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Rock Harbor
Fishing Report
27 Sept 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
This is going to be the last
report for the 2005 season and it’s going to end on a good note. The
big bass finally showed up and made their presence known. There have
been some 30 to 40 pound fish landed in the past week. Most of these
fish were taken either on top of Billingsgate Shoals or on the north
edge of the shoals. Some out in the deep water but most on or very
near the shoals.
In the past week one bait has made the bass fishing easier you might
say. Three inch long squid have shown up in mass. You’d see rolling
and breaking big fish, troll your hootchies over in that direction
and find you’ve hooked up on some really big bass. This would be
going on with two different boats a mile apart, with this activity
in-between them. In another area a boat is jigging and hooking up
also. This is really good fishing. For those who like bluefish there
is good new also. In-between the bass you’d hook up on giant
bluefish. These bluefish were averaging 10 to 14 pounds.
How long will this last? That’s a good question. If we don’t get any
big storms or any radical weather changes it should last for a week
or better. After awhile this fish activity will slowly taper off as
in does this time of the season. The bass should last a little into
October and the bluefish into the middle of October, that is in Cape
Cod bay. The outer beaches will be active for a while longer.
The areas to concentrate on should be the shoals, that goes without
saying. The other area is the deep water off the shoals and the
deeper water from off Great Island up to off the Path in 40 to 50
feet of water. There are still small bass on the Brewster Flats
during the flood tide with some small keepers mixed in and small
bluefish just off the edge of the flats. Jigging will work in bother
areas but the umbrella rig on 150 foot wire will work very well on
the small bluefish just off the edge of the flats in 20 feet of
water. I haven’t been in this area lately but I’m sure there are
some bluefish in the Sunken meadow area in tight to the shore.
This was a fairly strange season. With the cool weather in the
spring and the fact it took a long time to warm the water up, the
fish movements were not normal or at least not expected. The fact is
there was a lot of bait in the bay for most of the summer, which is
actually a good thing. Anyway this season was certainly one for the
books. I wonder what’s in store for us next year?
Last week I had two brothers out on a half day trip. They had heard
we were finding some good sized bass and they wanted to try for some
themselves. We put them to work jigging and they started catching
some good sized fish in the low to middle 20 pound range, around 40
to 42 inches. As all brothers do there was a small rivalry going on
about the size fish each would land. Ron Olson was ahead until his
brother Scott landed a 49 inch bass which easily broke the 40 pound
weight.
Next year Ron is going to better his brother by at least 5 pounds.
I hope you all had a good season and I also hope some of what I
reported on helped you in your fishing ventures. Any questions you
might have please e-mail me your questions and I’ll try and answer
them for you. See you in the spring.
E-mail - stunmai@copper.net
web -
www.capecodbaycharters.com |
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Rock Harbor
Fishing Report
21 Sept 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
The bass have come home to roost,
or at least made a appearance. They are starting to act like we
would like them to.
Make themselves available to catch. We’ve been doing just that. In
the past few days the fleet has been able to land a number of large
bass up to almost 50 pounds. Even on the day of the storm that never
came, one of our boats was able to make the half day and found good
size bass on the north edge of Billingsgate Shoals. The day before
the boats that were out found really good fishing in the grass
patches. The two guys I had told me we landed over 20 keepers from
which they kept 4 of the larger one. Our biggest was a healthy 35
pounder which was around 46 inches in length.
This time of the season usually gives us very good bass fishing. The
water has cooled slightly from the hotter summer days. The migrating
bait moves into the bay in large amounts. And, what is most
important the bass start to feed for their move to southern waters.
At least that’s what we think. At any rate, the fishing is very
good. Some say the best of the whole season. So far, in the past few
days, this has been proven true. This last Sunday, Capt. Steve
Peters, of the Triton, had a group out on a half day trip. The storm
that never showed had gone by and it was a beautiful day with light
winds. Anyway, he was fishing on the north edge of Billingsgate
Shoals jigging in around 18 feet of water when one of his fishermen
hooked up on something quite large. As it turned out this fish was
slightly larger than anticipated. Harry Hinkle, from Eastham, Ma,
right here on the Cape, landed a striper 52 inches in length and
weighing in at a whopping 48 pounds. That striped bass is a true
whopper.
The fishing should stay good for the next few weeks. The bluefish
can be found along the Eastham shore, south of the Path in close to
shore, all along the deeper water off the Brewster Flats and mixed
in with the bass on Billingsgate Shoals. The bass, I think, will
either be on the shoals or just off the north edge, or out in the
deep water around 50 feet. I think these two areas will stay active
until the bass start leaving around the early part of October. The
bluefish will stay around for a little while longer and then they
will head south also. In the next few weeks I’ll try and keep you
informed on where what is going on.
This last week I had Dave & Bev Dodsworth out for a day on the bay.
They brought their granddaughter, Dakota, with them. Dakota has been
out with me before and, with a little help had landed a nice 36 inch
bass weighing around 18 pounds. This season she out did herself. Her
fish this season was 44 inches in length and weighed a good 30
pounds. I wonder what she do the next time she comes out?
Web:
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E-mail: Stunmai@copper.net
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Rock Harbor
Fishing Report
14 Sept 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
Another season is coming to an
end. In a short period of time we’ll be turning up the heat, as
little as possible with the prices these days. We’ll be pulling
out the long johns to keep us warm and dreaming about next summer
and the fish that we’ll be chasing around and trying to catch.
But, for the mean time we still have a few weeks of decent fishing
to deal with.
The bass have been off and on as far as being active. One day
they’re in the deep water and a few days later we find them on the
shoals and in the grass patches. The next day they are on the
north edge of the shoals seemingly ready to go back to the deep
water. Some days we can’t find them at all, these are the tough
ones for us. This last Sunday the only area in Cape Cod bay where
there was any real activity with the striped bass was up in the
Race Point area off P-town. There was very little down by the
shoals. This last Tuesday, on the flood tide, the shoals were very
active with nice big bass and some bluefish mixed in. I think it
will be a off and on situation for the rest of the season which
should last into early October if the weather lasts.
Lately, the bluefish have been very close to home. We’ve had large
schools of 10 pound and bigger fish just off the Brewster Flats
and out west of where the old Target Ship used to be. Hootchies
don’t work as well as you might think. Single swimming plugs on
mono or an umbrella rig on 150 feet of wire are your best bets.
There is a lot of bait and it seems to be working it’s way up
towards the Eastham shore so hopefully that’s where they will end
up. No one has been by the Path lately so that might be a good bet
for both the bass and bluefish.
This has certainly been a strange season. There has been much more
bluefish around than in recent years. The bass stayed in the area
between Billingsgate Island and the Eastham shore much longer than
normal. The bass never really settled down on the shoals for any
length of time, especially in the grass patches like other
seasons. There was no real run of bass in the New ground area or
off the Brewster Flats. Plus, we never did find much in the way of
bass on the Brewster Flats themselves. I guess that’s why they
call it “Fishin” instead of “Catchin”. I hope next season will
have a little normalcy.
This last Sunday my wife, Annie, booked a trip with our neighbors
the Youngs, and a friend of hers, Joanne and her brother Kevin.
There was not anything going with the stripers so we when blue
fishing. After finding there was not much in the Sunken Meadow
area we went a little west of the old Target Ship. It didn’t take
long before we landed the 8 or 9 fish we needed for the dinner
plate. Needless to say the fishing was extremely good.
I’ll be back next season with, I hope, some very good information
on the fishing in Cape cod Bay.
E-mail - stunmai@copper.net
Web Site -
www.capecodbaycharters.com |
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Rock Harbor
Fishing Report
7 Sept 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
Remember everyone talking about
the famous 4th of July blitz with the striped bass? Well, this last
Friday through Sunday we had a Labor Day Blitz. It started on Friday
when the bass came up on Billingsgate Shoals and fed. The day
started out slow and just got better as it went on. Saturday was
just as good but more spread out. Sunday, the fish started to move
back to the deep water but a good number of big fish were still up
on top of the shoals. By Monday most of the bass were back in the
deep water but it was still really good fishing. As far as the
bluefish is concerned there is all you want from just outside Rock
Harbor up to the northeast to Sunken Meadow. Just troll your
hootchies around.
September is usually one of the better months for fishing in Cape
Cod Bay. The water cools a bit and the bass become a little more
active. Near the end of the month the bass usually gather just
before they start their migration back down south. The bluefishing
is usually very good also. The best part of fishing the bass in
September is we have the bay to ourselves. We can work an area a
little better and therefore stay on the fish better. The three most
active areas are on the top of Billingsgate Shoals, the north edge
out to 50 feet of water and up off the Eastham shore to sunken
Meadow for the bluefish.
Each season the stripers seem to gather in one spot just before they
make the move south. Most years it turns out to be the top of
Billingsgate Shoals in the shallow water. There have been seasons
when we’ve found them on the north edge in deeper water like 40
feet. It seems that this season the area is going to be the deeper
water on the north edge like around 48 to 55 feet of water. This
means long wires for umbrella rigs and even longer wires on you
jigging rods. We’ve been using 400 to 450 feet of wire and using 5
oz. jigs. It’s the only way we can get down to the bass. The tube
and worm will work also and we’re using from 7 to 9 colors with the
weighted tube. The bass are scattered around so it takes some
patience. Hopefully, there will be times when the bass come up on
the shoals itself so we can use lighter tackle on them and not have
to set out so much line just to get down to the fish.
Other areas that have both bass and bluefish are few. One area not
fished much is on the Brewster Flats during the flood tide and off
the edge of the flats during the low tide. I was fishing down that
way this last Tuesday and did hook up on some small bass and plenty
of good sized bluefish using an umbrella rig on my 150 wire setup.
The one other area with plenty of bluefish is up along the Eastham
shore up towards the Sunken Meadow area.
This last week I had a young 9 year old fisherman, JT Yager, from
Malta, N.Y. out with me. He brought along two adults with him. His
father, Jay, and Andy LaMothe from the same town in New York. JT was
able, with some help from his father, to land a nice striped Bass.
The fish weighed just a little less than JT did, but he was able to
hold his own easily.
E-mail - stunmai@copper.net
Web -
www.capecodbaycharters.com
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Rock Harbor
Fishing Report
31 Aug 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
You might have heard that the
fishing in the bay has slowed down some. Well, it has, not a whole
lot but we’re not hauling in the bass left and right. In fact, if
you land 4 to 6 keeper bass in a half day trip you’ll be doing good.
We’re hooking up on a fair amount of undersized bass but keepers are
a bit scarce. There seems to be a fair amount of bluefish around and
some of them are well over 15 pounds. So, actually the fishing is
good, not just a large amount of stripers. We’ve been spoiled by
years past. Hopefully, by the time this article comes out things
will have gotten better.
This last weekend I ran into one of our more legendary charter
captains who has been retired for a long while. This charter
captain, Vernon Nickerson, ran the Niki out of Rock harbor for more
years than you and I have fingers and toes. Because of this Capt.
Nickerson had no trouble finding fish for his anglers. The Niki was
not one of those big fancy fast boats. It was a simple and efficient
charter boat. It was the captain who ran it. Capt. Nickerson is a
quiet unassuming man who is exact in everything he does. When I
started fishing out of Rock Harbor the main fish we were after was
the bluefish. It was only on the full day trips that any stripers
were landed for the most part. Capt. Nickerson, being a retired
teacher, only did the half- day. On those days when even the
bluefish were hard to find I can remember Capt. Nickerson giving us
all a fishing lesson by finding and landing more than his share of
fish. As you would troll by him while his crew is fighting a fish
you’d find yourself without an explanation to give your people, who
were catching nothing. It was good to see him and that unassuming
face of wisdom.
Well, back to the fish. There are still bass in the deep water,
however, they seem to come and go with the tide. There are also some
bass back up on Billingsgate Shoals itself. We’ve been taking these
fish on both the jig and umbrella rig. Out in the deep water we’ve
had to add weight, but on the shoals, during high water only, you
can do well using the light umbrella rig on your short wire (150
ft.). What we need is a really hard northwest wind to drive the bass
up on the shoals and to cool the water down some. There are still
some bluefish in the Sunken Meadow area. They were not huge fish
when I was up there last but it was fairly active. Another area
which has not been looked at much is off the Brewster Flats in 30
feet of water and up on the flats themselves during high water. This
might be a place to look.
This last Tuesday I had the Clarke family out for a full day trip.
Their young son had never been salt water fishing before. Being a
country boy, his experience was in ponds and streams. He took to
this fishing like a duck to water. Stephen Clarke, age 10, from
Goshen, Ct. easily topped his sister Julia with two nice stripers.
Julia, 23, works locally here on the Cape so she has had some
experience with fishing in this area.
Web Site:
www.capecodbaycharters.com
E-mail: stunmai@copper.net
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Rock Harbor
Fishing Report
25 Aug 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
This summer is going to go down as
one of the stranger summers in recent history. The fish are acting
just the opposite of what we might think, and more so, they’re not
doing what we’d like them to do. The bass are still in the deep
water and show no signs of moving anywhere. One day they will only
hit jigs in 50 feet of water, next we see them just under the
surface and they still only hit the jigs. Occasionally hitting a
tube in the outrigger. The bluefish are just outside where the bass
are in 55 to 60 feet of water at don’t seem to want to take
anything. This was Monday of this last week.
For most of the last week the charter fleet has been heading
straight for the deep water off the north edge of Billingsgate
Shoals. We put out the really long wires, up to 500 feet in length,
and start jigging. We’re fishing in 45 to 55 feet of water. Some
will put out the tubes using from 6 to 8 colors. We will also put
the tubes on mono and run them out on their outriggers. This is the
only game in town. After their trip is done and the gear is brought
in our fishermen have had a good trip. They have landed a
respectable number of bass with a few bluefish mixed in. If we
hooked up on the number of fish we have recorded on our fish-finders
we’d sink our boats.
Some of the charter fleet has gone up by the Path, both in tight to
the beach and out in 40 to 50 feet of water. Not much has been found
up there. A few bluefish, but nothing to write home about. This is
what is really unsual. If the bluefish are not in on Sunken Meadow
or the Eastham shore they are normally up by the Path. If the
bluefish aren’t there they must be up by Day’s Cottage up by P-town.
No one has gone that far yet.
One area that was tried this last week was the top of the shoals
near the north edge. There was some mung found there but small bass
with some keepers were taken. The boats that worked this area did
not spend a lot of time looking around but like I said, some fish
were landed. When the mung works its’ way out of the area the
fishing should get good there. Normally, this time of the season the
shoals are a good bet for both bass and bluefish. In fact, most of
the big bass landed this time of the year is on the shoals. All we
need is a northwest wind, the water to cool down a bit, and the mung
to go away. When that happens, look out.
This last week I had a birthday girl out with her friends and
family. It was her first time at this type of sportfishing but she
picked up on it really quick. Magan Kessler, from Florida, N.Y. was
able to land a nice 18 pound bass with little difficulty.
Web Site -
www.capecodbaycharters.com
E-mail - stunmai@copper.net
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Rock Harbor
Fishing Report
17 Aug 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
The bass take a little vacation.
They come back to the Bay, at least somewhat back. Now, the bluefish
make a move. It seems they ate up most of the food in the Sunken
Meadow area and moved up north to just a little south of the Path up
to well past the Pamet River area. You can find them out in the deep
water, around 50 to 60 feet of water, or in fairly tight to the
shore at around 15 feet. I guess the fish need a different kind of
scenery every once in a while, just like us.
There are a number of theories as to why the fish make these moves
in August. The main one that most people agree on is the water
temperature. The water in the Sunken Meadow area and along the
Eastham shore actually gets too warm for the bluefish and they move
out to the deep water up by the Path and up by the Pamet River where
it is somewhat cooler. Also the bait finds the shallow water too
warm. The stripers are affected by the same situation. That’s why
it’s thought they move out to the deeper water also. When we get a
northwest wind because of a cold front moving through the bass come
back to the shoals for a while. The wind from the front cools off
the water. Look at it this way, to cool off your soup you blow on
the spoon of hot soup before eating it. This is not the only reason
the fish move around, it’s one of the suspected reasons.
The bass have been moving from the deep water to the shoals and back
during this past week. At the high water early in the morning we’ve
found the stripers in the grass and on the north edge in 15 to 20
feet of water. As the day progresses the bass move into the deep
water off the north edge. Jigging on the shoals and in the deep
water seem to work the best. Using the tube and worm runs a close
second. The umbrella rig will work in the deep water but you must
use at least 8 oz. of weight and at least 200 feet of wire to get
down to the fish.
The commercial season is supposed to end this Thursday at 12:01 am.
The quota for striped bass has been filled. From what I saw there
was not much of a season on the shoals this year. Last year you
would come out on a day you could sell them and there would be a
number of boats on Billingsgate Shoals and they would be loading up.
This season was not that way. Most on the action for the commercial
fishermen was in the Chatham area.
This last week I had Jim and John Hammond out for a full day trip.
These are twin dentists and they bring a crew with them. Without
going into details there is a certain competition between them
during this trip. This season neither one of them won. One of their
guests, Annie Wiley, took the prize. She was able to land a nice
striper weighing in at 38 pounds and close to 46 inches long. She
did it with the skill of a pro.
E-mail. - stunmai@copper.net
Web. -
www.capecodbaycharters.com
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Rock Harbor
Fishing Report
11 Aug 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
It seems the bass have come back.
At least for a while. This last Saturday they showed up on
Billingsgate Shoals in large numbers. We had been getting some
decent size bass out in the deep water. When the storms moved
through last Friday evening the wind came around to the
north-northeast. This pushed the bass up on the shoals. Saturday was
really good fishing with some bass landed which were over 45 inches.
Sunday was a little less active but some large bass were landed in
the afternoon. At the same time as this was going on small schools
of good sized bass were seen in the deep water off the north edge.
The bass are still somewhat spread out.
The bluefish have moved out of the Sunken Meadow area and have moved
down the Eastham shore to just east of where the old Target Ship
used to be. The hootchie on mono is still the lure of choice and it
is not uncommon to be able to stop and cast popping plugs with very
good success. The Path, on the Welfleet/Truro line is also very
active with bluefish especially in waters under 20 feet in depth. In
some areas up that way it’s quite possible to hook up on a nice size
bass or two. They are mixed in with the bluefish so you may get a
surprise.
One our boats, The High Calibre had an opportunity to check out the
Brewster Flats extensively. Buddy Wilson, the captain, found a large
amount of small bass up near the entrance to Paine’s Creek. There
were also fish in the grass patches back to the east. Some of the
bass were over the 28 inch limit. There were a number of small
bluefish off the edge of the flats in 18 to 22 feet of water.
Mini-rig on 150 ft. wire was the most productive. Jigging would have
worked also. This means on a heavy southwest wind we have a place to
go and catch fish with regularity. This is a good thing.
As the tides get bigger and move water with more veracity the
probability of the bass moving up on Billingsgate Shoals increases.
If all the bass that are on the north edge and out in the deep water
go up on the shoals at the same time there will be no room for the
water. There seems to be enough bait on the shoals so it is
possible. Right now the tides are still small plus there is a fair
amount of “mung” on the shoals especially during the low water.
Hopefully, this will be dispersed with the bigger tides. Time will
tell. What a day that will be when this bass wind up in the same
place and hungry. It will be one for the books.
This last Saturday I had Kevin Wong and some of his friends out on a
half day trip. The fishing had been good but not gangbusters. Well,
things changed on this particular day. The fishing got really hot.
Only Kevin was left out of the picture it seems. He was the only one
not to land a legal size fish. Everyone else was able to land two or
three keepers with some being close to 40 inches. Cheryl led the
pack with a solid 40 inch fish. The first one she had on fought
harder but she was afraid of it so she shook it off. She did not
make that mistake again.
Web -
www.capecodbaycharters.com
E-mail - stunmai@copper.net
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Rock Harbor
Fishing Report
3 Aug 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
The made a move all right. They
moved off to somewhere we haven’t found yet. It seems the main body
of stripers have taken a powder. It’s not that we haven’t been
landing some nice fish but the volume of weeks past is not around.
This is not unusual. This time of the season the bass do go on
vacation for awhile and when they come back it’s with a vengeance.
The bass have not completely left the Bay. In fact, I don’t think
the bass leave the Bay at all. I think they just move out to the
deep water in the middle of the Cape Cod Bay and possibly feed on
newly arrived tinker mackerel. Right now we are experiencing small
tides. This is when the current that is created by the tide is at
its minimum. The bait doesn’t move around as much and the fish don’t
either. It seems that during this phase of the tide the bass move
off to their secret location. It a few day they should start back
when the tides start to increase in size. If you’re curious about
how and why the tides work you can look it up on line or buy and
Eldrigde Tide Book which will show you the various sizes of the
tides in this area. We use the information on the Boston tides
because they are very close to ours at the harbor.
It seems to most of us that the bluefish have really invaded Cape
Cod bay. There are very few places where you can’t hook up on one of
these hard fighting sportfish. I’ve found them off the Brewster
Flats, up at the path, in the deep water, on the shoals, in on the
Meadow, just about everywhere we fish we find the bluefish. For
those into the sport of fishing and especially those fishermen who
are into light tackle, the bluefish can’t be beat. It’s a hard
fighting fish. It is easily taken on surface plugs. It is a
resilient and prolific fish. We, as charter captains sometimes
dismiss the bluefish because we are more interested in finding that
elusive 50 pound bass.
Where will the bass show up and when? That is the question. I think
they’ll first show up off the north edge in the deep water, around
40 to 50 feet, but not be really hungry. That should happen by the
weekend. If we get any northwest wind over 15 knots in the next week
these bass will be up on top of the shoals. If not they will slowly
work their way up on the shoals by next weekend. At that point the
tube and worm or jigging will be your best way of hooking up on a
really nice size bass. If you want to fish really early in the
morning, 3:30 to 4:00 am., the grass patches using the tube and worm
or even hootchies will be a good bet. As soon as the sun starts up
the fish will disappear.
Last Monday we took three kids out fishing who brought two adults
with them. Ryan Gill, 18, Philip Lathrop, 10, and Tommy Switzgable,
age 7. Each one of them landed a nice size bass which they could
bring home. Tommy, with some assistance from the mate landed the
largest bass. A good 38 inch bass just shy of 20 pounds. The mate
had the rod butt in the gimble in the chair, and held the rod while
tommy stood beside the chair and reeled in the fish with both hands.
E-mail - stunmai@copper.net
Web. -
www.capecodbaycharters.com
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Rock Harbor
Fishing Report
27 July 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
The bass are starting to make
their move. As of last weekend the bass started up on top of
Billingsgate Shoals. Mainly on the west end of the shoals but up on
the shoals. This is a good sign. They will be easier to keep track
of and we’ll be able to use different methods of fishing to hook up
on them. I’m hoping we’ll be able to use the hootchie with success
and also single swimming plugs on mono. At least we won’t have to
use 400 feet of wire much anymore.
A number of people have asked me why the tube and worm has not been
working very well this season. Well, in some cases it has worked.
There have been a few days where the tube worked out in the deep
water. At times it’s worked in the inside hole, but for the most
part there has not been much activity when using this method. It’s
mainly because there has not been much of a worm hatch in the Bay.
If there has been one it did not mount to a hill of beans. Hopefully
when the main body of bass move into the grass on the east end of
the shoals this will change.
Not all the bass have moved out of the deep water yet. Up off Great
Island in 50 feet of water there a number of good sized schools of
mixed fish. Both bass and bluefish of all sizes can be found in
these bunches. Jigging with extra long wire is the best method;
however, a few big bass have take single swimming plugs on mono
mainly in the outriggers. I’m sure if you had the time you could do
quite well trolling around with just hootchies or plugs on mono just
as long as there was not a lot of boat traffic to push the fish
down.
There is another area that has not been paid much attention. That’s
the Path. Not many of the charter boats have been up there yet, at
least not on a regular basis. The last time I was up there was over
a month ago and I found a fair amount of bluefish and a few bass out
in 25 feet of water. The umbrella rig worked for me then but I’m
sure jigging would work and probably hootchies on mono. At any rate,
the area is worth a look see. There are plenty of bluefish in the
Sunken Meadow area, so that’s a safe bet.
Where will the bass be during this next week? My guess would be on
the shoals. I’d look in the middle and to the west end to start
with. Next, I’d work the edge, around 20 feet of water, up to the
northeast. If not there, in the grass on the east end of the shoals.
Jigging will be the method of choice. It looks like we’ll have to
work for these fish.
This last week I had an extended family out fishing on a half day
trip. Glen Davis was having a birthday, thirty something, so his
wife and mother sent him fishing. He didn’t catch the biggest, his
father did. He didn’t catch the most, his brother did. He did get
the most excited when he did land a bass.
E-mail: stunmai@copper.net
Web:
www.capecodbaycharters.com
|
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Rock Harbor
Fishing Report
20 July 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
The are a number of areas where
large groups gather. Stadiums, conference centers, malls, and the
like. Well, the striped bass in Cape Cod Bay decided to gather on
the north edge of Billingsgate Shoals last week. They were there by
the thousands. In water from 40 feet deep out to the 60 foot range.
For better than six days we would head out to the north side, put
out our long jigging wire, 350 feet to as much as 425 foot wires,
and jig and jig and jig. It worked like a champ. It was not unheard
of to hook up as many as fifty bass on a full day trip. Not all were
landed and most were released. It was, as one charter boat captain
put it, “a good day for the fishermen and a bad day for the fish.”
The bluefish have been very cooperative. There are a fair amount of
fish in on Sunken Meadow on the Eastham\Welfleet line. The main body
of bluefish seems to be above the #10 buoy on the way to Welfleet
Harbor itself. Single hootchies, most kinds of trolling plug and
casting plugs will work very well. In some cases even the fly
fisherman can find some stationery fish to cast on with regularity.
The other area that is fairly consistent in holding the bluefish is
up by the Path near the Welfleet\Truro line. In this area both
casting and trolling will work, and it is also possible to come up
with a bass or two. Although most of them will be undersize.
Where will this striped bass congregate next? Each time we see the
bass move in and out with the tide they come closer to the actual
edge of the shoals. By this time last season the bass were well
entrenched on the shoals, settling in around the various grass
patches. Since we had a slow start to this season it is about the
right time for the bass to start up on the shoals. The water
temperature is up and all the conditions are right. We just need a
worm hatch to provide the food and they should and I emphasize
should, be there soon.
The lure that is working the best now is most definitely the jigged
eel. The umbrella rig is running a close second with the tube and
worm starting to show some promise. The tackle shops are just about
out of 5 oz. jigs with the bass being in the deep water. With the
commercial season being open now there are a number of smaller
skiffs working the deep water looking to make a killing. Anyone who
is trying this, with a very few exceptions, is finding out it is not
that simple ‘nor easy to do.
When the stripers make to move to the shoals there may be a lull in
their activity. This is a normal thing. They are just getting
settled in and unpacked. Once they’re at home we’ll start catching
them again. The bluefish should stay active in the areas they are
already in. We might even have more bluefish move into the area.
This last weekend I had a young gentleman named Sean Maloy, age 14,
out with me. He had brought along three adults to keep him company.
The other three fishermen weeded out the small bass so Sean could
land a nice 20 pound fish. He’s been out with me before and is an
old hand at this sportfishing.
E-mail - stunmai@copper.net
Web. -
www.capecodbaycharters.com
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Rock Harbor
Fishing Report
12 July 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
A week ago this last Thursday,
the 7th of July, Rock Harbor hosted the 22nd annual Special
Olympics. The day was drizzly, cool, and a little windy. The
weather was not cooperating with the spirit of the event. However,
the participants prevailed, and they went fishing. Even mother
nature can’t dampen the spirit of these special people. With the
enthusiasm of kids at christmas time they boarded their respective
boats and were off.
Fortunately, the bluefish were concentrated up in the Sunken
Meadow area, up by Blackish Creek, and were even right at the
breakwater at the entrance to Welfleet Harbor itself. The fishing
was so good it was hard to get two lines out before one of the
hootchies had a fish on it. You could hear the excitement of the
anglers from one boat to another when they hooked up. Needless to
say they had a great time and landed a lot of fish, which in most
cases were measured and released.
All the boat captains and mates donate their boats and time to
this event. Local businesses sponsor a boat or donate prizes for
raffles for this event also. This raises sorely need funds for the
Special Olympics program of Cape Cod. When you see the excitement
and joy in the eyes of the anglers it is not hard to understand
why we have these sponsors standing in line to help out. The joy
and enthusiasm that comes from these folks is contagious and
affects all of us in a good way. These days we could use all of
this good feeling we can get. So, we thank these special people
for giving us a great day.
As far as the striped bass are concerned, they seem to be hanging
around the north edge of Billingsgate Shoal in the 40 foot range.
An umbrella on 200 feet of wire is one of the more productive lure
systems. Jigging with 350 feet of wire is also working well when
you mark them on the bottom. There are also a good number of
bluefish mixed in. These fish will stay here for the next week or
so but may work up on top of the shoals at night. So, if you’re
out in the bay very early in the morning try single hootchies on
mono or jig in the shallow water on the east side of the shoals.
E-mail - stunmai@copper.net
Web - www.capecodbaycharters.com
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Rock Harbor
Fishing Report
6 July 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
Summer on Cape Cod has
officially started. The fourth of July is over, all the fireworks
have been fired off and now we can get down to the job at hand,
find fish. We didn’t have our famous fourth of July bass blitz. It
was decent fishing though.
The bass are sticking to the deep water on the north edge of the
shoals and up towards the Path. We’ve had to jig for them with
extra long wires, 350 feet or longer or umbrella rigs with a
little weight. I have no idea how long this will last. Right now
the tides are on the smaller side so this may be one of the
reasons.
The bluefishing is still fairly good. There is a good amount up in
the Sunken Meadow area. These bluefish can be taken by trolling
hootchies or swimming plugs. Those who like to cast can find fish
up in the meadow itself. Any popping plug will work, but any plug
that’s blue and white seems to work the best so far. There’s lots
of bluefish out in the deep water along with the bass. They are
hitting the umbrella rig as well as plugs in the outriggers on the
surface. It does not seem that this good bluefishing will change
anytime soon. In fact, it should improve as the water warms up.
I mentioned that one of the reasons the bass fishing may have
slowed a little is the fact that the tides are getting smaller.
Without going into a long explanation on the differences in the
sizes of tides, it’s simply put that the phase of the moon
produced different sizes to the tide. This area ranges from as
little as 8.2 foot rise and fall to as much as a 12 foot rise and
fall. To give you an idea of the size, today it’s a 10.1 foot tide
at high tide at 12:58 this morning and a 8.9 foot tide at 1:38
during the afternoon tide. During the daylight the tide does not
move much so the fish and bait move more easily and are therefore
harder to find. As in all things in New England, wait a while and
things will change.
On Monday the fourth I took a new mate out to get him some
practice on the light tackle I use. We put out the 2 lb. test gear
up in the Sunken Meadow area. It wasn’t long before we hooked up
on a fish. After 55 minutes Dave Koppel, from Brewster, Ma. landed
a nice 7 pound bluefish. This is not an easy accomplishment. The
day before I had Ron Weiss from Nausha, N.H. out on the full day
trip. It was a relaxed trip, no real pressure to find a lot of
fish. When this is the mood good things happen. He landed a nice
25 pound striper.
Ron Weiss , Nashua NH
E-mail - stunmai@copper.net
Web -
www.capecodbaycharters.com |
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Rock Harbor
Fishing Report
29 June 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
Well, the warmer weather looks
like it’s here to stay. We’ve put the long johns away and dusted
off the air conditioner. Or, in us boat owners situation, opened a
window. The fishing is hot also. It’s almost like you can pick the
method you’d like and you’ll be successful. Those who like to cast
for bluefish, Sunken Meadow is alive with them. Just outside of
there you can troll hootchies and umbrella rigs for bass. On the
shoals you can jig to your hearts content and find some nice
stripers in the 40 inch range. Go out to the deep water and troll
umbrella rigs on wire or single plugs on wire and you’ll do fine.
These fish aren’t jumping in the boat but you won’t come home
empty handed.
Since we seem to be two weeks behind in the natural order which
the fish seem to follow from year to year, what happens now? The
activity of both the bass and bluefish is more like it’s the
middle of June. If this theory is valid we are just seeing the
beginning. Not all the fish have shown up yet. In the last week
we’ve been finding good sized bass in the Stony Bar area. Not just
a few bass like last year but a fair amount of them. This is like
it was back in the sixties. You can troll hootchies for bluefish
in on Sunken Meadow, move a quarter of a mile or so and jig for
stripers and find 36 inch fish. At the same time someone else is
landing 40 inch bass on the north edge of the shoals. This makes
telling someone where to find fish easy. All you have to tell the
is head out a few miles, put your gear in the water and you’ll
find fish. Well, not quite that easy, just head to Billingsgate
Shoals. If they’re not there, go to the north edge and head either
northeast or southwest. You’ll run into some in short order.
The umbrella rig is the lure of choice in the deep water and the
jigged eel on wire is best in the shallower water. The main type
of bait around now is the sand eel. Both these lure set ups
imitate the sand eel in one way or another. Some of the captains
have tried the tube and worm system but with limited success. It’s
a little early for that. The worm hatch has not happened in the
bay yet. It should happen soon though.
This last week I had a young man out along with his father Steve.
Hunter Hickok, from New Orleans, Louisiana, was up on the Cape
visiting his father Steve Hickok from Brewster. Around five or six
years ago Hunter and Steve were out with me before. Hunter was a
young boy then and his skill at fishing was just coming to him. On
this trip he showed that his skill had greatly improved by landing
the biggest bass that day
Hunter Hickok, New Orleans, La.
E-mail - stunmai@copper.net
Web - www.capecodbaycharters.com
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Rock Harbor
Fishing Report
22 June 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
The bluefish have made
themselves known. Even with the cooler weather and colder water
temperatures the bluefish have arrived in force. In the past week
we’ve found them in on Stony Bar, out on top of Billingsgate
Shoals, and in the deep water of the north edge of the shoals.
They are ranging in size from 5 pounds up to a bruising 12 to 14
pounds. They really showed in force in on the Eastham Shore in the
Sunken Meadow area. They should really become active when the
water warms some.
The stripers have spread out over the whole bay. Some of the boats
out of Barnstable Harbor are finding a good quantity of bass west
and northwest of the # 1 can, which is on the southwest end of
Billingsgate Shoals. We are finding schools of bass in the deep
water in the Square, which is west of Great Island out in 40 feet
of water. The most constant area is Billingsgate Shoals itself.
Either down by the Wreck Buoy in 20 feet of water or in the holes
on the east end of the shoals and most times you’ll find them in
both areas at once.
The most productive method overall is still the umbrella rig on
150 feet of wire followed closely by the jigged eel. The rig works
in most places where you have 15 feet of water or more. If you
mark the fish on your fish-finder you should hook up. If you
don’t, go over them again and slow down a bit and drop the rig on
them. This should work, that is if the fish are hungry.
The area to check out for this coming week should be the north
edge of the shoals. If everything is two weeks behind the normal
scheme of things then the north edge should light up with large
schools of bass with some bluefish mixed in. The umbrella rig on
150 to 200 foot wire will work the best. Single hootchies on the
same length of wire may work well also. That is if there is any
squid in the area. At any rate, these bass will not be small so
hang on when you hook up.
I had a group out this last week with a gentleman named Roland
Vermett from Brewster, N.Y. (Pictured). He was the only one of the
group who had never landed a bass in his life. Right at the end of
the trip he landed a nice 39 inch bass like he’d been doing all
his life.
If you like to try your hand at some good fishing give me a call
at home at 508-255-6211 or on the boat at 508-240-8267. |
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Rock Harbor Fishing Report
June 15, 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
The fish are on the move. The
bass finally left the Stony Bar and Sunken Meadow area. We were
wondering if that was ever going to happen, and wishing it would
not. It was really good fishing in there and we didn’t have to run
far to fish. Fuel expense you see, we all know about that these
days. Anyway, the bass have moved and we we are right behind them.
However, the bluefish are starting to get active where the bass
have left off. This is a good thing.
Every season we go through a transition period when the bass first
arrive. This usually occurs in the later part of May or very early
June. This season, being a week or better behind, it is starting
now. This means the main body of bass have moved on and we are
waiting for the schools of bass that stay here all summer to show
up. In the meantime schools of small fish are taking up the slack.
We are finding them on top of Billingsgate Shoals, along the
Brewster Flats, in the deep water of the north edge of the shoals
and many other areas where we will eventually find the larger
fish. The bluefish also start to make their presence known. This
has started but is still in the infancy stage. As it is with
everything in New England all we have to do is wait a minute and
things will change.
Under normal situations, when we have a slight spring and a warm
early summer, the fish show up next in the deep water on the north
edge. Starting about in the middle of the shoals and going out to
the 40 to 45 foot depth and then working up to the northeast is
our usual run. We would be looking for schools of bass all balled
up. We might get almost up to the Path before we find any. One
summer we went to the southwest to find the fish. Using umbrella
rigs on 150 feet of wire we’d troll around until one boat found
the fish. This is the plan for most of us for the next week or so.
By that time we should have a good idea what is going on.
There are still a few bass in by Stony Bar but you have to work
for them. The bluefish are starting to show up in along the
Eastham shore, so there is some action there. The area a long the
Brewster Flats hold a large number of small bass with a few small
keepers mixed in. With the weather that they’re talking about for
this weekend I’d look on the north edge up by Great Island and up
towards the Path. Start in twenty feet of water and work out to 50
feet. Put out your rigs and start looking. If not that work in on
Stony Bar and along the Eastham shore until the weather warms up
and the fish move in on the north edge.
This last Tuesday I had Gary Schneider and some of his friends out
on a full day trip. They we not really expecting to land all that
many fish because of the forecast. Mother Nature surprised them
with a much better day plus some nice size bass. At the end we
were releasing 38 inch bass on a regular basis. They showed up on
the north edge for a bit that day.
E-mail - stunmai@copper.net
Web - www.capecodbaycharters.com |
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Rock Harbor Fishing Report
June 8, 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
The weather is slowly improving
and more like early summer. We’ve seen the sun more in the past
week. The fishing, well, it is the best anyone can remember. In
the opinion of many of the old timers, this season is producing
more striped bass than they’ve seen in many a year. It is rivaling
the old days of the fifties and early sixties.
It is easier to tell you where we’re not finding striped bass than
it would telling you where we are. You’ll listen to the VHF radio
and here boats land legal fish from west of the #1 can, at the end
of Billingsgate Island, to the Sunken Meadow area off the
Wellfleet/Eastham shore. The north edge of the shoals is producing
fish at the same time you can fish bass off the Brewster flats.
These fish are fat and very healthy. There is a plethora of bait
in the Bay. We have squid, silver sides, sand eels, and mackerel
in the Bay to feed this multitude of fish. It seems there will be
enough to go around to feed the bluefish which are knocking on our
front door.
This early season has been one for the record books in more ways
than just the weather. The striped bass which first show up at the
South Sunken Beach area in the early spring usually stay there for
about two weeks. Then they drop out of there and move into the
Stony Bare area for another week or two and then move out to other
areas. While the bass are in the Stony Bar area they might be
moderately active but not in any real concentrations. A good day
would be 4 or 5 keepers with a fair amount of under sized fish.
This season we’ve had them there for more than two weeks and we
have been getting our limit within a few hours. Plus, the fish are
bigger both in length and in weight. We think it’s because there
is some much bait around and that we have a good run of squid, a
favorite food of the striped bass.
There have been a few bluefish landed in the Stony Bar area. Also,
the boats that have been out in the deep water north of
Billingsgate Shoals have seen a number of schools of bluefish
working their way down into the Bay and towards the Eastham/
Orleans shore line. They should be here any day. When that happens
the bass should move out to the areas west of the old Target Ship,
on top of the shoals and finally to the north edge in the deeper
water. We’d like to see them stay where they are. It gives us more
fishing time and we use less fuel, which we all know is becoming a
precious commodity.
This last weekend I had a group of lawyers out fishing. In fact we
had two groups of lawyers out between myself and the Boat Watanya,
run by Capt. Steve Ellis. We we able to get them all to agree to
one thing, which was amazing when you get that many lawyer
together. They agreed it was the best fishing they’ve seen since
they have been fishing with us. Chris Hohab landed the largest
fish on my boat, beating the other boat by one inch, with a 41
inch bass. Steve’s boat won the most fish by landing two more than
we did. It was a good day had by all.
E-mail - stunmai@copper.net
Web. -
www.capecodbaycharters.com
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Rock Harbor Fishing Report
June 1, 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
Wonders
never cease. The sun came out, the temperature went up and we had a decent
Memorial Day weekend. The best thing that happened is the striped bass
showed up and in good numbers. During a normal spring season the bass will
first show up in the Stony Bar area around the middle of May. This season,
most likely because of the cold weather, they showed up around two weeks
later. Just in time for the Memorial Day holiday. We did have some activity
in this area last weekend but not to this extent. Stripers measuring 36 to
40 inches were not uncommon and landing your limit of bass was easily done.
What was the best part of this holiday was the fact the sun made itself
known. The rumors are true, there are such things as sunny days.
During this last weekend, Memorial Day weekend, the fishing was excellent.
Along with the weather change came a feeding frenzy out in front of the
Crowell Rd. Herring Run out to the area of the #3 can, south of Welfleet
Harbor. Because of the large amount of squid in this area Hootchies, a squid
like lure, was the lure of choice. Also, swimming plugs that imitated the
herring in the area worked well. Other bait is in the Bay. Sand eels can be
found all along the south edge of Billingsgate Shoals and also on the north
edge. Small silver minnows, Silver Sides, can be found along the Brewster
Flats. When the water warms a bit the Herring will be coming back out of the
runs. Needless to say the Bay is full of bait. This should keep the striped
bass in this area very happy. When the bluefish show up, which could be very
soon, I thing the whole Bay will come alive.
As I said, there’s a lot of squid around, so the next area to check out when
the fish move out of the Stoney Bar area should be the top of Billingsgate
Shoals. The hootchie would be a good bet to start with. If you make the fish
near or one the bottom go right to jigging. It may seem early to start using
this method of fishing but it did work over on Stony Bar some what. From
what we see, it shouldn’t take long to find the fish in this area of the
Bay. Things look very good and should be one of the best seasons ever
concerning the striped bass.
This last Saturday I had Bill and his son Tyler out on a half day trip. We
started out with a bang by landing two nice spring run bass at 30 inches. A
short while later Tyler hooked up on a fish that gave him quite a tussle.
After giving this fish a good run for it’s money, Tyler landed the fish. It
was a heavy 40 inch striper. The biggest fish he had ever seen. He said when
he turns eleven he’s going to catch a bigger one.
E-mail - stunmai@copper.net
Web. -
www.capecodbaycharters.com |
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Rock Harbor Fishing Report
May 25, 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
Well, as far
as Cape Cod is concerned, the summer season has started. Granted, the crowds
will be small until the schools let out, but everything that is going to
open for the summer is open know. Let us hope that June, and the rest of the
season, is blessed with a normal weather pattern. Either that or we’ll have
to take people ice fishing.
Speaking about taking people fishing. This last Saturday
was a complete surprise. The weather was not good. It was cold, windy, and
raining. The day before I had gone out to the area called Stony Bar and
found absolutely nothing. Not one hit in three hours of trolling rigs,
swimming plugs and a number of other lures I thought might work. Anyway,
within a few minutes of setting out their gear the first boat in the area
hooked up, actually doubled up. Out of the two umbrella rigs they landed six
bass, one of which was a keeper. By the end of the trip some of the boats
were releasing 30 inch bass. All five boats that were out did very well. The
water was 53 degrees. I guess when these bass get hungry they will eat. They
must have arrived on that mornings tide.
As most of you have seen on the t.v. weather, they are saying that this has
been one of the coldest Mays on record. The Cape has taken the brunt of
this. This last week was forecast to be all clouds, rain and wind. This is
to continue into the weekend. This does not bode well for a good Memorial
Day weekend for the business on the Cape. The charter fleet is no exception.
Some of the boats have trips already booked and if the wind isn’t up they
will go fishing. Hopefully the fish will still be here so they will have
some action. But this weather might discourage others from coming to the
Cape altogether. From what I gather there is some sort of weather block
which is keeping us in the pattern. That’s why 6 out of the last 8 weekends
have been stormy in one way or another and once the stormy weather reaches
us it sticks around for a while until the next weather system gets to us.
This is not a good thing.
The good news. The fishing last Saturday was very good. There’s a lot of
bass, stretching from the Brewster Flats up by Paine’s Creek, through the
new grounds to West of the Target Ship Buoy, to the Stony Bar area. I’m sure
there were some fish on both the north and south edges of Billingsgate
Shoals but no one went there to find out. Umbrella rigs on 150 foot wire rod
worked very well. Equally as productive were swimming plugs on mono. The
green mackerel, blue back, and pearl plugs worked very well. There are some
squid in the area so hootchies might work also, however no one tried them.
Lets hope that when this weather system breaks these fish will still be in
the area.
E-mail: stunmai@copper.ne
Web: www.capecodbaycharters.com
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Rock Harbor Fishing Report
May 18, 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
The last
weekend was a pleasant surprise. Even though there was a forecast of rain it
never really happened. There were some cloudy times but for the most part is
was a decent weekend weather wise. The fishing was still slow at least as
far as the striped bass are concerned. There were three charter boats out
from Sesuit harbor. They fished the low water and landed two stripers. One
on the north edge of Billingsgate Shoals and the other on the south edge.
Both fish were around 24 inches in length. The Madame B, operated by Capt.
Dick Woodland had been out the day before, Friday the 13th, over the low
water and was unable to hook up any bass. If he couldn’t find any fish the
two caught on Saturday must have just shown up. Captain Woodland was able to
land a small number of mackerel which is a good sign. It has been a few
years since we’ve seen any mackerel up by us. It would seem that with this
cooler spring most everything in the Cape Cod bay is a week or more behind
the normal schedule.
This last weekend a number of legal size fish were landed off South Sunken
Meadow Beach. Rumor has it that a bass weighing in at 40 pounds was landed.
That is a big fish even during the summer months. Chucked herring has been
the bait of choice but lately very fresh sand eels are also doing a good
job. When the water in the bay warms up some more these fish will drop out
of the Sunken meadow area and move into the area around the #3 and #5 cans
south of Welfleet Harbor. This will allow us in the charter fleet an
opportunity to catch them and get our season started.
I have also heard that a bluefish or two have been landed on the south shore
of the Cape. I’m not sure it was the Red River area or around the Bass River
area. It seems a bit early even for Nantucket Sound. It is quite possible.
Once the fish start to get active things start to happen fast.
The flounder fishing in the bay has really picked up. Right out in front of
Rock Harbor in 25 feet of water is your best bet. Last Sunday some folks
aboard the Osprey were able to get their limit in just over an hour or so.
Sea worms worked the best but if they aren’t available clam strips will work
very well.
I’m hoping by next weekend the water will have warmed enough to make the
bass in Cape cod Bay active. The fish are around, they are up in the shallow
water right now. From what Fran at the Goose Hummock says there should be an
abundance of bass moving into our area. He told me he’s never seen as many
fish in the Cove and in the Pleasant Bay area. When this fish move into the
bay you should be able to walk on them. I hope he’s right.
E-mail - stunami@copper.net
Web Site -
www.capecodbaycharters.com |
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Goose Fishing Report
May 10, 2005 |
Tom Sledsik from the Goose Hummock fishing team
says :
" School size bass in Nauset inlet and pleasant bay can be found in warmer
water areas in 4 to 6 ft of water over weed beds and or dark bottom. 8 and 9
weight fly rods with intermediate fly lines fishing chartreuse clouser
minnows and white three to for inch flies are working very well. the time of
day is not critical just moving water.
Fran Keogh from the Goose :
did very well on light tackle today in pleasant bay at river road using
small bucktail jigs and small topwater plugs 24 cast and 15 fish not bad!!
later in the day he caught some near legal sized fish at south sunken meadow
on the bay side..
Michael MacAskill from the Goose :
did very well at herring river in West Harwich on Monday night using
herring three legal fish the biggest was 32" call store at 508-255-0455 for
details.
season starting off great and lots of great action... |
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Rock Harbor Fishing Report
11 May 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
The first
day of spring was the 20th of March. It was hard to imagine, then, that
spring was coming. By the second week in April it seemed as if spring had
arrived. Again we were misled. Here it is the second week in May and we are
still waiting for that true warm spring day. This is having an effect on the
fishing here in the Cape Cod Bay and the rest of the Cape also. I would say
were are about a week or more behind the normal schedule of things.
By this time myself or one of the other boats at Rock Harbor would have been
out looking around to see if any fish had shown up yet. The areas we would
have checked would be a long the Brewster Flats and up around Sunken Meadow.
The area know as Stony Bar would be another place to look for schoolie bass.
Last weekends storm put an end to that possibility. It took a few days for
the bay to settle down after three days of heavy winds from the northeast
but these areas were checked out.
After a few confusing rumors that had the new regulations on the striped
bass down to 1 fish per day and then a slot limit with one at 28 inches and
another at more than 42 inches, I called and got the straight skinny. It is
still 2 fish a day over 28 inches on the recreational limits on the striped
bass. I was hoping they would have reduced limit to 1 fish a day over 28
inches with a trophy fish, but that didn’t happen.
This last Tuesday I went out and looked all over the Brewster Flats and did
not see anything. The weather was nice with a slight northeast wind so I
should have run across some small bass. It might be because of the colder
water after the storm because I usually find a fair amount of small bass
right along the end of the flats. I guess we will need a few more warm days
before they become active.
Fran, at the Goose Hummock is saying the south side of the Cape is really
alive with schoolies with some legal fish mixed in. Also Pleasant Bay is
holding a good amount of small bass too. Chucked or live herring is the way
to go especially if you looking to land a bass over 28 inches.
I’m hoping the bass in Cape Cod Bay start getting active by this weekend.
The place to look if they are is up in the Sunken Meadow area or Stony Bar
during the flood tide. They have been landing some bass at night of South
Sunken Meadow beach so the fish are there.
E-mail - stunmai@copper.net
Web Site -
www.capecodbaycharters.com |
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Rock Harbor Fishing Report
27 April 2005
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
Last week
was one of the best periods of weather I’ve seen during the month of April
in many years. Those who were working on their boats got a lot done. The
fresh water fishermen were in seventh heaven. However, we were snapped back
to reality during the weekend. We were able to see a glimpse of things to
come.
The herring runs are starting to fill up now. The water is still a little
cold so they aren't at full strength yet. By most consensus it seems this
spring is running a week to two behind normal schedule. I think this was due
to an unusually cold March. Those who are watching the run closely say this
year is looking like one of the better years. The town of Brewster has
closed days where you can’t take any herring so there should be a good run
of fry coming out of the runs later on this summer.
Fran Keough, from the Goose hummock, has been fishing the River Rd. area for
the past week and a half. Last week he did quite well there on small
schoolie bass. As soon as the weather changed so did the fishing. When the
rain hit on Saturday the fish disappeared. The River Rd. area is on the
Meeting House River just before it runs into Meeting house Pond. This is at
the farthest end of Pleasant Bay and where the water is the warmest. The
other spot, by Pochet Island is another estuary of Pleasant Bay but a lot
less navigable. These areas are where the bass first show up in the spring.
Another area that will produce some big bass in the early part of the season
is South Sunken Meadow Beach on the Welfleet/Eastham line. This place is
also a spot where the outgoing tide comes from a muddy shallow water area
where the water can warm up a lot on a sunny day. I have not heard much
coming from this area. Those who might be starting to fish are keeping
quiet. Since everything seems to be a week or so behind normal times, it
will be a week or so before any fish are taken in this area. When they do
show and feed it is quite possible to land a 35 to 40 inch bass. A thin
fish, but without a doubt, a keeper.
E-mail: Stunmai@cpper.net
Web Site:
www.capecodbaycharters.com |
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