It’s been a hell of a year!
2023 was the first year in the past 25 years that Little Sister did not fish Quincy, and there is not much hope for Quincy in 2024 either. We did have a flounder substitute called Cape Cod which was great as long as the weather cooperated.
Westport provided some new tricks as well and I am quite excited to get back out there in 2024!
This past season fishing was about friends and family having fun, bringing home excellent seafood, and enjoying the resources of the ocean together, without destroying the resource in the process. For me, it doesn’t get better than that.
So without any further banter, let's get right into it.
Westport | Spring 2023
Little Sister got brand new 2023 engines over the winter. I needed to put some break-in hours on the engines before heading to the Cape for flounder, so I decided to do some April tautog trips out of Westport.
For the most part the inshore togging in April was slow at best, with the fish not of any particular size or numbers.
However getting some fish was better than getting no fish. We picked away until the weather finally allowed us to venture out a ways to a place I call “The Trench” and beyond that “The Hills”.
There we found large tautog mixed with cod of all sizes!
For the few times we made it out there, the fishing was quite reliable and very interesting. Fishing these further offshore spots is one thing I am very much looking forward to doing again in April of 2024.
I would rate the April 2023 tog/cod combo fishing out of Westport at a 6 out of 10.
Cape Cod | Spring 2024
With her fresh engines Little Sister arrived at the harbor shown below on May 1st in a howling southwest wind.
That wind was expected to continue into the next day when I had Jessica, Jim, George, Dave and two others all lined up. However I had no choice but to send word that the wind was going to make things tough.
The wind forecast scared off some of the crew but I still headed out with 3 clients onboard. Fortunately we got fish starting on the very first drift! The flounder action continued like this for the next 6 weeks with really great conditions equaling really great fishing.
The more wind we had, the more hit and miss the fish was. I am going to make some adjustments for 2024 to try and compensate for trips with less than ideal weather conditions.
One of the new tricks I learned this year while flounder fishing in Cape Cod Bay was when there is no wind and no tide, I can use my spot lock trolling motor to propel us on the perfect drift.
However, when I tried to do the same thing to slow the drift down when it was too windy, I found I had far less say in the matter.
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About the author
I cannot recall how long I have fished with Captain Jason Colby. It began with several previous iterations of the Little Sister (years ago). It was with Jason that one of my grandsons caught his first flounder (in Quincy Harbor). I was able to catch some with Jason out of Sesuit Harbor this past season. As an octogenarian I appreciate how hard Jason works to enable every “crew member” to enjoy the trip and bring some filets home.
Thanks Jason for the post and Merry Xmas!
Merry Christmas, Jason. It is closer to 4 than 40 for me (and you will be as old as Moses by the time I’m eligible for an Old Geezer trip — so I suppose we will have to help you with the anchor at that point), but we have greatly enjoyed all of our outings on the Little Sister. Thanks for all you do and hope you have a relaxing offseason.
Thank you Carl,… I have had some of the same clients for over 40 years!
Merry Christmas to you and everyone here!
Wishing everyone an Excellent 2024 as well!
Brother Jason thank you for the nice report on what you found to be a very interesting season fishing on little sisters. The usual characters and steady clients show that you are doing something right and my wish is that 2024 be a safe and great year out on the water. Peace and Prayers