Ryan Collins
Over the past seven days I've fished with ten members of My Fishing Cape Cod. All of these trips have had the same goal - to catch fish and to learn about specific techniques and areas.
These trips are part of the limited number of custom guided trips I am offering this season to My Fishing Cape Cod members. These trips are a great opportunity to not just catch fish, but to also learn about different techniques and areas.
This weekend I had an amazing beach fishing trip with 15 year old Adam Walton and his granddad Rich. Adam caught his first ever "keeper" and the largest fish of his life!
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However we'll get to that trip later on in this post. For now lets start with my first trip of the past 7 days, which began Wednesday evening June 6th.
Wednesday Evening With Chris Rhoads & Dan Winkler
At 4:00pm Wednesday evening I met with My Fishing Cape Cod members Dan Winkler and Chris Rhoads, at the beach shown in the map below.
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I had the guys park their cars and load all their gear into my truck. We then headed east to a stretch of shoreline shown in the map below, which has produced some awfully large striped bass over the past week, especially on rainy and stormy days.
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Both Dan and Chris have been members of My Fishing Cape Cod for more than three years now. It was great to finally get a chance to go fishing with them.
3 year MFCC member Dan Winkler (pictured above) has a house in Wellfleet and enjoys primarily fishing from his kayak and new standup paddle board.
Chris Rhoads (pictured above) has also been a MFCC member for the past 3 years. Chris is a busy dad with a 2 year old and a newborn baby!
We caught a half dozen or more schoolie stripers using topwater plugs like the 2oz pearl white Guppy pencil poppers and the 2oz Ghose White Tactical Anglers Bomb Popper.
The sunset was spectacular...
This trip was scheduled to go from 4PM-9PM however I really wanted to put these guys onto some "keeper size" fish, so I asked if they would be interested in continuing to fish through the night, and hit another couple of spots.
Both Dan and Chris agreed to continue fishing into the night, and around 10:30PM the larger fish finally showed up for us. Dan was the first to hook up with a 36 inch beauty!
Dan caught this fish after it attacked his plug just a few yards from the shore.
Then Chris hooked into the fattest 37.5 inch striper I have ever seen. This striped bass had a girth of 22 inches and was obviously eating very well!
Chris caught this 37.5 inch bass with an amazing 22 inch girth at around 11PM. It was the largest fish Chris has ever caught from shore!
Click to view best lures & tide
The bites were coming pretty fast and furious and we probably could of continued fishing into the wee hours of Thursday morning, however Chris had a newborn at home and Dan had a job to get to in the morning. By 11:30PM it was time to call it quits to one of the most successful trips of this past week.
Friday June 8 Sunrise Trip With Matt Lvovich & His Dad Joe
On Friday I woke up at 2AM in order to prepare for a 4AM beach fishing trip with My Fishing Cape Codder Matt Lvovich and his dad Joe. Matt had recently purchased a cottage in Eastham, and he was hoping to learn how to catch striped bass.
Matt and his dad Joe had never fished for stripers before, so I wanted to make sure I brought them to an area that would suit their skill level. You can view the general area we fished in the map below.
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I began the morning by showing Matt and Joe how to fish a 1oz yellow Gibbs pencil popper, and then I handed the rod to Matt so he could make his first cast ever fishing for striped bass.
To my astonishment a schoolie striper swirled behind the lure and then smacked it right on the surface.
Matt was hooked up on his first cast ever, and I think he was just as shocked as I was!
MFCC member Matt Lvovich (right) caught his first-ever striper on his first-ever cast!
As we walked the beach I explained the types of areas along beaches where striped bass often congregate, and how tide can affect when stripers come in close to shore.
I showed the guys how to use topwater plugs, swimmers and jigs. Fortunately for us the schoolies had shown up in force during this particular trip, and we had bites on almost every cast.
MFCC member Matt Lvovich (left) and his dad Joe (right) will be spending a lot of time in Eastham this summer. They signed up for this trip to help them get a better understanding of striped bass, and how to catch them from the beach.
Click to view best lures & tide
After the trip I stopped at a nearby country market for an iced coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Little did I know that another adventure was about to begin.
You can learn all about this next adventure by listening to last Friday's podcast, but to sum it up I met an amazing and inspiring 98 year old holocaust survivor named Nika, and I spent a couple hours chatting about life and enjoying coffee and tea with Nika and her friend.
You just never know what's going to happen next when you go fishing on Cape Cod!
Nika Fleissig is a 98 year old summer resident here on Cape. She has a ton of energy and has been an inspiration to many people. Nika is probably one of the last living holocaust survivors. You can read more about her story in the book From Miracle to Miracle.
Friday Night Thru Saturday Morning June 9
Later that same day I met up with MFCC member Fred Hoffman and his good fishing buddy Mike. These guys were experienced anglers and I was hoping to put them onto some good fish.
Fred Hoffman and his friend Mike are experienced surf fishermen. This was their first time ever fishing on Cape Cod.
I had scheduled this trip for 5:30pm-10:30pm. Throughout that time frame we probably caught about 20 fish, but nothing over 24 inches.
So I asked the guys if they would like to "push it" and fish late into the night. We hit a few more spots and caught a bunch more small stripers, a bluefish, and lost one "mystery fish" that was either a large blue or a big bass.
Finally we called it a trip on Saturday morning. No monsters caught during this adventure but I had a great time getting to know Mike and Fred.
When fishing from shore there is no guarantee that we'll catch fish, especially big ones, but I am always willing to give it 110%!
Saturday Evening
At 5:30pm Saturday evening Lauren and I met up with Adam Walton and his granddad Rich (also known as "Coach"). Lauren's role during this trip was to drop us off, and pick us back up, at a difficult to access "secret location."
This trip was a birthday gift for 15 year old Adam Walton, pictured above.
I rigged Adam up with a Smack-It popper which Mike from the trip before had recommended I let him use. This popper would end up being the most productive lure during this trip, and I can't thank Mike enough for loaning it to me!
This Smack-It popper was given to me by Mike (the guy from the previous day's trip) specifically for Adam to fish with.
Adam used this popper in conjunction with a 7 foot light tackle spinning rod and reel spooled up with 15 pound braid to catch fish after fish!
Adam outfished me and his granddad by a hefty margin! It was a lot of fun watching him translate his freshwater fishing skills into the saltwater environment.
Adam's granddad Rich is now retired after a long and successful career in education, and most people who know Rich prefer to call him "Coach."
Finally towards the end of the trip and with the sun sinking low in the sky, I heard a big crash and saw a big splash on Adam's popper. His rod doubled over and 15 pound braided line began peeling from his small reel.
This was a really good fish and it gave Adam a fight to remember. Finally he got the bass to the beach - a chunky 32 incher!
We caught 2 nice "keeper" stripers during this trip, however they were all returned to the water. Adam is a devoted catch & release fisherman!
Despite it being a "keeper" size striper, Adam quickly got the fish back into the water and set her free. I was impressed!
Without a doubt, fishing with Adam and his granddad has been one of the most fun and rewarding MFCC trips I have done so far this season.
Boat Trip | Monday June 11
Yesterday morning I awoke at 3AM to prepare for a boat fishing trip with 2 month MFCC member Jason Chilcott, and 2 year MFCC member Mike Marcus.
My morning got off to a shaky start.
I almost ran out of gas because the pumps at my usual gas station were not working. Fortunately I made it to another 24 hour gas station just in time to fuel up, and meet the crew for a 5AM departure from the marina shown below.
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We headed due north from the harbor and dropped sabiki rigs in an effort to catch mackerel. We caught a few macks and then headed east to the area shown below.
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I saw one nice school of bass cruising in very shallow water and one of Jason's mackerel got bitten off by a bluefish, but that was it. I had the guys reel in their lines and we made a big move, taking the Miss Loretta about 10 miles to the north, to the area shown below.
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Incredibly we caught nothing in this area! I was astounded, as it is usually a great place to find at least some action with schoolie stripers and very often bluefish.
By now the wind had died down a bit, so I brought the Miss Loretta a few miles offshore to the west, to the area shown below.
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We live-lined mackerel in the 38-50 foot depths just to the northwest of the marker shown in the map above. We were marking bass and got three solid takes on the mackerel, but we were still unable to hookup.
Finally, just as I was starting to lose all hope of catching anything, Jason hooked up with the first striped bass of the day. I was so relieved to have finally put a nice striper in the boat after a solid 5 hours of effort!
Mike Marcus (left) has been a member of My Fishing Cape Cod for the last 2 seasons. Jason Chilcott (right) just joined MFCC a couple months ago.
That fish provided us all with a big boost of energy and morale. It was now 11AM and we were already well past the anticipated trip duration of 5AM-10AM. However I knew these guys wanted to catch fish, so I asked them if they would want to continue fishing into the afternoon - they said of course they would!
So with the extra boost of morale powering us onward, I brought the Miss Loretta an additional 7 miles to the north where we loaded up on tinker mackerel, in the area shown below.
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Our livewell was full in no time and I was all of a sudden feeling very good about our chances of having a productive afternoon of live-lining macks for big bass.
With plenty of bait I brought the boat a few miles to the west, and then north, to the spot below. This area has treated me very well over the past decade, and is a reliable place to find a few stripers when the going gets tough.
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Immediately upon arriving we saw birds working and bass busting on the horizon. I brought the boat over to the edge of the blitz and had the guys put out their live macks. Instantly Mike's mackerel got smoked on the surface by a nice fish!
This is the second time I've fished with Mike, and we'll actually be fishing together again next week on our June 22nd group trip with captain Cullen.
I went up on the bow and just observed bass hammering some sort of bait fish in the crystal clear, shallow water depths of only 10 feet. It was really quite the sight to behold, as stripers fed eagerly on the surface in the middle of a bright and sunny afternoon.
This trip went from very slow, to extremely productive, in just a matter of minutes. It just goes to show that if you never give up, you will eventually find the fish!
By 4:30PM I told the guys I had to get home in time for dinner because we were having company. Our "3 hour tour" had morphed into an all-day event, but we all ended up catching plenty of fish, including at least a dozen "keepers" up to 34 inches in length.
Click to view gear & equipment used for live-lining mackerel
In conclusion, the fishing this past week has been nothing short of an adventure. During all my trips we logged in the miles (and the hours). We put forth a solid effort and were eventually rewarded with lots of memorable moments and great fish.
Most importantly I had the opportunity to meet and fish with more members from My Fishing Cape Cod. Everyone this week was so appreciative and excited to not just go fishing, but to also be part of our rapidly growing community.
We now have more than 1,300 members and there is no telling where the future will take us! It makes me happy to know that so many people are enjoying what they find here on MFCC, and that so many anglers are finding the inspiration to get off the couch and go fishing in this beautiful area we like to call Cape Cod.
If you have not yet signed up as a member, then I would like to invite you to start a 30 day trial for just $1.00. You can learn more and start a trial by clicking here.
Tight lines 
About the author
Ryan Collins
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I enjoy and look forward to your weekly trip reports
That’s great to hear David. I appreciate having you following along with MFCC!
Nice to see you out with everyone Ryan; and especially nice to see Chris Rhodes in action. Fantastic catch Chris!
Thanks Brian, hope you guys are doing well over on MV!
Teaching is a very rewarding feeling. Your classroom is Cape Cod. Nika is amazing. I will be assisting you soon.
Well said ??
Another great report Ryan. Thanks for the recent reports on BSB fishing. Monday my son, his fri3nd and I fished in Buzzards Bay and had an epic day. We easily met our limit only keeping knothead males and shortly into the bite went to keeping only 20” plus fish. We used a Spro bucktail and 4” Epoxy jigs tipped with Squid from Buzzards Bay Bait. Thanks for the info.
That is terrific to hear Steve. Glad you guys had an epic black sea bass day!
I think using the big jigs helps weed through the small fish and target the big keepers. Nice job ?
Awesome report. Nice to see kids with abig smile on their face
It was definitely a memorable night of fishing ??
I had the pleasure of meeting and fishing with Chris Rhoads one night on Cuttyhunk. How have those Blurple Needlefish been working for you Chris?
Looking forward to throwing one very early Thursday morning!
Yeah he told me about that trip!
Always enjoy the reports and stories as you make us feel like we are almost with you.
Thanks for reading Ron ??
Looks like great week! I was out in the Bay to with fellow MFCC member, Kermit, we got plenty Macks on Sebiki, first time used it and fell in love with it . Kermit got his first keeper from my boat, good to be remembered for that:)
That’s great! Please tell Kermit congrats for me. Awesome to hear you guys are fishing together.
Awesome report. Thanks for sharing. The meet up with Nika is classic?
That was quite the surprise to say the least!
Im here on vacation I’d love to go out with you!!
Hi Mike! Send me an email at [email protected] if you haven’t already and I’ll see what I can do ??
Wow! What a beautiful week! Lots of great fish! Way to go!
It’s been a great week Leslie! Little breezy today but hopefully that wind will die down in time for the weekend ??
Good luck if you head out!