UP AND AT 'EM

May 4, 2007 - This past week has certainly been interesting. All season angler John Warren of Boylston (he divides his fishing time between NE saltwater and the warmer climes of Puerto Rico), decided to give his boat its annual shakedown cruise with Barnstable Harbor the venue. The angler was rewarded with nearly 30 linesiders to his credit. While none of the transients obviously achieved bragging rights, many where portly, fresh from the ocean fish and provided great sport for his 8-weight outfit. This should put to rest the rumor that there are plenty of fish in Cape Cod Bay despite the infancy of the season.

I really can't recall if we have ever received sterling reports from the bay this early in the season, but here's another for you to chew on. In celebration of his new baby, Steve Curtis of Plymouth (who just happens to be my son-in-law), grabbed the largest striper of his fishing career while toiling in Plymouth Harbor this past weekend. The brute measured 42" inches in length and tipped the scales at nearly 30 pounds. I wish I could report that the striper was taken on fly tackle but I cannot. While Steve does distribute his time between the fly and conventional gear, we are still trying to indoctrinate him into the fraternity of the long rod.

Inshore fishing continues to improve Cape wide. Virtually every angler we have queried during this past week has reported various degrees of success. Some of the more popular early season locations continue to be… Popponesset spit in Mashpee, Cotuit Highlands in Barnstable and Bass River in Dennis. While we have yet to interview anyone that has focused attention on Stage Harbor Inlet and "The Bathtub" area of Chatham I would venture a guess that both these areas are holding fresh fish. With the promise of an extended period of more normal weather conditions we would expect all south facing inlets, estuaries and beaches to really light up within the next week. We would also not be surprise to witness larger fish entering the system by week's end.

RIP RYDER RIPS
Beginning May 12th Captain Keith Lincoln will be presenting his version of the 2007 Monomoy Island Ferry. If you are inclined to partake of some of the most rewarding sight fishing for striped bass the Northeast has to offer, this is the man to see. Keith has set his 2007 rates and delivery/pickup schedule and they are as follows… $15 to South Beach, $20 to the south tip of South Beach, and $20 to North Monomoy (or do we call it just Monomoy?). These rates are in effect for the entire season and include round trip service. Weekday shuttles will depart from the Wildlife Sanctuary on Wikis Way at 8 AM and pickups are at 4 or 5PM. The weekend schedule has 8 AM and noon departures with 4 or 5 PM pickups.

Good fishing and safe wading,
JB