Cape Cod fishing report for April 17

Today's Cape Cod surf fishing trip began with my alarm going off at 4:30AM. As is typically the case, I popped right out of bed because I knew I was going fishing. I think you may agree with me that it is much easier to roll out of bed absurdly early when you know you are getting up to go fishing, as opposed to heading to work etc.

By 5:15AM I was heading down the mid-Cape highway with iced coffee in hand. The skies were still very dark and overcast, and a light rain began to fall. The weatherman had called for some rain and northeast winds, which is really not ideal during April. I would prefer to have perfectly sunny and warm conditions this early in the season, as it seems to result in better early season striped bass fishing.

Yesterday I fished the upper reaches of an estuary, but today I planned on fishing the more accessible inlets leading into the estuary. I knew it was still early in the season for a few of the Cape Cod fishing spots I had in mind, but after putting a bend in the rod yesterday I was feeling confident.

Fishing Cape Cod Bay for the First Time this Year

I pulled up to my first Cape Cod Bay fishing spot just before the 6AM sunrise. This area required a little bit of a walk down the coast, past boulders and oyster beds. Off in the woods I could hear a turkey gobbling, and a few terns squawking somewhere above in the overcast skies. It felt great to be smack dab in the middle of nature.

On the topic of nature, there are 50 Right whales feeding in Cape Cod Bay right now between Manomet and the Cape Cod Canal. Right whales are annual visitors to the bay, attracted by abundant concentrations of zoo plankton. Yet 50 Right whales in one area is an incredible amount, considering they estimate there to be only 500 in the entire world.

Although I was faraway from the whale activity yesterday, I could not help but feel good about the whale sightings. If the whales are here, it means that the ecosystem in Cape Cod Bay is healthy and full of life. This could bode well for this years mackerel and striped bass fishing.

This morning I chose to cast a topwater, hoping to illicit a few aggressive topwater strikes. I have been hearing rumors of keeper size stripers in Cape Cod Bay and inside the Cape Cod Canal, so I figured I might as well toss a lure that would attract a larger fish - as opposed to casting the super small shad body I was using yesterday.

The water still felt cold, too cold for there to be migratory keeper size striped bass around in my opinion. After about 45 minutes I decided it would be smart to find warmer water, which meant I needed to do some traveling.

I did not know it at the moment, but I would end up spending the next 7 hours fishing all over Nantucket Sound, Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay.

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