If you read my report on the squid blitz we found in Cape Cod Bay on June 29th, you know that morning was unlike anything I’d seen in years — tens of thousands of striped bass corralling millions of foot-long squid across miles of open water between Wellfleet and Provincetown.
Throughout that memorable trip on the 29th I had a camera in the water. And what I got on film is something I’ve been trying to capture ever since one of my sponsors, Monomoy Tackle, put me up to the challenge.
A Word of Caution First
Here's the honest truth: when striped bass are locked onto a specific bait — in this case, squid — throwing something else at them is usually a losing battle. The fish get selective. Locked in. A paddletail swimbait, no matter how good, is not typically what I'd reach for in that situation. Walking the dog across the surface using Docs, the Hogy Dogwalker and Specters were working a lot better than the paddles during this trip.
But after catching a few dozen bass on topwater, I decided to try and get underwater footage of stripers eating the paddles — the opportunity was too good to pass up.
The Setup
I rigged a WaterWolf in-line underwater camera about three feet in front of a 5" Monomoy Tackle Paddletail — fishing the Dark and Stormy and Lemon colors, both in 1.5oz. I cast toward the edges of the topwater blitzes and reeled the paddletail just beneath the surface, camera rolling the whole time.
What the Camera Caught
Plenty of bass gave the paddletail a look and turned away — no surprise, given the awkward camera that was rigged in front of it. But enough fish committed that I ended up hooking four and landing two, before one of the bass broke the camera, which effectively put an end to my filming session.
The best sequence is one I'll be replaying for a while: a bass rising from below in a nearly vertical position, fully committing to the paddletail as it engulfs the lure.
Other fish approached from behind — trailing the paddletail before committing to the bite, a perspective you almost never get to see from above the surface.
Quite a few bass chomped down hard on the paddletails, some made swings and misses, and a few fish appeared to get competitive over them.
However, the most impressive images I captured during this trip were of a couple of huge bass that took a peak at the lure without striking. The physique of these fish was impressive. They were incredibly well fed bass with bellies full of squid. I would estimate these fish to 35+ pounds.
A Morning I Won't Stop Thinking About
Between the squid blitz itself and now this footage, June 29th might be the single best morning I've had on the water in years. I've got more footage still coming from that day — so if you haven't already, keep an eye on the blog and forum for what's next.
In the meantime, I hope you have a fantastic week and are able to find time to sneak away and do some fishing. It's the middle of summer on Cape Cod and life is good!
Tight lines! 🎣
Wow! Ryan, seeing that bass attack a 5” Monomoy Tackle Paddletail is amazing! You consistently capture and share with us great videos of what happens under the water! I am fishing in the Block Island Inshore Fishing Tournament this weekend and I am psyched to use those paddle tails for stripers @CousinEddy!