Ryan Collins
We still have a couple more weeks before ocean-traveling migratory stripers arrive here on Cape Cod.
However, now that its April, the theory is holdover striped bass (which have spent the winter here on Cape) begin to "stir" and become more active.
I would say this theory rang true between the hours of midnight and 3AM on Saturday April 8th. Holdover striped bass were biting on just about every cast.
On this trip I brought my good friend Jason Mazzola, who I have been fishing with since elementary school. I also brought capt. Cullen Lundholm, who runs our weekly MFCC group fishing trips.
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I almost always fish alone when targeting holdovers, so it was fun for a change to share the experience with a couple buddies.
One word of caution: I do not recommend fishing estuaries at night unless you are extremely familiar with the area. Marshes and estuaries can be very tricky and very dangerous places to fish.
By midnight we had arrived at a special place where I've caught holdover stripers before. The wind was blowing, and a bright moon was trying to break through the cloud cover.
Jason and I began casting, while Cullen went off exploring on his own downriver. Suddenly there was splash and "smack!" as a striper attacked some sort of bait on the surface. It was obvious that the fish were here.
On my fourth or fifth cast I felt a slight bump on the line, and a few casts later, Jason hooked up with the first bass of the night.
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Thank you My Fishing Cape Codder Todd Krutchoff of Deep Thoughts Designs for the tshirt!
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About the author
I have caught two stripers 33″ & 41″ just north of the east end canal
Trolling red tubes with quahogs tied on with dental floss !
Use of clams in the Great South Bay, Long Island Sound & Jamaica Bay have been known to work.
Thats a first for me! Never heard of anyone using clams on the tube before. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing Jim!
What Was the bait you were using ….. live right there and I have been trying and failed so far lol….
Hello David!
I included a video about the bait I was using in the full report, which can be accessed by members.
Just login to the site and then come back to this report, and you’ll be able to view the video.
Keep me posted with any questions and enjoy the rest of the weekend!
I hope the cop caught a few fish too.
Ended up just being a friendly neighbor who was curious if we were catching anything.