Cape Cod?

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wittich
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Cape Cod?

Post by wittich »

Has anyone on this forum fished in Cape Cod? I am thinking about going at the end of May to fish for striped bass/ bluefish.
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karstopo
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Re: Cape Cod?

Post by karstopo »

I have, but not from a kayak. Striped Bass ought to be there then.

I fished around the Chatham area for the most part, down along Monomoy Island, Nantucket Sound there in Chatham, Stage Harbor, South Beach in Chatham Surf area and a little in the Cape Cod Canal.

Striped Bass populations rise and fall, they might be on a downward slope now or low. Cape Cod striped bass migrate up from the Chesapeake Bay area. There’s gazillion harbors along the Cape. The Fish definitely move around. Back then, any walk the dog large topwater was deadly on both striped bass and bluefish. The Bluefish run bigger up there and some years are extra big.

Tides are massive on the Atlantic facing beaches and less so In Nantucket sound. Lots of sheltered water up there. Pleasant Bay looked like a kayaker’s dream if the fish were in there. Parking anywhere near the water can be a big headache or was back 20 or 30 years ago. There might be VRBOs or AirBNB on the water, though.
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Dandydon
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Re: Cape Cod?

Post by Dandydon »

I spent a week on the island of Nantucket up there and hired "the best fishing guide" for a day of targeting striped bass and bluefish.

We cruised that deep water all around the island and found no striped bass, but I did catch 3 big blues on silver spoons twice as big as the ones we use for speckled trout. The bluefish would come out of the deep water to chase down the spoon for incredible boatside strikes. Then they'd take off half your fishing line until turned around. Just wish they tasted better.

Another plus was my guide had a late customer arrive. He asked my permission to add him to our trip.

Am glad I said "yes," because I got to spend the day talking & fishing with Jimmy Buffett of MargaritaVille fame. He's now a real rich man.

He caught nothing but had some smokes I'll never forget, hello.


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wittich
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Re: Cape Cod?

Post by wittich »

That is cool that you got to fish with jimmy buffet. A few years ago I bought a Hellsbay skiff from a guy in Georgia. It turned out it also had a jimmy buffet connection. This is the email I read from Chris Morejohn who was one of the founders of Hells Bay Boatworks together with Flip Pallot and Hal Chittum.

Your skiff was built for Jimbo Meador who is friends with the writer Winston Groom who wrote the book Forrest Gump. The books main character was based a lot on Jimbo's life. They were drinking buddies in Point Clear Alabama and used to go on and on with stories of ways to cook shrimp while sitting on Jimbo's dock in the evenings. Jimbo was the gulf coast Orvis rep when I met him at a show. We went on several trips together showing the new Whipray along the gulf states way back with him introducing me and the silly little expensive skiff at fishing clubs and local guides. Our company gave this skiff to Jimbo for thanks in all he did working for us as a rep. He is a lifetime friend of Jimmy Buffet and used to fish with Jimmy in this skiff out at the Chandelier Islands and other places.
That skiff to me is the best ever in its simplicity and what it can do. Knowing how to use that tunnel and jack plate you can run across the water that is 3-4 inches deep forever and not hurt the bottom.
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Dandydon
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Re: Cape Cod?

Post by Dandydon »

Thanks for the cool Jimmy Buffett story, Wittich. Although I only spent 6 hours with him on that fishing boat, he was one of the coolest cats I ever met. Funny, confident and full of good stories.

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Kayak Kid
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Re: Cape Cod?

Post by Kayak Kid »

Dandydon, bluefish taken from the cold waters of the Northeast, are delicious...,if eaten before they are frozen. Once frozen, they seem to taste differently (not so good).

A number of years past, I had a three day guided striper trip arranged out of Nantuckett. Then I saw the movie 'Jaws' and cancelled the trip. The only two creatures I am nearly phobic about are brown recluse spiders and sharks.
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karstopo
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Re: Cape Cod?

Post by karstopo »

I like fresh bluefish. Up in Massachusetts, we’d often pan fry fresh bluefish coated in seasoned breadcrumbs, everything caught and consumed on the same day. I’ve done the same with surf caught bluefish here and those are good, but there’s not much to the ones here they as they tend to run so small. I liked the taste and texture of the bluefish better than the striped bass, but I wasn’t doing the cooking then.

Anytime people start talking about what or which fish tastes good, though, it’s not hard to understand how subjective taste is person to person.

I’ve been around enough people when various fish has been on the menu to realize some people really don’t like the taste of any fish, but might play along with eating some providing the fish is wafer thin, mild, white and fried crispy to oblivion.
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Re: Cape Cod?

Post by wittich »

I fished Chatam once. It was a family trip so I only got a few hours of fishing in. The sunrise is early that far north, so you can get a half day of fishing in and be home around 10:00 when the wife and kids wake up. My brother Nick and I fished Harding beach and the inlet by Stage Harbor. There is a path behind the sand dunes that goes out towards a lighthouse. To the right of the lighthouse is a rocky shoreline that leads to a small jetty. You could also walk along the beach and fish your way towards the lighthouse, but it is more difficult because you are walking on sand.

My brother and I got up early on a Friday and when we got to the parking lot it was overcast and a rain storm came down in full force. We were the only ones crazy enough to head out in that weather. We looked at each, both wondering if this trip would be worth the effort. We already had our rain jackets and waders on, so I said F it, let's just go and give it a shot. After a two mile hike down the path we made it to the lighthouse and saw the rock jetty. Waves were rolling and fish were crashing bait on the surface. The tip of the jetty was the prime spot. The first cast resulted in a 22 inch striped bass. For the next 2 hours we hammered fish on topwaters, corky's and we then caught a few on clouser minnow patterns when we switched to fly rods. At one point a huge seal came out of nowhere and stole a striped bass that we had beached while we were trying to get a camera out. After that we landed a few more bass and then my brother hooked a big fish that blew up on a topwater called "the dock". It was the length of two full sized topwaters joined together. The fish ripped out braided line from a screaming reel and and then made a clean cut in the flourocarbon leader. It must have been a big bluefish. We called it day around 10:00 am and headed back to family.

We tried to repeat the trip the following morning, which was on a Saturday. The weather forecast looked better. Better weather brings in more fisherman. We got to the parking lot and saw 2 guys in waders rigging up their flyrods. They saw us, looked at each other and then went into high gear getting everything ready and sprinting off down the path. My brother wanted to follow them, but there was no chance we could beat them to the prime spot. I told my brother we would fish the beach instead. The guys kept turning around looking to see if we were following them. Once they saw us go in a different direction, they slowed down and leisurely walked down the path. We got to the beach, we could not see those guys anymore because of the sand dunes between us. I told Nick to start running. I said if we hauled ass we could take the long way down the shoreline and beat those guys to the prime spot. You should have seen the look on the guys face when they finally walked past the lighthouse and saw us on the jetty both hooked up fish. They were pissed.
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Re: Cape Cod?

Post by wittich »

Stage Harbor.jpg
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