03-26-2001, 02:26 AM
<br><br>STELLWAGEN BANK,MA- Cod Fishing 3/24/01<br><br>On Sunday 3/18, two of our charter boats, JANET B and DECISIVE, guided the Pepe Layva charter and the Jason Zututt charter on Stellwagen. Both groups filled the coolers with scrod and medium cod to 12 pounds using jigs and teasers. Some of the cod were spitting-up clams churned from the bottom due to last week’s Nor’easter. On Tuesday, three groups of New Yorkers headed north for Massachusetts cod fish. Mike Ajello’s group from Staten Island, Bill Przezdzeicki’s group from Scotia,NY and Charlie Manwaring’s group from Orient, NY all found the fish on Stellwagen’s eastern edge. The first few drifts in the morning and again in the afternoon, after the tide change, proved best. Again, jig and teasers worked best for cod between 6 and 12 pounds. Wednesday’s forcast was touch and go. Nevertheless, a "Split-charter" made up of four New Jerseyans,--Bill Salus (Sonerville, NJ),Dave Leitner and friend (Parlin,NJ), Eric Meine (Bogota,NJ)--, one New Yorker—Bill Hines (Ossining, NY)--and one local MA cod fisherman braved the pending Northeast gale. Once again, early morning jigging on the shoal-water and a brief flurry after the tide change allowed the group to fill the cooler before the building following sea drove Capt. Tom and Joe on the JANET B homeward. Charters on Thursday and Friday as well as six groups on Saturday had to be canceled and re-scheduled due to gale force winds and high seas. It looks like we will get the four groups scheduled for Sunday, 3/25, out to the grounds.<br><br>Capt. Mike Bartlett<br>B-Fast Charters<br>www.bfastcharters.com<br><br><br><br>Capt. Mike Bartlett<br>B-Fast Charters<br>www.bfastcharters.com