes, cod fishing is closed to the recreational sector, at least in local waters.

Curious, were similar restrictions imposed on the commercial sector?

[Ol Pedro]

Originally Posted by Broad Bill

So commercials wipe out another stock and the recreational anglers pays the price. Catching a 21 inch cod within the 3 mile EEZ would be the equivalent of catching a tile fish in the shark river inlet. So for all practical purposes, cod fishing is closed to the recreational sector, at least in local waters.

Curious, were similar restrictions imposed on the commercial sector?

BB, will research the comm. regs when I get up Sunday. When it is open there's a 22" minimum size for us sporties in fed waters. Sorry that I couldn't answer better but I got to get to the dock. Nothing like cutting clams on a hot day.