School is out, The Fish are In...
By: Capt. Hap Farrell
Most of the schools in the New England area have let out for the summer. Families are heading for the Cape. We've fueled up our boats and are waiting to get them out in the Bay and find them some fish. The fish have gathered on the north edge of Billingsgate Shoals and are awaiting our arrival. The stage is set and we are ready.
Right now it seems the whole Bay is getting active. During the beginning of this last week we had bluefish in along the Eastham shore, small bass with some keepers along the Brewster Flat, bass on the south edge, the north edge, the deep water, and last but not least up by P-town. They were everywhere. Not all the fish are hooking up that easily but they are there. I think this weekend will produce some of the best fishing we've had so far this season, especially the striped bass.
There is one thing I have noticed that may really keep the fishing good in the Bay, and that is all the bait that is around. The area around the New Grounds has a number of schools of tinker mackerel and sand eels. Billingsgate Shoals is also loaded with sand eels as well as the north edge. The deep water has schools of bait, especially in the 40 to 50 foot depth. All this food will keep the fish here. However, it keeps the fish well fed so it may be hard to get them to bite your lures.
The best two methods that seem to work well are jigging with 300 feet of wire and the jigged eel and the umbrella rig on either 150 feet of wire, or in the deeper water, 200 feet of wire. For those who are brave, setting up a jigging rod with 450 feet of wire will work very well in the 50 to 60 foot range if you mark the fish near the bottom on your fish finder. It is a pain to reel in that much wire but some of the stripers you get doing this can be over 40 inches.
There has been a noticeable absence of bluefish. Last Tuesday a friend of mine was up by South Sunken Meadow trolling swimming plugs on mono. He hooked up 4 nice big bluefish in the area. The water is warming up fast so these fish should start becoming active if there are any amount around. I know large schools were seen coming up the outer Cape so if they aren't here yet they should be soon.
This last Monday I had a young man out with his father to try and land a legal sized striped bass. Well, young Ben Crawford not only landed the biggest fish of the trip he caught the most. Not bad for an up and coming angler of eight years. I'm sure on his next trip out fishing he will do equally as well if not better.
The fourth of July is coming up and Cape Cod Bay is known for having a fourth of July bass blitz. All the makings are coming together. This could very well be one of the best in a number of years. There is a lot of fish around, lots of bait so if it happens the term used might be "Epic"...
If you want to get in on this good fishing call me at: 508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211.
