Ryan Collins
According to the calendar, spring has arrived! It won't be long until the stripers return to the Cape.
This time of the year you will find me exploring and scouting new areas all over Cape Cod.
I have 2 goals for these early spring scouting missions:
- Discover holdover striped bass in areas I have not fished before
- Scout new places I feel might fish well during the summer season
So with this in mind, I set out on a sunny, windy and brisk day a couple weeks ago during March.
For this trip I decided to explore and fish the Bass River in South Yarmouth.
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The Bass River seems to be a very popular area among MFCC members, especially at the inlet (shown above) where the river meets Nantucket Sound.
I know many MFCC members who fish Bass River during the summer, but I don't know of many who fish the river during the winter for holdovers.
I enjoy a challenge so I figured I would give Bass River a shot! Even if I did not find any holdover stripers, this would still be a cool scouting trip.
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Hi, I will be at bass pond area the fist week in August are there still strippers and can you catch blue fish from shore. Thanks for advice
You can catch stripers at night and around sunrise, and also bluefish. There will be lots of small scup and other bottom feeders around too.
Plus if you cast a big chunk of bait out at night you might hook into a 100 pound brown or sand tiger shark.
Follins Pond was the 1st place I fished on cape, maybe 10 years ago … 3 of us caught about a dozen schoolies on a May weekend. I have to believe there are holdovers in Follins Pond, and the cove right before Follins (maybe in the docks of the marina there). Also, the channel between Bass River Golf Course in Yarmouth and Dennis is at least 10 feet deep, so it should hold bass. Another area to check out would be the docks (Dennis side) south of Rt 28 bridge … there is water depth and hiding spots among the many pilings.
So far in my life I have been skunked in the Bass River when targeting holdovers, but I will keep trying!
Thanks for the ideas Jeff.
Ryan that paved pathway was probably the new bike path being built between Dennis and Hyannis!!
Oh really! That bike path could open up an entirely new world of fishing potential, especially if the route runs along the ponds and ocean.
Betsy and I put the kayaks in at Follins Pond then paddled with the outgoing tide down the Bass River. We stopped at Sundancers for lunch then went with the incoming tide back to the car. Nice afternoon!
Sounds pretty perfect to me!
I have fished a few times the Bass River since my place is only 5 minutes away. I did explore the area just like you and found only schoolies. My luck came last year towards the end of May when fishing one night from the bridge on route 28 I was able to catch a 29″. I believe in the fall you have better chance on catching a big fish when they venture at night into the river coming from the Sound with the tide and leaving before dawn. I will keep you and the people on the forum posted when I will get a glimpse of them this spring.
I’ll be fishing the Bass river inlet and surrounding inlets in mid may. As a novice striper/surfcasting angler i cant wait to use all the info and advise Ryan has provided. This site is by far worth the price of admission and not only for the excellent fishing articles. Ryan has personally replied to me as to specific baits and techniques that could make my fishing trip very successful. He’s like having your very own fishing guru on call.
Don Hayes
Thank you Don for the great comment, and as I’ve said before, it is GREAT having you as part of MFCC.
Emil I appreciate the insight and advice. Keep me posted when you try Bass River again this spring. I’ll be looking forward to your forum posts!