Mid-May is a phenomenal time of the year for Cape Cod surfcasting. The beaches and estuaries of Nantucket Sound are particularly good places to target the first keepers of the season. Based on yesterday's fishing trip, I think it's safe to say that slightly larger bass are filtering into the Nantucket Sound area with greater regularity.

I met up with MFCC blog member and good friend Andrew Massard at 4:15AM yesterday morning. Andrew caught the first striped bass of his life just last year, and has since been hooked. Like me, Andrew has most certainly caught a case of "the fishing bug."

We were both hoping to find some solid striper action to help get our minds off the tough Bruins loss of the night before. Thus far in this young season the largest bass I have caught has been 28 inches, which is fine by me, but I was hoping for something a bit larger. Therefore we opted to head to the southside of Cape Cod and fish a few Nantucket Sound estuaries that I felt would have some larger fish.

Bucktailing Nantucket Sound Stripers

We arrived at our first location and were greeted by dense fog and a very brisk southwest wind. Visibility was 75 yards at the absolute most. Despite the tough conditions, a few hardy anglers departed via boat off into the fog bank. I wonder if they were able to find their way to wherever there were planning on going.

The outgoing tide was moving rather quickly, which can be ideal for bucktail jigging the bottom. I really enjoy casting bucktails around the openings of estuaries and inlets. I basically use the same technique as jigging the Canal, just with lighter tackle. When fish are holding along the bottom in areas of current, a well placed bucktail jig is often the best way to coax them into biting.

Andrew and I logged in about 30 minutes of fishing time without so much as a sniff, before I decided to make a move slightly farther upcurrent. Andrew stayed put in his original spot and opted to cast a Storm shad while I stuck to the bucktail.

I suppose it was a smart decision because before I knew it Andrew had a bent rod with a bass on the end of his line. I on the other hand couldn't even scratch up a bite!

Andrew was a couple hundred yards away from me so I wasn't able to snap a photo. Nevertheless he was on the board with a schoolie. After another 15 fishless minutes for yours truly I decided it was time to make a move.

Fishing Rips from Shore

We still had a couple hours of the outgoing tide to work with when we arrived at our second inlet of the day. A nice rip forms at the opening of this particular estuary, which makes it a really ideal place to bucktail jig. Despite no real signs of life (birds, bait etc.) I had a good feeling as Andrew and I began working the area.

Before fishing the rip we hit up an exposed sandbar a ways back in the estuary that provided us with easy casting access to a deep navigation channel. I think any spot where you can cast into a navigation channel from shore is a good spot to try. Yesterday this area was vacant, but I am pretty convinced that at some point this season I'll luck out and catch some nice fish from this particular sand bar.

With the tide winding down we made our way to the inlet and the rip that I was so eager to fish. The current was absolutely cranking so I made sure to be extra cautious with each step I took. This was not a good area to fall in.

A nice sand bar that is only fish-able during the end of the outgoing extended down along a rocky jetty. There were small standing waves beginning to develop in the center of the channel, which was a clue as to the structure that lied beneath. Anytime you see standing waves, there is a high likelihood that there is significant structure on the bottom. This structure can attract bait and bass and is a good place to cast a line.

Biggest Bass of the Season

So with all this running through my mind I reared back and fired my bucktail out into the current. After letting it free fall for five seconds I started my retrieve, and slowly began pumping the rod up and down, bringing the jig to life.

On the third or fourth pump of the rod I felt the hardest hit of the season, my rod doubled over and line began peeling from my small spinning setup.

Within an instant I knew this was the largest bass I have hooked all season. It felt solid right from the initial bite. Yet the racing current only made the fish feel larger.

With the braided line I could feel every head shake and pump of his tail. As I brought the bass in closer to shore he began thrashing violently, vehemently trying to spit the hook. I just hoped that I had gotten a solid hookset, because this fish was determined to not be caught.