Posts Tagged ‘cape cod striper fishing’

Thursay – Saturday Report

This week’s Noreaster was a bit of a pain in that we had to cancel/reschedule a bunch of trips, but there were some good parts about it as well.  One – we needed a break, and as much as you don’t want to cancel any trips during the busy season, sometimes you just need sleep.  Second, a good noreaster can hit the “reset” button on the ocean by turning the water over, and getting the fish back on the feed.

The combination of the full moon and the Noreaster did just that as things picking back up and the Fall fishing conditions are just starting .

Thursday – we ran a 1/2 day Striper trip with a fun group from California that are spending the week on vacation in Orleans.  The week of North wind pushed a ton of bait onto the beach between Sandwich and Barnstable so it was nice to have good fishing with a very short run.  We ended up fishing the outer Channel at Barnstable, and there were big schools of Bass stacked up on the edges.  They were tight to the bottom, so we had to jig – but it was well worth it.  Customers got their limit and we released a bunch as well – overall a really fun afternoon.

Friday – We headed offshore with a 1/2 Tuna 1/2 Bass trip.  Commercial Striper season is over, so our bait guy is back in business.  It was nice to come down and have a keeper trap filled with live Pogies.  Got set-up on the Bank in an area with alot of bait and big marks on the machine – this was the best the Bank has looked in about a month.  On our second drift, we had a minke whale swim right through our balloons. In the middle of telling the customers that’s a good thing, the tuna hang with the whales, the long balloon went off.  Long story short, the Fish was a freight train, and dumped 2/3 of an 80 Wide with 40lbs of drag on the first run while we were backing down at about 6 knots.  Unfortunately, the fish chafed off on the leader.  Live by the light leaders – die by the light leaders – it was a heck of a ride while it lasted, good to have a real Giant on for a bit.  

That was our only tuna for the day – they guys really just wanted to bend some rods, so we headed in to the shoals to Bass fish.  We jigged up a few keepers, shorts, and big blues – overall not great fishing, but we made a day of it.

Sunday – Great trip with one of our favorite customers.  The Ruch family came back again this year on their annual trip from Buffalo, and we had a great day.  Last report I mentioned things lining up for the big bass run close to home, and they definately have.  We fished tight to the beach at Sandwich, in less than 20′ of water, and despite the crowd of knuckleheads, we had a great day.  10 good fish, and 4 were between 25 and 30 lbs (on a real scale – all the guestimates at the dock were alot more).  We also broke off 2 will keep me up at night for quite a while.  Overall the bite was slower than we expected, and alot of boats went home skunked. But given the number of fish on the screen when they turn on for real, it will be insane.

Big week of Striper fishing in Cape Cod Bay.  We were out straight this week, so this will be more of an overall recap as I don’t think I can keep the individual trips straight.  We ran doubles most days, and I believe the final tally was limiting out 7 out of 8 trips.  Most fish were in the 32″-40″ range with a few bigger ones sprinkled in and more schoolies than we could count.  For the most part, we fished Billingsgate shoals in the am, and then ran up to P-town for the afternoons.  Snapping wire was the ticket on the shoals, where the jigs definately outproduced the tubes.  However at P-town, the tubes were taking solid fish while the jiggers were stuck with mostly schoolies. 

One noteable catch this week was by Mike Gonsalves’s 11 year old son – his first ever Striper was 40″ and he did a great job landing it without any help from his dad.  Fishing was unreal that day, as we were marking schools 10′ deep that filled the fishfinder. 

Full disclosure, the 44lb cow that Jay is holding was not taken on the L-J.  Jay did an overnight trip with his buddy Eddie Gotovich on Ed’s Doghouse.  When Ed isn’t commercial bass fishing or solo tuna fishing, he fills in as a mate for us.  Whenever Ed decides to start chartering on his own, he’s going to fill up fast, because the guy catches.

Without being too specific, conditions are lining up for our local big bass run.  For our customers that have hit this with us in the past, give a call soon, as this is usually the best big fish time of the year in the bay.  No wire, just tubes, and lots of 40″ plus fish.

On the Tuna front, things have been slow.  We ran 2 trips this week with only 1 bite on a livie to show for it.  Last week we went long giving it a solid 12 hour effort with only the one hit to show for it.  We did have a few surface shots way east, but didn’t convert.  This past Saturday we had a 1/2 tuna 1/2 bass that turned quickly to bass as Stellwagon seemed like a dead zone.

Moving forward, the combo of this Noreaster and the Moon should get things turned back on, and we’re confident that the Fall Fishing will be outstanding.  In the meantime, east of the bank is covered in sharks, so these are a great option for people that want to bend the heavy tackle quickly.

Overall, fishing has been extremely consistent.  If this is the Summer slowdown, I can’t wait for the September runs.

Good luck out there.

Quick Rundown on the week so far:

Sunday – Cod trip up to Stellwagon.  Alot of shorts and dogfish on the southern cod spots, but after some good intel from a friend, we hit the cod really well.  Good mix of markets and 15 lbers, along with some of haddock and a few pollock.  Long run from home, but well worth it.

Monday – Very good bass fishing close to home.  Largest fish of the day was 35 lbs (on the scale, not a guestimate).  Pretty sure we limited out as well (all the days are blending together here) as we hit the outgoing tide at Barnstable and had alot of fish on the feed.

Tuesday – Good bass fishing again – had a pair of fish that looked like twins, both a hair under 30 lbs.  Few more stripers in the box and a few bluefish to keep things fun.

Wednesday – Made the run up to P-town with a full day trip.  So much for the rumor going around that it had died up there.  Limited out, and I’m not sure what the total was, but it seemed like a ton.  Great group of guys that have been coming for a long time now.  We’ve got a picture on the site here of a little kid with his first big bass – now he’s a Senior in high school and catching more fish than his dad.  Scary Stuff.

Schedule is pretty tight right now, but the afternoon bite has been just as good as the morning.  We’re double booked a bunch next week, but there may be some afternoon slots still open.  Give Betty a call on the home #, or try Don’s cell.

Good luck out there.

Got a bit behind on the reports lately – here’s a quick rundown of the last few days:

Friday – Tuna and Striper combo trip.  Fun trip with a couple of our regulars who I think have been coming out 10 years straight now.  The north wind was cranking in the am, so instead of tuna fishing first we hit P-town for Stripers first until the wind calmed down.  Honestly, we were trying to find some Bluefish to take out and liveline, and we ended up in a ridiculous striper bite.  The bass were stacked up about 10 feet high in 18 feet of water and we had fish on every pass until the guys got tired.  Not sure the final tally, but it was very good.  Since we had Bass on board, we had to stay within the 3 mile limit and made a run down the backside looking for tuna.  We found good numbers down off the golfballs, with lots of mixed size fish airing out.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t buy a bite.  Overall, it was a really fun day with customers that made it seem like a day off fishing with friends.

Saturday – Another Combo Striper and Tuna trip.  Much nicer trip out, but we still had the north wind that got the tuna bite going a bit.  We got on a good spot away from the fleet and started marking fish pretty consistently just before slack tide. A couple of good boils on the inside baits, and then the long rigger got hit.  Nice Slot fish, that put up a great fight – taped out at 54″ and made for some great steaks.  Got the whole thing on video – I’m sure I’ll get it edited by January…The bite was all over by noon, so we moved back into P-town and timed the bass bite well as the tide was picking up.  I think we ended up with 10 keepers and some shorts – biggest fish was a little over 40″.  I know that was the guys first Bass, so he’s a little spoiled now.  Fun day, over an hour’s worth of filleting and steaking, but well worth it.

Sunday – finished up the weekend with a very productive 1/2 day bass charter.  Good fishing, again all on the tube an worm.  Seemed like we had to work a little more for the fish today than the last few, but we still limited out.  There were also a pile of bluefish that moved in and kept things interesting (where were these on Friday?).  Another fun trip as these guys were back from last year and we hope to see them next year too.

Very productive end to the week – looks like we have some weather coming in, but that should drop the water temp a bit, and keep the bite strong. 
Good luck out there.

Striped-Bass fishing on Cape Cod Bay continues to be excellent this week.

Saturday, we had the Glassman family out for a 1/2 Tuna, 1/2 Striper trip.  Last year they scored a big Bluefin, unfortunately we couldn’t repeat this year.  One tuna tried to eat our kite-bait, but didn’t get stay on the hook.   After getting frustrated by the tuna, we moved inshore and had great Striper-fishing.  We took 8 or 9 fish in about an hour with the bigger fish topping out around 38″.

Sunday, we had a group of guys from Connecticut that were vacationing with their families in Sandwich.  Very good fishing at Provincetown despite the crowds.  For the most part we were able to stay out of the crazy crowds and limited out on good size stripers.  All fish were on the tube and worm again.

Monday we fished down off of Barnstable, and had another good day.  The tube wasn’t working as well, as the fish were tight, tight to the bottom.  We switched over to jigging, and got quite a few fish.  Fun day, with a nice family that were very happy when we finished up.

Tuesday – good group of guys that won the charter at an auction to benefit the Jay’s kid’s elementary school.  The guys wanted to target some larger fish to torment their one friend that couldn’t make the trip.  There are areas of Cape Cod Bay that will hold less fish, but they are often big – so we hit a couple of those holes.  We only ended up with a few fish, but they were rewarded with decent size - the bigger ones were in the mid-20’s and one just over 30 lbs.  All in all a fun day.

Very busy this week which is a good thing.  Right now the Saturday afternoon trip is open, as well as a few slots in the middle of next week.

Good luck out there.

Striper fishing in Cape Cod Bay has continued to be excellent.  We’re riding a nice streak here, limiting out every charter over the last two weeks (knocking wood while I write this).

While that’s been fun, Saturday’s trip gave us reason to brag:

Kate and Jack (Captain Don’s Grandkids) age 7 and 9 made their first trip looking for some keeper Stripers.  Fishing was great and the Bass cooperated.  Each of the kids got 6 or 7 nice keepers, with Kate leading the day with a 38″ fish and Jack following up with one a little better than 36″.  We are also fishing in the Canal Bait and Tackle Striper Tourney this week, and to make their day official we went and weighed up the fish.  Although I’m sure they were knocked out within the hour, the kids did rank 1 and 2 on the leaderboard after their weigh in – and to a couple of little kids, that might have been the highpoint of the summer.

On the tuna front – they are all over the place.  Don took a group out whalewatching today, and just for kicks put one line out when the tuna came up smashing everywhere.  They ended up losing the fish they hooked, but it was just some extra fun while checking out the whales.

Laura Cianciolo has a knack for finding big fish whenever she gets back to the Cape from her home in Florida.  Two years ago she showed up for summer vacation and nailed 5, thirty pounders her first day back.

Well, today she waited around until we finished our morning charter, and hit the water at the around 2:00.  We trolled for about an hour, and Laura started off her season with a nice 34 lb Bass.  About 2 hours total on the water including travel time was all she needed.

Some people just have the knack.

Great trip this morning with a family in from Rye, NY.  Three kids on the trip today, I believe 13, 11, and 3 – whole goal of the trip was to get the kids their fist Stripers and maybe learn a little about fishing while they were at it.  Jack, the oldest, figuered out the process really quick, and in no time he was taking care of the trolling rigs on his own and landing fish like he’d been doing in for years.  Not to be outdone, his sister Jaime had the biggest fish of the morning at about 36″ plus a bunch of otheres.  Even the 3 year old got in on the action as she “helped” her dad reel one in.

Overall, a great day with a great family.  Hope to see them back again next year.

Wow.

Plain and simple – it’s on and we’re getting spoiled this week.  Not sure the #’s for the day, but we limited out in the first 40 minutes and had doubles all day long.  Largest fish was over 40″ and all the fish looked well fed – most all were in the 16-20lb range with a few better ones in the mix.  It really seemed like we were doubled up for most of the day, and quit when all of our anglers were exhausted.

All fish today were on Tube and Worm – leadcore line that is really easy for the customers to handle.  This is also a great way to fish when we’re releasing as many fish as we have this week.  Virtually all the fish are lip-hooked and landed quickly, ensuring healthy releases.  

I don’t want to create unrealistic expectations, because this is just phenominal fishing, and it’s not always this hot.  But we are certainly going to enjoy this while we can!

Didn’t take any pics – but the crew had an I-phone, hope we get a few shots in the email.