Going Deep Sea Fishing Today

[Jack D.]

It's 6 AM and raining like a b*tch, high temp today is going to be 63 and I'm on my way out to go deep sea fishing in Hampton NH with 29 other people from work http://www.yellowbirdfishing.com/Default.htm.

I haven't been in at least 5 years and I'm hoping to come home with some Haddock or Cod. For the $65 this cost me I get the feeling I'd do better if i just stopped at the fish market and bought some but we'll see. Got my bucket, sammiches, jug of iced tea, rags and a few trash bags to haul my booty in...and of course the rain gear. Now, where would be the best place to put fish in the wifes BMW??? She's heading west to a Basset Hound "Waddle" with my neighbor and taking our 3 + neighbors 2 dogs so they have my Tahoe for the day. Well she likes fish more than i do so hopefully she won't mind the Stink of Men Fishing in her baby.

I'll update the catch stats when I get home. Oh, did I mention there's also a weather advisory and small craft warning?? This'll be fun.

[AAA]

Does that mean you're fishing in the deep sea or you hope to catch some deep sea fish?
I've never been "Deep sea" fishing. Or even in the deep sea.
Stay safe...make sure the boat's name is not minnow. If so, pack about a month's worth of clothing changes. And a radio.

[Jem]

Jack,

Good luck! I've done a half day Blue fishing out of Hampton and had a good time, though frankly on my trip the strikes were few and faw between. For some reason it seemed the folks on the corners of the boat got more hits than those of us allong the sides.

Don't forget the dramamine if you are the type that needs it. Luckily, I'm not.

Do post back with what you catch. I was hoping to go again some time this fall, as it's only a 45 minute drive for me from Canterbury, NH.

Cheers,

Jem


P.S. If it wasn't too late, I'd suggest using a larger rubbermaid bin in the trunk of the BMW... the kind many people use to pack things in the attic with. In the old days we'd use a cooler lined with a heavy guage trash bag, but it always seemed to destroy the cooler with fish smell there after :} You'll figure it out...

[OWC Jamie]

Good luck.

and the fish don't care if it's raining.

[haikuman]

Small caft advisories mean more fish

Make sure the newbies chum downwind *(:>*

[Craig]

[quote Jem]For some reason it seemed the folks on the corners of the boat got more hits than those of us allong the sides
If you are on the corner then you can fish in an arc of up to 90 degrees or more. People on the sides are constrained to fishing straight out in front of them only. Because of the high density of hooks on the bottom, you stand a better chance of catching something if your hook is in an area of lower density. You also spend less time uncrossing lines and more time fishing.

Also, people who have been out before like the corners if for no other reason than fewer tangles. And what you may not know or realize is that people who go out a lot often use a new hook or sharpen the hook that they use. They also may be using live, fresh, or frozen minnows which are great for things like grouper. Or they may use cut bait or shrimp if everyone else is fishing with squid.

Last time I went out on a head boat, I brought a new hook (about $0.50) and about 25 live finger mullet that I caught with my cast net that morning. I easily out fished the people next to me 2:1 and I had far more grouper then they did. I came in second on the biggest fish of the boat pool although I hadn't entered anyway. Had I seen Jack's post earlier, I would have mentioned a new hook or at least a hook/knife sharpener.


Craig

[wurm]

And when the skipper tells everyone to step back because someone just hooked a wolf fish that they're about to haul in...listen to him (or her).

[Mike Johnson]

My dad grew up in the Depression, and he worked as a bait boy on charters & cattle car trips. The men fishing would all be pretty well off, and they'd have lunches with ham sandwiches and fried chicken and so on. So when they were eating lunch, my dad would grab some anchovies and put them in his mouth and bite off the heads, so the tails would flap around his face. The men would be aghast and my dad would explain -- with his mouth full of chovy guts, natch -- that that was his lunch. The men would inevitably hand over some of the good stuff their wives had packed for them.

[LaserKun]

Save some for seed...

[Jem]

[quote Craig][quote Jem]For some reason it seemed the folks on the corners of the boat got more hits than those of us allong the sides
If you are on the corner then you can fish in an arc of up to 90 degrees or more. People on the sides are constrained to fishing straight out in front of them only. Because of the high density of hooks on the bottom, you stand a better chance of catching something if your hook is in an area of lower density. You also spend less time uncrossing lines and more time fishing.

Also, people who have been out before like the corners if for no other reason than fewer tangles. And what you may not know or realize is that people who go out a lot often use a new hook or sharpen the hook that they use. They also may be using live, fresh, or frozen minnows which are great for things like grouper. Or they may use cut bait or shrimp if everyone else is fishing with squid.

Last time I went out on a head boat, I brought a new hook (about $0.50) and about 25 live finger mullet that I caught with my cast net that morning. I easily out fished the people next to me 2:1 and I had far more grouper then they did. I came in second on the biggest fish of the boat pool although I hadn't entered anyway. Had I seen Jack's post earlier, I would have mentioned a new hook or at least a hook/knife sharpener.


Craig
Craig,

Thanks for the tips. I'd observed the other things you mentioned, but not "put it all together" since my trips out are few and far between. Makes perfect sense that for a little more effort and planning ahead one can get so much more out of a trip like this.

I'll keep that in mind when next I'm out on the water!

Cheers,

Jem