This is a guest report from Ryan Turcotte who's been a MFCC member since 2013, and is the current points leader in our forum. I invited Ryan T. and new member Kris Magnotti to fish the beach with me last Friday night/Saturday morning. This report recaps our experience.
The parking lot was pitch-black and deserted when I pulled in at the early hour of 10pm. New MFCC member Kris Magnotti would be arriving shortly, and then our adventure would begin.
Kris is the lucky new member who won the surfcasting trip Ryan posted about last week. Kris had been on the Cape for the last few days, but was heading back to New York in the morning, so the pressure was on to at least get him into some fish before the long drive home.
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A Dark & Crystal Clear Night
Once everyone arrived we set out. The lack of a moon made the night darker than usual. It certainly helps to know the area ahead of time, especially when you can barely see 10 feet in front of you!
Ryan led the way down a winding trail, through the dunes and onto the sand. After a 10 minute walk, we hit the beach, quickly spread out and began to fan-cast the area.
The air was dead calm, with almost no wind, and the water looked like glass. The only sound was the light splash of small waves on the beach.
It only took about 5 minutes of casting before I felt a slight bump, set the hook, and was on. At about 20 inches the fish was no world record, but it was the first fish of the trip and a good sign of things to come.
We continued walking and casting, moving slowly down the beach, covering all potential areas. As I was making my first cast in a new spot I heard a muffled ‘woohoo’ come from my left and the low sound of a drag.
Ryan’s headlamp went on, signaling he was hooked up, followed by the splashes of a decent fish on the surface. He landed what turned out to be a 27-28 inch striper, the biggest of the trip so far.
This slightly larger fish gave us added motivation as we slowly worked our way down the beach.
I think we all had a bit more "pep in out step" knowing there was a chance we might catch a "keeper."
Lots Of Stripers, In Very Close To Shore
Finally, a little after midnight, we stumbled upon a good school of fish.
Ryan started it off, hooking into a small schoolie. Kris and I proceeded to hook up almost immediately. For the next 3 hours we would continue fishing the same area, hooking up every 3-4 casts.
We had stumbled upon a large school of possibly hundreds of bass "sitting" just off the beach in 3-8 feet of water. Most of the fish were small schoolies, but there were larger fish mixed in.
Kris was the first to hook up with a good fish from this school. In the darkness I heard his drag begin to scream, so I quickly reeled in my line to get out of his way.
The non-stop action ensued for a total of 3 hours.
At about 4am the sun began to rise and the action finally dwindled.
With about 60 fish landed, we packed it in and made the long walk back to the car.
In the light I realized just how special the place was that we had been fishing. I could see the bar, trough and point which we had been fishing in the dark.
The birds had become active and small fish were still occasionally breaking on the surface.
It had certainly been a night I will remember for a very long time!
MFCC members can click the orange download buttons below to view additional information about the area fished and techniques used.
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Additional information about the area fished
Additional information about the techniques used
What do you think? Let me know by commenting below.
Just found it on Google earth….my familys cape house is directly across the water from that…and I just got down here and will be here for the next ten days…. Have the kayak just got a little fired up
Nice trip Ryan!
So my buddy and I didn’t fair too well in the pelting rain on Sunday. We walked Race Point beach to the Light and back;4.6 miles. Bunch of seals. He had the next day off and got out with the boats on a kayak and landed a keeper. Perhaps if we hit it at night? Not sure how folks are zeroing in on location.
Wow, that took a long time to find that location. That’s a bit of a hike from me but I’ll save it for some time in the future perhaps.
Congratulations guys, what a great night of fishing!
It was a great night! Not too much longer before the fishing from shore slows down. Get them while you can!
Makes up for the drought over in Cuttyhunk!
Cuttyhunk was still a great time even when the fishing is tough, but it is nice to catch sometimes!
Great report Ryan and it was a great night! Thanks to you both for the good times and gooooood fishing! See you guys out there in the near future
Ignore the request for driving/parking directions. I found them.
Thanks to Ryan for setting this up and taking Kris and I out. It was a very memorable trip!
Nice. Thank the good Lord for Google Earth. I see exactly where you were fishing but I don’t see how you got there or where you parked. I will have to check this out some time.
PM, anyone?
It is definitely a great area!
Great writeup Ryan! I understand that opportunities like this will probably dwindle in the next couple of weeks when the water warms.
Thanks Jim! I am thinking that will likely be the case. I’ll just have to get out on the boat more. We probably have another week of the good beach fishing, although if the weather continues to be abnormally cool who knows!
Great post. Unfortunately I will be in dennisport July 18-25. I’ve Been coming for years but can’t seem to find a good beach with any luck
From shore. Keep paying $ for charters but just don’t have it this year. Would love some “hints” of where I can get into some bass or even blues. [email protected] any information or advice from one avid outdoorsman to the next would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I would think any Cape Cod Bay facing beach would have fish, but your best bet will be to fish after dark. Summer has set in and you are going to have a hard time finding fish during the peak hours of the day. You could also try the backside beaches along the National Seashore. They should hold fish as well. Best bet would be to keep walking and casting until you find life. Also, try to avoid seals! Good Luck!