It's been a wet and wild past few days here on Cape Cod. Tropical systems usually don't hit the Cape this early in June, but in New England anything is possible with the weather.
Before the rain began falling down in buckets I was able to sneak out on the boat with some friends from upstate New York. Rob and Andy have been with me on some memorable fishing trips over the years, as well as some "not so memorable" trips. Their friend and Cape Cod fishing newcomer Shane would also be tagging along for the day.
The seas were calm and the skies were crystal clear as we headed off towards the sunrise. I let the salty air sink into my lungs as we all settled in for the ride. It felt good to be back on the water.
On this trip I was hoping we would find bass busting on the surface. During my last fishing trip on the boat Andrew and I caught the tail end of a top water bass blitz. Today I was hoping we would get there in time to witness the entire thing.
As always the first step was to head to an area with some life. I wasn't 100% sure that there would be fish at our destination, but I was fairly confident based on forum reports and my gut feeling about the day.
Around 6AM I pulled the boat up to our first fishing spot of the morning. There were not any birds working the area, or fish showing on the surface, but I did mark a small school that warranted further investigation.
To start I decided to put the tube and worm rigs into the water for the first time this season. I will often toss the tubes in to start a trip, or when nothing else seems to be producing. I feel like tube and worm trolling is a good way to circumvent an area, while you look for additional signs of life.
Unfortunately those additional signs of life never showed, so it was time to reel in the lines and make another move. I told the guys to keep an eye out for birds as we began cruising north. To be honest I had expected to find bass right from the get-go, but it just goes to show that fish do as they please. Just when you think you have them figured out, they throw you for a loop and keep you guessing.
I always try to remain very upbeat and positive while on the water, but I couldn't help but feel slightly defeated. We had traveled for nearly an hour to an area where I was pretty confident we would find life. Yet nothing at all was showing on the surface or on the sonar.
Yet things change quickly. I felt someone tap my shoulder and I turned to see Andy pointing off into the distance. "
"Are those them birds you were talking about?" he said. I looked over to my right and low and behold Andy had indeed found the birds.
"Good eyes!" I said back to him as I turned the boat and headed over towards the dive bombing gannets. There was no doubt now that we had stumbled upon a pretty good feed. Even from a distance away I could see bass busting on the surface.
The fish were not simply slurping down bait, they were hurdling themselves towards the surface, sending whitewater in every direction. They almost looked like small tunas corralling bait fish on the surface. It was obvious that these fish were aggressive and all sorts of riled up.
