The Fish May Go, But They'll Be Back...
Capt. Hap Farrell
I fish out of Rock Harbor in Orleans, Ma. on Cape Cod. We're located on the inside of the elbow of the Cape so we fish the waters of Cape Cod Bay. Even though our season was a little slow trip-wise, the fishing was very good over all. There were days that all we found were bluefish, but we found plenty of them. There were days that we hooked up on some big stripers and when we did there were plenty of them also. For the most part we had good fishing with a little of both, good size bass and a fair amount of bluefish. It's not so much the amount of fish caught it's also about how you catch them.
At the end of the Columbus Day weekend there were still fish in the Bay. The north edge of Billingsgate Shoals was loaded with bait and a good amount of small bass and bluefish. There were a few keepers mixed in. I imagine they will be around for a while more. I'm out of the water now so I'm starting to think about next season.
Speaking of next season... This year I had Tom, down at the Goose Hummock, build two rods for using the tube and worm with lead core line. I wanted them to have plenty of muscle but also absorb enough of the energy of the fish so a young person could handle the fish easily. He put together the perfect tubing rod doing just what I wanted it to. Now I want to design a pair of rods to use with 10 to 12 lb. test mono for both bass and bluefish. I've been using store bought rods which are all right but now I have a better idea of the action I'd like these new ones to have. Again, I'd like to give a seasoned angler a thrill yet have the ability to show a young angler a good time. I specialize in light trolling gear and carry over 30 rods aboard the boat. Each pair designed for a specialize method from jigging with light wire on very light action rods to tournament grade 2 lb. test line on hand built rods.
This last season I took a number of stripers over 30 pounds on line as light as 6 lb. test tackle, but most of the people using this light gear enjoyed the 10 to 12 test set ups I carry. That's why I'm having these rod built. I can't wait 'till next season. Only 200 some days to go...
