Cape Cod Surf

[Rip Tide]

Did a bit a surf fishing this week
The "common knowledge" is that the stripers avoid the Cape Cod front beaches due to the abundance of seals.
We found that wasn't really the case.
There were hundreds of seals where we fished but also enough bass to keep us busy through all stages of the tide.
Like watching the birds to locate fish, the seals hung out where the bait schools were. And where there was bait, there were fish.
And in fact, the bait was so plentiful that there were whales feeding in the surf right along with the seals and fish.
At lease 3 different ones. A mother and calf one day and a single whale the next.
I only got a few legal fish (better than 28"), but most were of a respectable size rather than the "dinks" caught over the last few years.

 

[plecain]

Looks good. Nice clean surf.
Around me the east wind has pushed so much weed in that it's nearly unfishable on the beach.
The marshes and tide rivers are still good.

 

[Rip Tide]

Looks good. Nice clean surf.
Around me the east wind has pushed so much weed in that it's nearly unfishable on the beach.
The marshes and tide rivers are still good.

No mung at all.
A strong west wind to 30 mph probably had a lot to do with that.
That's an advantage of the Cape. Plenty of places to fish in every compass direction.

 

[desmobob]

Last week, I returned home from two weeks on the Cape. The number of fish we caught was wonderful, but we had trouble finding the bigger fish.

I had one day at Morris Island when I gave up fishing for the day early because my hands were cramping up from fighting and lipping stripers. We had a couple of unusual bi-catches besides the usual shad... one of my buddies caught a sea robin and another got a summer flounder. No bluefish were hooked and I'm guessing the cold spring weather had delayed their arrival.

I'll second your opinion on fly fishing the Cape: you can always find a beach and a tide to fly fish, regardless of the wind direction. It's a wonderful place for a fly caster.

Tight lines,
Bob

 

[Rip Tide]

Last week, I returned home from two weeks on the Cape. The number of fish we caught was wonderful, but we had trouble finding the bigger fish.

I had one day at Morris Island when I gave up fishing for the day early because my hands were cramping up from fighting and lipping stripers. We had a couple of unusual bi-catches besides the usual shad... one of my buddies caught a sea robin and another got a summer flounder. No bluefish were hooked and I'm guessing the cold spring weather had delayed their arrival.

We fished Morris Island 2 evenings this past week. That's a "must fish" location for me as I once caught "a 40" there. Mid day, dead low tide.
Great place on moon tides as well.
Not that good this past week however, but still there were some fish.

 

[desmobob]

We fished Morris Island 2 evenings this past week. That's a "must fish" location for me as I once caught "a 40" there. Mid day, dead low tide.
Great place on moon tides as well.
Not that good this past week however, but still there were some fish.

The Chatham area is where my best memories of striper fishing are from; I've been fishing the Cape every spring for 24 years now, and Chatham is where I started and still fish often.

Fishing South Beach from the Chatham Light all the way down to the southway on the inside and surf side was my favorite thing to do (I got my first 40 on the surf side, way down near Monomoy). The changes in South Beach this winter were very interesting to see and I'm hoping the effects on fishing will be positive.

I'll be kayaking from Morris I. over to South Beach next spring; I didn't bring my kayak this year.

Tight lines,
Bob

 

[Rip Tide]

I'll be kayaking from Morris I. over to South Beach next spring; I didn't bring my kayak this year.

We've fished in the "bathtub" out of the 'yaks often enough, but my buddy won't go all the way out to Monomoy any longer.
Last time out we hit rough water on the way back and it was a "hold on to your potatoes" experience.
We always do really well in the grass beds of upper Pleasant Bay. Pahwah Point, Hog and Sampson Islands

 

[desmobob]

My buddy with the house at the Cape is bringing his Panga Skiff down to his new home in NC next season, so we'll be doing a lot more kayaking at the Cape in the spring.

My 'yak is easy to spot:



See you on the water!
Bob