Well, looks like we did a terrible job of updating the site with 2011 fishing reports. I did try to keep up with the Facebook site, as that is alot easier to log on and post photos, so that worth a look if you want to see what we’ve been up to.
That said, 2011 was a fantastic season for Big Stripers in Cape Cod Bay.
Well, Striper Fishing in the Bay has been outstanding. Too tired to do a good job of updating the site regularly – but that’s a good thing. We’ve been fishing nearly every day for the last month and a half, and Cape Cod Bay has treated our customers very, very well. Will try to keep up with the pics and reports – check out our Facebook page as that is often easier and quicker to update.
Good luck out there.
Captain Don
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.
Great Charter today with a group of six guys from Barnstable and Sandwich. Most of these guys fish quite a bit but they have small boats and their range is a bit limited. Very nice to have an experienced group of fisherman on board.
Made the trip across the bay and found good #’s bass away from the crowd. The fish set up for the entire tide right on one set of lobster pots, so staying with the fish was pretty easy. It always takes the pressure off quickly when you get a couple of keepers on the first pass. Fishing stayed very solid for most of the morning – it started getting a little crowded after a while, but the fish turned back on once the boat traffic subsided. Ended up getting our limit, without anything that really even needed to be measured and some school fish mixed in as well to keep the action going.
This was actually a bachelor party, and since the guys were having a great time we forgot to look at the clock for a while and stayed a little late. The extra time paid off, as that’s the Bachelor in the photo with his best fish of the day.
All in all, great day, with a solid group of guys.
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.
