The temperature was cold and snow was falling, on a late winter day nearly 10 years ago. My cousin Kevin and I were trudging through a muddy estuary on Cape Cod, in search of holdover stripers.
Catching holdover stripers on Cape Cod had, up until this point, been a cold and difficult endeavor for me. I had caught a few here and there, but nothing too crazy.
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Eventually Kevin and I arrived at a "bend" in the marsh. The creek bed made a sharp turn, and countless centuries of current had carved out a deep hole.
It was dead low tide and to my amazement, an entire school of stripers had settled into the depression.
I cast a small chartreuse grub lure out into the coffee-colored water and began a slow retrieve. I don’t recall how many casts it took to generate that first bite, but I do remember the lethargic tug on the opposite end of my line.
After a decent fight on 12lb test I landed the first holdover striper of the trip.
I released the little guy, made another cast, and caught another fish.
Soon Kevin moved over, made a cast and also hooked up.
Kevin and I experienced incredible striped bass fishing for the rest of the tide. We even doubled up a few times.
It was nuts!
But the best part of the trip was the light snow falling all around us.
Encountering great striped bass fishing on Cape Cod during the winter, and in the snow, is certainly a trip I will never forget!
Did Any Holdovers Survive The Winter Of 2015?
Right now there are legit icebergs on Cape Cod. Now that is something you don't see everyday!
It sure has been a cold winter and recently I've been wondering how the cold will impact the fishing. Regardless, I am going to wet a line this week, and try for holdovers.
Last year while exploring the estuaries, I discovered plenty of striped bass, however they were all dead.
Click play to see what I mean.
My guess is that these fish had succumbed to the cold water temps, but I could be mistaken.
Because striped bass winter over in locales as far north as Nova Scotia, I do believe at least some healthy striped bass are swimming right now in certain Cape estuaries.
Maybe I will get lucky this week and catch a few.
Could There Be Keepers?
All the holdover stripers I have caught in my life have been “schoolie” size. The largest holdover I have ever caught might have been 25 inches long.
Until recently, I had never imagined striped bass in the 30-40 inch class might be present on Cape Cod during March or April. However I now believe that "keepers" also winter-over on the Cape.
For some reason these big fish decide to not migrate south with the rest of the biomass. Perhaps some are even spawning here on Cape Cod.
The key of course will be finding these bigger fish. The places I have fished in the past for holdovers are great spots, but I’ve never caught anything large in those areas.
Where I Will Be Fishing This Week
I will be trying for holdover stripers this week, and I expect I will have to work hard to find them. Finding a keeper-size fish right now is pretty unheard of, but I think it can be done.
Click play below to learn more about where I will be fishing.
Odds are finding a striper right now will require a good deal of exploration.
But with help from the MFCC community, and captains like Cullen Lundholm, I expect to get it done!
God willing I will post my first striped bass fishing report here on the blog very soon.
What do you think?
Let us know by commenting below
What do you usually use for a rod and reel set up for holdovers and also what do you use for for a set up for surf casting?
Hey Jacob, a 4000 class reel paired with a 7.5 or 8 foot medium action spinning rod would be perfect. Do you fish freshwater? If so then a rod and reel you would use for tackling big largemouth bass from lily pads is all you really need.
For fishing the surf or a place like the Canal, a 10 ft Lamellas or Tsunami rod paired with a Shimano Ultra 10000 (or something similar) is what I typically use.
Can’t wait to hear, getting pumped for first stripper experience.
I went last night, report can be read here https://myfishingcapecod.com/first-trip/
It felt great to be back out there!
Hope they don’t have a case of lockjaw. Water in n.y. Still 39 degrees. Safety first.
Yes quite chilly, don’t wanna go for an accidental swim that is for sure
Hope you find them! Not quite 50 degree water yet, but they may be waiting for them. Are you going to use a light setup or go big hoping for that keeper?
Warren
I hope so too! I’m going to go big for a keeper. Fortunately I have received some good intel to work from, so I think my chances of catching a keeper are actually somewhat decent.
Awesome. Intel is key! Looking forward to the next report.