That one makes 15!" confirmed Capt. Ned Kittredge, as he measured his keeper cod and slid it into the fish box. "That's our limit. Reel 'em up boys. Time to head for the barn. It's getting late."

"OK," I said, stalling and hoping for a last-minute bite. "No complaints here - we've had great action. Looks like Al is high line again."

With a sly smile and numb fingers, Capt. Al Anderson cranked his bottomfish rig through the 100-plus-foot icy depths to the surface, which reflected distant, steely gray snow clouds. I soon followed suit. It was only 2:30 p.m., but with a wintry sky threatening, an offshore chop building and a long run ahead of us, the hour was, indeed, getting late.

We were fishing the famous Stellwagen Bank, an 18-mile-long shoal 25 miles east of Boston, Massachusetts. The air was a crisp 35 degrees - comfortable for early January - and water temps hovered in the mid-40s. Unlike in summer, we saw no other boats in any direction, which can be a bit unsettling if you dwell on it.

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Yet the midwinter ocean teemed with life. Gannets, kittiwakes, northern fulmars and American eiders winged past all day. Several whales had breached in the distance. A few seals foraged nearby, as did pods of white-sided dolphin, which tore around and under our boat as they hunted. But best of all, of course, we found cod, pollock and haddock feeding on baitfish schools stacked over the gravel bottom far beneath our hull. That's my idea of a winter wonderland.

Cold and Distant
Codfish like rough bottoms. And the Northeast is loaded with small clumps of bottom structure: Rock piles, reefs, shipwrecks, shoals and ledges dot the coast within a few miles of shore, from Rhode Island to Maine, and create a bottomfisherman's paradise. So why travel all the way to Stellwagen Bank in the dead of winter when there is so much nearshore territory?

"That large-shoal water is a prime habitat for marine life," says Kittredge. "You've got the natural upwelling, you've got the nutrient-rich area, and you've got the entire food chain on Stellwagen. There are other places to go: wrecks, the old dumping grounds and many of the localized humps and bumps. But the fish prefer certain temperature and salinity zones. They're not in shallow water when it's really cold - they're going to be in the deeper, warmer water."

Fishing far off the New England coast in December, January and February is no joke and not for the faint of heart. Anglers must deal with snow-covered boats, iced-over harbors, insulated clothing, rubber gloves, numbing cold and threatening weather patterns.

"It's not so much that the cod fishing is best at this time of year," says Kittredge. "In fact, peak groundfishing takes place during warmer weather. This great winter fishery happens because there is nothing else to do unless you have the resources to fish down south or want to go ice fishing. Cod are the best available thing. And they're excellent eating and lots of fun when you want something to pull back on the other end of the line. We also make it more sporting by using 'light tackle.'"

Stay Shallow, Rig Light
Stellwagen Bank ranges in depth from about 100 feet to more than 300 feet, and currents run very strong around the new and full moons. Part of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem, the 638-square-mile bank features scattered ridges and troughs.

The traditional tackle that most fishermen use at deeper sites includes extra-heavy boat rods, or "broomsticks," rigged with 4/0 or 6/0 reels loaded with 60- to 80-pound mono and fished with 16- to 24-ounce lures. But Captains Anderson and Kittredge enjoy great sport by working shallower areas of the bank with comparatively light tackle.

"We catch them pretty well on the shallow part of Stellwagen," says Kittredge. "The guys that really want to catch bigger cod fish off the eastern edge of the bank in deeper water. But that's a lot farther to run for the average guy - especially in winter - and they're fishing in up to 350 feet of water with heavy gear."

Light-tackle use has swept through almost every other saltwater fishery and is now, of course, in vogue around the country and the world. But in the deepwater Northeast ground fishery, lighter gear is just starting to catch on.

Our light-tackle selection starts with the line. While heavy mono is the old standby - and the only line allowed on many charter or partyboats because of tangling concerns - the new superbraids have made lighter rods, reels and lures a reality for today's bottom anglers. Kittredge and Anderson often go as low as 20-pound Magibraid Spectra line, which has low stretch, high sensitivity and a diameter equal to only 6-pound mono. I've had excellent results with 30-pound Berkley Fireline, with a diameter equal to only 12-pound mono.

When selecting a rod, choose one that matches the reel and line but has enough backbone to lift a 20-plus-pound fish off the ocean floor. Levelwind reels work best because of the great lengths of line used offshore. One of Kittredge's favorite outfits is Shakespeare's 6-foot 6-inch, medium-heavy Tidewater boat rod rated for 20- to 40-pound line and matched with a Shakespeare Tidewater TWMA30L levelwind reel. Other similar rod-and-reel combos also perform well on the bank.

Finding the Fish
Because Stellwagen encompasses hundreds of square miles, the novice cod angler who simply runs blindly to the bank will have a daunting challenge searching for a place to start fishing.

Calling it his "single most useful tool," Kittredge relies on the bathymetric fishing map F-101 titled "Provincetown." This chart, which has loran-C overlay, depicts bottom contour and type for all of Cape Cod Bay. Steep drop-offs on the west side of the bank, the gently sloping east side, gravel deposits and obstructions all show up clearly.

Kittredge's second requisite for a successful day is a good-quality fish finder with a minimum output of 350 watts (the water is at least 95 feet deep) and "bottom-lock" capabilities. For best performance when searching for bottom structure, targeting bait and finding cod, pollock and haddock, he sets the machine to expand the first 25 feet of bottom, using low frequency for a wider picture.

As Kittredge approaches a given location, he'll watch for baitfish to mark on the screen. He'll then turn the boat around to get back over the forage before starting a drift. He believes that having enough anglers on board to fish several rods helps keep the cod under the boat for extended drift periods because fish follow the multiple lures or baits.

Cod Love Lures
Cod feed on just about everything, but during much of the year their primary forage includes sand eels, herring, whiting and squid. That makes diamond jigs and tube teasers the best lure choices on Stellwagen Bank. Simple to use, jigs prove deadly effective when fished properly. Thanks to superthin superbraids, light-tackle ground anglers can drop diamonds weighing much less than traditional lures. In all but the strongest moon tides, 4-, 6- and 8-ounce jigs easily reach and hold bottom.

Kittredge and Anderson modify standard diamonds and attach droppers above the main lure to prompt lazy cod into striking. These two experts remove the treble hook from a diamond jig and attach a No. 8 stainless-steel split ring followed by a Bead Chain 131 swivel and a Mustad 31022 9/0 or 10/0 Limerick hook. They then slide a 5 1/2-inch section of dyed-red, 1/4-inch-inside-diameter latex tubing over the hook.

"At slow retrieval speeds," says Anderson, "the tube imitates a sand eel, which cod love. Using 80-pound mono leader, I tie a blood knot about 24 inches above the diamond jig and snip one side close to the knot. I tie the other side, which is about 5 inches long, to a smaller Bead Chain swivel, hook and teaser tube. A small swivel is tied onto the top end of the leader for attaching to the main line. I don't like and don't use three-way swivels because they foul the dropper portion of the mono and ruin the teaser presentation."

Anderson suggests a tube teaser constructed of a 5-inch section of red latex tubing with a 3/16-inch inside diameter. He uses a Bead Chain No. 101 swivel and a 6/0 hook bent similar to a Limerick-style hook. He doesn't like small Limericks because they aren't forged, and a large cod or pollock can straighten them. Anderson and Kittredge use other droppers such as Red Gills with Owner Cutting Point SSW 6/0 hooks (model No. 5111-161), Delta Eels and Felmlee Eels, which are dyed at home with red aniline dye.

Diamond jigs make irresistible, streamlined lures that plummet through the depths yet wobble seductively when retrieved. Their versatility is obvious from the number of ways they can be fished. When it comes to bottom-knocking for cod, however, slower is better. Anglers who don't score well on groundfish, work their jigs in a careless manner, giving no thought to what they're trying to accomplish.

"The technique I use is called yo-yo jigging," says John Prystowski, an experienced Stellwagen angler from western Massachusetts. "After hitting bottom, I engage the reel and lift the rod tip up to about 11 o'clock, then lower it slowly while keeping a tight line. Staying near the bottom, I continue with a nice, slow, steady up-and-down jigging motion until I get a strike."

Kittredge and Anderson employ a very different and newer jigging technique to hook up with Stellwagen cod. "We 'squid-jig' our diamonds at a very slow speed," says Anderson. "Once the lure hits bottom, we crank it up 8 to 12 feet and then free-spool it down again. We retrieve it just fast enough to make the jig's tube spin, which creates an irresistible silhouette from below. That's what attracts the fish. The secret of the tube's action is the Bead Chain swivel we use."

Big Water, Small Boats
Most big Northeast sport-fishing boats rest in dry dock at this time of year, so this cold-weather fishery favors anglers with trailerable craft measuring 28 feet or less. However, offshore New England waters can get dangerous in winter, and caution must be used before and during each trip. This means having proper safety and navigation equipment and watching for changing conditions while on the grounds.

"It's easy to lose focus on boating safety while into a nice pick of fish," says Prystowski, who fishes Stellwagen from a 20-foot Maritime Skiff with a 115-hp outboard. "The boat is very capable, but safety is No. 1 when fishing from a small craft. It's a large body of water out there, and accidents can happen quickly. Remember to keep a sharp eye on your surroundings to avoid potential problems.

"It's also essential to have basic equipment on board. That includes a good VHF radio, a cell phone, GPS or loran, LCD radar, a depth finder, a chart, an anchor with at least 300 feet of line, and a drift sock or sea anchor. Other items include an EPIRB, foul-weather gear, a first-aid kit, a toolbox, rags, offshore lifejackets and plenty of spare fuel and oil. You also need to know how to use your equipment properly, which is important for a safe return and in emergency situations."

Besides carrying safety equipment, it's preferable to run offshore in a vessel with twin engines. Or do what Prystowski does: Make the trip with friends in a second "buddy" boat. On good-weather days - which are the only days you should go out there - other vessels, charter boats or commercial fishermen should be on the bank within radio range. Remember to update weather information regularly by clicking on the VHF radio for a marine forecast.

When planning a winter cod trip, accurate interpretation of up-to-date weather forecasts plays a huge role in safety. High-pressure systems that move in from Canada usually produce ideal and stable conditions once they settle over southern New England. Try to isolate that window of fair weather between gales.

"The leading edges of high-pressure systems usually cause strong, cold northwest winds that commonly range from 25 to 30-plus knots," says Anderson. "But 12 to 24 hours later, the winds become light if the center of high pressure moves over. This is the type of forecast you need to look for. Monitor the VHF marine weather forecast, or go online. If you understand what isobars are all about, click on either the 12- or 24-hour surface forecast for projected wind velocities. At this time of year, spells of bearable wind and temperatures allowing a small boat to venture offshore are rare. Be prepared to go on short notice."

Kittredge feels there are ample opportunities to work Stellwagen in winter - if you don't mind bundling up and fishing with gloves. "Sometimes, the limiting factor isn't the conditions offshore but rather the icing of ramps and harbors, which may prevent launching or retrieving your boat," he says.

Our great day last January ended the same way it had started: navigating through ice floes in Green Harbor, Massachusetts, in bone-chilling twilight. But on the return trip, we had a wonderful mix of medium pollock, haddock and cod in the fish box. Many more small cod were tagged and released.

Although windburned and dead tired, we still had a lot of work to do that night, including driving a long way home, filleting fish, washing down the gear and covering the boat before the impending snowstorm. But it was well worth the effort.

"In midwinter it just doesn't get any better than cod fishing on Stellwagen Bank," Kittredge said as we bumped along the back roads in his big pickup, with the heater blasting and his ice-crusted 24-footer in tow. "I can't wait until we can run out there and hit 'em again."