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I went Cod fishing yesterday aboard the Relentless and Capt David Waldrip out of Green Harbor. We fished an area east of Boston. Although the fishing was kind of slow, the fish we did catch were quality fish including several in the 20 - 25# class. The hilite of the day was watching my 73 year old dad take a cod estimated at 40 - 45# on the first drop Dave told us that these large cod have just started to move into this area, and the fishing wll continue to improve in the upcomming weeks. I plan on getting out a couple more times to take advantage of this great winter fishery. This was the first time I fished with Dave, and I would highly recomend the Relentless, as Capt Dave was a first class capt who really made the trip memorable. For anybody with a case of cabin fever who wants to put some nice cod fillets in the freezer, a trip on board thr Relentless might just be the ticket
His site is www.nauticalaventure.net. As a side note, he is also one of the few boats that does split charters so you don't have to come up with a full charter yourself. If you got a few guys, the capt will try and match you up with another to fill the charter. I think that's what I'll be doing in December. I think you'll also find that his rates are very reasonable compared to other boats fishing the same area.
We threw the Parker in at Cashman Park for a day of groundfishing yesterday. We fished Northern Jeffries. We didn't get into any big cod, which is strange. But the haddock was non stop. Bait hits the bottom count 1,2,3 reel up your haddock or two.
We ended up with about three boxes. All will be consumed.
I was out as well and the dog's were thick as well as the trawlers, I dont know who was worse!! Only managed 1 keeper cod and a few smalls, was very slow.
We ran into the same problem with the dogs. On the way out, the fish finder was lit up like a christmas tree with the dog fished stacked 30 feet thick. We had to switch to jigs early on to avoid them. Watching my dad take the biggest cod of his lifetime made trip. Captain Dave also gave me some great pointers on where to fish come spring time on my own boat. Looking forward to getting out there again in December. No better way to shake that cabin fever.
Hi Guys, Sounds like you had some great trips. I Cod fished last Thursday 11/18 out of Green Harbor on my boat. FYI I fished a good part of the morning around the "H" Buoy. Not to much going on. The tide changed so I moved in between 50-70 feet of water. That seems to be where they were. All were jig fish, and the "Dogs" were gone. I believe this was because the water seemed to be a little cooler. I've had some great trips close to shore around the first week of Dec. years past, so let's keep our fingers crossed. Just my 2 cents.
It's hard to felieve that with all the dog fish every where that this fishery is resricted on the commercial side.
Vector, how are you liking your new Zuke. Can't wait to get back in next spring to finish breaking mine in. I think I'm going to keep the boat in Green Harbor from 2nd week of April to Memorial Day to get me a little closer to the Cod grounds.
So far so good 10 hours on the meter, was a little dissapointed with GPH and trolling speed my Ficht was much better, but I think over the RPM range the GPH probably evens out. :There were some mistakes made during the install that I have straightened out, one of them was the fuel line at the motor, the line coming out of the motor is grey and real flexible versus the black hose on the boat, anyway the first trip out the grey hose was not fastened by anything at the motor so when the wheel was turned and trimmed it pulled the hose out and actually kinked which could lead to a lean condition and POW! Just look over the work they did and make sure it is all tight you dont want to find out 25 miles offshore.
I saw your post concerning the Zuk 250 on your Parker. I am considering making the switch as well. When I was fishing last weekend one of the guys said he had heard of a guy on the Cape that made the switch and he actually gained 8 kts at WOT vs. his 2 stroke. That doesn't sound right.
I would really like to hear how the 250 pushes your boat (I'm assuming you have a 25').
Unfortunately, I'll have to wait until I go back in April to get you spec's on the zuke repower, as I only had it for an hour before trashing my lower unit I had them install a fuel meter so I can provide you with spec's at differnt RPM along with speed etc. Better yet, if you want to check it personally, your welcome to come out for a test drive when I go back in. Looking to keep it in a Green Harbor slip from mid april to mid may......your more than welcome to go for a ride to see for yourself.
Harpoon there is no way unless his 2 stroke was on it's last leg and running on 5 out 6 cylinders, I went from a 225 Ficht to a 250 Zuke and may have gained 1-3 knots if I am lucky, the only reason I went to a 250 was to keep my performance the same as it was if I had went with a 225 Zuke I would have went backwards and that is usually the case when going from 2-4 stroke. It is a different power all together I could keep the boat on plane without tabs before 3600 and now I am running tabs at 3800 the 4's make there power at a higher RPM than the 2's.
I would have to agree with Vectorfisher, I plan on picking up 2-3 knots. However, I was burning about 13 gph at cruising speed, and looking for that to come down to 9 gph. Also, the additional weight of the Zuke versus my 2 stroke ocean runner worked out well on my boat, as it tended to be a little bow heavy. No smoke, no oil, quieter.......I think I'll be very happy with my decision
My cruise was equal to or a bit better at cruise with the FICHT and troll hands down was the FICHT .4 versus 1.0. These guys that are raving about the 4 strokes are the ones who had the stinky gas hog carbed or EFI motors not Direct Injection 2 stroke like FICHT, OPTI. Dont get me wrong I like the Zuke and don't have to buy 2 stroke oil but it is not pro pro pro there are con's as well. Parker do you do alot of trolling??? How you gonna slow your boat down for the Striped ones? I am thinking two buckets or maybe a drift sock this thing cranks with the 16" wheel 2.8 knots
I don't have any experience with the FICHT engines, as I was replacing my Carb'd 2 stroke engine. For me, I didn't see any downside with repowering with a 4 stroke....this was a no brainer. Even if I don't pick up any additional speed (which I plan to), the fact that I have no oil to purchase, no smoke to deal with on the troll, and can actually cary on a conversation in the cockpit....I'll be a happy camper. I haven't had the opportunity to run my boat for any length of time, but I plan on using a drift sock to slow her down.....I'm not sure hanging buckets over the side is going to do the trick for me. In the past, I have also been able to cut my speed by adjusting my trim as well.....probably a combination of the two.