Coming Back Home...
By: Capt. Hap Farrell
It is about time. The fish are starting to make their presence known again. Last week the bluefish showed up along the Eastham shore in strength. They were hitting the hootchies like old times. More bass and bluefish are showing up in the deep water and this time umbrella rigs are working as well as the long jig wire. All we need is a big flood of large bass on top of Billingsgate Shoals to top everything off. That would be nice.
In years past every time we had a hard northwest blow, 15 to 25 knots or more, the schools of striped bass in the deep water would be pushed up or come up on the shoals the day after. The fishing would be really good for a few days. Jigging or even single hootchies on wire would be the most productive. We have not really had that happen yet. We had a small taste of that happen this last Tuesday and it did help the fishing some.
The commercial season is not affecting Cape Cod Bay too much. It seems there are a few good sized schools of commercial size bass parked off the new cut on the outer beach. No one is sure how long this will last. One good heavy easterly could shut off the whole thing. Last year P-town was the place we found a lot of big bass and then at the end of the commercial season they showed up off Nauset Inlet. Maybe it will go in reverse this season.
I hope the bluefish continue to move into our area. I'd like to see them in the shallow water from Great Island up towards the Pamet River. Also, the tuna fishermen would love to see the smaller bluefish show up because they make better live bait than the larger ones which are around now. The smaller bluefish may bring the giant bluefin tuna into the Bay which would round out a good season. This would be a great thing.
One question I've been asked a lot is, "where have all the big bass gone?" I think that the migration habits of fish are cyclic. There will be seasons when we have a lot of bluefish around and only a smattering of stripers, like years ago. The things reverse and we have a lot of stripers around and the amount of bluefish wanes down some. Right now I think we are in the middle of this cycle. Not a large amount of stripers and a small amount of bluefish. It is a theory of mine with no scientific basis behind it, so take it for what it is worth.
This last week I had a group from Big Brothers & Big Sisters out for a half day trip. Zoee Terry, Emma Mitchell, and German Hercules tried their hand at the good bass fishing we have on Cape Cod Bay. We landed three nice bass with German landing the biggest. It was 38 inches long and weighed 22 pounds. This is the second season I've done this and it will definitely not be the last. It is a treat to watch these kids fight what could be the first fish they have ever caught.
If you want to get in on this good fishing call me at: 508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211.
