
Storm claims last cottage on Cape Cod beach



Brewster Ma., Monday,
Arrived on site at about
So I set up camp in a minimal fashion and hurried to the
There were wade fishermen at Minister’s Point, along with another piece of sandy real estate in the bay… More than I would have expected there to be on a Monday afternoon, so I was hopeful. I explored the flats from The Narrows and beyond, and eventually out to the open cut in the barrier bar. Last year’s storms had breached the bar to the open
I had begun to wish that I made the trip down here a day earlier, so I could have been out here in the morning on the incoming tide, with the sun high. I did some blind casting, and came up with one schoolie striper and 2 followers. After a while, I brought the boat back to trailer, and returned to the campground, happy enough that I had motivated myself to get out on the water and get the equipment organized. The week lay ahead.
The NOAA forecast was glum…. Cloudy, raining cold and windy…. I half expected to spend the whole day in the Yurt, journaling and sketching. But the morning was bright, and the wind not too awful. Again, thinking of the possible limited opportunities for getting the boat on the flats this week, I had a quick breakfast and headed out. Rain was supposed to be definite for the afternoon. This time I put in at Oyster Pond to access the
I rounded the bend at the end of the
The blues were not doing a good job of breaking the water’s surface, although the sand eels were, offering themselves to the hungry terns. Instinctively, I ditched the eight weight and the cursed Wonderline in favor of a nine weight rod and a sink tip line to get the fly down to the fish… hurry, hurry, the fish are feeding, moving, feeding, moving…
Still there was no wire leader, and the nine weight did not have a holder for my trolling motor’s remote control. Crap. More fumbling… with the loose controller. Eventually, I got a fly down enough in the water so that a bluefish saw it, struck the fly, and the game was on. A distinct sense of relieve came after hooking a fish. Now the main concern remained the lack of a leader… I hoped that he was hooked well, but not too deeply, so that the monofilament leader stayed away from the razor teeth. A long 8 minutes later, after adjusting the reel’s drag and discovering a grinding noise in my Lamson , the blue was in the net. Nice. Something for the grill… at least that was done.
The feeding frenzy continued, and after getting the fish in the livewell, I organized again, and followed the birds and their activity back across the channel to Common Flats. The fish proved to be more and more elusive, and the feeding birds were thinning. Then a small bunch of terns got active further up on the flats. I raised the outboard and urged the trolling motor and the boat toward the working birds. Soon the trolling motor was chewing sand. Thankfully I was on the incoming tide today, and did not worry much about stranding. But I couldn’t maneuver around the high spots to get close to the ruckus. Then the feeding frenzy moved toward me. Those were stripers! Beside the excitement of finding the preferred target of Striped Bass over bluefish, it was amazing to see Stripers busting on bait in the spring. But these fish were literally in 12 – 16 inches of water, and any activity at all brought them half out of the water. They were going nuts on the ample amounts of sand eels, as were the birds from above. It was exciting to watch. The fish were schoolies, with a few medium sized fish mixed in, no bruisers from the northward Atlantic migration. I picked up a couple and released them. The world was beginning to get right.
About that time, the predicted showers began; I donned a rainjacket, and eventually began to get wet anyway. It was just past
The day started at
Still cloudy, the skies held their bounty, and I launched the boat again into Oyster Pond, and headed back to where I had seen action yesterday. Intermittent spats of unexpected sunshine allowed me to see short expanses of sand under the water ahead of the boat, but no fish were evident. After a couple hours of blind casting to rips out from
Eventually, I found myself wondering if I shouldn’t head back in, and trying elsewhere. Before I did, though, I headed over toward the barrier dune below
I twitched the fly as the fish neared it, and began my retrieve, pulling the imitation in hasty, jerky spurts away from the Striper. Man, that fish jumped on that fly like a beagle on a pork chop!! A quick, reaffirming double tug inline on the Wonderline to set the hook and the reel began to emit noise at an increasing rate and heightening crescendo. I was into my backing in no time. As I stood balanced on the casting platform of the boat, rod butt plated in my hip, maintaining pressure on the fish in ever changing directions, the back pain, boredom, and disillusionment of the day disappeared. The daybreak tantrum of the campground brat and resultant loss of sleep suddenly seemed like a pleasant way to start the day. As the back and forth contest progressed, with the bass gaining ground in long powerful runs against the reel’s drag, and me reclaiming ground by cranking in line whenever I was able to lead him toward the boat, I began to think about the weak links. Was the fly tied on correctly? Maybe I should have changed the leader this morning. Was the fish hooked well?
The connection between backing and flyline passed through my rod guides three times, and eventually, the fish was brought to bay and netted. Nice fish! He measured 29 inches and broke the three year dry spell I have had of not catching any keepers. Minimum size is 28 inches, and I have been able to manage only 27 inchers over the past couple seasons. I made sure he was revived and released him back to the flats. This day had been justified.
The earplugs worked fine, and I managed to arise at a more reasonable hour, about
It was showering lightly and was cold when I arrived at the launch, but met up with a fly fisherman pulling out. It was nearly low tide. He stated that it was a bit snotty out by the hook in the flats, as the outgoing tide was combining with the wind to make a nuisance of the chop. Footing would be difficult. Thunder was booming a bit in the distance, and my doubts about heading out this morning began. I waited in the parking lot a while, and then reasoned I should head out as long as the winds were low enough to allow it, and launched before the lowering tide would make it too difficult.
I was cold… it was wet… drizzle and light showers turned on and off. I headed toward the area I wished to greet the incoming tide from, and began to blind cast toward the edge of the flat. A couple followers and then I hooked up with a schoolie. I hoped that this would bode well for the rest of the day.
Unfortunately, the next couple hours turn to misery. The showers picked up. I had minimal raingear on, and got wet. Twice the rain really opened up, completely drowning me. My clothes picked up ten pounds of water weight. The booming started again, fog was creeping around the shoreline, and although I had not seen any lightning, I reasoned that nothing here was worth it. I was freezing and began to head back in. Before I made it to the harbor area, the rain slacked off. The distant sky seemed to be lightening. Blue patches appeared. I remembered the dry bag stowed under the casting platform. Rummaging around, I found a complete change of dry clothes, and in the middle of the harbor, started my day over. With warm and dry clothes, a brightening horizon and a change in tide, I headed back to the target area. Still, the bright sunshine that was needed for sight fishing eluded me, but I began to blind cast to likely spots. No birds to help spot activity.
I managed two schoolies, one in the mid twenties and a number of followers reluctant to bite. The beastmaster flies I had been casting seemed to grab their interest, despite their obvious difference from the abundant sand eels on the flats. But the few bait fishermen in the channel were having some luck with American eels, 6-8 inches in length. Reports were that several keepers and a couple 40 inch fish had been caught by them in the past couple days. Perhaps the beastmasters were triggering the eel reaction.
The deep edge of the channel that ran along side the flats seemed to be where the bigger fish were emerging from, so I began to cast from the shallow water into the trench and retrieving after letting the fly sink. Abruptly, a dark shape charged from the depths and inhaled my fly. The ensuing battle on the edge of the channel was reminiscent of yesterday ice-breaking contest, and when it was over, a 32 inch fish was landed. Once again, the mental struggle I had with perseverance was rewarded. I kept this fish, wanting some for the grill, and the goal of making some seviche with Striped Bass. When I find an internet cafĂ© to post this, I will download a recipe’ (my favorite one doesn’t seem to be in my laptop’s memory) and make some up while I am still here and the fish is fresh.
Regrouping day... steady rain at the rate of 70%, and winds kicked up to 20 knots or better. At least it is a warm front, and the temperatures will near seventy also. Will spend the day journaling, sketching washing and drying wet clothing, and sending off reports and emails at the local free wireless spots.
Tomorrow says only a chance of rain in the am, sun in the pm, and 5-10 knot winds… should be able to get back out and fish the weekend before wrapping up and returning on Monday.

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June 4 , 2009
By Rick Bach
Bass, blues and bait are thick in Cape Cod waters as we ease into the first week of June, and promising reports are coming in from the Canal to the Race.
This past week the fishing slowed down a bit on the Canal, but promises to pick up again with a good set of tides starting this weekend and into next week. The full moon should also have stripers strapping on the feedbag. Stan at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay weighed in a 34-pound striper taken out of the Canal on an eel this week.
Red and black Slug-Gos are seeing their share of action in the canal, as are RonZs. A silver RonZ was responsible for a few big fish this past week so it might be worth tying one on. The 10-inch, 3-ounce version seems to work the best in the Canal current.
Bucktails with red and pink pork rinds are taking their share of fish in the Canal as well.
Have a few extra leaders tied up and don’t forget the pliers because blues are moving into the Canal in greater numbers every day. Some of them are gators, according to Bruce at Canal Bait
and Tackle in Sagamore. Gator bluefish to 34 inches are being taken, although most are in the 3- to 5-pound range. These fish will fight as hard as anything that swims so have some fun if you find them, especially the big ones.
There are still some squid and macks hanging around in the ditch, but the squid are coming in at night and the mackerel are hanging on the outside. The majority of the mackerel that were pushing through the Canal a week or two ago are making their way up to the Weymouth area, according to Mike from M & D’s Bait and Tackle in Wareham.
On the west end of the Canal, sea bass and scup are present in good numbers, and some stripers are being caught on live-lined scup. On the other end of the Canal, flounder are being caught, including a few decent fish, to 17 inches.
One feel-good story has an 80-year old fisherman taking his first saltwater fish off Scusset Beach this week. The interesting part is that it was a 6-pound ‘tog. Chalk it up to beginners luck.
Starting on Tuesday, there is a very good-looking set of morning tides that should have action picking back up in the Canal. Topwaters at first light are likely to produce some fish this week. Michael at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle inFalmouth said that he thinks an east tide in the morning might be the best time to hit the canal.
On the south side of the Cape, the bluefish are in thick. A south wind will push them up against southern beaches, crashing bait, and the fishing can be fish-every-cast good. Word in the On The Water office was that this was the case on Monday night and that bluefish were getting hammered by a throng of South Cape anglers. However, on Tuesday night the wind died down to a whisper and there wasn’t a bent rod to be seen on the beach. With fish moving around chasing bait this time of year, the wind can be a crucial factor in the location you choose to target.
Oregon Beach in Cotuit turned up a 42-inch fish recently, according to Jay at Mashpee Bait and Tackle.
On the more secretive side of things, a source says that fishermen have been very quietly pulling big fish out of Quicks Hole recently, so it might be worth wetting a line there to see if the rumors are true.
In Cape Cod Bay, is sounds like things are really getting going. Mackerel and sand eels have got bass beating up bait from Billingsgate to the Race. Though there haven’t been reports of any cows, it’s likely that at least some of the larger fish that moved through the Canal last week should be making their way into the Bay this weekend.
Barnstable Harbor is absolutely loaded with sand eels according to Jay at Mashpee Bait and tackle. Sand eel imitations on umbrella rigs are taking their share of bass, but the action has been hit-or-miss. “It’s like somebody’s playing with a light switch,” Jay said, describing how the fishing has been turning on and off suddenly over the past week.
A 42-pound striper came out of Barnstable Harbor on a RonZ this week, according to Matt at Chatham Bait and Tackle.Pogies provide a good example of the inconsistency Jay’s talking about. They will show up in certain areas, and be gone the next day. Anglers that have spotted them are saying that they’re balling up tighter than they have been, a sign that they’re getting ready to move offshore.
A few nice stripers were taken on chunked mackerel on the inside of Barnstable Harbor. Sand eels are likely your best bet for quantity of fish, but live-lining a mack might just turn up a heftier specimen.
Live-lining scup has been working for the anglers that can find the scup, but the season for this bottom fish has gotten off to a slow start.
Richard at the Hook Up in Orleans said that there have been a lot of fish in the 26- to 30-inch range in the bay, but there are fish in the 40-inch range roaming around as well. “It’s only getting better from here on out,” he said.
Bluefish are making their presence felt in the bay, with some bigger fish showing up as well. There haven’t been too many of them, but a few very big bluefish have surprised some bay anglers. Boat fishermen have been having some success of Sunken Meadow Beach in Eastham.
Up on Race Point in Provincetown, things are getting going, Rich at Nelson’s Bait and Tackle said. He described the fish as “skittish,” but said that they can be caught. Yo-Zuri mag darters and Gags Grabbers Mambow Minnows are taking some fish, from schoolies up to keeper-sized stripers. Sebile’s new line of lures, specifically the Magic Swimmer, were bringing fish up from the depths off the Race this week, according to a source inside the On The Water office. Check out this double-jointed bait’s erratic action next time you hit the beach.
RonZs offer a good sand eel imitation and have been taking their share of fish off Race Point as well, Rich said. One angler kayaking off the beach said he saw some giant stripers swimming right beneath him.
“It’s been one of the best springs we’ve seen in years!” Rich said.
On the back side of the Cape, there are some stripers being taken here and there from the surf, although nothing consistent. A few fish in the 30-inch range have hit the sand, according to Paul at Black Beard’s Bait and Tackle, but the action has been spotty at best, he said. Garret at the Goose Hummock said he’s heard of a few keepers coming off Nauset Beach, but nothing spectacular. The action in the bay has been much hotter.
Down on the Vineyard, the trick has been finding the fish, as they’re constantly on the move, Steve at Larry’s Bait and Tackle reported. Smaller fish are surrounding the island now, with schoolies being caught more consistently. Good-sized scup are being caught on Sabiki rigs. The squidding has been slow. Bluefish in the 4- to 8-pound range are showing up off the Vineyard. If you’re looking for a place to fish on the Vineyard this weekend, his Wasque Point tossing bucktails and bombers. It’s your best shot at a big striped bass and a bruiser 8-pound bluefish isn’t a bad consolation prize.
Fishermen who prefer their water a slightly deeper shade of blue will be excited to hear that it’s officially tuna time. A 71-inch fish was taken on Stellwagen Bank this week and there have been more reports of big bluefin busting on top. It will probably be another week or so before these fish show up in any significant numbers, but they’re coming.
Freshwater fishermen can break out the spinnerbaits. Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass are moving off their beds, and the bite is heating up, Jay at Mashpee Bait and Tackle said. The trout bite remains hot on the Cape, and with reduced pressure on local ponds there might not be a better time to savor the sweetwater.
Best Bets For the Weekend
It would be hard to go wrong wetting a line on the Cape this weekend. A promising set of tides in the Canal should have some drags humming. Enormous schools of sand eels have got stripers feeding actively in the Bay, and big fish are cruising around Race Point. Bluefish are in on the southern beaches, and when the wind is right, they’re giving anglers all they can handle. The sea bass bite is red hot, and scup are even starting to show up. Largemouth and smallmouth bass and trout are still active, as water temperatures haven’t warmed enough to slow them down. And tuna are finally arriving on Stellwagen. So pick your species, tighten that drag, and hit the water. Judging from a 57-pound fish that fell in Montauk on Friday morning, there are bigger fish on their way to the Cape.
With The "Incoming Excursion" for Striperheads only a week away , the fish have arrivved to meet us!
read the current "On The Water" report

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May 28, 2009
By Rick Bach
Fishing all around the Cape has been red-hot lately, but for sheer size and numbers, if not solitude, there’s no better place to be than the Cape Cod Canal. For the past three or four days, plenty of stripers, and big ones at that, have been pulled out of the ditch. It appears as if a school of big striped bass, making its way through the canal into Cape Cod Bay, has hung around through a few tide changes to feast on mackerel and herring.
We’re talking about big fish here. We have two reports of 50-plus-pound stripers, one pulled from the land cut by a shorebound fishermen, and another taken from a boat outside the west end of the canal.
The boat-caught fish weighed 56.4 pounds, according to Mike from M & D’s Bait and Tackle in Wareham, and the 52-pound fish was taken near Bell Road, according to Bull at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay. There have been reports of fish exceeding 40 inches being caught throughout the Canal.
It’s not so much a matter of what you’re throwing as it is being in the right place at the right time as these fish ride the heavy current of last weekend’s new moon chasing bait. Rubber shad-body lures have accounted for a lot of success. Topwater lures are also taking fish, especially early in the morning. Gibbs Pencil Poppers and Yozuri Mag Darters are taking fish, according to Bruce at Canal Bait and Tackle in Sagamore. “Blue-and-white seems to be the magic color combination,” he said, adding that the canal was full of bait, including mackerel, sea herring, and pollock that the bass were gorging on. Soft-plastic baits like the RonZ on 3- or 4-ounce jigheads are taking their share of fish when the current picks up and the topwater bite turns off. Rich at Falmouth Bait and Tackle added that some of his regulars are catching fish around slack tide on the Sebile Magic Swimmer, and he’s been selling more since the action’s been heating up.
A tide moving from east to west seems to be producing the most fish, although the canal’s been pretty hot on almost all tides. These fish have been in the canal for the past few days, but Bruce is predicting the action will stay steady at least through the weekend. There have been bluefish in the canal, although they’re not thick, so it’s a good idea to use a fluorocarbon leader of at least 40-pound-test and keep an eye on it if you’re getting into fish. Tie a few extra leaders and have them ready to go to save yourself some time if the action is hot and heavy. The blues have mostly been medium-sized, in the 3- to 5-pound range.
On the south-facing beaches, the action has been there, but very location-specific. Jay at Mashpee Bait and Tackle said that your best bet is bouncing around as much as possible, not wasting too much time in one location if the fish aren’t there. Chris at Badfish Outfitters in North Falmouth added that earlier this week the fish and wind were pushing pogies right up onto the beach, and anglers were picking them up and live-lining them. With a stiff south wind, they couldn’t cast very far, but the fish were one top of them, and Chris said he weighed in three fish 30 pounds or bigger caught on south-facing beaches.
On the other side of the Cape, Barnstable Harbor has been hot, with big schools of mackerel and sand eels drawing in the bass. Jay said that while fishing the harbor this weekend, he rigged up an umbrella rig with DOA soft-plastic jerkbaits that did a great job imitating sand eels and had a good deal of success with stripers. Live-lining mackerel has also produced some decent stripers in Barnstable Harbor, according to Bruce at Canal Bait and Tackle.
Cape Cod Bay hasn’t seen the really big fish yet, but expect that to change as big stripers make their way through the Canal and discover a bay full of bait. Fish to 35 inches and 20 pounds are coming out of the Bay on a regular basis. Dan at the Hook Up in Orleans said that the areas around the Brewster Flats were producing fish consistently on soft-plastics such as Slug-Gos and RonZs. He said that most of the fish hitting on the surface were smaller, between 25 and 30 inches, but when they let the bait drop to the bottom, they found bigger fish. They took eight keeper-sized stripers to 38 inches.
Garret at the Goose Hummock in Orleans said the bluefish haven’t showed up in numbers in the Bay just yet, and anglers are taking mostly stripers. He said fly-fishermen were having success on the flats. From all accounts there is no shortage of sand eels in the bay so any lure or fly you can get your hands on that will mimic this bait should work wonders. Try using something with some flash and a slim-profile design. Smaller Slug-Gos and RonZs should work for spin-fishermen while deceivers are a good bet if you’re bringing the fly rod.
The backside beaches are producing some fish, but the action has been hit-or-miss, mostly due to mid-day tides. Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet has turned up a few keeper stripers but at other times has been absolutely dead. A good rule of thumb is not to stick it out too long if nothing seems to be happening. On Nauset Beach in Orleans, fish have been few and far between.
Fishermen targeting Race Point have had some success according to Leo at Nelson’s Bait and Tackle. If you make a run to the Race, try throwing Gags Grabbers Mambo Minnows in the chicken scratch pattern. The lure has apparently produced a few keeper-sized stripers there.
Down on the Vineyard the fishing has been variable but not dead, according to Steve at Larry’s Bait and Tackle. For the last week, variable winds have pushed the fish, and the fishermen, around, but there are stripers to be found. “They’re just not stacked up in any one location,” Steve said. Steve said he saw two 35-pound stripers come in this week. One was caught on a 12-inch black Slug-Go.
Steve said there have been two classes of fish making up for most of the action on the Vineyard: fish that are right around 28 inches, and fish between 18 and 25 pounds. However, late at night, larger fish that are feeding on scup farther offshore are moving into within range for surfcasters and that’s when the bigger fish are hitting the sand.
The groundfishing is heating up around the Cape as well with scup season opening this past Sunday. Some bruiser sea bass are being weighed in around the Cape and Islands. A 7.5-pound fish came out of Edgartown Harbor on the Vineyard last week and an 8-pounder was weighed in at M & D’s that came off of Cleveland Ledge.
Mike at M & D’s said the trick is to drift until you locate the fish, quickly mark your location and concentrate your efforts there. Fish are holding tight so exact location is important. Squid-tipped green Spro bucktail jigs have been producing, Mike said.
Cleveland Ledge has been the go-to spot for bottom-fishermen. Many fish have come in front of the Ledge, so don’t get discouraged if you’re not positioned right on top of it.
Best Bets for the Weekend
The short answer: The Canal. The Cape Cod Canal is your best bet at a big bass this weekend. Prepare yourself for a crowd because it’s no secret that big stripers push their way through the ditch right around this time of year but there should be plenty of fish for everyone. Pencil poppers, RonZs, rubber shads and jigs with Slug-Gos are all good bets to turn the heads of some of the bigger stripers cruising the canal. Boaters might want to check out the east end of the Canal and Barnstable Harbor as migrating bass push through to feed on sand eels and mackerel, or head out for sea bass and scup in Buzzards Bay.
If you’re shorebound but the Canal isn’t your cup of tea, pick a few beaches on the south side of the Cape and bounce around. You might find some of the baitfish-busting action. Winds out of the south and west should pick up temperatures but might make casting difficult so tie on something with some heft if you’re heading to a beach along the southern Cape.