Ryan Collins
Yesterday I brought two members of My Fishing Cape Cod with me on my boat the Miss Loretta, with the goal of putting them on some nice stripers, while also teaching them how to fish certain areas on Cape Cod.
This trip was part of the limited number of educational charters I am offering this season to My Fishing Cape Cod members. These trips are a great opportunity to not just put some fish in the boat, but to also learn about different techniques and spots.
For this trip I had two longtime members onboard, Ron Rudowsky of Plymouth, MA and Drew Hamilton of Connecticut. Both of these guys have been members of MFCC for several years and I was excited to finally get a chance to fish with them.
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At 5:15am yesterday morning we all met at the boat ramp pictured below.
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Launching from this ramp would put us in a good position to intercept some quality striped bass, while also allowing me to teach Ron and Drew about some of the areas they are most interested in learning how to fish.
We departed the ramp and headed out of the harbor a half mile long boulder field which routinely holds striped bass during late spring, summer and fall. It's a consistent spot, and I explained to Ron and Drew how they could troll a tube and worm along the lobster pot line or cast eels into the rocks.
Next we headed out to 30 feet of water where we stopped and made a couple of drifts for mackerel. We dropped our sabiki rigs beneath the boat and put a few mackerel in the live well, however the mackerel were scarce. Perhaps we could of found more mackerel if we headed out to deeper water, but I didn't want to burn any more time fishing for bait, so I had the guys reel in their lines and we proceeded to the next spot.
Big Stripers On Topwater
We cruised for another mile to get to the next spot, where I showed Ron and Drew an underwater dropoff where I like to fish for big bass at night with eels during the summer. I explained to the guys how the current moves over the dropoff (which drops from 20 to 40 feet in just a matter of a few yards) and told them the time of year that usually fishes best at this spot. We probably could of fished the dropoff and had a chance of catching a striper or two, but I wanted to bring them to a more productive area before the sun rose too high in the sky.
I pointed the bow of my boat to the east and began to cruise at 10 miles per hour, scanning the horizon for any birds or other signs of life. I told Ron and Drew I was going to show them another very long and productive dropoff where you can almost always expect to find at least a few stripers during the month of June. Yet before we even arrived at the spot, I spotted a huge swirl and big fish crushing some sort of bait right on the surface. I dropped the engine into neutral and told the guys to cast plugs towards the commotion, and Ron got tight on his first cast!
For the next hour we made long drifts throughout the area and caught stripers from 16 inches, all the way up to 44.5 inches.
Below is a map of the general area where we found the best action. You will have to be logged-in as a My Fishing Cape Cod member in order to view the map.
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The topwater action was great and we quickly caught at least 15 fish with quite a few of them being "keeper" size. However I commend the guys for releasing every single fish we caught, and for crushing the barbs on their hooks.
The most interesting catch (aside from Drew's massive 44.5 incher!) was this striper caught by Ron. Notice the deep wounds on the top of the striper's head. Did a seal grab this striper?
A seal bite was the conclusion we came to, but I'm interested in hearing what you think, so let me know by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post.
Different Techniques & New Areas
The main goal of this trip was to show Ron and Drew as many prime fishing spots as I could within the 5 hour time frame of the trip. In addition I wanted to show them several different fishing techniques which they could effectively use at each spot.
By the end of the morning we had personally visited 5 different areas. In addition I pointed out another half dozen or more spots on a chart, and told them what tides fish best at each area.
We also caught stripers of all shapes and sizes using 4 different techniques including:
Of course using topwater plugs was by far the most exciting! Just check out these shots of nice fish whacking spook plugs right on top.
Click to view all Gear & Equipment used during this trip
Overall it was a fantastic trip and I really enjoyed fishing with Ron and Drew! I am having a blast this season fishing with more MFCC members than ever before. It might take me a while to get back to you, but if you are a member of MFCC and you would like schedule a trip this summer or fall, then please send a message to [email protected] and I'll see what I can do.
In the meantime I hope you have a great weekend! Looks like we'll have some big northeast winds blowing through the region over the next few days. Who knows for sure how the wind change will affect the fishing. It might mess things up for those of you fishing from boats, but it could also turn on the bite for anyone willing to brave it out from shore or at the canal.
Tight lines!
About the author
Well, I may have solved the mystery of the 2 holes in the head of the bass I caught. While fishing yesterday I hooked a ball in the tail & head while trolling. When I removed the hood in the bass’s head, there were two holes, just like the bass caught on the Trip with Ryan. Go figure…
Thanks Ron! They sure are a tough fish to be able to recover from such injuries!
Gonna use this advice Saturday. Looking forward to trying it!
Gluck!!!
It was fun fishing with Ryan and getting to know Drew, who is a pretty darn good fisherman himself. Besides catching some nice fish you always learn something on every trip. I wanted to fish Billingsgate Shoal and Ryan’s knowledge of the area will save me time when I next visit the Shoal, in my boat. I also learned some of the finer tips about catching mackerel and live lining bai, as well as the other methods we tried. I personally think these educational charters are the best, from any person new to the sport up to an old salt. If you’re thinking about it, give it a try…
Thanks for the kind words Ron and thanks again for a fun trip! Hope to fish with you again soon. Tight lines!
Nice fish in the bay, 28 to 33 inches seem to be the size,vertical jigging working.
Some big mackerel as well.
Terrific to hear, thanks Flip ??
Great trip Ryan and Ron, thanks again. I’ve learned a lot from the MFCC site over the past few years, and having the opportunity to spend several hours on the boat with Ryan was another excellent learning (and catching) experience. Ryan is an excellent teacher and he does it in such a way where you don’t feel silly for not already knowing how to do something – whether it is applying a certain technique, or simply forgetting to use your thumb to guide line back on to the reel properly. I learned 2-3 new techniques and now have a lot more confidence in my ability to find and catch fish. It was also nice to meet another MFCC member. Ron is a solid fisherman who was also willing to share his knowledge and experience. It was a pleasure to meet and fish with both of these guys.
It was great to have you onboard Drew and maybe we can do it again sometime in the future. I really appreciate having you as a member of MFCC! Tight lines ?
I’ll be there tomorrow:)
Any luck Igor?
By the way, nice derby catch! I just added your fish to the leaderboard > https://myfishingcapecod.com/derby/