This weekend I spoke with Captain Cullen Lundholm of Cape Star Charters, who's been out on the water just about every day as of late. Since I have been mostly fishing from shore I was curious to see how Cullen has been doing out in his boat.
Fortunately for us Cullen is happy to contribute to MFCC and I was pumped up to hear that he's been doing well. Striped bass have been his main target species, but his crews have also been catching loads of scup and sea bass.
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Big Bass + Big North Wind
Today the wind is blowing out of the southwest, but for the past several days we have been experiencing winds out of the north and east. According to Cullen, this wind dispersed schools of bass which had been stacked up off Provincetown.
It took a little searching around but Cullen was eventually able to put his crews on some amazing fishing during the Friday-Saturday timeframe. ​Most of the fish were caught on live bait, in areas where Cullen rarely fishes.
These were all quality fish.
The largest bass he reported was 45 inches, with many more fish in the 30-40 inch range.
He's even chartered with several My Fishing Cape Cod groups, which is fantastic! I am very happy you guys were able to get into some good fish.
During these trips Cullen has not been snapping wire or trolling. The action has all been happening on relatively light tackle.
Spinning setups have been the name of the game, and in my opinion this is much more fun than trolling with wire.​
You can learn more about where the action has been taking place and the techniques being used by listening to this 5+ minute podcast I recorded with Cullen this weekend.
Click play to listen in:​
Scup + Sea Bass
Scup and sea bass are in throughout Buzzard's Bay, Vineyard Sound and Nantucket Sound.
These hard fighting and good eating bottom dwelling fish have been a good fall back when the winds and waves have been too rough to target big stripers. Often the action has been fast and furious which is good for younger anglers with a small amount of patience.​
Sea bass are also one of the prettiest fish off Cape Cod!​
Scup are also congregating in greater numbers in certain spots in Buzzard's Bay, Vineyard Sound and Nantucket Sound.
Most folks who've been targeting scup with Cullen are out there "for the meat." Scup are great eating but they are also a lot of fun to catch on light tackle.​
You can learn more about where the action has been taking place and the techniques being used by listening to this 5+ minute podcast I recorded with Cullen this weekend.
Click play to listen in:​
What do you think? Let me know by commenting below.
Ryan, what magic swimmer is your favorite?
That’s a tough one Mike. I really like all of the slow sinking magic swimmers. I’d have to say white is my favorite but all the colors seem to work pretty darn well.
Just a heads up on choosing a charter captain ….
Cullem is the man,the kid knows where what and how , genuinely a nice guy , we went with him this past weekend on a cold windy day, he put us on fish within minutes Nice ones too, so if looking for action no matter what the weather is doing try Cullem
Great to hear Bobby. I will pass the kind words along to Cullen as I am sure he will appreciate it!
If you plan on getting into some fish this weekend join MFCC, Ryan Collins has all the info & he is a great fisherman.
GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY
Hi there. After reading your reports, a group of us said screw it, took time off work and are driving down to the Cape from Canada with out boat in tow! We will be staying at Hyannis. Any suggestions as to where would be the best bet for boat stripers in the area or do we need to head to other towns? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Please email to [email protected]
Plenty of fish around Steve and I think the full version of the above podcast will help.
Lets cross our fingers for calm winds!
Is catching sea bass from shore possible?
Hmm…Now that’d be something to try.
I’ve caught them by accident in the Cape Cod Canal, but have never targeted them from shore.
Yeah I sold my boat last summer and want to catch some. I caught one in the canal last Thursday on a bucktail at first light. might have to look for a cheap charter to get out there. Also need to catch my first striper from a boat
Got it. Maybe we can organize a striper/seabass trip with Cullen.
If anyone else reading this is interested then def let me know.
Yes Ryan! I’m ready!! I’ve only fished 3 days so far this year with negative results. Tried the canal and upper Bass River..nada! Love to fish with you anywhere.
OK sounds good! I will keep everyone posted!
I have seen people targeting and catching sea bass from the pier on Nut Island. I have never seen large ones caught, but they do catch them. All using bait.
I am going out and taking some people fishing out of Falmouth Harbor on Wed, Thurs and Fri, Thoughts of where I should be fishing, normally I will be trolling or bottom fishing, it is too difficult to have 6 people cast. I would normally try Blue Fish around Poppy, Successuset or Cotuit, or off Osterville near lone rock do some black sea bass, but I would like your thoughts on any striper action or other places I should go, Thanks Bob
[email protected]
Hey Robert, I just sent you an email.
Have fun!