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Cape Cod &the Islands
May 14th, 2004 |
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| FishWire Coordinator: | Dave Churbuck |
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Kick Off!
Welcome to the ninth season of the Cape Cod and Islands FishWire. This report is only as good as the fine men and women who contribute to it, so all Reel-Time readers are invited to send in their reports via email for inclusion in the coming week’s report. The format is fairly simple. The report is published online by Reel-Time’s editor, Mark Cahill, every Friday morning. I compile the report from contributions made by the region’s fine sponsors -- some of whom have been sponsors since Reel-Time first went on line in 1995 --emails from our readers, and reports posted in the Reel-Time Forums.
Reports are due via email by 6 am Friday morning so Mark and I can try to publish by 9 am. May is a weird month on the Cape due to the refrigeration effect of the waters that surround the peninsula. Take a ride up Route 3 to Boston and the tentative bloom of the Cape transforms into what feels like full summer by the time one crosses the North River in Marshfield. With the trees and flowers coming into their own a few weeks behind the rest of Southern New England, it would be easy to stay in a sweater and postpone any thoughts of fishing until more clement weather arrives in June. But the Cape is the place that sees the first fish first, and this season, despite what felt like an especially bitter winter, was no exception, with fresh striped bass arriving around the third week of April. While I might have been tempted to start these reports then -- when anticipation and excitement were at their peak -- the conditions are too fickle and the fish too spread out to make a report justifiable until now. So, onto the reports. The fish are finally in strong enough to warrant a fishing expedition, so get on down to the Cape and start working your favorite spring spots. Two more months and we’ll be into the summer and the competition for solitude and calm waters will be fierce. Don't forget to send me your own reports, and until next week...
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I’ve divided the region into TK sub-regions. Moving from the Canal towards the east, they are: Cape Cod Canal, Falmouth and the Elizabeth Islands, South Side of the Cape from Falmouth to Chatham, Chatham and the Outer Beaches to Provincetown, North Side from P-Town back to the Canal, and the two islands, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Sponsors for these sub-regions are invited to place their advertisement for their guide service or shop adjacent to the region. Cape Cod Regions
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Captain Terry Nugent of Riptide Charters has a new toy -- a brand new fishing boat -- and he's been putting it through its paces the past few weeks. On May 11 he wrote: I finally had my shot at a big girl when I spotted one cruising just under the surface. A perfect cast of 6’6" St Croix put my specially rigged rubber morsel right off the fishes nose. With a huge boil and was big splash of her tail she took the lure and proceeded to rip line from my reel at a frantic pace. I yelled to Pete to pull the anchor and help me avoid some of the obstacles we had around us. As Pete franticly retrieved the anchor the fish never slowed or even paused her run. At around 70 yards I felt the sickening feeling of the line going slack. The fish had managed to weave her way through too many obstacles and finally she found her freedom. While the lost fish was a bummer, the fishing in general was awesome. We had fish from 18"-36" on fly and light spinning all morning. The visuals were super with pods of fish cruising under the boat and just under the surface. The water was 64.5 degrees; the tide was dropping and the water ranged from 9-12’ deep in most places. The fly of choice was a herring fly I found last year around this same time. The pattern continues to out fish all of my other flies combined. Lure of choice, was 5" rubber in olive/silver fished on light line with flouro. The sun was out and it was a great day of fishing with great company. |
"What a difference a day makes. We finished up dabbling with Pete Gray’s new 20’ Hydra Sports Bay boat and decided to see how it fished. We launched on the south side and headed to some promising warm water bays. It wasn’t long before the first two fish were on Pete’s new ride. We doubled up right away. The morning continued with a steady pick of nice sized fish. We saw some huge bass (40+) cruising by as we tangled with fish up to 36" on both fly and light spinning gear.
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Captain Dave Peros, a longtime contributor to these forums, reports some worm hatches happening in some Falmouth Ponds earlier this week. Time to tie up some cinder worm patterns and get out there. Waquoit Bay is producing, as is nearly every estuary and inlet. |
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The Bournedale Herring run is showing some bluebacks -- an early indication that the run is peaking in terms of herring -- not a great sign according to our resident herring maven, BobG. Not a lot of fly fishermen are working the Ditch this time of year -- the stripers are fixated on big, big bait and the banks are crowded with liveliners working live herring. Popular fly spots are on the Pocasset side of the West End. BobG reported on the 11th: "I hit several of my B-bay spots. These are old places that traditionally are hot during the month of May. Tonight (and all season I suspect) they were all deader than Elvis. Saw my first terns of the season. In guess that means something. "On a more somber note. The bluebacks are already going up the run. This typically indicates the end of the run. Man, this didn't seem like much of a run this year? "Throw plastic, not live bait." |
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Popponesset to Cotuit is the place to be this time of year. The bluefish are in on the flats -- with sunny day water temps hitting 70 degrees in some spots, the big racer blues up to 12 pounds in size, are slamming when the time and tide are right. The big bass are inside the harbors chasing the herring up to the runs. I know of a 35" fish taken by a friend here in Cotuit from an inside spot. Fly fishers are lining the shore of the Narrows, and gauging from a first-hand sighting, taking short fish on nearly every cast. Steve Moore reported Bluefish last weekend off of Cotuit.Lots of reports say the same thing -- hit or miss -- the stripers either are in or they aren't, But the challenge is what makes it fun. |
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The first bluefish reports came from the Vineyard, with fish making their first appearance around Oak Bluffs. Stripers are heavy from South Beach -- schoolies for the most part -- with a worm hatch reported from the northern salt ponds like Lake Tashmoo. |
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Some schoolies from the oceanside beaches and inside Madaket Harbor. Bluefish rumored on the West End. Shane reports: |
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The Outer Beaches, Chatham & Monomoy
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No reports from the backside beaches yet. |
Schoolies filling in at Old Sandwich Harbor, the entrance to Scorton Creek. No noise from Barnstable Harbor yet and second hard reports of fairly big fish up Wellfleet way. Keep those reports coming, |