JOE AND
MARK'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE
June 28, 2003 - Central Mass salter, Joe
Reynolds, recently hosted good friend and upstate NY resident, Mark
Vanderhoof, for a week of angling in and around the Chatham area of Cape
Cod. Mark was kind enough to email us this brief syllabus of the week's
proceedings…
 "… Just thought
I'd send you a note and let you know how Joe and I did last week. The
fishing was excellent. Got lots of fish in Chatham between South Beach
and Monomoy at the 'H' buoy. Many keepers, but only up to around
30". Nobody around in that area and we had some huge flats all to
ourselves. On Friday we fished Town Cove in Orleans. We found the
motherload of fish there with some shots at huge fish. Biggest fish
I've ever cast too. Largest fish landed on that day was 36".
Sight fished pretty much all day, even at low tide when the fish would
cruise the edges."
"… On the walk
back, as the sun set, we spotted some busting fish right next to
shore. This is a very unique spot. An island that is separated from
Nauset Beach by a channel. It created a river. It reminded me of some
steelhead rivers I've fished. This spot was loaded with stripers. They
wouldn't hit poppers because they were busting up 1 1/2-2" sand
eels. We fished, or should I say caught fish for the next few hours
nonstop on each side of the tide. I ended up getting a tagged fish of
about 16" which I'll have to call in… unbelievable."
Despite some very
aggravating weather at times, it seems like the lads had quite a
memorable experience. This has been the reoccurring theme throughout the
entire spring season. Crummy weather… sensational fishing! Through
personal experience and by the number of glowing reports we've been
fielding, the Cape seems to be off to its best start in recent memory.
COOLER WATER
As with our sweetwater brethren, the cooler water temperatures we've
been experiencing are a welcomed phenomenon for saltwater zealots as
well. While a few more seasonably warm weeks could certainly influence
the waters attitude, our guess is that the inshore angling will continue
to flourish well into the summer. Normally July can be a temperamental
month, a transitional month regarding wading potential and more
specifically sight fishing. Without a doubt the prospects for this July
appear bright due to the unseasonably cool water. We would expect to
encounter a healthy population of fish on the flats, in the surf and
estuaries as we proceed into the month.
JULY'S FLYS
Not being a champion of stout fly patterns or Clouser style imitations
(which are undoubtedly very effective) I certainly am a proponent of
scaling down fly size particularly during "sight fishing"
opportunities. The 1/0 and 2/0 blind fishing patterns of early and mid
spring are now commuted to size 4 and 6 shrimp and baitfish replicas.
This is not to assume that the portly patterns are not essential to the
boat, surf or estuary angler. However, it is my belief that you will
achieve more success during your "sight fishing" outings while
incorporating more diminutive mimics.
Good fishing and safe
wading,
JB
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