By Steve Zelck
Date:Â 4/30/16. Time : 6AM. Location: Cape Ann Marina. Captain Bill Monty, Mrs. Donna Monty, Steve Zelck, Erik Zelck and Bruce Bornstein all rendezvous on the F/V Bounty Hunter for a day of commercial rod and reel fishing for the elusive and nearly extinct cod fish and the now plentiful haddock.
The morning arrived cold, but with minimal wind. We loaded our gear and headed down the Annisquam towards Gloucester Harbor. It was a long yet mild winter and it felt great to be back on the water and even better having my teenage son, Erik, along for the trip. We haven’t done much ground fishing together and I promised him non-stop action. We steamed past the breakwater and headed toward some hot numbers for cod. After about an hour, we arrived and sent bait to the bottom. For the next couple of hours, we had a steady pick of the elusive codfish and managed to fill about half a tote. Captain Billâs commercial license allows him 100 pounds of cod per day. At around 9AM, the sun was up high enough to warm the air, making the day far more pleasant. We needed to put some haddock in the boat, so we hauled in the lines and headed north. About 30 minutes later, we arrived at our next location. We dropped the anchor and the 5 of us began our assault on the bottom.
The rest of the day was nothing short of “epic!” The minute we hit the bottom, we were on with a pair of fat juicy haddock â and would you believe it… codfish. To quote Captain Bill, “they don’t make those anymore.â You could have fooled me, because it was non-stop action as I promised my son, Erik. The boy was definitely working hard at contributing to the pile on deck. We soon reached our limit of cod, although the haddock were steady, the cod were now a nuisance. I can’t begin to tell you how many beautiful cod we threw over. Too many to count! The fishing was as good as it gets. There was no time to even put your rod down to eat. We continued to pull haddock over the rail and release more cod until about 3PM, when fatigue set in for all of us. We were all pretty tired after accumulating a tote of cod and two totes of haddock. We pulled the anchor and began to mosey towards home. We had to gut everything on board before dropping it off to be sold. We finished the evening with 100 pounds of cod and 200 pounds of haddock. Iâd call that a damn good day. We arrived back at the marina and began the fun of cleaning up the F/V Bounty Hunter. Captain Bill keeps the boat sparkling at all times. It took the five of us close to an hour to clean up all the fish guts and clam shrapnel. Once finished, we staggered up the ramp, exhausted but happy. It just doesn’t get any better. What a great day on the water!
FORECAST BY: Steve Zelck was born and raised in Gloucester. Steveâs love of the sea lured him back to pursue his fishing passion and not a day goes by without him checking the pulse of the harbor for action. If you donât find Steve at Three Lantern Marine & Fishing, you can bet heâs out working on his lobster boat, F/V Erik and Devin, named after his kids. He also tuna fishes aboard the F/V Bounty Hunter with Captain Bill Monte from Wicked Tuna.