a Cape Cod fishing community
Torrential rain and heavy wind is a good way of describing conditions this morning at the Cape Cod Canal. I almost felt foolish as I stood there on the rocks, getting pelted in the face by wind whipped H20.
Nevertheless I felt like my chances at connecting with a decent bass were pretty good. I knew there was a large biomass of fish somewhere in Buzzards Bay, just waiting to push through. Would today be the day they decided to make their move? Only time would tell.
I awoke this morning to the blasts of the fog horn. My plan was to fish an estuary down Cape, however the dense fog made me think twice. The conditions were perfect for top water plugging boulder fields, so I called an audible and headed to one of my favorite shore fishing spots on all of Cape Cod.
Last night (technically this morning) my high school buddy Andrew and I set off to fish the Cape Cod Canal at night. Night fishing the Cape Cod Canal is one of my favorite types of fishing because you often have the place to yourself, plus there is a good chance of encountering big striped bass. Despite the rain, both Andrew and I were eager to see what the night would bring.
The wind blew hard out of the north for the greater part of yesterday. Yet once early afternoon rolled around the breeze died down, and the seas flattened right out.
It looked like it was going to be a beauty of a evening. Mazzola gave me a ring and asked if I wanted to splash his boat and try for a keeper just before sunset. I was game and so was our fishing buddy and MFCC member O.D. Mike. By 5:30PM Mike, Mazzola and myself were on the water and looking for signs of life.
Fishing Cape Cod’s National Seashore is a wild and rugged experience. Oceanic waves relentlessly crash on more than 40 miles of pristine glacial sand. The great beaches of Outer Cape Cod extend all the way from Chatham to Provincetown-virtually as far as the eye can see.
An angler standing on the great back beach looking eastward is greeted by the enormity of the Atlantic Ocean and all its power. During winter storms seas in this area can grow to astounding heights of more than 30 feet. At high tide waves crest and tear into the coastline, shifting dunes, moving sandbars and sweeping pieces of Cape Cod back into the Atlantic.
I have been fortunate to have fished Cape Cod Bay each May since I was around 6 years old. As a youngster, the month of May was a time to catch mackerel from the Scusset Beach jetty. I vividly recall epic mackerel bites while fishing from that jetty with my father. Now the month of May means one thing – the first big Cape Cod Bay striped bass of the season. [click to continue…]
Mid-May is a phenomenal time of the year for Cape Cod surfcasting. The beaches and estuaries of Nantucket Sound are particularly good places to target the first keepers of the season. Based on yesterday’s fishing trip, I think it’s safe to say that slightly larger bass are filtering into the Nantucket Sound area with greater regularity.
I met up with MFCC blog member and good friend Andrew Massard at 4:15AM yesterday morning. Andrew caught the first striped bass of his life just last year, and has since been hooked. Like me, Andrew has most certainly caught a case of “the fishing bug.”
Catching tautog from shore on Cape Cod is not something I have ever tried before. But after seeing tautog all over the place this past week while surf fishing for stripers, I decided I had to give it a try.
I am no tautog expert but I do know they absolutely love green crabs. Tautog have some serious teeth and powerful jaws which they use to crush up crabs and other crustaceans. If you want to catch a tog, then consider picking up some green crabs.
The other key is to find boulders or rock piles. Tog like to hang out around rocks, and fortunately for us surf casters, they tend to move in tight to shore during the spring.
With each passing day more bass, and larger bass, are filtering into Cape Cod’s bays, sounds, harbors, estuaries and of course the Canal. Right now is an awesome time to be a striped bass fishermen. It’s an even better time to fish Cape Cod from the surf. We might as well enjoy these near-shore opportunities while we have them, because stripers will be harder to find in these close-to-shore haunts once the heat of July and August settles in.
I would first like to say thank you for your patience yesterday while the MFCC website was down. Quite a few people emailed me letting me know that something was wrong, which was really great. We should be in the clear now, but of course if you find something that doesn’t seem to be where it should be, please let me know. I appreciate all the help!
Yesterday morning I decided it was finally time for me to make my first early morning fishing trip to the Cape Cod Canal. I woke up to another morning of perfectly flat calm conditions and a little fog. At least for me, no wind and some fog are perfect conditions when it comes to fishing the Cape Cod Canal. My only hope was that the conditions would be perfect for the fish too.
Yesterday was flat calm and sunny, which meant it was time to splash the Miss Loretta and head out onto Cape Cod Bay. As I prepped the boat yesterday I could not help but think about this past Thanksgiving, which was the last time I was out on the water. I find it amazing how quickly time flies.
Today’s Cape Cod fishing trip actually began last night, with a trip to the Cape Cod Canal. It’s still early for the Big Ditch, but with the nice weather we’ve been having I just couldn’t help myself.
I arrived at the Canal last night around 7pm and fished right until 10:30pm. We’ll talk more about last night’s Canal excursion in today’s Extended Fishing Report.
This morning was clear, calm and cool – especially at 4AM. My plan was to fish an estuary and hopefully raise a few striped bass to the surface by fishing with top water plugs.
I woke up this morning at 3:39AM – exactly one minute before my alarm was set to go off. I stepped outside to dead calm conditions. There was not a breath of wind and the stars were shining bright. I could tell it was going to be a very nice morning.
After a week of trudging around in the muck, rain, wind and cold (and some sun yesterday) I encountered a small school of migratory stripers this evening – and even managed to hook a couple of them. These fish were bright, clean and crawling with sea lice.