Conference wahoo::fishing

       The Yankee Fleet out 'O Gloucester starts weekend fishing in
    April. Cod,Haddock, etc. A liitle cool but the best time for ground
    fish.
                                                          Denny

    	I have a friend that went down to Plum Island this past Sunday
    to do some surf fishing. He was using clams on the bottom. He didn't
    even get a bite. He had a good time watching the seals though. He
    said he had some with 20 yards of him.
    	To tell you the truth, I've never fished Quincy bay. I have
    always heard that it was relatively polluted. I hope to get out
    on one of the local party boats soon.
    	Drop me a line when you come up in May. Maybe we can get together
    and do some fishing. I have 2 or 3 bass tournements in May. One is May
    3rd (I think). It's the Pawtuckaway tournament and there will be
    more info in here on that. I have one on May 16th at Little Sunapee
    and then there's the DEC one they're talking about in here on May
    17th. Other than that, I'm open.
    
    RAYJ

    I've been monitoring this note, hoping that there would be more
    replies but it is still early. The salt water fishing for me will
    begin in the next week or two when I launch my new boat. Here in
    Maine the bottom fishing has started but it is still very, very
    cold on the water. I intend to fish the cod etc. until the warmer
    water brings in Mackerel, Stripers and Blues. Later in the Summer
    I'll follow the fish offshore a bit and keep at it until the frost
    is on the pumpkin.
    
    I think that this note could be a good source of information and
    entertainment, once the action starts. There is a group here in
    ASO that is planning a Cod run in May on a party boat out of 
    Portland. I'll try to get them to report on their trip in this 
    note.
    
    Think Fish
    Paul 

    Well, as of this past weekend (5/2-5/3) things are starting to get
    interesting down here. As has been happening for the past month
    or so, we are still getting a decent pick on (winter)flounders and
    a (relatively speaking) good pick at stripers. Only problem is the
    new 31 inch limit is causing 99 44/100 % shorts! This action has
    been so good in Raritan Bay that a lot of guys are cussin' the bass
    the way live liners cuss bluefish! Speaking of blues, there are
    reportedly several large schools in the vicinity right now. Saturday
    morning I stood on the beach at Sandy Hook watching a lot of splashes
    about a cast and a half out. I wasn't too sure what was out there
    until my partner slipped on a washed up bunker with a nice clean
    U-shaped bite missing from its back - undoubtedly done by a blue!
    Later that afternoon, I heard from a fellow S.U.R.F. Int'l. member
    that the blues had already invaded the bay. The waters must be rapidly
    warming, as I have had (unconfirmed) reports of blackfish from local
    jetties and some short ( < 13") fluke on some party boats. Oh ,yeah,
    mackeral are in pretty good right now, cruising about 10 miles off
    the beach and heading north (blues are probably right behind them!).
    That's it for now.... if I get oput this week I'll try and confirm
    the blues.
    Tight lines 
    Bagel

    Well, the rumors of blues down this way are TRUE! Friday afternoon
    I kept 7 fish in the 4 - 6# range. This followed a near keeper striper
    on Thursday a.m. ( sure feels strange putting back 12 lb + fish!)
    With this spell of hot weather looks like things are going to start
    real soon.
    
    Tight lines,
    Bagel
    

    Twenty some odd DECies chartered a party boat out of Boothbay Harbor
    Maine Friday (5/22). They reported that they did very well on Cod.
    None exceptionally large, but lots of them. It was exceptionally
    rough and there was alot of chumming the hard way over the rail,
    if you know what I mean. When it gets rough like that, it must be
    hard to keep fishing even though the jigging is kind of automatic.
    
    I'll let you know when I hear that the Blues etc. have arrived.

    I finally got out fishing yesterday and verified reports of mackerel
    in Casco bay. I heard that they have been here for about two weeks
    but I haven't been able to get after them because of other
    committments. We had no problem locating them and they were very
    cooperative. My nine year old son and his buddy were with us and
    they had a great time. It was one of those great days; the sea was
    calm, it was warm and the fish were cooperative. "It doesn't get
    any better that this".
    
    I hope to be reporting on blue fish this week, if I can get out
    again.
    
    Happy Summer
    Paul

    	Went on an overnight trip out of Plum Island (left Sunday at
    10:30 pm, returned Monday at 7 pm). We went 85 miles off shore and
    fished Cashes ledge and the Phipps (?).
    
    	Between myself, my father and a friend, we wound up splitting
    about 100 lbs. of fillets. Most was cod and cusk with some pollack
    and one wolfish.

    	Although it was damp and somewhat raw, it wasn't to cold and
    the ocean was as smooth as most lakes. The fishing was somewhat
    spotty but when they were hitting, you didn't have to wait more
    that 5 minutes between bites. There was no real big fish caught.
    The pool was one by my friend Ken with a 10 lb. cod. He said he
    was embarrased but didn't mind taking the $72.
    
    	We pretty much had the whole boat to ourselves. There was only
    12 people on a 78' boat (not counting crew). All in all it was a
    good time.
    
    RAYJ

    That sound like a good time. What was the cost per person and how
    far in advance did you make reservations?
    
    

    I don't recall the cost of the overnight trips, but I know they
    are rather expensive.  
    
    I remember going on the all-day party boats out of Gloucester/Rockport 
    back in the 60's.  The cost back then was about $8/person including
    rod, tackle and bait.  At the most, the boat would only go about 1/2 
    hour out (3-5 miles) and you fished in waters up to 100' deep. And
    you fished until your arms dropped off!  The pool fish was usually
    a cod in the 70 lb category with 40-50 pounders common.  On occassion,
    a halibut or two might be taken that weighed in at 150-200 lbs!!
    And haddock were plentiful at 10-20 pounds!  Without exception,
    the fish wells would be overflowing with fish and people would always
    leave TONS behind for the crew to sell.  I always took home at least
    100 pounds of fillets...not bad at 12.5 cents a pound!
    
    Today...alas...you pay $25+ bucks PLUS a few more for tackle, spend
    2-3 hours traveling out to the supposed "hot spots", spend a couple
    of hours fishing in waters up to 300' deep, your arms drop off just
    pulling up a hook to check the bait, and you hope you don't hit dogfish
    that end up tangling everyone's lines. Then...if you're lucky, you
    catch 2 or 3 small cod, maybe a pollack or small haddock, and a
    wolfish...U*G*L*Y...but good eating.  The pool fish is usually in
    the 9-15 pound class with one rarely over 20 lbs.  Then, you spend
    another 2-3 hours motoring back to port wondering why the hell you
    even bothered! 

       Yankee Fleet in Gloucester has overnight trips also, they also
    go to Cashes, about 100 miles out. They leave on Thurs. night and
    return Fri. night. cost is around $75. I used to go once a year
    but the price got a little steep for me. Always had good fishing
    though.
       Yankee also runs trips to George's bank and the islands. Some
    are 2 and 3 days. Boat sleeps 40. 
       Give them a call and they'll send you a brochure. I don't go
    with anyone else, and I've tried them all, believe me.
                                              denny

    Re:9
    	The cost was $75 and in this case, no reservation was needed
    as there were only 12 people total. That is probably bairly enough
    to cover their expenses.
    
    	There are no sleeping accomadations per se. The gally can hold
    about 20 people then it's every man for himself. I wouldn't have
    wanted to sleep outside on this trip. If you've ever camped in a
    tent in the rain, then you know what it felt like to be outside.
    If not, picture being surrounded by a dozen cool air humidifiers on
    high and blowing on you.
    
    	Joe's right about the travel time. Your in the water for about
    20 hours of which only about 7-8 of that is actual fishing time.
    
    	We also fished water that was between 350' to 250' deep. Using
    a rental pole (which cost $3) takes forever to get the line up with
    its 2:1 reel ratio. According to one of the mates I talked with,
    what you want is a reel with a 4:1 ratio and a cranking handle large
    enough to compensate for that. He can get a fish up twice as fast
    and handle larger fish easier. He also had a longer pole which is
    what you want if you want to jig.

    RAYJ

Given the travel times and COSTS  is there any wonder that I stay on
    the beach 99% of the time???
    
    I too can remember some "good old days":
    
    Back around 1967 when I culd drive myself to the shore, there was
    a fleet (3) of party boats In Avon, NJ that specialised in drifting
    for fluke. The fare on the half-day (5 hr.) boats was $4.50 !!!
    The pool was any change you had in your pocket UP TO $1.00!!!!!
    The run to the grounds was maybe 45 minutes (if you had to run against
    wind and tide). About half way through the trip, the skipper and
    galley mate came around and handed out FREE hot-dogs!!!! (You didn't
    mind paying 30 cents for a soda).
    Best trip I remember... was in the stern quarter next to a couple
    of older gents who polished off a pint of hard stuff 'fore we cleared
    the inlet. Fishing was pretty good that day with a nice drift and
    steady pick. This was the era of burlap bags tied to the rail for
    your catch, and little did I know that these two guys were having
    such a good time that they kept putting their fish in my sack,
    including the pool winner!!!!  One of them even took a photo of
    me and the winning fish and mailed it to me the next week.

    	Well this note has been quite for a long time. I hope that this
    doesn't indicate a lack of interest in salt water fishing. I wanted
    to reply on several occations but didn't really have too much to
    talk about. The Blue fishing in Maine this year is not as 
    spectacular as last season but it has been steady the last few weeks.
    I have only been Blue fishing a couple of times with nothing great
    to report. 
    	This lack luster season (except for the early Mackerel)changed 
    for me this past week however when I landed an eleven foot Porbeagle 
    Shark. I became interested in sharking while gathering info on Tuna.
    I had gone out two times previously and had a lot of excitement but
    didn't manage to land anything. After I got the bugs out of the
    system I managed to bring this monster in after a three hour battle.
    Experienced sharkers probably could have landed it earlier but I
    was content to play it safe with a conservative drag setting. The
    fish put on an incredible show of strength and really had me sweating
    and cussin by the time I got it to the boat. I don't know what the
    weight of the fish was but I am guestimating 400 lb. We cooked some
    of the meat up and it was delicious. I plan to tag and release most
    of the Sharks I catch but I wanted kill the first one in order to
    try the meat.
    	This is starting to ramble so I guess I will close by inviting
    others to try sharking "The poor man's big game fishing". 
    
    Paul Who_hopes_to_have_many_more_note_entries_this_season 

    Hey Paul... Good idea to open this one up again!
    
    Here's my contribution.
    
    Two weekends back we discovered a new way to test our drags on the
    beach... by hooking into BONITO! (These were the real thing, edible,
    etc... not little tunny). WOW... 
    
    As it happened: At just about first light I'm walking up the beach,
    stopping every 20-30 to cast a Bomber. I'm feeling real confident
    cause I can see bait jumping here and there. As I work my way along,
    I notice that where you usually find a line of seaweed and shells
    deposited by the waves, this time it is an unbroken line of BAIT
    be washed up and stranded. When I stopped to tie on a lure that
    would more closely resemble the rain-fish washing up, I suddenly
    heard a loud
    "ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG"
    as the next guy up the beach held onto a light rod bent into a perfect
    "C". Aftre finally securing a 1 oz Kastmaster to my leader, I got
    off a pretty good cast. Retrieving at 'bluefish' speed (rather quick),
    my rig was almost into the wash when the rod tip WENT DOWN!
    All I could do was hang on as I watched 10# Ande leave the spool
    at an almost scary rate. By now my neighbor had his fish on the
    beach and we could see that we were into some BONITO. Four good
    runs later, I had my fish on the shingle. As I unhooked the fish,
    which went around 6 pounds, I looked around and realized that about
    every third person was struggling to land one of these speedy battlers.
    I had heard of an occasional bonito caught off the beach, but never
    as many as I saw that day. I accounted for 3 fish on the beach and
    lost a few others. The 5 - 6 pound blues that were around seemed
    tame by comparison! When the action on this stretch of beach quieted
    down, we figured it was all over and everyone retired to the parking
    lot for coffee. Someone fired up the CB in his truck, and we suddenly
    heard that there were bonito breaking in the surf 2 miles south.
    Needless to say there was a scramble to head 'em off, and most of
    us lucked into the fish again. Even the old-timers admitted that
    they had never seen this kind of action with bonito- even in the
    "good old days".
    
    Of course, since then we have been lucky to catch a few blues here
    and there.
    
    Laugh of the day: One poor guy stood on the beach casting a metal
    time and again, bringing in a sea robin on each retrieve. He was
    so intent on the robins, that he totally ignored a school of bonito
    free jumping 10 yards in front of him! Back at the parking lot he
    asked someone why the fish were splashing the water.
    

    Well I got offshore again Labor Day weekend and caught 3 Blue sharks.
    We kept two and tagged/released the third. We could have gotten more 
    but decided to fit in some bottom fishing as well. We caught several
    market sized Cod each and then headed in. After this experience
    I am beginning to realize what I had on my hands during my first
    successful trip (ref reply .14). The Blues were 6 - 7 ft long but
    seemed like small fry compared to the monster I got a few weeks
    ago. The fight was just one or two runs straight down and then it
    was all over. The other two with me were excited because it was
    their first but I think that I am spoiled. BTW- That first shark
    may have been misidentified; the local experts claim that Porbeagle
    Sharks, which look very much like Makos, don't get as big as mine.
    It may have been a Mako.
    
    I don't know if I will be getting out Sharking anymore this season
    but I do want to make one serious bottom fishing run before the
    frost is on the pumpkin.(That occurs soon around here.)
    
    Oh, by the way, the Mackerel are back in force. Sunday was too rough
    to go off shore so we stayed in and really cleaned up on Mackerel.
    I froze them up for next years sharking. Tryin to keep the chum
    cost down ya know.
    
    Regards,
    Paul

    Paul, where did you get the mack's. Think you fish off the coast
    of Maine somewhere. I'd like to get some fresh ones for tuna bait.
    
    Steve

    Steve,
    	I caught them in Casco bay near Whaleboat Island. I heard that
    they are also off shore but I haven't verified that. My information
    source is Cal Robertson of Saco Bay Tackle Company in Saco Maine
    207-284-4453. He seems to know of what's happening anywhere from
    the Kennebec River to Jeffries Ledge. You might want to call him
    about the action closer to your area. 
    	The thought had occurred to me to fish for Macks in the early am 
    and then head out to the Tuna grounds. I am not equipped for handlining
    yet but I have two 50# class rods with 6/0 Penns and may just see what 
    I can do with them. I only hope I can fit one more trip in before
    either the season or my marriage ends.
    
    Paul

    OK... 
    	Here it is, mid-almost-late September. Saltwater (esp. SURF)
    fishing should be on the upswing - and you guys are pumped about
    mackeral?
    
    Are there any blues or bass (of the striped variety) or weaks chasing
    them? 
    Are there any fluke gorging themselves before they migrate off-shore?
    
    C'mon guys... IS THERE ANY ACTION??  ANYWHERE??
    
    Bagel who's_pounding_the_surf_in_the-ayem_
    

    Hey Bagel, just waiting for that november full moon.....
    
    I was at ISBP on 9/16.  Plenty of mullet in the surf, especially
    at the north jetty.  The only thing I saw chasing them was small
    blues, about 5-8 lbs.  The log book at betty & nicks showed a few
    small undersize bass in the past few days.  The time is right...any
    day now.
    
    BTW A few days before the surf was full of rainfish, with some very
    large blues after them about 15-18 lbs.
    
    My wife still can't understand why I start looking forward to the
    fall even before the summer started!
    
    I'll be going on an all-nighter the 23'rd.  I'll keep you posted.
    
    REGARDS,
            JOE D
    

    Bagel,
    	It's not that we are pumped up on Mackerel per se. It's what
    Mackerel bring in when they are sent on a Kamakaze mission in Tuna
    country. The Blues and Stripers have peaked here in Maine as have
    other warm water loving species. I've been told that you can catch
    them right into October but the action definately slows down about
    this time of year. Although the number of Tuna in the area is also 
    low, this is the time of the highest prices and its very tempting to
    try to beat the odds. One fish can pay for the entire years fishing 
    expense. As I stated in my previous reply though, I don't expect
    that I'll get out too many more times this season. The preshah of 
    gettin th fahm reddy fur wintah is gettin ta me. I think I'll jest
    ketch me a mess o cod and call it a season. 
    
    Paul    Don't_forget_huntin_&_ice_fishin_is_jest_around_the_cornah_Ayuh

I'm planning on going out on a deep-sea party boat this Friday and was
wondering if anyone has any feedback or commentary regarding how the
fishing action has been lately.  I've held off waiting for the waters to
cool off a little in hopes that the action would pick up and the dogfish
would disappear.  

I intend to fish mainly with jigs rather than cut bait.  Any other hints
would be appreciated from you salt-water fans.

Thanx,

Joe

    re: .21
    OK Paul.. you're not pumped..but at least I know that the blues
    and bass are heading my way now. Tuna fishing down here has had
    its ups and downs lately. In addition to private boats and (small)
    charters, lots of Party boats are looking for Tuna. Some days they
    come back to the dock low in the water, and the next trrip you can
    here the passengers grumping about $75 - $100 fares for a "boat
    ride".
    
    re:.20
    Joe_D... how was the overniter???
    	You're the umteenth person who has told me the mullet run has
    started. I think I need new glasses.. haven't seen a single mullet
    yet. Yesterday the water was extremely clear and flat.. just what
    normally brings mullet in on the beach at the Hook...but all we
    had was rainfish. The regulars said that even when the blues had
    bait trapped at the cove, it was bunker and spearing - no mullet.
    Bass action has been real ssslllloooowwww. Only 1 keeper in the
    last ten days...~43# though!.  This was caught by a rookie who
    certainly gave us some yuks when he dove into the wash to tackle
    that fish.
    Oh well, maybe this cool weather will drop the temps in the bay
    a bit and start things moving for the weekend.
    
    Bagel
    

    Beautiful night on the beach....new moon-lots of baitfish-medium
    surf-perfect tides,but.......no bass!
    Around daybreak there were a few very compact schools of mullet
    right up un the beach. I picked up about 3 dozen with one throw
    of the cast net.  They returned again about sunset which also happened
    to be low tide.  There was plenty of rainfish in the surf all day.
    The blues were active almost all day with small ones (3-6lbs) inside
    the sand bar and larger (up to 10lbs.) just on the other side. 
    The only problem we had was boaters breaking up the schools just
    as the larger fish would get into range.  When it was over I managed
    about 15 catch & release large fish, and a couple of dozen smaller
    ones on light tackle.
    
    Back to bass for a moment.....HELP!!!
    I have learned to read the beach pretty well when fishing for blues
    or weaks, but I must be doing something wrong when I go bass fishing.
    Any help that experencied surf fisherman can give would certinaly
    be appreciated.  I have seen a reasonable number of stripers taken
    off the same beaches at the same time I am fishing, but I can't
    seem to hook up.
    
    Regards,
            JOE D
    

    My report of the end of the season in Maine was premature. I haven't
    been able to get out myself but I hear reports that the Blues and
    Stripers are still here. The beaches, particularly in the Southern
    part of the state have been hot. Offshore fishing may be good but
    the weather hasn't been very cooperative. 
    

    Re. .24
    
    Joe... 
    I am convinced that catching stripers is heavily dependent on LUCK!
    I too, am confident in my ability to "read the beach" but this could
    not be proved by the number of Bass in my log! Case in point is
    this past Sunday. In all that "wunderful" weather,my partner and
    I started catching blues and false albacore right at first light.
    We were matching one another fish for fish for almost 2 hours until
    the action slowed. About a half an hour later, we both started casting
    to some breaks 50 yards out. We both were tossing creek chub poppers
    (1 oz) on 12# line and 9 ' lamiglass rods with Penn 550's. Working
    our lures ~20 feet apart, a 30 inch bass smashed his plug. After
    beaching and releasing the fish, we resumed "parallel casting. He
    got a hit, I didn't.  He hooked up, I got "bumped". At one point
    we cast our lures to the same swirl, they landed within 2 feet of
    one another..he caught the fish, I had to avoid his line. Clearly
    the LUCK FACTOR must be much higher than imagined!
    
    BTW The mullet run has finally started up here!
    
    Re: .25
    
    Paul, glad to have the "G-2" of bass and blues to the north. Helps
    to set my expectations for the next couple of months!. Thanks.
    
    
    Bagel

    Are beach, tide, moon weather etc conditions that are good for blues
    also good for bass?  Or are there other things I should be looking
    for.  I understand that bass are especially active at night, but
    I have seen more taken during the day, esp. just after daybreak.
    Is that because more people are fishing for them during the day?
    How about lure selection ie size, color, action etc?
    
    Still trying,
                 JOE D
    
    

    re -1
    Joe, sad, but true, you see more bass landed in the morning 'cause
    its harder to hide it then. Quite often I have come across guys
    fishing "slack" lines at night. I sometimes double back behind them
    and  now hear their drags singing! And I'm not even going to mention
    those "friendly folks" fishing the jetties from Long Branch to 'Squan!
    
    Seriously (more seriously)... conditions which are good for blues
    often ARE good for bass. One good tactic is to try and get under
    the blues. Lots of times bass feed on scraps under the blues and
    can be caught with a slow, bottom hugging retrieve (try metals or
    bucktails)   and  hope  for  LUCK! (I'm convinced)

    Who knows the location of Cashes ledge? About how far away is it?
    I know that most head boats that go there only do during extended
    trips, so it obviously isn't the first hill out of the bay.
    Any good LORAN nums? By the way what's hot north of Cape Cod?
    I'm going out on Saturday, and want to come home with a heavy cooler.
    
     The Doctah

    Cashes ledge is in the gulf of maine, I think aprox 100 miles from
    cape anne, it is well beyond jeffries, platts and them some.
    
    
    Bruce (who was there about 10 years ago when head boats first started
    making these runs and they only cost $40)

    re .-2
    
    Doc and I are trying to fill the coolers Sat, and Stellwagon's been
    gettin real slow.  This being my first year here with my boat, and
    I've exhausted all the areas I know, would anybody want to spare the 
    td's for Tillies or any other spots from Southern Jeffries south to 
    Middle Bank east to Portugal?   
    
    desparately seeking fish

    re .29>
    	Cashes is in the the Gulf of Maine. It starts 60 - 70 nm from
    anywhere. I had my eye on it last year but never had the nerve to
    shoot out there. Mabye now that I have had a year to get aquainted with
    my boat I might try it (in July-August when the conditions are perfect).
    I have some LORAN numbers that I took off the charts. I'll try to
    look them up and enter them tonight or tomorrow.
    	Saco Bay Tackle Co is putting on a seminar next week intitled
    "Offshore Maine Fishing" and I am sure Cashes will be covered
    extensively. I imagine I will pick up some more info and numbers
    and I will pass them on. The owner of the store was hinting at a
    trip out there with small group of boats (safety in numbers). I
    am going to press him on this while I am at the seminar.
    	BTW-The seminar is Wednesday at 6:00 pm at the Saco Maine Elks
    Club. Right accross from Funtown on Rt 1. It really isn't that far
    from Northern Mass or N.H.. Some of you should try to make it. 
    Paul                                                    

    re .-1)
    
    Paul,
    
    I'm taking my vacation the first week of august.  I'll be at Rye,NH
    and hopefully kwill have my boat up with me.  That might be a good
    time to try a caches trip, or at least meet for some tuna fishing.
    I carry 93 gal, and burn 7gph at cruise, so that should be plenty
    for most trips.
    
    joe

    	I didn't have the LORAN numbers but I looked up Cashes on the
    chart. I took some ROUGH readings which I will list below. Don't
    take these numbers to be extremely accurate. I worked them up this
    morning without parallels or any aids other than a wooden ruler.
    
    Ammen Rock is a point on the ledge which actually breaks the surface.
    It's coordinates are N42 deg 53' W68 deg 56'. Its location referencing
    certain points of land is listed below. 
    	74.5 nm from Cape Ann at a heading of approx 80 deg magnetic
    	69.5 nm from Cape Elizabeth at a heading of approx 135 deg mag
    	62.5 nm from Cape Small at a heading of approx 160 deg magnetic
                                           
    Joe - I'd like to talk more about a potential trip out there but
    I gotta go now. I'll add another reply as soon as I can.
    Paul
    	

    Thanks Paul,
    
    Those distances are all within my range.  Especially if we don't
    troll once out there.  The only problem I can see is that when 
    the weather is good enough for us to make a run like that, we'll 
    probably be heavily into chasing tuna in by Jeffries.  Lets talk 
    about it sometime.  By the way.  When and where was that talk in Saco? 
    And how much is it?  If I can find someone to go for the ride I might 
    head up there.  How far is Saco from Portsmouth/Kittery?  Portsmouth 
    is an hour from me.
          
    By the way.  I spoke to one of the local Capt's, and he said he
    had a terrific last week of June for giants.  It was either last
    year or the year before.  We might do some trolling with a daisy
    chain of macks while hunting cod tomorrow.  Dreaming again.
    
    Capt Squid.  Bring the sling shot next weekend, and I'll bring the
    bow!  The compound in 1 hand, a knife in the teeth. Bring on JAWS.
    
    
    Capt TAKE NO PRISONERS!
    

    Re .35> 
    Joe,
    	The seminar is Wednesday 6/22 from 6:00 till 8:30 or 9:00 pm at
    the Saco Maine Elks Club. It is put on by the Saco Bay Tackle Company.
    It costs $3.00. It will cover such things as good locations in the
    Gulf of Maine (I assume this means Cashes, Platts, Jeffreys etc),
    offshore techniques (a la deep water anchoring etc), chunking for Tuna 
    and other related topics. I can't make any guarantees but I've gone to 
    others covering Sharks, Tuna, Bottom Fish and Bass/Blues and have
    enjoyed them all. The Tuna presentation kind of missed the audience
    (It covered mostly trolling in big, expensive boats etc.) but was still
    entertaining.
    	Saco is about 35 miles north of Kittery so its about 1/2 hr
    from the Maine border. Take exit 5 off the Maine Pike and go north
    on Rt 1 (3-4 mi?). The Elks Club is on the right directly across the
    road from Fun Town which is a big amusement park. I'd guess that it would
    take you about 1 1/2 hrs total based on what you said in your earlier
    reply, which is the same time it takes me travelling south. 
    	Let me know if you decide to go and we can do something so that
    we can recognize each other there.
    See Ya,
    Paul

    Paul,
    
    Is there reserved seating, or is there usually enough room?  Last
    seminar we went to, was put on by the "Fisherman" and they were
    turning people away.  If the wife has no plans, I think I might
    try and make it up.  I'lll let you know by Monday.  Overman!  
    You want to go?
    
    Joe A.

    Joe,
    	Some of the seminars get pretty full, others only half fill
    the hall but there is no reserved seating. If you leave right
    from work and get there a little early you can be pretty sure of
    a good seat. I've never seen anyone turned away at the door.
    Hope to see you there.
    Paul
    
    BTW - The Macks are in Casco Bay. I went out both days this weekend
    and got a few. No blitz, but enough. I have heard reports of heavy
    catches in the area. I just haven't hit it big yet. Gettin anxious
    for offshore action.

    Paul,
    
    If I can get out early enough, I'll be there.  I might have to stop
    in Portsmouth to get some handline material before I come up.  I'll
    let you know if I'm definitly coming so we can meet.  I was up on
    Southern Jefries this past weekend, and we heard some party boats
    say they were marking giants.  I think its time to get ready. If
    I can only find the macks to load up on, now that a friend'll let
    me use his freezer. 
    
    joe

    Paul (or anybody else that might know)
    
    Can I use 3/8" pot warp to make handlines, or is that too small?
    I called New England Fishing Supply in Portsmouth, and they've got
    the best prices around here.  Only problem is they don't have any
    7/16".  I can get 1800 ft for $88.  I can make 4-450ft handlines.
    Each will have about 50' of 3/16" nylon to attach the leader to,
    and 2 floats.  
    
    Joe A.
    

    3/8 inch pot warp is OK. I heard that 2 tuna were stuck somewhere
    on jeffries Saturday. They were landed in Perkins Cove ME.
    
    Rummor also has it that the Moonies caught a handline fish at the
    northwest corner some time last week. 
                            
    Steve

    re .-1
    
    Thanks Steve.  I tried calling you Sat.  We heard about them on
    the air.  Maybe in the next week or so, I'll start.  Only problem
    left, is the lack of macks.  Haven't been able to find them lately.
    Gotta keep looking.
    
    Joe

    The macks have been pretty good off the coast of NH. There are blues
    in the area, but the macks are still biting. I need to get out one
    more time this week and top off my freezer. 
    
    Steve

    As Joe said, we went to southern Jeffries on Saturday. The cod fishing
    wasn't too bad in the morning. We hit a few on some humps just out
    of Gloucesetr. Joe pulled in a 20 pounder real early; it turned
    out to be the fish of the day. We both caught a bunch of small cod
    on jigs. I also got a small wolffish and a cusk. We tried bait a
    little, but the dogfish were a real pain. We were amused to hear
    the charter captains complaining about their troubles with the dogs,
    and anchors.
    
     From the sounds of things, we did better than the charter captains
    in finding fish. The morning was far more productive than the
    afternoon. All in all, it was alot of fun. We trolled for giants
    for a little while, and spotted some other trollers, but we weren't
    really prepared for one. We will be. Next time.
    
     We didn't find any macks, which was surprising. We'll be needing
    some for bait soon. 
    
    The doctah (who_thanks_Joe_A_for_his_hospitality)
    
    PS- Joe, I've still got your thermos.

    The mackeral are definately in.  Talked with a buddy of mine from
    Wells last night.  They went out Sat and Sun. and cleaned house.
    Got over 300 and 200 for the two days.  Stocking the freezer for
    chum and trollers.  Tuna shoulc be right behind.
    Good luck to all.
    Jeff

    Went out yesterday just of Manchester. Picked about a dozen macks
    but they were very spoty. We were fishing cod so I did not have
    a mack tree on, just got them on the the jig and teaser. These
    macks are much smaller than the ones of several weeks ago. I marked
    a couple of lonesome blues so I think the few macks that are left
    will be headed north real fast. The cod fishing has slowed way down.
    Only got about 20lbs of fillet and most were real small fish.
    
    Ready for tuna. Been practicing hauling my lobster pots. But I can't
    help getting the feeling that hauling a 30 pound lobster pot is
    not quite the same as an 800lb hoss mackerel.
    
    Bruce

    Has anybody heard anything about the shark fishing around the dump?
    What about you guys in the Jersey area- have the makos left you
    guys yet? I'm looking for any information about shark fishing south
    of the cape.
    
     The Doctah (who's_trying_for_mako_on_saturday) 

re: Note 283.47 by VIDEO::LEVESQUE     -< shark report? >-

Doctah,
Several Reports of some good size Blue Shark and Dennis Sabo 
claims to have caught a long fin albacore of the Vineyard. Have 
not heard of any Mako reports yet. The Mako are waiting for Tony
to bring the Doctah out on Saturday. By the way don't forget to 
remember the location you fish and good luck. We can try it 
ourselves in a couple of weeks ok? 
norm

    re. sharks in Jersey
    
    I spent most of last Sunday (6/26) drifting off the coast of south
    Jersey looking for Makos.  Unfortunatly, I think the cold water
    temps we have been having here for the last fews weeks have really
    slowed down the migration.  The word at the docks is that most of
    the charter boats expect them in full force this week, but also
    expect them to only stay around for a week or two. Down here, even
    though the air temps have been quite warm, the wind has generally
    been blowing from the southeast bringing in lots of cold air.
    
    Good luck,
        JOE D

    Re : .49
    
    Hey Joe, I didn't know that Ramchargers floated
    
    Rich

    When the New Yorkers start coming to the beaches in the summer,
    I found it more relaxing to go 30 miles out, get bounced around
    for 12 hours in 6 foot seas and pretend I wasn't hungry anyway.
    
    
    JOE D
    

     Saturday's charter turned out to be a shark trip, and what a trip
    it was. Total catch: 6 Blues from 150 to 300 pounds. Everybody got
    one except my brother who got two 150 pounders. I got a 12 foot,
    300+ pounder that had me tied up for 45 minutes. I think it's time
    to invest in a harness or kidney belt :-)
    
     I am still sore, but it was worth it. :^]
    
     We saw alot of tuna while we were out there. The whole ocean was
    alive. It was foggy all day; visibility was never more than 40 yards
    until we got back through Muskegit [sp]. There were alot of harpooned
    tuna in the water. No makos around though. We could've caught more
    sharks if we wanted to; there were always at least 4 or 5 around
    the boat.
    
     Tony captained the winning boat in the Oak Bluffs shark tournament
    a couple of weeks ago. Out of forty boats there were 6 sharks caught;
    Tony caught 4 of them. I guess ESPN was there. They ignored Tony's
    boat on the way out; something about all those shiny new
    sportsfishers:-). But they all wanted Tony to come by with his sharks
    at the end of the tourney. He'll be on ESPN in November.
    
    The Doctah 

    Speaking of blues, as in bluefish, went out with Captain's from
    Plum Island. Blue fishing was outstanding! There was no way you
    could get skunked unless you didnn't stick a line in the water.
    That mid-week Noreaster and the full moon really brought em in.
    September is looking real good for some good sized choppers.
    
    On the other hand, Devereux Beach surf fishing produced nil that
    night. As usual these fish show up when they feel like it.
    
    Looks like I'll be doing alot more bluefishing as my program at
    DEC cancelled as of today. Oh well....