May 2023 Cape Cod trip
May 2023 Cape Cod trip
Last week I was able to spend a few days on Cape Cod fishing for Striped bass. Cape Cod has an unbelievable fishery when the migration starts. I probably arrived 1-2 weeks too early as the water temperatures around Chatam were a few degrees lower than ideal, but I always managed to find fish and I hit the jack pot on the third day when I rented out a Kayak and switched to a beach in near Dennis that I heard had warmer water temps. I will drop pictures and more detailed fishing report later on today.
Re: May 2023 Cape Cod trip
I found a 200 dollar flight leaving Austin at 5am and landed in Logan international airport in Boston at noon with a stop in Baltimore. I rented a car and then drove down to Chatam, MA after taking a short visit to the Bears Den fly shop for an intermediate line, a fly line tamer and a couple of clousers and sand eel patterns.
I concentrated my fishing around Chatam and the beaches near Orleans. The outer cape is facing nantucket and has deeper water and lower water temperature compared to the shallow flats of Cape Cod bay around Brewster, Orleans, Eastham which is called the inner Cape. I learned that even a few degrees of water temperature can make a huge difference as the fish were in smaller numbers around then I experienced 2 years earlier fishing during the same time.
I concentrated my fishing around Chatam and the beaches near Orleans. The outer cape is facing nantucket and has deeper water and lower water temperature compared to the shallow flats of Cape Cod bay around Brewster, Orleans, Eastham which is called the inner Cape. I learned that even a few degrees of water temperature can make a huge difference as the fish were in smaller numbers around then I experienced 2 years earlier fishing during the same time.
Re: May 2023 Cape Cod trip
My first stop is always Harding beach and Stage harbor. There is a large parking lot and a pathway about 1 mile long to lighthouse. The narrow boat cut always seems to have good water current pulling bait and gamefish through. You will often see flyfisherman lined up here throwing sinking lines and clousers catching large Shad, Striped Bass and Bluefish. I like to start with spin fishing gear and then switch to flyfishing once I have narrowed down where the fish are. I caught two 25 inch Striped bass on a Texas Tea down south paddle tail lure near the Lighthouse. In the evening the wind picked up and I was able to bomb out some casts towards the beachfront. A popular lure is called the SP Minnow which has a walk the dog motion under the water's surface. It can be very erratic with a fast retrieve. I picked up another two bass on that lure before heading back to the hotel that night.