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Well, next up this week on this edition of the My Fishing Cape Cod podcast is our great friend Evan Eastman from down at Eastman Sport and Tackle in beautiful Falmouth, Massachusetts. Evan, how are you this week?

(30:14):
I'm doing great. Thanks Kevin. How about yourself?

(30:17):
Well, it's awesome to be back home, kind of settling back in from my long journey, getting to do some fishing, and super happy to be taping this podcast with you from home. Let's start off with Stripe ass. Evan, what are things like down at your neck of the woods in terms of stripers?

(30:32):
Yeah, so I have, uh, about four to six regular customers who come in a couple times a week or more to grab eels. And, um, one gentleman in particular on Saturday, uh, he took a crew out, came in, got about a dozen eels, and they did extremely well, uh, casting them along the Elizabeths in the morning on Saturday and on Sunday. I think the two trips that they did, they got around 20 or so fish a couple that were over 30 pounds. So, you know, he, him and then a few other of my customers who come in will get eels fish evenings, um, into sundown, um, along Elizabeth and then getting some really nice fish. So not sure if, you know, there's been the, the temperature here in f definitely been cooler over the last few weeks than the, than the two weeks prior. So I was trying to think if maybe the cooler weather had had, had pushed them back around Falmouth. 'cause for a little while there the water temperature was really warm. So, you know, those guys who were, who were Chuck Neils along the Elizabeth and Woods Hole have been doing really well.

(31:42):
Well, that's great to hear that the Elizabeths are producing Evan. I know Cudi Hunk is a, is a huge mecca, right? For a lot of, uh, surf casters will take the ferry down there and then Fish Cudi hunk, something that Ryan and I used to do when we were younger. These guys that are customers of yours, are they fishing from a boat kind of around the islands? Is that how they're going about it?

(32:01):
Yeah, they're fishing from a boat. Um, typically they're, you know, casting into the rocks. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, they're all guys who've been doing it for a long time, so they know pretty much exactly where to go. Most of it's on the Vineyard sound side, but they do go on the Buzzards Bay side as well. It is, it is, you know, you really do have to kind of zero in on, on where to go, what are, what are the best tides to fish on the Elizabeth, but um, yeah, it has been, you know, producing pretty well over the last week or so.

(32:31):
Well that's great to hear. And I know last time we spoke Evan, you had got into a personal best Blue fish out in Vineyard Sound, I think you mentioned around gay head. Are those Blue Fish still hanging around?

(32:42):
Yeah, I've had a couple customers over the last couple days who've come in and, and fished, um, the weekend, um, and Monday and those, uh, really big fish are, are still hanging around there. It sounds like there's a ton of bait, um, you know, between Nomans and Gay Head and then south of Nomans as well. So seems like those really big 30 plus inch blue fish have been kind of residents of that area for the last, um, call it month or so, primarily feeding on sand deals, but there's some other bait there. But yeah, that's been, you know, the most productive if you're looking for really large blue fish. And so, you know, I, I expect with all the beta round for them to be in that general area for the next couple weeks.

(33:29):
Now Evan, I spoke to a M F C C member, Calvin Torren Sandlin, who's a big surf caster, uh, and very active in the forum as well. And he's been seeing a ton of, I'll say small bait rain bait, uh, you know, setting up here for funny fish season. He thinks it's gonna be a very productive season for Abby's emp Bonito, last time we spoke you had been out to the Hooter and you had started to get some bones, uh, you know, relatively small ones. What's the report for the Funny Fish?

(33:58):
Yeah, it's actually the best venito fishing I've seen since 2019. Um, you know, I was the first person I knew or saw on, on the internet that had gotten into some venito and they were small, but it sounds like the bigger ones did move in. Um, guys are still throwing them up at the hooter, but they've actually moved in shore closer to the shore of shore of Falmouth. Um, over the last week and a half or so, guys have been getting them, um, site casting, you know, around the State Beach Oak Bluff to Edgartown area. Um, talked to multiple guys who've been getting them in that general area. Um, you know, at the Hooter, I'm, I'm trolling deep divers, but when they're in shore like this, I I will generally cast a epoxy jig that seems to be the most effective thing, um, either with 15 or 12 pounds for carbon as my leader.

(34:51):
So I've also got a bunch of reports about guys, um, getting venito off the, you know, off of Minot Beach for example. I talked to a few guys, um, one guy who was drinking coffee on the beach, he said he probably could have got cast into 'em and there was six or seven boats who were all chasing them around. So, you know, the Bonino, like I'd said, I really haven't seen the inshore have them come in shore since 2019, so I'm very, very happy that to get 'em, you know, without having to go to the hooter every time. So that's been, that's been really nice. And uh, you know, it definitely as of yesterday it was the first reports of false albacore being caught around the vineyard, uh, the Cape and the islands as far as I'm aware, a gentleman, uh, I guess got three or so yesterday and I had a couple people text me saying that they heard of other guys getting them. Um, I'm not sure exactly where, but it sounds like the first push of albe have shown up as well.

(35:51):
And while we're on this topic, Evan, I know just your geographic location down in Falmouth at Eastman's, you know, it kind of puts you in a pretty central location for a lot of guys that target these funny fish down kind of off that side of the cape. Uh, are you guys all stocked up? What do you have in store, uh, for these guys that want to come in and target these fish now that they've arrived?

(36:12):
Yeah, for sure. I mean, I, I I think that, um, you know, for Albee's I use 15 pound fluorocarbon typically for bodino I size down to 12 pound, got plenty of fluorocarbon in stock, I just restocked and my hogie epoxy jigs. So got those things. Um, I got, uh, actually a new thing that I added this shear that I'm pretty excited about are these fish lab fluter spoons. They, uh, the half ounce one is probably the closest I lure I've ever seen. That looks like peanut bunker. Uh, the only thing is that you may need to change up the split rings and hooks for the albee's is technically a freshwater jig, but it, it's, uh, I think it's gonna be a really effective lure. Um, and the, the other thing I like to do sometimes, and I'll always carry it with me, is I'll use something like a threequarter ounces, crippled herring, uh, take the hooks off the back tie about a two and a half foot floral liter, and then at the end of that I'll put a fly.

(37:14):
And there's been times over the last five or six years where, you know, I'm making 60 casts into busting fish with, you know, all the stuff I have in my tackle bag and then I bring the fly out and I'm able to cast it with my spinning rod, a fly with my spinning rod. And sometimes that's, that cracks the code and uh, sometimes that's the only thing that they'll hit. So, um, those are the main things that I carry my bag and what I have in the shop now. So yeah, I'm fully stocked. I got, you know, plenty of albi combos, rods reels and uh, you know, a number of different style of and, and types of jigs as well, so, you know, fully stocked and, uh, ready to go for Audi season.

(37:54):
And I think you hit the nail on the head, Evan, we talk about this, you know, you and I pretty frequently once we get into funny fish, but sometimes they can be really finicky whether they're on rain bait or the little peanuts and you know, a a specific setup might work in one area for one angler, but a hundred or 200 yards down the beach, it could be a completely different scenario. So I think it's great to, to write, keep an open mind when you're trying to target these fish.

(38:19):
Yeah, and I, you know, like I said, it's the, the, the, the crippled hering with the fly is something I'll always bring with me. And you know, particularly if it's super calm, that's a situation in which I'll break out that. And you know, like I said, that that might, that might be the only thing I can hook up on. So, you know, always having something in the bag that you can cast when they're super finicky. And it always is when it's greasy, calm, you know, when it's rough out there. Uh, al's are generally relatively easy to, to catch. You can get a cast within their range, but you know, when it's greasy, calm it is, it can be a challenge to hook up with 'em. So that's a a little trick that I've, that I've had and, and used successfully over the years.

(39:04):
And I think before we move on to tuna, which I definitely want to ask you about as well, uh, it's a, another p ss a reminder too now that these fish are here, uh, and they're likely going to be within casting range too, at times of the shore fishermen, you'll have the boat guys kind of, you know, chasing these fish. You'll have guys on, on, on shore, on land, uh, trying to target these fish. You, you can have very busy schools of these fish, right? And, and you don't want to be driving your boat a million miles an hour right through a feed.

(39:34):
No, definitely not. You know, it's kind of my rule of thumb is that if there are no boats, I'm the only boat out there and I, you know, I'm seeing some fish, I, I don't, you know, I feel like I can running guns, so to speak to a, to a degree, you know. But yeah, if there's boats out there, you know, the worst thing that you can do is, is run up on schools because you're just gonna push 'em down and then next thing you know, they're gonna be 75, a hundred, 150 yards away. And then, you know, guys who keep trying to do that tend to not be as successful as guys who generally set up on a drift, kind of figure out, you know, which way they're gonna be going, anticipate that, and then try to try to get there and make some casts.

(40:16):
So like I said, if there's been times where over the years where it's rough out, I'm the only boat out there, the bird are telling me exactly where to go and I can run up on 'em and get cast and catch 'em. But when there's multiple boats, I mean, I generally try not to fish around a ton of boats. I'll, I'll try, you know, I'll, unless it's literally the only place that has fish, if there's like 10, 15, 20 boats, I'll just try to go somewhere else to try to find 'em. 'cause a lot of times there's Kayak guys in the mix too, which makes, makes it a little bit of a challenge to get 'em from boats. So yeah, I definitely don't run up on fish when there's boats around, but I, I will take some liberties when there is absolutely no one around me.

(40:56):
Last thing I want to ask you about Evan before I let you go, is the bluefin tuna fishery that is seemingly produced all summer. What are you hearing about that?

(41:04):
Yeah, I'll actually start with the elephant really quickly. Um, just hearing some good things about the northwest corner of the dump, uh, to north of the dump into Tuna Ridge, that kind of area. Talked to multiple guys who were down there over the last few days digging up. Yellowfin. Um, seems like there's a ton of them out there. It's primarily a, a jig bite. Um, and then what I've been hearing is the claw has had a ton of, a ton of whales, ton of dolphins, ton of ton of bait, um, and tons of tunas. And there's been some giants mixed in with some smaller ones. It seems like mostly either dropping baits like macro down, um, is, is what guys are, are hooking up with. I've heard that, you know, guys have hooked into like 95 inch fish and or they've hooked into, you know, a 45 inch fish.

(41:54):
So, um, it seems like the claws has a, a, you know, a slew of different size blue fin, but you know, over the last three or four days I've talked to multiple guys have gone down there and, and constant fish. So it seems interesting that a lot of these fish haven't really moved east and it sounds like there's a ton of sand deals, mackerel and squid and, and some herring as well, um, at the claw that's just keeping these fish, um, around there for, for longer than I think historically we've seen. So, um, which, you know, and the good thing about that is it's, it's not a, a, a, you know, a a long ride from at least Falmouth and other parts of the cape, which is nice.

(42:35):
All right, Evan, thanks so much for that awesome action pack report. We covered a lot of ground, much appreciated and always appreciate your time joining us here on the show and we look forward to catching up with you at the end of August.

(42:46):
Alright, thanks Kevin, I really appreciate

(42:48):
It. My thanks to Evan Eastman for joining us here on the My Fishing Cape Cod Podcast, presented by Cape and Islands, Mitsubishi and Cape Codder Boats. I want to take a moment to thank all of our guest experts that joined us on today's programs, starting with M F C C, founder and creator Ryan Collins, proud M F C C member Calvin Torin Sandlin, Sam Mullen of the Goose Hummock down in Orleans. And last but not least, you just heard from Evan Eastman of Eastman Sport and Tackle and beautiful Falmouth, Massachusetts. And thanks to all of you for taking time out of your busy schedules to join us here on the My Fishing Cape Cod Podcast. This is your host, Kevin Collins, signing off. And until we chat again next week, tight lines and take care.

(43:30):
Thanks for tuning in to the My Fishing Cape Cod Podcast. For the latest local news, information and fishing reports, be sure to log onto my fishing cape cod.com. From all of us at my fishing Cape Cod tight lines and take care.