July 8, 2006

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July 08, 2006

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Tough inshore fishing calls for exploration

Anglers had a tough time this week. The Vineyard hard cores have had a tough Spring and they are starting to wonder about the squid boats. Anglers in Chatham have had a tough June, and they are starting to sing a refrain about fishing pressure and the concentration of boats. Overall, I would say the fly fishermen fishing offshore from boats are doing better this week, especially on rips with bass in them, but this can be difficult fly fishing.

But let me make another pitch for discovery, and exploring as being at the heart of fly fishing. I read on the Reel-Time bulletin board this week, a wonderful story about an angler who had regularly taken off to areas on Cape Cod and ignored the pristine white flat in front of his house in Plymouth. When he explored he literally not only found fish, but had the hog experience of his fly fishing life! Read below about the advice from Capt. Curt Jessup: namely that you get out with simple a fly rod and a stripping basket, and swim, row or sail to flat, and poke around. Find edges, look for moving shapes, and throw flies, and you will discover fish and enjoy.

NEWS

Buzzards Bay

Joe LeClair reports:

Fishing is great! Sleep is short, days are long, caffeine is king, and with the moon coming around, someone is going to land one of these big mothers on fly. We lost a couple fish over 30 lbs. this past week, landed a few, and most we around 15-20 lbs. All in all a great time of the year for the long wand...

The South Side

My reports on the southside are a bit this this week so email me and let me know if you would like to become a contributor for these reports.

Reel-Time moderator Bob Parsons checked out Middleground recently by the only fish he caught there was an undersized fluke. Returning to Waquoit he found a short blitz of small bluefish at the entrance, but they were not big fish.

Larry's tackle mentioned that charters from the Vineyard had found some fish in the Western Nantucket Sound, including at rips like Hedge Fence and L'hommedieu.

Martha's Vineyard

Steve Purcell of Larry's Tackle reports:

Sources at Larry's tackle report that the fishing has been a little slow for fly rodders, but that there has been some good action for bluefish off to the east, around Chappaquiddick. May and June have been some of the slowest such months of fishing on the Vineyard in recent memory. Some are blaming the lack of squid, or perhaps the over harvest of squid by squid boats, for this poor performance.

Another bonito was reportedly caught at the Vineyard however, which is a sign for hope, although the fishing for bonito at the Hooter, where anglers typically catch the early bonito by drifting and fly casting, or more often, by trolling rebels, has not been a good omen: people are not catching bonito in numbers there.

Here have been some big bass taken at night by anglers throwing big plugs from shore, say our sources at Larry's, and these were fish in the 30's and 40's, so there are some big slugs of fish around.

Jeff Sayre reports:

Summer has settled in and the Island is now full of people until Labor Day. It's tough to drive, tough to park, tough to go out to dinner and tough to launch a boat. Hopefully the new Lagoon boat ramp will be ready for use next week sometime or the week after. It's been closed all season for renovations and the Tashmoo ramp has been pretty busy the last week or so. It'll be nice to have the ramp back for bonito season which is just around the corner. There has been a few more bonito taken but nothing indicating they are worth targeting yet. By the end of the month there should be some steady action.

The flats have had some nice sized bass on them but the major problem has been visibility. We haven't had much sun but today we did but the fish were hard to hook up on fly. We found bluefish down the north shore and picked up a few bass. There were dozens and dozens of Man-O-War out in Vineyard Sound today. I have never seen so many.

The night fly fishing continues to be slow and I haven't been out for 4 nights. I had one good night last week though when I was out with 3 guys who had never fly fished before. I knew learning at dusk on the beach was going to be a difficult task but they gave it their best shot and all ended up catching fish. I was helping one the kids, who was 15, cast the line and he would strip the fly in. As beginners luck would have it, he hooked and landed a bass that was almost 35 inches. It was a great introduction to saltwater fly fishing.

There are still lots of blues around Chappy and there has been some up along State Beach as well. For those of you interested in brown sharks, there has been a few hooked up on Chappy already which bodes well for the MV Surfcasters Chappy Shark tournament which starts on July 22 and runs to August 5.

Nantucket

Lynne Heyer of Cross Rip Outfitters reports:

Morning all, sorry I am tardy with my reports but things here at Cross Rip have been hoppin'. Unfortunately the weather has been up and down with yesterday afternoon as a big down. Jeff and I were out in the rain and thunder and lightening yesterday afternoon along with a few other Captains and it wasn't much fun. Nothing drastic happened as far as boat issues but boy the rain came down and hard.

The fishing has been pretty good though. Jeff and I have been doing some sight fishing trips and have had good fishing. Bruce Ripley landed a nice 36" fish with me a couple days ago on a Blind Crab. We also caught another on a bonefish pattern that is a cross between a crab and shrimp. As I am writing this Dave Stetson is reliving a trip up on Great Point a few days ago with his clients landing mostly Blues but a friend Lou pulling out a 38" Striper right beside them. Saw the photo's a nice healthy Striper. There have been good reports all over the Island for Blues and Bass the last week or so. I have also heard that there maybe some beach closing on Great Point but there is still a lot of area that is accessible. Get out and enjoy. The summer will be over before you know it. Cross Rip Outfitters http://www.crossrip.com

Chatham, Monomoy and the Outer Beaches

Paul at Chatham Bait and Tackle in Chatham (508-945-9779) was most excited about he fishing happening offshore. The best bass fishing for the biggest bass appears to be happening in the rips off of Monomoy. To find some action, exploring is, as always the best tactic, but you might start around Bearse's rip – you'll see others. Don't go any further east though, "explore south and west" was the advice from Paul, "even working your way towards Nantucket."

Paul also said people are starting to find stripers feeding at the sea buoy off the mouth of Pleasant Bay. This is also a very popular spot in season, so you'll see other boats there. Many people jig there, but the bass will appear on the surface in the early hours, especially when the tide is running. Look for birds. This activity can occur at any time of day too, especially when lots of bait is around, but it's hard to predict.

Perhaps the most tantalizing offshore news is the bluefin east of Chatham. Several 100-pounders were caught recently, and even a 500-pounder, all out around Crab Ledge. None were taken on fly rod though, and I personally discourage fly fishing for fish this big, although I know several who have caught them on 14-weights in 3 hour battles. Some fish have been caught as close to shore as 3 miles, and these tend to be some smaller fish.

Chris Kokorda from Fishing the Cape in Chatham reports small fish and lots of anglers fishing the flats around Monomoy. Moreover, he says the fish both big and small seem to have lockjaw a little early this season. Some shore anglers have spread out, a good idea when pressure gets heavy, and have found some good fishing early and late in the surf spots around Nauset inlet.

As alternatives to the pressured flats, Chris said he small blues in Stage Harbor, but that the larger fish had likely moved outside since the huge schools of big bunker had recently left the harbor.

North Side

Curt Jessup of Capt. Curt Jessup reports:

Someone told me fishermen go through stages. First they want to catch lots of fish, then they want to catch big fish, then after they are seasoned anglers, they enjoy not only the catching, but also savour the natural surroundings and the experience. Well if you want to catch lots of fish, have a chance at many BIG fish, and relish the beauty and quiet solitude of the flats, now is the time to hit it!!!!!! We were concerned with the North wind but our concerns were quickly put to rest as the wind shifted out of the West and the flats calmed down to a slick oily surface. I know the South Side eel chukkers have been doing great in the rips and shoals, but for fly rodders things have slowed a bit along the Islands. If you have a shallow draft vessel and want some great fishing, hit the flats NOW and enjoy. We backed down to 10 lb flouro with a 10 foot leader and were still not able to get the real big boys to eat but hooked up with unlimited fish in the 20 to 28 inch range. This may not appeal to many anglers, but if you are a visual person and enjoy seeing gill plates flare as a striper sucks in your hand tied creation, this is your time. We actually saw a school of stripers "mudding" on the bottom in about 2 feet of water and they seemed to be sucking up crabs or other crustaceans. Forty inch fish were seen en masse on early incoming tide and we now have a plan on how to get em to eat!!!!

Patience is the key and playing the right tides will help you see and have the opportunity to sight cast to many fish tight along the shoreline. This week we have not had huge tidal shifts, so you can actually fish areas at low tide which are not usually accessible during big tidal swings. Look for troughs and gullies as well as areas that change elevation quickly. If you enjoy the purity and simplicity of fly-fishing, now is the time to to get out and enjoy all this great sport has to offer. You don't need a flats boat, loads of electronics or twenty pounds of gear, just a way to get to the fish!!!! This can be with a guide , rubber raft, kayak or 4-wheel drive beach cruiser. Just keep it simple - polarised glasses, stripping basket, a spool of tippet material and four or five of your favorite flies in your pocket and go have a ball.

My Best,

Capt. Curt Jessup
508-400-5627
capecodoutfitters@adelphia.net

Reel-Time regulars on the bbs have posted that the fishing is very good east of Barnstable harbor on the flats right now. Others reported a good amount of bird activity in the same area, and there are consistent reports of plentiful schoolies, and a few small bluefish around. To be sure, there is plenty of bait: sand eels for the most part.

Offshore, there have been reports of tuna in Cape Cod bay, but the tuna chatter has been sparse. Reports had the tuna still in the bay on Monday, 3 miles west of Wood End on the slack tide:

"they werent smashing, just milling around and breaking into smaller pods and sounding. got one monster to follow a pamet river special right to the tip of my rod and watched it swim under the boat. 1 hr of surface action and they dissapeared. not giants, but big fish for a fly rod. 100lbs and up."

Cape Cod and the IslandsRegion