October 2 2016

Fly Fishing the “Fall Run” on Cape Cod

7  comments

Ryan Collins

I woke up this past Friday morning to the sound of crashing waves, howling wind and pelting rain.

In the dim morning light I watched powerful waves smash onto the shoreline, and felt the sting of the wind on my face.

All week I had enjoyed a fantastic "fall run" surfcasting bite. During those trips I was fishing right in the rough surf and strong northeast wind.

Yet this past Friday I decided to switch things up, by fishing more protected bays and harbors on the southside of Cape Cod, using the Sage 3280 fly reel and Sage 890-4 Motive rod and from Goose Hummock in Orleans.

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Final tally for this trip was 8 striped bass, with the largest being a 37 inch fish caught on spinning tackle. 

The most promising thing I observed were plenty of birds and stripers feeding on the surface, chasing what was probably peanut bunker.

Please click the orange download button below for a Google Earth image of the harbor fished during this trip.

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Google Earth image of the harbor fished during this trip.

  • Thinking of taking my fly rod to Pleasant Bay this coming weekend….have there been any reports of Stripers in the Bay?

    • I would most certainly think there are stripers in Pleasant Bay, without a doubt. Last October I had a good night there fishing from shore catching plenty of schoolies. Nothing large.

      Keep in mind stripers also winter over in Pleasant Bay, so during the fall they are “settling in” so to speak. It’s just a good place to fish year round minus the seals of course!

      Latest intel I have from that area is more than a week old, when guys were catching decent bass on plugs from the Nauset surf. Hope you are having a fun weekend and gluck!

  • Don’t know that much about fly fishing gear, but how does that reel hold up to those dunks in salt water? Pretty tough not to dunk the reel I could see.

    • The drag on this Sage reel is partially sealed, so it is OK to dunk it, but still best to avoid.

      The Goose just gave me another reel to test out. This one is a fully sealed Reddington which can be dunked just like a Van Staal.

      Any luck at the canal this weekend Hayden?

      • Last week I put in a couple hours of jigging with not much to show for it, but I didn’t get to fish this weekend. I will hit the canal a few times this week in between school and work, so I’ll let you know how that goes. I did get a new phone lol ????.

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