I feel it’s safe to say that I have surpassed the 1,000 cast mark so far this season, and despite a couple nasty wind knots, I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of those 1,000 casts.
I will be the first to admit, however, that casting is much more fun when I have a legitimate chance at catching a striper. So far during this young Cape Cod fishing season, the striper bite has been almost nonexistent, because the water’s just so darn cold.
So I was quite delighted to feel the warmth of the sun this past weekend, and I had an inkling that this warm spell may be the jolt that the stripers needed in order to finally make their move into the bays, harbors, estuaries and coves of Cape Cod.
Yesterday I headed back into the marsh, desperately hoping to put at least a small bend in the rod. To my delight the fish cooperated!
Cape Cod Fishing Report May 6 | They Finally Showed Up!
I actually felt hot as I stepped out into the sun. Boy oh boy was this a nice change of pace!
My idea was to fish a particular bend in a creek that looked fishy. I had never before caught bass here, but during a past trip I noticed that deep, dark mud which seems to attract early spring schoolies.
It's the sort of mud that almost pulls your boot off when you step in it.
Almost instantly I saw mummichogs, which are a favorite prey item of small striped bass. Mummichogs often reside along the edges of estuaries and enjoy darting into and out of reeds and other debris.
I “matched the hatch” so to speak, by casting a 3in Storm Shad.
These small lures are deadly on schoolies. Just be sure to crimp down the barb, because even micro-size striped bass can easily inhale the lure.
Fish On!
I made a few casts before deciding to venture a bit farther back into the marsh. I noticed some terns diving across the channel, which I figured could only be a good sign.
I saw no swirls or other obvious signs of stripers, yet I felt confident and knew I would have a good chance at hooking up, as long as I just kept on casting.
Then without warning, as is often the case, I felt a solid bump, set the hook, and was on with my 2nd striped bass of the season!
