Cape Cod and the Islands
Region

August 26, 2006

Buzzards Bay

Capt. Bob Paccia of Shore-line Guide Service reports:

Huge pods of baitfish (baby bunker, alewives, blueback herring, silversides and sand eels are exploding in all areas of Buzzards Bay. Fly fishermen and light tackle anglers using poppers, sliders and gurglers have been having a ball enjoying this topwater spectacular. Its been breathtaking just watching a thirty to fifty foot bait school compresses itself into a tight ten foot bait-ball that actually breaks the surface by five or six inches in an attempt to fool and escape ravenous schools of stripers and bluefish that corral them. If you don't get super-excited as one of these bait-balls gets attacked from below by torpedoing blues and stripers, and erupts skyward, sending saltwater spray, scales and baitfish in all directions, you need something stronger than Viagra. Call your doctor immediately!

 

Many anglers that I meet are discouraged as all they seem to see are schoolies working the shallows. Keep in mind that things aren't always as they first appear. It's true that the schoolies tend to work the surface of the shallows aggressively because of the high concentration of bait that also feed there. However, some really large bass also prowl these bait-rich waters, especially an hour or so before and after the high tide mark. Presenting your fly or lure well below the surface feeding schoolies often pays big dividends. Remember, where there's bait they'll be fish of all sizes to take advantage of the bounty.

 

It's nearly September and that means that the fall migration with its big stripers will soon be upon us. Hopefully we'll also have bonito and false albacore in the mix. The fast action is about to start. Are you ready for it? Is your equipment in tip top condition. Do you constantly sharpen your hooks. Are your reels cleaned and properly lubricated? Have you changed your leader since the beginning of the season? How about your fly line? When is the last time that you cleaned it. How often do you stretch it? When's the last time that you dressed your fly line?

Why am I asking all of these fundamental questions now? Because, as a charter captain who has specialized in saltwater fly fishing for over forty years, I've seen fly fishing opportunities of a lifetime turn into heart-breaking memories that could have been avoided by maintaining all of your equipment. Simple things like letting a wind knot remain in your leader because, who cares, you're having a great time just catching schoolies. That's ok, until the next fish that hits your fly happens to be that thirty-pounder. If you're not prepared for greatness, you'll never achieve it.

 

OK, I'm always accused of being a bit anal when it comes to my equipment. This is probably because I'm such an optimist when it comes to fishing. I fish every cast visualizing that it could connect with that fifty-pounder. This practice has served me well over the years. My equipment lasts me well beyond what it should and nearly always outperforms the equipment of those who fish with me. Clients frequently ask me how am I able to get my casts off so quickly or why doesn't my fly line tangle or how do I get the distance that I do with so few backcasts.

Obviously, part of the answer is experience, but I believe that much of it is due to equipment maintenance.

Part of my equipment drill:

• After every trip (regardless of how tired I am) I flush my fly lines, rods and reels with clean fresh water and a dry them.
• Each night before a trip I stretch the entire fly line by wrapping the leader several times over itself around one of my rubber-coated rod holders on the back of the boat. I then tighten the drag snugly and walk the line fully out to the backing where I grasp the reel so that it can't turn and slowly take 5 big steps backward then hold that position for one full minute. After the minute I put the reel end of the rod over stockade fence where I'll leave it under strain all night. One very important thing that I do before I go in is to dress the line using a good quality line cleaner/dressing. The best dressing that I've found so far is "Lee Wulff" line dressing. Orvis line dressing also works well. I apply a nickel-size blob of dressing to a 2" by 2" piece of t-shirt material and wrap it loosely around the fly line and walk it from the leader end to the rod tip and then walk it back to the leader end again. Over night it dries to a super smooth finish. Next morning I back-off the drag on the reel and reel up the line without any tension on it.

This may seem a bit extreme, but I can guarantee that the line will shoot through guides and you'll gain an extra 20 to 30 feet on your cast. Also you won't be untangling you fly line all day.

Give it a try and good luck...

Tight lines, but not too tight,

Capt. Bob

Falmouth & the Elizabeths

Joe LeClair reports:

Bluefin tuna has pissed all over me again this week. But not without running hundreds of miles trying to find some that we could catch with the fly rod and listening to the radio while the trolling fleet catches record amounts of small tuna. Lately I feel like I should be catching bluefish in August and Tuna in September. Uuuugh

Joe

The South Side

Curt Jessup of Cape Cod Outfitters reports:

As we all race off into tuna ecstasy, please keep in mind a few things as we hook, land and release these valuable fish. There is speculation that manhandling tuna (Bonito, False Albacore, skipjack/oceanic bonito, bluefin, yellowfin etc.) can cause permanent damage to these fish and decrease the possibility of the fish living after release. Since the Tuna hit Newport and are working their way down the coast and towards Cape Cod bay, i have seen horrendous handling of these fish from yanking them out of the water by the tail or lip gaffing them boat-side and dragging a bloody fish into the boat to get 35 digital shots. I am not against keeping an occasional legal fish, what I am against is the beating some of these fish take alongside a boat and the amount of time they spend out of the water. I realize this is a blood sport and I am not crying out against animal cruelty, what I am saying is use a bit of common sense when handling these fish. If possible, support the fish body as you lift it out of the water. Try not to pull it out by the tail as the weight of the fish may damage the vertebrae. Try to release the fish in the water. Some of the more interesting photos i have seen have been of anglers leaning out over the side of boat and releasing the fish or gently supporting it half out of the water.

As a guide, I see a little bit of everything. In the excitement of breaking fish, the first thing we want to do is grab a rod and start flailing or race into the pod and chuck something. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. A better approach is to sit back and look around. Scan the horizon, attempt to find a distant pod of fish, look for changes in water color which may mean concentrated bait, identify what the fish are feeding on. Recently i had a client on board who ties great flies and wanted to use them. The only problem was, the fish were feeding on dime sized butterfish and 1 inch squid and he wanted to throw 8-10 inch flies. I am all for trying something new and let him hurt himself with his new 12 weight rod and 10 inch fly. After about 20 minutes and breaking fish all around, we switched to a sparse Mushmouth

on an 8 weight rod. Bang-wallop and whadayaknow-----tight to the bone and off to the races. Sometimes it pays off and a slower approach may yield more hook-ups in the long run. Take it all in. If 5 boats are on a big school of fish and one boat is on a smaller distant school of fish, I can guess who will hook-up more often and probably have more fun.

Four years ago I took my first trip to Harkers Island, North Carolina for false albacore. I wish everyone here in the Northeast could experience the way the guides and fishermen work together down South.

There is no run and gun and people yield to the boat closest to the fish and work the edges. Rarely do the boats move faster than 5-10 miles per hour when a pod of fish is spotted. If everyone sits still and keeps quiet, the fish come around and surface in the same general area. I owe a well known fellow guide a thank you as he came up to me after my first day of fishing Harkers and kindly explained the "rules of the road". I very much appreciated the heads up and adjusted my Northeast fishing style. I learned how to catch more fish in an unfamiliar fishery and have more fun in the process. Look, listen and learn on the water. If we sit back for a minute and take in our surroundings we will not only appreciate this great fishery but probably catch more fish. Get out and take a shot at these ocean speedsters, stay safe and catch em up!!!

My best,

Capt. Curt Jessup

Tom George of Fish Pier Charters reports:

Thorne-

This wasn't from Chatham, it was actually in Hyannis, but it was a nice sunset and a nice little fly caught schoolie..the tuna are thick off Chatham, it should be a big weekend with the change in the regs to get out there...

Tom

Martha's Vineyard

Steve Purcell of Larrys Tackle reports:

For the boat guys, there is a ton of bonito out at the hooter. Three guys who do both fly and spin caught 87 fish there yesterday.

Julian from the shop went on to say that, closer to home, there have been fish schooled up and busting off of Tashmoo, and that a school of albies appeared there this week as well.

At night and at dusk, Gay Head has been an excellent place to catch stripers from boat or from shore of late. If it's shallow water fishing for bass that you're looking for, fish have been back on the flats of late at places like the Eel Pond flats, Lambert's cove, and Dogfish bar. The sun may not cooperate enough to provide visibilitythis weekend unfortunately.

Nantucket

Lynne Heyer of Cross Rip Outfitters reports:

Spanish Mackerel have hit Great Point. Received a report of some Spanish off Great Point over the weekend. Plenty of Blues up their as well. The West End of the Island is still fishing well on the Bonito Bar. Plenty of small Bones and Blues. Bass are on the flats but everyone has the Bonito craze so I don’t have a fresh flats report for the last few days. The South Shore off the Golf Ball, airport radar, to Miacomet has had some monster Blues on top. The Rips east of the Island are holding big quantities of Blues and a few Bluefin are being seen but not many shots at catching them with the Bluefish being so aggressive. Looks like we are going to be having some great weather this week so get out there and fish.

Update from Lynne:

I don’t have any new photos. Been fishing like crazy and no time to download photos. Today the Bonito Bar was pretty epic. Lots of fish and they were happy to bite. Lots on fly and spinning. The Tuna bite offshore was pretty awesome this morning also, Capt. Shawn called in that they landed many Tuna and got spooled by a big one. Sorry for the Quick report but it’s the best I can do. Lynne

Chatham, Monomoy and the Outer Beaches

Matt from Chatham Bait and Tackle (508-945-9779) says that "the fishing for tuna is better than the fishing for stripers!" to the east of Chatham. 

If you're looking for bass, head ot the Sea buoy, or a litle bit south of there, and the bass -- some of them pretty big -- are back.  Many of the commercial hook and line fleet are there jigging up the bass that you see in the markets, so things must be pretty consistent.  The strategy there is to get there when the tide is moving, prefereably early in the morning, and try to locate bass near the surface by watching the gulls.  If the fish are not near the surface, put on a big green and white half-and-half, and start dredging.  It's blind fishing, but it can produce some great strikes and big fish.

Further offshore (about 10 NM) the fishing at Crab's Ledge, and beyond has been fabulous for the guys who troll squid bars for short bluefin tuna.  Again, this is not the perfect conditins for the fly guys, but the fish ARE out there in pretty big numbers and you can get into some surface action and stick a fish on a fly if the conditions are right.

Fly anglers can also try their luck at the bonito that have moved into the water from Stage Harbor, upthe West side of Monomoy, and into the rips of Hedge Fence.  These fish are typically mixed in with bluefish, so you will have to lose a few flies, but also keep your eyes open for pods of fish that appear and bust bait.  The less splashy pods, or ones that flash green could well be bonito.

North Side

Curt Jessup of Capt. Curt Jessup reports:

As we all race off into tuna ecstasy, please keep in mind a few things as we hook, land and release these valuable fish. There is speculation that manhandling tuna (Bonito, False Albacore, skipjack/oceanic bonito, bluefin, yellowfin etc.) can cause permanent damage to these fish and decrease the possibility of the fish living after release. Since the Tuna hit Newport and are working their way down the coast and towards Cape Cod bay, i have seen horrendous handling of these fish from yanking them out of the water by the tail or lip gaffing them boat-side and dragging a bloody fish into the boat to get 35 digital shots.

I am not against keeping an occasional legal fish, what I am against is the beating some of these fish take alongside a boat and the amount of time they spend out of the water. I realize this is a blood sport and I am not crying out against animal cruelty, what I am saying is use a bit of common sense when handling these fish. If possible, support the fish body as you lift it out of the water. Try not to pull it out by the tail as the weight of the fish may damage the vertebrae. Try to release the fish in the water. Some of the more interesting photos i have seen have been of anglers leaning out over the side of boat and releasing the fish or gently supporting it half out of the water.

As a guide, I see a little bit of everything. In the excitement of breaking fish, the first thing we want to do is grab a rod and start flailing or race into the pod and chuck something. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. A better approach is to sit back and look around. Scan the horizon, attempt to find a distant pod of fish, look for changes in water color which may mean concentrated bait, identify what the fish are feeding on.

Recently i had a client on board who ties great flies and wanted to use them. The only problem was, the fish were feeding on dime sized butterfish and 1 inch squid and he wanted to throw 8-10 inch flies. I am all for trying something new and let him hurt himself with his new 12 weight rod and 10 inch fly. After about 20 minutes and breaking fish all around, we switched to a sparse Mushmouth on an 8 weight rod. Bang-wallop and whadayaknow -- tight to the bone and off to the races.

Sometimes it pays off and a slower approach may yield more hook-ups in the long run. Take it all in. If 5 boats are on a big school of fish and one boat is on a smaller distant school of fish, I can guess who will hook-up more often and probably have more fun.

Four years ago I took my first trip to Harkers Island, North Carolina for false albacore. I wish everyone here in the Northeast could experience the way the guides and fishermen work together down South.

There is no run and gun and people yield to the boat closest to the fish and work the edges. Rarely do the boats move faster than 5-10 miles per hour when a pod of fish is spotted. If everyone sits still and keeps quiet, the fish come around and surface in the same general area. I owe a well known fellow guide a thank you as he came up to me after my first day of fishing Harkers and kindly explained the "rules of the road." I very much appreciated the heads up and adjusted my Northeast fishing style. I learned how to catch more fish in an unfamiliar fishery and have more fun in the process. Look, listen and learn on the water. If we sit back for a minute and take in our surroundings we will not only appreciate this great fishery but probably catch more fish. Get out and take a shot at these ocean speedsters, stay safe and catch em up!

My best,

Capt. Curt Jessup

Reel-Time moderator Bob Parsons writes:

Barnstable has had a number of early morning feeds this week. Schoolies up to midtwenties in length. One day the feed was back by the islands. Another day it ran from the moored boats back to the yacht club. A third day most of the action was out in the channel between the bars. I used a 3" bonito bunny and it worked well. A buddy using more a a chartreuse fly got few hits. Some of the blitzes are small bluefish so a heavy mono leader is advisable if you want to preserve your flies.