By Steve Zelck, Three Lantern Marine & Fishing
Well by the time you’re reading this, the games have begun. Haddock opened on May 1st with a 15 fish per person limit, YAHOO – game on! NOAA and Marine Fisheries are going to let us catch the elusive codfish. That’s right, you get to keep cod fish. How many you ask? One. Yes, just one, and only from August 1 to September 30. To reach my limit of 15 haddock, I can almost guarantee I’ll be releasing at least 15 30-inch cod. Slowly making improvements.
Moving on, be sure to have your 2016 fishing license before you venture off. Also, be sure to know the size limits of all of your favorite fish – from flounder to turd pollack. I believe the turds need to be 19 inches in order to keep.
Keep in mind that we had a mild winter, but the water is still cold. Make sure to dress warm and be sure your safety gear is easily accessible. Be smart out there.
With ground fish open and in full swing, everyone will have there eyes open for the first striper – which, as I said last month, I expect them to be early. I’m sure the shoreline on the Annisquam River is holding some schoolies by now, and the big boys will be right behind them.
On another note, is it still too cold to be thinking about bluefish? Wouldn’t it be nice to see a few of those this year. And my shrink says I’m not allowed to think or talk about Charlie til next month. “My name is Steve and it has been seven months since I last fought a tuna.”
If you haven’t gotten out yet, get going. What are you waiting for? Skip at Three Lantern Marine has his shelves over-stocked with everything you need.
And if you’re looking to board a charter, Captain Bill on the Bounty Hunter still has a bunch of available dates. Give him a call (978) 827-8004 for a great ground fish or tuna adventure.
FORECAST BY: Steve Zelck was born and raised in Gloucester. Steve’s 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 don’t find Steve at Three Lantern Marine & Fishing, you can bet he’s 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.