Ryan Collins
I looked down into the crystal clear water and could see stripers cruising around boulders and through bubble weed.
I was really excited, because I have not seen fish in this particular spot since I was a teenager. Most of the bass were small but some were 15+ pounds.
Most exciting of all was the number of fish holding in this spot. Throughout the course of the evening, I watched dozens of bass swim beneath the boat. Several more schools surfaced nearby, swimming lazily just beneath the surface.
More...
We caught fish like the bass above (that's my mom Kathy) but the larger fish were incredibly finicky. They would chase our plugs and then turn away, or ignore our lures all together.
​Fortunately the sun was sinking low on the horizon, and darkness would soon envelop this spot and the fish swimming within it. Striped bass are nocturnal feeders, so I hoped this would spark the bite.
Instead of remaining in the boat on the water after dark, we decided to head home, so I could return and fish the beach. Catching fish from a boat is fun, but I prefer to catch them from shore when possible.
Finally at 1:30AM my bait got hit hard.
The line got tight, I set the hook, and the fish began took off into the darkness...
I estimated the fish in that video to of been around 35 inches in length. Unfortunately I will never know for sure due to the hook popping out, just as I was about to reach down and get a lip lock on the bass.
The remainder of the night was spent casting and retrieving, with little more than an occasional "bump" here and there. Bass were in the area but they were acting lethargic.
Final tally for me was two schoolies and that one "almost caught" 35 inch bass. The good news is there were hundreds of fish in the area. I plan on giving it another try tonight - perhaps the fish will be more aggressive.
The Area
This week I am hearing more reports of 40-50 pound fish than at any point this season. For example, a "friend of a friend" caught a potential 50 pounder from his boat last night while I was on the beach.
There are also acres of adult pogies hanging off the backside beaches from Chatham to Wellfleet. The commercial bass guys who are fishing this area from boats are doing well on large fish by snagging and live-lining pogies.
Last night and this morning I did not encounter any adult pogies, however I have been finding what I believe are baby pogies. For example, I filmed these schools of baitfish 5 days ago not far from where I fished last night.
Perhaps the next northeast wind will drive all those pogies and predators into the surf along the backside. Tonight however, I am going to head back out and fish rocky, boulder strewn areas.
Boulder fields really start producing well for me during this time of the year. Whether you try the boulders of Buzzard's Bay, Vineyard Sound or Cape Cod Bay, I believe you will have a legitimate chance of hooking something large.
Beneath these boulders and around these rocks are countless meals for stripers. Last night I primarily saw krill and many different species of crabs. Perhaps it was the krill which made the stripers so darn finicky.
If you can locate an area that is chock full of crabs and lobsters, then there is a good chance you will eventually find the fish. Big schools of bass often hang out deep this time of the year, but when they charge the boulders to gorge on crustaceans, the bite can be pretty epic.
Between the crabs, krill and baby pogies I think this particular area of the Cape will continue to produce some good action for the weeks to come. If you are on SnapChat, then please add our new account username: fishingcapecod for real-time video updates during my surfcasting trip later today.​
The Technique
I've been doing alright from shore the past couple of weeks casting the old reliable Redfin. This lure swims with a "slow wobble" which is quite different than the Sebile Magic Swimmer which many of us have become so familiar with.
I caught two fish on the Redfin during this trip, but that number was disapointing based on the amount of stripers I knew were in the area. So at around midnight I switched over to a live eel.
​The eel seemed to work a little better than the Redfin. I received several bumps and missed hits, and of course was able to almost land the 35 incher in the video above.
I'm going to include a video below for anyone who needs a refresher about how to fish live eels from shore. The most important thing to remember is to slowly retrieve the eel to keep him from getting hung up on the bottom, and to drop your rod tip and let the line get tight before after the bite, and before setting the hook.​
Snapchat
Last night for the first time ever, I used an iPhone application called Snapchat to document my fishing trip. Snap Chat allows me to send real-time updates to anyone who follows me (username: fishingcapecod).
If you're on Snapchat, then you can also scan the QR code below into your smartphone to be added as a follower. This will allow you to view real-time video updates from my surfcasting trip tonight.
Overall I feel more inspired to get out there and fish than at any point this summer.​ I am really looking forward to using Snapchat to interact with My Fishing Cape Codders on a real-time basis.
Over the coming days and weeks I also plan on getting back to jigging the Cape Cod Canal, fly fishing and experimenting with handlines for big striped bass. We also have a great podcast in line which will be published tomorrow.
I wish you the best of luck out there today/tonight. I hope you are able to find some fish.
Tight lines!
Ryan​
Great video, however I clicked on location.. Somewhere on ——? LOL!
lol, I understand that is a big area, but it does eliminate 66% of the rest of the Cape coastline. 🙂
I love the video with the bait fish. It looks like your swimming right next to them. I fish mostly the lower cape and south shore. Cohassat and situate being my favorites. Joined your web sight to try the upper cape and to learn real surf casting. Most of my skills now are from harbors inlets and rivers and the canal.
Very nice! Lots of big fish in Cohasset and Scituate from what I hear.
Great to have you onboard MFCC and keep me/us all posted with how things go!