BLUEFISH DROP ANCHOR

May 1, 2002 - In one of the earliest migrations in recent memory, bluefish have begun to make their appearance felt along the south side of Cape Cod. While it may be a bit early for wading anglers to target these recent arrivals, look for fishing to improve dramatically within a week or so. Shorefronts that usually harbor these new arrivals include: South Cape Beach and Popponesset Cut in Mashpee, Oregon Beach in Barnstable, West Dennis Beach in Dennis, Red River Beach in Harwich and Hardings Beach in Chatham just to mention a few. Generally the best fishing can be expected during periods of incoming tides. These early "racers" usually possess voracious appetites and it becomes more of a question of timing than fly selection.

This year's timetable seems to be about two weeks early regarding all our migratory species, stripers included. While we have been entertaining a number reports from anglers that are achieving various degrees of success with school fish, the fishery has yet to receive the "guarantee" rating that should be evident in a week or two.

We recently had the pleasure of chatting with Danny Tobin, who is an employee of the town of Chatham, and he informed us that school fish have moved into the Stage Harbor channel and are available to wading anglers from both the Hardings Beach and Morris Island spit. This is almost unprecedented considering that the fish became evident during the week of April 19th!

There are other confirmed reports of fish being taken as far east as Salt Pond in Eastham as well as many other locations along the outer Cape's ocean side. Fishing for these early migrants is often a "hit or miss" proposition and it is always sound advice to initiate a residual plan should you're area of concentration be absent of fish.

CCA RECAP
Those that attended the annual CCA Central/West Chapter Banquet held on April 25th were treated to a splendid presentation on off-shore fly fishing hosted by Bob Benson as well as some great grub. Bob's offering included the pursuit of shark and tuna with light tackle which is enjoying a renaissance of sort particularly here in New England. Thanks should go out to Ted Purcell, Bob Thunberg and Mike Peluso who were the prime movers and shakers of this year's event. Those that failed to attend missed out on the opportunity to bid on some impressive auction and raffle items. Guided trips sold for as low as $200, a 9.9 Merc, $800, days on the water (donated by CCA members), $55-$95, a Sage 990-4 XP rod, $350, as well as many prints, random tackle and gift certificates that sold for only a fraction of their retail value. The kicker was you could not only purchase a bargain, but also donate to a worthy cause.

Good fishing and safe wading,

JB