May 18, 2012

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Hot Top Water Action | Buzzard’s Bay Surfcasting Report May 17

May 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

striped bass fishing reports

I love finding and fishing brand new areas.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with fishing the Cape Cod Canal or other well-known areas.  These spots are well-known for a reason.  They produce great fishing and big fish.

Yet in my opinion one of the best aspects of fishing Cape Cod is the plethora of incredible, virtually unknown fishing areas.  Almost every rock and sand bar on Cape Cod has the potential to at some point in time, produce great striped bass fishing.

The entire Cape is jam packed with productive fishing areas.  If you are feeling adventurous and would like to spend some time fishing away from the crowds, then pull up Google Earth and start poking around.

buzzards bay fishing report

You never know what you'll find surf casting. Here are two horse shoe crabs frolicking around just offshore.

Using Google Earth to find productive fishing spots is quickly becoming one of my favorite things to do.  Today I spent about 20 minutes zooming in and zooming out, scrolling east and west, tearing Cape Cod apart inch by inch.  Technology is absolutely amazing!

The problem was not finding a productive spot to fish, it was deciding which productive spot I felt like fishing.  Google Earth shows you every single sandbar, estuary and even individual boulders.  It really is awesome and I highly recommend it.  I’ve mentioned it before but I think I’ll put together a handbook for how to find productive fishing spots using Google Earth.  I think that will be a good winter project for me.

My goal for today was to find an area that was really off the beaten path.  I wanted to find a spot completely devoid of other folks, in an area where I have never fished before.  Of course I also wanted to catch a fish, so I made sure to look for some good structure located by an estuary.  Good structure in close proximity to an estuary (that I think also had a herring run) is the fishing equivalent of a 1-2 punch.

With my spot selected I headed out with high hopes. 

I asked my Dad if he felt like tagging along and to my surprise he agreed!  Since retiring he’s usually busy riding around in his car, drinking coffee or taking a nap – so I was glad he decided to come.  Reminded me of when I was younger which was nice.

After a longer drive than usual we arrived at the spot.  A long dirt road winded to an abrupt end where we had just enough room to park the truck.  I think we both were impressed by just how gorgeous the scenery was.  A picture perfect beach path through the dunes lead the way to a boulder strewn beach.

These boulders were huge with some easily 8 or more feet in height.  It was an unforgiving terrain to say the least but it just wreaked of fish. 

It only took three casts with a pencil popper to elicit the first strike of the day.  The bass caught me completely off guard and basically came hurdling out from behind an enormous boulder.  This fish put on quite the show and catapulted straight clear out of the water.  Unfortunately I completely missed him!

It was a shame because it was definitely a decent size bass in the 34-37 inch range.  Usually I wouldn’t be so sure about my “guestimates” regarding size but this fish came completely out of the water no more than 25 feet in front of me.  I got a good look to say the absolute least!

fishing cape cod

A micro-schoolie that whacked a pencil popper up on top.

I continued wading around through the rocks and boulders, casting as I went.  Every 10 minutes or so I would get another SMACK! out of the blue as a decent bass came screaming to the surface to give the plug a whack.  I’m not sure exactly what was going on but I was having some serious trouble hooking a fish. 

Finally as I rounded a nice big boulder I got smacked again and buried the hook into the bass.  After a 25 second battle (yes that’s right – 25 seconds!) I had the fish on shore.  A whopping 20 incher!

The bass may not have compared to last week’s 36 pounder but it still was fun to catch my first bass in a completely new area.

I continued casting and getting whacked by the occasional bass as I waded around.  My batting average today was not very good.  All in all I went 4 for 14.  4 hook ups out of 14 hits. 

Even though the batting average suffered it was well worth it.  Nothing beats the excitement of watching a bass whack a top water plug.  I just can’t put away the pencil poppers this year – it’s just too much fun.  I’d imagine if I chose a swimmer I could have hooked the majority of the bass. 

As the sun set over a flat calm Bay the action only got better.  My hook up ratio still stunk but at this point I didn’t really care at all.  It was just an absolutely gorgeous evening in a brand new spot.  I’ll definitely be venturing back here before the season is over.

For more information on the trip and the area fished click here.

fishing cape cod

The biggest bass of the night, caught just as the sun was setting.

Filed Under: Striped Bass Reports Tagged With: ,

Solid Bass Action Continues | May 15 Report

May 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Striped bass fishing Cape Cod

What a great sight!

We had another real fun morning today striped bass fishing Cape Cod.  I had two friends with me today, a local Cape Codder Brian and Jim – a native New Englander who now resides in Chicago.  With all the good reports from this past week we all were hoping for some good action.

Luckily we were not disappointed!

The morning started off just like the past few trips aboard the Miss Loretta.  We headed out to the local mackerel hot spots with the intention of jigging up enough live macks to get us through a morning of live-lining.

The mackerel bite this morning was even better than earlier in the week.  Without exaggeration it took less than 2 minutes to catch a half dozen mackerel.  Another 20 minutes of jigging produced more than enough mackerel to get us through the rest of the fishing excursion.

If only the mackerel bite would remain this solid for the entire summer season!  Who knows maybe this will be the year that it does.  Usually the mackerel bite slows considerably once June arrives, so we will just have to cross our fingers and wait to see what happens.  All I can say right now is that if you are looking for mackerel then there is no better time than now to get out there.

With a chock full live well we made our way east towards perennial big fish hot spots.  It’s only a matter of time until the real big bass (25 pounds and up) move into these areas.  Just like the last trip these spots were devoid of bass life.  Not a big deal though and after a little while of trying we reeled up the lines and continued our trek eastward.

High tide today was around 8AM, which was not ideal for what we had in mind for this trip.  Seems like the best bite as of late has come during the last part of the outgoing.  Nevertheless we remained optimistic that we would eventually be able to make it happen at some point this morning.

Out came the light tackle setups and I rigged the guys up with fresh macks.  These macks seemed extra feisty today and we had a hard time initially distinguishing a bass take from an overly energetic mack.  Add in a little wind and current, and detecting bites became that much more of a challenge.

Striped bass fishing Cape Cod

Brian with a beauty of a bass.

After making a few drifts Brian hooked up with the first bass of the day.  Nothing humongous but a great start to the trip.  Brian has some experience fishing this area with this technique, so he was able to quickly get this bass to the boat.  Another keeper bass in the 30-34 inch range – not complaining one bit.

We kept experimenting with hook placement and different drifts all morning until we finally nailed down a productive drift route and technique.  After Brian boated a few more nice bass it was Jim’s turn to get in on the action.

Jim drove all the way from Chicago to fish the Canal and Cape Cod Bay.  I like this guy’s dedication and determination.  He was able to land a few nice stripers during last week’s Canal action and there was no doubt in my mind that he would land a few nice ones today.

Jim’s first bass put up a great fight in the strong current and windy conditions.  A few deep breaths and maneuvers around the boat and he had his first ever Cape Cod Bay striped bass.

Striped bass fishing Cape Cod

A very happy Jim with the biggest bass of the day - a chunky 36 incher.

The wind picked up a bit as the morning progressed into afternoon and so did the action.  We had a steady diet of bites and runs, however hooking the fish proved difficult.  I’d say we hooked 1 out of every 4 bites on the macks.

Unfortunately that’s just a part of fishing with such big baits.  These mackerel are average over a foot in length, which is a real mouthful for a lot of the bass off Cape Cod right now.

I think if all these fish were 20 pounds and up our hook up ratio would improve dramatically.  But like I said before – we aren’t complaining!

Finally towards the end of the trip we ran out of live macks.  We did have plenty of freshly dead mackerel so we opted for giving those guys a try.

The bass seemed indifferent to whether our baits were alive or dead.  I think our hook up ratio actually improved a little once we switched to the dead stuff.  One of our last drifts of the day produced a nice double header – a great way to end the trip.

The bass fishing is pretty good right now off Cape Cod.  Hopefully it’ll hold strong for a long time.

There’s plenty of bait around which is a great sign of things to come.  For more information on this trip and how things are looking right now off Cape Cod, click here.

Tight lines and take care,

Ryan

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20 Keepers and a Boatload of Mackerel | May 12 report

May 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment
cape cod bay fishing report

Silas and Dan with a beautiful early season striped bass.

Yesterday was an awesome day and a great cap to an incredible first week of the striped bass fishing season here on Cape Cod.

I met Silas and Dan at 4AM on Saturday with the hopes of jigging up some live mackerel and then live lining them inside Cape Cod Bay for stripers.  We got off to a rough start when I found out that the guys weren’t able to find anywhere to grab a coffee.  They were troopers though and stuck out the entire trip caffeine free.

The air was a bit on the nippy side before the sun came up, but the wind was calm and the skies were clear.  We were treated to a great sunrise and an unreal mackerel bite!  As soon as the sabiki rigs went into the water the macks latched on like they had nothing to lose.  It only took us maybe 25 minutes of jigging to fill up the live well.

With plenty of macks in the boat we started searching around for some bass.  There’s been a ton of fish moving through the Canal as of late with some of the bass well above the 25 pound mark.  Sometimes when this happens certain areas inside the Bay light up with life.  I was secretly hoping and thinking that this may have been the case yesterday.

cape cod bay fishing report

Dan with the first bass of the day.

Unfortunately the areas I had hoped would have some big bass were devoid of life.  No big deal though, when one spot fails to produce just move right on to the next one.

At around 7AM we pulled in to the same area that I had fished earlier in the week with Josh.  Josh and I had been treated to some awesome action on fish up to 35 inches so I was really hoping that those nice bass would still be around.  Fortunately they were and on the second pass Dan hooked up.  Fish on!

Dan’s fish was not a monster but it certainly was a great start to the morning.  Dan and Silas were pumped and so was I – the bass were here.

The guys really caught on with the live mackerel technique.  Live lining macks for bass is one of the most fun ways of fishing in my book.

We started out live lining the mackerel with weight, but when the wind died we removed the weight and let the macks swim freely.  When we did this the bass started chasing the mackerel up to the surface and put on quite the show.  One of our macks would be non-nonchalantly cruising on the surface when out of nowhere SMACK! a nice bass would gobble him up.

cape cod bay fishing report

Silas and Dan with one of the biggest bass of the day - a nice 15 pounder.

The action for Silas and Dan only improved as the day progressed.  After putting around 10 fish in the boat we made a quick run out to deep water to jig up some more macks.  Again it only took maybe 25 minutes to re-fill the tanks.  I’m really amazed by the incredible amount of mackerel present right now.  Hopefully they will stick around for the entire summer!

With a fresh supply of mackerel we got right back to the bass fishing.  The action this time around was even better than before.  By now it was around 11AM, sunny, hot and flat calm.  Perfect conditions for us but not always perfect conditions for bass fishing.  However the stripers only became more aggressive as the sun climbed higher in the sky.

At one point we had a fish on every drift we made.  I’ll be sure to remember trips like these when the bass aren’t so cooperative later this season!

Big thanks to both Silas and Dan for coming fishing.  You guys were a great crew and a lot of fun to fish with!

Final tally for the day was around 20 keepers.  I’d guess that if we hooked every fish that bit we would of had around 40 fish.  This is hands down some of the best spring time action I have ever been a part of!  For more information on the trip, areas fished and techniques used click here.

 

 

 

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Cannibalistic Bass | May 10 Report

May 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Cape Cod fishing reports

It has been one heck of an incredible week here on Cape Cod!  If you haven’t yet signed up for the MFCC newsletter, be sure to do so by the end of the day today.  This week’s newsletter will recap this past week’s fishing events and highlight the dramatic increase of big bass in the waters surrounding the Cape.

I’d also like to say thank you for helping to make this first week of reporting such a success.  I’ve been receiving a boat load of fishing tips and reports from blog members which is really awesome.  Your input is a huge help when it comes to finding and sticking with the fish.  Thank you!

Yesterday started off much in the same way as the day before.  I spent the morning soaked to the bone sitting on a rock waiting for the tide to turn – hoping it would bring with it the big bass of the day before.  The rain was incredible to say the least.

Unfortunately I waited and waited, but nothing was showing in the area I was fishing.  I saw a couple pops here and there but nothing major.  By 8:45AM I decided to call it quits and go home to dry up.

Well I hate to admit it but that decision came back to bite me in the butt.  Oddly enough it seemed that yesterday’s best action did not happen early in the morning, as is usually the case.  Striped bass are unpredictable creatures when they want to be, and yesterday my predictions just didn’t line up with what the bass had in mind.

You can’t expect to win every battle!

I was able to at least scoot back out fishing later in the day just before sunset.  I wasn’t expecting much from the last second-late in the day-trip but I ended up cashing in with a small keeper.  At least I avoided the skunk for the day which is always appreciated.

I don’t think I have much of a future in cinematography but I did mange to snap a quick video of yesterday’s small keeper.  If only I was able to get some video footage of yesterday’s 36 pounder – oh well maybe next time.

As mentioned there was a good bite yesterday, it just happened while I was not fishing.

My friend Jeff (who is an incredible striped bass fishermen) texted me this photo yesterday.

cape cod fishing reports

This bass regurgitated the smaller 7 inch bass after being caught yesterday morning.

Apparently bass are feeding on their own kind.  Once Jeff got his bass up onto the rocks it coughed up a 7 inch long baby striper.  I’ve heard stories about cannibalistic bass but this is the fist documented photo I have ever seen.  Pretty cool stuff to say the least, and I suppose that explains why juvenile stripers rarely travel with full grown adults.

Certain tides have been producing better than other tides as of late.  I think there is a great deal of potential for this weekend’s fishing.  There are big bass around and they are feeding aggressively at certain times and in certain locations.  For more information on yesterday’s events, productive tides and areas click here.

 

 

 

 

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Torrential Thirty Pounders | May 9 Report

May 9, 2012 By 2 Comments

Cape Cod Fishing Report

Cape Cod Canal Fishing Report

By far the biggest bass of 2012 for me - an awesome 36 pounder!

Today was just incredible.  

If you haven’t noticed it is raining – torrentially raining!  This morning was one of those mornings where you debate whether or not to get out of bed.  I am sure glad I didn’t succumb to the pillows and covers because I would have missed out on the best fishing trip so far this year.

I figured I would try to keep the good vibes from yesterday’s trip going by ordering the same exact thing from Dunkin’ Donuts.  A medium iced coffee and a blueberry muffin.  I think I even had the same employee take my order-a good sign to say the least.  It was only 4:30AM and things were already off to a great start.

I headed down to the area where Josh and I marked bass during yesterday’s trip.  As the sky began to brighten I watched the surface, eagerly searching for any signs of life. 

Unfortunately I wasn’t seeing much.  Around 6:00AM I decided to take a break and wait it out.  I sat there on a rock in my waders, wearing my obnoxiously bright rain coat, just getting absolutely pelted by the rain.  However I actually found the experience quite enjoyable.  I’m not sure exactly what it is but there’s something nice about fishing in lousy weather-even when the fish aren’t biting.

By 6:30AM with no signs of life I decided it was about time to head back.  I packed up my stuff and began heading back towards the truck.  The rain was really coming down good so I figured I would try one more spot before calling it quits.

Before I could get to that spot I bumped into Jeff who is a good fishing buddy of mine.  We started chatting about fishing and how our winters had been.  As we stood there talking a good size bass crashed a bait fish on the surface in front of us.  The talking was officially over – it was time to cast a line!

cape cod canal fishing report

I didn't know it at the time, but this would end up being the smallest fish of the entire trip!

3 casts later my homemade top water plug got hammered by a decent fish.  The bass missed the plug, came back and smacked it again.  Still no hook up.

A few casts later another decent fish came up from below and walloped the pencil popper.  Fish on! 

This bass had some decent weight behind him and some good shoulders.  After a good fight I eased him up onto the rocks.  The bass was a chunky 34-36 inches with a huge belly.  To think that I had been ready to pack it in and go home!

We continued casting for another 15 minutes, occasionally raising a bass to the surface but not hooking up.  Then something changed and all hell began to break loose.  Fish started popping and smacking bait all around us.  The rain was pouring down at this point but we could still see the white water caused by the stripers crushing hapless prey on top. 

Every cast was producing explosive top water strikes at this point.  After catching and releasing a few more 15-20 pounders I decided to switch to a plug with just one hook.  I didn’t want to do any more damage to the bass using a plug loaded with treble hooks.  Surprisingly my hook up ratio did not suffer much from the switch, plus I gained a few more valuable casting yards.

cape cod canal fishing report

Switching treble hooks out and using a single heavy duty live bait hook makes releasing bass much easier and is better for the fish.

Jeff and I had a few fish doing somersaults as they smacked the plugs.  All of these fish were extremely aggressive and were probably feeding on a variety of baits.  I saw bait fish in the 4-6 inch range getting sprayed way out in the middle.  However there were also big mackerel present in the mix. 

We actually had a mackerel cruise right up into our feet and beach himself.  I’m guessing he’d rather sit on the sand then face the bass that were cruising just offshore. 

About an hour into the action a gaping hole opened up beneath my plug.  This was unlike any of the surface hits before.  I never saw the fish – the plug just disappeared beneath the surface.  My rod doubled over and line began screaming from the reel.  This was a big bass.

The bass continued trucking down current, peeling yards of line as he went.  After losing  100 or so yards to the fish I figured now was a good time to chase him down.  The angler down current from me was awesome.  He noticed I had a big one on the line and stopped casting until the fish was by him.  I owe that guy a big thank you to say the least!

With the braided line I could feel every shake and pump from the bass.  This guy had some serious weight to him.  I had walked 50 yards down the coast and the fish was still taking line.  Finally I decided to lock down the drag before he rubbed me off on a rock.

It took a while but I was finally able to ease the fish in towards me.  As soon as I got a good look at this baby I knew he was a nice one. 

This bass tipped the scale (I keep a scale in my tackle bag) at 36 pounds.  So far the biggest fish of the season for me! 

But the action was still far from over.  As soon as that fish was safely released it was back to casting as droves of bass continued to flow by.  For more information on the trip, the areas fished and techniques used click here.

Cape Cod Canal fishing report

Very lucky to have bass like this in my backyard!

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Lots of Keepers and Tons of Macks | May 8 Report

May 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Cape Cod Fishing Report | May 8

Cape Cod Fishing Report

Josh with a beauty on the line.

I had a good feeling about today.

It all started last night when I was rigging up gear for this morning’s live mackerel striped bass fishing trip.  As I tied up hooks in my basement, I heard a “pitter-patter” noise just outside the screen door.  Naturally I was curious as to what was causing the noise so I walked over to the screen door to have a look.

As I approached the door I was greeted by a behemoth of a skunk.  Immediately I froze in place, hoping to not startle the basically lethal creature.  The skunk took a good hard look into my eyes, turned around and pitter-pattered away.  Phew!

This morning I met up with Josh who is a local policeman.  Josh is a great fisherman with tons of experience and is easy to get along with, so I had high hopes for his and my first boat trip of the season.

We departed from Taylor Point Marina in Buzzard’s Bay at 5:30am and cruised through the Canal towards Cape Cod Bay.  It was a gorgeous flat calm ride through the Canal.  As we cruised over the many holes and rips of the Big Ditch I kept a close eye on the sonar, hoping to get a gauge on where the majority of the bass were hanging out – which could come in handy if I am able to fish this afternoon’s tides.

Cape Cod Fishing Report

We marked a few nice schools of bass this morning as we cruised through the Canal.

Fortunately we did mark multiple nice size schools of bass in the Canal.  It was really great to see those big orange globs registering on the sonar again – it’s been a while since I’ve seen that!

We did not see much surface activity, however the bass were certainly there.  Most of the fish were holding deep in holes and behind rips, which is ideal for jigging.

We’ll talk more about what areas of the Canal had the greatest concentrations of bass in the members’ report.

Once we made it through the Canal we proceeded to the regular mackerel hot spots and were able to quickly stash the live well with 2 dozen colorful speedsters.  I would classify this morning’s mackerel fishing as “lights out.”  There were a good amount of macks out there this morning.

Instead of fishing the macks right in the spot we caught them (which is often a pretty good strategy) we opted to transport them to a few spots that usually fish very well during the month of May.

Cape Cod fishing report

Josh with a pair of keepers caught during our first drift with live macks.

On our way to live-lining destination #1 we managed to mark a few more globs of orange which were most likely decent size schools of striped bass.  All good signs of what’s to come.

Lines went in the water immediately upon arriving at the first location.  Within 5 minutes both Josh and I were on to some nice fish.  Nothing crazy but two very chunky 34 inch bass.  Both of these fish bit and fought very hard and were extremely aggressive.  It was a very promising start to the trip.

We repeated the same exact drift and got the same result-another couple of beautiful keepers.  These next two fish were slightly smaller at around 32 inches but we were certainly not complaining.

As the tide slowed down the main concentration of fish moved north just a bit.  Fortunately it did not take us long to find the bass again, which is all too often an issue.  Macks went in the water and rods bent over, great stuff!

Most of the fish I have caught this year have been on the smaller end of the spectrum.  This is expected as it is still very early in the striped bass season here on Cape Cod.  However the bass this morning were slightly larger and much fatter than the fish I have been catching.  My guess is that these bass have been gorging themselves on sand eels and mackerel since arriving in this area.  Hopefully they’ll stick around for a while because the action was very good.

We continued live-lining macks on light spinning and conventional setups for the next 1.5 hours.  We probably had about 24 takes which resulted in 13 bass brought to the boat.  All of the stripers were keeper size with the smallest around 30 inches and the largest around 35.

By 9am we were out of live bait and decided to head back off shore to catch more.  I got a great tip from a blog member about a nearby area that has been consistently producing mackerel so we decided to give it a shot.  I owe a thank you to Paul because he was right on the money with the location of the macks!

Cape Cod fishing report

It's nice to be on the water again!

We found mackerel feeding on the surface, gulping down 1-2 inch long bait fish.  At one point we had schools of mackerel feeding off the bow, starboard and port – all on the surface.  Of course we also had macks feeding below the boat which we were able to jig up and store in the live well.

Many of the macks were very big.  Last year most of the mackerel we caught were “tinker” size.  So far this year the majority of the mackerel we have caught have been at least 12 inches in length.  I believe this is a great sign and is an indication of the staggering amount of marine life currently present around Cape Cod.

So with a full live well we proceeded to hit up a few more areas that have fished well for us in the past during May.  For more information on the areas we fished and the techniques we used click here.

 

Cape Cod fishing report

Josh working on another nice spring time bass.

 

CAPE COD FISHING REPORTS

I certainly won't get lost in the fog wearing this outfit.

cape cod fishing report

All in all a really nice morning to go fishing.

 

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Full Moon Top Water Action | May 6 Report

May 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
cape cod fishing report

Lauren with a nice sunset micro-schoolie.

Last night was just spectacular.

After days of overcast skies the weather finally broke and we were provided with a gorgeous, crystal clear evening.  The wind was dead calm and on top of all that we had a full moon.

After a little coaxing I convinced Lauren to tag along with me for another surf casting expedition.  Lauren is  an awesome sport and a rookie striped bass fisher-woman, so I chose an area where I figured we would have an excellent chance at some bass – no long casting required!

Actually, almost all of the bass I have caught this year have come on casts of less than 30 feet, which is pretty amazing if you think about it.  That means that all of the stripers I have managed to catch so far this season have been in less than 5 feet of water (except for the Canal fish).

fishing cape cod

So far it's been a great start to the season for Cape Cod surf casters.

This is the ideal scenario for folks fishing with beginner striped bass anglers.  I would never take Lauren down to the Cape Cod Canal, hand her an 11 foot surf casting rod and expect her to toss a plug 200 feet to a 35 pound bass in the middle of the land cut.

Same goes if you are fishing with a beginner or a little kid.  There are certain areas on Cape Cod conducive to fishing with beginners.  When just starting out I’d recommend concentrating on these areas, instead of taking a complete novice to more challenging spots like the Canal.

The month of May is prime time for novice striper anglers on Cape Cod.  Right now there are plenty of nice fish roaming around extremely close to shore.  This is the ideal time to catch a fish if you are just starting out, so if you can get to the beach ASAP!

We had a real nice steady pick of bass last night.  Nothing huge but nice consistent action from the time we arrived right until we left.

The incoming tide fished really well as bass poured in from Cape Cod Bay and rode the tide up into the creek we were fishing.  We actually watched as bass passed over a sand bar in 1-2 feet of water and cruised into the estuary.

The top water action on 12-24 inch fish was superb.  An ideal scenario for Lauren and other beginner anglers.

cape cod fishing

Lauren with a perfect release!

The action only got better as the sun got lower in the sky.  The best action pre-sunset was out around the mouth of the creek.  I actually had a few nice surface strikes from bass in the 30-35 inch range out by the mouth of the creek.  Unfortunately the bass completely missed the plug and the hook – oh well maybe I’ll get them next time.

As the sun sank lower on the horizon and as the tide began to flow in, we retreated from the mouth of the creek back up into the estuary.  This was when we noticed bass cruising over the shallows, riding the tide into the estuary.

We picked off these fish one at a time with needlefish lures and pencil poppers.  Even small bass no more than 18 inches were smacking 6 inch long plugs.  These bass were aggressive to say the least!

Once it got dark we were treated to an incredible moon rise.  If you weren’t able to scoot outside last night to check out the full moon I would highly recommend getting out tonight.  If you are able to, get down to the ocean around 8pm and watch it rise over the horizon.  The moon was so full and orange that it kind of looked the sun – absolutely incredible.

The saction only improved as night fell.  We could hear bass slurping down bait left and right in the dark.  Tail slaps and splashes could be heard all around us.  Once the moon rose we could just barely make out the silhouettes of striper splashes and surface strikes.

The bass continued smacking our surface offerings however our hook up ratio plummeted once the sun set.  Nevertheless the overall action only improved as the tide and darkness progressed.

Click to continue…

striped bass fishing cape cod

Lauren releasing another fish just before it got too dark to take pictures.

 

 

 

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Night Shift at the Cape Cod Canal | May 4 Report

May 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Cape Cod Canal Fishing Report May 4

cape cod canal fishing report

Mazzola got the first Canal keeper of the season, but I finally chimed in late last night with a fat 33 incher.

 Sometimes you just have to stay up for 24 hours straight!

Yesterday was one of those days.  I woke up at 5am for a meeting on Friday and finally finished filleting and cleaning up just before 5am on Saturday.  I guess I better get used to this whacky schedule because I think it’s going to be a very busy and very fun summer.

Also add in the fact that it’s date tonight for this guy tonight – which most likely means I won’t be fishing the Canal from 11:30PM to 1:30AM again.  Although Lauren has come withe me on plenty of 14 hour Cape Cod Bay night fishing excursions before, so who knows – maybe I can convince her to head down to the Canal with me.

I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.

cape cod canal night fishing

It was a beautiful night last night at the Cape Cod Canal.

So with the tides perfect for night fishing I decided that I just had to get down to the Big Ditch last night.  I know there are some really big bass around (at least from what I’m hearing) so I figured the Canal was my best shot at one from shore. 

I don’t think there is a giant biomass of big fish in the Canal just yet, but I know that could change at virtually any moment.  For all I know the Big Ditch could be going off as I sit here on the couch writing this! 

The fishing was not “lights out” last night but it was still very good in my book.  The weather was absolutely picture perfect too.  The air was still a bit nippy but there was no wind and the Canal was as smooth as a pane of glass.

I was quite surprised by the lack of angler activity down there.  On such a perfect night I expected to see at least a few hardy souls.  For the most part however I had the entire Canal to myself.  Just me, a coupe fish and the occasional skunk or two.

It took a little while for me to zone in on some decent action but finally around 12:30AM I had my first real good whack!  The current was running full steam, the bass hit hard and I actually ended up in the water!  Yep, the fish pulled me right off the rock I was standing on, right into the Canal.

I’m still trying to break in my new pair of boots so I’m going to blame it on that.  Luckily I ended up in just a foot or so of water so it wasn’t a big deal.  After a few minutes I had the bass on the rocks.  A whopping 24 incher!

I must be becoming extra clumsy because I never would have imagined such a small fish causing me to lose my balance and fall into the Canal – eh well I’m not as strong as I thought I was.

I spent the next 30 minutes working that same rip with no action.  I was debating whether to move when at around 1:10AM I got a much heavier and powerful take.  This fish felt much better than the first bass and put up a great fight in the heavy current.

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Filed Under: Striped Bass Reports Tagged With: , ,

Boulder Strewn Bass | May 3 Cape Cod Fishing Report

May 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Cape Cod fishing report May 3

Cape Cod striper fishing report

This killer spot features a calm bay, a deep navigation channel and a boulder field.

The cool thing about Cape Cod (which I alluded to in the last report) is that you can fish one environment one day and then fish a completely different environment the next.  Striped bass are amazingly versatile creatures that regularly feed in a variety of different environments.

Two days ago I found some fish in tight to the beach on the southside of the Cape.  These fish had very small bait fish pinned up against a long, sandy, almost featureless beach front.

Yesterday’s trip was basically on the complete opposite end of the spectrum.  I chose to fish an area in Buzzard’s Bay that I have been frequenting for the past decade or so.  It’s hands down one of my favorite places to fish from shore.

This area is unique because it features an incredibly rocky, boulder strewn coast.  A rocky shoal of sorts jets out towards a navigation channel that leads into a calm bay.  It’s basically like combining 3 awesome spots into 1.

Each spring the bass infiltrate the shallow water in amongst the boulders.  Because the water is so shallow I usually choose top water or floating swimmers.  It’s not unusual to skip a popper off the top of a rock or around a boulder.

My #1 favorite tide for fishing this area is the outgoing, because it is possible to wade out to one of the rocky points and actually cast into the navigation channel.  You can whip a cast right by the red nun buoy, which is pretty unusual when fishing from shore.  I can only think of a handful of shore bound areas on Cape Cod where you can cast into a deep navigation channel.

When the bay to the north of the boulder field empties out during the ebb tide, all sorts of marine life gets swept into the channel.  Awell positioned cast will put your lure or bait right into the action.

cape cod fishing report

Often times the bass cruise right in amongst the rocks, in just a few feet of water.

Yesterday however I opted to give the incoming tide a try, and concentrate my efforts on fishing in amongst the boulders.  I donned my waders and started exploring the boulder field, casting as I went.  The majority of my casts were into water that was probably just barely over my head.

It took a little bit but an hour into the incoming tide I had my first real good WHACK!  Unfortunately I missed the fish, but at least I knew there was some life in the area.

A few more casts later and I noticed a swirl behind the plug.  I picked up the retrieve pace just a tad and the bass responded by smacking the pencil popper.  Fish on!

This was not a big fish, only about 25 inches but it still felt nice to put a bend in the rod.  You’ll have to take my word for it because as I took my smart phone out for a picture (while wading in water-not terribly smart) the bass gave a good kick and swam away.  Maybe I should invest in one of those “Go Pro” cameras.

With renewed hope and energy I began casting once again in and around the rocks.  I tried bombing the pencil popper out far but to be completely honest, the only action I got came within 30 feet of shore. 

Throughout the next hour numerous bass rolled on the plug, swirled on it and chased the plug right up to my waders.  A tad bit frustrating but still really cool – especially considering its only May 3rd. 

fishing report

Wonder how long ago this rock split apart - pretty impressive.

A few of the swirls looked like they were produced by slightly larger bass.  It’s always tough to gauge the size of the fish that created a splash or swirl but a few of these fish were definitely keeper size which kept me casting – despite it being obnoxiously cold out.

Then just as my phone started ringing my green little pencil popper got absolutely hammered by a fish that I would estimate (emphasis on estimate!) to be 36 or so inches.  Just like the night before, this bass came hurdling out of the water, exposing 75% of his body. 

Of course I missed that fish, and the phone call.  However that was, by far, the biggest bass I have seen so far this season. 

Right now there are definitely some bigger fish moving up through Buzzard’s Bay towards the Canal.  I would bet a beer or two that the fishing in the Big Ditch could…click to continue reading

 

Filed Under: Striped Bass Reports Tagged With: , ,

Seals Lead the Way to Good Fishing | May 2 Report

May 3, 2012 By 2 Comments

Cape Cod Fishing Report May 2, 2012

cape cod fishing report

This was one of the most aggressive bass I have ever caught!

One of the best parts about fishing Cape Cod during May is the solitude. 

Last night I had an entire beach all to myself.  Just me, a few nice fish, seals and the birds.  I walked up and down the beach for around 2 miles without seeing anyone else.  Pretty cool!

The weather was slightly better than the night before which was a relief.  It was still overcast but the rain had subsided along with the wind.  The Cape Cod Bay beaches were still getting hit by a brisk northerly wind, so I again decided it’d be best to wait to fish some of my favorite CCB spots-at least until the wind changed directions.

So I hopped in the truck and made the drive to the southside of the Cape. 

As I had envisioned conditions on the southside were much better.  There was next to no wind and a nice, slow rolling surf.  I instantly had a pretty good feeling about this trip.

cape cod striped bass fishing report

Can't beat having the entire beach to yourself.

An overlooked aspect of fishing Cape Cod is the versatility that this sandy peninsula offers saltwater fishermen.  The Cape’s unique geographical shape makes it possible to find a nice area to fish no matter the conditions.  If the wind is blowing hard from south, then the beaches to north will be more comfortable to fish.  If like yesterday the wind and rain is blowing in from the north, then the southside beaches will be more comfy.

It’s hard to beat those kinds of options in the striped bass fishing world.

At first glance yesterday the beach looked rather lifeless.  Fortunately after walking for about 45 minutes and casting fruitlessly, I noticed a seal playing around just offshore.  This was the first seal I have ever seen at this particular beach, so I was not necessarily thrilled. 

However I figured that the seal must of been here for a reason.  Maybe he was searching for the same species of fish I was in pursuit of. 

I continued walking another 100 yards or so down the beach when I noticed another enormous seal bobbing around just out of casting distance.  I was in the process of trying to get a picture of the mammal when I caught a swirl out of the corner of my eye.  There were bass right at my feet in no more than 2 feet of water!

Of course by the time I put my phone/camera away and got a line in the water the fish had disappeared.  Nevertheless it was a good sign and with the sun about to set I figured I would get another chance.

I walked another 50 yards down the shoreline as the seal curiously watched my every move.  I continued casting as I walked and was able to provoke two half-hearted follows and swirls from what looked to be schoolie bass.  Another good sign!

I had seen some small bait skipping around on the surface so I decided to tie on a slightly smaller pencil popper.  I was initially hoping to find bass and blues chowing down on squid in the surf but it seemed like they were on small bait last night. 

A few casts later and POW! A nice bass absolutely hammered the smaller top water plug and came flying into the air.  This fish jumped three times, cartwheeling in the air as if he was a tarpon!  I have only seen a bass jump like this a few times in my life – boy was that an aggressive fish!

For his size this striper put up one heck of a fight.  He took a little line which felt nice – nothing like the 30 and 40 pounders of last September but just as exciting. 

I got the bass up onto the sand and he taped out at 30 inches.  Not a monster but perfect for this weekend’s clam bake (wasn’t planning on having one but I guess I have to now).  The 28-32 inch class fish are by far the best eating size in my book.

It was getting dark and I had a decent walk and drive ahead of me so I decided to make the trek back.  I wouldn’t say the action was incredible, but I will say it was very promising especially for May 2. 

I watched bass swirl no farther than 10-20 feet offshore throughout the entire walk back to the truck.  I’d say I saw a bass swirling every 50 yards or so.  The activity definitely increased as it got darker.

All in all another really fun early season surf casting trip.  Can’t wait to see what tonight brings!

Interested in learning more about the area fished and techniques used?  Consider becoming a MFCC blog member by clicking here.

Existing members can access the extended report by clicking here.

 

Filed Under: Striped Bass Reports Tagged With: , ,
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