The Bluefish are Back...
By: Capt. Hap Farrell
In the past few days I heard a voice on the radio say, "I just took a bluefish." This is a good sign for our upcoming season. The bluefish add a challenge to the fishing in Cape Cod Bay. The bluefish is one of the harder fighting fish, for its size, in our area. It is the mainstay for the charter business in the Bay. These fish are found in both shallow and deep water and will hit a number of different lures. Also you can use different methods to catch them. Casting surface plugs, fly fishing, trolling plugs on mono, using umbrella rigs, jigging with wire, and vertical jigging are some of the more popular methods. It is good to hear of their arrival.
The striper fishing has been pretty good this last week. Not many boats have been out but the ones who were found all the fish they needed. It is not so easy that you just have to put a lure in the water, troll for a bit and you will hook up. You have to work for these fish. The south edge of Billingsgate Shoals, near where the wreck buoy used to be, and the New Grounds, west of the Target Ship buoy, have been the most productive. This last Monday, John Shaklicks, on the Luau, found both bass and bluefish in near Stony Bar during the high water trip. This area, which is just north of the #3 can is a well known area and usually produces fish. However, lately this area has been kind of dead. Maybe the fish are finally moving in this spot.
What will happen this weekend and next week? I love trying to figure out what fish will do. It's almost like being a weatherman or a broken clock. You're bound to be right once in awhile. So, here goes. The water is warming up fast. These bluefish that have been spotted in on Stony Bar will become more active. They will spread from there out to the shoals and then to the north edge. They should and I mean should become really active in the shallow water along the Eastham shore. Swimming plugs and the umbrella rig will work best for now but hootchies will be the lure of choice.
The stripers should still stay active inside on the New Grounds, the South Edge, in Barnstable Harbor, and in on Stony Bar. The new areas to check out should be the top of Billingsgate Shoals, the North Edge, and out in the deep water off the edge up by the Square, which is 50 feet of water off Griffin Island. Swimming plug, preferably the white or black Bomber, the umbrella rig on 150 foot wire, or even jigging should work well. All this is changing fast but things will settle down in a few weeks.
If you'd like to get in on some of this early season fishing give me a call either at home (508-255-6211) or on my cell (508-240-8267). Don't miss out on some good tasting striped bass filets.
