Rock Harbor Fishing Report
By: Capt. Hap Farrell
7 Aug. 2007
Fish on the Shoals
August fishing has started in earnest. Given a normal season, we would expect to start seeing large bass moving up on to Billingsgate Shoals, especially after a moderate to heavy northwest wind. We have not had that kind of wind yet but there has been an increase in the number of bigger bass caught either on the north edge of the shoals or just up on top of the shoals. Jigging has been the method of choice but a few fish have been taken on the tube and worm. Hopefully, this is a good sign. This summer has been anything but a normal season.
It was just a week ago when all the real good bass fishing was up by P-town. Lately, the boats out of our harbor and others that have gone up there have seen the fish on their fish-finders. Jigs, the tube and worm, and other methods just don't produce much in the way of a good catch. It's like the fish have lock jaw. These boats that make the trip come back to the shoals to land any amount of legal size bass. Even the deep water off Billingsgate Shoals is producing some nice fish, plus a good amount of bluefish.
Speaking of bluefish, the Path and south of the Path is loaded. Just start at Henderson's Rock, just off of Great Island and head north. Troll your hootchies at 5 to 6 knots and you will have all the fish you will ever want. You might even get a welcome surprise by landing a bass or two. It has happened. I have not fished up along the Eastham shore in a while. There could be a lot of bluefish there also. I'd check that area out too. It's a good place to both troll hootchies and plugs and to cast for the bluefish.
There are different sizes to the tides in this area. The smaller tides can run 8.2 ft. from low to high in the height of the tide. It also can run up to 12.2 feet from low to high tide. This means that during the bigger tides, 12.2 ft., the tides moves fast in order to move the water in or out. This has a direct effect on the action of the fish in certain areas. Take the area of Billingsgate Shoals. The tide goes back and forth across the shoals. Therefore, during the bigger tides the water moves faster and could move the bait and fish on and off the shoals to a greater extent. During the up coming week the height of the tides is decreasing slightly which hopefully means the tides will not move the bait off the shoals as much as the bigger tides. Assuming the fish, the bass and bluefish in particular, hang around where their dinner is, these fish will not be all that hard to find. What we really need is a small cold front to go through. Producing a short period of 10 to 20 knots of a northwest wind over night, decreasing in the morning and by noon pushing a ton of big bass up on the shoals. That's what we need.
This last week I had the Ewens out for a full day trip. Chris books a number of trips a season and has a thirteen year daughter who loves to fish. Emily has landed fish using all the light tackle I have on the boat and has done it with incredible ease. This last Saturday we jigged the top of Billingsgate Shoals for most of the day. As always Miss Emily was in the thick of it and did her share even with the heavier gear. And, as always she landed the larger of the stripers we caught. She topped her personal best by taking the biggest bass of the trip which was a healthy 30 pounds. This young lady has turned into quite the fisherwoman.
E-mail: stunmai@copper.net
Web site: www.capecodbaycharters.com
