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Cape Cod &the Islands
May 2nd, 2003 |
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| FishWire Coordinator: | Dave Churbuck |
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Let the Games Begin!
Welcome to the first FishWire of the 2003 season for Cape Cod and the Islands. This marks the eighth season that Reel-Time has published weekly fishing reports for the Cape Cod region, making this one of the oldest web fishing reports in existence! This also marks the return of me, David Churbuck, as FishWire coordinator for the Cape Cod region. I am indebted to those FishWire coordinators who covered the region for Reel-Time the past few seasons, most notably Dave Peros, the well-known guide and fishing writer at On the Water Magazine and the Falmouth Enterprise. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the way FishWires work, let me back up and give some insight into the reporting process: FishWires are meant to be a weekly report on fishing conditions around the region. We divide the Cape & Islands into eight sub-regions. They are: Buzzards Bay (Marion to Falmouth), Falmouth & the Elizabeth Islands (Falmouth to Cuttyhunk), The South Side (Woods Hole to Chatham), Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, The Outer Beaches (including Chatham & Monomoy), and the North Side (Cape Cod Bay). Each sub-region is sponsored by the guides and shops that serve that area. Those sponsors are the primary source of information for their region. I strongly suggest you contact them by email or phone for more current reports as your fishing plans dictate. Please patronize our sponsors! They are the reason Reel-Time has grown to become the number one saltwater fly fishing site on the Internet. If you are a guide, shop, or fishing related business that would like to sponsor a region, please let me know. Our reasonable annual rates include a custom Reel-Time website for your business, exclusive rights to post your logo in our reports and forums, and association with the leading name in internet fishing!
I also will draw on our users' reports as well -- known collectively as Reel-Timers -- those reports are found in our forums and are, by far, the most up-to-date reports available. Please email me your reports directly. I love digital photos of you and your catch! You can email at david@churbuck.com. The deadline for the weekly report is Wednesday night. Finally, to conclude the housekeeping part of this year's inaugural report, these reports will run until the end of October, maybe into November, depending on how the fish are running. I want to stress one thing: Reel-Time is not in the business of giving away fishing spots. We ask that Reel-Timers not be too specific in their postings, giving away directions that could overstress a spot with limited access. Remember -- FishWires are written about past activity, and like all fishing reports, are about "yesterday's fish." If you want to succeed today or tomorrow, I strongly recommend using our search tool to located past reports for this point in the season, and, keeping a personal fishing log so you can create your own database of what worked where and when. It's my job, as editor, to make sure the reports are as accurate and verifiable as possible, but again, don't expect GPS coordinates or maps. Everybody has a leading indicator of fish. For shad fishermen it's the blooming of the shad bush. For striper fishermen, past rules of thumb have included everything from tax day, the first Red Sox home game, the appearance of the first dandelions on the lawn .... For me, here in Cotuit on the South Side of the Cape, it's the squid boats off of Wianno and the return of the Arctic and Least Terns to their nesting grounds on Dead Neck. Right now we're more than two weeks past tax day, the Sox are in full swing, the dandelions are in bloom, and I've seen squid boats and terns in the past week. There are definitely fish around, so get out there and catch one! This weekend ought to be the real season opener for a lot of
Bluefish? No reports yet. Water temps are still in the 40s -- right on the cusp of the 50s -- in Nantucket Sound. I caught a bluefish before a striper last year -- around May 3 (first time that has ever happened), but generally, I don't expect to hear about or catch a bluefish until May 10th or 13th. Okay. That said, let's get into the first report. Don't forget to send me your own reports, and until next week...
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As this is "The Internet Journal of Saltwater Fly Fishing" our reports will focus on what the activity has been that is of interest to fly fishermen. That doesn't mean that reports from bait fishermen, spin fishers, or any alternative method aren't welcome -- it's just that we rather focus on what patterns and presentations are working for fly fishers than general techniques incorporating bait and conventional tackles. We aren't purists however, and if the occasional eel or chunk of bait creeps into the reports, that's a reflection of the fact that your humble coordinator likes to live-line the occasional pogie or herring too.
Cape Cod Regions
| NEWS |
| After a long, nasty winter, people are getting a slow start on the spring season. My boat isn't in the water yet. How about yours? Across the region, anglers are starting to make their way to the shore and wet some lines in the hope of catching a fresh striper. What's the definition of "fresh?" Well, anybody can catch a striper pretty much any day of the winter if they hit the right creek, and fish low and slow in the holes. Fresh around here is defined as a fish with sea lice, little parasites that fish pick up in the open ocean during their migration. You'll know you've landed a migrating fresh fish from the brightness of its scales, the lack of any sores, and the presence of the tell-tale lice. |
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The sad news, of course, is the oil spill. With shellfishing beds closed along the perimeter of the Bay, this isn't the best time to discuss fly fishing opportunities in and around Buzzard's Bay. For up to date information, checkout www.buzzardsbay.org Fresh fish have been taken up in Buttermilk Bay and around the Mashnee Flats. Touching Cloth reports: "Caught a liced large schoolie in the Agawam river on Wed afternoon. Didn't catch anything else, but I only had time to fish about 20 minutes. Drove by South Cape Beach to find it covered with Red Mung and unfishable. A guy was coming back from the long walk to the jetty said he caught a 14" bass, but nothing else. He said he couldn't get a clean cast , and blamed that for the slow action. I was looking for the first blues of the season, but I think it was just wishful thinking at this point. Tried a Ranger for 5 minutes, but I was kidding myself." |
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Again, the oil spill is washing ashore on the Buzzard's Bay side of the Elizabeth's. See Bill Pew's report from Nantucket for a report. |
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Reports from the Canal are sparse and mostly focused on the Bournedale Herring Run, which hasn't been exactly teeming with fish according to first hand reports. Sagamorebeach reported: "Until yesterday,[4/22] I had only seen one or two scouts in the Canal run, but yesterday it started to turn. Saw good numbers of fish throughout the run. The gulls hadn't caught on yet up at the top, so I'm guessing this is brand new."
Captain Terry Nugent of Riptide Charters reported on April 27: "I walked about 1/2 mile of the river/creek from Herring Pond towards the Canal today with the dog. Not one fish. There may be a few in the run or in the Carter Beal property, but they haven't made it to the pond yet. No gulls at the opening to the pond either." |
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Yozuri-Man, who fishes around Cotuit and Osterville, reported catching a fresh schoolie off of Popponesset Inle: "Finally found some fresh schoolies on the end of the drop this evening outside the poppy cut. Fished for 3 hrs, all fish caught in 10 minute span. Nothing bigger than say ~16". Small tipped bucktail. Now its time to wave the wand...Lice makes me happy." No firm reports of fish being taken inside of Cotuit Bay, but I've seen some fly rodders working the Narrows and the flats off of Handy's Point over the last week or two. Gulls have been working over bait at the top of Shoestring Bay between Mashpee and Cotuit, and speaking of bait, the squid boats are out in front of Cotuit and Wianno, but not in the great numbers of years past. Cygnus X-1 reports, "Well I usually start fishing for schoolies on or around April 15th, not this year! I put the boat in the Bass River on Friday 4/25 and hit all the usuall spots, I marked fished in the hole at the RR bridge and just after. We did not catch a thing. The sun was nice until the wind kicked up. That was a cold ride back!" I've seen some big crowds at the Mashpee Herring Run the past few evenings, the most pressure I've ever seen there. There hasn't been much activity at the Marston's Mills run which I believe is closed to the taking of fish. There has been a lot of concern voiced on our forums about pressure on the herring runs, with tales of trucks backed up to runs with live-wells in the back, illegal takings, and lax enforcement. Most, if not all towns require herring permits, and some, like Bourne, have been stepping up enforcement to cut back on the abuses. After the last few drought level seasons, this could be a great year for herring spawnings now that lake and pond levels are up to normal. It's nice to see the pond at the Mashpee Flume filled with water again. |
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Captain Leslie Smith of Backlash Charters was out and about on her cell phone when I called. She said, "There's a lot of rumors that there have been little bass caught at the bridge and at Wasque, but I haven't seen any. I haven't even painted the bottom of my boat yet!" |
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Tern's have been spotted on the island which means the fish can't be far behind. Lynne Heyer at Cross Rip Outfitters reports "I'm hearing a few rumors, but no one has actually come in and said `I caught a fish.' I did hear from a reliable source about a 27" fish taken off of Hummock Pond. The boat guys aren't reporting anything yet." Cross Rip is now opening at 10 am, but will be opening earlier as the season progresses. We look forward to a good season of reports. Bill Pew at Bill Fisher Tackle was working with a customer, but took time to report: "There's no fish. At least there are no sea-run stripers at all. A lot of herring are running into Long Pond on Madaket. But no one has seen a lot of fish. A good friend of mine,Ross Kessler, who is a marine biologist was over here last weekend visiting. He lives on West Island in Buzzard's Bay near the barge problem, He called me Sunday night to say he caught a nice bright fish." |
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The Outer Beaches, Chatham & Monomoy No reports as of Friday noon, but I'll update as soon as I get some news. Email me if you have anything to report. |
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No reports as of yet. If you are interested in being our Northside Correspondent, please let me know. |