Fishing With MFCC Member “Frank Zappa”

I woke up naturally at 3:30AM, which was 15 minutes before my alarm was set to go off. Funny how that happens so often when I know there is a good chance of catching fish!

The drive down the mid-Cape highway at such an hour is always a pleasure. With no one on the road I made great time. At 4:45AM I met up with “Frank Zappa” and by 5AM we had his small tin boat in the water.

If you’ve been active in the MFCC forum then you may of noticed that “Frank Zappa” (which is an alias for this gentleman’s real name) knows a thing or two about fishing on Cape Cod.

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This would be my first time fishing with "Frank" and I was quite excited to see what would happen. His 14 foot tin boat was surprisingly spacious and is perfect for fishing Cape Cod, as long as the winds are calm.

The seas were flat and the horizon was filled with bright pinks and oranges. We had a spectacular morning at our disposal and the only way it could get better was if the fish cooperated.

Before I knew it Frank pulled the tin boat into a little nook where he’s done well in the past. The tide was moving quick and the area felt very fishy. We started casting and kept our eyes peeled for any follows, foot prints, swirls or other signs of life.

We cast for the first 10 minutes without any action. Then at around 5:30AM Frank had the first fish of the morning follow his plug right to the side of the tin boat. Soon after I too had a healthy size bass swirl on my plug at the last second, just before I lifted the lure out of the water.

Often times striped bass travel in schools, and based off the swirls and follows, we figured our chances of getting bit were pretty good. After several more follows and a couple “swings and misses”, Frank hooked and landed the first fish of the day.

He quickly unhooked the bass and released her back into the water before I was able to snap a photo. However I can tell you it was a nice size fish, probably close to 35 inches long.

A couple of casts later and my plug got slammed! I set the hook and was on instantly. The bass was no world record but she put up a great fight on my light 7.5 foot rod.

Eventually we began moving around and exploring other nooks and crannies that were perfect for the small boat we were fishing in. Frank kept saying how surprised he was by the lack of fish, but I thought the fishing was pretty darn good.

Every so often a bass would follow our plugs, swirl on the plugs or gently “bump” our plugs. The bass were having a hard time committing and we were having a hard time hooking up.

I'd say we successfully landed just 25% of the fish that hit our lures. Yet every so often a "dumb" fish would take down the plug and get hooked.

Eventually I switched to a small Guppy pencil and began to “walk the dog” across the surface. I worked the plug for a while and watched a couple good size fish chase the plug right to the boat. Eventually one of the “dumbest” fish of the bunch decided to make his move and demolished the pencil popper right on the surface.

The hit was incredible!

Whitewater shot off in all directions and line began peeling from my reel. This was by far my largest fish of the morning and I made sure to take my time bringing her to the boat.

After a tremendous fight I had her next to the tinny. I reached down to secure a lip-lock on the fish when the bass rolled onto her side. I touched the bass with my fingers just as the hook pulled from her lip and within an instant the fish disappeared beneath the boat and swam away.

I couldn’t believe it!

Well actually I could definitely believe it, because hooks pop next to the boat all the time. Regardless I had a lot of fun reeling in that fish and both Frank and I agreed the bass was about 36 inches long.

After catching a couple schoolies Frank moved us yet again to another one of his honey holes. We cast our plugs towards a large exposed rock and BAM! - a keeper size striper came hurdling out of the water and did a 360 in mid-air.

Of course I somehow missed the hook set on that fish, which was a common occurrence for me all trip long. Frank tossed his plug into the same spot and BAM! another keeper-size fish crushed his plug right in front of us.

These hits were epic, and by now I was getting severely out-fished!

For whatever reason this school of bass was very aggressive, whereas the fish earlier in the trip were somewhat lethargic. Go figure!

For 20 or so minutes each cast we made around this particular rock produced at least a bite or a follow. Most of the bass were keeper-size, which made the experience that much more exciting.

By now the sun was high in the sky. Frank took me to a few more very fishy areas before we decided to call it a trip. I visually saw one striper that was probably in the 20 pound range, but we weren’t able to fool that finicky fish into biting.

Final tally between the two of us was around a dozen fish caught, with half of them being keeper-size. The largest bass was probably 36 inches.

Overall I had a tremendous time fishing with “Frank Zappa” and I look forward to fishing with him again sometime soon. Thank you Frank for a terrific experience!

Based off the action this weekend, I feel we will all have a great chance of success this coming week...

MFCC members can click the orange download buttons below to learn more about the type of area fished during this trip, and the most productive plugs and techniques used.