Fishing with a Sabiki Rig | Jigging for Mackerel, Pollock, Cunner, and Cod in Maine |

[@maritimeus]

Great video! I’ll have to rewatch this in the middle of January when my cabin fever is boiling over. For bait, here’s my go to: cheapo Walmart sabiki. I like the ones that look like they have a baby squid by the hooks. I like to use a 6oz diamond jig. So many bigger fish love jumping on the diamond jig at the end. Perfect setup for Boon and Isles of Shoals and inshore around Portsmouth Harbor. Next go to rig: Hogy JigBiki with a sand eel jig with an assist hook. Gets the job done for bottom fishing. On Saturday, looks like I’ll take my Mako 19’ cc out of Kittery for the last time this season. Then I’ll hibernate until April 😂

[@seasidenomad]

A sad day indeed! Enjoy your last day of the season out there. 6 oz diamond jigs are deadly for those cod and it's amazing how well those cheap Wallyworld sabikis work. You head down south at all in the winter to do any fishing?

[@maritimeus]

@@seasidenomad great question! I wish I traveled more to Florida to do fishing. My parents retired to central Florida when I graduated college in 2008, so my family goes to see them 1-2x a year. But, there's only freshwater ponds around where they live (great largemouth fishing) - I haven't done any ocean fishing in Florida.

[@everydayden5826]

Nice to see a fellow New Englander fishing waters close to home. This is a dumb question I'm sure, but is there any fishing to be done in the winter up here from shore ? I started striper fishing last year and I know the stripers won't be back until spring. Are there any pollock or mackerel or flounder to be caught from shore during the winter ? Have you ever fished any of the jettys in NH ? Rye, Hampton, etc during the winter ? Thanks in advance for your response should you choose to answer my queries. -- dennis outside of Concord, NH.

[@seasidenomad]

Hey, buddy! Nice to meet you, and thanks for watching! I got you and feel your pain! So, in short, there's not a lot to be had this far north. The mackerel and pogies head down south with the stripers. Although, there are some rivers that do keep holdover stripers. The closest ones would be in Mass, and it really depends on the weather. The holdover stripers tend to be small, and it takes a lot to get them to bite. Sometimes, if the water is too cold, they'll all just die, and you can see them wash up. I've done some diving in winter in Maine and NH and have spotted sculpin and cunner, but other than that, close to shore Dec-Mar is really quiet. You might get some stray pollock or cod that come in shallow, but most of the fish are offshore. If you're fiending a bite, consider heading out deep sea fishing on Eastman's in Hampton. I believe they fish haddock offshore in the winter, and I think the rates aren't bad for what could be a lot of haddock fillets. Other option is to drive down south to Conneticut to try to catch fiester holdover stripers or flounder from shore. Maybe even some scup, black seabass, or tog from shore. The bite won't be as good, but any fish in the winter is a win! Hope that helps! Maybe I'll do an episode on one or both of those ideas. I'm always looking for more ideas for content during the winter.

[@everydayden5826]

Thank you so much for the reply. I've spent my whole life fishing fresh water and a buddy at my Masonic Lodge turned me on to shore fishing for stripers last summer down on Plum Island in Mass. Now I'm hooked and want to learn about salt water fishing and everything it has to offer. I bought a Penn Battle 3 5000 last summer and put it on a 9' MH ugly Stick as kind of an all (a)rounder, and just this week picked up a Battle 3 4000 High Speed and an 8' medium as kind of a lighter weight set up that in a pinch I could use on Stripers or Blues, but I will primarily focus on Schoolies and smaller species off of the jettys, rocky shores and near shore surf casting with. I was also a diver years ago until I had some health issues, and have been diving off the Nubble several times. It was great to see you fishing off of there. Have you fished the rocks on the right as you head out to the end of land there ? I've seen guys fishing there and I just have no idea if it could be productive. Once again thank you so much for responding. I'm a reader so I will check out your books. Best to you and hope to run into you at the shore some day. dennis in Weare, NH.@@seasidenomad

[@seasidenomad]

Striper fishing from shore or a kayak is a rush. Penn reels and ugly stiks are my bread and butter. I like being underpowered against stripers as long as I have braid or fly line (when I flyfish for them). I have caught fish all around the island there and up and down the coast north and south of Nubble. We caught a big blue a couple years back off Long Sands as well. So many cool cliffs and rock piles to fish around York. I need to spend more time down around Plum Island this next summer.

[@micaelconley639]

How deep do you fish when doing this style of jigging?

[@seasidenomad]

@micaelconley639 Honestly, you could do it 15 feet of water or 215 feet. You'll want to keep an eye on the fish finder, and when you spot a bunch of fish, drop a sabiki down into them wherever they are in the water column and jig away. Something will come for it. And the wide variety of species makes it really fun.

[@danieledwards7178]

Headed to York in two weeks , taking my Dad and 2 young boys .. plan on going for Pollock , Mackerel and also trying for Squid ... any suggestions (locations, set ups , size hooks, type of bait ,time of day/tide) as last time we went , we got Nothing ... i have a decent amount of gear including squid jigs .. just want the boys to not get bored .

[@seasidenomad]

@@danieledwards7178 Will you have a boat or kayaks or anything or fishing from shore?

[@nathanielbeaulieu6045]

What size boat do you have?

[@seasidenomad]

@nathanielbeaulieu6045 I only have a jetski, but I have some friends and family with boats. This one is around 30 feet, I believe.

[@nathanielbeaulieu6045]

@@seasidenomad I have a 16 foot aluminum v hull. Curious how it would handle around the coast.

[@seasidenomad]

@nathanielbeaulieu6045 I had a 17-foot V hull center console that I used to use in the bay, river, and on flat days, just off the coast. It can be done, but it's best on days when the wind and waves are calm, in my opinion.

[@nathanielbeaulieu6045]

@@seasidenomad that's good to know. Alot for a thread on KZbin, but have you had any luck with winter flounder in bays?

[@seasidenomad]

@nathanielbeaulieu6045 It's a good question. Back in my parents' day, you could just drop a sandworm down on a flounder hook and pull up a flounder no problem. Now, it appears that they've moved or just aren't coming back in the numbers they used to. I have caught them around the mouth of rivers when the tide is incoming. I caught one winter flounder at the mouth of the Piscataqua on a diamond jig this year in one of my recent episodes. They seem to like hanging around sandy patches near rocks or kelp. I'd like to dedicate a day next summer to just trying to catch flounder with jigs, clams, or sandworms.

[@tomgiar923]

What size rig for pollack?

[@seasidenomad]

Good question. I don't stick to a certain size for pollack, but I've caught them on size 6 hooks all the way up to a size 2/0. When you get the sabiki rigs with the 1/0 or 2/0 hooks you usually get 5 hooks, but with the smaller ones like a size 4 hook, you often get 6 hooks. Either way, read the reviews or if you're buying them in a store, check to make sure that the hooks aren't too cheap. I mean, sabikis seem to be all pretty cheaply made, but some line and hooks will bend or break way too quickly. One of these days I plan to tie up my own sabiki rigs with quality hooks and flouro. One of these days...