Cape Cod Fishing Report

There’s been a lot of stuff happening this past week off Cape Cod.  From 5 pound bluefish to 500 pound giant bluefin tuna, just about every Cape Cod fishing report around the web and in the newspapers is saying the same thing – the saltwater fishing is pretty darn good.

If there’s one thing just about everyone can agree upon it is the amount of bait present in many areas around Cape Cod.  Of course not every bay, harbor and sound is chock full – but many are.  From mackerel to squid to pogies there is plenty for the predatory fish to feast upon.

Cape Cod Bay Fishing Report

The Bay continued to fish very well this past week.  During a trip on Tuesday we found loads and loads of mackerel in 70 feet of water.  Mostly tinkers but a few larger specimens mixed in.

One of the most interesting accounts I heard this week came from blog member Paul S.  Paul was out fishing a few days ago and actually jigged up squid amongst all the mackerel.  In 20 years of mackerel fishing I have never caught a squid in the Bay.  Nice work Paul!

There’s plenty of big bass in the Bay as well and most of them, at least at the moment, seem to be hanging tight to shore.  We found hordes of fish this week in 15-20 feet of water and enjoyed consistent action for about 5 straight hours.  Nothing enormous but nice bass in the 10-27 pound range.

Live macks were the ticket for us but numerous other blog members loaded up in the Bay using top water plugs.  Again most of the top water action has been occurring in relatively shallow water, so at least for the moment it seems that the bass have not entered into their deep water haunts summer pattern.

There are some bluefish kicking around in Cape Cod Bay as well, although we have not caught any in the boat just yet – which is A-OK by me.

Click here for information on specific areas that have been holding good numbers of big bass in the Bay.

Cape Cod Canal Fishing Report

As has been the case for the majority of this spring, the Cape Cod Canal continues to produce phenomenal striped bass fishing.  There’s been a boat load of bait in the Canal all spring, and so far it’s not showing any real signs of letting up.

My guess is that there must be a ton of food in the Ditch for the mackerel to feed upon.  Why else would they allow themselves to be slaughtered each morning by hordes of big bass?  As long as the food for the macks stick around, I would say with confidence that the bass will take advantage of the feeding opportunity.

When the bass are on macks the top water fishing can be really exciting.  As is typical the best action this past week was early in the morning, however the mid-morning and afternoon bite hasn’t been too shabby either.

Blog member Nick K. has been doing damage during hours that striped bass are supposed to be resting.  This past week he landed numerous fish in the 30 and 40 inch class between 10am – 12 noon, proving that you never know unless you go.  Nick is relatively new to fishing the Canal, so congrats on a phenomenal start to your Cape Cod Canal fishing career!

However with the heat wave and the crowds, hitting the Canal at night this weekend could be your best bet.

Click here to check out some of the best areas and techniques for fishing the Canal after dark.

Provincetown Fishing Report

I really enjoy fishing P-town, and if it wasn’t for the 20 mile ride across Cape Cod Bay I would fish the area a lot more often.  The great news is that the light winds predicted for this weekend could make that ride a bit easier on the boat, body and wallet.  Believe me you do not want to cross Cape Cod Bay when the wind is blowing 20-25mph!

Fishing in this area is really cool because so many different techniques produce well.  Drifting live mackerel, wire line jigging and everything in between will work during the spring over at P-town.

I remember a few years back at P-town when my fish finder repeatedly “told” me that we were in 10 feet of water when in reality, we were in over 30.  The bass were so thick that my sonar was confusing the schools of stripers for the bottom.  I’m not sure if this is the case right now over there, however word has it that the place is loaded up pretty good.

There are still plenty of mackerel holding in deep water from Plymouth straight across to Provincetown.  100 feet plus has been the magical depth.

Click here for more information on some of the best areas to target stripers in the Provincetown area this weekend.

Giant Bluefin Tuna Fishing Report

My fishing buddy Jason Mazzola is currently sitting out on the Southwest Corner of Stellwagen Bank drifting live bait for a chance at a giant bluefin tuna.  I’ve tried calling a few times but the cell phone reception is pretty lousy out there.  I’ll be sure to keep you posted if they hook up.

I do know they were able to scrounge up a few pogies before heading out which is always a good sign.  However so far the pogie fishing has been on the slow side for us.  Last year we had trips where we landed dozens of adult pogies using the gill net, however this year we have been fortunate to find just a few.

I’d imagine the pogie fishing in many Cape Cod harbors and bays will only continue to improve – I hope!

Contrary to what most folks were expecting it seemed that the tuna bite got off to a slow start this spring.  A lot of guys, myself included, expected to hear about tuna being caught in mid to late May.

Well it took a few extra weeks but the tunas are here and they are BIG.

Most of the bluefins I have heard about so far this season have been over 400 pounds.  The majority of these big boys have been taken by stick boats, however the rod and reel guys are holding their own.

The SWC of Stellwagen is always a good bet this time of the season.  Granted I’m no tuna expert but the corner is where we have always had our best success early in the season.

Hanging a bluefish under a kite is a sure fire way to tempt one of the behemoths that are currently swimming around on the Bank.  Problem is finding bluefish when you need them for bait is not always easy.  Often times it takes some considerable effort to find and transport the blues to where you intend on fishing them.  Nevertheless the extra effort to locate a bluefish may very well be worth it.

East of Chatham is also fishing pretty well.  For the best tuna reporting in the area I would recommend viewing Captain John Bunar’s Massachusetts Fishing Report – just click here to check it out.

Surfcasting Fishing Report

Shore bound anglers have a bunch to look forward to this weekend.  The fishing from shore around Cape Cod this season has been really epic.  I’ve seen more nice stripers up in tight to the beach this spring than I have in the past few years which is really awesome.

There’s really no shortage of great places to fish, however to increase your odds I’d recommend targeting a place that features boulders in close proximity to a harbor, estuary or some sort of significant current.  These types of areas have fished especially well for me this spring.

Bluefish can still be caught from shore in numerous locales around Cape Cod.  This is simple surf casting – just chuck a top water plug out there as far as you can and rip it along the surface.  If the blues are there they will certainly let you know.

I plan on heading down Cape this weekend and doing some surf casting of my own Saturday evening and Sunday morning.  There’s a few areas that I’m eager to try out and it looks like the tides may work out perfectly for these spots.

For more information on where to find a solid bass bite from shore this weekend, click here.

That’s about all the intel I have at the moment!  If you’re interested in reading up on some more quality fishing reports be sure to check out On The Water and one of my favorite fishing forums, Sportfishermen.com.

Tight lines and good luck!

Ryan

 

 

 

 

Cape Cod Canal Fishing Report

Once again the Canal fished well this past weekend.  While I was at my buddy’s wedding I received numerous Cape Cod Canal fishing reports from guys who did well Saturday morning at the Ditch.

Thanks guys for the solid intel – if only I was able to make it down there for the bite!

I may have missed out on some nice bass in the 20 and 30 pound class, however the fishing this coming week has arguably even more potential than this past weekend.  I’d expect to receive a few more positive Cape Cod Canal fishing reports throughout this week – if you happen to have a great trip, please tell us about it!

I hit up the Ditch this morning at sunrise and was greeted by breaking bass spraying bait all over the surface.  I could actually see the action through the trees as I rigged up my gear by my car.

The surface activity was pretty impressive from 5AM – 5:30AM.  Bass were spraying small bait fish and slapping their tails from one side of the Cape Cod Canal to the other.  Most of the fish looked to be on the small side and were finicky to say the least.

However my big pencil popper did get a few good whacks.  Despite all the activity I could not muster a hook up with any of the 30 inch class stripers feeding in front of me.  A few guys to the left and right of me did land fish that were on the smaller end of the spectrum.

I had a few hundred tinker mackerel swim by me on a two separate occasions.  I’m guessing that the small bass feeding in front of me were chowing down on the same bait fish that the tinkers may have been hunting.

Of course as soon as I had packed it in and called it a morning I got a text about a nice 30 pound bass taken this morning at the Cape Cod Canal, and got word from Bruce over at Canal Bait that a few other 25 pound class fish were also just caught.  I suppose I was just not in the right spot at the right time this morning.

Those two promising reports were enough motivation for me to make a quick drive to the Sandwich bulkhead and take a look around.  Sure enough there were bass on the surface, however they were smack dab in the middle of the Canal – about 400 feet out which is way out of my casting range.

So I sat there, drank my coffee, chatted a bit with my fishing buddy Jeff and watched the fish hammer bait on the surface.

I think this week could produce some phenomenal Canal fishing for anyone willing to get up early and make the trip down.  The three top factors in my book for successful Canal fishing seem to be shaping up nicely for this coming week.

1)  Perfect tides

2) Tons of bait

3) Plenty of striped bass

I’ll be out in the boat all day tomorrow so I may not get down to the Canal again until Wednesday.  If you are able to make it down there good luck!

So far this spring has been incredible at the Ditch, so cross your fingers that the good fishing picks up once again this week.

Click here for more information on the best times, lures, tides and areas to fish the Canal this week.

And please feel free to post your own Cape Cod Canal fishing report in the members forum or in the comment section.

Tight lines and go get ‘em,

Ryan

 

 

This is a guest report and photo contest entry from Brian Atchinson, local Cape Cod recreational fishermen.

Only 3 more months to go until the bass return!  Do you have an epic 2011 report or striped bass fishing story you’d like featured on the blog?  Send it over to misslorettafishing@gmail.com for your chance at free eBooks and charter fishing discounts.

Thanks!

Ryan

 

By Brian Atchinson

My most interesting day on the water this year was certainly not my best!  Early in June I had gotten on a hot striper bite in Cape Cod Bay.  The day before I had crushed them with my father and girlfriend.

My brother (not a big fisherman) had not been out on the water yet, so I convinced him that he had to get in on the action.  We got out there at first light, same spot we hammered them the day before, and of course…. there were no fish to be found.  We trolled around on top of Billingsgate, in the deep water off the north, over towards Wellfleet, and finally found them back where we started on the southern edge of the shoal.  After looking for several hours we had finally found the fish and the bite was amazing!

We were on the fish for all of 3 minutes and were doubled-up when the motor stalled.  I didn’t think too much of it as I was in the middle of battling my first striper of the day.  We both landed our fish and it was time to get back over on the breaking school of bass.   I went to start the motor and it only turned over.   I tried again…. just turning over.   Long story short, the fuel pump had seized up while we were fighting the bass and our day was over… just as soon as we found the fish.

The Sea Tow captain was great, and was out there in less than an hour to give us a pull back in.  However, bobbing helplessly in the ocean while watching breaking bass out of casting range was a pretty tough pill to swallow.  As you can see, my brother was not a happy camper on the tow back to Sesuit!

A lot of effort goes into catching a tuna.  Especially when you are just starting out.

Even though we have caught numerous tuna in the 50-170 pound range, and one tuna over 670 pounds, I’d say we are still in the “starting out” phase-especially compared to some of the top tuna veterans in the Cape Cod area.

Believe it or not, there are some guys on Cape Cod who catch 20 or more giant tuna each season!  And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I’m sure there are some who catch way more than that.

The good news is that if we can catch a 600 plus pound giant tuna in our 21 foot boat, then you can too.  Catching a tuna from a small boat does take some effort, patience, and a lot of time, but it can, and will happen if you give it 110%.

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After a somewhat slow start to October I was really chomping at the bit to get back onto the water.  Fortunately I did  not have to wait very long, and found myself floating around Cape Cod Bay last night.

The weather conditions had changed quite a bit since the last time I was out.  The south wind had backed off for a couple days, the skies were overcast and it was raining.  I was hoping the change would affect the karma on the boat and bring some big bass into our reach.

I had the father son duo of Bob and Eric with me.  Both Bob and Eric have been through it all on the Miss Loretta.  From incredible 30 fish, 800 pound nights, to the “grind away for a fish or two” nights.  Needless to say they’re pretty experienced night bite fishermen.

We departed the Sandwich Marina around 6pm and cruised out into Cape Cod Bay.  Within 20 minutes of leaving the dock we marked our first big pile of stripers.  This was a great sign.  I informed the guys that the last time I was out, we didn’t mark a single school of fish this big the entire trip.  Things change quickly on Cape Cod Bay!

Within minutes of marking that big pile we had eels in the water and a bass ripping line from Eric’s reel.  Fish on!

Eric did a great job with this fish.  After five minutes or so we had the bass flopping around on the dock.  A chunky 25 pounder and a great start to the trip.

We then took a minute to move back to where we had marked the original school of bass.  I was crossing my fingers that the fish had stayed put, and were not yet making a bee-line to Provincetown.  Fortunately the bass were still sitting in the same spot.  We waited for the boat to settle on top of the school and then pitched the eels.

It wasn’t long until Bob was on with a big bass.  This fish was peeling line and putting serious bend in the rod.  Towards the end of the fight Bob couldn’t budge the fish-a good sign.  We managed to get some nice video of the fight-just click below.

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Earlier this week the forecasters predicted brisk northerly winds with strong gusts for both Friday and Saturday.  That forecast changed quite a few times throughout the course of the week, from south winds 5-10 knots to northeast winds 10-20 with gusts to 25.  What is going on with these computer models!

Over the past few seasons I’ve noticed that the weathermen are typically spot on with wind predictions during July and August.  However their level accuracy begins to diminish at some point during September.  All bets are off come October, and good luck predicting anything wind wise once November rolls around.

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Last night was definitely a treat weather wise.  The south wind that had been howling all afternoon died right off once I got the boat in the water.  With light winds in the forecast, I had high hopes for a productive trip.

I had two Sandwich natives, Zach and Jeff with me to do some live-eeling for striped bass.  This father son duo has been at it all summer long, enjoying their membership to the Freedom Boat Club, and trying to bag some bass for the grill.  However as anyone who’s been fishing for any amount of time can attest to, there is a big learning curve to catching big fish.  I was hoping that these guys would be able to jump a little ahead of the curve, and put a few nice ones in the boat.

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The past day and a half has been nuts!

It all began with a bluefish surfcasting tuna bait run Wednesday evening.  We’re pretty sure we’ve found a spot down Cape that will consistently produce small bluefish from shore-which is a rarity.  The spot offers easy access to a deep, dredged out channel that is currently holding a ton of baby pogies.

Only problem was the tide was slacking when Mazzola and I arrived at the spot.  Like usual, there were a ton of juvenile menhaden, but really not much life at all in the form of bluefish.  We saw a few blues break the surface here and there, but ended up getting skunked.  I think things will be different if we hit up this shorebound spot half way into the incoming tide.

The weatherman was calling for southwest winds of 5-10 mph for Thursday, so we decided to make our first giant tuna trip of the fall yesterday morning.  Hopefully the blues we had stowed away in our bait pen were still alive and kicking, and ready to be fed to some tuna.

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Saturday’s fishing excursion began at 4:30am with a juvenile bluefish trip, and ended at 4am Sunday, after landing close to 800 pounds of striped bass.  Quite the chock full Saturday!

I will admit that I was not thrilled when my alarm went off Saturday morning.  I never mind getting up to go fishing, but we were targeting small bluefish-not slob bass.  But devoting a morning to catching small blues will be well worth having prime giant tuna bait this fall.  I’m happy to say that things worked out great, and we loaded the bait pen up with 20 bluefish between 6 – 18 inches.  Awesome tuna bait.

Check out The Hunt for Giant Tuna this week for this report, and where we  caught these perfect tuna bait size bluefish.

After cleaning the boat, making an eel and worm run, and grabbing a coffee, I met Sean, Bob and Pat at the Sandwich Marina for some striper fishing.  I had high hopes for the evening.  The bass have been around in force, and I knew some folks landed some nice ones earlier in the day.  On top of that it was a beautiful evening, with clear skies and light winds at the marina.

Unfortunately those light winds kicked up a bit once we got on the water.  A very refreshing 10 knot breeze from the east made for some sloppy trolling conditions at Scorton Ledge-the first spot we hit.  We got a little wet, but we trudged through the slop until we marked a ton of bass holding just off the Ledge.  They were stacked up!

I resisted telling the guys about the find until we had a rod bent over.  Luckily these fish were in the feeding mood.  We picked away on small keepers and bluefish for a bit, until the port side rod doubled over.  Big fish!

Pat was the first on scene and did a nice job bringing this big boy to the boat.  At one point I was more concerned about losing Pat than the fish!  We were all doing a precious little dance around the boat, trying to keep our balance in the choppy conditions.

After a nice fight, Pat got his fish within range and I brought her aboard.  A beautiful 25 pounder, very nice start to the night.  A couple passes later and Bob would match his eldest son with a 25 pounder of his own.  Sean boated a couple small keepers, apparently saving his big fish for later in the trip.

All these pre-sunset bass bit a 24 inch red tube and worm.  Pretty typical for the Ledge.

Once the sun set we moved east, hoping to find piles of bass to pitch eels to.  We trudged and searched through 20 feet of water-nothing.  I moved out to 30 feet-nothing.  40 feet produced not a single mark, 50 and 60 feet were also dead.  In many cases I would feel a little pessimistic about not marking anything in these areas, however what happened during the full moon last September was still fresh in my mind.  If it happened again on this trip, I thought to myself, then these guys are in for a real treat.

And that’s exactly what occurred!  The wind backed way off, the seas flattened right out, and we found bass in 10-15 feet of water-and a TON of them.

From there on out it was a consistent diet of doubles and triples, line peeling drag runs, and big bass hitting the decks.  All three guys landed the biggest bass of their lives.  Pat had the lunker of the night, weighing in at 37.5 pounds.  Both Bob and Sean were not far behind, with multiple fish caught in the 30 pound range.

I somehow managed to take some video footage of the events without dropping my phone in the drink.  I love hearing those drags scream, I’ll surely be watching these videos throughout this winter!

The full moon and flat calm seas made it possible to watch the big bass in the moonlight.  On numerous occasions we had two or three 20-30 pounders follow hooked bass right to the boat.  These fish were not at all spooked by our headlamps, and could not of cared less about the boat.  One bass even slammed an eel that had slid up Sean’s line as he battled a fish!

Every once in a while the stripers would come up and annihilate something off the surface.  I have no idea what they were feeding on last night, but they were super aggressive.  The bass literally paved the bottom, with small patches of bait here and there on the sonar.  If we lost track of the fish, all we had to do was cruise a few hundred yards or so in any direction, and we would quickly stumble across another large mass of them.

We found the bass at 9pm and were headed back to the docks with sore arms before midnight.  In less than three hours of pitching eels we had caught 31 keepers between 10 and 37.5 pounds!  Unreal!

The night fishing on Cape Cod Bay does not get better than this!  This same bite occurred during this same week last year.  Usually the bass push offshore during the night, but for some reason every so often this pattern reverses, and they push up incredibly close to shore.  When this happens, the best fishing of the year ensues.

Who knows how long the bass will remain in this pattern.  It could be for weeks, or just a matter of days.  Either way, if you have a boat then right now is the time to get out there-I’m talking tonight people!  Or of course, you can always give me a call.

If you do head out, still expect to do some searching around.  The area we fished last night was absolutely loaded with big bass, however it all happened within a one quarter mile stretch of beach.  We searched over 10 miles of water to find this area.

So in conclusion, this is as good as it gets on Cape Cod Bay.  Right now is the time to go.  Good luck and go get ‘em!

Tight lines,

Ryan

 

 

2012 Update – Throughout this season I hope to get out giant tuna fishing quite a bit.  To access in-depth giant tuna Cape Cod fishing reports, consider becoming a blog member.  Click here to sign up today for just $1.  As always, thank you!

One of the most difficult road blocks we have thus far encountered in our pursuit of giant tuna is procuring a reliable source of high quality live bait.  In the tuna world, this means having a bait pen chock full of live bluefish.

In a perfect world, we would have a giant bait cage filled to the brim with lively, 15-20 inch juvenile blues.  However in reality, this is a very difficult proposition.

First off you need to have a bait pen.  Then you need to have an accessible spot to keep it.  After that you need to catch the bluefish.  Of course you need to transport the bluefish to the bait cage.  On top of that you need to find the time to do all of this.

Last year we tried our best to make this happen, however we realized just how difficult it was going to be.  We found ourselves driving and boating all over creation, looking for bluefish, and then figuring out a way to keep them alive for a few days after we caught them.

We resorted to some very makeshift and inefficient means of doing this.  On numerous occasions we hung laundry baskets full of blues at marinas and boat ramps, sneaking around under the cover of darkness so nobody would give us a hard time or find our bait supply.  I also remember keeping a half dozen bluefish alive in a 55 gallon drum in the bed of the truck for three days.  I ran extension cords from the house out to aerators pumping oxygen into the water.  Of course every day I found myself at the boat ramp, dumping old “poopy” water and filling up with fresh stuff.

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In my opinion, September is the best month for fishing Cape Cod.  The early morning air has a crisp bite to it that was not present during August, the crowds at the boat ramp dissipate, and the fish show up in larger numbers and are more aggressive.

The fish become more abundant and aggressive as the month trucks along. Some of the biggest bass and tuna of the year will most likely be taken over the next few weeks.

The weather in September is also usually conducive to fishing Cape Cod Bay from a small boat.  Greasy calm days are pretty common.  Of course we will get a few days of a sustained northwest wind this month, (which is happening as I write this!) which will keep most folks off the water, however this is not always a bad thing.  A brisk onshore breeze often lights up the fishing in spots that are surprisingly close to shore.

Most Cape Cod Bay striper hope-fulls will begin their September efforts at Scorton Ledge, and for good reason.  The area consistently holds bass throughout the month of September.  Tube and worm is the name of the game at this spot.  Just keep an eye out for the lobster pots and other boats trolling in this relatively small area.

The best aspect of fishing during September is that the behavior of bass in Cape Cod Bay (and pretty much all around Cape Cod for that matter) begins to change.  The schools of bass you found back in July and August that would not bite a thing, are typically much more aggressive in September.  Odds are that if you find the fish, you will be able to catch them.

Finding the fish in the first place also becomes easier as September inches its way towards October.  Large schools of big stipers tend to hang a bit closer to the beach during this month.  The days of trolling and cruising around in 60-70 feet of water are now (hopefully!) over.  Spending time fishing and searching in 15-40 feet of water is the protocol during this time of the year.

Towards the end of the month, the bass will really put the feedbag on as they prepare for their southerly migration.  I’m getting a little ahead of myself here, but I can not help but remember the great fishing we had during late September 2010.  I’m crossing my fingers that we will have a repeat this year.

Cape Cod  is also fortunate to have many other species of fish present in the waters surrounding this man-made island.

Aside from striped bass, giant and school bluefin tuna can be found inside Cape Cod Bay throughout this month.  During September of 2010, a few giant tuna were seen crashing on the surface in the deeper water off Scorton Ledge.  Even if you don’t hook up, seeing tuna this close to shore is a treat in and of itself.

Large bluefish, as well as snappers, will invade the near shore haunts throughout this month.  Big blues can be found in the usual Cape Cod Bay hot spots such as the Ledge, the Parking Lot, Race Point and Billingsgate.

Snappers on the other hand, infiltrate the estuaries and harbors on the south-side of the Cape.  Snappers are a ton of fun on light tackle.  This is great fishing for the under 10 years of age crowd.  These small bluefish taste great and also make good live bait for giant tuna.

Bonito and false albacore can usually be found kicking around Nantucket Sound, Vineyard Sound, Buzzards Bay and even inside the Cape Cod Canal during September.  I have actually never fished for or hooked up with these speedsters, but from what I hear they are an absolute blast on light tackle.

This is the time of the year when we hear stories of more exotic fish entering the water around Cape Cod.  Spanish mackerel are caught on occasion in Nantucket and Vineyard Sound during September.  So far this season I have heard some very positive reports of mahi-mahi being caught with regularity around the high flyers south of the Vineyard.

If you are into shark fishing, you may want to head out to Stellwagen Bank this weekend.  Big blue sharks as well as makos are virtually everywhere on top of the Bank-according to reports from reliable tuna anglers.  Most of these sharks are being caught on live bait, however at least a few have been taken by folks casting plugs.  Can you imagine watching a 10 foot mako destroy a topwater plug?  This is really an incredible opportunity that may not last for long.

The giant tuna and school tuna bite on the Bank and around P-town towards Peaked Hill Bar has also been stellar as of late.  It seems as if the tuna have been gorging themselves after resting up during Irene.  Did I mention September is also one of the best months for chasing giant tuna off Cape Cod?

With that said, best of luck fishing this September!  This really is a magical time for fishing Cape Cod.

Click here for info on booking a September fishing charter.

I had a couple awesome crews this Labor Day weekend.

They were awesome for a few reasons:

1)  They came equipped with infallible positive attitudes

2)  They followed directions to a T and had no problem adjusting on the fly

3)  They took the good (as in 20-40 pound striped bass) and the bad (as in dogfish and rat blues) in stride

I could continue on with more reasons but that’s good enough for now.  We all know that with Labor Day upon us, the unthinkable truth that summer is winding down is settling in.  However the fishing is just starting to pick up. Crews scheduled between now and Columbus Day have a lot to look forward to (as long as the weather cooperates!).

Speaking of the weather, this past weekend was pretty windy.  That didn’t deter a determined crew of father and son duo Eric and Bob on Saturday night.  Even though the weatherman was calling for 15-20 knot winds out of the southwest, Eric and Bob showed up at the ramp-headlamps in hand.

The great thing about fishing Cape Cod Bay is that even when the wind is blowing a little, odds are you can still get out and fish no problem.  It was breezy, but because the wind was blowing offshore we had relatively calm conditions.

Right off the bat we found fish in tight to the beach and followed them out to 60 feet of water.  Unfortunately they gave us NO LOVE!  One nice bass and a ton of blues later and we decided to call it a trip, despite our strongest efforts.

These two guys were part of an epic bite last year, in which we boated over 25 bass between 15 and 35 pounds.  Needless to say we were all a bit disappointed.  The good news is that I have nothing better to do than fish, so there’s a good chance we will get another shot at boating some big bass before the season is over.  The next trip will be on me.

As is the fishing world,  things took a 180 degree turn for the better the very next night.

I had Darren, Bob and Ryan with me Saturday night.  These guys came all the way down I-495 with high hopes for catching some nice fish.  To be honest, I wasn’t expecting an incredible night after Friday’s showing with Bob and Eric.  However each night is different, and you just never know what to expect when fishing Cape Cod Bay.

After cruising the beach eastward we again marked fish in tight.  Contrary to the night before these bass were in the chewing mood.  Ryan soon hooked up fishing a conger size eel on light tackle.  This bass took some nice line, and after a few grunts and deep breaths, Ryan had a beautiful 25 pounder flopping around on the deck.

The best part of it all was that this was Ryan’s first striped bass of his life!  What a start to his striper fishing career.  A few high faves and a picture or two later and we were back on the hunt.

Darren was next up and boated a couple cookie cutter 15 pounders-perfect for the grill.  They weren’t monsters, but they were definitely a nice warm up to what was coming next.

After losing that school of bass into the abyss, we cruised a mile or so the west out into deeper water.   There we found the absolute mother load of striped bass.  This was a biomass of fish unlike any I have seen thus far this season.  Solid marks from 20 feet down to the bottom.  A few of the arches were seriously big.  I didn’t initially let the crew in on the find until I heard Ryan’s drag screaming.

With Ryan hooked up, Darren pitched an eel nicely into the center of the mess of bass.  As I was dealing with Ryan’s fish both Bob and Darren hooked up with a pair of big stripers.  Lines were going in every which way, the guys were hooting and hollering, and the drags were sizzling.

Before we got our bearings back Darren and Bob were all tangled up and criss-crossed off the starboard side.  Initially, one would think we were in trouble, but the guys remained calm-it’s all part of fishing in a bass blitz.  After a few key rod maneuvers and some headlamp work we were free and back to fighting the fish.

Bob was the first to get his bass to the boat and I quickly brought her aboard.  She would later tip the scales at 27 pounds-NICE!

Once we got Bob’s fish aboard it was time to concentrate on Darren’s.  This baby dug for the bottom and made multiple drag peeling runs.  Prior to this night Darren had only caught a few schoolies and maybe a small keeper, so this was new territory for the big guy.  He did a great job though and eventually had the fish within range.

As soon as I got the bass in the light an exasperated “Oh my God!” could be heard resonating from the guys.  This was a nice fish.  She was long, fat and had a huge head and shoulders.  This was a gaffable fish without a doubt and took some muscle to get aboard.

Once she hit the deck Darren knew he had a trophy.  The bass topped out at 40 pounds and made Bob’s 27 pounder look like a baby.

We all breathed a sigh of relief that despite the tangle, we were able to get both fish aboard.  This was no time for pictures  though as the biomass of bass was still beneath the boat.

We continued pitching eels and hooking up until the guys were ready to call it quits.  Within 30 minutes we had our limit of bass and a bunch of blues.  What a nice flurry of action!

The crew was satisfied with what they had caught so we headed back early so they could get home and have a few cold ones before it got too late.  Final tally was a bunch of stripers between 15 and 40 pounds, a bunch of bluefish and of course a few sandsharks.  I’m sure we could have continued hooking up had we pushed it into the wee hours of Monday morning, but there really was no need.

As we stowed the gear and made preparations for the trip back to Sandwich we all reflected on the sheer size of the school of bass that we were fortunate enough to encounter.  There’s no doubt in my mind that at least one 50 pound bass was swimming somewhere amongst that school.  Knock on wood, but I hope this is the fall that we finally boat a 50 plus fish.

Both Ryan and Darren caught the biggest fish of their lives.  Bob also caught the biggest striped bass of his life (I think..correct me if I heard wrong Bob!).  All in all it was a great trip that featured some awesome weather and some of the fastest fishing so far this year.

Big thanks to Bob, Darren and Ryan for making the long trek down to the Cape.  It was definitely a Labor Day to remember!

Take care and tight lines,

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