7/20 Chatham Report
With the talk starting to heat up about Chatham, I decided to take a swing fishing the cold dark corner of the Cape. I met Capt. Joe and Dana around 0730 and we dragged down to Ryders. I generally don’t get to Chatham and I honestly am not a big fan of the area although it has given me a few good fish over the years and seems to produce well for friends of mine.
We launched and ran out through the winding channel to the opening. I set a plot at every can (which turned out to be a smart move for the ride home) We hit the inlet only to be greeted by that cold wet blanket of fog that I relate to fishing Chatham.
We ran around to several of the “normal” Chatham spots. We picked up a few fish here and there, but nothing outstanding. The middle portion of the day was basically dead. We had slack water for a time, and then the fishing just wasn’t that good. Finally around 1600 the bite turned on. We found some birds over bait and there were mixed schools of bass and blues working them. It was a 50/50 mix of bass to blues, with most of the fish being just over legal and blues around 7-8#. Capt Joe and Dana got the two biggest fish. Capt Joe with an 18# bass and Dana with one around 15#.
By this time I was dead on my feet, I had been up since 1300 the day before and had worked all night. So I figured it was time to call it a day. We headed back in and worked the first half of the inlet and channel with the radar and plotter before finally breaking into the light again.
Final tally 40-50 fish for the day between the three of us. Most of the fish came in the last 2 hours of the trip. The lures of choice were jigs and sluggo’s. The water was 25-50’ deep and VERY cold averaging low 50’s everywhere we went. The skies were Chatham foggy and damp.
Overall, not the best day OTW. I was tired, but with the DNC coming and me being off the water for the week, I’m trying to get in all the fishing I can. Capt. Joe called it a “sneaky good day” due to the final number of fish we got. Dana and I agreed it was a “sneaky FAIR day” at best. Once again, I’m not a huge Chatham fan; my lack of local knowledge and the damn fog just keep it as a spot I hit a few times a year just “because”. Maybe someday I’ll get a handle on the area, but it will likely be no time soon.
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