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Cape Cod &the Islands
August 29th, 2003 |
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| FishWire Coordinator: | Dave Churbuck |
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The Switch has Flipped
So I set the alarm for the middle of the night on Thursday morning and dragged myself outside to do my celestial duty and gaze upon Mars because it was the closest to earth that it has been since 55,000 BC and will be for another bazillion years. It was like looking at a dime from 100 feet away. I bet if you out tonight it will look like the same dime only from 101 feet away. Mars isn't going away anytime soon. I got the name-that-star urge when I first started standing on beaches at night surfcasting thirty years ago, and I went out and bought one of those plastic starfinder things, and spent some time onthe fishless nights at Nauset and Chatham trying to find Arcturus and Orion with a flashlight in between my teeth. I saw a satellite once. It was very cool.
Our first community -- BBS-5 -- was so-called because the address of the forum was www.reel-time.com/forums/bbs-5. BBS-5, or the New England Reports, grew pretty quickly to over 1000 posting per month. 1995-1998 were its golden years. The forums didn't require registration so a person could sign a posting as Santa Claus or,... another user. Getting rid of bad posts and problemmatic users was tough since there were no tools to ban them or edit. I was also, frankly, too lenient as a moderator. If people wanted to talk about fishing with hand grenades, that was okay by me, as long as they didn't get nasty with each other and use words I wouldn't want my kids to read. That liberal approach to moderation and the lack of any tools made BBS-5 get a little crazy. In 1998-99, the flaming was tolerable but rising. Then it got out of hand and was a real problem. A couple legendary users -- Euke Fest, Squidbrains, the ever-popular "Unknown" and most notoriously the Legendary Bassturd ran amuck, picking on regulars and making a mess out of the place. So it was obvious it was time to say goodbye to the crude technology that comprised Reel-Time's forums and convert to something commercial with more tools, a better interface, So the crowd headed for the exits. In the spring of 2000 a group of Reel-Timers started www.flyfishsaltwaters.com and another created www.flyfishforum.com and other sites such as www.stripersonline and www.stripersurf came on strong with their more specific focuses on classic surfcasting and conventional methods. A little competition is a good thing. We took notice and then Mark Cahill, our omnipotent editor and web master, tested a number of forum systems and relaunched Reel-Time from the ground up, moving us to the present vBulletin system in the spring of 2002. Then this spring he redesigned the site to its present look and feel, added a fly pattern creation tool for our contributing tyers, organized a affiliate sponsor program to help defray expenses, and every week publishes these FishWires with the assistance of our faithful team of correspondents, moderators, and you readers who take the time to email us the news of your fishing and photos of the same. Mark is the man. The result is that we've doubled our registered users in two years, doubled our traffic, and see close to 600 users simultaneously in the forums. It's a lot more fun now that it was eight and half years ago in the winter of 1995 and I look forward to seeing how to grows and transforms in the years to come Don't forget to send me your own reports, and until next week...
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This week's introduction is the last installment in the brief three -art history of fishing and the Internet. Two weeks ago I talked about the pre-web era, when text ruled and we flamed one another on alt.fishing and SALT-L. Last week I quickly talked about the birth of the World Wide Web and the launch of Reel-Time. and this week I'll talk about the boom and bust and renaissance of Internet fishing, without indulging in any idle speculation about what the future might bring.
and more bells and whistles. In 99 we converted to that new system too abruptly. It was slow. It crashed our servers, looked nothing like the old BBS-5, and the users -- myself included -- hated it. We went back to BBS-5 and switched back to the new technology. Back and forth. Cape Cod Regions
| NEWS |
| A little cool weather and whammo! Fish Fest! Bonito like you dream about on Nantucket. Spanish Mackerel around Buzzards and the South Side in very catchable numbers -- let's call it the Year of the Mack -- little bluefin in Cape Cod Bay, surface bass off of Chatham. Bluefish thicker than pogies off of Cotuit. Heaven must be like this. |
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Capt. Bob Paccia at Shoreline Guide Service reports: "Buzzards Bay is teaming with bait. Massive schools of baby bunker, juvenile alewives and blueback herring, silversides and sand eels move nervously throughout the Bay. The clean sweet smell of all this bait moving through our waters reminds us that the stage is being set for some fantastic pre-fall action. The underwater aroma of tons of bait is perfume to the hordes of predators that are being drawn in for a pre-migratory feast. Stripers and bluefish of all sizes, false albacore, Spanish mackerel, and if we’re lucky, perhaps some bonito will be in close pursuit of the schools of bait. "It’s especially important at this time of year to be able to "match-the-hatch". You should have a good supply of flies in all sizes, shapes and colors. In order to "match" the prevailing bait you must first know what the bait looks like. You’ll need a good pair of Polarized glasses to assist you in seeing into the water. Try to view the bait with the sun on your back. Cup your eyes with your hands (binocular- style) to help you reduce side-glare and to concentrate your gaze. You can also use a fine mesh dip net or even a throw net to retrieve some bait samples. You should also watch to see what hooked fish regurgitate. "You don’t necessarily need exact counterfeits of the bait, but it is important to note these features in the following order: "Size: this is the most important feature to look for. Many times you can catch fish using the wrong color or shaped fly if it is the right size. It’s important to try to get an actual bait sample, as bait viewed underwater are difficult to size accurately. "Larger stripers and bluefish remain in the shallows during the early morning and evening hours and are also available later in the day seeking shelter in the deeper drop-offs. Sinking lines with short leaders get the flies down deep quickly and offer you a shot at some trophy-sized fish. "I’m still hearing rumors of bonito in the Bay, but I have found that most of these reports turn out to be small bluefish jumping clear out of the water in their pursuit of the terrified baitfish. We have seen several small pods of false albacore off of Wing’s Neck and Bird Island. We should all start practicing our good-boating manners now so that we’ll be ready when these gamesters invade our waters in catchable numbers." |
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I'll file a report when I get some. |
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TonyO reports on Tuesday: "Started fishing this morning about 1am. Much the same as last nite with small fish hitting eels on drift but not holding on. LOTS of bluefish activity all the way through tide. Released a fish in the low 20lb range with about an hour and half left of tide. Kept a 45in fish in the low 30s after about 5 3 more casts. Both fish took eel as ilifted it off bottom after mega-drifts. The bigger fish seem to be real lethargic. Taking eel very lightly and not putting up much of a fight untill within close range. Other friends in the general vicinity caught a few mid-high30in range. Same observations from them about the larger fish." Early in the week BobG reported: "Hey, this is 2003, and you simply can't have fish two nights in a row now can you? |
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Man, oh man. What a morning I had on Tuesday. Woke up, decided against my daily scull around Oyster Harbors, so I kicked the boys away from the tv set, packed a cooler, and set off in my mighty Tashmoo for a morning of Spanish Mackerel and bluefish for the table and smoker. Headed southeast out of Cotuit towards the bell and immediately saw terns over patches of boiling bluefish. Moment of decision: turn left towards Wianno and Craigville or right towards Waquoit? It's that season when my homewaters are filled with more opportunity and more species than any other time of year. Remember the old Dave Peros admonition to "don't leave fish to find fish" I decided to poke around a little off of Popponessett where the depth breaks from the flats to the deeper stuff. A few minutes later and I saw a Spanish Mackerel launch itself like missile breaching the water from a sub. That got the old heart rate rolling. The boys wanted immediate gratification, so I circled upwind of a massive bluefish blitz and handed them spinning rods with #1 green Deadly Dicks. Both were on in an instant, went bananas, and landed two nice three or four pound fish for the evening meal. I got in on the action with the fly rod and tossed some epoxy Surf Candies into the maelstrom. Those flies are indestructible when it comes to bluefish. Kept a dozen. Six went into the skillet with some Chef Paul Prudhomme's Blackened Redfish Seasoning, the other six went into the smoker and have emerged, ready to be turned into a lifetime's supply of Bluefish Pate (I use the Legal Seafood Receipe). No luck with the macks and the flyrod. Will try Friday morning without the boys as I sense this is something that will take a little more stealth and patience. I know Sean Ruge scored a mack from his kayak on the south side and wish the rest of you Reel-Timers a holiday weekend of pretty fish with yellow spots. Curt Jessup at the Sporting Life in Mashpee Commons reports: "Spanish mack's from Hamblin Point to Megansett Harbor. Quite thick--a few set up on Middle Ground during outgoing tide. Bagged four this am. Some larger blues on Middle Ground as well. No sightings of Bonito or Albies. Offshore tonight, try to give you an update---possibly hit Cox's Ledge and/or scoot over to the Star. I will update later." Early in the week Bob Parsons ran out of Waquoit (beautiful picture in the forum under the subject "Good Morning Waquoit") earlier in the week: "Started the morning with these little bass blitzes among the rocks of Waquoits broken jetty. Woods Hole had bass breaking on bait as the current pushed it through the rocks. Went for Macks in Buzzards bay. More boats in the area trying to run and gun... and fail. Conditions were incredible calm so you could see them jump or blitz all over the space, except where ever you were. Drift was too slow to let you set up at a safe distance and drift into them. Congratulations on the slam earlier in the week, Bob. |
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Captain Leslie Smith at Backlash Charters is back in the swing of things: "Well, they may be a month late, but we may get a bonito season after all! Things have picked up on the eastern end of the Vineyard, bone-wise, with fish showing up from Tashmoo around to Cape Poge and places in between. Even a few albies in the mix, with a few too many small blues that are more than happy to strip you of your flies or small jigs. "Last weekend's Bonito Blast tournament was tough going, as the fish weren't showing inshore very well. My charter, Jeff Leavitt, managed one fish on Saturday on the fly that ran 5.9 lbs, which was good enough for third place. Sunday proved too rough for the long wand and there were very few fish weighed in by the 100+ anglers entered. Of course, by Tuesday, we were suddenly seeing a good push of fish along all the shorelines. Go figure. The Hooter is still producing plentiful blues, some bones and the occasional striper. Hopefully the cooling weather will stir things up and we'll get into our fall fishing frenzy. The south shore of the Cape has had albies consistently all week, with Waquoit the hot spot, though they are tough to hook when on the very small peanut bunker that has moved in. Look for them to spread out in the next two weeks, into areas that have sandeels and silversides as prodominant forage, making things easier for the fly rodder." |
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Bill Pew at Fisher's Tackle was taking a breather from a busy pre-holiday weekend morning rush on Thursday with the news that bonito are running amuck at the Bonito Bar. "The bonito have materialized in ever greater numbers on the bar. I talked to numerous anglers this week who say that mid-way through the east tide they're catching eight to ten fish and losing an equal amount right at the boat. Small white flies are doing the trick and the spinning rods are using Bombers and small metals. "The striped bass fishing hasn't improved. One fellow reports catching a fair number at Great Point during the last hour of darkness before dawn on bombers, but there was nothing of any size. And another friend of mind claims to have caught a Spanish Mackerel at the West End, but he butchered it, so I haven't seen it to confirm it." Earlier this week, she reported: Ackfish reported: "kind of a transition time right now. bluefish are the most consistant action, though they're beginning to move out of some of their summer haunts and can be a little difficult to catch on the north winds which are becoming more prevalent. bonito are around, though inconsistant. still if you find 'em you can have a dozen fish trip. stripers are slow, though gettinng better and will get much better as the water temperatures cool in the coming weeks. and albies should be here any day. so it should really be picking up in a week or so..." |
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"Saturday August 23rd we went out to Great Round Shoal about 6 miles east from Little Round Shoal, which is between Monomoy and Nantucket. We went to the outside edge of the shoal where the water was about 59-60 degrees. We had a great day and caught more fish than I could count. Call it beginners luck, but Amy Tufts caught this great 36" Striped Bass and it the first one she has ever caught. She had a great time with the fight and finally landed it."|
Pat Claussen reports: "I managed a few schoolies prior to sunrise at the end of the outgoing. Didn't see much bait, nor did I run into any blues like I was hoping for. There were definitely more schoolies around this spot when I fished it in the spring. Maybe in another few weeks they'll show here..." |