BLUEFISH ARE THE NEW FISH May 20, 2008 - With the predictability of a Boston Celtic road loss, migrating bluefish have now made their presence known on the south side of Cape Cod. In past years, May 15th has usually been the 'mean' date to expect these critters to materialize and this year they did not disappoint. Some of the more prominent areas to target spring choppers are Popponesset Bay, South Cape Beach, Cotuit (Oregon Beach), West Dennis Beach and Wianno. Early arrivals have fallen into the 5-6 lb. category and plentiful once located. Out striped bass fishery to date has been experiencing some inconsistency due to relentless north/northeast blows that have kept many longrodders in bars rather than on sand bars. When more submissive weather conditions have prevailed, anglers are locating bass along our entire southern shoreline as well as into Cape Cod Bay. I personally had my weekend plans foiled by temperatures in the high 30's with a 15-20 mph blow and gusts to 30 mph at 4:45 AM Sunday morning, conditions more conducive to wind surfing than fly-fishing. While my intentions were good my will just couldn't justify the effort required to engage such an extreme situation so I opted to roll over and count stripers in my mind. While school fish are quite common this time of year, larger specimens are now sprinkled in the mix and should become more available as we approach the end of the month. I had the opportunity to chat with the unofficial mayor of Chatham, Porky Lincoln, over this past weekend. Porky, along with number one son Keith have been diligently prepping gear for a lengthy season of shuttling anglers to both South Beach and North Monomoy Island. Along with solving the problems of the town of Chatham (and the entire Cape in general), he reported that a 34" fish was taken at the base of the steps on Morris Island during the week by a wading angler. Providing
the weather cooperates, the following few weeks should provide some of
the best fishing of the season in the Monomoy Island Refuge area. Good
fishing and safe wading, |
