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I thought Stellwagen is closed year round to commercial cod fishing even for hook gear 911,912,913.
BigShrimpin....I am not up to speed on all the commercial regs but I know commercial fishing is allowed on Stellwagen at times during the year. Go there on June 1 and you will find a golf course of gill net flags that spring up after midnight. I believe there is (was) a gill net season for haddock on Jeffreys this winter as well.
Capt Dave has a better handle on commercial regs than I so I hope he chimes in ( and maybe also gives me those numbers he is fishing on right now )
__________________ Capt. George Full Strike Anglers
F/V Lady Diane
2005 2325 Pacific Plate Alloy Boat
USCG 50Ton Master
Maine Tidewater Guide
Sorry I did not respond on this earlier. I have caught a good number of wolfish myself over the years, and believe most of the time, the jig has foul-hooked them, and usually, not in the mouth. Since they are the best eating fish in the ocean due to what they eat, I never had any hesitation taking a fillet knife to cut the jig's hooks out of their bodies, and with their heads trying to lock down on me, I really gave no heed as to whether I'd slashed out a good piece of them, as I would be filleting them later.
It seems to me an awful waste to throw them back as shark bait after salvaging a $20.00 jig from them, as more likely than not, it'll leave a 2 or 3" gash in them where the treble hooks got cut out. I haven't caught a wolfish in a couple of years, but when I did, I remember they can become quite agitated when you try to hold them gently.
When did the denial of wolfish occur? Are their numbers endangered?
BigShrimpin....I am not up to speed on all the commercial regs but I know commercial fishing is allowed on Stellwagen at times during the year. Go there on June 1 and you will find a golf course of gill net flags that spring up after midnight. I believe there is (was) a gill net season for haddock on Jeffreys this winter as well.
Capt Dave has a better handle on commercial regs than I so I hope he chimes in ( and maybe also gives me those numbers he is fishing on right now )
Thanks!! That's good to know . . . I had always thought that area was off limits.
When did the denial of wolfish occur? Are their numbers endangered?
The wolfish question is about as bad as the "can I skin fillets at seas question".
Simply put the powers to be dont know if they are overfished or not but simply decided to close down the fishery after some enviros started making it a cause celeb..remember the squeeky wheel.
I my opinion I think it is an absolute waste of a fishery resource. To the best of my knowledge wolfish have been a by catch spieces for both recreational and commercial fisherman. Last year I ran 44 charters for ground fish and we took 5 wolfs the entire season. On my boat, my customers jig 98% of the time and therefore all these fish were taken on jigs. All of them were mouth hooked and needed to be dispatched before I could remove the jig. Unfortunatley, when this rule comes into place and a customer takes a wolf that has eaten a jig, I will have to dispatch the fish, remove the jig, and throw the fish back. I cannot afford to throw away $15 jigs everytime one gets eaten by a wolf. I consider this a terrible waste but my hands are tied. Perhaps one of the genius scientists can come on my boat and show me how to release a jig caught wolf without loosing a couple fingers. I am always willing to learn but I need to be sure to restock the first aid kit first.
Lady Diane Boat Record Wolf..August 2009
__________________ Capt. George Full Strike Anglers
F/V Lady Diane
2005 2325 Pacific Plate Alloy Boat
USCG 50Ton Master
Maine Tidewater Guide
Yup, it's open. Plenty of draggers, gillnetters and a few hook fishermen out there. Plenty of cod too.
Relative to filleting cod at sea, I also believe the fillet has to be over the minimum length size and if not, you need to retain the carcass to show it was taken from a legal sized fish.
Relative to filleting cod at sea, I also believe the fillet has to be over the minimum length size and if not, you need to retain the carcass to show it was taken from a legal sized fish.
Interesting. I didn't believe there was a fillet size requirement but after reading your comment I took another look at Title 50 and found the following 2 clauses:
§ 648.89 Recreational and charter/party vessel restrictions
(2) Exception. Vessels may possess fillets less than the minimum size specified, if the fillets are taken from legal-sized fish and are not offered or intended for sale, trade or barter.
Which seems to say fillets on GOM cod may be < 24"
But then you read:
(4) The minimum fish size applies to whole fish or to any part of a fish while possessed on board either a charter/party or a private recreational vessel, or at the time of landing.
Which seems to say that for example, GOM cod fillets must be 24" in length thus implying either you keep only cod much greater than 24" or you are one hell of a fish cutter! To say the least it is ambiguous.
I could no reference to the retaining of racks in the entire chapter.
Guess I make a call to Gloucester today and try to get an answer...another futile Wednesday ;-).
__________________ Capt. George Full Strike Anglers
F/V Lady Diane
2005 2325 Pacific Plate Alloy Boat
USCG 50Ton Master
Maine Tidewater Guide
George, agreed it may be alittle ambiguous but common sense needs to apply here. If you got a 24" fillet, no problem because common sense says the fish was over the size limit.
If you got a 16" fillet you now got to be able to prove it came from a legal size fish and the only way I know how to do that is have the rack on board.
My rule of thumb is if the fillet is over 24", dump the rack, if under 24" save the rack for proof. You won't get into trouble this way.
I got more than a two week jump on you, I was out commercial cod fishing Sunday. A little nippy, freezing spray, icing on the rod and reel, but non-stop action with the cod. Didn't even have to jig, fish were on before it even hit the bottom for a couple of hours straight.
Your killing me my boat doesn't go in until April. Please stop the torture
alright, enough is enough, I am going Cod fishing on a party boat.
I want in I cant take it. KFISHC post the info on the charter a friend and I may be interested. I wish global warming would hurry up so I would'nt have to winterize my boat.
) 
Lady Diane Boat Record Wolf..August 2009 
