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Aug 2, 2007 Blog Entry :
Capt. Hap Farrell |
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The 2nd Rock Harbor Tournament
By: Capt. Hap Farrell
On the 1st of Aug.
the 2nd of 3 tournaments was held at Rock Harbor. The boats departed
around 11:15 am and returned around 4 hours. later. This is not a real
serious tournament, it is meant to have some fun and the winners will
receive plaques and other awards some of which are of a humorous nature.
The first one was a
success so the 2nd one had an even bigger turnout up at the booth for the
Rock Harbor Charter Service (508-255-9757). There is going to be a 3rd and
final tournament on the 30th of Aug. and we expect this to top the first
two.
The fishing was a
little slow on this day but it did not dampen anyone’s spirit. Jeff
Conklin won fist prize for the biggest bass which was a solid 40 inches.
He was closely followed by Pat Sanders with a 39 inch bass. Oliva June won
a big floppy hat for landing the most keeper bass. The hat is to protect
her swelled head from the sun since she landed 12 bass over 28 inches. Tom
Becker was honored for landing the smallest fish which was a whopping 12
inch striper. There were many other awards given out for such things as
the ugliest fish, the most fish lost and the like.
A good time was had
by everyone and they are waiting to see what the next tournament brings on
the 30th of Aug.
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Captain Hap Farrell -
stunmai@copper.net |
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Aug 1, 2007 Blog Entry :
Capt. Hap Farrell |
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Rock
Harbor Fishing Report
By: Capt. Hap
Farrell
1 Aug. 2007
The
Weather & Fish are Cooperating
Finally, we are getting some weather that
is tolerable, actually quite good. No Wind!!!! The fishing isn’t too bad
either, especially on the full day trips we take to Provincetown.
We had a busy week. Two tournaments were
held out of Rock Harbor. On July 28th 2007 many of the charter boats that
fish the waters of Cape Cod Bay were involved in a day long fishing
tournament. For a few years now Eric Hubler has organized a tournament to
raise money for the Athletic Department in the Nauset Regional School
System in memory of Chris Svenningson. He has booked most of the charter
boats who fish the bay. Boats from Barnstable Harbor, Sesuit Harbor, Rock
Harbor, and even a boat from Provincetown. The weight of six stripers per
boat determine the winner. There is also a prize for the smallest
bluefish. It really doesn’t matter who wins, it’s that everyone enjoys
themselves and some money is raised for a good cause.
The winners were, biggest bass and most
weight went to the Gray Dolphin from Sesuit with second place going to the
Osprey from Rock Harbor. The Watanye’s crew, from Rock Harbor, won the
prize for largest and smallest bluefish.
The second was our own little tourney.
Again, all the boats in the Rock Harbor Charter Service were involved. The
winners were rewarded with a plaque for biggest fish, bass or bluefish,
and one for the second biggest fish. Other prizes were awarded but more on
a humorous nature. As in the first tourney it was fun for everyone. To see
pictures of the winners come down to the booth and look in the picture
board this weekend. You’ll see how much fun was had.
Now, where are the bass and what have they
been up to? Lately, there have been three main areas where one can find an
decent amount of bass. The first is on the north edge of Billingsgate
Shoal, their normal hangout. Most of the time on the flood tide you can
jig on the edge or just up on top and do quite well. Some days better that
others. There is a fair amount of bluefish mixed in. The second is out in
the deep water on the Square. This is 45 feet of water off the edge of the
shoals. Here jigging with long wires (450 ft.) will work well along with
the tube & worm. The third, if you want to take the ride and deal with the
crowd is off the Bath House south of Race Point. Here, jigging is your
best bet. Watch for the hang ups, there is a fair amount of them.
The bluefish, what are they doing? There
are some in on South Sunken Meadow and off the Eastham shore but this area
has thinned out recently. This is normal and these fish should be back in
force soon. Right now the best area is out in the deep water mixed in
with the bass. Just put out an umbrella rig on 150 foot wire set up and
you’ll have all you want. For those who want to plug for these fish wait a
bit. They will be in off the Eastham shore soon and hungrier than ever.
Just this last Tuesday a large school of bluefish both the small ones and
big bluefish were found in tight to the path. They could well be on the
way to the Sunken Meadow area.
This last week I had a new local person
named Tom Gallagher. He just bought a house in Dennis and loves to fish.
This is one of the reasons he moved to the Cape. Anyway, he was treated to
using some of the really light wire tackle I’ve just put together. This is
30 lb. test wire on a soft action Shakespeare rod designed to fish for
muskie and pike on the Great Lakes. The guides can handle the wire. Tom
was able to land a nice 36 inch bass using this tackle. Not bad for a new
kid on the block.
If you’d like to try some of this good mid
summer fishing call me at: 508-240-8267 (cell) or 508-255-6211 (home).
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Captain Hap Farrell -
stunmai@copper.net |
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July 27, 2007 Blog Entry
: Capt. Hap Farrell |
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Light
Tackle Fishing
By: Capt. Hap
Farrell
A few days ago I took my mate Pete, a fill
in mate Mark, and Connie Delano, who mated for me my first years in
business, fishing up by P-town. My first year was twenty something years
ago to be polite. Anyway, we only used really light gear.
We jigged, by hand, with these really light
action rods using 30 lb, test wire for a while taking some bass up to 40
inches. We were right at the corner at Wood End on the edge. Then we moved
up to just outside the traps and tubed. Here I used 18 lb. test leadcore
on very light action rods. Fishing with 4 colors out we’d hook up and
watch 4 more colors peal out. Some of these fish were over 40 inches. To
say the least it was a fun time.
All of this tackle was designed at the
Goose Hummock in Orleans, with the help of Fran and Garrett.
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Captain Hap Farrell -
stunmai@copper.net |
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July 25, 2007 Blog Entry
: Capt. Hap Farrell |
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Rock Harbor Fishing Report
By: Capt. Hap
Farrell
24 July 2007
The
fishing is picking Up
This has been one the strangest seasons I
can remember. The weather is erratic at best. The wind seems to be always
blowing in some direction and just a little too much for comfort.
The fish, what can we say about the fish.
They are not doing what we’re used to and going where we would like them
to go. But I guess that’s why it’s called fishing?
Well, it seems we have cracked the code, or
at least parts of it. The charter fleet has been able to ferret out when
and where the wiley stripers are hiding. We are not setting the world
afire but we are starting to land a good respectable amount of fish. Some
of the really big fish are alluding us so we need your help in finding and
landing them. Come down to Rock Harbor and ask Roxanne or talk directly to
one of the captains and they will tell you how you can help.
What have the stripers been up to? They are
still either on top of Billingsgate Shoals or on the north edge of the
shoals. Lately they have been spread out. You could start down near the #1
can on the southwest end of the shoals and work right up the edge to right
off Great Island and mostly land all the bass you would want. They will
just hit occasionally. Also there are a number of undersize fish with the
keeper mixed in. Jigging wire 320 foot of wire is the best method but the
tube and worm is starting to be fairly productive. There is no shortage of
bluefish here either. This is true with skates too.
Another area that is showing great promise
is P-town. Large schools of bass are found from Long Point up towards the
Bath House and Race Point. At times they are in on the flats in the
shallow water and at other times out in the deep water outside the pots.
Where they are determines the methods used to catch them. It can get
crowded there especially on a commercial day when the bass can be caught
and sold.
The second Rock Harbor Tournament is going
to be held on the 1st of Aug. on the half day trip departing at 11:15 am.
For those who are already booked on one of our boats are automatically
entered. For those who want to get in on the second tourney there are
boats still open, all you have to do is call Roxanne and the booth
(508-255-9757) and ask her to get you on a boat for that day. The whole
aspect of this seasons tournaments are to have fun and bring some
recognition to the sport of fishing and to the facility at Rock Harbor in
Orleans and what it has to offer to both the summer visitor and our local
residents. The first one was a bit unorganized but the kinks have been
worked out. It was still a lot of fun to do and be in some come join the
second tourney of this season.
This last week we had some young folk do
really well landing some good size bass. First is Henry Martin from Glen
Ridge, N.J., who while fishing aboard the Luau landed a nice 34 inch bass.
Jigging is a tough way to fish even for adults but when a 10 year old
young man does it with ease it’s good to see. Henry is just such a young
man. He showed the adults aboard the Luau how it was done. The other young
person is Miss Emily Ewen. This young lady has fished with me quite often.
She loves to use my really light tackle. Her father Chris, who owns a
summer home in Orleans, brings her every time he comes fishing. On this
trip we used my new really light wire rig. It’s like using a fresh water
boat rod for large mouth bass as a jigging rod. Jigging by hand is how it
works. Landing this fish is the challenge. Miss Emily did quite well.
If you’d like to try some of this light
tackle call me at: 508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211.
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Captain Hap Farrell -
stunmai@copper.net |
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July 24, 2007 Blog Entry
: Capt. Garret LaScola |
Well the tuna fishing east of
Chatham has picked up again! On sunday I had our good customer jack Griffin
on the boat and we headed out of the harbor at 5 am. I also employed the
help from Bob from local hooker rods to help me as a deck hand and a gaff
man. We also had justin and his father on the boat who had a boat two slips
over in the harbor. Once we rounded the tip of Monomoy Island we steamed
east toward the BC Buoy. After about eight mile east I noticed a large group
of birds coming together and told jack to head in that direction. There
were no boats to speak of and everyone energy was positive. One we got
within a mile or so of the birds Tuna started to show themselves. Justin
who is about 14 or so was freaking out because he had never seen fish leap
completely out of the water to chase bait. I quickly deployed the riggers
and started to put the spread out. I just about had all four rods and i was
showing Jack how his new 50's work then the rigger that i was just putting
out snapped out and we had just hooked up. Jack fought the fish for about
15-20 minutes, and he was astonished the strength these fish had. I told
him he has a baby on and that last year i has a sixteen year old reel up a
200# class fish in lighter tackle. We put that fish on ice and set up
again to have more success during the day. I have a funny feeling jack
might be another addict to the sport of tuna fishing. We also landed a pile
of large bass on the rigs and made justin reel all of them in. It was a
great day on the water and once again the weathermen were wrong and the sea
were clam with a residual swell.
At the shop we have the largest selection of shell squids and at lower
prices on cape cod, plus many more tuna fishing gear from the top
manufactures. All crimps on rigs whether in house or not are checked for
durability and strength. Our staff is knowledgeable and do not with hold
information, because we want out valued customers to make memories on the
water. |
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Captain Garrett LaScola |
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July 18, 2007 Special Blog Entry :
Capt. Hap Farrell |
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Rock
Harbor Fishing Report
By: Capt. Hap
Farrell
20 July 2007
Special
Olympics Comes to Rock Harbor
This last Monday we sponsored Special
Olympics at Rock Harbor. We’ve done this for the past 24 years in a row.
All the charter boats in Rock Harbor, from Welfleet Harbor, the Jacks
Mate, and Sesuit Harbor, the Prime Rate and the Annie B, volunteer their
services for this half day trip. It is the one day we all look forward to.
It reminds us why we do this. The looks on the faces of these special
anglers as they boat their fish is, simply put, priceless.
Before I get into what happened at this
years Special Olympics let me go into what has happened during the rest of
the time. The stripers are still occupying the north edge of Billingsgate
Shoals. They are stretched over the whole length of the shoals which is
almost 5 miles. Stay anywhere between 18 to 24 feet of water, jig from the
southwest to the northeast or the reverse, and you should eventually run
across a number schools of stripers from schoolies to fish over 40 inches.
Provincetown, the Race, Wood End, and Long Point also hold larger numbers
of stripers. The only thing is they don’t always eat. As far as the
bluefish are concerned the Path and along the Welfleet/Truro shore is
loaded with bluefish. The Eastham shore and up by Sunken Meadow is the
same way.
Last Saturday I had a local young lady
along with her farther out on a half day trip. Meaghan Fitzpatrick, from
Brewster and a student at Bridgewater State College, came out to try her
luck at landing a nice striper. Kevin, her father had been out before but
this was Meaghans first time. It wasn’t long before she hooked up on a
hard fighting fish. With a little coaching and her skill she landed a very
nice 18 pound, 37 inch striper while jigging on top of Billingsgate
shoals. She’s hooked now herself. First chance she gets she’ll be out at
it again.
This was the 24th consecutive Special
Olympics held at Rock Harbor. This is a pretty big deal for this reason,
next year is the 25th year and plans are already underway. A date has not
been set but all other plans are in the works. All the bigwigs from the
Mass. Special Olympics Committee will be at the harborfor it. This should
be quite a show.
Speaking of shows, this seasons Special
Olympics was, in all ways. perfect. The weather was good, the fish bit
very well, and everyone had a really good time. How can you describe to
someone the look on a persons face when they land a fish with relative
ease when it’s thought they could hardly hold the rod? When you see the
sense of accomplishment these special anglers have when the mate hold a
fish next to them that is nearly one third their height. Those who came
down to the harbor and watched these crews getting off their respective
boats saw it. Those who came to the awards ceremony afterwards saw it.
Those of us who were on the boats saw it and it will be permanently etched
in our brains.
Here are some of the winners: Justin Carlis
on the Luau, Leona Scbie aboard the Seaduction, Richard White fishing on
the Hobo, and Lili Bass on the Osprey. These anglers won various awards
for the fish they landed. In actuality all the participants won. They won
the admiration and respect of the Captains and Mates who were honored to
fish with them. We must also recognize some of the those who get this day
of athletes off the ground. Coaches and volunteers: Roxanne Hayes, Susanne
Brosnan, Michelle De Silva, Dick & Jan Bowers, and the Special Olympics
Southern Divisional Director Jay O’Brian. A special thanks goes out to
these folks.
If you’d like to try and land your own bass
or bluefish give me a call at: 508-255-6211 or 508-240-8267.
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July 12, 2007 Special Blog Entry :
Capt. Hap Farrell |
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Special Fishing Report From Cape Cod Bay
From: Capt. Hap Farrell
Subject: Light Tackle Jigging with
Wire
12
July 2007
At 6:30 this morning, 11 July, three
anglers Dennis Veronnean, Keith Tallberg, and Dave Sciaraffa, all from
Connecticut, left Rock Harbor for a half day for sport fishing aboard the
Stunmai II. We set out for the north edge of Billingsgate Shoals to do
some jigging for stripers. This entails a fairly stiff rod with a
substantial reel with round 320 feet of 50 test wire with a 3 oz. jigged
eel directly tied to the wire.
Not long after land 3 good sized keepers
averaging 33 inches, Dave Sciaraffa hooked onto a big fish. With some
concerted effort he landed a very nice 46 inch bass weighing in 38 pounds.
A good catch by anyone’s standards. But the adventure of fishing had only
begun.
On board I had a new set up. I had taken a
very light freshwater pike rod with titanium guides, to handle the wire,
and put a 320 GTI Penn reel with level wind on the rod. I’d filled the
reel with 68 yards of a soft line (dacron) as a backing and then 300 feet
of 30 pound test wire. You can’t jig with the rod , but you can jig by
hand and then fight the fish with that rod. As I understand it no one at
the Goose Hummock had ever had anyone make up a rig like this. Some were
skeptical on whether it would work.
I’ll let you be the judge and see if a
picture is really worth a thousand words. It’s 46 inches and 35 pounds. It
took 17 minutes too land.
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Captain Hap Farrell -
stunmai@copper.net |
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July 11, 2007 Special Blog Entry :
Capt. Hap Farrell |
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11 July 2007
Rock Harbor,
Orleans, Ma.
Capt. Hap
Farrell
I’ll make this short and sweet. It looks as
if the big bass are moving in the area of Billingsgate Shoals. Yesterday
and today we have some of the best fishing of the season. Finally, the
bigger stripers have moved up on the shoals.
I had Justin Gansowski and his extended
family out on the half day trip. After one of his family members finished
eating the one banana he had tucked away, we started catching our share of
nice sized bass weighing up to 30 pounds. One of the other boats landed a
striper that was 46 inches in length and 38 pounds.
They are here. Just don’t bring any
BANANAS...
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Captain Hap Farrell -
stunmai@copper.net |
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July 11, 2007 Blog Entry :
Capt. Hap Farrell |
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Rock
Harbor Fishing Report
By: Capt. Hap
Farrell
11 July 2007
Weather
in the Bay
Weather, we deal with it all the time
fishing on Cape Cod Bay. Sometimes it’s good and we get stretches of calm
sunny weather, called a “Bermuda High”, and others it can be somewhat
erratic. This summer it has been erratic in it’s fullest definition. We’ve
had a fair amount of wind this summer, more than usual. The weather is
constantly changing. I know this is New England and things change here
quite frequently but the summer, in past years, has stayed relatively
stable. This last weekend is a prime example. Calm in the morning, wind
coming on in the afternoon, and radical thunder storms in the late
afternoon and evening. It’s a good thing the fish don’t care, they are
already wet.
The stripers have taken up semi-permanent
residence on the north edge of Billingsgate Shoals. So have a large number
of skates. Large ones too. Jigging is the best method to use but an
umbrella rig on wire can produce a bass or two also. There are a good
amount of bluefish mixed in so this area is very active. The skates are
another story.
The jigged eel is a good bass lure to use.
We put it on a 300 foot wire setup on a fairly stiff rod and put in along
the bottom in a rhythmic manor. It’s quite possible to snag all sorts of
stuff on the bottom, including the harmless skate. These fish look like a
stingray with a rough brown skin with a white underbelly. They don’t bite
the jig, they get hooked by it. Some of these skate can get to be 3 feet
from wing to wing and weight up to 30 pounds. When you get one of these
big skate you’ll thing you’re hooked on the bottom, until you get over it
and pull it up. Some days we can hook up on more skate than fish. A bit
frustrating...
The bluefishing is fantastic. The main
concentration is up along the Eastham shore to the Sunken Meadow area.
Casting popping plugs or swimmers is active. Trolling single swimming
plugs or hootchies will work well too. In some areas a fly fisherman will
have a field day, that is if he can keep from being cut off all the time.
The bluefish can be found just about everywhere these days. They’re off
the Brewster Flats, on top of Billingsgate Shoals, on the north edge and
the deep water. I haven’t been up to the Path myself but I understand
there is a good amount of bluefish up there too. They’re everywhere....
We’re coming off the big tides now so I
feel the main body of stripers may move into the deep water by next week.
Especially during the low water. As the size of the tides really get down
they may stay in the deep water most of the time. For now look on top and
on the edge during the flood part of the tide and as it retreats move off
the north edge to at least 25 feet of water and jig.
This last Sunday I had the Campbell party
out to use some light gear on the bluefish up by Sunken Meadow. As we
weathered one of those down pours we had this weekend a young man, Hunter
Cambell, at the tender age of 9, sat in the pouring rain and battled a 13
pound bluefish on some 12 pound test trolling tackle. Hunter won, soaking
wet and with a proud look on his face, he turned towards his father as
Pete the mate held up his trophy.
This coming Monday, the 16th, the Rock
Harbor Fleet will be hosting the 24th annual Special Olympics Fishing
Contest. It will be starting off at 11:00 am. and finish up at around 3:30
or so. If you’d like to be a witness to one of the most exciting days of
the season we have come down and watch it unfold.
If you’d like to get in on some of this
seasons best fishing give me a call at: 508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211 and
we’ll get you set up.
www.capecodbaycharters.com
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Captain Hap Farrell -
stunmai@copper.net |
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July 6, 2007 Blog Entry :
Capt. Hap Farrell |
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Rock Harbor Fishing Report
By: Capt. Hap
Farrell
6 July 2007
Rock
Harbor’s 1st Tourney of 2007
On Tuesdays, the 3rd of July, the Rock
Harbor Charters Association had its first tournament of the 2007 season.
Everyone on one of the associations boats were entered. This first of 3
tourneys is designed to acquaint the new residents of the Lower Cape area
to the sport of fishing for bass and bluefish in the waters of Cape Cod
Bay. This associations has been in existence since the late 50’s, however
with the changes in the Cape in recent years and the influx of new
residents the members feel that a tournament like this will acquaint the
new comers to the harbor and its services.
First I must get into what has been
happening in the Bay. On thing I can say without any hesitation is that
the blue fishing up by the Sunken Meadow area and along the Eastham shore
is outrageous. If you want to plug for them, use a fly rod on them, or any
other method, you will not be disappointed. They are so thick you can get
out of your boat and walk on their backs. There are a number of bluefish
up by the Path also. This does not count the bluefish we find on the
shoals, off the Brewster Flats, and in the deep water off the north edge.
These fish seem to be everywhere.
What have the stripers been up to. It seems
that they have based themselves on the north edge of Billingsgate Shoals
and out to the deep water off the shoals. Jigging is the best method right
now or if you’re in the deep water an umbrella rig with some weight will
also work. Good sized stripers have also been landed on the east bar of
Barnstable Harbor but that is hot and cold. Provincetown is the same way.
One day it’s good and really good at times and other days it can be slow
at the Race and Woodend. I think this will continue for a week or so and
then start to pick up in all these areas. Speaking of stripers I had a
family out this last Monday. The Bertschmann family wanted to see if they
could get themselves some bass for a cook out. Well, their 10 year old
daughter, Holly, came through for the family by landing a 38 inch bass
weighing in at 21 pounds. They will have a good cook out for sure.
Lets get to the first tournament we’ve had
at Rock Harbor for a long time. If you have ever been in the restaurant
business you know what being in the weeds is. Well, we were. The first of
anything is usually not as organized as it should be. However, all the
participants had a good time, fish were caught and the awards were passed
out. The largest fish was a striped bass 42 inches in length and next
biggest fish was 41 inches. The smallest fish was an 18 inch bluefish and
the most fish lost was 8 fish. Unfortunately the list with the names of
these winners was discarded so I can’t give you them. I told you we were
in the weeds. We have another coming up. The one winner I do know of is
Leo Wieskert, from Eastham, who landed the most fish. He landed 3
stripers, one of which he kept, and 12 bluefish. Not bad for 4 hours of
fishing.
If you like to try your had at some good
Cape Cod Bay fishing give me a call at: 508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211.
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Captain Hap Farrell -
stunmai@copper.net |
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