From 40 inch holdover stripers, to freshwater adventures, to off season projects, the My Fishing Cape Cod members' forum has been bustling with updates this holiday season.
Read on for a complete summary of what's been happening recently around the community.
Winter Stripers
The Winter Stripers thread has some great information about how to find these elusive fish. Some hardy MFCC anglers were chasing holdovers through November and into December.
Noah Ezickson made the most of a quick trip to the Cape for Thanksgiving. One day he caught holdovers ranging from 18" to 24" and then the next day he caught two 40" stripers in shallow water on a beautiful day.
Noah Ezickson proudly shows one of the two 40” stripers he caught on a late November trip at the Cape. Interestingly, both of the bass were covered in sea lice, indicating that they were recently in open ocean.
Noah said both 40" fish had sea lice on them, which got a conversation going in the thread as to where these fish may have come from.
Boat Building Projects
Both Derek Jones and William Vranos are spending the cold weather months building wooden boats. Yes, we do have some ambitious and talented MFCC members!
Derek Jones is using his advanced carpentry skills on his first boat build. Derek’s plan is to have this beautiful boat in good shape by the spring.
Derek honed his carpentry skills during a plank-on-frame wooden boat apprenticeship at one of the finest boatbuilding establishments in the northeast, Gannon and Benjamin of Martha's Vineyard. While his boat is taking slightly longer than he expected, it certainly looks like a work of art!
Year-Round Anglers
In addition to reel repair, re-tying leaders, and replacing hooks and hardware, Calvin Toran-Sandlin chases trout throughout the winter and occasionally fishes for bass and perch.
After a long season of surf fishing, and when not trout fishing or rock climbing, Calvin Toran-Sandlin makes time in the offseason to replace hardware on his gear, rig plastics, and check the integrity of his wetsuits.
Calvin fishes for holdover stripers until late December and picks up a rod again chasing stripers in the backwaters come the first hints of herring scouts in March. During the lull in fishing, Calvin makes two or three weekend trips up to New Hampshire or Vermont each month for hiking and climbing.
Ice Fishing Season Begins
In western Massachusetts, Ron Essig is happy to report the colder-than-usual late fall weather has led to an early start for the ice fishing season. Ron's first outing to a Connecticut River valley trout pond saw him on 4.5 inches of ice - a great start to the ice fishing season!
Like a number of MFCC members, Tim Donnelly enjoys skiing in the offseason. Here he is pictured with fellow members of the Cape Cod Ski Club at Loon Mountain on Black Friday.
Trout Fishing Takes Center Stage
In the Trout Time 2025 thread, some of the MFCC all-season anglers have switched their attention to trout, including Anthony Besaw, Jeffrey Cotto, and Calvin Toran-Sandlin. Both flies and spinners, fished very slow, can be effective cold-water presentations in local ponds and streams.
Calvin Toran-Sandlin caught these nice trout using a four-weight fly rod on a beautiful late fall day.
Fly Tying Activity
Johan Frenje and Ken Holt have been busy tying flies for both fresh and saltwater recently, as evidenced in the Fly Fishing and Fly Tying 2025 thread. The thread tends to pick up activity early in the new year as fly anglers anticipate the warmer weather.
Ken Holt has been busy tying small flies to refill his trout boxes while Johan Frenje has been busy tying stunt minnows with an added touch of yellow to better match the color of bay anchovy for the 2026 false albacore season.
Lure Building Goes Viral
In a thread that started slowly but has gained a lot of momentum, Lure Building Should Come with a Warning is attracting more MFCC members this offseason. Check the thread for images of Anthony Besaw's and John Stirpe's latest creations.
With a fully equipped wood shop, Adam Kostecki jumped into lure building with both feet, posting pictures of more than a half dozen good-looking lures. In Adam's words, "thanks to this thread I'm full on addicted."
Here are some of Adam Kostecki’s first run of wooden plugs he crafted in his workshop. Looks like they are just some hardware away from being undistinguishable from commercially made lures.
If you're interested in learning more about building your own lures, dig further into the "Lure Building Should Come with a Warning" thread as a number of MFCC members freely provide advice to get started or to hone your skills.
Anthony Besaw has been busy building new lures for the 2026 season.
Freshwater Bass Action
In the Freshwater Bass 2025 thread, Mike Dixon fished in his kayak in two ponds on a recent cold day. Mike caught several fish in the first pond he targeted, in 30-plus feet of water.
Mike Dixon caught this pickerel and smallmouth bass on a recent trip to a local pond. Mike pulled the fish out of more than 30 feet of water.
Mike caught a few good-sized white perch along with a smallmouth bass and a big pickerel.
Florida Fishing Reports
For those considering a winter getaway to a warmer location, be sure to check out the Florida Fishing thread. Captain George LaBonte of Edge Sportfishing provides frequent updates from the Sunshine State.
Captain LaBonte is a Massachusetts native who has lived in and run a successful fishing charter/guide business out of Jupiter, Florida for 40 years.
Make the Most of Your Offseason
As Stephen O'Donnell mentioned in the Winter Stripers thread, this website is an amazing resource, providing you with in-depth information about a wide variety of fishing techniques.
An avid lure builder, Ken Webber also plans to catch up on some reading this winter.
With the cold weather making fishing a challenge, spending time digging into MFCC can arm you with information to make your 2026 season more successful. Make the MFCC search feature your friend.
Tight lines!
Dan Nahorney
MFCC Forum
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