A common sight from our trip os Sunday April 4th, 2022!

We are officially on the books for the 2022 New England saltwater fishing season! On Sunday, April 3rd, the MOM crew ventured offshore on a beautiful day to go pound on some bottom fish. As the five of us were planning out our trip, it felt like the most anticipated kick-off to a season that I can remember. The 2021 season was excellent for us on the north shore. No matter what you were fishing for, everyone seemed to find success. Last season was also unique in that we learned some new fishing techniques that we want to hone in on and improve in 2022. We even have some new tricks up our sleeves to try this year. As we continue to develop and perfect some of the things we are doing, we will share with our members throughout the season!

The first trip of the year is always brimming with wonder and excitement:

You want to ensure the boat is running tip-top and all your systems are in order.
You see your weather window a few days out and cross your fingers, pray to the heavens, burn sage, or sacrifice your firstborn, hoping the weather will hold.
You hope the fish are where you think and start your season with a bang.
We accomplished everything on Sunday's trip and only had to sacrifice one child to the weather gods.

Capt. John's 25 ft Steigercraft was the chosen battleship for the day. We met at Cashman's ramp to go fishing in Newburyport, MA, at 7:45 AM. We quickly loaded up the boat and were off with high hopes on the horizon. The ocean was smooth, and the pilothouse made for a dry, comfy ride out, while keeping us warm.

I tell you what, the best part of fishing with friends as opposed to running a Newburyport charter is the division of labor leading up to, during, and after the trip. With the five of us pitching in, it felt like a vacation for John, Mike, and myself! We each took care of something beforehand. John had the boat fueled up and ready to go. Mike and Justin picked up the ice. Dan brought snacks for everyone, and I brought an extra cutting board. I genuinely cherish the few times any of us get to fish together, not only because we are all close friends but because we are on the same page. Everyone knows what they are doing and when to do it. We don't even verbally communicate; things just get done as needed. When there are no wasted movements on a boat, it maximizes your time with lines in the water, which, in turn, gives you more opportunity to put fish on the deck.

The Crew ready for the first trip of the year!

We each brought our own haddock rods, which was quite the variety! Running against the grain, Mike and Justin chose to use some extremely light tackle for bottom fishing. Seeing how much fun they were having has me thinking of scaling down my haddock tackle, which is already considered light. Here are the setups we used for the day.

Chris - Torium 16PG on an Okuma Azores AZ-C-661 MH 50-100# Jigging Rod (Okuma discontinued this Azores rod, but you can still find some old stock online)
Dan - Seigler LG on a custom-built Mud Hole blank
John - Torium PG on a Jigging World Black Hawk 6'10 MH
Justin - Maxel Hybrid Star Drag on a Tsunami Slow Pitch 7'0 MH
Mike - Torium 14HG on a custom 7'0 Black Hole Challenger Medium

All of us spooled up with 50# braid, besides Justin, who opted to go 30# braid in the hopes of fishing lighter sinkers with his light tackle. We each started with a slightly different rig, either different colors/types of teasers or no teasers at all. We tried to present different offerings to see what works best, and it was valuable data about 1/3 of the way through the trip. We will get to that later.

John was the real hero of the trip as he drove down to Gloucester to corral some "purple clams." Typically, we would buy them at Crossroads Bait and Tackle or Straightline Bait and Tackle in Salisbury, but they didn't have any in stock last week. As of this blog (April 7th), both shops said they would have them by next week. (Availability from the supplier is also inconsistent).

To those in the know, the purple clams are some of the best for haddock fishing. They come packaged in five-pound vacuum-sealed bags for easy freezer storage. One bag is usually

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4) Reviews of some new gear we tried out

5) Tips for filleting a ton of a fish

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