This year I booked two Haddock fishing party boat trips in April to jumpstart the Spring saltwater season and bring home some fillets. Also around this time the hunt for big Scup and the year’s first Striped Bass began in earnest.
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| Striped Bass Caught in Westport |
Good numbers of migratory “Schoolie” size Striped Bass always show about the middle of April. This year they were on time and I did manage to catch a few small schoolies in Popponesset Bay the first week of May. There were fewer bass in the bay this Spring Also missing this year were the large schools of Menhaden that attract the Stripers (and Bluefish) into the bay. My first Stripers this year were caught in Westport with Westport Point Fishing Charters.
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| Haddock |
On April 22nd I went out Haddock fishing on one of the Captain John boats in Plymouth. It was a slow ride going out to the fishing grounds on Stellwagen Bank due to an enforced speed limit with a purpose of preventing collisions with slow moving Right Whales. The down side was that we had less time for fishing. On the plus side the fishing trip provided some pretty decent whale watching. Got some views of Right Whales and Finback Whales. The Rights are a highly endangered species that was nearly hunted to extinction before becoming a protected under international law. Unlike some of the other whales species, their population has never recovered.
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| Sculpin |
The Haddock fishing that day was even slower than the whales. Only got one keeper. The fishing was sure to pick up sooner than later, so the following week my son, Nate, and I went back out. This time the fishing was much better and we brought home a cooler full of tasty fillets. We also caught Sculpins and Cod. The Cod however had to be released since the Gulf of Maine is closed to recreational Codfishing .
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| A Stringer Of Scup |
Speaking of tasty fillets let’s not forget the other saltwater species that provides some fast paced fishing in early May. This is my favorite time of the year to fish for Scup from a Kayak. The fish are close to shore in less than 20 feet of water. Also they tend to run large, averaging about 14 inches, and as big as 17 inches. The shallow water makes it easy to target them with small jigs on a light spinning outfit. This method also worked for the Black Sea Bass and Sea Robins that showed up soon after the Scup.
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| My Go To Jig Rig - Bucktail Jig with Gulp Swimming Mullets |
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| Right: Black Sea Bass Left: Sea Robin |
Here’s two of my favorite fish recipes:
Parmesan Baked Haddock
Baked breaded Haddock is a classic dish. This one was given to me by Capt, Jim Turner of Westport Point Fishing Charters. It uses crushed Ritz crackers in place of bread crumbs.
Ingredients:
2 pounds of Haddock Fillets
one cup crushed Ritz Crackers
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cups slivered almonds
3 tablespoons of Butter
1 tablespoon of apricot preserves
Lemon Slices
- Pre-heat oven to 480 degrees
- Mix together the crushed crackers, grated cheese, and almonds.
- Lightly butter the bottom of a baking dish.
- Place fillets in dish, sprinkle with a little lemon juice and cover with cracker mixture.
- Melt butter mixed with apricot in a microwave oven. Whip the mixture and pour evenly over the fish.
- Bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes or until fish begins to flake.
Nemo In A Blanket
This is so easy and it works with any small, thin fish fillets (Scup, Cunner, Yellow Perch, White Perch, Black Crappie, and Winter Flounder). All you do is dip the fillets in pancake batter and cook them like pancakes in a frying pan or on a griddle. Can be served sweet with real maple syrup or molasses. If you prefer savory top with tarter sauce or cocktail sauce.
Ingredients:
6-8 pieces of fish (Cut larger fillets in half)
Fresh squeezed lemon juice
Pancake Batter:
1 cup white flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons cooking oil
- Make batter thick enough to coat the fillets
- Dip fillets in batter and cook in hot oil, flipping once.
