During February, March, and April large schools of cod make their appearance on the bank.  At this season these are found most abundantly on the “Winter Fishing Ground”; a part of Georges lying eastward and southeastward of the North Shoal between the parallels of 41 deg. 30’ and 42 deg. 00’ north latitude and 66 deg. 38’ and 67 deg. 30’ west longitude.  The area of this Winter Fishing Ground is about 1,100 square miles.  This part of the bank seems entirely given over to the codfish, since it is too broken, sharp, and rocky to please the haddock.  Depths here are from 30 to 40 fathoms, deepening away from the North Shoal.  This area is essentially a spawning ground for the cod, which appear to come on the hank from the Se., as they almost invariably, after reaching the ground, move slowly to the N. and W. as spring approaches.  This is in the direction of the shoals.  As soon as the spawning season is over the schools of cod break up, but more or less fish are caught on different parts of the ground at all times of the year, though rarely are they found so plentiful as when the winter school is on the ground.  Cod are found along the Northern Edge virtually the year around, though many of the winter school move on to the inner waters of the gulf and others go over to Browns Bank, where the early comers seem to appear in the first days of April.

In its production Georges Bank itself is rather evenly divided between haddock and cod, the cod showing a slightly larger proportion.  The South Channel, on the western edge of Georges, shows predominantly as a haddock ground, and the haddock from The Channel is considered a better fish than that from Georges.  Georges Bank itself is also an important haddock ground in the spring and early summer, when this species abounds about the Cultivator Shoal (Se. by S. 88 miles from Highland Light.  Cape Cod) in depths from 18 to 30 fathoms; and at the same season along the Northern Edge (140 to 200 miles E. by S. 1/2 S. from Boston Lightship in about 41 deg. to 42 deg.  N. lat. and 66 deg. to 88 deg.  W. long.) in 45 to 80 fathoms in summer, the fish moving off into the deeper water (90 to 100 fathoms) in the neighborhood of the Corner of the Channel as the winter comes on.  Many are found in March, when they return from the deep water, when fishing is carried on 65 miles Se. from Highland in 70 fathoms; then they come into the 40-fathom depths from the North Shoal westward to the Corner of The Channel along the Northern Edge.  In April the Cultivator Cove is good ground even into 20-fathom depths.

The Southwest Part. (120 miles SSE. from Highland Light, Cape Cod, with 45 to 80 fathom depths) is a good ground for haddock from the beginning of the fall up to about Christmas, after which the best winter fishing for this species is found on the Southeast Part (reached by steaming 145 miles ESE. from Boston Lightship in order to clear the shoals, then SSE. 40 to 50 miles, depending upon what part of the ground it is desired to fish).  January is perhaps the best fishing month upon this portion of Georges.