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Cape Cod and the Islands
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A Beauty from Capt. W. Brice Contessa "We found him like that...slumped over his computer with a fillet knife sticking out of his back." But the truth is I don't care. Hedge Fence, Menemsha, Hooter, Woods Hole, Waquoit, Lackey's, Steam Ship Authority, Bonito Bar...all of them are spots where action has been had, but you, as a knowledgeable angler, need to know one crucal bit of information: bonito are a highly migratory species. That means they move around, alot, and they do it at a high rate of speed. So merely knowing that someone sometime took a bonito at a spot doesn't necessarily mean much. You're going to be smart, and look for bait, current, and the conditions that have brought you bonito success in the past, right? Take this to the bank: right now, anywhere along the south side of the cape you have a good chance of finding a blitz of bonito. You don't need to crowd the other guy - just get in a likely spot ahead of the fish and wait your turn.
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The ASMFC has released a new change to the striped bass stock assessment and you can read it here. I've discussed it with John McMurray and we'll have a blog post on it later today. The summary is that we will probably show striped bass as overfished this season, so perhaps, maybe, they'll be changes coming. |
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Buzzards Bay
Capt. Joe LeClair from North Eastern Anglers had this report: Sorry for the delay. I have been very busy catching Striped Bass and Bluefish with people from all over the country this week. Many of them are here on Vacation and the fishing has been awesome. I have enjoyed several great days on the water in Buzzards Bay chasing Bass and Blues and well as searching the waters just offshore for Tuna. While we did get some shots at the tuna and saw some amazing displays of Nature, the real story (as it has been all summer) is the great fishing inshore for bass and blues... Captain Joe LeClair |
Falmouth & the Elizabeths
Touching Cloth reports from the Elizabeths: Good action on the incoming tide last night after sunset. lots of 15-20 pound fish in the shallows. look for the colder water, under 70 degrees. Demellow has another great report: I've only managed to get out twice since my last report. I got out last Thursday (8/14) at pre-dawn and got skunked. I hit the same spot around the Elizabeths and got there extra early. I beleieve we left the docks at 4 and had our lines in the water by 4:45. We tried drifting eels instead of trolling partly because trolling in the dark around lobster pots is asking for trouble. We didn't mark any fish but stuck to our game plan. We made several drifts until the sun came up but go no interest in the eels. As the sun came up we moved in closer to shore and trolled but only managed a bluefish. As it's been for the last two weeks the surface was alive with birds, bait and bluefish. The weather and mechanical problems on my boat kept me off the water until this morning. With the winds honking out of the north I made the decision to stay in buzzards bay. The tide was running north this morning through the holes and I didn't want to get slammed with the wind against the tide. That was probably a good decsion from a comfort standpoint but not so good for catching fish. I headed out to Gooseberry at 4:15 am. The tide was slack and I only marked a few fish. We trolled for about an hour and caught a few bluefish. As the sun came up the surface was alive with bait, bluefish and birds. We had to leave at 6:30 to get to work. It was painful leaving all the action. I think the one thing that I had working against me these last two days is lack of current. In retrospect this morning should have been a no go. My inclination was to target the holes in and around Vineyard Sound because that's where the current was flowing at 4:30 AM. The North winds scared me away and I fell back on Gooseberry to stay in the lee of the land. I think I need to stay more disciplined with my fishing time and money and follow these steps: 1. Fish only at dawn and dusk I'll admit it--I'm a completey obsessed. It's theraputic to write about it. |
The Cape Cod Canal
I'm going to summarize. Small fish, tight to the bottom, occassional bluefish, and lots of effort for little results. Can you catch fish? Yes, but it's no where as good as the Chamber of Commerce would like you to believe. |
The South Side
Our Super Moderator Bob Parsons is finally back at it after being sidelined early in the season: Today I had Scott and his girlfriend Denise help my with the boat. Headed out of Waquoit towards Hedge Fence. We set up to troll a couple lines, (Denise is still perfecting her casting skills). The chartreuse 7" repala she was trolling brought interest by some bluefish and a nice fac 24" striper. There were birds over the bluefish this time. When the tide started to slack, we headed over towards Ock Buffs. Only saw a stray splash in one area and a seal in another. Went to Middle ground water was now moving well but no birds and at this time no sign of activity. WE needed some action regardless of what it was, sot off to Woods Hole to check the bluefish activity. While the birds action was good, it was maybe 1/2 what I saw on sunday. Denise had her bluefish an d striper under her belt, her next hook up was with a nice rock, It gave a good account of itself and we had to put the boat into gear to chase, where after some tricky manueuver in the current we released by the boat. Denise continued to demonstrate her luck, when a screeming reel told us a boat had crossed her line. Applying the right techniques (yelling waving) she was able to stop this schoolie boat before it spooled her. A few simple snips and we had most of line back and the lucky lure. Scott rerigged the rod Denise was using, (she had already broken the handle off her reel in an epic battle with a bluefish and the current. Denise casted out (she's getting better) next we hear both her and her reel scream. She had an osprey, it had grabbed the plug when it hit the water. The spool was palmed and the surprised bird dropped to the water releasing the plug. It was able to fly away unharmed. So how do you fillet an osprey again? ReelKnotty had this: I got out there a little late on Saturday, about 10:30 or so to find the fleet doing the mixed run and gun under birds and the standard troll. Dropped over a few yozuri DD's and trolled along the fence. Landed about half dozen blues and 1 nice Bone that managed to wrap himself around my transducer and had me hanging over the back of the boat in effort to land it. I think that made him taste even better on the grill later on. Overall great day on the water, I have not been able to get out and fish much this season but this made up for allot of the missed time on the water. |
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Martha's Vineyard
Fishing The Vineyard Report 8/22/08 Capt. Phil Cronin at Capawok Charters reports: Martha's Vineyard Fishing Report - August 21, 2008 Atlantic bonito fishing on fly and light spinning tackle is not for the faint of heart. It takes extreme concentration and a slight tendency for masochistic behavior. On a typical day bonito fishing you can spend hours watching and waiting and seconds throwing into breaking fish only to have your fly ignored or hook up with a bone only to lose it after a brief fight. Its fishing excitement at it's finest for minutes and total boredom at its worst for what seems like hours. But when all is said and done, it is the type of inshore fishing that creates fanatics. Catching one bonito on fly or light spinning rod makes it all worthwhile. The last several days we have been throwing into these wily speedsters and each day the action seems to get more intense. Mornings have seen an incoming tide along the islands north shore and most of the usual bonito haunts have been disappointing. Once the tide reaches the top third of the stage, things begin to happen and slashing bones come out of hiding. In past years it has always been an early morning bite but this year is different. Mid-day seems to be the best right now. Outside of Tashmoo channel has been OK but not great; Vineyard Haven Harbor and along Eastville beach has also been OK but not great. Waters between Oak Bluffs and Edgartown have seen the most action but the numbers of boats chasing bones has been almost intolerable. As far as bait is concerned – it is everywhere and thick. Today we threw to slashing bones in tons and tons of silversides. The problem was that inticing a hit on the fly was a real challenge given the amount of bait. It is not an uncommon problem when fishing the speedsters and the solution is perseverance. Keep throwing and you will hook up eventually. It’s time to fish the boneyard so get out and give it a try. Pretty soon these hard fighting, great eating tunoids will be chased out by the albies and that’s not an entirely bad thing is it? Tight Lines and screaming drags, Captain Phil Cronin |
Capt. W. Brice Contessa reports:
After waiting anxiously for consistent bonito action I can say with conviction that the "boneyard" is definitely open.
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Nantucket
Cross Rip Outfitters reports the bonito are hitting hard: Finally, The Bonito have arrived. Jeffrey Owen landed three on fly yesterday with me. Today Capt. Shawn landed 9 with his client, Jack Siragusa. Capt.Jeff and Joe Santucci had many hits but couldn't seem to get any to the boat, GRRRRR. Better late than never. |
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Chatham, Monomoy and the Outer Beaches
Capt. Jack Renfrew of Coastline Guide Service reports: Hi Mark, This past week has found me spending more time than normal down the cape and focusing on the area around Monomoy. The rips have once again turned on in a big way and we're getting a lot of nice fish. Nothing huge but a lot of just sublegal fish and many, rather most, legal fish running from 28-36" or so. Either side of the high or low tide is producing. Technique is to either have the boat held just above the lip of the rip and drift your offerings into the curl, or simply drift through then run back up current and repeat. You'll get 90% of your fish right where the flat water meets the rip. The picture below is from this past week and one of the successful trips we've had. *** A word of Caution *** The rips around Monomoy are nothing to be trifled with. Everyone on board should be on full alert and warn eachother of any rogue waves headed your way. There are plenty of them out there. Up in this neck of the woods in the Plymouth/Duxbury area there's still an odd void from hardly a bluefish around. We are however having decent action for stripers early in the mornings. Word on the tuna is that the waters off Chatham are still hot, and the bay side is beginning to show some signs of turning on there again. Keep an eye on the forecast for the storms which seem to be a daily late afternoon occurrence lately. Good Luck! Jack |
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North Side
Capt. Terry Nugent of the Riptide reports: Today Shaun and I decided to go out and try for some tuna on the spining gear ourselves. We got up at 0600 and got a nice leisurely start. We splashed in Sandwich and ran out in to the Bay. I headed for the numbers where we got fish the other day. Within a 1/2 mile of my numbers we spot some nice size fish spraying halfbeaks. We get our shot and I get tight on the second cast. I worked the fish hard since we were hoping to do some tagging today. About 50' from the boat I pulled a bit too hard and POP! I break the fish off. Single hook on a Got Styper rubber so the hook should rust out and I got back most of my flouro. Back on the hunt. A few minutes later we Ruge gets tight on another fish with a money cast and he leans on the fish HARD. Once again SEE YA! Pulled hook! We are now 0 for 2 but really not that upset. The bites are coming fast and the fish are all around. These are the days we try to find the limits of the gear and we have gone beyond the limits twice. Next shot comes on some breaking fish a few minutes later. This fish gets worked over and gets the lip gaff and darted with a Tag A Tiny tag and released. 58" and nice and fat. We are on the board and the fish are still around. Once again we are back on the hunt. The bite slowed up on top and we began to hunt the fish a little deeper. We found a few whales and birds with some nice marks under the boat. Ruge makes a blind cast and an absolute MONSTER takes two swings at it. Both misses, but this fish is HUGE!!! Ruge gets the second cast in and a "smaller" fish eats. Ruges tight and says the fish is "not that big" With that statement the fish tears off an insane run and Ruge can't even slow it down. Half the Penn 950's spool is gone which is about 350 yards of line and still going. I fire up the Contender and we are in pursuit! Ruge's all over this fish but it wants no part of him or the boat. Twenty minutes into the fight. We get color a few times 80' out from the boat. Its a nice fish, but still doesn't look that big. On the horizon is a HUGE elelctrical storm and its heading our way. Mike C calls on the cell to tell us the WX chanel shows it to be a nasty one and we should head for the barn. I tell him Ruge's 30 minutes deep into this fish and he's not breaking it off. Mike C wishes us luck and I get to dropping the antenna, stowing rods, getting the HD video camera into its dry case and suring up everything for the impending Doom and Gloom. Five minutes later we are in a monsoon! The lighting is crashing between us and land, the rain is coming down in sheets and Ruge can't move this fish. At 45 minutes I get a grab on the leader but I can't get a shot with the lip gaff. The fish is now a legit "caught" fish, but we want to photo and tag it. It takes another 5 minutes for Ruge to get the fish up to leader range again. I get the leader and make a quick shot with the lip gaff. The fish is smoked and so is Ruge. We now get the first REALLY good look at the fish and Ruge says TAKE IT! I'm shocked at how big this thing is on the lip gaff. Ruge gets the real gaff and sinks it into the fish's mouth right next to the lipper. The two of us heave ho and the fish comes over the gunnel. Its a STUD! I grab the cloth tape and get a good measure on the fish......68"!!!! SIXTY EIGHT INCHES is the largest tuna on spinning gear we have taken on my boat. It's Ruge's largest fish ever! We are pumped! As much as we were hoping to tag and release the fish he was cooked enough that I could hold him with the lip gaff without any struggle. It's Ruge's first fish of the season he's kept and the first one I've taken personally. Final tally for the day 2 for 4, with 1 tag and release 58'er and on 68"er on the boat. The fish was landed on a St Croix Saltwater Premier 7' Rod rated 20-40# with a Penn 950ssm Reel loaded with 650 yards of 50# Spiderwire Ultracast and 8' of Seaguar 50# flouro. Both fish ate a Got Stryper white rubber bait that the guys at Got Stryper asked me to try out for them. I guess they work! The water temp was 67 degrees and the fish was full of sandeels, although we saw them chasing halfbeaks. Th water was 140' deep and it was clear and sunny at first then the sky opened up and we got soaked in the middle of a downpour. Overall what can I say? It was a KILLER day OTW. We were trying out some new baits and a leaning on the fish to get a good feel for what the gear would take. I think we found out the biats work well and we have a pretty good idea of the limits of the gear. I think the St Croix / Penn Combo has a keepr tuna left in it, but not much more than that. I'm guessing 73" is gonna be the limit on this gear. It's nice to have a combo that makes a 50# sporty but still has the stones to do a fish like this when the time comes. A HUGE congrats to Ruge for a fish of a lifetime! HD Video to follow! Capt. Terry Nugent Eric Moore reports: The attached pic was dinner that night. I have been back the past few days but nuttin doin, and the water was full of mung. A note on the baitfish: I couldn't positively I'd them but they ranged in size from 6-12". I was using mullet patterns I have and slaying them. Also, there were many seals in the area, close in and I am assuming they were chowing on the larger baitfish as well. Amazing day, and I was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Cheers, Eric Moore Bill Downing checked out the Cape Cod Bay beaches this morning: Not much doing on the CCB beaches this AM. One just-legal bass and a few hits, then about 90 minutes of casting practice. All before first light at high tide or close to it. Very calm, millpond-like, gin-clear conditions and little or no current didn't help. I think even a dry fly would have spooked any bass in the area. |
A quick report for you from Wellfleet / Maguires Landing: absolute mayhem erupted on Wednesday, 8/13, with massive amounts of baitfish throwing themselves on the sand and blues blitzing in at our feet. It started at about 11:30am in the midst of the typical summer beach crowds (including me vacationing with my wife and kids). Luckily, i had my rod at the ready and took advantage of about 3 hours of off and on insanity. I had no wire leader so i lost as many fish (and flies) as i caught but was able to net about 7 healthy blues out of 20 or so hooked.