Andrew Burke
The first episode of season #2 of My Fishing Cape Cod TV aired this weekend. I hope you were able to tune-in!
Back during the summer of 2018, I had the opportunity to join the MFCC TV crew as they filmed this "live-lining mackerel for stripers" episode of My Fishing Cape Cod TV.
I met Ryan Collins and the film crew of Shane Uriot, Evan Schneider of Hop Top Films, and Tyler Adams of the Goose Hummock Shops for an afternoon of live-lining mackerel onboard Jason Mazzola's 23' Seacraft - the Sue-Sea-Q.
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It was a bright and sunny day in mid-June, when we launched at 1PM from the harbor shown in the below map.
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Instead of filming alongside the main crew, I boarded MFCC-member Aaron Perlmutter's boat with fellow MFCC member Ryan Turcotte. Our plan was to follow Ryan and Jason, capturing alternate angles of the action, and a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of MFCC TV.
It didn't take long to jig up all the mackerel we needed for the day. As soon as we reached the area shown below, the mackerel were very willing to hit our sabiki rigs.
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Ryan and Jason quickly filled the live well, and Aaron also managed to catch about two dozen macks in no time.
After loading up on mackerel we shot straight towards the striped bass fishing grounds shown in the map below.
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Within 30 minutes we arrived at a steep underwater drop off, where the bottom plummeted from 25 feet, to over 150 feet deep.
For the first 5 minutes, the sonar was completely empty. We searched right on top of the underwater drop off, but weren't marking any bass.
However, once we drifted over the drop off and into the shallower water, we marked a school of stripers stacked up like cordwood! Aaron, Ryan T. and myself shot down our live macks, and almost immediately tripled up!
Prior to our departure, Ryan said I could grab a rod and fish a bit. I'm glad he mentioned that, as this was my first time ever live-lining for striped bass. It's quite a rush hooking a bass on a live mackerel if you've never tried it before!
Ryan and Jason got on the school as well, and had takes on their live mackerel in no time. The main film crew captured the action up close, as I filmed from Aaron's boat.
Below is a video that provides a "behind-the-scenes" look at what went into filming this particular episode of MFCC TV.
Luckily, I even managed to get a shot of a striped bass blowing up on a mack right on the surface!
As the school moved along the drop off, staying on top of it was key. When we drifted even a few yards off the school, the amount of bites decreased noticeably.
Once Shane, Evan, and Tyler felt like they captured enough footage alongside Ryan, they hopped on board Aaron's boat and gathered more footage of the action.
The fish continued to cooperate after Shane, Evan and Tyler hopped on board. Evan focused on shooting the action with his cinema camera, while Tyler captured some awesome drone shots.
We fished for about 4 hours in total, with the bass biting very well the entire time. In all, it was an excellent day on the water. It's always great when the fish cooperating, especially while we have all the gear to document the action.
Many thanks to Aaron and his boating skills for helping us with this shoot as well! I hope you enjoyed the video and images. Thanks for reading, and tight lines!
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Andrew Burke
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Looks like you had a perfect day for filming (and catching). We usually live line for mackerel in Plymouth Harbor and shoot across the bay to the rips for stripers. Fishing in a bit deeper water we leave one mackerel free swimming at the top and drop one down to near the bottom with a 3 or 4 ounce weight. We have only been skunked one time this way in the past 8 years. We often caught 35+ inch stripers. The one time that we failed we put out umbrellas rigs and caught keepers while trolling – but that was not as much fun. One tip: Do not use mackerel that are too small if you are trolling as they spin rather than swim and will not attract a striper.
That’s a great tip Gene. Plus, even small bass don’t shy away from the larger macks!
Terrific show —- eager to get back on the water !!
Nice blog Andrew! I have had the opportunity to live line mackerel several times while on my brothers boat. It’s a great time catching many fish all at once on a sabiki rig! I kind of feel bad putting the Mackerel out on the hooks to get eaten BUT! after all it’s Striper we’re after! You had a beautiful day and a great filming adventure! Fun to see the behind the scene footage! Thanks for sharing! AND Yeah!! Pats! On to Kansas City!
Glad you enjoyed Leslie! Feeling the mackerel get eaten by a striper is quite a rush. Hoping spring arrives early this season!
I’m with ya! I am getting spoiled by this no snow/sunny day winter (so far!) Andrew I have enjoyed your posts on freshwater fishing. I need a lot of help in that area! I also followed one of your links and ended up on your YouTube site. I loved your entry on #1 plug for 2018 (I think?) the Super Strike! Coincidentally, My brother gave me one for Christmas this year! Can’t wait to try it!
Perfect June day. January 13th at 16 degrees. Love New England. GO PATS!!! Thank you Andrew.
Can’t wait until those days return! Thanks Jake!