You'll need a selection of sinkers, with weights of 6 to 8 ounces, which are usually sufficient for inshore cod fishing. When probing deep-water wrecks or reefs, you should have 12- and 16-ounce models available, which will enable you to keep your line perpendicular to the bottom when strong winds and swift current prevail.

Clams are provided as bait aboard most party boats, although some anglers prefer squid, chunks of herring or conch as bait. A tough bait is preferred, as it is less apt to be easily ripped from the hook. Some old timers regularly soak their clams in a heavy salt brine solution -- half coarse cooking salt and half fresh water -- which toughens the clam meat during an overnight stay in the refrigerator, resulting in excellent hook baits.

Last season, I tried Berkeley Gulp! synthetic baits while cod fishing, and enjoyed fine results. The Gulp! emits substantial scent, and while biodegradable it has a very firm consistency, which makes it hardy hook bait. Gulp! is now made in a size that replicates a small surf clam, and so it is worthy of inclusion in your tackle box.

You just never know what size cod will be inhaling your bait. It's best to stick to moderate size bait, 3 or 4 inches in length by 1 or 2 inches in width. Allow some of the muscle tissue of the clam to hang freely, which enables a cod to inhale it with ease.

Generally speaking, codfish aren't an aggressive bottom feeder. They probe the bottom, searching for anything that's edible, finding crabs, shrimp, lobster and small fish like cunner -- popularly called bergalls -- or members of the hake family, to their liking. You should always be prepared for a strike, but an instant response isn't as essential as when you are after blackfish. I've enjoyed my best results by hesitating for a moment when I feel the initial pickup, lowering my rod tip, and when the cod has inhaled the bait, I begin reeling. This sets the hook in the process.

Line control is important in this fishing. Remember that on a party boat there may be 50 anglers on board. You want to always keep your line perpendicular to the bottom. Anglers who use too heavy a diameter line, coupled with too lightweight a sinker, will never hold bottom in deep water. The result of this is usually a gosh-awful mess when fishing deep- water locations. I prefer to opt for too heavy a sinker, as opposed to too light, even while using braided line.

Party boat skippers will carefully monitor the color scopes of their fishfinders to position the boat directly over a choice bottom of wrecks and reefs. Once they've got the boat in position and anchored, they'll continue to monitor the scope for activity. Cod are often observed cruising right along the bottom. However, when schools of herring show up on the color scope, there are also readings of pollock as well. At such times, using a jig to probe the water column often brings exciting results.

By far the most popular jigs used on the codfish grounds are the Viking and diamond. About the lightest weight jig you'll be able to use will weigh around 6 ounces. Most often, I'll use models ranging in weight from 12 to 16 ounces, although on rough days I've occasionally used 24-ounce jigs to score.

An effective leader can be tied using 40- or 50-pound-test monofilament or fluorocarbon leader material. I'll often use a rubber-tube or soft-plastic squid with a 6/0 or 7/0 O'Shaughnessy hook as a teaser, fished 3 or 4 feet ahead of the jig. Tie the jig directly to the end of a 5-foot-long piece of leader material. Then tie a barrel swivel inside a dropper loop about 12 inches from the other end of the leader. This will leave a 12-inch-long dropper, to which you tie your teaser. Then tie your line to the barrel swivel and you're all set to go.