The Sport of Fishing...

The sport of fishing. It's not a game that you win, you don't score points, and there are no playoff's. There are tournaments that can be won and competitions between anglers but when you go fishing on your own, no one is keeping score, except yourself. You are there to enjoy the act of fishing.

Years ago when you told people you went fishing as a kid they would picture a kid and his dog walking down a dusty road leading to an out of the way small pond. You'd have a rod and reel in one hand and a can of worms in the other. Later you would be walking back from that pond with your pants legs rolled up, a string of fish, a smile on your face, and a tired dog. These days things are different. The rods and reels are metallic alloys and composite materials, you have a number of different artificial lures, the dog has to be on a leash, and you have to get written permission to fish that pond.

I've been fishing the waters around Cape Cod since 1955. At that time I fished in an area of Pleasant Bay on the Lower Cape during parts of the summer. Flounder, scup, and an occasional striped bass were what I mostly found. After some time in the service I returned to Cape Cod and started fishing the beaches and off shore of the Cape for cod fish. Before that, I was that kid who was walked down that dusty road.

In 1980 I started a small charter service fishing out of Rock Harbor in Orleans on the Lower Cape. There, I fished the waters of Cape Cod Bay. My tackle was much like everyone else's. A set of jigging wire rods with 300 feet of 60 lb. test wire. A set of rods with 150 ft of 60 lb. test wire rigged for umbrella rigs. The last set of 4 rods with 50 lb. test mono for trolling surface plugs. During that first season I took a good friend of mine, Jessie Kithcart, out fishing on a play day. He brought some light tackle with him to use for trolling. From that point on I was hooked on the use of light gear both for plugging tackle, but and trolling.

Cape Cod Bay only has one major structure that creates any kind of real rip. That's Billingsgate Shoals. The shoals are six miles long from southwest to northeast and at its widest is one and a half miles wide at the northeast end. It comes to a point at the southwest end. This is the only real area where most of the fish congregate except along some areas near the shore. Most of the large schools of fish move around quite a bit so, with few exceptions, trolling works the best. That is why most of the light tackle I carry is designed to troll.

Right now I carry over 34 different boat rods designed for trolling. 3 fly rods and 6 rods for casting. The line test I use is from my heavy mono, 30 lb. test gear for my standard tackle down to 2 lb. test mono for the really light tackle enthusiasts. My fly rods are set up with 16 lb. test tippets and my casting gear ranges from 17 lb. test down to 4 lb. test line. One rod has 20 lb. test brayed line on it. I do have the heavier jigging wire set ups with 50 lb. test wire and setups for the umbrella rigs for those who want that gear, but I prefer the lighter tackle and promote it as much as I can.

The type of line that I have been using a lot lately is lead core line. I have two rods each set up with 60 lb. test for use with the umbrella rig, and from 36 lb. test down to 12 lb. test line used for trolling either the tube and worm or other trolling lures. They are all set up with matching rods for that test line. I find myself using these setup more and more. The lead core line gets the lure down further than mono but you can still use it in shallow water. If you put a long leader on the line, 25 feet or so, it works extremely well.

These lighter tackles really come in handy when the bigger fish seem to have moved out of the areas we fish. Even a just legal bass or a small 8 pound bluefish will give an angler a good fight on 12 lb. test gear on a nice limber rod. If you have to use wire to jig for them the lighter wire on a light bait casting rod will please even the most finicky fisherman. But what is the best is when you see the face of parents who watch their young son or daughter land a good size fish only slightly assisted by the mate and they do it with ease. The tackle does not beat the young person up at all. To watch an experienced angler standing next to his son, both with nice fish on, both using 12 lb. test line on matched rods is an outstanding sight from my point of view and this is why I love to take people fishing.