August 2011

How’s it going?  Did you survive the storm?

Thankfully Irene lost some steam before hitting Cape Cod, but she still did pack a punch with some serious wind and waves.  I hope all you ladies and gents are OK, and didn’t suffer too much damage to your property. I heard there are some serious power outages to south of Cape Cod, so lets hope those folks get their electricity back sooner than later!

Aside from the hurricane, I’ve been receiving a lot of emails recently which is awesome.  It’s great receiving emails from you guys and gals, and I encourage everyone to leave comments at the end of blog posts.  You’re insight and perspective on fishing Cape Cod is much more valuable than anything I have to say believe me!

I wanted to share with you guys an email that I think a lot of us can relate to.  It’s from a gentlemen who loves fishing, and now finally has some time to pursue his passion-but doesn’t really know where to start, which is A-OK!

 

Hey Ryan , hows it going?

I read a lot of your articles on line from time to time. I have a summer place in East Dennis and used to fish from shore when time permitted and always came up with squat. Granted it was usually spur of the moment fishing - I have 2 small kids and duty calls. I always use lures – slugos and swim baits with no success…..For years I stared from the beach while boaters a few hundred yards out would be catching fish and I was building sand castles and changing diapers …..

Well those days are over  – I saved my loot and I just bought a 2006 parker 1801 cc and I seek advice on how to catch some fish and where to find them . I just got the boat and have had it in the bay getting used to it . I’ve fished only a few times for short durations because of time or I had my wife and kids on board. I’ve been afraid to go out far because the gps was broken and weather hasnt been great the few times I had the chance. I tried around quivet neck and over by sandy neck – saw alot of guys out there – I just replaced the gps/ff with an hds 7 and can’t wait for good weather to install it.

Any advice for a beginner boat fisherman ? I’d be willing to come out on one of your charters even ….I fished fresh water my whole young life and did well, but the sea is another animal with a lot to learn . I appreciate any info .

Thank you,

Eric

 

Eric brings up a lot of good points in his email.  It’s tough to find the time to get on the water, and when we finally do, where do we start?  Fishing in a boat on the ocean for the first time can definitely be nerve wrecking.  How can we do it safely?

These are all concerns that I initially had getting into the sport too.

After sitting on his email for an afternoon, this is what I came up with for a response.

 

Hey Eric,

It’s going great!  Thanks for the email, it’s always great to hear from blog readers.  Thanks a lot for checking out the blog-much appreciated.

Nice to hear you have a place in East Dennis.  What a great area.  Fishing from shore can be tough at times, I can certainly empathize with you on that one.

Sounds like you’ve gotten yourself a nice boat-congrats!  18 feet is all you really need for fishing the Dennis, Barnstable, Sandwich area.  Of course with a boat that size weather is the dominant factor.  The good thing on the Bay is that most days the breeze is offshore, making it possible to at least fish some near-shore areas when the wind picks up.  Of course anything out of the North can get a bit hairy.

Did you purchase the Lowrance HDS-7?  If so, great purchase.  The sooner you get that installed and functioning the better.  Make sure whoever installs the unit knows what they are doing.  Transducer placement is crucially important.  If it is the unit I am thinking of you should have no problem marking bass while cruising at speeds of up to 25 mph, which is very important when fishing Cape Cod Bay.

I’d be happy to provide you with as much free advice as you would like.  I love helping guys get involved in the sport.  We have quite the fishery on Cape Cod Bay.  There is a learning curve to it, but it is well worth the time and effort.

I’d say the most important thing you can do right now is get your sonar installed.  Big bass will be around in the Bay for the next 2 months.  The best Cape Cod Bay fishing happens during September and October.  You definitely do not want to miss out on it!

I’d also be happy to have you onboard the Miss Loretta sometime if you’d like.  No worries either way. 

When you get the chance, let me know what type of gear you have, whether or not the sonar is installed, and what your fishing goals are.

I don’t see any reason why you can’t catch some nice bass before this season is over.  The fish are out there.

Keep me posted, thanks for the email, and take care,

Ryan

 

So far Eric and I have been going back and forth, talking fishing and strategies.  I see no reason why he won’t get into the fish before this season is over, as long as he finds the time to get on the water!

What questions do you guys have?  I certainly do not have all the answers, but I’ll do my absolute best to get you up off the ground and running.  The best months of the year are ahead of us, how do you plan on taking advantage of them?

So send me an email at MissLorettaFishing@gmail.com or even easier, just leave a comment at the end articles and fishing reports.

Thanks for everything!

 

 

Last night and early this morning it was difficult to believe that hurricane force winds are expected for tonight and tomorrow.  Cape Cod Bay looked more like a skating rink than anything else.  Hard to imagine that 8 foot waves could very well be rolling through the Bay in less than 24 hours!  Last night I may have seen one wave that reached a maximum height of 1 inch-maybe.

I had the pleasure of fishing with Andy, Mark and Matt-a bunch of nice guys who were looking to catch something other than small stripers, cod and haddock.  We departed the Sandwich Marina at 6pm, headed out onto beautiful Cape Cod Bay, and ran along the beach eastward towards Scorton Creek.

Surprisingly I did not mark a thing in front of Horizons, Old Harbor or East Sandwich Beach.  Nada in close in front of the Creek either.  There was a bunch of bait in 25 feet closer to the Sandy Neck Parking Lot, but no bass on them as of yet.  We turned around and headed for the Ledge.

Not seeing many solid marks at the Ledge either, I was about to have the guys pull the lines in when one of the rods went over.  I could tell right away that this was definitely not a nice bass, and a few minutes later we had a perfect tuna bait-size bluefish in the boat.  How come I can never find these 20 inch bluefish in Cape Cod Bay the day before a tuna trip!?

A friend of mine, Bob T., was on the water last evening and was nice enough to give us a bunch of his leftover sandworms.  As we were making the sandworm exchange, a nice school of stripers swum right under both of our boats off the north edge of Scorton.  What a nice brush of good luck!

It was now almost dark (making navigating through the minefield of Scorton’s lobster pots a nightmare) however we put the tube and worm rigs in the water and trolled south.  A minute or two later our lucky old white rod went down and line started screaming from the reel.  Fish on!

Andy stepped up and did a nice job on this bass.  A few minutes later and we had an awesome 27 pounder flopping around on the deck.  The guys couldn’t believe it!  It was the biggest striped bass Andy had ever caught, and the biggest striper any of the guys had ever seen.  Great start!

Once it got too dark to fish amongst the lobster pots I began cruising east down along the beach.  Again nothing in tight, but as soon as I turned out towards deeper water we marked a huge schoool of fish.  I swirled the boat around the had the guys pitch live eels off the port side.

We floated right through the entire school without a bump!  I coudn’t believe it.  We cranked the lines back in with hopes that the big school would stay put.

The fish did stay put and we set up another perfect drift right through the middle.  This time Andy had a hard take as well as Mark.  They let the bass run for five seconds, flipped the bails, and we had doubles!

These two fish put up a hard fight on the light spinning reels.  I think I heard the guys grunting a bit as they tried to lift the fish up from under the boat.  Finally, after a great fight, I was able to boat Andy’s bass, and then Mark’s.  Two very healthy 25-30 pounders.  Nice!

This bass topped Mark’s life-time best by quite a few pounds.  These guys are rather photogenic as well-take a look as this pic.  Nice work fellas.

The dogfish quickly moved in with authority so we put out a few dead eels rigged up with stinger hooks and started a troll through the area.  I was marking bass here and there amongst all the doggies, and before we knew it, the starboard side clicker was going off.  Fish on!

It was Matt’s turn at a nice bass and he did a good job of getting this fish to the boat.  Once boatside the bass headed straight for the bottom, peeling a few colors of leadcore from the reel.  Matt also began grunting as he tried to lift this fish from the bottom.  Finally we had the bass on the surface and I quickly brought him over the gunnel.  Another cookie cutter 27 pounder on the deck.  His biggest fish ever as well!

The bass then dispersed however we were able to find them again in 58 feet of water.  Andy picked up another 20 plus pound beauty pitching an eel, and Mark landed the final keeper of the trip, taken on the troll.

Matt was rudely awoken from his beauty nap when we had a school of bass that must of numbered in the hundreds under the boat.  This was a seriously enormous school of fish.  Matt pitched an eel, had a take, and set up nicely on the bass.  After a few “tuna-esque” line peeling runs, he had the fish within sight.  The big bass rolled on his side, took one look at us, and spit the hook right in our faces!  Not the ending we had planned but not a bad way to cap the night either.

We then headed back to Sandwich on flat calm seas with a cooler full of bass fillets.  All in all a very fun evening with some good dudes, who all caught the biggest striped bass of the their lives.

Stay safe during the storm.  I’m expecting the bass bite to heat up once Irene blows through!

Tight lines and good luck!

Ryan

Late August on Cape Cod Bay is a special time of the year.  Large concentrations of big bass move into the area, they are usually on the feed, and the weather is often quite nice.

I’ve been eagerly looking forward to late August for months now.  The best Cape Cod Bay striper fishing should happen now through early October.  Needless to say I am all fired up about it!

This past Friday evening/Saturday morning I had the Duboc family with me for a shot at some big striped bass.  We were intially a bit concerned about the weather forecast, however it ended up being an absolutely gorgeous night-one of the best, if not the best weather for a night trip I have had all season long.

After getting on top of some seriously large schools of 30 pound bass two nights prior, I had high hopes for Ross, Dennis, and Craig.  The deeper water off Scorton Ledge and east into the Parking Lot had been holding a good amount of fish as it typically does at this time of the season.

Cruising eastward from the Sandwich Marina I quickly marked a decent batch of bass in 40 feet of water.  Further to the east in 50 feet I marked another large school of bass.  We found another big pile in 55.  A few scattered fish on the surface could be seen around the boat.  It seemed as if the bass were going to be ours for the taking during this trip.

I opted for slow trolling eels with a stinger hook based on how the fish were dispersed throughout the area.  The bluefish were proving to be relentless, and just as I was describing what a bass hit looks like to the crew, Dennis’ rod doubled over under the strain of a hefty striper.

After a nice battle he had the fish boat side.  The bass shot right for the bottom after seeing the boat.  Dennis did a nice job of holding on though, and brought the fish within gaffing distance.  A quick gaff shot to the bass’ shoulder and we had a nice 30 plus pounder on the deck of the Miss Loretta.  It was Dennis’ largest striped bass of his life-nice!

There also were a lot of bluesfish around this trip.  A lot of ENORMOUS bluefish to boot.  Some of these chompers were pushing the 15 pound mark, which is pretty substantial for a bluefish.  The teeth on a 10 plus pound blue can do some serious damage to a finger, or exposed toe.

Craig was wearing sandals, which made things pretty interesting each time we had a big blue flopping around the boat.  By the third bluefish I couldn’t help but notice the nice little dance Craig did around the deck, trying to keep as much distance from the bluefish’s teeth as humanly possible.  Luckily he didn’t lose any toes on this trip!

The guys’ ended up going home with some beautiful fillets after this trip.  The fishing slowed down again after midnight, however I anticipate more consistent fishing over the next couple of weeks.  Lets cross our fingers that this will happen.

The big fish are out there, it’s just a matter of finding them.  Big thank you to the Duboc crew for coming all the way down from Boston and Sharon this past weekend.  Hope to see you guys again soon!

Tight lines and take care,

Ryan

 

Yesterday I had the pleasure of fishing with two of the most dedicated guys I have fished with all season.

Don and Don (a father and son duo) had traveled all the way from Springfield, MA to Sandwich with hopes of bagging some striped bass above the 30 pound mark.  That’s a 2 hour plus drive, and keep in mind they had to make the return drive home after 8 hours on Cape Cod Bay-how about that for dedication.

Well the good news is that they made it home safely with around 30 pounds of striped bass fillets.  With the commercial striped bass season now closed, I’d estimate that’s around $450 worth of bass.  Just about pays for the cost of the trip!

Financial nonsense aside we had a great night, with picture perfect conditions and a few fish to boot as well.

As expected, Scorton Ledge was stacked with bass after the good north wind earlier in the week.  Unfortunately the fish were not interested in biting.  After a few trolls through the bass (and nice hookup with a lobster buoy) we continued eastward.

I was thinking, praying and hoping that the bass would be holding shallow on this trip.  I cruised through the 25-30 foot depths down along Sandwich and Barnstable but marked nothing at all.  Hopefully the bass will eventually begin to consistently hold along the beach soon, however we may have to wait until September.

Fortunately we managed to find an absolute load of stripers once we began searching the 50-55 foot contour.  There were some seriously BIG orange marks on the sonar.  After a few swings and misses by Don, Don senior, and even yours truly we were hooked up.

Don jr. battled a very nice bass on one of our smallest spinning setups for around 10 minutes before we got our first glimpse at the beast.  This was a nice fish that was disturbing a lot of phosphorescence.  One of the cool things about night fishing is watching the “fire” in the water when a good striper is brought close to the boat.  The fish’s movement disturbs the phosphorous, which in turn creates a very cool looking glow in the water.  The bigger the glow = the bigger the bass.

 

Don’s first fish of the night ended up being the biggest, bringing the scale all the way down to 34 pounds-his personal best.  Very nice!

A little while later and it was Don senior’s turn at a fat Cape Cod Bay striped bass.  After a nice battle, some awesome drag screaming runs, and a few compliments from Don about how strong this bass was, Don had another 30 + pound bass flopping on the deck.

The fellas quickly bought into the search and pitch eels process and were able to bring a few more fish to the boat until the bass simply “disappeared.”

Sometimes I wish I had a GPS tracking device on these big bass.  On some nights this year we have been able to stick with the biomass the entire trip, while on other nights we only have them for an hour or so.  Unfortunately we lost the bass schools last night around midnight and were unable to find them again-despite covering an additional 15 miles of water.

Regardless we were still able to boat some beautiful bass.  Average fish was above 30 pounds which bodes well for anyone trying to beat their personal best this late summer/fall.  A few of the marks on the sonar indicated there were some really big bass around.  I couldn’t help but picture what the fishing will be like once these fish move in tight to the beach during September and October.  I’m crossing my fingers that it’ll happen sooner than that.

Big thanks to Don and Don for coming down yesterday.  Great meeting you guys.  It’d be awesome to see you again in September!

Tight lines and good luck,

Ryan

 

Being surrounded by bass while standing in two feet of water is always exciting.  The experience is even cooler when the fish are feeding way back in a tidal creek, in the troughs between sandbars.

At Old Harbor Creek in Sandwich, schoolie stripers, as well as small keepers, have been flooding the tidal pools and shallow water in the mid to upper reaches of the creek on each incoming tide.  On the flood, dozens of fish infiltrate the creek, attracted by the smorgasboard of baitfish, crabs, eels and who knows what else, that call the creek home.

The creek is chock full of undulations and structure.  Much of the creek is completely exposed at low tide.  Mounds of sand bars can be seen in the distance.  Throughout the estuary, gulls and Blue Herons pick at food hidden under just inches of water.  Old and broken lobster pots, half covered in mud, ironically provide a nice home for green crabs.  Kids and their parents build elaborate sand castles, and float down the creek in inner tubes.

Needless to say there is a lot happening at Old Harbor.  However there is even more life hidden underneath the water’s surface.  Mixed in amongst the sand bars and mud flats are the tidal pools.  At low tide, anything that swims is forced into these tidal pools, which are often no more than four feet deep.

Having all this bait jam packed into just a couple pools of water makes hunting much easier for striped bass.  Stripers are very cunning creatures and fully exploit this opportunity.  Some bass will remain in the tidal pool throughout low water, terrorizing the bait that is stuck in the pool.  Most of the fish squeeze into the tidal pool once the tide begins to flood back into the creek.  The bass ride in from Cape Cod Bay on a gushing flow of cool, oxygenated water.

Dozens of stripers entered Old Harbor’s tidal pools this past Thursday and Friday within the first few minutes of the flood tide.  I could see the fish zipping by me, chasing mummichogs and other small minnows.  For such skinny water, some of the fish were surprisingly large-pushing the 35 inch mark.

The baitfish did not stand a chance as the bass began their assault.  Fish began breaking all around me as the current increased.  A few fish were cruising behind my legs in less than a foot of water.  Before I knew it, I was surrounded!

These stripers were fearless, and had no trouble chasing down minnows in just inches of water.  At one point, a cut in the sandbar to my left held around 10 bass in no more than eight inches of water.

I was casting live eels and having no trouble enticing the fish to strike.  Bass after bass would take a swipe at the eel, or chase the eel up to my feet.  Unfortunately none of the fish seemed interested in finishing the job by gulping down Mr. Wiggly.  Before I realized it, I was up to 21 hits without a single hook up!  These bass were terrorizing the eel and teasing me, but did not seem interested in swallowing the eel.

The action lasted until an hour and a half after the tide change.  At this point, enough water had entered the creek to free the bait from the tidal pools.  The bait and bass were now more spread out, thus proving more difficult to locate and entice.

Final tally for the trip was an incredible 0 for 21!  Figuring it had something to do with my choice of live eels, I returned to the creek on Friday with unweighted slug-gos.  Final tally for Friday, 0-11!  The fish were everywhere, but boy were they tough to hook.

I think my hook up ratio will improve dramatically when I return to this spot at the same tide during October, when the bass are bit less fussy.

Which brings us to the dilemma of actually getting to the spot in the first place.  Some of the best tidal pools in the creek are only reachable via a short swim or paddle.  This can be a dangerous undertaking when the current is cranking, as it was this past Thursday and Friday.

I planned ahead and brought along a Coast Guard approved Type I PFD (life jacket) as well as flippers.  On top of that I am a relatively strong swimmer.  However even the strongest of swimmers can tire easily in a strong current. I had to enter the creek one hundred yards up-current of my target on the opposite shoreline.  This way I could enter the water while wearing my PFD, kick hard with my flippers, and ride the current to the opposite shore.

The crazy things we do to catch a fish.

It was a lot of fun, however this type of scenario can quickly turn into a nightmare if you do not take the proper precautions, or if you are prone to panicking while swimming in a heavy current etc.  Sadly, people do lose their lives each year fishing in areas with strong tides.

So in conclusion, fishing the tidal pools of Old Harbor Creek was awesome, even though I did not land a fish.  I saw tons of bass in very skinny water, and located a prime spot to try during the fall migration.

I’m still 0 for 14 on my Cape Cod Surfcasting Challenge.  I think catching a striped bass from shore, from each of the Cape’s towns, may prove to be a lot more difficult than I initially imagined.

Do you guys/gals have any spots on the sand you think I should try fishing?  I am definitely going to need some words of wisdom and insight.  Does anybody know any easily accessible, and productive areas in Dennis, Yarmouth or Harwich?

Any help is appreciated!

Ryan

 

 

 Old Harbor’s tidal pools

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It took a few trips, but we finally now have our first 40 plus pound bass of August!

We were cruising eastward towards North Dennis in 45 feet of water when we marked a small patch of bass on the sonar.  There were only, at most, a half dozen fish in the school.  Regardless, I decided it’d be a  smart move to spend a minute or two in the area and pitch the eels.

The great thing about Humminbird Side-Scan is that it shows fish off to the sides of the boat, instead of just beneath the hull.  Well the unit showed a few fish well off the starboard side of the boat, so I heaved a long cast with the eel in hopes of reaching the half dozen or so bass.

I must of knocked them over the head with the eel because a moment after Mr. Wiggly hit the water, I had a take.  After counting to five I flipped the bail over and was on.  Right off the bat I could tell there was a lot of weight behind this bass as the fish began screaming line from the spinning setup.

After a long initial run the fish came to the surface, violently thrashing about 75 yards off in the distance.  The sun had not yet set, so we could easily see the bass rolling on the surface.  The bass made numerous runs back towards the bottom before surfacing again closer to the boat.  Ten minutes after hooking up I had the fish boatside.

Bass always look bigger in the water, so I didn’t allow myself to get excited until I heaved the striper over the gunnel and into the boat.  Upon hitting the deck it was obvious that she was an absolute beast!

We usually see an influx of 35 plus pound fish during late August and early September.  Hopefully this will be the first of many 40 plus pound bass to come.

Last year we had multiple 40 pound bass taken on the ML, with the largest tipping the scales at 46 pounds!  That fish was taken by Bob Pritchard in just 12 feet of water.  Bob’s brother Mark landed a 41 pounder during the same trip.

Could this be the season we top the 50 pound mark?

Aside from that 4o pounder, we managed to boat numerous fish in the 20-30 pound range, as well as one fish over 30 pounds.

At the moment, our trips are not producing big numbers quantity wise.  The awesome thing is that the bass we are catching have been impressive.  I don’t know about you but I’ll trade constant action with small fish, for a few quality shots at behemoth bass anytime.

On another note, we located another top-notch spot to toss live eels this past week.  Tuesday night we had a decent pick of bass in 72 feet of water off Sandwich.  Unfortunately, scattered thunderstorms were in the forecast.  At around 12:30am the radar map indicated a storm in New Bedford, approaching Cape Cod Bay at a moderate pace.  It was tough to leave good fishing, but you just don’t mess with thunderstorms, so we pulled the lines in and headed back towards the Sandwich Marina.

We docked at the boat ramp and decided to wait for the storm to pass before heading back out on the Bay.  To kill time I grabbed the spotlight and began shining it around the ramp, hoping to see something cool.  To my surprise sitting directly in the beam of light was a striper pushing the 40 inch mark!

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” I remember yelling, probably waking anyone who was sleeping within a few miles of the marina.

I tossed an eel in the direction of the bass but  he had disappeared, probably scared away by my shouting.  I began shining the light around the marina again and quickly realized that she was not the only bass in the vicinity of the ramp.

A few more casts later and I had a take.  I let the bass run for a bit before locking up on him.  I felt the weight of the fish but then nothing.  Unfortunately the hook had turned around on the eel, preventing a solid hook set.  What a bummer.

I went back to the spotlight, hoping to illuminate any more fish that were still holding around the boat ramp.  I spotted a nice fatty about 10 feet in front of me, pitched the eel and slowly began working the eel along the surface.  The bass reacted and slammed the eel literally at my feet!

The hook had no trouble embedding itself in this fish’s jaw and I was on.  She dug for the bottom and tried to escape under the dock I was standing on.  The bass had some decent weight behind her, not a monster but a good fish nonetheless.

A few minutes later and I had a beautiful 34 inch keeper bass on the dock.  It was my first boat ramp bass!

I guess you never know what to expect when heading out on Cape Cod Bay!  Lets keep our fingers crossed for good weather and even better fishing in the weeks to come.

Tight lines and take care,

Ryan

 

 

Well right now it is 4:42am Sunday morning.  I’ve been up all night and have French bread pizza cooking in the oven.  It’s definitely not the most nutritious thing in the house, especially after housing General Tso chicken, crab ragoons and pork fried rice yesterday at around 3am but oh well.  I’ll get back on the healthy track come November.

Right now there are more important things to worry about than lovehandles and my daily caloric intake.  The fishing is good and improving weekly.  The fish are on average larger this year than in year’s past.  A typical Cape Cod Bay bass at the moment is still around 26 pounds-pretty darn impressive.

I had Dennis and Mary with me onboard the Miss Loretta this evening.  I usually begin each trip with a very upbeat and positive attitude, however the wind and rain in the forecast made it hard for me to remain optimistic.  Luckily the poor weather would hold off just long enough for us to bag some big bass before getting drenched by the impending monsoon.After a quick debriefing on how to fish an eel, Dennis, Mary and myself began searching to the east for the first pile of big stripers.  After about a half hour of cruising around, we stumbled upon the first nice batch of bass.

It didn’t take long until we had a solid take on the eel.  This fish was screaming line off the spinning reel.  Dennis did a nice, smooth job of easing the bass towards the boat.  I did my part and we quickly had a beautiful 29 pounder flopping around on the deck-Dennis’ largest striper to date.

Next up was Mary.  After a little more searching we settled up on an enormous school of stripers.  A solid fish gulped down one of our eels without much hesitation, the rod was passed to Mary, and after a few minutes she had her largest stiper to date flopping next to Dennis’ big fish.

Nice start!

We’d spend the rest of the evening cruising from pile to pile, pitching eels, boating a couple more big bass, losing a couple real nice bass, and bagging a few blues as well.  All in all a great trip squeezed in around some inclement weather.

We got soaked on the ride home but it was well worth it.  Dennis leaves for school this coming week, so I’m very glad we were able to get him into some nice fish before heading off.  Big kudos to Mary as well for sticking out a night trip in less than ideal conditions!

The great thing about the fishing right now is that it is possible for veterans as well as rookie anglers to land some seriously big bass.  If you have a lot of fishing experience, then you have a great shot at cleaning up and putting some good numbers in the boat.  Don’t worry if you have zero fishing experience, it is still possible to catch bass well over the 30 pound mark.  All that is needed is a willingness to learn and some patience.

Tight lines and catch ‘em up!

Captain Ryan

 

 

Well this has been a crazy week on many fronts.

For starters, the fish have been all over the place.  Depending on the trip we have caught anywhere from 4 to 19 big striped bass on each outing.  Almost all of the fish have come on live eels on the spinning rods, with a few important exceptions.  We’re still looking to break the 40 pound mark this summer, so hopefully that will happen this coming week.  Biggest bass this past week was 36 pounds.

To add to the crazy fishing, I had Benny from Australia with me for three trips this past week.  I met Ben five years ago when I was studying abroad in Cairns, Australia (FYI Cairns is the black marlin capital of the world, while I was there numerous marlin well into the 1,400 pound range were caught).

Ben and his buddy Luke (who I also met while in Cairns) have been touring America and Canada for the past month in a black stretch limo that they picked up in Vancouver.  The blokes have been to New Mexico, North Carolina, Alabama and Louisiana to name just a few of the the many states that they have graced their presence with.  These two Aussies are the ultimate backpackers.

Needless to say I was all jacked up to get Benny out on the water to do some striped bass fishing.  I think Ben was pretty excited as well.  From what he shared with me, fishing on Cape Cod Bay is slightly different than fishing in Australia.

For starters, there was no need for us to carry a shotgun on board while fishing.  Ben and his father have taken shotguns with them while fishing in Australia  in the case they have an encounter with a 20 foot long saltwater crocodile.

Luckily, on the Cape we do not have to worry about the 15 foot long man eating tiger sharks that routinely cruise along the Australian coast at night.  Apparently fishing at night “down under” is a life threatening activity.

And fortunately, I did not have to worry about being stung by the nearly invisible irukandji jellyfish while at the boat ramp.  Phew, what a relief!

So with all that squared away we eagerly began our three night excursion on Cape Cod Bay.  Ben did an incredible job and quickly picked up the nuances of catching striped bass during the heat of summer.

The bluefish were relentless our first night out, but Ben still managed to boat bass up to the 30 pound mark.  He had no problem learning the ropes of tube and worm trolling, as we landed 19 keeper bass during his second trip.  I think he should be coming out on the water a bit more often!

On the third trip we had another bass inhale both of our eel offerings.  After a decade of fishing with eels I had never had this happen to me.  Oddly enough it has now occurred twice in one week.  I guess these bass are really focused on chewing eels.  Maybe we’ll catch a striper this next week with three eels in his mouth.

I’m pretty sure Ben had a phenomenal time during his stay on Cape Cod.  Who knows the next time he will be in the States.  Whenever it is, he’ll always be welcome on the Miss Loretta!

Tight lines and good luck out there,

Captain Ryan

 

It’s hard to believe that it is already August.  It seems like yesterday when I was staring at an eight foot snow drift, trying to conjure up the best way to shovel my car out of a jam packed, iced over street in Boston.

Fortunately that snow drift did eventually melt as Spring slowly made its way into New England.  May and June coughed up some phenomenal fishing.  The Cape Cod Canal did exceptionally well, along with some areas relatively close to shore.

July proved to be a bit more fickle.  One trip would produce well, while the very next trip was a struggle.  The bass were here one day and gone the next.  Certain schools crushed baits we threw at them, and then magically shut off as they settled into “lockjaw” mode.  Nevertheless we managed to land some beautiful bass up to the 39 pound mark.

And now it’s August, my second favorite month (next to September) to go fishing on Cape Cod Bay.  If history repeats itself we should have some fantastic weather over the course of the next 31 days, and some phenomenal fishing as well.  I’ll be pretty happy if last night is a sign of the good things to come.

I had the Pennsylvania crew onboard this past trip.  Brett, Austin and Ed were up for vacation and hoping to bag a few nice bass for the grill.  They had plenty of freshwater fishing experience, and even a little time logged in at Montauk-the “Mecca” of the striped bass fishing world.

The guys came onboard with great attitudes and a willingness to do whatever it took to catch fish.  After some searching around I managed to mark a real nice batch of bass, whipped the boat around, and had the guys pitch the baits.

It wasn’t long until Austin had a nice bend in his rod.  This fish took some serious line, and really dug for the bottom once it saw the boat.  Little different than bluegill fishing!

After a few more minutes Austin eased the bass towards to the port side of the boat.  A quick gaff shot broadside and we had the fish aboard.  She tipped the scales at an impressive 35 pounds-Austin’s first and biggest legal bass of his life.

The 25 pound bass was so aggressive it had eaten Brett’s eel and Austin’s eel.  Not only that but one of the eels had been previously chopped by a bluefish before getting hammered by the bass.  That is a first for me!

We were even treated to watching bass and bluefish harass our baits at boatside.  The fish didn’t care about the boat, or the spotlight I was shining directly at them.  It was quite the show.

Final tally was around a dozen bass from 10-35 pounds and a few chomper bluefish.  The guys had enough by 11:30pm, allowing me to get some much needed rest!

Thanks guys and enjoy the rest of your vacation!

Tight lines and good luck,

Ryan