I pulled into the harbor shown in the map below at 9:30am and had the place almost entirely to myself.
A few charter boats lingered at the docks waiting for their customers. A commercial mackerel boat eased in from the bay. Light drizzle tapped the water and an onshore wind pushed small ripples across the harbor. It was quiet — wonderfully, almost eerily quiet — in that way Cape Cod only is for a few more weeks before Memorial Day Weekend arrives and flips the switch.
I stood there for a moment and just took it in.
Captain Jim, and a Boat That Stops You in Your Tracks
Captain Jimmy “The Greek” Koutalakis pulled up shortly after, along with two of his friends, and his brand new 37-foot SeaVee center console. Breathtaking doesn’t quite cover it. This thing is humongous, immaculately rigged, and built for serious fishing.
If you’ve been following MFCC for any length of time, you know Jim. He’s taken MFCC members out on trophy fluke trips for three seasons running. He’s spoken at our events. We filmed a haddock TV show with him. And just the night before this trip, 30 MFCC members spent two hours with Jim on a live Zoominar learning the ins and outs of Cape Cod bottom fishing.
Lines in the Water
We cleared the harbor and had lines in the water not long after. Jim set us up with his own handmade, hand-tied flounder rigs — tipped with fresh clam he'd picked up at Stop & Shop the day before (he usually digs his own, but the Zoominar had other plans). Three to four ounces of weight, drifting at less than a knot across the bottom of Cape Cod Bay.
Within two minutes, the rods started tapping.
That's the thing about winter flounder — they don't crash your bait like a bluefish or slam it like a striper. It's subtle. Nibble. Nibble. Nibble. And then you lift the rod, set the hook, and feel that satisfying, headshaking tug come back at you. Light spinning or conventional gear makes it a lot of fun.
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Very informative article. The photos from the camera really help show what’s going on. Thanks, Ryan!