Fishing Around Cape Cod: It's almost quittin' time
By ROB CONERY - October 28, 2010
Seasons change. They end. Red Sox season is over. Some end on a particular date, like summer.
On Labor Day, historically, locals would gather on many a Cape Cod highway overpass and wave our seasonal visitors goodbye. Some fishing seasons end when a certain tonnage has been landed. Some quota-based commercial seasons end in a matter of days, even hours.
Striper season isn't really like that. You might say it ends when the last straggler is picked off from that final departing, southbound school.
Anyone with a case of striper fever knows the season never really ends. There are holdover fish. Cape Cod affords us unparalleled access. Even when the stripers leave, you can jig cod through the cold months. The ponds have been stocked with trout. The shellfishing is great in fall and oysters are terrific in holiday stuffing.
On even the shortest, darkest, coldest day of winter on this little sandbar, you can go out there and catch something. And that means a lot.
I remember a day, several years ago. This column was long over; it was closer to Thanksgiving than Halloween. Driving home from work, by the square dock in Hyannis, I saw it: A blitz!
Luckily, I sill had my light spinning outfit in the back of my beat-up Saab. In the gathering darkness, I cast the Kastmaster out into the pod and immediately hooked up. Reeled it in, glad to have something, anything on the line. The wee schoolie was probably my smallest fish that season.
Didn't matter, I was catching fish.
I watched them drift away, possibly the last school of the season – certainly the last I would see – and thought I'd better head them off at the pass. I drove around to the Lewis Bay side and parked at one of the little dead end streets that face out from the West Yarmouth shoreline.
I hopped out of the car and – blammo! – the blitz was not only still on, but had grown exponentially. It was either a few swirling schools that were rubbing edges, overlapping, or it was one truly massive crew teaming up to make the southern run in force. From the very tips of the jetties over to Hyannis Yacht Club and stretching from Coleman Point almost to Egg Island, the water just bristled with fish.
I'll never forget the sound! It was a fast rippling, like dominoes falling or poker cards, expertly shuffled. I was flushed with excitement.
In fairness, most of the fish were small. I only caught a few more, just for the feeling of the pull, the tug, the solid thunk you feel when a fish takes it and your line goes from limp to live. Then I put my rod down, sat on the jetty, and just watched the show. They were chasing tiny silversides as the sun grew thin. I watched until it was completely dark.
Then, shivering a little, and only then noticing how cold it was, I walked back up the beach, put my flip-flops on, and started the car. And cranked the heater. The season was over.
So while watching the wheels, it's time to ask ...
What's Going On?
1. Buzzards Bay/Cape Cod Canal – Still getting good numbers of fish in the Canal. They've been getting schoolies to bite on Ron-Z's and small metals. Tautog out in Buzzards.
2. Islands – The Vineyard has decent size blues on the north shore. On the southside, from Gay Head to the great ponds, they're getting school bass. Nantucket has bottom fish.
3. Cape Southside Beaches and Estuaries – Rivers and estuaries have been holding fish, but you're scratching around. Lou MacKeil went down to Seagull Beach and was alone but for three women fishing in the distance. They left when it got dark; he stuck around and caught both a 29- and a 31-inch striper. Truman's reports fair numbers in Parkers River. Bishops and Clerks has been real fishy.
4. Nantucket Sound – Good-sized blues, even up to 15-pound bruisers, have been trolled up in the Sound this week. Some bass, but, “You've got to work at it. And you've got to be good,” according to one source.
5. The Great Backside Beach – Good numbers of both bass and blues off Chatham this week. Guys were vertical jigging and doing respectable numbers.
6. Cape Cod Bay – Reports from the Race are that they still have loads of fish, blues even, but that they're small. They're chasing oceans of sand eels, and sand eel imitations like Bill Hurley's. Captain Norton even reported seeing whales breach, close to shore, right inside the trap line. Out by the southeast corner of Stellwagon, guys reported loads of tuna. Some had lockjaw, but one guy was able to catch and release a 68-inch bluefin that bit on a trolled ballyhoo. Tons of bait around Sesuit. Bass in the high, hidden corners of Barnstable Harbor.
Freshwater – Ponds are stocked with trout and guys have been hitting rainbows. Jeff at the Powderhorn hooked a massive 5½-pound largemouth on an MS Slammer at Wequaquet. One guy caught a 6-pound brown out of Sheep's Pond and let it go, ready to live another day.
Well, that's it for a fine 2010. Among the many highlights of a memorable season, what I'll remember most was catching a few fish, cooking them up and sharing them in good company. Thanks for reading, and it has been my honor to write for you.
Catch 'em up!
Information for this column was assembled from a variety of liars, exaggerators, misinformants, ne'er-do-wells and roustabouts. In other words, from fishermen.
Contributing writer Rob Conery can be contacted at robconery@yahoo.com.
By ROB CONERY - October 28, 2010
Seasons change. They end. Red Sox season is over. Some end on a particular date, like summer.
On Labor Day, historically, locals would gather on many a Cape Cod highway overpass and wave our seasonal visitors goodbye. Some fishing seasons end when a certain tonnage has been landed. Some quota-based commercial seasons end in a matter of days, even hours.
Striper season isn't really like that. You might say it ends when the last straggler is picked off from that final departing, southbound school.
Anyone with a case of striper fever knows the season never really ends. There are holdover fish. Cape Cod affords us unparalleled access. Even when the stripers leave, you can jig cod through the cold months. The ponds have been stocked with trout. The shellfishing is great in fall and oysters are terrific in holiday stuffing.
On even the shortest, darkest, coldest day of winter on this little sandbar, you can go out there and catch something. And that means a lot.
I remember a day, several years ago. This column was long over; it was closer to Thanksgiving than Halloween. Driving home from work, by the square dock in Hyannis, I saw it: A blitz!
Luckily, I sill had my light spinning outfit in the back of my beat-up Saab. In the gathering darkness, I cast the Kastmaster out into the pod and immediately hooked up. Reeled it in, glad to have something, anything on the line. The wee schoolie was probably my smallest fish that season.
Didn't matter, I was catching fish.
I watched them drift away, possibly the last school of the season – certainly the last I would see – and thought I'd better head them off at the pass. I drove around to the Lewis Bay side and parked at one of the little dead end streets that face out from the West Yarmouth shoreline.
I hopped out of the car and – blammo! – the blitz was not only still on, but had grown exponentially. It was either a few swirling schools that were rubbing edges, overlapping, or it was one truly massive crew teaming up to make the southern run in force. From the very tips of the jetties over to Hyannis Yacht Club and stretching from Coleman Point almost to Egg Island, the water just bristled with fish.
I'll never forget the sound! It was a fast rippling, like dominoes falling or poker cards, expertly shuffled. I was flushed with excitement.
In fairness, most of the fish were small. I only caught a few more, just for the feeling of the pull, the tug, the solid thunk you feel when a fish takes it and your line goes from limp to live. Then I put my rod down, sat on the jetty, and just watched the show. They were chasing tiny silversides as the sun grew thin. I watched until it was completely dark.
Then, shivering a little, and only then noticing how cold it was, I walked back up the beach, put my flip-flops on, and started the car. And cranked the heater. The season was over.
So while watching the wheels, it's time to ask ...
What's Going On?
1. Buzzards Bay/Cape Cod Canal – Still getting good numbers of fish in the Canal. They've been getting schoolies to bite on Ron-Z's and small metals. Tautog out in Buzzards.
2. Islands – The Vineyard has decent size blues on the north shore. On the southside, from Gay Head to the great ponds, they're getting school bass. Nantucket has bottom fish.
3. Cape Southside Beaches and Estuaries – Rivers and estuaries have been holding fish, but you're scratching around. Lou MacKeil went down to Seagull Beach and was alone but for three women fishing in the distance. They left when it got dark; he stuck around and caught both a 29- and a 31-inch striper. Truman's reports fair numbers in Parkers River. Bishops and Clerks has been real fishy.
4. Nantucket Sound – Good-sized blues, even up to 15-pound bruisers, have been trolled up in the Sound this week. Some bass, but, “You've got to work at it. And you've got to be good,” according to one source.
5. The Great Backside Beach – Good numbers of both bass and blues off Chatham this week. Guys were vertical jigging and doing respectable numbers.
6. Cape Cod Bay – Reports from the Race are that they still have loads of fish, blues even, but that they're small. They're chasing oceans of sand eels, and sand eel imitations like Bill Hurley's. Captain Norton even reported seeing whales breach, close to shore, right inside the trap line. Out by the southeast corner of Stellwagon, guys reported loads of tuna. Some had lockjaw, but one guy was able to catch and release a 68-inch bluefin that bit on a trolled ballyhoo. Tons of bait around Sesuit. Bass in the high, hidden corners of Barnstable Harbor.
Freshwater – Ponds are stocked with trout and guys have been hitting rainbows. Jeff at the Powderhorn hooked a massive 5½-pound largemouth on an MS Slammer at Wequaquet. One guy caught a 6-pound brown out of Sheep's Pond and let it go, ready to live another day.
Well, that's it for a fine 2010. Among the many highlights of a memorable season, what I'll remember most was catching a few fish, cooking them up and sharing them in good company. Thanks for reading, and it has been my honor to write for you.
Catch 'em up!
Information for this column was assembled from a variety of liars, exaggerators, misinformants, ne'er-do-wells and roustabouts. In other words, from fishermen.
Contributing writer Rob Conery can be contacted at robconery@yahoo.com.