"A man may stand there and put all America behind him" is how Henry David Thoreau described Cape Cod nearly two hundred years ago.

Sometimes it easy to lose sight of Cape Cod's simplicity, especially during the hustle and bustle of Memorial Day Weekend. Yet there are many fishing spots on Cape Cod where solitude and serenity are the main catch, and hooking a striper is just a bonus.

Often times a fair amount of creativity is required to access these areas. Desolate stretches of beach are desolate, because they are difficult to access. Cool, wet and breezy weather also helps to ensure that the only company you will have are the piping plovers and sea gulls.

Every few days now I feel a strong urge to venture off on my own into the dunes. If I try to bottle up this feeling and ignore it, I become slightly less happy. If I answer the call everything in my life improves, and my level of happiness increases. It took me a little while to notice this about myself.

I began to feel this unmistakable urge on Saturday, conveniently as soon as the traffic on route 6 began to subside. So without any contemplation, I stowed my gear in the truck and embarked on an off-road adventure.

Memorial Day Weekend Cape Cod Fishing Report

By 3PM I was floating over the dunes en route to an area I first fished with my Dad when I was just a kid. Back then we would travel in our 12 foot aluminum boat, powered by our 6HP Johnson engine, for over an hour to reach this fishing spot. I expected today's trek to require a 30 minute drive over sand, followed by a 45 minute walk.

It was a breezy and overcast day, but not all that bad considering the weathermen had predicted gale force winds a few days prior.  The inclement weather made it a good day to be driving on the beach. For the most part I had the place to myself. I say "for the most part" because I received quite a surprise later on in this trip, which I will explain in just a couple paragraphs.

Throughout the drive I kept my eyes peeled on the water. In certain areas of Cape Cod you never know what you will find or see. On this particular stretch of beach I have seen deer, found dolphins and even whales.

My most memorable experience happened 9 years ago, when Mazzola, my Dad and I stumbled across a baby pilot whale stranded on a sandbar. The little guy could not have been more than 5 feet long and a couple hundred pounds. He was beached on dry sand, a few hundred yards away from the sea. Without saying much to one another we did what we felt was the right thing to do, and carried the little guy to the water's edge. I remember the burning sensation of lactic acid in my thighs as I watched the small whale disappear into ocean with a few broad swoops of his tail.

Later on in the same day we stumbled across another pilot whale, yet this one was much larger at around 20 feet in length and 5,000 pounds. I remember standing next to the whale and looking directly into his big black eye as whale spray from his blow hole rained down on me from above. We hung out with the whale more or less for moral support until the news helicopter and team of marine biologists arrived.

So put another way, you just never know what you may stumble across once you venture past Cape Cod's public beaches and lifeguard stands.

Fishing Rips from Shore

Aside from whales another thing to keep a look-out for are cuts in sandbars where current forms rips and standing waves. Towards the end of my drive I found one such spot, where the water rushed swiftly along shore before dumping through a small cut in the sandbar. Such places can trap bait fish and are natural bass magnets.

Along a wide open beachfront, any subtle change in bottom topography warrants a cast or two. This rip looked incredible, and the photo above really does it no justice. I could not continue on without at least taking a cast or two, so I decided to park the truck and make this my first stop of the day.

Before taking a cast I first had to change into my waders. I planned on doing a lot of walking during this trip, so I wanted to make sure I was comfortable. For me at least, being comfortable in waders means wearing nothing but boxer shorts underneath the neoprene. I had not seen a soul for miles so without much thinking I hopped out of the truck and dropped my pants.

As luck would have it, as soon as my pants hit the sand an SUV popped up over the dunes, 25 yards directly in front of where I had decided to drop my draws. I could see the woman in the passenger seat cover her mouth in shock, trying not to laugh. I myself stood there surprised and motionless in my blue, fish-hook embroidered underwear. As they passed, who I assume was the woman's husband rolled down his window and said "Perfect timing buddy!" before driving off down the beach.

So after that incredible coincidence I tied on a 2 ounce mackerel colored pencil popper which my friend and plug maker O.D. Mike let me test out. The rip looked incredible and I know it will hold big bass at some point this season, most likely during a late summer or early fall evening. Yet on this trip there were no finned friends holding in the rip, so I decided to embark on a long walk to the east as the tide began to ebb.

As I began to walk across the sand the sun unexpectedly poked through the clouds, illuminating the vibrant colors of the rocks, shells and eel grass.

As I walked I could not help but notice that the amount of bird life was consistently increasing. I felt like I was definitely heading in a productive direction. There had to be an ample supply of bait fish around in order to support such a large population of terns, plovers and gulls. Soon the outgoing tide would reveal expansive sand flats and mud banks filled with feeding opportunities for the birds. I hoped that the bass would also be in the area, searching for a late afternoon meal.

The dropping tide left numerous tidal spools scattered across the flats. For as far as the eye could see, sand bars and flats extended in each and every direction.

I still had some walking left to do in order to reach deeper water, which I felt would provide my best opportunity for catching striped bass. With just 1/2 of a mile left to go I picked up the pace, not sure how much time I had before the clouds, wind and rain would once again sweep through the area.

I had a feeling that my time on the expansive sand flats was limited. The poor weather that was predicted had so far not materialized, but off on the horizon I could see a dark weather system heading my way. Odds were that the system did not just contain rain and wind but also fog. Standing on a sand bar over one mile from shore is not a good place to be when dense fog rolls in. I had GPS with me, but still I preferred to not risk being stranded in the fog.

Finally I arrived at my destination. The current was sweeping swiftly along a sand bar which provided me with access to deep water. The bottom dropped off to around 20 feet just a few yards in front of me. With a very short cast I was able to reach the same area that has fished so well for me in the past via boat. Last year we landed bass up to 30 pounds in this spot while fishing on my boat. The only difference was now I was fishing from shore.

I could not help but feel excited as I whipped my first cast of the day out into the current. I let my lure fall down towards the bottom, counting the seconds it took to hit sand. I felt the un-mistakable bump of the bottom after a 4 second free fall and instantly engaged my reel.

As I lifted my rod tip I felt a bite. Without thinking I reeled up tight, set the hook and I was on with a fish on the very first cast!