Conference wahoo::fishing

Hummm....interesting idea!

What color worms were you using?  Rigged Texas style?  Snapped directly to 
each swivel or each on a short leader?


Last time I went out on a party boat early last month, one guy was using a 
16 oz diamond jig with several flourescent red salmon streamers tied about a 
foot apart above the jig.  He got a couple of doubles with this set-up and 
seemed to be outfishing most everyone else.

BTW... flipping doesn't seem to work too well in the ocean.

-HSJ-

    Not surprising....
    
    I often fish multiple tube teasers above my 17oz jig and have found
    with market cod I catch more on the teasers than on the jig itself.
    They imitate sand eels, one the best bait fish in all of the
    ocean. I find red and orange best but the are times when they love
    white. The only problem with this set up is when fishing the offshore
    ledges and large pollock are around. They seem to hit orange teasers
    and try dragging 2 30lb pollock up 200ft! (right, we should all
    have those types of problems)
    
    I will give the worms a try next spring, seems like 8" twister tails
    might be a good choice. Also I have heard that Red Gill sand eel
    imitations work well, these are not a far cry from a worm.
    
    Capt. Codfish

    The colour of the worms dosn't seem to make a lot of differance.
    basic effect of light dissapation at depth is the reason.
    
    As the light diffuses the colours fade out in the order of the spectrum
    with the reds,yellows,greens,blues going in that order.
    
    below a depth of 100 ft the only thing that remains the same is
    black. As far as what a cod can see; I don't belive they care if
    its flamingo pink, just as long as the shape,size and movement are
    right for the menu du jour.
    
    Capt cod- please tell us how you catch sand ells, or maybe a
    demonstation? I have used them on party boats but would like to
    catch them for my own livewell.as always fresher is better!
    
    Also has anyone else some unusual bairs or rigging methods?
    plese tell us.
    
                                              Walt.
                                              ltn.2  mass.

    Alas, I have never caught a sand eel and just finding them for bait
    is tough around here. I noticed down in Conn and RI that many bait
    shops sell them for Tuna chum. In general I fish Jigs and teasers
    and if I use bait at all I use sea clams. I enjoy jigging and have
    often worked my jig next to someone fishing bait and find that the
    jig out fishes bait constantly. It is also more convient fishing
    jigs since you never have to rely on the availability of bait. I
    have read that done in RI jigs do not work as well as around here,
    any comments??                                   
    
    
    Well time go...I am starting work on a rod building table tonight
    and hopefully will be wrapping a new custom jigging stick soon.
    Hmmm...Capt Codfish's Jigging Sticks...might be a big seller.
    
    CC

    
      I have caught sand eels but not for bait, just for fun when I
      was younger. If I remember right we used to catch them at low
      tide under rocks just above the waters edge. The place I caught
      them was at Malibu beach in Dorchester Bay. The beach  has a soft
      sand almost muddy texture at low tide and the rocks are sort of
      sunken in the mud. I'm not sure if the time of the year matters 
      but I think it was in the spring.
    
     I hope this helps. Good luck.
      

    
     I have used the large worms (about 10") on my 16oz jigs while
    fishing Jerrerys ledge with out much sucess... It could be my
    method of jigging? I think I will give it another try.
    
     There were not really worms but large grubs/lazer-tails that were
    sold at the fishing show in Wocherster last year.
    
     I am not sure what flipping is refered to but if it is what I think
    it is,I disagree!
    
     A buddy who is half fish always casts his jig out as far as he
    can and jigs back to the boat.He covers more ground or bottom 
    
    and *always* comes home with more fish than most anybody on a
    consistant level.
    
    				wayne

    re .6
    
    Just wanted to check, when you say "on my jig" did you mean directly
    on the treble hook of the jig or on a teaser rigged in the snap
    holding the jig?? I prefer neither!
    
    I have found that rigging the teaser about 12 inches above the jig
    works well for two reasons. One it does not tend to hook up with
    the treble on the jig as it does when it is rigged in the snap and
    two it catches fish!
    
    Also I give my jig a long heave down wind, this lets the boat drift
    up to the jig so that the angle of the jig starts ahead of the boat,
    straight up and down and then behind the drift. Most fish are caught
    on one of the first 3 jigs. This may be why in party boat situations
    that a person catching fish continues to catch fish. The line is
    constantly up and down while other poor slobs are fishing a wide
    angle and have let out tons of line to keep bottom and are doing
    nothing but taking the slack (stretch) out of the line when the
    yank on the jig. Jigging is hard work!!
    
    Capt. Codfish
       

    When jigging for cod.  The jig must be right on the bottom.  Let
    the line loose when the jig hits bottom, snap the drag, reel in not
    more than a half turn. Then jig. Repeat every ten jigs as the tide
    will move the jig away from the boat and up from the bottom.  People
    who don't keep the jig right on the bottom never catch fish.   
                                                           

    
     rep.7
    
     I put the worm on the line above the jig.I am sure I am not doing
    it correctly.How do you do it??
    
    
    				wayne

    The way I rig for cod...
    
    		| 50lb test mono line
    		|
    		O 200-300 lb test snap swivle  (sometimes I put a teaser
    	       /o Barrel swivle                 this snap)
    	      J	| 18 inches 100lb mono leader
                |
                oo Dropper Loop
    		| \
    		|  J  Teaser
    		| 18 inches
    		|
    		O snap swivle
    		^
    		V Jig  (6-17oz Stainless)
    		J
    
    
    Capt. Codfish                  
                             

      
    Looks good! I use dacron (50#) instead of mono because of the strech
    problem when down @150-300 feet. Then I will use 40 or 50# leader
    of mono about 12 feet long....
    
    	I wil give this a try next time I go out.
    			thanks!
    
    				wayne

    I stopped by The Fishermans Outfitter at Baeret Marine in Danvers
    and they were having a sale on Cod Jigs. A 17 oz stainless norweigen
    jig was $7.50, these usually run about $10. I will be going by there
    saturday to pick some up, anyone else interested?? He has jigs from
    8-26 oz all marked down but I did not get the prices.
                                                
    Capt Codfish.

    I don't know if you use 14 oz Jigs? But I have a bunch of brand
    new crome bead chain brand that I'll let go for $6.50 ea. also I
    have a bunch of catherwood painted 16 oz jigs for $5.00 Ea.
    
    If anyone is intrested give me a call. Walt Gibson 617-957-5865
    

    Anybody out there ever caught a cusk (aka burbot, aka freshwater cod)?
    
    Where? (I'm assuming you caught it at night.) On what bait/lure?
    
    Any information you have on these fish will be appreciated.
    
    Thanks.
    
    John H-C

    	Try Sebago and some of the surrounding lakes.
    
    				B.C.

re:                   <<< Note 533.14 by GEMVAX::HICKSCOURANT >>>
 
>    Anybody out there ever caught a cusk (aka burbot, aka freshwater cod)?
>    
>    Where? (I'm assuming you caught it at night.) On what bait/lure?


    I never have but a couple of friends did at the Winni Ice Derby a couple
    of years ago.   They were both caught on "cusk lines", which is basically
    an ice fishing drop-line where the fish can't run with it.  I think one 
    was caught overnight (he left the cusk line in overnight and had a fish 
    on in the morning - enuf to win $10 from each guy).  The other was caught 
    during the day.  Both on either shiners or smelt, but I'm pretty sure at 
    least 1 was with a big shiner right off the bottom, close to shore.

    Oh yeah, we fished Winnisquam Lake.

    
	Ken

    re: .15
    I see them in Winnipesaukee occasionally, but they're a little too fast
    to nab when they're awake at night, and they're way back in under the
    boulders during the day.
    
    re: .16 
    How deep were you fishing?
    I've seen cusk hanging out with (and presumably feeding on at leisure)
    sleeping schools of perch in 12 feet of water. They've been caught at
    700 feet. During the day, I've seen them at 40 feet. (All I've actually
    seen is the mottled brown tell-tale tail sticking out of an opening in
    the rocks---during the day, that is.)
    
    I'm looking for a small one for my artificial oligotrophic habitat.
    
    Thanks.
    
    John H-C

    What do they look like?
    

    Burbot (aka Cusk)
    
    Maximum size is about 4 feet
    Maximum weight is about 75 pounds
    
    A normal "large" one weighs about 5 pounds these days.
    
    It has a single barbel under the tip of the lower jaw.
    
    It is an elongated, somewhat eel-looking fish with a large mouth.
    
    It has two dorsal fins. The front one is short, and the rear one runs
    from the middle of its back to the caudal fin. The anal fin is the
    mirror image of the second dorsal fin.
    
    Its color is a mottled/marblish dark brown. Its belly is white.
    
    The books say it hibernates in warm water and is most active under ice.
    
    It is the only freshwater cod.
    
    Ever seen one?

    	I haven't fished for Cusk myself but have look into it enough to
    have some idea how its done. Cusk fishing is almost exclusively done
    through the ice at night with dead bait laying right on the bottom.
    	Leaving the bait out all night without tending to it as implied in
    a previous reply is illegal here in Maine. You must check your traps
    at a minimum of once per hour. The logistics of the activity is what
    has deterred me thus far. Fishing all night long on some remote lake is
    appealing but difficult to manage.
    Regards,
    Paul 

re: how deep were we fishing for cusk

Very close to shore, depth of about 3 feet.   They were very small cusk,
about 1.5 - 2 lbs.  We had heard that close to shore was the way to go
to catch them.

Sorry for the delay, I've been out a lot lately.

BTW, what do you mean by a cusk being the only fresh water "cod" ?  
To me cod are the tasty fish I catch on the deep sea.  Is it a generic
term ?  My trusty American Heritage Dictionary says it's a commercially
important food fish in North Atlantic waters...


Ken