I set off Tuesday evening as a brisk northwest wind blew down over Cape Cod. Just before sunset the breeze was around 15 knots and I could already tell it was going to be a very cool and refreshing night. I had the entire night ahead of me and soon a nearly full moon would be rising in the east. At this time of the year anything could happen.

Due to the wind direction I knew that any beaches that faced north may be "munged up." Strong onshore breezes often push sea weed and other debris in towards the beach, which can make effective surfcasting impossible. I decided to check out some areas before sunset so that I could gauge how much of an issue sea weed would or would not be.

Surveying the Coast

At my first spot, waves inundated with weed and suspended sand were rolling into the shoreline.

I could tell right away that fishing the open beachfront would be a challenge, especially once it got dark. My patience is somewhat limited with regards to continuously removing sea weed from a bait or lure after each and every cast. I decided I had to find an area that was cleaner, with less sea weed and debris.

Sometimes schools of stripers will travel up into estuaries and marshes, and when the wind is howling these areas are also protected. Weed can still be a problem but odds are the water will be cleaner.

I decided to make a move and survey a few estuaries just before it got dark. An idea I had was to return to an estuary around 2AM and fish the high tide, in hopes that a school of bass had inundated the system.

The water was cleaner, so I knew I could probably fish here later on without any issues.

Buzzards Bay Fishing

My dilemma was that there were too many options on the table. Areas that I have not fished since this past spring have started producing big bass again, and I was really torn as to where to devote my time.

Earlier in the day a friend of mine had accidentally stumbled upon a school of 20-30 pound stripers in 8 feet of water in Buzzards Bay (click here for the latest Buzzards Bay fishing report). They caught huge bass on 12 pound mono filament line and small swimmers intended for schoolies.

Should I head to Buzzards Bay and explore the coves, estuaries and rock piles that litter this area?

In the past I've been lucky to catch some nice fish among these boulder fields. Also, some areas in Buzzards Bay are shielded from a NW wind, which makes fishing easier and also warmer.

Cape Cod Canal Fishing

Another more protected and less weed inundated option would be to fish the Cape Cod Canal. It's no secret that large stripers roam the Big Ditch during late September.

While I have not heard of any big time bass blitzes over the past few days at the Canal, I knew that some of the sharpies were still pulling some nice bass off the bottom (click here for the latest Cape Cod Canal fishing report).

I certainly had plenty of fishing options to consider...

The Night Bite

As night fell I sat in the warmth of the truck, trying to decide where to fish.

Finally, after way too much thinking and internal debating, I drove to a spot I fished once way back in July. The flood tide was just about to start and I had a good feeling that I would encounter at least a few decent bass.