Sunday I started in earnest what I call my ‘combo’ trips out of Monomoy. As more of a weekend angler with my family and friends, this time of the year I launch at 5am at Stage Harbor and chase the Stripers and Blues out at Monomoy point.
After a couple hours a choice is made to either fluke fish or head east for Cod and Haddock. These trips are almost always made with my brother, Mark, a jigging fanatic, and my son Jack. On this trip, my niece, Catherine, came with us. She started fishing with Mark and I when she was maybe 10 years old, and is a great angler. I love having her along when she can come now with her own life obligations.
Sunday, with the north wind and fluke reports being a bit sparse right now, I had a hunch to go east. It paid off. You can find Cod in various point East of Chatham, north and south as well in a variety of depths. The key for me is finding a live bottom with a reef, wreck, contour structure and current.
It was one for the books. The pictures will illustrate better than I can write. Somewhere above my dad and Uncle Nick were high fiving each other. My son captured our wildest imaginations with a triple hookup, one on each teaser and the jig. Two 21” fish and an undersized. I will never forget that one.
We fished 115’ with diamond/Viking jigs and high low grub teaser rigs. Cod eat a variety of different forage along the bottom and yesterday we found they were on shrimp and crabs below. Some of the cod we caught had whole crabs in their bellies and this is why I favor the orange and red teasers. No bait was needed. Just jigging.
The largest fish was 30” and there were quite a few over 25”. The limit is 10 per person out east which is considered ‘south of Cape Cod’ in the regulations. (Cod retention and regulations and are much more limited in the GOM). There’s never a need to get 10 per person as a Cod fillet goes a long way in terms of feeding a group of people. All in all a wonderful day.
For those that tuna fish, it’s a very good Plan B. Explore and drop a jig and rig down. You may come across some very productive bottom.
The memories of yesterday will carry me through my work week.
Tight Lines everyone.
*This blog appeared in the MyFishingCapeCod Forum and is being reposted here followers of Monomoy Tackle.