Ryan Collins
On Friday April 15th, I received a firsthand report of migratory stripers being caught on Cape Cod.
My source is as reliable and honest a fisherman as they come, plus he had caught the bass himself.
I instantly felt inspired to fish. However, fishing was (at least for the moment) out of the question.
Scouring the coastline of Cape Cod for my first migratory schoolies of the year would have to wait until after yesterday's Season Kick-Off Breakfast.
I pushed my dreams of sea-lice covered stripers​ to the back of my mind, and prepared for what would turn out to be an awesome MFCC event.
More...
The Breakfast
I want to give a huge thanks to the 80+ My Fishing Cape Codders who attended yesterday's Season Kick-Off Breakfast.
As always I really enjoyed meeting new members and getting to know each of you on a more personal level.
We also raffled off some impressive items including a Van Staal reel, guided fishing trips and an autographed photo from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Overall we raised $890 for charity which brings our overall charitable giving total to ​$3,556. Nice work!
At the end of the breakfast several dozen My Fishing Cape Codders stuck around to watch our first screening of our new show, Surfcasting the World.
This first episode recaps what it's like to surfcast for stripers along the outer beaches of Cape Cod. You can watch the trailer by clicking play below.
Episode #2 will recap this past December's Costa Rica surfcasting adventure. I will keep you posted with further developments.
Overall this breakfast was a great success. I cannot thank you all enough for the support you have given me and the My Fishing Cape Cod community.​
Time to Fish
By 12:30pm the breakfast had ended and I was ready to go fishing.
Before hitting the beach Lauren and I stopped by Cafe Chew in Sandwich for a quick bite to eat and a much needed ice coffee.
I made sure to tell our friend Tobin (co-owner of Cafe Chew) that after 6 years I had finally mustered up the courage to ask Lauren to marry me.
He was very happy to hear the news, and just like everyone else I have told, Tobin thought it was about time I popped the question!​
By now the sun was shining brightly and the relentless wind of the past several days was finally beginning to die down.
I wrestled with the decision of where to fish. I knew there were groups of schoolies ravaging bait along certain sections of Cape Cod​, but I was unsure exactly where to go.
Since we were in the area, I figured it would be worth swinging by Canal Bait & Tackle to ask Bruce about the latest reports.
Sure enough Bruce had also heard the same reports I had heard about fresh schoolies filtering into the Cape region.
I sipped on my ice coffee, feeling very optimistic about the afternoon and evening of fishing which lay ahead. ​
Lauren and I now had a strategy in place. We hopped back in the car and began our drive east, to fish some of the most expansive flats on Cape Cod.
The Wide Open Beach
If you've been following the blog this spring/winter you know I have been searching Cape Cod's estuaries and back bays for monster holdovers.
I know that strategy would still work. However on this trip I had a craving to get back onto the beach, and feel the crisp air and salty spring breeze.​
Your odds of success right now fishing these "wide open beach" type area​s are definitely not as good as the estuaries.
Yet there have already been reports of small schools of very small stripers feeding along the beachfront. I was intrigued and wanted to check it out.
Lauren and I hiked along the sand and enjoyed being surrounded by the crystal clear turquoise waters typical of the flats.​ The tide was dead low.
​I kept my eyes open for birds and shadows of stripers in the shallows. It felt so good and refreshing to be back on the sand.
​We knew our odds of finding stripers right now on the flats were low. It's still incredibly early in the season to be fishing these types of areas.
Nevertheless we marched on, and just enjoyed being outside on such a gorgeous spring day.
Finally I decided we ought to make a big move to another area before it got any later in the day. The spot I had in mind would probably be more productive, but it required a 45 minute drive.
We needed to leave now if we wanted to get there in time. I packed up my equipment and settled in for the long drive which I hoped would pay off.
Hi Ryan,
Nice post on the micro-schoolies. You have a knack for writing.
The breakfast was terrific. Good job. Reconnected with some friends, met some new ones, learned some things, had a nice chat with Lauren, enjoyed the video and walked away with a new reel. Pretty good morning.
Next time you are in Café Chew, check out the Palette Gallery next door. I have some paintings in there.
Tony
As always great to see you at the breakfast Tony, and congrats on the Van Staal!
Wow I had no idea you had paintings in the Palette Gallery! That is awesome. I will definitely check them out.
I have been walking my dog on a nearby beach when the weather will permit. . Usually at least three times a week. Several times I have seen birds working something Not sure what it was, That being said this past Sunday. there were two sets of birds going crazy not too far off shore and unlike other sightings they were moving down the beach rather quickly . Who knows what they were chasing , but in this case I pretty sure it was Bass
Nice Bill. I would not be the least bit surprised if those birds were working over bass.
I actually was sent a photo the other day of a nice flock of birds working over busting stripers. Great sight to see.
Maybe bring the rod the next time you take the dog for a walk? lol
Ryan, what a great way to end the day! I also enjoyed the breakfast as it was fun to see familiar faces and meet new ones.
Always excellent to have you at these breakfasts Ron. I really appreciate it!
Hey Ryan, just wanted to say my wife susan and i both enjoyed our first mfcc breakfast.Met some great people.Sat with bob,vito, bill and his son.I believe vito won the Skype chat .Now it’s time to chase some schoolies.Thanks again
Great to have you there Chuck!
Yes Vito won the Skype/Phone call which should come in handy for his trip to the Cape in June. Looking forward to helping him make the most of his fishing time.
The schoolies are definitely in. Good luck out there and tell Susan hello!
Hi Ryan
First I got to say the Breakfast was fantastic.
I got to meet many other bass fisherman, and talk to you about how entertaining your articles are.
I did want to remind you to get the COA for that beautiful Tom Brady picture I won. Thanks again for the great time.
Thanks George
Great to have you at the breakfast George! I am pumped you won the Tom Brady prize.
My cousin Kevin is in Florida but I texted him and he should have the notary ready for you sometime soon.
Could you please email me your mailing address? ([email protected])
Cheers!
I was down yesterday and caught a few fresh schoolies. I made sure to stop by and tell Bruce they were in. Can’t wait to get back down Wednesday for some more light tackle fun.
Very nice Dan!
I’m hearing right now from a few other members who also caught fish yesterday.
Seems like it was a good day for a lot of folks.
From the pictures I can tell you I was at that spot. About a hour or so after the turn of the tide I was able to catch about a dozen of them. One of my favorite early season spots. Maybe I’ll see you there sometime.
No kidding, that is good to hear.
I figured some folks who know the area would be able to figure it out, which is fine by me!
You don’t drive a red truck by any chance do you?
Nope it was the first spot you were at. I parked up the street and rode my bike in. I have a black trailblazer. I was out of there by 11:30.
Way to go! Spring is finally here!!
Yes sir, spring has sprung!
A couple of things….
The breakfast was awesome. I met new friends from Boston and from Orleans at the table we sat at. Good conversation and hopes of meeting up and exchanging fishing trips with each other in our respectful fishing grounds.
Thank you for sorting out my account login and password issues….nice to be back on board.
I couldn’t fish at all last season….fresh or salt water. I had 2 shoulder surgeries that kept me sidelined. I have a few years on you but like yourself I’ve been fishing since I was very young, so to miss a season was painful in and of itself…….I’m so looking forward to getting after it again this year…
Thanks again….Bill
That is awesome to hear Bill. I was very happy to have you at the breakfast, and great to hear that you are “back in actin” after a season on the DL.
I think 2016 is going to be a great year. Keep me/us posted with how things are going and have fun!