Ryan Collins
This past Saturday morning was dead calm and foggy. At 5AM we had about 300 yards of visibility as I motored my boat towards the bait grounds.
It took us about 30 minutes to catch enough bait for the trip. By 6AM we had about 40 frisky live baits in the well.
I was fishing with my good friend Dick Bruce and his sons David and Robert. David (who's pictured below) is also a member of My Fishing Cape Cod. ?
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We arrived at a protected cove a little before 7AM. There were no visible signs of stripers in the area, so I decided we would start by slow trolling the live baits.
Slow trolling can be a very effective way to locate action. It took us a little while but eventually we started getting bites from small fish.
Members of MFCC can click here to learn what type of bait we used during this trip.
Slow trolling was getting us bites, but we had a lot of trouble hooking fish, because they were so small.
Then suddenly around 8AM a much larger swirl appeared as Dick was retrieving his bait. We all watched as a 34 inch bass turned and swallowed the bait no more than 30 feet off the stern!
The bass was hooked right in the corner of the jaw with the trustworthy size 6/0 Trokar non-offset circle hook. I love these circle hooks when fishing live bait!
The schoolies had been replaced by stripers in the 34-38 inch class. We might of caught one fish that was 40 inches, but I didn't bother breaking out the tape measure.
Every single striper was hooked in the lips or corner of the jaw. I believe the 6/0 Trokar non-offset circle hook is the main reason why.
The guys also did a good job of setting the hook by slowly reeling the line tight (which is perfect for fishing with circle hooks) as opposed to the old school way of giving the rod a big jerk.
Between 7AM-10:30AM we caught and released a half dozen fish in the 34-38 inch class, plus a few more that were smaller. Photos were taken quickly, and all fish were carefully revived and released in good condition.
We capped off the trip by catching a half dozen monster black sea bass. Two of the black sea bass actually ate our live baits which were intended for big stripers!
All in all it was a great trip with an awesome crew!
If you are reading this report right now, then please check back later tonight or tomorrow. I will post more details about the trip and the techniques used by tonight or tomorrow morning.
Tight lines! 
Last Saturdays fishing trip with Ryan was so wonderful. It was a great opportunity to bond with my terrific sons, Robert and David and catch up with my good friend Ryan. Ryan is fisherman with a wealth of knowledge. He has worked hard at his craft and deserves all the success he has achieved . He put us on fish right away, and we had a day we will never forget. What more could a father ask, than to spend a successful day fishing with his sons and a very good friend. Thank you Ryan. Dick Bruce
I’m pumped you guys had such a good time. I was a little nervous at first with all that fog, but fortunately everything worked out! Thanks again for a fun trip ?