13.  The Recreational Summer Food Fishery 2012 ran from July 21st to August 12th. As mentioned in other articles, we were kept quite busy with various construction projects so Mark and I managed to only get out three times during the summer portion of the fishery.

12.   We performed a little pre-season work on French's boat, which included replacing a leaky hydraulic steering ram on the motor, a replacement switch plate for all the 12 volt accessories, and general maintenance stuff like waxing and oil/filter changes. Thankfully time spent last year waterproofing the storage compartments was well worth it as there was no water or mildew in any of them. The stereo still works great, and the floor lighting has been very handy.

11.   The first evening we managed to get away, Mark and I went off the ledge behind Bell Island.

10.   I managed to land a dandy 30lb codfish, while mark landed a beauty 25lb fish at the same time! We didn't get our quota, but all 8 fish were decent in size.

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6.   Another evening my wife Sandra joined Mark and I and we motored down the shore to the ferry run ground in Portugal Cove.

5.   We didn't catch much, and we didn't catch as many fish as Paul French and his friend Stephanie. Paul being a good sport didn't rub it in once to his cousin Mark that he was a better fish finder. He in fact rubbed it in a good dozen times!

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2.   Our third trip was an early morning rise that found Mark and I in Portugal Cove just as it became light. Again we managed to get 8 of our 10 fish quota, all decent size, before heading back to the wharf and get to work on time.

1.   The fall fishery ran from September  22nd - 30th. Mark and I got out once one evening in the middle of the week, and Mark got in a couple additional trips over the following weekend. I got out once more in Bay Roberts with Dad, and my Brother Steve. Catches weren't great, but an evening on the water is better then just about anywhere else!

Cheers, MIKE

Copyright © 2025 Michael Smith