Cape Cod &

the Islands

May 16th, 2003

Bass Thumb Days

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Don't forget to send me your own reports, and until next week...

Tight Lines!

Dave Churbuck

Buzzards Bay

Reel-Timer Jim Lukas passes along this second-hand report:

Captain Bob Paccia files his first report of the season and some sagacious advice:

First, we survived The Winter From Hell and now it seems that we are going through a Spring with no sustained periods of warmth. Add a lot of record breaking cold rains and what do you get?  We are experiencing a very late start to our beloved striper season. Be assured, the fish and the bait are here and more and more are arriving every day.  So why is the fishing so slow? It is probably a question of water temperature. Our water temperatures have been vacillating between 46 and 51 degrees. We really need the water temperature to stay above 50 degrees. Stripers' metabolisms slows way down in cold water. 

Don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean that stripers stop eating all together in cold water. What it does mean is that they feed much less often. Also, the bigger the fish, the more that their bodies and metabolism are affected by water temperatures. You’ll see schoolies busting all over the place in relatively cold water. Big stripers in the same water temperature are fairly lethargic. In order to survive, large stripers must conserve energy. They cannot expend too much in catching their meal.

 So far this season we have had to work pretty hard to find the fish. We have found a lot of small schoolies working the mouths of the Weweantic, Agawam and Wareham Rivers. Small clousers in chartreuse over white or olive over white have worked well. Small tan shrimp patterns dead drifted were also effective.

Light tackle anglers casting small castmasters and goldfish were also doing well. Large herring patterns (7#-12#) have taken a few keeper-sized stripers this season. We expect them to take many more in the next two to three weeks.

 To be successful during this unusually cold spring season you must adjust your fishing strategies to match the water temperatures:

1.      Maintain a positive attitude and don’t listen to those who tell you that “The fish just aren’t around.
2.      Find the bait and the stripers will be close at hand
3.      Keep an eye on your temperature gauge. Remember, fish will be more active in the warmer water areas.
4.      Slow down your search. Although it’s true that you may have to put some extra miles on to find the fish, do it at a slow pace.
5.      Once you do locate the fish, be aware of where they are in the water column. In cold water you must put your fly right on the fish as they will not move too far off of their position to chase your imitation.
6.      Slow down your stripping and allow more time between strips.
7.      Try to accurately identify the bait so that you can “match the hatch”. Is the bait large or small? Is it broad bodied like a herring or is it long and thin like a sand eel? What’s the color of the back and belly? Does it move fast or slow? See what flies that you may have that look similar.

 Some important early seasons safety tips. Remember, cold air and cold water drastically reduce your chances to survive if you have an accident on the water. Whether you are wading, fishing from the shore, a jetty or from a boat, you are only inches away from real life threatening danger. Hypothermia is the lowering of the core temperature of you body. Cold kills in two ways, exposure and exhaustion. Cold water reduces body heat 25-30 times faster than air. The colder the water, the less likely you have to survive. Be extra careful at all times and don’t take any chances that may result in your becoming a statistic. 

•      Always, always wear some form of floatation device. The new inflatable units are compact and comfortable and well worth the money. 
•      Don’t fish or boat alone.
•      Carry a VHF radio and/or a cell phone.
•      Carry some sort of sound device.
•      Give someone your float plan or fishing plan.
•      Remember that there aren’t as many boats on the water during the early season so there fewer people to help you if you get into trouble on the water.
•      Alcohol has no place on the water. Even one can of beer will impair you judgment on the water.

  Remember, there are old fishermen and bold fishermen, but there are no old, bold fish

Falmouth & the Elizabeths

Captain Joe LeClair reports:

"Fishing on the Buzzards Bay side of the Elizabeth Islands is hot right now.
I found several large groups of Stripers this afternoon on the incoming tide
with a couple fly fisherman from the Boston area. The Stripers were feeding
on herring in the middle of the day and later we found the first surface
activity I have seen this week. We also found the long thin Bluefish that
make their way into the shallow water estuaries at this time of year. We
hooked bass to 15 lbs. and Bluefish to 11 lbs. this afternoon. If the
weather starts to warm up the fishing along the islands should go nuts in
the next 14 days."

The Cape Cod Canal

Bill Downing  and Thunder Rod,  Reel-Time's Resident Canal Sharpies are having a good time in the Ditch. Bill reports:

 "Well between four herring heaving infidels, we pulled in quite a few mostly low legal stripers on the west tide in the west end this AM. Biggest fish ran around 35 inches. A lot more fish around than even two days ago in the same location.

They're coming fast, North Shore, so hang in there!"

The South Side

My first-hand report: I have to admit, your humble correspondent has not caught a fish in 2003! This weekend that must change. But I did try ... twice. Once last Friday when I struck out miserably at lunchtime inside of Cotuit Bay, and again on Sunday outside Sampson's Island looking for bluefish (the water was mighty barren looking, no bait!) and then inside at my super-secret-cannot-fail-schoolie-spot-known-to-no-man (it failed.).

So, the boat is in, there are no excuses. Next week I hope to have pictures of something other than birds nesting in flying bridges!

Capt. Terry Nugent of Riptide Charters reported earlier in the week:

"I tried my luck at Nobska today. Around 1300 hours I was bored and headed to Falmouth. Water was low and I don’t know the area from shore. Obviously mid day is not prime time and it showed. Skunked in 2 ½ hours of fly and spinning. Threw mostly herring imitations and 6” shad. I guess it beats sitting at home. Weather was nicer there than at the house."

On Thursday he reported:

"I had two trips OTW today. The first was with Bob Pink in his boat, the second with Capt Joe in his boat. Both trips were to the same spot so I’ll blend the two together. We ran out of Falmouth and hit several spots in the sound with little luck, although there appeared to be allot of terns working around the pond mouths at high speed (Bluefish?). We marked fish deep but saw no surface action. We also failed to put much effort into the blues. Bob took me to his double secret spot for early season fish. All I can say is WOW. The fish were stacked up and eager to please. We hammered them on assorted flies and lures. I christened my new 10wt and my new Hayden reel with numerous quality early season fish. The average fish was right around legal size. A few smaller and a few larger. Only a handful broke the 30” mark though. My big fish of the day came on trip 2 and it was 32” and weighed in the low teens. In the after noon we had a large influx of micros and rats that really put a damper on the fun. You couldn’t get a lure through them without hooking a 10”er. The lures and flies varied. Topwater worked very well at times and accounted for several nice fish. Crease flies were a favorite for me, and Bob had a hand tied flat wing that had them jumping. Assorted lures worked well, everything from topwater to rubber shad. Both tides produced, but the incoming was best for the larger fish. The water was warm where we were and that was the key. As for the exact location, I generally talk, but this time I can’t. I was not only sworn to secrecy but I was also threatened with bodily harm. All I can say is we were on the south side of the Cape fishing the waters of Vineyard sound. On a side note, I spoke with a guy who live lined Quick’s today. He had 5 herring on board. He tallied 3 fish up to 29”. He said the water was 47 in the Hole. All in all a super day of fishing, it’s a shame Bob had to bail at noon, but family comes first. Thanks to everyone that let me stow away on their boat today, it was a blast."

Yozuri-Man reports from his homewaters around Popponesset Bay:

"Wow. So many fish, and not just twinkies. Plenty of 30"+ and also lots of lower 20" and <20". 6" herring fly was assalted cast after cast. Fish nailing schools of herring on surface and below(lots of ripples and swirls in thin water). Spin guys were having luck with topwater and sluggies. Bite was at last of the drop through slack and into the rise....Major bass thumb this morn"

Capemike88 got his first fish (make that five fish) on the fly rod last weekend. Congratulations!

"Got my first 5 stripers on the fly this weekend! I got 3 on my own fly and 2 others on a chartuse/white clouser. The first 2 were on my own herring pattern that I tied. My first one was the biggest at 20", the rest were anywhere from 14" to 17" or so. So I guess you CAN catch stripers on a fly! I got my first one off of the Seagull Beach jettie at about 5:30am, when I got home my dad was still asleep, I got another off a smaller jettie that cleared the water and shook the hook, my own herring pattern, but he was probably only 12" or so. I got the other four at two different locations on the Bass River, two of them off of Cove Road, was anyone else in this forum fishing the Cove Road area on Saturday night? "

Martha's Vineyard

Captain Leslie Smith reports:

"My grandmother always said that the bluefish arrive when the shadbushes bloom.  This week proves her theory right, as my backyard is suddenly in full bloom and the bluefish have made their annual debut around Vineyard Sound.  The south shore of the island, from Wasque to South Beach and beyond has given up decent choppers, as well as more consistent and larger bass than were being caught last week.  The run at the head of Lagoon Pond is full of herring, with plenty of stripers lying in wait as they finish their spawning and head back to sea.  Mackerel have been taken off the Head all week and squid are finally coming into the harbors in decent numbers.  Basically, it's our typical early season set up, just a couple of weeks late.  Watch for things to really heat up in the next two weeks as bass and blues start figuring out that there's easy pickings all around the island. Typically the blues will spread out from Edgartown Harbor to Cape Poge and down East Beach.  On slick calm days, watch for them to be finning on the surface.  Stripers will start chasing the squid at Middle Ground and Wasque Rips, making for terrific light tackle and fly fishing on the surface."

Nantucket

The news from Nantucket is finally, fish. Not a lot, but there are fish. Look to the southside beaches where the herring roam.

Bill Pew at Fisher's Tackle reports on the first keeper:

"It was caught in front of Miacomet Pond which was opened that same day. It was caught by a young electrician, Bobby King, and it was 29 and quarter inches long and weighed over eight and half pounds. A real bright racer.

We're continuing to catch some schoolies but it isn't hot and heavy yet. The feedback I hear is that no one is loading up on fish, but the action is on the southside with not much happening in the harbor or along the northside yet."

 Bill said the herring are so desperate to get into the southside ponds that they beach themselves! Liveliners can sometimes pick them right up off of the sand and fish them fresh.

 Jeff at Cross Rip Outiffers also confirms fish ... when it isn't blowing a gale.

"It was really good fishing around Miacomet early in the week, but by Tuesday there was some big seas and winds so people weren't fishing. There's lots of fish on the Southside of the island from Smith Point to Miacomet. There's a few fish inside and around Madaket with some rumors of keepers being taken in the harbor. I fished the harbor on Wednesday and didn't see anything, but I did see some sandeels, so the bait is there."

The Outer Beaches, Chatham & Monomoy

We're not hearing much. There's been some chatter about fish on the flats of Monomoy, onesie-twosies. We're still working on a good reliable reporter for the region. Volunteers? Step forward!

Editors note: There is unconfirmed word this morning (Friday) of large pods of fish moving along the outer beaches.  - mcahill

The North Side

Some schoolie news out of the Sandwich area creeks, but not exactly a passle of them for the finding. As our managing editor Mark Cahill pointed out, a lot of fish migrate out of the canal or around Race Point and fill in Boston Harbor and the Merrimack River region before they fall down on the northside of the Cape. Some sunny days and Barnstable Harbor should start coming into its own. Patience is the word.