Tales from the Outdoors: Cusk at night

By Bob Chapin

Special to The Windham Eagle

Cusk, or Burbot, or Lawyer Fish, or Eel Pout, or Ling Cod or whatever you choose to call it, is an interesting fish.  It looks like a cross between a cod fish and an eel. The head is large with a wide mouth and a single barbel protruding from its lower lip. It doesn’t have scales and the dorsal fin starts in the normal place, runs the length of the spine, stops for a short tail then commences again running along the bottom of the fish up to the vent. They are equally at home in salt or fresh water. They have teeth but they are small allowing you to “lip” them like you would a bass.

Most anglers are not aware the fish lurks below them in most of the waters they fish because they are rarely caught as an incidental or by-catch on normal hooks and bait when fishing for other species preferring to remain low in the water column.

You have probably guessed that you fish for them right on the bottom with a stationary bait at night. In fact, the rule book says dusk to dawn, with your bait on the bottom, read large weight, and the line must be fixed at the reel, meaning the fish should not be able to take line off your spool. You can run off a few feet, lock down the reel with a loop of line over it, then re-spool the loose line such that should a fish hit your bait the spool will trip your trap and you will know you got a bite. Several tackle shops have clip on beacons that activate when the flag goes up signaling with a light easily seen at night.

In Maine you may have up to 5 traps down per licensed fisher person and you must check them at least once per hour, no continuous watch requirement. In New Hampshire you are limited to two lines down at once, but you only need to check them once every 24 hours. That sounds like a good deal, but when we have colder nights if you don’t check them more often you will have a difficult time getting them out of the new ice.

Where you fish on a lake can be quite varied because you can catch them anywhere from 8 to 10 feet of water to over 1,000 feet deep, some 10 to 50 feet works well on Sebago. They tend to favor the deeper water except when it is time to spawn, mid-February to late March, then they seek out shallower sandy or cobble stoned bottoms. Use anywhere from 10- to 12-pound test leader because not only do they come large but they have a habit of curling themselves around bottom structure and sometimes it is a tug ‘o war to get them loose, steady firm pressure works most times but don’t be afraid to give them some slack and they may swim away from whatever is holding them.

Virtually any bait you choose to use will work from live minnows to dead minnows, night crawlers, trout worms, even an old discarded hot dog works. They eat almost anything they can find including crayfish and smaller pan fish and perch. I’ve had good luck with live suckers fished right on the bottom. Artificial lures work well too. Out in Michigan, they do well with glowing lures, spoons and Swedish Pimples that glow in the dark but always tip them with some sort of bait as they find their food with their sense of smell.

When you pull your first one through the ice you will be hesitant to touch it because it looks and acts pre-historic. It will curl its whole body up like an eel tighter than you think it should and it will be slimy like an eel. But don’t let that fool you. You don’t have to “gut them” per se just cut down behind the head and slice the skin which has no scales and grab the skin with a pair of pliers, and it comes right off. The top half of the fish contains two nice filets of firm white flesh that cooks up like haddock or pollock and is outstanding in chowder.

An evening spent Cusk fishing can be quite pleasant if the weather cooperates. Sitting out on the ice in a blind or ice hut with an adult beverage and a space heater is fun, jigging one hole while you watch traps on the other four holes. Snacks are always welcomed by your fishing buddies and can make a slow evening go by faster. It is a great social event in Maine in the winter so dress appropriately and give it a try…you will be glad you did. <