The lure of the offshore fishing grounds, with the promise of catching big fish, attract many fishermen. Each year, fishermen in small boats, sport fishermen and party boats make use of these fertile fishing grounds. Many hours are logged and many fish are boated. On a good day, it’s not uncommon to land a hundred pounds of fish and still be withing the 10 fish bag limit established to facilitate the rebuilding of cod stocks. Catches include cod, haddock, pollock, cusk, wolffish and even an occassional halibut. The three major offshore fishing banks that are situated fairly close to salem are Stellwagen Bank. Jefferies Ledge and Tillies Bank. All three fishing grounds are very productive and within reach of medium sized boats.

Jefferies Ledge is a large crescent shaped mountain range that starts about 6 miles off Gloucester coastline and runs up into the Gulf of Maine. The ledge consists of a large variety of bottom structure and will support many different species of fish. This area is fished heavily by serious recreational fishermen and party boats. Most anglers target cod and haddock with the hopes of catching a large racing pollock or the dream of hooking into a halibut. Jefferies Ledge is generally productive for the best part of the fishing season. The largest of the cod are generally caught during the spring and late fall when water temperatures are in their favorable range.

Tillies Bank is located to the south of Jefferies Ledge and is surrounded by somewhat deeper water. The peaks and valleys are much more pronounced that what is found on Jefferies Ledge, thus making it a bit more difficult to fish. Because of thye sharp drop-offs and deep holes. Combined with the high peaks, fishermen at Tillies experience swift currents and any knowledge of currents and their reactions to deep waters will be of great benefit to Tillies fishermen.

Stellwagen Bank is southeast of Salemand is the closest of the three major offshore fishing banks. Stellwagen is a bank that consists of more gentle slopes and sharp drop-offs. Not only are bottom fish plentiful at Stellwagen, but the bank is also a favborite location for tuna. Whales are also plentiful at Stellwagen Bank. Many species of fish including cod, pollock, bluefish, mackerel, tuna and whales take advantage of the unique currents and upswells that provide predator species with an abundance of bait fish that thrive along the bank. For a couple of weeks in June, Stellwagen Bank is transformed into a striped bass heven where stripers gourge themselves on an abundance of sanr eels. Despite the ban of striped bass possession in federal waters, fishermen catch and release some of the biggest bass of the season during this period.

Most fishermen prefer a 6 to 61/2 foot jigging rod of medium to heavy action for fishing the offshore banks. The rod is matches with a 4/0 or 6/0 reel spooled with 30 to 50 lb. Test line. When jig fishing most fishermen opt for a jig weighing anywhere from 14 to 26 ounces with 14 and 17 ½ ounce jigs the favorites.

When fishing areas of strong currents, fishermen should opt for a thin diameter line that is not buoyant. The monofiliment line fits this bill nicely. Braided lines are braided together and the process allows for pockets of air to be built into thw line making it bulky nad thicker. The strong currents will drag this line well down current making a retrieve more difficult and increase the chances of tangling up with another fisherman on the boat. Lighter lines can be a benefit when working hard running currents as the line "cuts" through the water much easier and creats far less drag.

When fishing Jefferies Ledge, look for the pronounced hills and drop-offs. These are generally productive areas that are sure to hold good numbers of fish. The fish take advantage of the currents and are protected by the hills while lying in ambush for it’s next meal. As water temperstures fluctuate so will the desired depth for fish. All fish seek certain comfort zones and are very temperasture sensitive.

I generally like Tillies for lake spring and early summer fishing. When on tillies, look for the sharp drop-offs and the edges of the bank. I usually prefer fishing near the top of the tide or close to the bottom as these are the times when the current is not as strong. If I fish during the mid tide period when currents usually run the strongest, I like to use thin profile jigs such as the Hopkins. Teasers are always rigged just above the jig.

Stellwagen Bank is populae among all types of fishermen. It is generally defined by the section of the bank that is being fished. The "double L" stands for the area located around the "LL" in Stellwagen as it appears on the chart. The Middlebank represents the middle section of the bank and the Northwest and Southeast corners refer to the corners of the bank.

Stellwagen Bank has more gemtle slopes and is, overall, much shallower in depth. Because of it’s shallow nature, water temperatures can be significantly warmer during the fishing season. The first major fishing effort that takes place at Stellwag3en Bank is for cod. This happens through the month of April. By the end of May, mackerel will invade the bank making it a mackerel haven where fishermen can score catches of mackerel well into the hundreds. The next burst of activity happens for a couple of weeks in June when the stripers arrive. Big bass are sought after by fishermen. Usually around the 4th of July the bank is taken over by bluefish. Huge schools of bluefish feed on an abunbance of bait. Tuna and whales move in and feed heavily on the enormous schools of sand eels that can be found along the bank.

As soon as the weather breaks and allows you to travel offshore, any one of these three productive fishing grounds is sure to keep you happy and your fish box full.