A little Saltwater Action

[The Hairy Beast]

I'm not going to fish Winni again til the fall salmon run in October. But I just thought I'd share some saltwater stuff from last weekend, for fun.

30 Miles out into the Atlantic in a 19 foot boat. We caught 24 fish - a mix of Cod, Haddock, Pollock, even got Cusk and a Wolf Fish which we had to let go. Skipper Ron Michaud and his son Josh knew what they were doing that day! here's Ron landing the biggest Pollock of his life. Warning - the language reflects the venue: salty. Or as Ron said- "Hey, you're fishing with Michauds brother!"

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A few pics:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/Mongeaux/June%2026%202011%20Jeffreys%20Ledge/100_4410.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/Mongeaux/June%2026%202011%20Jeffreys%20Ledge/100_4404.jpg

We ran out of room to store em:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/Mongeaux/June%2026%202011%20Jeffreys%20Ledge/100_4411.jpg

Cleaning was a group effort;

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/Mongeaux/June%2026%202011%20Jeffreys%20Ledge/100_4425.jpg

60 pounds of nice filets, snowy white meat:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/Mongeaux/June%2026%202011%20Jeffreys%20Ledge/100_4421.jpg

Father (far right) and Son (second to the right) at the Winni Derby in February:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/Mongeaux/Winni%20Derby%20Feb%202011/100_4234-1.jpg

[sa meredith]

Wow...great fish. Not the biggest salt water fisherman in the world but have been to Jeffries many times. Always a fun day...big of a ride though.
As an aside...and I am not trying to be a know it all here, seriously...but guys, a 19' boat at Jeffrey's??? If the weather ever turned, and turned ugly, you'd be up the creek with no paddle. Regardless of experience.
We got caught bad a few years back in a 25' Sea Swirl fishing boat...sea turned ugly coming back. 6/7 foot rollers...it was plain awful. Just a nightmare. And the captain never saw it coming.
I would guess someone checks weather constantly while you are that far out.
Anyway..great fish.

[The Hairy Beast]

This was my first trip out with Ron and his son. We went as one of four boats, to pre-planned spots and we kept in contact by radio all day, checking in every hour. I agree that a 19' is a small boat but the forecast was good and we did check it regularly all day as well. Winds were out of the east - Ron said when the winds are out of the north-east he doesn't even bother to go out.

I have never been to Jeffrey's before - it is WAAAAY out there! Whales, sharks, tuna. You never know what you're going to see! It's like "Perfect Storm" territory. We fished "The cove".

[sa meredith]

Yeah...you're right about what you can see out at Jeffrey's.
I was on a 100' fishing boat with a group for a bachalor party in Sept, 2009, and for the first time in my life saw 3 things.
1. Several whales.
2. Very large school of dolphin we all saw approaching the boat from far off...jumping over and over again as dolphin do...and when they got to the boat, they stopped and checked everyone out. Sort of like they wanted to make eye contact.
3. Guy next to me had a decent size fish on(bottom fishing, party boat style)...and he said it felt really strange on the way up. As it got about 7 feet from the surface we saw a 8' plus shark chasing the fish, taking bites out of it. And, finally swallowed it whole. So, the guy was then hooked into the shark. The deck hands paid no attention, and said..."that hook up will last all of 30 seconds", and sure enough, SNAP. Amazing to see.
The 3 brushes with nature made the fact that I became as sick as I have ever been (absoltly wanted to die), worth it.
Good stuff.

[The Hairy Beast]

Yeah...you're right about what you can see out at Jeffrey's.
I was on a 100' fishing boat with a group for a bachalor party in Sept, 2009, and for the first time in my life saw 3 things.
1. Several whales.
2. Very large school of dolphin we all saw approaching the boat from far off...jumping over and over again as dolphin do...and when they got to the boat, they stopped and checked everyone out. Sort of like they wanted to make eye contact.
3. Guy next to me had a decent size fish on(bottom fishing, party boat style)...and he said it felt really strange on the way up. As it got about 7 feet from the surface we saw a 8' plus shark chasing the fish, taking bites out of it. And, finally swallowed it whole. So, the guy was then hooked into the shark. The deck hands paid no attention, and said..."that hook up will last all of 30 seconds", and sure enough, SNAP. Amazing to see.
The 3 brushes with nature made the fact that I became as sick as I have ever been (absoltly wanted to die), worth it.
Good stuff.

We didn't see any whales, but I did have a shark follow one of my Cod up from bottom. It wasn't a particularly big shark, but it did give me a start when I leaned over the boat and saw the bugger circling my fish. I got so sore from the pounding I took going out and in that I had to go home early from work yesterday. Bruised tailbone - I couldn't sit in my chair at the office without excruciating pain. But it was worth it! I can't wait for fall salmon fishing in Alton, though. Every other kind of fishing is just what I do in between salmon seasons at Winnipesaukee.