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Saltwater Fishing Tackle, Fishing
Reports, Charters, Fishing News, Fishing Videos, Tackle
Reviews and more!
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05/13/13 |
The fish are here! Read the two reports below and see how
the Bay lit up on Sunday. This is an off day report, but we
had to make sure there was credible reports to post. Normal
reports will resume on Thursday.
Below are a couple of reports from a couple of our regular contributors,
Capt. Brett Wilson of the
Hindsight, and Capt. Hap Farrell of the
Stunmai II. |
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05/13/13 |
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Hindsight Sportfishing |
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Capt. Brett Wilson |
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We had our first charters this weekend. We fished Friday,
then pushed Saturday's charter out because of the lack of
quality fish. As you read in Hap's report, he fished
Saturday and worked hard for a few.
We fished Sunday, heading down to Brewster to try our luck.
We worked hard, and tried every trick in the book, but the
fish were not cooperating. We finally worked our way back to
the numbers that Hap had fished the day before, and it was
on from there on out. in a matter of a day, the Bay lit up.
Everyone had their limit, and we were tossing back keepers
before it was over.
If you would like to try some cod
fishing, or go exploring looking for stripers, we are
offering a special for the month of May. $100.00 off a 4
hour or 8 hour charter of your choice. If this
sounds interesting to you, give me a call at 305.481.1291.
Watch for our brand new website due to launch in the next
week or so! Thanks!Brett Capt. Brett Wilson
Hindsight Sportfishing.
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05/13/13 |
Rock Harbor Fishing Report
Capt. Hap Farrell |
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The season has started and it has been a cool and sometimes
windy one, but it has started. There has been an abundance
of herring in the runs and reports of squid in P-town and on
the South side of the Cape. Sand eels have been spotted
offshore also so the bait is around, so where are the fish?
For the past week or better folks have been taking keeper
bass off the Eastham shore by Crowel Rd. and South Sunken
Meadow, also down by Paine’s Creek. Most of these fish have
been landed just before sunset or at night. This is normal
for this time of the season. The water is warmer in those
shallow areas. But what of us who fish from boats, where do
we go? There is an answer now, a good answer.
I did some part time work at the Goose Hummock Shop this
winter and spring so I kept track of what was happening as
far as stripers in Cape Cod Bay. I got my charter boat over
to Rock Harbor the very beginning of May and had my first
trip on the 11th of May. It was cool, cloudy with little
rain and windy. We were able to take one keeper just on the
edge of the flats and two more that were undersize. I
figured I was lucky to do that. However, I missed the boat.
It was Sunday I should have taken them fishing, Sunday the
Bay exploded.
Brett Wilson, the captain of the Hindsight, had a trip
Sunday morning. He asked me where I had found fish. I told
him and went on my way. Brett went fishing. Later I came
down to my boat and called him on the radio. He told me the
best news possible. He headed for working birds up by the #3
can near Billingsgate Island and there we fish under them.
He was three hours into his trip and was already throwing
back keepers, he had his limit of two each for the six guys
he took out fishing. They are here and in big numbers.
This area up by the #3 can is not the only area to look for
these stripers now. These fish should show up off the
Brewster Flats up near Paine’s Creek, out west of the Old
Target Ship, and on the South Edge of Billingsgate Shoals.
One main item to look for is working birds. They will tell
you where the fish are and the direction they are moving in.
If you take your time and work up on the fish quietly you
should be able to cast into them. Just don’t steam around,
this will push them down and you may just get one shot at
them. Come up quietly and you can stay on them for a while.
For those who like to troll the umbrella rig will be your
best bet for a while. Use a rod set up with a 150 feet of
wire or, if the water is deep enough, your 200 foot wire
rod. Troll the fish about 3.5 to 4 knots and pull it through
the fish. That's all it should take. If they are on the
surface and working good troll a swimming plug on mono
through them and that may work also. If or when the squid
move in try the hootchie. That lure works very well.
As the spring continues the main schools of stripers will
move around. At times they may be hard to find and other the
fish can show themselves everywhere. The best way to keep
track of their movement is to check in to your local tackle
shop like the Goose Hummock and ask what the reports on the
fish have been lately and what is working best. Be assured,
this season has started big time...
I’ll be sending weekly reports to Dave Dodsworth at Offshore
Pursuits telling you what is happening in Cape Cod Bay. Also
what is working best and some of my exploits using some of
my light gear.
If you’d like to get in on the early season blitz give me a
call at 508-240-8267. |
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www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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03/31/13 |
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Offshore Pursuits' Fishing Adventures
2013 |
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Nova Scotia Giant Bluefin
Tuna Special! |
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If you have wanted to try the fantastic catch and release
giant bluefin tuna fishery of Nova Scotia, Canada, then
there has never been a better time than now to act.
The giant bluefin tuna season starts August 15th, 2013. The
price is $1,600.00 a day, with a three fish limit. You
won't find a better trip, at any price.
I went to Nova Scotia last September to fish with Capt. Ray
MacGillivray, and personally check out his charter
operation. I am glad I did.
You can read all
about it here.
Give Capt. Ray MacGillivray a call at (902) 863-5531, or
visit his website,
Scotia Bluefin Tuna Charters for all the details
about the boat, the fishery, and what you can expect from a
trip of a lifetime! You can also email him at
raymacgillivray@hotmail.
All bookings will be handled by Offshore Pursuits Fishing
Adventures, so if you have any dates in mind, call me for
availability at (715) 617-0305, or you can email me at
dave@offshorepursuits.com.
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$1,600.00 a day |
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Lodging packages and discounts available. |
The scenery is fantastic, the accommodations are
unbelievable, and the fishing is as good as it gets. As the
saying goes..."been there, done that", and will do it again!
Dave
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Docked in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, the 45' Angela Marie is a
stable platform for catching the true giants that roam the
Northumberland Strait and Southern Gulf of St Lawrence in
Nova Scotia, Canada.
Capt. Ray MacGillivray has been fishing bluefin tuna for the
past thirty years. With a near 100% catch rate,
Scotia Bluefin Tuna Charters is as close to a sure thing
for hooking you up to a true giant as there is!
The Canadian giant bluefin tuna fishery is catch and
release, so you can catch 3 giants in three days! You will
be fish somewhere around 20 miles offshore, in and around
the herring fleet. of videos showing you the action that you
can expect once the herring season opens, which is August
20th.
In addition to 3 days of the most intense fishing action you
could imagine, included in this package is a 3 night stay at
Ocean Front Shanties...beautiful by any standards. Below
is the description of Ocean Front Shanties in their own
words.
"Each of our six 2 bedroom cottages has a breathtaking view
of St. Georges Bay, as well as features like a large deck
with a barbecue, Satellite television, free WIFI access, 4
piece bathroom, fully stocked kitchen and more. The property
offers a playground, firepits, easy access to the beach and
on-site laundry facilities. With many local attractions
nearby, Ocean Front Shanties is the perfect home base for
your Nova Scotia holiday."
I think that when you look at their website you will agree
that this is the perfect compliment to 3 days of fishing!
The price for the first Offshore Pursuits' Fishing
Adventures Giant Bluefin Tuna
package is $5,900.00. That includes 3 days fishing, and
three nights at the Ocean Front Shanties. Quite a deal...!
Give Capt. Ray MacGillivray a call at (902) 863-5531, or
visit his website,
Scotia Bluefin Tuna Charters for all the details
about the boat, the fishery, and what you can expect from a
trip of a lifetime! You can also email him at
raymacgillivray@hotmail.
All bookings will be handled by Offshore Pursuits Fishing
Adventures, so if you have any dates in mind, call me for
availability at (715) 617-0305, or you can email me at
dave@offshorepursuits.com. |
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2013...... |
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After a disastrous 2012, punctuated by eleven months of
debilitating health issues, I am back. I may not be where I
was a year ago, yet, but I am on my way.
The issues that I dealt with last year affected all aspects
of my life, including Offshore Pursuits. Towards the end of
the year, I was not giving Offshore Pursuits the attention
that I should have. This was not by choice, and I do
apologize to all of you.
Starting next week, I will begin making changes to Offshore
Pursuits. The changes will all be for the better, and I am
confident that you will agree.
I want to thank all of you who inquired as to my well being
this past year. I do appreciate it! Thanks...Dave |
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10/10/12 |
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900 lb Bluefin...the rest of the story! |
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The 900 lb. Butterball!
Back in early August, I received a call from Capt. Ray
MacGivillary, of Scotia Bluefin Tuna Charters, in Antigonish,
Nova Scotia, Canada inquiring as to the possibility of
Offshore Pursuits being the U.S. booking agent for Scotia
Bluefin Tuna Charters. We talked for a while, and it soon
became apparent that Scotia Bluefin Tuna Charters was a top
notch operation that had a verifiable near 100% catch rate
over the last several years. I have fished giant bluefin
from Cape Hatteras to Cape Cod with what I consider the best
Captains and crews on the coast. I have fished with far
less, but have been fortunate to find the best. At this
point, I had not fished for bluefin in Canada yet, and knew
that I was now talking to one of the best. I agreed to
become the U.S agent for Scotia Bluefin Tuna Charters.
Throughout the next couple of weeks, we talked on a regular
basis, kicking ideas around and making some plans. One of
the plans was for me to go up there for a few days and see
first-hand what Scotia Bluefin Tuna Charters was all about.
I jumped at the chance, and within a day, all arrangements
were made. I was going giant bluefin tuna fishing in Nova
Scotia!
A little background information…The Canadian bluefin tuna
charter fishery is a highly regulated catch and release
fishery that starts the 1st of August. The participating
Captains all hold commercial tuna licenses, and have to meet
strict licensing guidelines set forth by the Canadian
government. As I mentioned, the fishery is highly regulated.
Examples include the type of gear that can be used, the
length of time you can fight a fish, even the weather
conditions that you can fish in. All that being said, this
is probably one of the only areas on earth where a charter
can legally catch and release their limit of 800-1200 lb
fish on any given day. On a side note, Canadian commercial
tuna fishermen are issued a tag, or tags, throughout the
season, that must be used for any fish harvested. These fish
are met at the dock by government contracted dockside
monitors who document all data pertaining to that fish. Nova
Scotia issues one tag per fisherman, with the possibility of
drawing another tag later in the season via a lottery, based
on the quota caught versus the allowable quota. For this
reason, most commercial tuna fishermen wait until late
September or early October to fill their tag(s). This gives
them the best shot at a well fed, high quality, big fish. To
supplement their income, a select few have turned to
chartering to supplement their income.
The “Glamour” charters that you see on T.V. and read about
in magazines tend to be over in P.E.I.. This fishery tends
to be more inshore…within a couple of miles from shore,
where as the Cape George fleet tends to be farther off
shore. For those doing their research, you will soon
discover that the P.E.I . fleet has nothing on the Cape
George fleet as to the quality of the experience, knowledge
of Capt. and crew, and overall equipment. As I mentioned, I
have spent 20 years targeting giant bluefin tuna from Cape
Cod, MA to Cape Hatteras, NC, and back again. I have done
some things that had never been done at the time, and
documented such feats throughout numerous trade
publications. I can tell you that I have never fished a more
stable fishing platform than the 45’ x 17’ Angela Marie.
This is a huge plus in the 10-12’ seas that we would be
dealing with for the duration of our fight.
Fast forward to Antinigosh, Nova Scotia, Sept. 20th, 2012,
Cribbon’s Point Harbor, 6 a.m. The day before was unfishable
and today was promising to be windy, wet day from start to
finish. Not a problem for me, but for someone new to the
fishery, it would have probably been a lay day. The plan was
to head for the bell buoy below Cape George Light and pull a
herring net that Ray and Kent had set the night before. If
all went well, the net would be brought aboard, full of
herring ready, to be hung over board when we hit the
grounds.
I need to back up just a bit and introduce our crew. Capt.
Ray MacGillivray, owner of the 45’ Angela Marie, his first
“mate”, Capt. Kent Bruce, from P.E.I. (Kent is a commercial
fisherman on P.E.I. and has fished tuna for the past 30
years. He had caught and harvested his tuna the week
before). Capt. Ray and Capt. Kent have fished bluefin
together for the past 6 years. Also along to lend a hand was
Ray’s son, Dan, who agreed to play hooky from the local
University for the day.
Back to our trip…We eased up on the buoy marking the start
of the herring net, pulled the anchor, and proceeded to haul
a basically empty net. There were a few heads in the net,
and a few fish, but it was clearly evident that the large
seal population had picked the net clean long before we got
there. it was now on to plan “B”, which was to tie off on a
herring net on Fisherman’s Bank, and chum up some tuna.
It was about an hour and a half run from the bell buoy to
the Bank, on a good day. This day didn’t fall into that
category, so it took a bit longer. All part of the game…
We eased up towards the Bank, and met another boat coming
from offshore. Capt. Ray had received a Phone call and said
that the plan was that the other boat was going to tie off
on a herring net that was 200 yards off our bow. If the
pattern from the day before held true, once tied off he
should hook up immediately, throw the ball and move off to
fight his fish. At that point we would ease in behind him,
tie off to the net, and hook up shortly thereafter…sounded
simple enough.
We moved offshore a few hundred yards and waited, and
waited…It was obvious that this wasn’t going to work out as
planned. We were nearing the tail end of the morning slack,
so we decided to make a drift, chumming with whole herring,
with two rods set. We marked a few fish on the first drift,
but no bites. When the drift was complete we pulled up
lines, headed back to where we started, and did it all over
again! The tide started to run and the marks disappeared. We
tried more drifts, we tried a tying off on a herring net,
more drifts, all with the same results. The weather had been
going downhill since we arrived, with the wind blowing at 25
knots, gusting to more with seas running 8/10 feet, with a
few 12’s thrown in. we hadn’t marked a fish in hours, and
agreed that we would fish through the next slack, heading in
if we didn’t hook up.
As the slack started, we started marking a few fish. We were
chumming with whole herring, and the hook baits were whole
herring on 200 lb FC with an owner 9/0 tuna hook, buried in
the bait. The hook was tied on with a nail knot. We soon
marked the biggest fish of the day, and as I called it out,
Capt. Kent pulled the bait in and replaced it with a fresh
herring. As he was slowly dropping the bait, the fish came
back and inhaled the bait taking it from his hands. We were
on!
For those of you who have fought a giant bluefin, you know
what came next…for those who haven’t, you experience a false
sense of power as you gain a few yards of line…until the
fish knows something is up, shakes his head violently a few
times, turns, and makes his first run! With a big fish, it
soon becomes evident that the fish has no intention of
stopping, and turning the bow to the fish and throttlinging
up to run him down is the only way to prevent getting
spooled. Frantic winding of the rod is necessary to keep
tension on the fish and the only way to get any line back.
At this point we probably have 65-75% of the line back. That
may sound like a lot, but the last 25-35% of the spool will
appear and disappear many, many times before the battle is
over. Capt. Ray poised a great question at this point…fish
or man? Who was going to win this battle?
As Ray called off the hours, the line came and went. We saw
the fish on the surface only at about 1 ½ hours, briefly. We
knew it was a good fish, and a strong fish. We had the drag
up to 55 lbs, and fought for every inch we gained. The seas
were building, the wind coming on, and the rain was honizing.
It got to be that I welcomed the seas…as we went down I
would reel for all I was worth, gaining a good amount of
line. When we went up, I would palm the spool, putting as
much pressure as I dared on the fish. As Ray called out the
third hour, all kinds of scenarios started running through
my mind. Equipment failure, chafed line, broken hooks…all a
possibility. And more so as the fight goes on. When Ray
called out the fourth hour, panic begins to set in. I was
praying at this point that luck would be with us. The fish
was straight down, seemingly swimming away at will.
At 4 hours and ten minutes, the fish gave up. I saw the
swivel on the surface at 30 feet, and gained line at a
steady pace from there on out. Capt. Kent grabbed the leader
and guided the fish to the starboard corner. He wasn’t ours
yet. Any number of things could happen at this point. I
backed the drag off and put the rod in a rod holder,
grabbing a knife, ready to cut the line once the swimming
gaff was in place and the tail rope secured.
After a tense few moments, the fish was secured, swimming
well with the swimming gaff through his lower jaw, and the
tail rope secured to the opposite cleat. A quick look at the
GPS showed that the fish had pulled us to within 3 miles of
P.E.I., eight miles from where we hooked him. We had a long
way to go, so we turned the bow to the S.E. and headed for
the dock. Another note…This fish would not have been ours
had we not been using a weighted chafing tube, which by
design, was lodged firmly in the corner of the fishes mouth,
protecting the 200 lb. FC from certain failure.
Fast forward…10:30 P.M., just pulled into the harbor.
Pouring rain blowing sideways, 900 lbs. + live weight, 697
lbs dressed…a perfect “butterball”! That made the day
complete, and about as perfect as could be.
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09/25/12 |
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900 lb. Bluefin Tuna caught with
Scotia Bluefin Tuna Charters |
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Below are pictures of a 900 lb giant bluefin tuna I caught
in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, last Thursday. The fish measured
112", and took 4 hrs and 10 min to land.
The pictures aren't the best. It was raining and blowing
hard at the time, and the hanging fish was tuned towards
someone else who was taking pictures. To get the proper
perspective on the size of this fish, click on all three of
the images below.
If you want to catch fish like this, and bigger, and want to
try something a little different, you really need to get out
with
Scotia Bluefin Tuna Charters.
This fishing will only get better from here on out, and you
need to plan now if you want to participate in this great
fishery.
There will be a full story about our fishing next week. |
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Can't find what you're looking for? Search the web using the
search box below. |
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Commercial BFT Landings Update |
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08/28/12 |
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As of August 28, commercial landings of Atlantic bluefin
tuna are as follows: General category has landed 170.3 mt;
Harpoon category has landed 17.2 mt; Purse Seine category
has landed 1.7 mt; Longline North CLOSED at 30.4 mt;
Longline South CLOSED at 50.8 mt. These numbers are
preliminary and are subject to change. |
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The Commercial BFT Landings Update will be updated as
they update their numbers. |
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3-fish limit for General category through December 2012 |
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The National Marine Fisheries Service maintains the current
General category (commercial) daily retention limit of three
large medium or giant Atlantic bluefin tuna (measuring 73"
or greater) per vessel per day/trip for September 1 through
December 31, 2012. This limit applies to vessels permitted
in the Atlantic tunas General category, and to vessels
permitted in the HMS Charter/Headboat category while fishing
commercially. NMFS will continue to monitor the fishery
closely through dealer reports. Depending on fishing effort
and catch rates, NMFS may determine that additional
retention limit adjustments are necessary to ensure
available quota is not exceeded or to enhance scientific
data collection from, and fishing opportunities in, all
geographic areas. For further information, please see the
notice in the library (link at left of page) or at:
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/breakingnews/index.htm |
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The Commercial BFT Landings Update will be updated as
they update their numbers. |
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Offshore Pursuits' Fishing Adventures |
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Our
first Offshore Pursuits' Fishing adventure is a good one!
Fish giant bluefin tuna for 3 days with Capt. Ray
MacGillivray of
Scotia Bluefin Tuna Charters in the most productive
areas in the world for giant bluefin tuna ranging from 800 -
1,200 lbs!.
Docked in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, the 45' Angela Marie is a
stable platform for catching the true giants that roam the
Northumberland Strait and Southern Gulf of St Lawrence in
Nova Scotia, Canada.
Capt. Ray MacGillivray has been fishing bluefin tuna for the
past thirty years. With a near 100% catch rate,
Scotia Bluefin Tuna Charters is as close to a sure thing
for hooking you up to a true giant as there is! |
The Canadian giant bluefin tuna fishery is catch and
release, so you can catch 3 giants in three days! You will
be fish somewhere around 20 miles offshore, in and around
the herring fleet. of videos showing you the action that you
can expect once the herring season opens, which is August
20th.
In addition to 3 days of the most intense fishing action you
could imagine, included in this package is a 3 night stay at
Ocean Front Shanties...beautiful by any standards. Below
is the description of Ocean Front Shanties in their own
words.
"Each of our six 2 bedroom cottages has a breathtaking view
of St. Georges Bay, as well as features like a large deck
with a barbecue, Satellite television, free WIFI access, 4
piece bathroom, fully stocked kitchen and more. The property
offers a playground, firepits, easy access to the beach and
on-site laundry facilities. With many local attractions
nearby, Ocean Front Shanties is the perfect home base for
your Nova Scotia holiday."
I think that when you look at their website you will agree
that this is the perfect compliment to 3 days of fishing!
The price for the first Offshore Pursuits' Fishing
Adventures Giant Bluefin Tuna
package is $5,900.00. That includes 3 days fishing, and
three nights at the Ocean Front Shanties. Quite a deal...!
Give Capt. Ray MacGillivray a call at (902) 863-5531, or
visit his website,
Scotia Bluefin Tuna Charters for all the details
about the boat, the fishery, and what you can expect from a
trip of a lifetime! You can also email him at
raymacgillivray@hotmail.
All bookings will be handled by Offshore Pursuits Fishing
Adventures, so if you have any dates in mind, call me for
availability at (715) 617-0305, or you can email me at
dave@offshorepursuits.com. |
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Fishing Reports |
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Real Time Fishing Reports Via Email from Capt. Brett Wilson |
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The Cape at Large by David Dodsworth |
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10/03/12
The last “Fish On”...
Capt. Hap Farrell |
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With few exceptions the fleet at Rock Harbor ends it’s
season this coming weekend. My last trip is Friday. After
that I’m going to move my boat over to Northside Marina for
its winter storage. At that point I’ll start getting it
ready for next season. Boats are a never ending project.
I had a trip this last Friday and it was a good trip. Plenty
of bluefish both on top of Billingsgate Shoals and inside
along the Eastham shore plus up by Lieutenant’s Island. I
fished both places. The guys I had out really wanted to try
for stripers on the shoals but finally realized they were
not to be found. The only place I know bass have been found
lately is up by P-town by the Bath house. It’s only on the
flood tide and very intermittent.
The bluefish in by the Island and the Eastham shore were of
the large variety for the most part so once we loaded the
boat with 15 fish the rest were released. On Sunday I took a
friend of mine out who used to be a mate years ago. She does
not get to the Cape much but when she does she wants to tie
into what ever is running. I took her up by Lieutenants
Island and we ran into those big bluefish. One thing was a
little unsettling, it was pouring rain. That did not even
faze Miss Anne MacDonald. We landed a good number of fish.
She loves to use my light gear so before we headed in I
pulled out my St. Croix Rod with 6 lb. test line on it and
landed a few more fish. I was glad I was up on the bridge
and not on deck, because it was really coming down at that
point. Miss MacDonald, soaking wet, had a smile on her face
from ear to ear.
Well I guess this is it for the season. There are still fish
in the Bay and most likely the main body of bass have moved
down to the Chatham area. There are some still up by P-town,
just don’t expect to find too many on Billingsgate Shoals.
Not to worry, spring is just a winter away. It will be here
before you know it. So, have a good winter and I’ll see you
next May.
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www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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08/30/12
Summer is Ending, The fish Are Not...
Capt. Hap Farrell |
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Labor Day is upon us and this is a signal that the summer is
coming to an end. The fish don't know this, they are just
getting going. The little herring fry are starting to come
out of the runs and the bass and bluefish will soon be ready
to greet them with open mouths.
Before I get into what is happening in Cape Cod Bay I would
like to bring up a few points. This weekend is a holiday
weekend so I figure there will be a little partying going
on. Remember, running a boat intoxicated is equally
dangerous as driving a car. The one thing you have to
realize you can not get out of the boat and walk home.
Please be careful and have a designated operator.
The big bluefish have made their presence known. A few days
ago we found some on the north edge of Billingsgate Shoals
out in 35 to 45 feet of water. They are umbrella rig
destroyers. Get three of the fish on a rig and it comes in
looking like a pretzel. They can also be found off
Barnstable Harbor out is 60 feet of water off the West Bar.
I have not been up to the Path but I imagine they are there
also. The small herring are starting to come out of the runs
now so when the two meet there will be a commotion.
The striped bass have made their presence known down by
Barnstable Harbor. However the bite only lasts a hour or so
and it's in the very early morning, just after sunrise.
Single hootchies trolled fast or jigging are the two methods
that work the best. There are some big bass mixed in with
the bluefish out in that 60 feet of water also. There are
some stripers in the Square, 45 to 50 feet of water off
Great Island, but you have to jig with very long wires (450
ft.). They mainly show up on the dropping tide. Umbrella
rigs may work also but you will load up on bluefish with a
striper now and then. P-town is another spot that is
producing stripers but not like last season. Most have been
taken in front of the Bath House but here too there are so
many bluefish they are hard to get to. The stripers aren't
there all the time either. It is somewhat of a gamble to run
all the way up there.
I went down to the Barnstable area twice this last week. The
first trip was a full day trip so we worked the area and
were able to pick up a few nice stripers. Kevin O'Sullivan
and his family landed six nice bass and a good number of
bluefish. The biggest striper was 44 inches and a good 25
pound fish. The next time I went was a few days later on an
early morning half day trip. It's over 14 miles to the first
area we fish so I had to push the throttle up a bit. Another
boat, the Luau, went down also. When we got there we noticed
the fish were hard on the bottom so we went right to jigging
which produced a few good size bass near or slightly over
the 40 inch length. Right at the end one of the Barnstable
boats found fish up on the most eastern end of the West Bar.
We hit them with single hootchies trolled faster than normal
and hooked up a few more striper. Steve Vanasse, his son and
family, lucked out. Steve's son landed a 48 inch striper
which was very close to being 40 pounds. A nice fish.
If you'd like to help search for these fish in Cape Cod Bay
call me at 508-240-8267.
Keep track of the Offshore Pursuits web site for information
concerning the giant bluefish activities. Dave keeps track
of the day to day movements of these fish.
If you’d like to help search for these fish in Cape Cod Bay
call me at 508-240-8267.
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www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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08/30/12 |
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Capt. Bruce Peters |
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Capeshores Charters |
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"Hi Folks,
Yesterday was one of the bluebird beautiful fall days, with
amazing blue skies and puffy white clouds. The striped bass
took about an hour to get biting as the tide flow gathered
velocity, but once they started it was game on ! We had
multiple drifts of 3 and 4 rod hookups as we drifted our
sand eels across the sand bars of the rips. Unfortunately we
had no one else to share this amazing fishing with as there
wasn't another boat anywhere near us ! We caught a limit of
12 stripers and one bass for myself within 2.5 hours of
leaving the dock. The average size of the fish we landed was
36 or 37 inches. Nice bass for the end of August, no ?
The day before I was tuna fishing with a group that included
an excellent sushi chef and his pals from the Worcester
area, and I learned a few things about the cuts of the fish
to make sushi. I had always thought that the "Chutoro" was
part of the belly flap, but it is actually found in the
lesser loin, between the red backbone "Maguro" and the
fattier belly flap or "Toro". We managed to land the limit
of two bluefin, one between 27" and 47" and the second one
at 55", between the required slot size of 47" and 73". Keep
in mind these are "charter" or "head boat" boat rules. On a
"recreational" or "angling category" boat, you are only
allowed to take ONE fish between 27" and 73". We managed to
catch these fish within 5 miles of our dock on Tuesday, so
get on out there and catch one !
As we get into the fall days, the tuna bite will accelerate
and if you have been wanting to add a tuna trip to your
experiences, now is the time to reserve a day for your
group. By the end of next week we will have lost many of our
tourists as the schools reopen to enlighten the youth of
America, and the waters off Cape Cod will be less crowded
but still teeming with fin fishes for your angling exitement.
Bluefin Tuna, Striped Bass, Bluefish, False Albacore,
sharks, seals, whales and other marine life await you and
your group.
Come aboard ! Catchem' UP !
Capt. Bruce & Marilyn S" |
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08/08/12
Stripers Start to Return...
Capt. Hap Farrell |
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At one point during the summer the fish, mostly the
stripers, seem to disappear or at least are harder to find.
Well, they did that for a while about a week or so ago. Now
they are starting to return, that is to Billingsgate Shoals.
There have been some good size stripers down off the West
Bar off Barnstable Harbor but that can be a hit or miss
situation. This last Sunday I went there and did well, very
well as the boats that went this last Monday, but these fish
are not there all the time.
The bluefish are still around in force. There are not the
large amount in off the Eastham shore like there used to be
but you can make your day up there. Most of the bluefish are
small, which are the best for eating. For larger bluefish go
out to the deep water off the Path and down to the
southwest. There are also occasional schools of bluefish
along the Brewster Flats but mainly out in 25 feet of water
off Paine’s Creek.
What is working on the striped bass right now. Jigging is
the more popular method and on the whole catches the larger
bass. Lately though, the 6 arm umbrella rig has been more
productive over all. On Billingsgate Shoals the west end of
the shoals has an average depth of 18 to 22 feet of water.
That is on the top of the shoals. The north and south edges
of the shoals are obviously deeper. A rod and reel set up
with 150 feet of wire and filled with a backing with work
very well trolling one of these 6 arm rigs. The speed should
be around 4 knots. You want to set the knot between the wire
and the backing about 15 feet past the tip of the rod. When
you mark the fish on you fish finders slow down a bit.
Sometimes just staying at the same speed works better. You
have to try both ways to see which works best. This method
is what is working best now. Keep your jigging rod close by
because you may have to switch to the jig quickly.
I have not heard much about P-town this week. No one from
our fleet has gone up there. This does not mean that the
stripers have moved into that spot. If you have the time and
the fuel you might want to check it out. I’d go up there
just as the tide is coming in and jig right in front of the
Bath House. You could also check out Day’s Cottages on the
outgoing tide. The fish might be there too. If you want to
stay down near our area I’d spend most of my time on
Billingsgate Shoals.
Last week I had two trips that produced some really good
size stripers. First, Lloyd Giardino had two young men with
him, Brock and Gavin. While on the shoals we jigged up two
nice stripers with Gavin landing a fish that was 38 inches
in length. Later, while on the Rock Pile off Brewster Brock
hooked up on a really nice striper that was all of 40 pounds
and 48 inches long. The second group was Chris Ewen and his
two friends Paul and Chris. We went to Barnstable on the
Full day trip. Out of the six fish we kept one was over 40
pounds, two were around 35 pounds, One at 30 pounds and the
smaller two were around 25 pounds. Not bad for an early
morning trip.
If you’d like to give yourself a shot and getting some of
the great tasting fish call me at 508-240-8267.
Keep track of some Dave’s new offerings on Offshore
Pursuits. They will definitely help you out on your quest
for that big giant bluefin tuna. |
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www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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07/26/12
It’s Fishing, Not Catching...
Capt. Hap Farrell |
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Remember what I said last week? Well, things changed a bit.
The bass did show up, for a while, and then they took a
powder, for a while. One good thing that did happen, a
larger bunch of bluefish showed up to replace them for the
time being. From the north edge of Billingsgate Shoals up to
the northeast to just off the Path in 40 feet of water you
will find schools of medium to large bluefish. These fish
are just moving in and it seems they will be staying for a
bit.
It seems the stripers have taken a vacation from a few areas
other than the bay. I heard from one of the commercial bass
fisherman that the big school of striper off Nauset Beach
and down towards Chatham have gone elsewhere too. These fish
will be back, as far as Cape Cod Bay is concerned. This last
Tuesday some of the boats from Sesuit found a few schools up
on Billingsgate Shoals but they would not eat. It may take
the cold front that went by to wake them up but by this
weekend the bay should be active again.
Right now we have the bluefish to go after. There are a few
small bluefish up along the Eastham shore and up towards
Welfleet Harbor. The main body of bluefish are off the Path
in 40 feet of water right now. The only problem is there are
a number of lobster pots in the same area. Umbrella rigs
work best but trolling single hootchies will work also.
There also is bluefish along the north edge of Billingsgate
Shoals from 30 feet to up on top of the shoals. This is the
area we have been bass fishing so if you work this spot you
might run across some stripers coming back to the shoals.
Some of the bluefish are in excess of 12 to 15 pounds.
I believe the stripers will be back and active in the Bay by
this weekend. The first place I’d look would be in the
deeper water off the north edge of the shoals. Start in 45
to 50 feet of water off Great Island and then troll to the
southwest. The umbrella rig using 200 feet of wire would be
best. If you see fish on the bottom and there are no lobster
pots in the way use your long jigging (450 ft. wire) set up.
The next place would be the shoals itself. It is time they
showed up in mass on the shoals. As far as the bluefish are
concerned go right to the Path. I was in there this last
week and there were plenty of fish from 15 feet of water out
to 30 feet and they took single hootchies.
Speaking of bluefishing, last week I had Marcia Duggan, an
aerial/coastal photographer, and her daughter Samantha, plus
a few of her friends, out on a half day trip. It was mainly
to give my new mate, Emily, more practice gaffing fish and
bluefish are an excellent fish to do this with. At any rate,
we found all the bluefish we needed in along the Eastham
shore. Most were on the small size, which are the best to
eat and make a more difficult target to gaff. Good practice
for Emily. To add even more difficulty to the trip we used
nothing but my really light action trolling tackle. This
type of gear gives the fish a fighting chance and the angler
a true sense of sportfishing.
If you would like to try out some of this lighter tackle or
go after the stripers the bay offers, give me a call at
508-240-8267 and I’ll try and get you and your friends out
fishing.
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07/12/12
Summer is on a Roll...
Capt. Hap Farrell |
The fourth of July is over and we starting into the full
blown summer season. The fish are acting that way also. Now
that the holiday is over the stripers are starting to tease
us. Commercial season starts on the 12th of July and this
means a number of boats will be out looking to score big on
those stripers over 34 inch stripers to sell at the fish
market. You better have the proper permits or you will be in
serious trouble. Believe me, the Environment Police will be
out in force checking most everyone. Fortunately, the areas
we are fishing don’t hold very many larger fish so the extra
fishermen will not be in our areas. From what I understand
the oceanside of the Cape is where most of the bigger fish
are now. Remember the stripers between 29 to 33 inches are
the best eating fish. Just like scrod, which is a small cod
fish, is served in the finer restaurants.
The area we have been finding the bass in are now going dry.
This is normal for the month of July. For about 4 to 5 days
both the bass and bluefish seem to take a vacation for part
of each day. For example, this last Monday. The boats that
were on the full day trip did very well on the south edge of
Billingsgate shoals. Some got their limit in and hour and a
half.
After the tide turned they seem to disappear. The bluefish
showed up just east of the #3 can by Billingsgate Island
itself. They also vanished after a while. When we went out
on the half day trip only one small bluefish was found in by
the #3 can. There were a few fish in the deep water, only a
few. Most of what was caught was on the north edge and in
the middle of the shoals and that was spotty. This will
change soon, it happens every summer.
The Rock Harbor Charter Service (508-255-9757) is thinking
of having one of it’s tournaments this coming week. The half
Day trip on the 18th is the day they are going to have it.
Everyone who charters a boat in the charter service will be
entered into this tournament at no cost. There will be some
good prizes and some funny prizes for the various fish
landed.
What will happen this coming week? Well, I’m hoping that
more fish, both bass and bluefish, will move back onto
Billingsgate Shoals or out in the deep water and stick
around. I’d like to see a good amount of bluefish in off the
Eastham shore. This would be the best we could ask for.
However, what I think will happen is we will find more
activity in the deep water. This is the area to check out
next week.
This last week I had Paul Mitchell and his family out for a
half day trip. One of his daughters, Julie, who had never
been sportfishing before, landed the largest striper. She
also is hooked on the sport. No pun intended. Once she had
landed her first fish you could not keep her out of the
chair. She is going to make quite an angler. I also had a
booth trip, The Rock Harbor Charter Service (508-255-9757),
out. It was the Harmans from New Hampshire. Again, it was
the young ladies that landed most of the fish.
If you’d like a chance to be beaten out by a young girl
fishing, bring one with you and give me a call at
508-240-8267.
Keep track of information on the tuna fish activities on
Offshore Pursuits. When the bite happens you’ll know it.
If you’d like to get out to do some of this good fishing
call me at 508-240-8267.
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Check in on the Offshore pursuits web site (www.offshorepursuits.com)
to see what is going on with the bluefin tuna. You’ll find
reports on where the main bite is and what is working best. |
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Congratulations to Richard Montague from South
Yarmouth for winning the charter giveaway aboard the
Hindsight!
Below is his recount of the trip, and below that is some pictures from their trip. There is also a
small movie on the right.
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The rain showers and the prediction of continued bad weather
did not dampen our spirits as we headed to Rock Harbor in
Orleans and an afternoon of fishing aboard the charter boat
Hindsight. The drizzle continued as Captain Brett Wilson and
mate Woody welcomed us aboard this spacious and well
appointed charter boat.
After checking the radar reports on his ‘smart’ phone,
Captain Wilson predicted that the storm was passing to the
Northeast and it was clearing over New Bedford. Both Woody
and Captain Wilson agreed that by the time we got to the
fishing grounds the rain will have finished.
We set out with the tide from Rock Harbor and headed to the
northern area of Stellwagon bank. As we set out the umbrella
rigs and outriggers, it was time to shed our rain gear and
enjoy the afternoon of fishing. John hooked up first on a
double of keeper stripers and the game was on. Over the next
few hours, the fish finder would show ‘bursts’ of sand eels
and the game fish gorging on this swimming buffet of bait
fish.
We had a great afternoon of fishing action on both blues and
stripers, and everyone was kept busy catching fish. Kevin
took high hook with landing a 40 inch stripper, the largest
fish of the day.
Thank you to Captain Wilson and Woody and Offshore Pursuits
for a great afternoon of fishing.
Richard Montague |
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07/05/12/12
The Fish are Acting Normal...
Capt. Hap Farrell |
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 When
I say the fish are acting normal this means they have us
stumped and they do. First, they seem to be settling down in
the deep water off the shoals. Then they show up on top of
Billingsgate Shoals as well as being in the deep water. Now,
they are on the shoals but will not take any of the lure
systems we throw at them and when you do get one on it is an
undersize fish for the most part. A few are keepers but not
many. The rigs stopped working in the deep water but now
they are. However, jigging still works better, sometimes. No
wonder I’m going bald.
There is some good news for those who like bluefish. They
are out in the deep water and will take the rigs and
swimming plugs. Plus, on a full day trip I had I went in by
the cell phone tower on the Eastham shore on the flood of
the tide and hooked up on a dozen bluefish on single
hootchies. So, there are some bluefish in there also. We
have also taken a few small bluefish while jigging on top of
Billingsgate Shoals. I’m hoping this is a vanguard of more
fish to come. The bluefish is our staple in the charter
industry. They provide us with a hard fighting game fish for
our angler to take on.
Something I’ve noticed about the smaller boats fishing
around the charter boats when we gather in an area that is
holding fish. We fish our lures, whether jigging or trolling
plugs, or even trolling the umbrella rigs from 250 feet to
300 feet behind our boats. This is the optimum distance to
do well while using the different types of tackle. I’ve had
a number of these small boats go across my stern anywhere
from 100 to 150 feet behind my boat, almost taking my lines.
Even crossing in front of the boats so we’d either have to
slow down which fouls our rigs or we’ll get their lines in
our propeller. If you need to work from one side of the pack
of boats to the other, work your way through by finding
slots between boats and slowly move out. Just like you do
when moving through traffic on the highway. Also, steaming
through boats as they fish is not the best idea. You should
move out and around the fleet staying well away from other
boats if you are leaving. If you want to change areas,
running hard to that spot will put down fish that other
boats may be heading for.
What is going to happen next week? More confusion on where
the fish will show up next I suppose. Really, I figure the
smaller stripers will remain on the shoals with some keepers
mixed in. Jigging will be the best methods to use. The
larger stripers will stay out in the deeper water up towards
the Path staying 45 to 55 feet of water. More and more
bluefish will mix in especially the larger size. I’m hoping
more bluefish move in off the Eastham shore and up by the
Path in the shallower water. Then all the areas will be
covered.
This last Tuesday I had Paul Lake, his daughter Meghan, and
a friend of hers, CJ. Paul and his daughter were out with me
last season and we did fairly well. This was no different.
We jigged the south edge of Billingsgate Shoals, and landed
5 nice stripers. The one thing different we did this season
was to use some of my very light action jigging rods for
much more action.
If you’d like to get out to do some of this good fishing
call me at 508-240-8267.
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www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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06/21/12
Summer Has Finally Arrived
Capt. Hap Farrell
Cape Cod weather is just as fickled as the fishing is. This
last week is a perfect example. It seemed it was warmer
earlier in the spring than it has been. If it warms up maybe
the fishing will get really warm too. There has been a cool
down of the fishing in the last few days, especially during
the flood water.. We did “OK” out in the deep water but we
either used weighted umbrella or jigging with 450 feet of
wire. The fish are in 45 to 55 feet of water off the north
edge of Billingsgate Shoals. It’s a big area called “The
Square”, a spot that we go to quite a bit during the season.
There is one area that used to be good to fish for both bass
and bluefish. This spot is Stony Bar and along the Eastham
Shore. In the spring there’d be stripers in by the #3 and #5
cans and some a little to the east of there. Later in the
season the bluefish would show up in mass in the shallow
water in by the Eastham Shore. This area was a good place to
take families with kids to tackle this hard fighting fish.
In the last few years this has became more of a hit or miss
area. Some days there are some fish there but most times
there’s not much going on. Only later in the summer, late
August and September, does it get fairly consistent. I think
it’s because of the fast growing colony of seals on
Billingsagte Island itself. A scientist stated that the
seals don’t eat stripers because he didn’t find the tell
tale ear bone in their scat. Well, the seals don’t eat the
head.
With the arrival of this warmer weather and a wind change to
the west and southwest there should be a change in the
fishing patterns. Hopefully the fish will move up on top of
the shoals where we can use surface trolling plug or even
our shorter jigging rods instead of those 450 foot jigging
set ups. Also, when the water warms up this may bring the
bluefish into the bay. Hooking up on these hard fighting
fish will give any angler a run for their money.
This Saturday, starting at 11:00 am, there will be the 2nd
annual “Blessing of the Fleet”, at Rock Harbor. Those with
boats are welcome to get blessed or you can watch the parade
of the boats as they go through the line. It will take place
where the Coast Guard boat is tied up and there will various
groups there also to answer questions you might have about
the water of Cape Cod Bay and the town of Orleans.
I had a number of groups out this last week and it was hard
to decide which one to recognize. I had a Chris Hohab and
his other lawyer friends out along with Will Platt and his
family. plus John Eddy and his friends. They all did well.
The one group that I really want to mention is Ray Tautkus,
his son and his two grandchildren Matt and Andrew. Matt and
Andrew are the lucky charms of the group and the real
anglers. They have been fishing with me for well over 10
years now. They can catch fish...
For those who go tuna fishing I heard that there is a charge
of legal size fish from the radar domes on the Welfleet/Truro
line down to well past Chatham. Exactly where and what depth
i’m not sure.
If you’d like to try some of the best fishing on Cape Cod,
give me a call (508-240-8267) and I’ll get you out to take
on the fish that this summer season will offer. |
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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06/14/12 |
Early Season Bass Blitz...
Capt. Hap Farrell |
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Early Season Bass Blitz...
Capt. Hap Farrell
Anyone who has fished Cape Cod Bay has heard of or seen what
is known as the 4th of July bass blitz. Well, last Friday we
had an early season bass blitz. The kind you read about. It
lasted for four days. There were some slow periods but for
the most part any of the charter boats that left Rock Harbor
did extremely well landing fish up to the 30 pound class.
Plus, we were not far from home. Basically, the area was
from just off Paine’s Creek to the east up to just west of
the old Target ship. At the more active parts of the day you
were hard pressed to decide which school to work on. The
average size was 34 inches to 36 inches.
What made this blitz is that it was a good steady pick of
fish, not a quick really active period and then quiet. Both
the full day trip and the half day trips out of Rock Harbor
were equally as productive. The umbrella rig worked very
well and at times it was not unusual to have two to three
good sized keepers on one jig. What was even better is that
the hootchies worked very well also. There must be a good
charge of squid in the mix of bait in the Bay now. One of
the days I was out we took a number of fish on small
swimming plugs with a small teaser using very light action
rods. You really had a good fight with two fish on, one on
the plug and the other on the teaser.
There were some bluefish landed this last week. Some out in
the deep water and during the flood tide mainly. A few were
also caught in between the #3 and #5 cans by Billingsgate
Island proper. This was mainly during the ebb tide. The fish
should show themselves more and more as we get warmer and
hopefully more and more sunny days. Those two areas I
mentioned are where you should start looking.
What will happen next week? This spring has been a little
strange so I’m really guessing rather than an educated
guess. It slowed a bit after those four days of heavy
fishing. One would think the fish have moved on, the big
ones that is. I don’t think so. Last time I was on the north
edge of the shoals out in 45 to 55 feet of water I saw scads
of bait. Mackerel, maybe sand eels, or even some squid. The
bait is where the fish will show up. My money will be on the
north edge and out to deep water. You’ll also see more
bluefish in by the cans by the Island and maybe even in by
the Eastham shore during the high water.
Last weekend I had the Reid party out on a half day trip.
This was near the start of this blitz. I had gone out to the
deep water hoping to find the larger schools. They were not
there. Once I was back to just off the Brewster Flats it all
went nuts. You could not go more that 100 yards before
hooking up. The Reid party had never seen anything like it.
We brought out the light gear and went to town. They really
enjoyed using this gear. We’d hook up, get the fish in,
release it and hook up on another. The rest of the fleet was
doing the same thing. It was a good day...
If you’d like to have a shot at some good fishing call me at
508-240-8267.
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www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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06/08/12 |
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Capt. Bruce Peters |
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Capeshores Charters |
Hi Folks,
I heard yesterday from a reliable source that two legal
bluefin tuna were taken at the Crab Ledge off of Chatham
yesterday. These fish were both over 75 inches long making
them decent salable bluefin. Dave Dodsworth from Offshore
Pursuits also reported that the Tuna.com boat from "Wicked
Tuna" fame also was headed in with a fish on board
yesterday. My first trip is June 10 and 11, so for the next
couple days, I will be poking around to get on the inside
track to start my season off on a good note by landing a
nice tuna.
Keep your eyes peeled for a Bluefin article I wrote for the
famed "On The Water" Magazine. The scheduled release date is
the July issue.
The Stripers are in Cape Cod bay thick and within a week we
should start seeing them in the rips at the tip of Monomoy.
Usually, in early June the better rips are to the west of
Monomoy on Handkerchief Shoals. In the early season I prefer
the tides that run from the warmer western Sound waters
towards the cooler eastern ocean waters. The boats that like
to travel a lot will be finding stripers in the waters
around Nantucket at this time of the year.
Good Luck,
Capt. Bruce & "Marilyn S" |
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06/07/12 |
Billingsgate Shoals Shows Some Life...
Capt. Hap Farrell
New England weather has shown how it can control us and what
we do. With the exception of Saturday and part of Sunday, no
one has gotten out to do much fishing. It seems a small
nor'easter popped up and put a halt to much of the boating
activity in Cape Cod Bay. However those two days were very
productive. The small stripers have invaded the Brewster
Flats with a vengeance. You’d be lucky to pull a keeper out
of this area during the flood tide but lots of undersize
fish. The main body of larger fish around Billingsgate
Shoals have moved from the south edge across the top and
just over to the north edge. Oh yes, there are some bass in
by the #3 and #5 cans now plus over by the Eastham shore.
Just not real active yet.
When the two boats that went out Sunday got to the north
edge the weather was fairly calm. The fishing was really
good. One time the Luau had three keepers on one umbrella
rig. When he landed back in Rock Harbor he had ten nice
stripers ranging from 37 inches down to 29 inches. They did
come in a little early because by three hours into the trip
the wind had really picked up from the north, northwest
making it very uncomfortable to be out there so both boats
came in. It’s a good thing too because they were supposed to
stay out for twelve hours. That would not have been fun.
Still no bluefish have been landed. One here, one there, but
no real run of this fish. I think this last storm cooled the
water enough to slow the migration of the main body of these
fish for a bit longer. The water is going to have to warm up
some more. The first real bite of the bluefish will be one
of two places. One, in by the #3 and #5 cans and in towards
the Eastham shore, or two, out in the deep water off the
north edge of Billingsgate Shoals. I don’t see this
happening until a little past mid June.
Last week I had Dave Kopel and three of his friends from
school out on a half day trip. Dave mated for me for a few
years and then wanted to pursue some of his college training
in a different type of summer job, a business internship.
Now that he has finished school he and his friends wanted to
start the summer off with some fishing. We started out over
on the Brewster Flats using some of my real light tackle
catching some of those undersize stripers. Once we had our
fill of that we headed out to the south edge. One other boat
from Rock Harbor had gone right out to the north edge and
had found fish but they would not bite. When we got to the
south edge it was a different story. The boys got dinner in
short order and still were able to try out different methods
of fishing.
As more and more time goes by the fishing will be better and
better and hopefully the weather will also. New England is
known for weather changes and fast changes. As soon as we
bust out of this weather pattern summer should descend on us
with a vengeance. If you want do some fishing give me a call
at 508-240-8267.
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www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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05/25/12 |
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Just in... |
Fishing
with Capt Brett Wilson...
The fishing in the Bay has
been good. The problem so far is the lack of boats out
looking. Capt. Buddy Wilson had the boat out the other day
and they got their limit off the Brewster Flats. They didn't
do much looking because they had their limits.
Be assured that after this weekend we will have a better
handle on things.
If you are interested, we have both 8 hours open this
weekend. That can change at any moment though. The weather
is supposed to be nice, so if you are in the area and want
to spend a great day on the water, give me a call at (305)
481-1291. Thanks, and have a great Weekend!
Hindsight
Sportfishing
Don't forget your chance to win a free charter with with
Capt. Brett Wilson and the Hindsight.Click here to be
taken to the registration Page. |
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05/24/12 |
More Fish in the Bay...
Capt. Hap Farrell
Last week I said that I had not heard much about what was
happening up around P-town. Well, a large number of good
size stripers moved into the area call Wood End. This is the
corner of the beach you go around to get up to Race Point.
It seems that the schools of bass are hanging around the
point there in between 30 and 50 feet of water. Umbrella
rigs and vertical jigging are the two most productive
methods being used now.
This change up around P-town is not all that uncommon. In
this early part of the season many of the stripers are
actually just moving through this area headed north. Another
bunch of fish will come into the bay to replace them. Some
areas will still remain active with the fish that do stay.
Don’t be surprised if you find that places you have caught
fish before become devoid of fish for a while. Also the
schools that do remain start moving to other areas. One of
these areas to start looking would be the deeper water off
the north edge of Billingsgate Shoals in 40 to 50 feet of
water and up towards the Path. With the nice weather we had
this early spring I get the feeling that most people are
trying to push the summer. It will get here when it wants.
There are bluefish in the Bay. One was taken last week off
the south edge of Billingsgate Shoals and I’ve heard that a
few big bluefish have been taken up by South Sunken Meadow.
One of these days when we finally get a good number of sunny
days and the water warms enough these bluefish should show
themselves.
I’d like to take this opportunity to let you know some of
the activities that will be occurring at Rock Harbor this
summer season. The first activity will be the second annual
Blessing of the Fleet which will start approximately 11:30
am on the 23rd of June. For those with boats and you want to
be blessed you should launch at Rock Harbor and the blessing
area will be where the old Coast Guard boat is docked. High
tide is 2:45 pm. so the smaller boats can go through first
with the larger boats and charter boats going through around
12:15 to 12:30 pm. Last season there were a large number of
observers and participants so this season we should expect
an even larger crowd.
There will be other activities such as two tournaments that
Rock Harbor Charter service will sponsor. There is a Harbor
Day being planned by the Friends of Rock Harbor. Also mother
nature has planned a large number of beautiful sunsets which
everyone is invited to.
We have Memorial Day weekend on our front door. The
unofficial, official beginning of the summer season. Rock
Harbor and it’s charter fleet invite you to come and see the
boats, ask any questions you’d like, or even try out your
luck on landing one of the striped bass we have out in Cape
Cod Bay.
If you’d like to get out and try your hand at landing one of
the striped bass we’re famous for give me a call at
508-240-8267.
If you want to keep track of the giant bluefin tuna keep
checking in on this site. Dave will update the site as
reports on the tuna come. This should start happening very
soon. We should start seeing schools of these fish off
Chatham very soon and in the Bay by mid-June. Hap
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www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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05/23/12 |
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Capt. Bruce Peters |
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Capeshores Charters |
Yes, folks, that is the report for this week. Although we
are not running charters yet, the boats splashes on the 30
th, and we start with Bluefin Tuna charters in early June
and by Father’s Day we will be mixing bass and tuna trips
equally depending upon timing and height of the tide that
particular day. Most of my peers having operations in Cape
Cod Bay are doing well on decent sized stripers and recently
good sized bass are now starting to come out of Nantucket
Sound.
Bluefin Tuna are reported being seen offshore and moving
into the Stellwagon Bank area. Some boats are now poking
around to the East of Chatham, so you will be getting
reports of a real positive nature shortly. The bait and
whales are there, so with just a little effort we should see
some really great early season Bluefin action. The sizes of
the fish this year are going to be 3-4 inches larger than
last year, so I expect to see some large medium bluefin
caught on the troll gear this June. If you are wanting to
try your skills on one of these great challenges in the
fishing world, give us a call or an email and we will try to
get you on one or two of them.
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05/14/12 |
3-fish limit for General category, June-August 2012
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The National Marine Fisheries Service is adjusting the
General category Atlantic bluefin tuna daily retention limit
to three large medium or giant (73 inches or greater curved
fork length) bluefin tuna effective June 1-August 31, 2012.
This limit applies to vessels permitted in the Atlantic
tunas General category, and to vessels permitted in the HMS
Charter/Headboat category while fishing commercially. NMFS
will continue to monitor the fishery closely through dealer
reports. Depending on fishing effort and catch rates, NMFS
may determine that additional retention limit adjustments
are necessary to ensure available quota is not exceeded or
to enhance scientific data collection from, and fishing
opportunities in, all geographic areas. For further
information, please see the notice in the library (link at
left of page) or at:
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/breakingnews/index.htm |
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05/17/12 |
The Bay Came Alive...
By: Capt. Hap Farrell
Remember that I said if we got some sun and it warmed a bit
the Bay might explode... Well. it did. The party that booked
the Osprey on the full day trip was fortunate to witness
fishing that is rarely seen. Pods of good size stripers
everywhere you looked. There were so many fish that they had
to stop using the umbrella rig because they’d get three to
five keepers on each rig. They went to single plugs to keep
things at a dull roar. Now that’s good fishing. The half day
trip was nowhere near as active but still very productive.
There were fish on the South Edge of the Shoals and about a
half mile off the Brewster Flats about half way between Rock
Harbor and Sesuit Harbor.
As the weather improves and warms so will the activity of
the stripers. The body of fish that was off Barnstable
Harbor will slowly move to the east and wind up in an area
called the New Grounds. This area is about three miles west
of where the old Target Ship was. They should stay in this
area for a week or so and then move north. The North Edge of
the Billingsgate Shoals will become very active at that
point, I hope. Also the deep water off the shoals should
start producing some good sized stripers. At this point we
should start to see a fair amount of bluefish show up. One
bluefish was landed last weekend in the bay so they are just
starting to arrive.
What is the best lure system to use? To find where the most
concentration of fish is the umbrella rig is the best system
to use. Put it on your 150 foot wire set up or 200 foot set
up depending on the water depth. If you are fishing west of
the ship, the south edge in the deeper water or the north
edge of Billingsgate Shoals, use the 200t foot wire rod. If
you are fishing along the Brewster Flats, inside Barnstable
Harbor, or up by the three and five cans heading into
Welfleet, use your 150 foot rod because the water there can
get as shallow as 15 feet. The other lure that has worked
well for me is the green mackerel swimming plug or the pearl
colored bomber. Some of the plastic lures will work also,
like the pink or while Ronzi. If you find fish on the
surface most popping plugs work well.
I have not heard much from the Provincetown area other than
there is a lot of small mackerel in the harbor itself. From
what I’ve been told most of the fishermen from up that way
are heading for the Path out around 50 feet of water and
down towards Billingsgate Shoals. I’m sure this will change
quickly as the water warms up.
This last week I had my mate Mark and a friend of his Pete
out for the half day and we did well off the Brewster Flats
down by the Church Spire Ground. We easily got our limit of
six fish. The next day I had Tom Goodrou from the Goose
Hummock out to get him a fish. He got two with one of the
stripers being almost 36 inches. The fish are here,
If you’d like to get in on some of this fishing call me at
508-240-8267 and we’ll try and get you out. |
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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05/10/12 |
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Win a 4 hour charter with Capt.
Brett Wilson aboard the Hindsight! |
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Win
a 4 hour charter with Captain Brett Wilson and crew aboard
the
Hindsight, fishing out of Rock Harbor, Orleans, MA on
Monday, June 25th, at 1:45 p.m. You will be fishing for
striped bass and bluefish in Cape Cod Bay with one of the
best crews on one of the best boats fishing the Bay. You
have seen my rants on the caliber of the
Hindsight and Capt Brett Wilson, along with his longtime
mate Patrick "Woody" Wood.
This charter is for the winner and 5 guests, for a total of
6 anglers maximum, as dictated by the U.S.C.G. regulations.
All tackle is furnished, and is all top of the line.
The charter is paid for by Offshore
Pursuits, but tipping the mate is the responsibility of
the charter.
Simply click on the link below to be taken to the
registration page. After you register, don't forget to send
a picture to
dave@offshorepursuits.com. Good luck! |
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05/10/12 |
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Capt. Brett Wilson |
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Offshore Pursuits, Offshore Pursuits Premium Tackle, and the
newly formed East of Chatham Lures are proud to announce
that Capt. Brett Wilson of Hindsight Sportfishing is
an intregal part of our Pro Staff.
Through his knowledge of many fisheries, in many locations,
he will test, tweak and make or break the number of new
products we have ready to build.
His vast knowledge of the bluefin tuna, their habits, and
what it takes to tail rope them will certainly influence the
direction and make-up of Offshore Pursuits. Through Capt.
Brett we intend to put together a core group of the best of
the best with the end goal of having Offshore Pursuits be
the best of the best.
Pay close attention as to how Offshore Pursuits evolves over
this coming season. No drama, no BS, and as you will soon
see, near realtime fishing reports, as they are happening.
To do this right we are going to give Offshore Pursuits a
"working makeover"...meaning there will be changes that you
may or may not see right away, but by the end of the season,
a new Offshore Pursuits will have emerged. Look for a lot of
technology to be interspersed throughout Offshore Pursuits
making things happen for the visitor that will be unique for
sure. Lots of changes, access to a ton of information, and
answers to any question you could imagine.
The best I can tell you right now is that it will all be
good. Watch it happen, and as always, your comments, good,
bad, or otherwise, are always welcomed and encouraged.
Capt. Brett's full bio will be up on Pro Staff page early
next week.
In the meantime you can check out Captain Brett Wilson at
Hindsight Sportfishing. |
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05/09/12 |
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Capt. Hap Farrell |
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Cape Cod Bay Warms Up... |
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It has bee an unusually warm and dry winter. The spring
started out warm and dry also. Because of this we, in the
charter industry, started getting our tackle and boats
ready. The fish, oh yes the fish. They didn’t want to be
left out so they showed up early also.
Starting in mid April there was word that there was a charge
of small stripers in Pleasant Bay and on the South Shore of
the Cape. Next, a few small bass were taken in Barnstable
Harbor. The last week of April there were keepers being
caught by the Barnstable Bell just outside the entrance to
the Harbor and at the same time a good number of good sized
stripers were being landed at night along the Eastham Shore
and up at South Sunken Meadow. This is about 10 days to two
weeks early.
On the 29th of April, while bringing my boat from Northside
marina in Sesuit Harbor, where I store my boat for the
winter, to Rock Harbor I ran across some working birds with
fish under them. After trying to get on three different
groups I finally hooked up using an umbrella rig. There were
three keepers on the rig. Two came home with me and I let
the third go. This is definitely two weeks early.
I actually had a group of guys call for the trip on Saturday
the 5th. Since I had seen and caught fish just a few miles
west of Rock Harbor I agreed on one stipulation, that there
were still fish around at that point. We had cold and wet
weather during the week so on Friday when I went looking for
fish I didn’t find any. The Sullivans wanted to go anyway so
we went. Fortunately, we did find two keepers just off the
Brewster Flats which saved the day and the Sullivan group
had a nice fish dinner that night. What I think happened is
the surface water temperature went down a bit and the
stripers have moved into the shallow water which is slightly
warmer. In time they will be back out where we can catch
them.
There is also good news for those who are looking for
bluefish. I’ve heard that a couple of large bluefish have
been caught along with the stripers around Lieutenant’s
Island way up in the shallow water. There are accounts of
bluefish being taken in Nantucket Sound. Not a lot, just a
few here and there. This is also early in the season.
Once we break out of this weather pattern and the air
temperature warms some along with a fair amount of sun I
figure Cape Cod Bay will explode with fish. Maybe as soon as
this weekend. Good luck! Hap. |
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www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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Capt. Bruce Peters |
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Capeshores Charters |
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Hi Folks,
Many are saying everything is early this year, because of
the unusually warm weather patterns we had in April. There
seems to be fish and bait everywhere as of the last week’s
reports. I expect the rains we are currently experiencing
will keep folks off the waters for the next few days, but
the weekend forecast is good and with the last full moon a
su...rge of new fish should be charging into the area.
Mackerel are in good numbers in Cape Cod bay and some
Nantucket Sound locations. The squid and menhaden are in
Nantucket Sound in good numbers as well. I have been
freezing up some to use for baits for bass and tuna for
later on. Cape Cod Bay would be the spot to fish if you were
targeting striped bass. Any estuaries and marshy embayments
will be full of voracious school sized stripers if you
figure the tides right. These fish are migrating and feeding
heavily. A trout rod and a small jig head and curly tail
grub is all you need for some light tackle fun.
My “Marilyn S” is almost ready to splash with couple of
minor cosmetics left to do. I added some high tech LED
through hull lighting in the stern and corners to aid in
seeing the bluefin to harpoon them at night. I also expect
they will draw baitfish and squid to the boat at night when
chumming as well. I have booked several Giant tuna charters
already this year for the better tide days coming up this
fall, as a result of the increased interest in “Wicked
Tuna”. I hope to do lots more of them in the future. There
is absolutely nothing in the fishing world, compared to the
run and power of a big Atlantic Bluefin Tuna ! If you want
to catch one you have to be committed, prepared, lucky and
good. I am considering writing a little bit about what it
takes preparation wise to land one of these magnificent tuna
or if you prefer, to release one safely, in the future.
These fish are powerful and can hurt you if you are not
prepared. Stay tuned for more later.
The bluefin we encounter this year will be in the 70” to 78”
size class, making most of them commercially salable. The
laws on recreational and commercial are complicated. Make
sure you familiarize yourself with them before you go and be
prepared enough to handle them without hurting yourself or
the fish. With these fish now of “trophy” class size, the
laws are very specific about what you can keep, both daily
and annually. Make sure you know what the rules are. Here is
a link to the latest:
https://hmspermits.noaa.gov/News.asp#news231
Bookings are increasing every week, and for those of you
that fish with me every year, you have learned some days
have better tides and amounts of effort on the waters than
others. If you know you want to come to the waters of Cape
Cod again this summer for some good fishing, try to reserve
your day in the next month or so, before the better dates
are taken.
Good Fishing to you all,
Captain Bruce & “Marilyn S” |
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05/10/12 |
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East of Chatham Lures, LLC |
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Just to keep you all informed about the progress of East
of Chatham Lures LLC...
As you can see, the logo is complete! East of Chatham Lures
will have it's own storefront, and will supply lures to
Offshore Pursuits and others.
ALL of East of Chatham Lures will be made in America. The
components are being made here, and all the workmanship id
being done here. That is a promise, and will never change.
Offshore Pursuits Premium Tackle will sell East of Chatham
lures, but East of Chatham lures can't sell Offshore
Pursuits lures because many of the components are imported.
There is nothing wrong with that, but it is not where East
of Chatham lures plans to be.
Before anyone starts crying foul, the rigged lures will have
the best line and hooks available. So yes, that part will be
imported!
The Bluefin Tuna Rigs, Yellowfin Tuna Rigs, and Frenzy
Shower Teasers are all in full production. I don't even have
them up at
Offshore Pursuits yet because all my time has been spent
either building rigs or flat on my back, sick. I have not
been able to build up any inventory yet because they go as
fast as I build them.
I will have help soon so we should have enough inventory to
start selling to dealers very shortly.
There will be full descriptions, photos and pricing up at
Offshore Pursuits next week. I know I said that before, but
I surely didn't intend to get sick. The East of Chatham
storefront should be operational shortly also.
You won't be disappointed when you see the products we have
on the line. |
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05/03/12 |
Capt. Brett Wilson
Hindsightsportfishing.com |
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Well, the Stripers are here! The boat is in the water and
ready to go! I am offering an early season discount to
anyone who wants to fish before May 21st! I will knock off
$100 for any trip someone books during this time. There are
quite a few fish around and a lot of keepers among them! We
will be posting on Offshore Pursuits giving up to the minute
updates as we get rolling. So stay tuned!!!
Thanks!
Capt Brett Wilson
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05/03/12 |
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Capt. Hap Farrell |
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An Early Season... |
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 Here
in New England and especially on Cape Cod we had a very mild
winter. It seems the bait and fish thought so too. They
showed up early. This is all a good thing.
Starting in mid April I heard reports of small stripers on
the south shore of the Cape. Then there were reports of fish
in Cape Cod Bay. By the last week in April a few boats were
landing keepers, stripers over 28 inches, just outside the
entrance to Barnstable Harbor near the Barnstable Bell.
Stripers were also being taken off the Eastham shore and up
by South Sunken Meadow. Some of these fish were near the 40
inch size. These were all credible accounts.
On the 29th of April I moved my boat from Sesuit Harbor in
Dennis where I store the boat to Rock Harbor where I fish
out of. About half way down I noticed some working birds and
there were fish under them. I could not get to them but I
was close enough to see they seemed to be under sized. I
minute later another bunch popped up and it was much closer.
I had an umbrella rig on 150 feet of wire. I went right
through where the fish were, marked them on the fish finder
and seconds later the rod went tight. There were three fish
on the rig, one 29 inches, another 32 inches and the biggest
was 34 inches. The small fish went back and the other two
were served up for dinner in the next few days.
The season has started and it looks good for those who like
striped bass. I’m not sure what is going on up by P-town but
I’m sure there are fish there also.
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www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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03/24/12 |
Capt. Brett Wilson
Hindsightsportfishing.com |
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The season nears.... |
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As March rolls on, we continue to have very warm weather.
Multiple days of 60 plus degree temperatures are warming
things up quickly. Water temps are in the mid to high 40s,
which is 4 or 5 degrees warmer that usual. I have heard
rumors or schoolie blue fins east of Chatham. I'm sure there
are some around, but not so sure they are in abundance to
really target quite yet. I am still in Florida and we are
seeing late April conditions here now. We have had a strong
east wind for almost 2 weeks now. I fished a crew from The
Cape this past weekend. We baited a blue Marlin that didn't
eat, caught 2 white Marlin, 2 out of 4 sailfish, 200 lbs of
Mahi and 300 lbs of Amberjack and Snapper. A great weekend!
I have posted a few pictures on my Hindsightsportfishing
facebook page, so be sure to check them out, and like the
page as we will be posting lots of new pictures as the
season rolls on. Also, check out the website as we have
posted a bunch of new pictures as well!
Thanks!
Capt. Brett |
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03/12/12 |
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East of Chatham Lures, L.L.C |
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Born out of necessity, East of Chatham Lures, L.L.C. was
created two weeks ago. Now before you blow this off as just
another lure company, read on.
As I said, out of necessity, I had to fill a sudden void
with high quality lures and rigs that I could not find. One
of the manufacturers that I did a bunch of business with
decided to quit producing and shipping product. This left me
in quite a bind.
I needed the best lures that money can buy, American made,
and proven to catch fish offshore, anywhere. I approached a
friend of mine, Dave Reed of Frisco, NC, and asked him if he
would help me design and build lures as East of Chatham
Lures, L.L.C.
There is a very good reason that I asked Dave to help me
out. He is the founder of Hatteras Lures and Eye Catcher
Lures, and the designer and builder of many record setting
lures and proven tournament winners.
I did not want to copy anything he had done before, so we
took the best of the best and changed them to make them even
better. You may notice some similarities, but when you look
deeper, you will see a new and improved take on something
that was great before.
The first product produced was the Offshore Pursuits Bluefin
Tuna Rig. These are done, but I don't have them listed at
the store yet. There is so much going on that I don't have
enough hours in the day! So there is no confusion, East of
Chatham Lures is manufacturing lures and rigs to be branded
as Offshore Pursuits.
Anyway, the Offshore Pursuits Bluefin Tuna Rig is a Frenzy
Shower Teaser with a Z-Rex hook bait. The full description
and pictures will be up at
the store by the end of the week. And that is only the
beginning....More products are in the build stage as we
speak.
To make this all even better, we have one of the best big
game fisherman on the coast as our first Pro Staff member.
Capt. Brett Wilson of
Hindsight Sportfishing has joined Offshore Pursuits and
will thoroughly test any new products, make suggestions on
what will work and what won't, and be brutally honest with
his reports on product performance. If they don't live up to
his standards, they aren't for sale. Simple as that.
With the talent we have onboard, you can be assured there
are great things coming! |
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03/09/12 |
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Captain Brett Wilson |
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Hindsight Sportfishing |
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 With spring upon us, and with a very mild winter, everyone
is getting geared up for an early season. All this warm
weather started last fall. The tuna fish didn't show up off
Virginia and North Carolina until mid January( usually in
late November). People have been catching Striped Bass all
winter long on Cape Cod, and big ones too! The water
temperature is almost 4 degrees warmer than usual this year.
Which means fishing will be fast and furious come early May
this season. Our late May and June are some of the best
times of year for Stripers and early season Blue fin, which
from some offshore lobster men that I talk with are not far
away from there now. So we will be looking forward to
starting a few weeks early this year. I am currently fishing
down in South Florida. We have been looking at spring like
conditions now for almost a month. The Sailfish never really
showed up in monster numbers this year because it was so
warm. And with Pelagics starting to move out already, its a
sign that things are definitely moving faster all up and
down the coast. We actually had a Blue fin eat one of our
kite baits last week! We saw the fish and since we never
stood a chance on 20 lb he just kept swimming north. A sign
that the warm winter spawn in the Gulf is ending. Boat work
starts soon! We will be in the water next month!
Capt. Brett |
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03/06/12 |
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Fishing with Light Tackle |
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By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
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 The
2012 season is almost upon us and from early fish reports it
looks as if it will be an active and warm season for those
who are planning to fish the water around Cape Cod. As you
look at your fishing tackle, rod and reels that have been
sitting in the cellar or garage gathering dust, you may be
wondering where on the Cape you are going to start off
first. The outer beaches have been decimated by the
overwhelming amount of seals and offer few, if any good
areas to fish from the beach. So, that limits the use of
your beach cast equipment. Some of the jetties and beaches
on the south side of the Cape offer some good beach fishing
during high water. These areas are where most folks feel you
can use light action tackle from shore. Fishing from a boat
is a different story. This is where you must first find fish
that are working the surface and somewhat concentrated in a
small area.
 There
is another way. You can troll a light action boat rod with a
small saltwater conventional reel in areas you know hold
fish. A hootchie or swimming plug will work just fine. Once
you are hooked up you can enjoy fishing a bass or bluefish
on as light a test line as you like just so long as the rod
and reel setup is suited for the line test you are using.
The woman is fighting a 30 inch striper on 12 lb. test mono
line on a completely custom rod I had made at the Goose
Hummock. I’ve also taken some good sized bluefish with this
rig. Believe me, it is a lot of fun especially when the fish
gets close to the boat. By trolling this tackle you can
cover a larger area looking for the fish and once you find
them concentrated in an area you can cast to them with the
same gear once you’ve learned to cast a conventional setup.
There is one important thing you have to do to make this
work the best. You must know how much line you have set out.
The best way I have found is to load the reel with a 40 to
to 50 pound test dacron backing, or any line dissimilar to
the line you want to use, and then the length and test line
you want to fish with. I have found that the length of that
line should be at least 200 feet. If it’s too short when you
go over or through a school of fish you may see, the fish
will be pushed away by the boat and not come back by the
time the lure moves through that spot. Too long and the fish
will have moved by the time the lure gets there. I have
found the 225 ft. to 275 ft. is the optimum length.
Something else I have found is that if you use a braid line
you can put more backing on the reel and because there is no
stretch to the line you will feel every move the fish makes.
On more than one occasion, when I was using mono, the angler
has been almost spooled. With the braid line and more
backing this is less likely to happen. However, it does lend
a bit of excitement to the fight when you almost run out of
line and you have to back the boat up. This gentleman has a
good size bluefish on a very light action Shimano bait
casting rod with a small Shimano level wind reel. We are
using 30 lb. test braid for line on this set up so rather
than using a light line with a light action rod you’ve got a
heavier test line and you are able to put a lot of juice to
the fish and enjoy the full action the rod gives you.
Adding another rod and reel setup to the number of rods you
bring every time you go fishing aboard your boat may seem
like a bit much. Look at it this way, if or when you play
golf you have a different club for different situations you
may find yourself in. In time you will realize that you
don’t need that many rods. Maybe one with wire on it for
jigging and possibly using the umbrella rig. You won’t need
a spinning rod because you’ve learned to cast with a
conventional reel. The only other setup you may want is a
rod setup with lead core line. Many anglers find one style
of fishing suits them best. An example is fly fishing. Some
like to cast to the fish. This is where using this
conventional setup works best. You can troll around until
you find the fish and then cast to them. This tackle can
also be used for vertical jigging.
When you think of the words “Sport Fishing” you see the word
“Sport” is in it. Using this light action tackle gives you
the aspect of the sport of fishing. I’ve been fishing on
Cape Cod since the mid 50’s and chartering over 30 years now
so I’ve tried most everything. I can’t see using a broom
stick for a rod and a winch for a reel and getting any
enjoyment from it. I’d rather add a bit of a challenge to
it... Capt. Hap |
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www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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01/18/12 |
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Tuna Watch |
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I had a report from a customer today that indicated there is
a pick of fish being brought into Morehead. Skinny
fish...93" dressing out at 320 lbs. They are getting good
money for them though. He said they are getting more fish
out of Oregon Inlet, but the money isn't as good. There are
also a few fish being caught off Hatteras. Stay tuned!
Check
out our new, updated Blog. We got away from that for
awhile, but it will be an important part of Offshore
Pursuits from here on out. Thanks. Dave |
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Fish'n the GIANTS with J's CREW |
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Fish'n the GIANTS with J's CREW aboard the Hindsight with
Capt Brett Wilson and his mate Woody. If you missed my
tale from this August, it started like this...
"I have done my share of giant bluefin tuna fishing over the
years, and after paying my dues, I have met with moderate
success over the years. I have also fished with more than a
few captains chasing giants off Cape Cod.
Last Friday I had the chance to fish with the best captain
and crew I have ever had the pleasure of chasing giants
with. Bar none!
Captain Brett Wilson and his mate, Patrick "Woody" Wood of
Hindsight Sportfishing are by far the best I have ever
fished with off the Cape. It is not hard to figure out how
they put 60 giants in the boat last season (with a 500 lb.
average!) after spending a day fishing with them."
The link above is to a video of them fishing Georges Bank
with J'S CREW. It is one of the best I have seen, and
fishing with these guys brings it all home. If you ever get
the chance to fish giants off Cape Cod, you need to
Call Capt. Brett Wilson and set up the trip of your dreams.
As I've said, I have fished with more than a few and
Capt. Brett Wilson, Woody, and the Hindsight are the
best there is.
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12/16/11 |
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Preliminary Commercial BFT Landings |
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As of 12/16, preliminary commercial landings for the 2011
fishing year are as follows: General category has landed
460.5 mt out of 485.1 mt; Harpoon category is CLOSED,
landing 29.6 mt out of 36.0 mt; Longline North has landed
29.7 mt out of 24.4 mt; Longline South has landed 31.1 mt
out of 36.7 mt; and Longline Northeast Distant has landed
6.2 mt out of 25.0 mt. Landing updates will be made as
necessary. |
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12/16/11 |
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NMFS Maintains General Category BFT Limit for January |
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The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) adjusts the
Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) General category daily retention
limit to two large medium or giant BFT per vessel per
day/trip effective January 1 through March 31, 2012, or
until the January subquota is harvested. The default daily
retention limit that otherwise would take effect for this
category on January 1, 2012, is one BFT. NMFS takes this
action after consideration of the regulatory determination
criteria at § 635.27(a)(8) regarding inseason adjustments.
Through December 31, 2011, the current retention limit of
two large medium or giant BFT per vessel per day/trip
remains in effect. The General category daily retention
limit applies to vessels permitted in the Atlantic tunas
General category and the Highly Migratory Species (HMS)
Charter/Headboat category while fishing commercially. This
limit is effective for all areas except for the Gulf of
Mexico, which is designated spawning grounds for BFT and
where NMFS does not allow targeted BFT fishing. Regardless
of the duration of a fishing trip, the daily retention limit
applies upon landing. For example, whether a vessel fishing
under the General category limit takes a two-day trip or
makes two trips in one day, the daily limit of two fish may
not be exceeded upon landing. NMFS reminds BFT anglers that
the default Angling category retention limit of one school,
large school, or small medium BFT (measuring 27 to less than
73 inches) will apply effective January 1, 2012, and remain
in effect, unless and until changed. The Angling category
daily retention limit applies to vessels permitted in the
HMS Angling category and the HMS Charter/Headboat category
while fishing recreationally. |
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09/22/11 |
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The Cape at Large... |
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You can read about the bass and bluefish in the Bay in Hap's
report following this report..
The back side beaches are seeing the action pick up.
Bluefish blitzes and decent sized bass are popping up all
along the back side. There are still bass outside the new
cut in Chatham also.
Fat Alberts (southern for false albacore) are covering up
the southside. The sound, Monomoy, Nantucket, and all around
the Vineyard are holding fish. There are bass and bluefish
mixed in as well.
The exciting news is the bluefin tuna bite. It is heating up
all over. There are football being taken off Nauset in 40'
of water, fish to 60" being taken inside Crab Ledge, some
giants are said to be coming from the BB/BC area as well.
Peaked Hill is giving up some giants as is Stellwagon Bank.
The real hotspots are Cape Cod Bay, between the Fishing
ledge and P-town, straight out from the bath house. Giants
as well as school fish are feeding amongst the draggers that
are working the area. Yesterday there was a fleet of 50 to
60 boats working the area. The day before yesterday there
was a 120" fish landed that tipped the scales at 1000 lbs.
plus! With the weather predicted to be decent this weekend,
it should be a parking lot! The other hotspot is way east on
George's bank. many boats are coming in with three fish.
Don't be fooled into thinking that these fish are hopping in
the boat as they were last year at this time. The boats that
are successful are working hard to get their fish. Knowledge
is the key here, as is proven by the same guys bringing in
the big fish trip after trip.
If you have the boat and the tackle, Cape Cod bay would be
my choice for the weekend. Live bait on a kite in search of
that 1000 lb'er!
Good luck this weekend, what ever you are chasing! Dave |
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09/22/11 |
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Capt. Hap Farrell |
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More Fall Fishing... |
The days are getting shorter. The sun up later in the
morning and goes down earlier in the evening. There is a
chill in the air when I go down to the harbor and aboard the
boat. The radio is strangely quite. No one is on the water.
This does not mean the fish are gone, just the economy’s
effect on our September fishing. When we do get out there is
now problem finding either the bluefish or some nice sized
stripers.
We’ve had some good trips out of Rock Harbor. Fortunately
the striped bass have moved closer to home. We need not go
to Barnstable Harbor or up to P-town to find striped bass in
the 20 to 30 pound range. All we need to do is check out
Billingsgate Shoals and if they are not there go out to the
Square and start jigging there. We are forced to use our
long jigging wires (450 ft.) in the deep water but it is the
best way we’ve found. Now and then when the schools of fish
are closer to the surface the umbrella rigs will work but
the larger bass are on the bottom in 40 to 50 feet of water
and you need to use the long jig wires to get to them.
As for the bluefish, they are mixed in with the stripers in
the deep water but they can also be found in along the
Eastham shore. This is my favorite area to fish for
bluefish. You can use light trolling tackle in there and on
occasion find fish to cast on. My favorite way is with the
light action trolling tackle such as rod and reel
combinations using 6 lb. test line. This is a real challenge
for any angler.
Some of the areas to check out. As the season comes to close
the bass and bluefish have, in the past, gathered in certain
locations. The best known is Billingsgate Shoals and next is
the deep water off Great Island and around the square area.
There the umbrella rigs or the long jigging wires work best.
One other area is the Brewster Flats and just off the edge
of the flats. This area has not been very productive so far
this season but with the herring coming out of the runs, it
just might come alive.
My bet is either the shoals or the deep water off the
shoals. So, I’ll see you out there at least a few more times
this fall. Good luck...
If you want to keep track of what is happening off the outer
beaches give the Goose Hummock a call at 508-255-0455. To
fish Cape Cod Bay call me at 508-240-8267. |
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www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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08/27/11 |
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A Good Day of Fishing... |
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By: Capt. Hap Farrell
This last 27th of August I had the Morgan family out for a
full day trip fishing Cape Cod Bay. Al and Bonnie Morgan and
their son Chris wanted to take on some of the nice stripers
and bluefish the Bay has to offer. Lately fish had been a
bit slow as far as any big stripers and the only bluefish
were either in by the Eastham shore or out in the deep water
off Billingsgate Shoals. So, where to take these folks?
Well, to the west down by Barnstable Harbor we went. The
first place we stopped was the East Bar. There we took three
nice bass. One of which hit the 25 lb. class. Then we went
to the West Bar and there we took one more good sized
striper and some bluefish. Two of these bluefish were in
excess of 15 pounds. This made their trip, or so they
thought.
Back to the East Bar after the tide turned. There things
broke loose. We not only filled our quota of stripers but
released a number of fish that were well over the legal
length of 28 inches. Some of these fish were over 3 feet in
length. Needless to say it made a good day better.
If you want to get in on this good fishing call me at:
508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211.
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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08/25/11 |
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There isn't much point talking about fishing today. Our
thoughts and prayers are with all of our friends up and down
the coast. Good luck to all and I hope you all come away
unscathed! Dave |
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08/25/11 |
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Hindsight Sportfishing |
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I
have done my share of giant bluefin tuna fishing over the
years, and after paying my dues, I have met with moderate
success over the years. I have also fished with more than a
few captains chasing giants off Cape Cod.
Last Friday I had the chance to fish with the best captain
and crew I have ever had the pleasure of chasing giants
with. Bar none!
Captain Brett Wilson and his mate, Patrick "Woody" Wood of
Hindsight Sportfishing are by far the best I have ever
fished with off the Cape. It is not hard to figure out how
they put 60 giants in the boat last season (with a 500 lb.
average!) after spending a day fishing with them.
We left the dock at Rock Harbor at 3:45 a.m. and headed for
the S.W. corner of Stellwagon to fish bluefish under kites.
And fish we did! I can't emphasize enough how professional
these guys are. I learned something new pretty much all day
long. We had giants breaking off the stern, but a little out
of range. We did manage to attract the attention of more
than a few blue dogs, three of which ended up boatside.
Anyone that has fished giants knows the deck is stacked
against you from the start. These guys definitely put the
odds in our favor. We were in the right spot...we saw fish,
marked bait all day, and marked a few fish. The presentation
was like none I have ever seen, and I have fished giants
from Cape Hatteras to Cap Cod.
As I said, it wasn't hard to figure out how they put 60 fish
in the boat last year.
In my opinion, if you want to fish for giants, or anything
else for that matter, the best of the best on Cape Cod is
Captain Brett Wilson and his mate Woody of
Hindsight Sportfishing.
You can contact Brett at (305) 481-1291.
Good luck! Dave |
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08/25/11 |
Capt. Hap Farrell
Stunmai II
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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There is a school or small number of schools of big stripers
swimming around Cape Cod Bay. At times you can find them off
Barnstable Harbor. Either on the East Bar or, most likely,
the West Bar. If not there look to the “Fingers”. The next
are in off the north edge of Billingsgate Shoals in the deep
water. That is 45 feet or deeper. You will mark them on your
fish finder but that doesn’t mean you will hook up. They are
acting finicky, very finicky.
The boats that do well in the deep water off the shoals find
that just after the tides starts in for about 2 to 3 hours
is the best time. Jigging with 450 foot wire works best. The
umbrella rig will have some results but mostly big bluefish.
Once the tide has started in a while, like two hours before
high water, the fish seem to spread out. Where these big
fish go is anyone's guess.
For those who just want to have some fun catching bluefish
go up on the flats East of the #3 and #5 cans in about 13 to
18 feet of water and troll small hootchies or swimming plugs
around at 5 knots or so and you’ll find some small bluefish
to play with. These fish are the good eating size and fun to
take on with lighter tackle.
We are having a special event at Rock Harbor this coming
Sunday, the 28th. At 8:30 am. the Rock Harbor Charter Fleet
will be taking some our veterans out for a half day of
sportfishing. This is being set up by “Cape Cod Cares for
the Troops” and being sponsored by the Rock Harbor Charter
Service and the Elks. It is not really a tournament but I’m
sure we will keep track of the biggest fish caught that day.
I believe the whole fleet is involved so come down and give
the troops a good send off and come back at around 12:30 pm
to see them return with their catch. It is the least we can
do for someone who puts the life in jeopardy in our name.
What to do for this next week? It’s hard to say. If you are
fishing over the lower water and want to check out the West
Bar off Barnstable Harbor I think I’d take the ride. If not
there go out to the deep water off the north edge and stay
in 40 to 50 feet of water and troll up towards the Path. If
you see fish on the bottom with your fish finder set out a
long wire (450 feet) and jig in that area. The bluefish
should be in by the Path and, during the flood tide, in off
the Eastham shore.
I had some local folks our on a half day trip last week. It
was Erin Shupenis and her father Ray. Erin works for the
town of Orleans during the week and waitresses at the Land
Ho on weekends. Erin landed three bluefish on the umbrella
rig she was fishing with. We did have a striper on but it
got off right at the boat. The Luau landed two striper and
the Fair Lady landed a bass that was almost 36 inches. Both
boats also landed some bluefish also. |
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If you want to get in on this good fishing call me at:
508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211. |
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08/04/11 |
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End of the Summer Tourney Rock Harbor Charter Fleet |
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On the 18th of August The Rock Harbor Charter Service is
having a fishing tournament for the biggest bass and
bluefish that can be landed over the high water trip. It
begins at the sailing time of 12:30 pm and ends shortly
after 4:30 or when ever the judge calls it.
This tournament will have prizes for the winners in their
categories and hopefully more laughs than the body can
handle. This tournament is to enjoy and make fun of each
other and to enjoy a day of fishing in Cape Cod Bay. As this
tournament grows there will be plenty of time to get serious
on landing that big bass or bluefish.
For any question or to get in on the action call Roxanne at
the “Booth” for the Rock Harbor Charter Service at
508-255-9757. The only thing you should bring with you is a
sense of humor, you’ll need it. |
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08/04/11 |
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Capt. Hap Farrell
Stunmai II
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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August Doldrums... |
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It’s the beginning of August. The summer is more than half
over and we are starting to run on emergency power. We wake
up, and head to the boat, even if we don’t have a trip,
because we don’t know where else to go. The beaches are
crowded, the roads are crowded and we are just hoping to get
out on the water. Even some of the areas out there are
crowded.
The fishing is good, not great, but we are keeping everyone
happy with a decent load of stripers and some bluefish mixed
in. The main area we start fishing is the north edge of
Billingsgate Shoals. If we don’t find much there we may go
out to the deep water and troll rigs or single hootchies
around looking for bluefish. At times we find some fish and
land a half a dozen or so. Then we go back to the shoals and
work the south edge looking for the stripers again. So far,
we’ve been successful at our endeavors. For whatever reason,
P-town has been fairly quiet lately.
There are tons upon tons of bait, mainly sand eels, on
Billingsgate Shoals. It has been a long time since there has
been this much food concentrated in one area. This is what
seems to be keeping the bass on the shoals. There has been
one or two days when the sand eels have moved off and they
took the fish with them. So, if you get out to the shoals
and do not find the bait there, go right out to the deep
water and look around. As far as P-town is concerned, look
to next weekend before the fish move back in any volume.
Before I get into the groups who fished this last week I’d
like to tell of a young woman who has fished with me for
many years and is now working for me as a mate part time.
Emily Ewen and her father Chris started fishing with me six
years ago. Emily was eleven then. Now she is seventeen. Last
season she expressed an interest in learning to mate on the
boat, so we trained her some. This season, with a bit more
training, Emily was ready to take a trip by herself. When
asked if she was nervous her reply was “I’ll do the best I
can”. That’s all I or anyone can expect. She was good to her
word. She did the best she could and it was more than anyone
could expect. She will be a busy young lady come next
summer.
I had a number of families out this past week. I had the
Gilbrides, the Grays , and the Jagemanns amongst other.
Carrie Gilbride is the daughter of Dave and Mary Smith. Dave
mated for me years ago one fall before he passed. The
Jagemanns are friends of the Gilbrides, and their daughter
Casey and Izzy are friends so when they fish together theyt
are known as the Dynamic Duo. The Grays are another family
that regularly go fishing and their daughter Cassandra
turned out to be the fisherman of the week.
Capt. Chuck Cataldo, of the Fair Lady had a spilt trip this
last Tuesday with Chuck Conlen and Gerald Correau plus
friends. They did very well with a good number of good sized
stripers. This trip came through the Rock Harbor Charter
Service (508-255-9757), the Booth at Rock Harbor. |
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08/04/11 |
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The Cape at large.... |
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As I mentioned, the Canal has been the bright spot this past
week with some nice fish moving in with the big tides.
Reports indicate soft plastic shad imitations are the hot
bait right now.
There are some big bluefish being taken off Monomoy, along
the backside and around the corner...The striper bite has
slowed off Chatham There are some fish around, but not
stacked up like they were.
As you read in Hap's report, the fishing in the Bay is
decent, but you have to work for what you get.
The bluefin bite has slowed way down off Chatham for now.
There are a few fish being landed, but nothing like last
week. There are some fish being taken off Peaked Hill, and
more on Stellwagon. There are also reports of fish moving
into the Bay. I have heard from a reliable source that one
boat for sure headed to Georges earlier in the week.
Mechanical problems kept him from reaching his destination,
but I am sure he had a very good reason to be headed in that
direction.
Good luck to all of you this weekend! Dave |
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07/28/11 |
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NOTICE: |
The National marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) closes the
northern area Angling catagory fishery for large medium and
giant ("trophy") BFT for the remainder of the 2011 season.
Fishing for, retaining, possessing, or landing large medium
and giant BFT (measuring 73 inches curved fork length or
greater) north of 39 degrees 18 minute N. lat. (off Great
Egg Inlet, NJ,) is prohibited effective 11:30 p.m. local
time, on July 29, 2011.
Click here to read the full notice. |
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07/28/11 |
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Capt. Hap Farrell
Stunmai II
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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It was the 24th of July when we, the charter captains, could
officially say the bluefish are here in force. They have
turned up in different spots off and on up until now. Once
we found them off the Eastham shore and the fish were gone.
Next we’d find them out in the deep water and then they were
gone. Two weeks ago they showed up off the Path for a few
days and then they disappeared. Now they have shown up from
the Path south to Henderson’s Rock from 15 feet of water out
to 30 feet of water. Tom Smith, who commercially fishes for
these fish told us they have been moving into the Bay for
the last few days. Now if the bass is slow we still have one
of the hardest fighting fish, the bluefish, to chase around.
From what I hear the big commercial size bass are still
hanging out in front of the new cut in Pleasant Bay. The
larger fish are measuring from 36 to 44 inches but you have
to cull through some smaller fish. Either jigging with a
long wire or vertical jig with Ronzi’s is what is working
best. In the Bay we are doing equally as well but the bass
are a little smaller, perfect dinner size. From 29 to 34
inches. We, the charter captains are kind of glad we don’t
have a lot of big fish around. Less boat traffic to deal
with. Jigging on top of Billingsgate Shoal is still the best
game in town. P-town is slow right now, but that will change
when we get back to the bigger tides I think.
There is one thing that is a little troublesome. There is
still very little action in the area along the Eastham shore
and around the #3 and #5 cans near the entrance to Welfleet
Harbor. Traditionally this area always held a good amount of
bluefish and was a good place to take a family with you kids
so we could put them on fish they could handle easier. It
still only has fish now and then. Not on a regular basis. No
one knows why this is.
What will go on next week? Hopefully some larger stripers
will move in on top of the shoals. The large schools of bass
will come back to P-town especially from the Race down to
Wood End and more bluefish move into the Bay. It’s a good
possibility that one or more of these things will happen.
The big tides are starting up soon and this will push the
fish back to where we can get to them. Get your jigs and
umbrella rigs ready. Make sure your wire rods have fresh
wire and the reels are in good shape.
I had two groups out this week that were lots of fun and we
did well. Marcos Maranda, from Harwich, brought his crew out
for a full day trip. The weather was a little off, cloudy
and slightly drizzly at times. The fishing was fantastic.
They easily got their limit plus much more. The Brazilian
sausage was equally as good as the fishing. The second trip
was a booth trip. A father and son and father and daughter.
Zack, who’s eleven, and has fished out of Rock Harbor before
and Meghan, who has experience fishing in the Florida area
but never for stripers, loaded the boat. Zack, an old hand
at this type of fishing was equaled by Miss Meghan whose
experience showed in her ability to handle these majestic
fish. |
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If you want to get in on this good fishing call me at:
508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211. |
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07/28/11 |
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The Cape at Large... |
The striped bass fishing is pretty slow, EXCEPT for Chatham.
The bad news is that anyone fishing for striped bass is off
Chatham. Off the new inlet to be exact. Diamond Jigs are the
lure of choice. Be prepared for tons of company though. When
things get slow, troll umbrella rigs or jigs. There are
reports of fish moving up the beach, but not much past
Nauset.
There are bluefish everywhere. Big fish in the rips off
Monomoy and Handkerchief Shoals. Schools of big fish off the
Race and in the Bay also.
The good news is that the bluefin bite is good. East of
Chatham on Bird Bars or Hatteras Creature's. Reports of
multiple fish days are becoming more common. Big fish on
Peaked hill and up on Stellwagon. Live bluefish on kites or
under a balloon are working well. Still have not heard of
much going on in the Bay as far as the bluefin go.
Make sure you read the top of this page and click to read
the full notice regarding the closure of the northern area
Angling category fishery for large medium and giant
("trophy") BFT for the remainder of the 2011 season.
Have a great weekend and good luck! |
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07/26/11 |
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Capt. Bruce Peters
Capeshores Charters |
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Hi Folks,
I've been a little busy lately with the charters and havent
had time to give a real fish report. I usually do a long
tuna trip or two bass trips a day. I am being frustrated
with the folks that call or email and ask if aI have an
opening for tomorrow am or the day after etc. Just like a
great hotel or a great restaurant, a great charter service
reserves in advance. Capeshores Charters reserves in advance
for one reason. We have the best striped bass and bluefin
tuna fisheries on the east coast within 30 minutes of the
harbor entrance ! Please be smart and call ahead for your
reservation. Currently the next openings are 7/30 & 31, 8/1
(pm), 8/3, 8/6, 8/7, 8/14, 15, 16, 17, & 18.
As for the fishing, I caught over 40 stripers yesterday on
the 4 hour trip with a husband and wife charter on 14 pound
test ! On Saturday we hooked and lost 2 nice 60 inch bluefin
before 8 am ! On the 19th and 20th we caught a nice
retainable tuna on each day ! The fishing for stripers is
phenomenal, with many boats catching lots of stripers on the
bottom. We are using butterfly and diamond jigs to get the
fish. Each fish is fat with sand eels and if you can get the
technique down you will catch plenty of fish.
If you would like to get in on the action, email me at the
address below (bruce@sportfishingcapecod.com)
and make a reservation. There are lots of openings available
for August and September and the fishing just off Chatham's
shorelines will continue to be great through September into
October.
Thanks very much,
Bruce & "Marilyn S" |
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07/21/11 |
Capt. Hap Farrell
Stunmai II
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com
07/21/11
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Coming Back Home |
It is about time. The fish are starting to make their
presence known again. Last week the bluefish showed up along
the Eastham shore in strength. They were hitting the
hootchies like old times. More bass and bluefish are showing
up in the deep water and this time umbrella rigs are working
as well as the long jig wire. All we need is a big flood of
large bass on top of Billingsgate Shoals to top everything
off. That would be nice.
In years past every time we had a hard northwest blow, 15 to
25 knots or more, the schools of striped bass in the deep
water would be pushed up or come up on the shoals the day
after. The fishing would be really good for a few days.
Jigging or even single hootchies on wire would be the most
productive. We have not really had that happen yet. We had a
small taste of that happen this last Tuesday and it did help
the fishing some.
The commercial season is not affecting Cape Cod Bay too
much. It seems there are a few good sized schools of
commercial size bass parked off the new cut on the outer
beach. No one is sure how long this will last. One good
heavy easterly could shut off the whole thing. Last year
P-town was the place we found a lot of big bass and then at
the end of the commercial season they showed up off Nauset
Inlet. Maybe it will go in reverse this season.
I hope the bluefish continue to move into our area. I’d like
to see them in the shallow water from Great Island up
towards the Pamet River. Also, the tuna fishermen would love
to see the smaller bluefish show up because they make better
live bait than the larger ones which are around now. The
smaller bluefish may bring the giant bluefin tuna into the
Bay which would round out a good season. This would be a
great thing.
One question I’ve been asked a lot is, “where have all the
big bass gone?” I think that the migration habits of fish
are cyclic. There will be seasons when we have a lot of
bluefish around and only a smattering of stripers, like
years ago. The things reverse and we have a lot of stripers
around and the amount of bluefish wanes down some. Right now
I think we are in the middle of this cycle. Not a large
amount of stripers and a small amount of bluefish. It is a
theory of mine with no scientific basis behind it, so take
it for what it is worth.
This last week I had a group from Big Brothers & Big Sisters
out for a half day trip. Zoee Terry, Emma Mitchell, and
German Hercules tried their hand at the good bass fishing we
have on Cape Cod Bay. We landed three nice bass with German
landing the biggest. It was 38 inches long and weighed 22
pounds. This is the second season I’ve done this and it will
definitely not be the last. It is a treat to watch these
kids fight what could be the first fish they have ever
caught. |
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If you want to get in on this good fishing call me at:
508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211. |
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07/21/11 |
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Striped Bass with Tom McCombs and
Sweet Lips Jigs |
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Dave,
Cape Cod Bay, Race Point and Herring Cove have been slow for
the last week. A huge hatch of sand eels has taken place and
they are thick from Wood End to Race Point Beach, this
should make the fishing better. Birds, bait and maybe some
fish? Yes there we a few keeper bass caught yesterday
between Race Point and Wood End! Things are looking better.
The back side has big bluefish and a few bass, jig between
the pot lines where the water is 30 to 40 feet deep. We
caught blues up to 15 pounds and a few keeper bass. The
black and red jigs were getting the most action but the
keeper bass were taken on green and white jigs.
Chatham seems to be where the best action is, just try to
find a place to launch the boat with available parking, not
easy. I am hoping that today's SW winds will move the fish
back to the Race.
Tight Lines, Tom
Sweet Lips Jigs
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07/21/11 |
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The Cape at Large |
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As you have read, the striper fishing has slowed a bit with
the exception of the new cut in Chatham. Problem here is
that it is commercial bass season and you will have lots of
company. The Race and cape cod Bay may turn on any day, and
that may be your best bet.
Offshore is where the action is now. From the SE corner of
Stellwagon to the Golf Ball fish are being taken on the
troll and with live bluefish and pogies under a kite or a
balloon. The
Carlson Fuku Bird Bars are by far the number one
producer on the troll. Peaked Hill is giving up fish to live
bait. ten miles off Chatham the fleet is doing very well
with mixed classes of fish. Slot fish to giants, both
trolling and using live bait.
Cape Cod bay is loaded with little footballs, but no big
fish reported yet.
10 miles SW of the Vineyard around the fingers area there
are a ton of bluefin in the 40 lb. to 80 lb. class to be
had.
If you have the boat to get there, the hot spot to be right
now is in the canyons. reports from Atlantis, both west and
east are loaded with stories of big yellowfin, big eye tuna,
mahi-mahi (all you could ever want), white and blue marlin.
There are good reports of makos being taken off Martha's
Vineyard...some to 700 lbs. Just in time for this weekends
monster shark tournament!
Whatever you are fishing for, good luck! Dave |
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07/07/11 |
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The Cape at Large |
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The Canal is pretty slow right now, although there are a few
fish being caught. Gay Head is still producing nice fish on
the chunk, with Tom Shoals holding fish also.
You read Bruce's report...the bass are on the rips off
Monomoy. Nantucket Sound is covered up with big bluefish,
and there are bass outside the inlet in Chatham.
Not a whole lot going on off the backside, but fresh
sandeels fished on the bottom are worth a shot.
The Race is holding fish, with the boats doing better than
the surf crowd.
On the tuna front, the big fish are coming from the SW
corner of Stellwagon to Peaked Hill. A lot guys are fishing
kites, with the rest fishing under baloons. East of Chatham
is giving up slot fish to splash bars, especially to the
Carlson Fuku Bird Bar.
There are small fish being taken South of the Vineyard, and
reports of a few small yellowfin being caught at the Dump.
Good luck this weekend. Dave |
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07/07/11 |
Capt. Hap Farrell
Stunmai II
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com
07/07/11
4th of July Striped Bass Blitz
Since I've been fishing out of Rock Harbor I've heard the
the famous 4th of July blitz of striped bass or bluefish
that happens on this weekend. To be truthful, I've never
seen what has been described to me. That is, seeing big
stripers crowed in on Billingsgate Shoals and go nuts. When
you can troll through this area and hook up on this big
majestic fish with ease, knowing you'll be landing a nice
big fish. As we looked forward to this last 4th week end we
all hoped this would really happens. Well, it didn't.
The bluefish have finally arrived up in the South Sunken
Meadow area. They are not there all the time, but it's worth
going up there and checking it out. When they are, it is
gang busters and these fish are not small. Right now red and
orange hootchies or most any swimming plug will work well.
With the swimming plug on mono troll it around 4 1/2 to 5
knots and with the hootchies just under 6 knots will be the
most productive. No one has looked up in the area around the
Path or the shallow water along the Welfleet/Truro line, but
these large bluefish may be there also.
Each year the stripers seem to pick a spot where you are
most likely to find them and a method that seems to work the
best. Right now there seems to be two spots like this. I'm
not talking about P-town. That area will always be a good
spot like the Bath House area, Race Point, and between Wood
End and Long Point are those areas. The two areas down
closer to Rock Harbor and Sesuit would be the West End of
Billingsgate Shoals and the deep water off the north edge.
This area in the deep water is called "The Square".
Jigging in the deep water can be a real hassle. You have to
use really long wire to jig in 50 feet of water. We put 450
feet of wire on with a good sized reel with plenty of
backing on a fairly stiff rod. The fish are usually spread
out and you have to be marking them on the bottom with a
good fish finder. Lately, we've found schools of bass out in
this deep water and they will not take umbrella rigs or any
other lure system other than the jig. Hopefully, this will
change. It takes a long time to reel in 450 feet of wire,
especially with a 35 inch striper on the other end.
I had Jen Franzen, who manages Cloud Nine Video Rentals in
the Orleans Market Place, out fishing with a friend of hers,
Nate. They both landed a number of striped bass with more
the six being legal sized to keep. They kept the four
largest and released the others. We started out on the west
end of Billingsgate Shoal taking one keeper size bass there.
Then we went out to the deep water off the shoals and landed
5 more good size bass. Than came back to the west end and
hooked up of more fish. We kept these two new anglers fairly
busy. The will sleep good when they back to their homes. It
may not have been a fourth of July blitz, but it was still
very good fishing.
If you want to get in on this good fishing call me at:
508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211. |
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Capt. Bruce Peters
Capeshores Charters |
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07/05/11 |
Exploding with Striped Bass !
Hi Folks,
Happy Fourth of July ! Fireworks were first used to
celebrate the Independence of our new country in 1777. It
seems this year the striped bass that we all love to fish
for have celebrated their arrival to the Monomoy area the
week of the July 4 holiday as well. Bearse's Shoals and the
rips there all have breaking bass and birds on them for the
last couple of days. Handkerchief Shoals too has good
numbers of bait, birds and bass. Stonehorse Shoal also will
have good action particularly on the incoming tide. The fish
range in sizes from 30 to 45 inches, and on our light 14
pound test spinning gear are lots of fun to catch. We had
our limit today in less than two hours and were throwing em
back. On other boats, you can catch em quicker using a heavy
rod and cranking them in over the top of the water while the
captain continues trolling, but i like a more delicate
approach to catching them. There are also some good bass
numbers off Chatham harbor and Nauset in the open waters if
you can find the bait and mark the fish on your fish finder.
The Bluefin tuna had shut off for a few days last week. Many
top fishers never caught a fish 3 or 4 days in a row. Today
there was again a decent bite in the morning, as long as you
were away from the bass and blues and kept your lines clean.
I expect decent tuna fishing from here on out, as there were
small slot fish mixed in with the larger fish, showing us
younger year classes. (a positive sign)
Give us a call for some great striped bass and bluefin tuna
fishing. There are still a few openings available for the
week of July 12 - 16.
Good Luck,
Capt. Bruce & "Marilyn S" |
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06/23/11 |
A bunch of tuna "slot" fish have moved in east of Chatham
mixed in with the 75 to 80 inch fish that were there last
week. This is good news for those who want to take a fish
home.
The striper fishing is picking up in the rips off Monomoy,
with the next couple of weeks looking to get even better.
Read on for more info...
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06/23/11 |
Fish Can’t Read...
By: Capt. Hap Farrell |
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Stunmai II
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Well, it is officially summer now. Schools are letting out,
the vacationers are starting to arrive and the fish are
waiting to be caught. So, those of you who are waiting to
catch them you are in luck. Seriously, the bluefish have
arrived in strength on the south shore of the Cape and are
working their way into the Bay. The lead schools have
already arrive and are settling in. The striped bass are a
little reluctant to make room for them but they realize they
will have to.
The bass are still in the New Ground area and during the
flood tide can be very active. Just look for working birds
and work into them slowly. One thing we, as charter
captains, see every season are the chargers. Those skiffs
that see working birds and go full bore to them and start
casting into them. What they don't realize in doing this
they put down more schools getting there and spook the
school they are trying to get to. Working up to them slowly
and into a position either up wind or up tide from them and
then drifting into them will give the angler much more time
with an active school. More often than not the school of
fish is only up for a short time anyway.
Some of the other active areas are the south edge of
Billingsgate Shoals, during the dropping tide, the deep
water on the east end of the shoals out to 50 feet, and in
by the #3 and #5 cans by Billingsgate Island itself.
Remember, you can only see the Island at low water. P-town
is very active, especially in by the Bath House on an
incoming tide.
A quick note. The Blessing of the Fleet at Rock Harbor last
Saturday went better than expected. There were a good number
of people in attendance and many boats in the fleet were
blessed. Next year should be even better.
There are more and more bluefish showing up mixed in with
the stripers. During the middle of last week the New Grounds
was quite active with a number of schools of bass working
the surface. There were a few bluefish mixed in. I ended up
landing at least two to three each day. I expect they will
show up in on Stony Bar any day now.
Things are going to start settling in in the next week and
all the regular areas will start to get active. Just a
little warmer and more sun and I think we will have a good
season. The deep water off billingsgate Shoals should be the
area to fish for next week. I think that whole area will
explode with both bass and bluefish. I had the Facinnelli
family out last Tuesday. They are from Tampa, Florida. Jim,
the father, is an avid fisherman and has his own boat down
there. Well, we showed how good the fishing is up here. His
whole family did well landing 8 nice stripers and one good
size bluefish. His son, Dominick, out did everyone by
landing more fish than all of them. Not bad for a nine year
young man.
If you want to get in on this good fishing call me at:
508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211.
Thanks Hap!
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06/23/11 |
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Capt. Bruce Peters
Capeshores Charters
Cape Cod Stripers & Tuna
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Hi Folks,
The Bluefin bite is on ! There are both small and large fish
mixed together in the area, making it perfect for folks that
want to take a fish home to eat. The keeper size is one
between 27" & 47 " and one fish between 47" and 59". Before
this week most all of the fish caught were over the 59" size
and were being released. But this last week a bunch of new
smaller fish showed up, which is a great sign of further
healthy year classes and makes for a happier charter when
sashimi is served at the end of the day !
Reports yesterday were of three and four fish landings on
many boats. The fish bit throughout the day, with several
landed in the middle of the day when the tide was still
running hard. A very good sign ! Most of the fish are
between the Crab Ledge and the BC buoy and are being taken
on splash bars in all colors. Im partial to black, but
rainbow, and pink w blue dots is working too. Last trip we
hooked up on the black splash bar and the brown and pink
bar, both on the short rigger.
I went striped bass fishing yesterday at Handkerchief Shoals
and had a limit of fish before the charter was halfway
through. Most all of these stripers were between 27 and 34
inches, and we did catch one bluefish. I fished bait on my
15 pound test spinning gear, drifting the baits naturally
through the rips to catch these fish. There were not many
gulls working the rip at all. I expect things to
dramatically improve over the next two weeks there.
Call for more info or to make a reservation. Thanks very
much,
Capt. Bruce & "Marilyn S" |
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06/23/11 |
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The Cape at Large... |
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The Canal fishing is slow...but if you do try go at night.
The most consistent action is coming after dark.
As you read in Haps report, it sounds like the Bay is the
place to be this weekend.
There is some action on the backside fishing sand eels on
the bottom.
Capt. Bruce told you about the hot bite east of
Chatham...That should only get better also.
The Vineyard is covered up in bluefish. There are some nice
bass being taken off the backside of the island. Middle
Ground in the sound is giving up fish to wire and jigs. Some
decent fish have been landed.
As I said, the Bay seems to be the place to go for the
weekend. Good Luck!
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06/16/11 |
Capt. Dan Rooks
Tuna Duck Sportfishing |
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This week off Hatteras... |
 The
fishing out of Hatteras is excellent right now, and only
looking to get better.
We had an awsome dolphin bite today with three gaffers going
about 100 lbs and probably 50 small ones. The dolphin
fishing has been good all week.
There were some blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish
caught by the fleet today. There is a big body of bill fish
moving up the beach as we speak. The fleet fishing the Big
Rock ahd a phenominal day on the billfish today. No blues
boated, but had 7 Blue Marlin, 34 white marlin and 3
sailfish releases. this body of fish is moving up the beach.
it should be even better fishing here in the days to come.
The one thing that is missing is a tuna bite. There have
been some blackfin around but no yellowfin. There has not
been a tuna landed at the Big Rock yet.
This should change in the days to come also. We have a
little weather supposed to move in tomorrow, but that might
be a good thing once it passes.
if you want to get into some of the best fishing the east
Coast has to offer, give me a call and head on down the
beach! If you have never fished out of hatteras, it is
something you relly need to do. Once you do...you will be
back! |
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Tuna
Duck Sportfishing
(252) 216-6160 |
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06/16/11 |
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Premier Blue Marlin Tournament fishing big! |
The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament started off with a bang,
and hasn't let up since. Monday saw two blue marlin brought
to the scales...The Double B weighed a 652.8 lb blue marlin
that he caught on the other side of the Gulf Stream...96
miles from the dock. I guess it paid off! Also on Monday
Blue Water weighed a 580.6 Blue marlin to take over second
place.
on Wednesday Sushi weighed in a respectable 467.4 lb fish.
Today was a great day to be bill fishing, with 7 Blue
Marlin, 34 white marlin and 3 sailfish releases being
reported.
The Release out of Hatteras released 5 white marlin today to
win the daily release prize. Pretty good days fishing!
It's not over yet, with two more days of fishing to go. It
should be a very exciting finish!
This year shows 135 boats fishing with a purse totaling over
$1.4 million dollars! Truly the super bowl of blue marlin
fishing!
follow the action at
thebigrock.com |
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06/09/11 |
Capt. Steve Coulter
Sea
Creature Sportfishing
252.995.4832
 The
fishing down here in Hatteras is really starting to heat up.
everything is showing up just at the right time...that is if
you are fishing the Big Rock Blue Marlin tournament starting
June 13th!
All the dolphin you want have appeared, with some really
nice gaffers being put in the box. many boats are reporting
45 fish trips.
Blue marlin are being seen and caught just about everyday
now. There have been some big fish see and lost in the last
week or so, so there should be some heavy fish hanging at he
scales this year.
The white marlin are making a real good showing, with a few
sailfish mixed in. All in all, the offshore fishing is
getting real good!
Hopefully next week at this time we will have a great story
about a big blue marlin we put on the scale at the Big Rock.
Capt. Steve Coulter |
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06/09/11 |
The Fish Spread Out...
By: Capt. Hap Farrell
Stunmai II
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In the spring, the start of the season, the striped bass
usually first show up in just a few places. As the water
warms up they start to move around. Some of these fish
continue on north in their migration paths. Some stay in the
Bay and more show up. Then the bluefish show up. Just a few
at first, then as the water warms even more, other schools
of fish work into the Bay. Finally, we find fish in most of
the traditional spots in the Bay like, Billingsgate Shoals,
the north edge and out in the deep water, off the Path, from
Race Point to Wood End around to Long Point, Days Cottages
and a number of other areas. There are fish in all these
spots now.
As you can probably tell, weather and water temperature play
a big factor on how well the season goes. The warmer the
weather the quicker the fish become active. With this surge
in warmer weather the bluefish should start showing up in
most places in the Bay and mixing in with the bass. I’m
hoping the hootchie will start working as our go-to lure.
The hootchie, a squid like lure, is one of the most commonly
used and best performing lure used in Cape Cod Bay other
than the jigged eel. It has caught more bass and especially
bluefish than most any other lure.
This last week we have found large schools of bass west of
the old Target Ship and on the south edge. Some fish on the
shoals and north edge. This coming week I hope that we will
find some bluefish moving into the Stony Bar area and off
the Eastham shore. Also, the shallow water off Great Island
and the Path may show some bluefish activity. The Square,
the deep water off Great Island and the Path, should hold
some good size schools of bass with some bluefish mixed in.
P-town should also be a place to go, anywhere from Race
Point all the way around and over to Days Cottages. We
should start having some excellent fishing in all the
traditional areas.
I was talking to a young girl a week or so ago. She mates on
her fathers boat and also has her charter license so she has
run the vessel also. At that point Marty Costa ran the
“Columbia” and this young girl did too. It was a pleasure to
fish with her. Now her father owns the “Liberty” out of Rock
Harbor and it seems Capt. Kirstyn Costa will be on the wheel
of the “Liberty” a lot this season. I’m sure she will
operate this vessel with the same professionalism she did
when she ran the Columbia.
This last Monday I had Pete and Ellen Berek from the western
part of the state out fishing. They were hoping to take a
fish home to share a dinner with friends. Things started
slow but it did pick up. By the end of the trip we were
throwing back 36 inch stripers. Ellen Berek, who caught the
most fish indicated they had heard the fishing was good but
this was ridiculous |
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If you’d like to get in on some of this early season fishing
give me a call either at home (508-255-6211) or on my cell
(508-240-8267). Don’t miss out on some good tasting striped
bass filets. |
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06/09/11 |
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Chatham Bluefin Tuna - for DAD ?
Hi Folks,
There are tuna in front of Chatham, about 6 miles NNE from
the cut. There is a good amount in the area, but due to the
large amount of bait in the area, they have been a bit
finicky. Team Hookup landed a nice 78" commercial fish
yesterday. Joe from Top Rod told me he jigged up a few small
mackerel yesterday morning at the C buoy just outside the
cut. If you could put a few of them in the livewell, it just
might be the ticket for a nice bluefin.
The bass are not in the Bearse's and the local Chatham rips
yet, but they did show up recently in the Bishop's & Clerk
area in the last day or two. Another week and we will be
catching them at the western edges of Handkerchief shoals.
There are fish consistently at the Nantucket rips though, if
you want to make the steam there.
With Fathers Day fast approaching, I am offering a 10%
discount to any son or daughter buying their Daddy a fishing
trip for Father's Day. This offer is only good on unbooked
fishing charters booked for this season for your father, and
the offers stands for 10 days or until Friday June 17, 2011
at midnight.
Also, T shirt awards will be going out in a short bit, as I
am WAY behind on mailing t-shirts to the 15th respondents to
the web contacts list. Stay tuned. You can always just buy a
Capeshores Charters hat or T shirt too, ($20)
Good Fishing !
Bruce & "Marilyn S"
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06/09/11 |
The Cape at Large...
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As reported earlier, the fishing is heating up on all
fronts.
Stripers and blues in the Bay, as well as off Point. The
back side beaches may produce, but that is hit or miss.
There are stripers off Chatham and in nantucket Sound.
Speaking of nantucket Sound, There are some huge bluefish
being taken here. If you are looking for a trophy bass, head
to the Elizabeths and fish live bait if you can, chunk bait
if you can't. There isn't much of anything more irresistable
to a big bass than eels at night! That would be my first
choice.
The Canal is quiet, but that can change at any time.
The back side of the Vineyard is proving fruitful for the
surf crowd. Stripers to 20 lbs. and some nice bluefish.
As good as the bass fishing is getting the bluefin bite is
geting better yet...There are large fish being taken off
Stellwagon, Jeffries, east of Chatham, and there are stick
boats cruising the Bay. There are a ton of smaller fish
around which is great to see. The bite is on and only going
to get better! it will be interesting to see when the
flotila heads to georges this year. I was told by a
commercial fisherman out of Chatham that they plan to hit it
in August this year.
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06/03/11 |
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The Fishing Report |
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The fishing is picking up coast wide. The billfish bite last
week was incredible off Hatteras. One boat I know of saw 10
blue marlin and landed 4, landed 4 sailfish and 2 white
marlin. He also lost a 700 lb'er at the boat yesterday. What
seems to absent are the meat fish. The dolphin fishing is
terrible as of yesterday. They are saying that the long
liners are now targeting the dolphin and are taking them in
big numbers. Hopefully that will change.
The Big Rock starts the 10th...that should be a good show...
I just got of the phone with a customer who told me that
they were covered up in yellowfin the other day. Nine rods
went off at once, with seven fish landed. He says they
ranged from 25 to 45 lbs. Not bad...
Further up the coast off the Cape is looking good. As you
read in Haps report, the
Bay is coming alive.
The tuna have showed up also. I was informed a few hours ago
that here was an 80" fish taken off Chatham, 4 fish caught
on Stellwagon, and one on Jeffry's.
If the late spring bite they had off Hatteras is any
indication of what this summer is going to be then Hang on!
From bass to bluefin, whatever you are targeting, good luck!
Dave
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06/02/11 |
The Bluefish are Back...
By: Capt. Hap Farrell
Stunmai II
In the past few days I heard a voice on the radio say, “I
just took a bluefish.” This is a good sign for our upcoming
season. The bluefish add a challenge to the fishing in Cape
Cod Bay. The bluefish is one of the harder fighting fish,
for its size, in our area. It is the mainstay for the
charter business in the Bay. These fish are found in both
shallow and deep water and will hit a number of different
lures. Also you can use different methods to catch them.
Casting surface plugs, fly fishing, trolling plugs on mono,
using umbrella rigs, jigging with wire, and vertical jigging
are some of the more popular methods. It is good to hear of
their arrival.
The striper fishing has been pretty good this last week. Not
many boats have been out but the ones who were found all the
fish they needed. It is not so easy that you just have to
put a lure in the water, troll for a bit and you will hook
up. You have to work for these fish. The south edge of
Billingsgate Shoals, near where the wreck buoy used to be,
and the New Grounds, west of the Target Ship buoy, have been
the most productive. This last Monday, John Shaklicks, on
the Luau, found both bass and bluefish in near Stony Bar
during the high water trip. This area, which is just north
of the #3 can is a well known area and usually produces
fish. However, lately this area has been kind of dead. Maybe
the fish are finally moving in this spot.
What will happen this weekend and next week? I love trying
to figure out what fish will do. It’s almost like being a
weatherman or a broken clock. You’re bound to be right once
in awhile. So, here goes. The water is warming up fast.
These bluefish that have been spotted in on Stony Bar will
become more active. They will spread from there out to the
shoals and then to the north edge. They should and I mean
should become really active in the shallow water along the
Eastham shore. Swimming plugs and the umbrella rig will work
best for now but hootchies will be the lure of choice.
The stripers should still stay active inside on the New
Grounds, the South Edge, in Barnstable Harbor, and in on
Stony Bar. The new areas to check out should be the top of
Billingsgate Shoals, the North Edge, and out in the deep
water off the edge up by the Square, which is 50 feet of
water off Griffin Island. Swimming plug, preferably the
white or black Bomber, the umbrella rig on 150 foot wire, or
even jigging should work well. All this is changing fast but
things will settle down in a few weeks.
If you’d like to get in on some of this early season fishing
give me a call either at home (508-255-6211) or on my cell
(508-240-8267). Don’t miss out on some good tasting striped
bass filets.
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06/02/11
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NMFS Adjusts General Category Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
Retention Limit |
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National Ocaanic and Atmoapheric Adminiatration NATIONAL
MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE ' Silver Spring, MO 20910
NMFS Adjusts General Category Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
Retention Limit for June-August 2011, Effective Friday, June
3, 2011
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) adjusts the
General category daily Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) retention
limit to three large medium or giant BFT per vessel per
day/trip effective June 3 through August 31, 2011. The
commercial General category fishery will reopen on June 1.
The default retention limit of.Q!!£ large mediiIm or giant
BFT per vessel per day/trip will apply June 1 and June 2.
NMFS takes this action after consideration ofthe regulatory
determination criteria at § 635.27(a)(8) regarding inseason
adjustments.
The General category daily retention limit applies to
vessels permitted in the commercial Atlantic tunas General
category and the Highly Migratory Species (HMS)
CharterlHeadboat category while fishing commercially. These
limits are effective for all areas except for the Gulf of
Mexico, which is designated as spawning grounds for BFT and
where NMFS does not allow targeted fishing. Regardless of
the duration of a fishing trip, the daily retention limit
applies upon landing. For example, whether a vessel fishing
under the General category limit takes a two-day trip or
makes two trips in one day, the daily limit of three fish
may not be exceeded upon landing.
NMFS regulations at 50 CFR 635.21(a)(1) require that all BFT
that are released be handled in a manner that will maximize
survivability, and without removing the fish from the water.
For additional information on safe handling, see the Careful
Catch and Release brochure available at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/.
.
This notice is a courtesy to BFT fishery permit holders to
help keep you informed about the fishery. For additional
information, call (888) 872-8862 or (978) 281-9260, or go to
. www.hmspermits.gov. OffiCial notice of Federal fishery
actions 'is made through filing such notice with the Office
of the federal Register. |
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05/26/11 |
Ballyhood Top Gun Lure Company for Sale
Darrell Primrose, owner of
Ballyhood Top Gun Lures is looking to retire after 20
years in business.
For those of you familiar with Ballyhood Lures are well
aware of the quality and following this company has. It can
be re-located to anywhere, and they will train the new
buyers in all aspects of the business.
For all the specifics, call Darrell at 714.545.0196.
In the next couple of weeks Iwill be adding the majority of
Ballyhood Lures to Offshore Pursuits Premium Tackle
Check back often to find some new and exciting lures. |
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05/26/11/11 |
Stripers Settle In...
Capt. Hap Farrell
Stunmai II
If you haven’t noticed we have not had much sun this month.
It is really affecting both the fish and the fishermen.
This cloudy and cool weather keeps the water from warming up
and therefore the striped bass from moving around much. This
doesn’t mean the fishing isn’t good, it just could be
better.
The main areas right now are in by some of the small
estuaries in Barnstable Harbor and just outside the mouth of
the harbor with the outgoing tide where there are some
schools of bigger fish. The Brewster Flats are active
especially where Paine’s Creek empties out along the edge.
On the flood tide the deep water west of the Target Ship
Buoy is active and during the the outgoing tide closer to
the Ship Buoy and north of it can also be productive. I have
not heard much about P-town but I imagine in by Long Point
and Woodend on the outgoing would be a place to look and
possibly in by Day’s Cottages could hold some fish.
As anyone who has fished Cape Cod Bay knows, things can
change quickly and this part of the early season is no
exception. Once we do get some sun, and we will, and the
water warms the large schools of stripers should move to the
North Edge of Billingsgate Shoals. You can find them out in
as much as 40 feet of water. These fish are usually of the
larger variety. This does not mean that the other areas like
west of the ship and the Brewster Flats will go dead. They
will still stay active, just not as many fish and more of
the undersize fish than keepers.
Other areas like the East Bar off Barnstable will liven up a
long with the deep water out by the Fingers. The Path and
the deep water off the Path will hold some fish. Plus, the
first bluefish should show themselves in by Stony Bar and
off the Eastham Shore. These bluefish could also show up in
the deep water off the shoals from 30 out to 50 feet. In
other words, the Bay will come alive. Next week will tell us
what is going to happen and how fast. Lots of sun and things
will move very fast so look to the deeper water. No sun,
stay in the shallow water until the water temperature comes
up some.
Last weekend I had Tim Jagemann and his crew out for a half
day trip. We did pretty good. Not as good as last season but
we had a spring then. We still landed a good number of
stripers and were able to keep six of them. More than enough
for dinner for a number of families.
If you’d like to get in on some of this early season fishing
give me a call either at home (508-255-6211) or on my cell
(508-240-8267). Don’t miss out on some good tasting striped
bass filets.
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05/26/11/11 |
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Capt. Bruce Peters
Capeshores Charters
Cape Cod Stripers & Tuna
Hi Folks,
There are large amounts stripers around now, schoolies are
everywhere and Cape Cod Bay has some bigger fish. The squid,
scup and butterfish have moved into Nantucket Sound but
hardly any mackerel have shown at all there. The trap
fishers in the Sound are having a hard time with seals
sitting at the mouth of the traps and preventing any fish
from entering. The seals are voracious, eating only the
bellies of the fish they prey on. Shareen Davis has an
aerial photo taken on her website (http://shareendavisphotography.com/index.cfm?page=2)
showing 3 or 4 seals feeding on a school of pogies. If you
don't think they can do the same to schools of striped bass
you are mistaken. Hardly any stripers come into Pleasant Bay
anymore due to the seals camped out at the mouth of the
entrances. Think of seals at the entrances this way: If you
walked home from work every day and found a couple grizzly
bears on each side of your driveway, would you walk up to
the house ? I wonder if the gamefish status proponents
consider seal predation in their estimates of declining
catches?
The macks seem to be in decent supply at the southern sides
of Cape Cod Bay and should be there for another week or so
according to my friend Steve Ellis. He said there were good
amounts of them yesterday north of Sesuit Harbor in Dennis.
All of the Cape's estuaries and embayments are warming
rapidly and teeming with life, bait and stripers. Most are
on the small side, but lots of action is to be had with
small lead head and grub baits. It might be a good idea to
not use treble hooks or even bend the barbs down, on the
singles, to not hurt the fish needlessly.
The tuna should be arriving in a week or two, last year a
74" bluefin was caught 3 miles off the beach at Chatham on
June 1st. Also reported that day there were sightings of a
decent show of topwater bluefin in Cape Cod Bay. This year
according to the NMFS, "Starting April 2, 2011, NMFS
adjustments the daily retention limit for private vessels to
one school or large school BFT (measuring 27 to less than 59
inches) per vessel per day/trip and for charter/headboat
vessels to one school BFT (measuring 27 to less than 47
inches) and one large school BFT (measuring 47 to less than
59 inches) per vessel per day/trip". The general category
boats are allowed two large medium or giants per day until
the quota is caught. There is still some uncertainty
regarding what the 2011 BFT quota will be. NMFS proposed a
controversial rule change of subtracting the estimated
discards of the pelagic longline fleet off the top of
combined total quota of all categories, in effect
drastically reducing the quotas we all fish under, and
allocating a huge amount of discard permanently to the
wasteful practices of the PLL fleet. We will see what
develops as NMFS heard from many unhappy tuna fishers on
that one !
Charter bookings are going quite strongly now that the sun
has started to show itself. Call or email to set aside a day
for your group. Some days and tides are better than others !
Don't wait till the good days are gone !
Hope to see you this year,
Capt. Bruce & "Marilyn S"
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04/22/11 |
I received this very important reminder yesterday from Chris
Weiner (CHOIR, ABTA) concerning the new proposed bluefin
tuna rules. Specifically on March 14th, NMFS published a
proposed rule outlining the Specifications for the 2011
Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery that will lead to its
lowest-ever quotas for all categories throughout the fleet
except the pelagic longline fleet (PLL).
Read the full proposal here
If at all possible, you really do need to attend one
of the meetings detailed by Chris below. |
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"Hey Dave, just a reminder that we have two important
meetings next week. First is on Monday in Portland, ME, at
6pm, at Holiday Inn by the Bay, second is on Tuesday at 6pm
at the Seaport Inn in Fairhaven. need these rooms packed!
Thanks
Chris"
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Below is a link to a page detailing information on the
proposed rule and the consequences. |
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ABTA Summary Of Rule (PDF) |
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04/15/11 |
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The bite is getting better off Hatteras. You wouldn't think
it could get much better than the great bluefin bite late
winter, but now add some yellowfin, blackfin, wahoo,
dolphin, mako and blue marlin to the mix and you have for
some great fishing opportunities. Get down there and shake
off those winter blues! |
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Fishing Around...
As I said in the beginning, the fishing off Hatteras is
really getting interesting. Blue marlin, still a bluefin or
two around, yellowfin, blackfin, dolphin and wahoo are all
being taken in decent numbers.
I will be there in three weeks to spend four of five days
offshore. I can't wait!
If you want to get in on some of the best offshore fishing
in the world you need to contact Capt. Dan Rooks (Tuna
Duck Sportfishing) or Capt Steve Coutier (Sea
Creature), both fishing out of Hatteras. You won't be
disappointed!
The bluefin are moving up the beach and the striper fishing
is heating up as far north as New Jersey. It won't be long
and the stripers will be off Cape Cod! |
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04/15/11 |
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The First Line Fishing Derby - May 29th thru June 11th
The First Line Fishing Derby is a week long event on Cape
Cod! Anglers compete for the largest striped bass or
bluefish in each category. Weigh in as many fish as you like
at our weigh stations and you may just be a winner. Prizes
are given in each category in the form of cash, being a
percentage of entry fees. Each night from May 29th thru June
4th we have a social function for anglers at one of our
local establishments. Each night has a different theme. It
is a goal for the derby to both promote local business as
well as sport fishing on Cape Cod. We hope this event is the
beginning of something special and urge all local fisherman
to join in and be a part of the derby, so good luck and
tight lines......
Derby prize money is based on total amount of entry fees in
percentages. 3 categories for 6 prizes ...
Prize 1- boat division/ largest bluefish 20% Prize 2- boat
division/ largest striped bass 20% Prize3-kayaking/largest
striped bass 10% Prize 4- surf casting/largest bluefish 10%
Prize 5-surf casting/largest striper 20% Prize 6- fly
fishing/largest striper 20%.
Good Luck!
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04/11/11 |
Cape Cod Fishing Report
By: Capt. Hap Farrell
04/14/11
The Sport of Fishing
The sport of fishing. It's not a game that you win, you
don't score points, and there are no playoff's. There are
tournaments that can be won and competitions between anglers
but when you go fishing on your own, no one is keeping
score, except yourself. You are there to enjoy the act of
fishing.
Years ago when you told people you went fishing as a kid
they would picture a kid and his dog walking down a dusty
road leading to an out of the way small pond. You'd have a
rod and reel in one hand and a can of worms in the other.
Later you would be walking back from that pond with your
pants legs rolled up, a string of fish, a smile on your
face, and a tired dog. These days things are different. The
rods and reels are metallic alloys and composite materials,
you have a number of different artificial lures, the dog has
to be on a leash, and you have to get written permission to
fish that pond.
I've been fishing the waters around Cape Cod since 1955. At
that time I fished in an area of Pleasant Bay on the Lower
Cape during parts of the summer. Flounder, scup, and an
occasional striped bass were what I mostly found. After some
time in the service I returned to Cape Cod and started
fishing the beaches and off shore of the Cape for cod fish.
Before that, I was that kid who was walked down that dusty
road. In 1980 I started a small charter service fishing out
of Rock Harbor in Orleans on the Lower Cape. There, I fished
the waters of Cape Cod Bay. My tackle was much like everyone
else's. A set of jigging wire rods with 300 feet of 60 lb.
test wire. A set of rods with 150 ft of 60 lb. test wire
rigged for umbrella rigs. The last set of 4 rods with 50 lb.
test mono for trolling surface plugs. During that first
season I took a good friend of mine, Jessie Kithcart, out
fishing on a play day. He brought some light tackle with him
to use for trolling. From that point on I was hooked on the
use of light gear both for plugging tackle, but and
trolling. Cape Cod Bay only has one major structure that
creates any kind of real rip. That's Billingsgate Shoals.
The shoals are six miles long from southwest to northeast
and at its widest is one and a half miles wide at the
northeast end. It comes to a point at the southwest end.
This is the only real area where most of the fish congregate
except along some areas near the shore. Most of the large
schools of fish move around quite a bit so, with few
exceptions, trolling works the best. That is why most of the
light tackle I carry is designed to troll.
Right now I carry over 34 different boat rods designed for
trolling. 3 fly rods and 6 rods for casting. The line test I
use is from my heavy mono, 30 lb. test gear for my standard
tackle down to 2 lb. test mono for the really light tackle
enthusiasts. My fly rods are set up with 16 lb. test tippets
and my casting gear ranges from 17 lb. test down to 4 lb.
test line. One rod has 20 lb. test brayed line on it. I do
have the heavier jigging wire set ups with 50 lb. test wire
and setups for the umbrella rigs for those who want that
gear, but I prefer the lighter tackle and promote it as much
as I can. The type of line that I have been using a lot
lately is lead core line. I have two rods each set up with
60 lb. test for use with the umbrella rig, and from 36 lb.
test down to 12 lb. test line used for trolling either the
tube and worm or other trolling lures. They are all set up
with matching rods for that test line. I find myself using
these setup more and more. The lead core line gets the lure
down further than mono but you can still use it in shallow
water. If you put a long leader on the line, 25 feet or so,
it works extremely well.
These lighter tackles really come in handy when the bigger
fish seem to have moved out of the areas we fish. Even a
just legal bass or a small 8 pound bluefish will give an
angler a good fight on 12 lb. test gear on a nice limber
rod. If you have to use wire to jig for them the lighter
wire on a light bait casting rod will please even the most
finicky fisherman. But what is the best is when you see the
face of parents who watch their young son or daughter land a
good size fish only slightly assisted by the mate and they
do it with ease. The tackle does not beat the young person
up at all. To watch an experienced angler standing next to
his son, both with nice fish on, both using 12 lb. test line
on matched rods is an outstanding sight from my point of
view and this is why I love to take people fishing.
If you'd like to see a video on this click on:
Youtube.com/watch?v=Jg8tG2fGJe8.
If you'd like to get in on some early season striper fishing
give me call at: 508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211.
Thanks Hap!
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04/01/11 |
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Re:
Very Important Bluefin Tuna
Information! |
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From Chris Weiner at CHOIR. |
FYI- Online petition to help people comment easily.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-wasteful-discarding-of-bluefin-tuna/ |
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03/27/11 |
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Very Important Bluefin Tuna
Information! |
Below is a letter written by Steven James in regards to
proposed quota regulations by the National Marine Fisheries
Service as well as an explanation of what is going on. The
time to act is now! For those of you who can't attend one of
the meetings, please follow the instructions below for
submitting your letter voicing opposition to the proposed
changes.
I sent my letter... Comment Tracking Number: 80c124f1. Did
you send yours?
Please read carefully and understand the impact this will
have if it passes as proposed. You can use, sign and submit
this letter as is, or change to suit your needs. There is
information at the bottom of the letter regarding
submission. The paragraph below also details the submission
options. Please forward this to your friends. Every little
bit helps!. Thanks. Dave
There are three ways to submit this letter. The first one is
probably going to be the easiest. 1. Submit electronic
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal (just copy and
paste this link if it doesnt set up automatically) http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=NOAA-NMFS-2011-0048-0001
2. Print the letter out and fax: 978-281-9340 Attn: Sarah
McLaughlin 3. Print the letter out and mail it to: Sarah
McLaughlin, HMS Management Division, NMFS, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930 March 27, 2011 Sarah McLaughlin
Highly Migratory Species Management Division NMFS 55 Great
Republic Drive Gloucester, MA 01930 Re: "0648-BA65"
Proposed Bluefin Tuna (BFT) Quota Allocation. |
I have drafted this note to explain and ask for your
assistance in resolving a very serious matter pertaining to
Bluefin Tuna (BFT) quota allocation. The matter will have
detrimental consequences for this year and future years if
we don't mobilize and make compelling argument to stop it.
In a simplified explanation of our BFT dilemma, the National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is proposing to allocate 160
metric tons of US BFT quota to cover the "dead discard" of
the Pelagic Long Line (PLL) fishery and then to further
allocate another 69.5 metric tons to them for BFT that they
can retain and sell. The NMFS intends to take the 160 metric
tons away the Angling, General and Harpoon Categories to
cover the indiscriminate and wasteful killing of this gear
type. This strategy punishes the highly selective and
discriminate gear types for the wastefulness of PLL
fishermen. It further rewards the PLL fishermen by giving
them 69.5 metric tons to profit from.
If you're wondering how much BFT 160 metric tons represents,
here is a perspective. The 2011 proposed quota for the
entire Angling Category from Florida to Maine is just 169.1
tons. So in essence, the PLL fishermen will kick over a dead
discarded BFT for every BFT landed by a Recreational
Fisherman!
This is nothing short of outrageous and you should be
appalled over the wastefulness and senseless killing of this
gear type. Further, you should be infuriated that the NMFS
intends to punish the other BFT Category Fishermen by taking
their quota to cover for the PLL fishermen's wastefulness.
And as a finale insult to the injury, the NMFS proposes to
allocate 69.5 metric tons of BFT to this wasteful gear type
so they can further exploit the resource for profit.
We need to organize and put a stop to this and the only way
we're going to make the impact that's necessary is by
attending the Gloucester Meeting on April 1st. And yes, I
wish this were an April fool's joke but instead it is the
sad state of affair that our BFT fishery faces.
We need as many feet on the ground as we can get for the
Gloucester Meeting and I ask that you please join me in
trying to put an end to this non-sense. The meeting will be
held on:
April 1, 2011, 1 to 3 p.m. at NMFS, 55 Great Republic Drive,
Gloucester, MA.
Please pass this email along to your fishing buddies and ask
that they attend the Gloucester meeting to voice their
opposition to the NMFS quota proposal.
Feel free to contact me if you have questions.
Best Regards,
Steven James
781-834-2899
President, Boston Big Game Fishing Club
President, Stellwagen Bank Charter Boat Association
Board of Directors, American Bluefin Tuna Association
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On March 14th, NMFS published a proposed rule outlining the
Specifications for the 2011 Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery
that will lead to its lowest-ever quotas for all categories
throughout the fleet except the pelagic longline fleet (PLL).
For a few years now the PLL fleet has been responsible for
large levels of dead discards of bluefin tuna. Due to the
fact that extra, unused quota was available to cover this
overage in prior years, NMFS has been able to avoid dealing
with the issue. But with cuts taken in the fishery (due to
NOAA efforts) at the 2010 ICCAT meeting this past November,
and the reduction of allowable underage rollover as a result
of a 2009 ICCAT decision now going into effect, the agency
could no longer sweep this problem under the rug.
While one would naturally have expected the agency to have
instituted solutions to a problem that they have known about
for many years, NMFS has instead decided to sacrifice the
traditional directed bluefin fleet. In a move that has
infuriated the bluefin industry, NMFS has proposed to use
the number of 160 tons as a proxy for the PLL dead discards
and deduct it off the top of the overall US allocation. By
acknowledging the PLL discards and by taking them off the
top of the total US quota, they are in actuality permanently
allocating this tonnage to the PLL and taking it from all
the other historical users.
This proposed reduction represents a massive shift in the
traditional allocations amongst the varied bluefin user
groups. The 160 mt of discards, combined with the 69 mt the
PLL fleet is allowed to land, would balloon the PLL
percentage of bluefin quota from 8.1% to roughly 28%! To put
this into perspective, the changes would reduce the
allocation of the general category- by far the largest
traditional category- to only 39% from the 47% required by
law flowing from the 1999 Atlantic Tunas FMP. This shift in
allocation will result in reduced bag limits, shorter
regional fishing seasons, early closures, and tremendous
financial losses for the recreational and commercial hand
gear fisheries.
This reduction in quota for the directed fleet will lead to
serious economic harm to the thousands of commercial and
recreational fishermen from Maine to Florida that make-up
the traditional bluefin fleet. Moreover, since the agency
has proposed no new rules to reduce bycatch in the PLL
fleet, even higher overages could occur in 2011 and beyond,
with the agency continuing to simply deduct the number off
the overall quota. There is no cap on the potential level of
PLL discards. The directed fishery is actually threatened by
the discards from incidental fisheries.
The agency has known of the high levels of discards in the
PLL fleet for multiple years and has chosen to ignore the
problem. Absolutely nothing has been done to reduce discards
in the majority of areas that the fleet interacts with
bluefin. Instead of taking steps to address the problem they
have simply decided to take steps to drastically impact the
rest of the fishery.
Adding insult to injury, initially the agency was going to
hold only one public hearing in all of New England, an area
that makes up a large part of the overall fishery. Moreover,
this one meeting was going to be held on short notice- only
one week after the Federal Register notice. Why so fast?
Most fishermen don't even know the proposed rule is out!
This proposed rule represents a dramatic shift in
allocations and the public deserves the proper opportunity
to speak up and tell the agency how they feel.
Luckily, ABTA was able to work with the states and Congress
to ensure that fishermen would have a real opportunity to be
heard. This led to a 15-day extension of the comment period,
the movement of the Gloucester hearing until April 1st, and
the addition of two more meetings- one in Fairhaven, MA, and
one in Portland, ME. (The dates for the these two additional
meetings have not been chosen yet.)
ABTA urges all bluefin fishermen to either attend a public
hearing or comment on the rule (or both) to show their
displeasure with the path the agency is taking. This will be
your only chance to help ensure that this unfair change of
course is not allowed to occur for this coming fishing
season starting June 1. The first meeting in New England
will be at the NMFS building in Gloucester, MA (55 Great
Republic Drive) on April 1st from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.
Go to the ABTA web site for news and updates on potential
additional meetings. ABTA web site: www.theabta.com
To read the proposed rule, you can also go to the link
below. The information on the currently scheduled meetings
and options on how to make comments can be found on the
first page of the document.
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/newslist/2011/03-11-11_BFT_Proposed_Specs_Listserve.pdf |
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Dear Sarah McLaughlin:
I am writing to you and the National Marine Fisheries
Service to express my strong objection to the "NMFS Proposed
2011 Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (BFT) Quotas and Atlantic Tuna
Fisheries Management Measures dated March 11, 2011.
Specifically, the National Marine Fisheries Service's
proposal to allocate 160 metric tons of US BFT quota to
cover the "dead discard" of the Pelagic Long Line (PLL)
fishery and then to further allocate another 69.5 metric
tons for them to retain and sell, is entirely unacceptable.
The effect of this proposal is to punish the Angling,
General and Harpoon Category BFT Fishermen for the wasteful
practices and indiscriminate killing of Pelagic Long Line
Fishermen. The magnitude of the PLL dead discard problem can
only be truly appreciated when you consider that the entire
proposed Angling Category BFT quota is 169.1 metric tons.
This means that PLL Fishermen will kick overboard one dead
discarded BFT for every BFT landed by a Recreational
Fisherman! I feel this practice is outrageous and I believe
the NMFS needs to put an abrupt end to the Pelagic Long
Liner's wastefulness.
How inappropriate that a resource that is as highly coveted
and regulated as Bluefin tuna should be killed and tossed
overboard by Pelagic Long Line Fishermen while the other
category Fishermen are made to obey strict seasonal quotas
and effort controls. Further, this misdirected strategy of
punishing the highly selective and discriminate gear types
to the benefit of PLL Fishermen is unjust and unwarranted.
PLL gear and Bluefin tuna are an incompatible mix. I ask
that the NMFS take immediate measures to stop Pelagic Long
Line Fishermen from interacting with, killing and then
wasting our precious Bluefin tuna stocks. Thank you for your
consideration. Sincerely, |
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03/19/11 |
Spring is arriving and with it a multitude of fishing
opportunities.
The bluefin bite off Hatteras is still strong. They have had
a great year catching bluefin of multiple classes in good
numbers. There appears to be good schools residing in
different areas. The bite off Hatteras has appeared to move
up the the beach some, with a lot of the boat electing to
head south, with great success. Yellowfin tuna, wahoo,
gaffer dolphin and blue marlin have all been landed. There
was a blue marlin landed both Friday and Saturday out of
Hatteras, with others seen.
While on the subject of bluefin, a week ago Saturday a boat
out of Oregon Inlet landed what is potentially a new N.C.
state record. The fish weighed @ 804 lbs. (I may be off by a
few, but it was right there between 804 and 807). That is a
nice fish wherever you are! Congratulations to the angler
and crew! I did not put this up last week because I was
waiting to see if it was going to be the new record.
Remember, if you want to fish out out of Hatteras, contact
Capt. Dan Rooks on the
Tuna Duck or Capt. Steve Coulter on the
Sea Creature.
For the Cape and surrounding areas, there are cod being
taken in good numbers off the south side of Block Island,
R.I. Not much for size, but good numbers. The herring runs
are all full with good amounts of big herring. Some people
say this is early, others say it is right on time. Big
stripers can't be but a couple of weeks away.
Below is report submitted by Capt. Zsak out of Fort
Lauderdale, FL. This should get your blood warmed up!
 March
is turning out to be a productive month with a variety of
species that we are catching on our charter boat and the
rest of the charter fleet. The best bites have been
Sailfish, Mahi-Mahi, Swordfish and King Mackerel.
The Sailfish bite has been and continues to be good with
each cold front, the Sailfish push down the South East
Coastline up from Ft. Pierce down to the Keys. We have been
catching Sailfish by a couple of the well know and best
methods. If the wind is blowing 10 to 15 mph, we are flying
kites with four live baits, two rigger baits, and on the
bottom we like to fish a Mutton Snapper bait. Our second
method of targeting Sailfish if by slow trolling Ballyhoo
out of the riggers, on calm days with no wind, we slow troll
6 live Ballyhoo and one deep bait. Typically the deep bait
can produce a smoker King, Wahoo, Barracuda, Grouper or
Shark.
The Mahi- Mahi bite offshore is trolling in the depths of
500' to 700' of water. Looking for any floating debris,
weedlines, birds, pallets or clumps of weed. The Mahi and
Wahoo feed on the bait fish that school under the protection
of the floating debris. When heading offshore, we are
trolling naked ballyhoo and skirted ballyhoo on the surface
and run two deep lines for Wahoo. The deep lines are either
Sea Witch with a Mylar plug in front, with a double hooked
ballyhoo. Also we do fish a 3 ½ in Done spoon which has
proven to be very successful out of Ft. Lauderdale. When we
are running offshore the goal is to find the floating
debris. Once we find a "fishy" area, then we start trolling
around the area first for a good 4 to 5 turns in the area.
Then depending on the bite, we switch to chumming and we use
live Pilchards to raise the fish that are hanging below the
floating debris. Our average catch of Mahi are anywhere from
8 lbs to 12 lbs. Sometimes we are catching the 20+ pounders.
The Mahi grow fast and unfortunately the average size fish
has been the 7 or 8 pounder. A couple years ago, the average
fish was closer to 10 or 12 pounds.
This month for Sword fishing, we have had three charters.
Once of which caught a nice 145 pound Sword, the second trip
we had one on and pulled the hook. No other bites the rest
of the night and the last Swordfish trip we never even had a
slashed bait. This is not normal for our February Sword
bite. Going over the logs from the last couple years, we
were averaging one fish every two trip. Now it seems to drop
down to one fish ever three trips. Using the same and
different techniques, for example the classic night time
swordfishing trip we like most fishermen are fishing 4 to 5
lines depending on the drift and wind. Staggered baits from
100' down to 400' of water using Squid and live bait.
Also we are trolling for Swordfish which has shown to be
effective, using lures and rigged squid. We troll into the
current then will head offshore to get in deeper water, and
back inshore to cover some of the underwater mountains or
plateaus. The trolling is fun and another approach to the
traditional drifting for Swordfish.
If interested in booking a fishing charter aboard the
charter boat "Happy Day Today", please contact us at (954)
439-8106 to further discuss the charter, what's biting and
when would be the best time for your charter.
Thanks,
Captain Tommy Zsak
46' Hatteras "Happy Day Today"
(954) 439-8106 mobile
www.topshotfishing.com
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02/13/11 |
There is a nice bluefin bite going on off Hatteras right
now. Multiple classes of fish from small to large medium.
They have been successful at chunking the fish to the boat,
just like the old days.
Chunking and cut bait, trolling and drifting while jigging
and throwing large top water poppers are all producing fish.
There have been good numbers of fish caught per trip and it
looks like the fish are going to hang around awhile.
If you want to get in on some of this great bluefin fishing,
contact Capt. Dan Rooks on the
Tuna Duck or Capt. Steve Coulter on the
Sea Creature. I have fished with both for many years and
highly recommend them to anyone looking for the best.
Team Offshore Pursuits will be fishing the Hatteras Village
Offshore Open this year on board the
Tuna Duck. This is the third year I have fished that
tournament with Capt. Dan and Mike on the Tuna Duck. I will
keep you posted. |
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01/02/11 |
To all of you who fish for bluefin
tuna either commercially or recreationally, know somebody
who does, or who makes their living supplying those that do
fish for bluefin tuna, it is of utmost importance that you
read and respond to the information stated below.
It is apparent that the policies put forth and proposed are
far more political than factual based on the science and
knowledge gathered by those who deal with bluefin tuna and
the fishing of bluefin tuna on a regular basis. I
won't go into what we as fisherman already know. But, we ALL
need to make our valuable knowledge known to the policy
makers who's agenda is based on more self serving interests
than the health of the bluefin tuna and the sustainability
of the bluefin tuna fishery.
Don't let our lives and livelihood's be changed and dictated
by those who don't know, or choose to ignore the scientific
facts surrounding the bluefin tuna! |
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American Bluefin Tuna Association Urges Fishermen to
Attend NOAA/NMFS “Listening Sessions” on Endangered Species
Listing |
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Tuna Fishermen have one last opportunity to make their case
before the Status Review Team (SRT), comprised solely of
NOAA and NMFS employees, makes a determination on listing
bluefin tuna under the Endangered Species Act. The initial
petition was submitted by the Arizona-based Center for
Biological Diversity, a group known for using the Endangered
Species Act to achieve their goals.
.
NOAA determined in September that listing bluefin tuna under
the Endangered Species Act (ESA) might be warranted. As a
result Atlantic bluefin tuna are now considered a candidate
species and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
must make a final determination by May 2011 as to whether a
listing is warranted. If bluefin tuna were to be listed as
“endangered”, all commercial and recreational fishing for
bluefin would be prohibited. This prohibition would only
affect US fishermen and would have no impact on other
countries fishing for bluefin. Even scientists are amazed
with the biological futility of an action designed to only
affect US fishermen given the low mortality they cause on
the species (US fishermen caught less than 5% of the bluefin
in the Atlantic in 2009)
The petition was originally submitted by the Arizona-based
Center for Biological Diversity, a group known for using ESA
to achieve their goals. NOAA had the opportunity to dismiss
this frivolous attack on US bluefin fishermen but, as is
consistent with their recent policy decisions in other
areas, they chose to support the petition. The positive
finding by NOAA is without merit and NOAA should have
dismissed the petition. This is another stunning example of
NOAA’s intent to destroy the US bluefin industry and to
damage the domestic market for bluefin. A listing under ESA
only hurts US fishermen whose quota share would be
distributed to other countries along with the US jobs that
go with it.
Currently the formal review process is underway. The Status
Review Team (SRT), comprised solely of NOAA and NMFS
employees, is tasked with compiling all available
information on bluefin and conducting a threats
assessment/extinction risk analysis. Their report will be
handed over to NMFS for the final determination. Despite the
overwhelming data to the contrary, there is great concern
that Dr Lubchenco will once again try to forward her
“preservation” agenda to destroy this fishery.
Fishermen have one last opportunity to have input in this
process before the SRT makes its report to NMFS. The
American Bluefin Tuna Association (ABTA) insisted that
fishermen be allowed the opportunity to be heard and NMFS
agreed. There are 5 “Listening Sessions” scheduled in
January 2011 that will allow fishermen to educate the SRT as
to their observations of the fish and their habits, as well
as give their opinions of why the current available science
may be flawed and insufficient.
It is important that fishermen attend at least one of the 5
listening sessions. It is critical that NMFS hears your
comments and insights. The existing science is very weak and
a thorough compilation of fishermen’s observations should be
influential. ESA is the knock-out punch. Take it seriously
and come speak your mind. Let Dr Lubchenco know your
feelings about the health of your fishery.
If you plan to attend any of the meetings please contact Kim
Damon-Randall at
kimberly.damon-randall@noaa.gov. This e-mail address is
being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled
to view it or call her at 978-282-8485 in advance. It is
necessary to RSVP due to security and space concerns.
Please visit the “Current Actions” section of the ABTA web
site at
http://www.theabta.com/CurrentActions.html to see
“Listening Discussion Topics” and some other documents which
will help fishermen understand the ESA process.
The meeting schedule is as follows: (each meeting begins at
10am):
Jan 5 - NMFS Lab in Sandy Hook, NJ
Jan 6 - Mariner's House in Boston, MA
Jan 7 - Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland, ME
Jan 10- NMFS Lab in Pascagoula, MS
Jan 11- NMFS Lab in Beaufort, NC
NMFS has also arranged to have a Web Ex for each session. If
you are interested in participating via Web Ex, please
contact Kim with the date of the session you are interested
in, and she will provide the Web Ex information. Finally,
NMFS has reserved an operator assisted conference line for
those wishing to call in. The number is 888-455-1634, and
the operator will ask for a verbal pass code which is "bluefin
tuna." The operator will ask for your name and affiliation
and will help to facilitate those on the call to ensure that
anyone wishing to ask a question or provide information has
the opportunity to do so.
Also written comments can be sent to Kim via email (or
regular mail at NMFS, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester,
MA 01930) no later than close of business on January 18th.
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12/19/10 |
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Keb Hutchings shows off a nice largemouth bass in the photo
on the left. He caught this in a pond in Harwich this past
summer. On the right, Keb is looking for something a bit
bigger in the surf off North Beach in Chatham. Next summer
it will be bluefin east of Chatham! Nice going Keb! |
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12/12/10 |
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Bluefin Bite off Hatteras |
 Capt.
Dan Rooks of the
Tuna Duck with a 217 lb. (dressed) bluefin caught off
Hatteras yesterday. Also a nice catch of blackfin! There
have bee @ 17 fish landed in the last two days with the size
ranging from 200 - 220 lbs. There are a lot of fish being
marked, but the weather is in play now. Hopefully the bite
continues. |
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12/07/10 |
Preliminary Commercial BFT Landing Tallies
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As of December 7, 2010, fishing year landings of Commercial
Atlantic bluefin tuna are as follows: The Coastwide General
Category has landed 512.9 mt out of 538.9 mt to date.
Harpoon category (CLOSED): 18.4 mt out of 44.6 mt to date.
Longline North: 40.5 mt out of 55.0 mt to date. Longline
South: 41.5 mt out of 45.0 mt to date. Trap category: 0.0 mt
out of 1.1 mt to date. Purse Seine category: 0.0 mt out of
212.8 mt to date. |
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10/25/10 |
Marc Montocchio Video...Cool!
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A friend of mine, Marc Montocchio is an accomplished
photographer, having his images featured in national
Geographic, Marlin Magazine, and many, many more. Currently
his works are on display at the IGFA Museum and Hall of Fame
in Florida.
For a great video with a surprising twist at the end,
click here.
To learn more about Marc and his awesome images, check out
his
website here. |
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10/25/10 |
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Bluefin Tuna Report |
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 The
picture at left is of Capt. Steve Riley with a 719 lb. giant
taken off Georges late last week. They boated one other and
broke a third off. Nice going Steve!
Well, as I mentioned in the opening the weather is the "X"
factor in the tuna game right now. With it blowing for five
days or so then laying down for a day or two the window
isn't there for a trip to Georges. The fish are still there,
but the word I am getting is that there are waves of fishing
passing through on their way down from Canada. There are
mixed classes of fish being taken...both size wise and
quality wise. There are fish being taken that are getting
from $5.00 a lb. to $15.00 a lb...and from shorts to 900 lb.
fish.
The fishing seems to have settled into a pattern out there.
For the most part it is a two day event to catch three fish.
The guys that I have talked to get a fish in the morning,
another late afternoon or early evening, and another the
next morning. Pretty predictable...but a long ways off!
There are schools of big slammer blues on George's, and the
"dogfish" of Georges appears to be big cod. Guys are getting
pretty frustrated when they put a nice mackerel stickbait
down and have it swallowed by a codfish.
There were giants being taken around the "BB" buoy up until
the gale last week. As of yesterday they haven't showed back
up yet. Everyone is expecting the fish to move in like they
did last year. Lets hope so.
There were also giants being taken on the SW corner of
Stellwagon last week. That bite seems to have disappeared
with the action now off Race point. The tuna are following
the whiting boats as are the fishermen. There have been some
nice fish caught...
If you can make it offshore, good luck! Dave
As a side note, there are still bass off Chatham, and there
is a real good bite happening off Block Island. |
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09/23/10 |
As you read in Hap's report, the bass fishing is getting
more hit or miss by the day. The bluefish bite is strong
just about everywhere.
There are a few bass to be had in the rips off Chatham yet,
but even that is getting to be tough at times. No lack of
bluefish though.
The school tuna bite is very spotty. There are fish around
for sure but getting a consistent bite is proving to be
impossible. The giants are way off yet, with the old timers
figuring they will move in on the moon tide. Those making
the 130 mile one way trip are finding limits of big fish
though.
I will hopefully be east of Chatham next week looking for
the twin of the fish I caught last year. 900 lbs. will work
:)
The canal is loaded with bluefish. There are supposedly some
decent stripers on the east end waiting to make there run.
It could be any day...
There won't be a whole lot of sun this next week but the
forecast shows little wind and allot of rain. Perfect
fishing weather!
Head out this weekend and look for some bass, bluefish,
schoolies or giants. The best fishing is starting but the
worst weather goes hand in hand with it.
Good luck in whatever you do. Dave |
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09/23/10 |
September Fishing in Cape Cod Bay
By: Capt. Hap Farrell
The Stunmai II
The economy is having an affect on the amount of fishing
that’s occurring in the Bay by the charter fleet and the
fleet of private boats we see out with quite often. There
just aren’t many boats out so it is hard to keep track of
where the best fishing is and what is working the best. This
last Tuesday I watched one charter boat go out and two
private boats head out of the harbor. They all headed to
Billingsgate Shoals, finding a lot of bluefish and a few
stripers which mostly were under the legal size.
So far, most of the schools of large stripers have been off
the West Bar of Barnstable Harbor and up by P-town between
Wood End and Race Point. Mainly in by the Bath House and,
during the flood tide, the Trench and Hatches Harbor.
Jigging is the best method, however the umbrella rig will
work but you may get a lot of smaller bass using it before
you get a keeper.
The blue fishing has actually improved greatly. A good
amount of big bluefish have moved back to the Stoney Bar
area and along the Eastham shore. Single hootchies will work
very well in this area, plus swimming plugs. There did not
seem to be a big enough concentration for those who might
want to cast for them though. The other area that is holding
a lot of bluefish is Billingsgate Shoals.
One area that I did hear about that is somewhat new is the
Brewster Flats. It seems a guide and his client found about
two acres of both bass and bluefish working bait just west
of Point of Rocks Landing in around two to three feet of
water at high tide. This feeding frenzy lasted more than a
hour. This means that there are most likely more fish on the
flats. This may be a good area to look over when the tide is
up.
Next week is going to be my last report for the season. So,
from what I see the three main areas to look at for stripers
are the West Bar off Barnstable, Billingsgate Shoals, and up
by P-town. The Brewster Flats could produce some fish too.
The bluefish should stay in by the Eastham shore for a while
and up on the shoals also. The deep water off the shoals is
traditionally where these fish go in the fall so look there
too.
If you’d like to get in this late season great fishing give
me a call at:508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211. |
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09/12/10 |
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Rumors Confirmed... |
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There are big fish (800-1000 lbs.) being taken 130
miles east of Chatham, out with the scallopers. The bigger
boats are going and staying until they get their three. 8
fish brought into Chatham today alone. |
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The majority of the fleet is waiting for the fish to move
in...experts have told me after the next full moon. We will
see! Good luck! Dave |
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08/26/10 |
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Unfortunately, whether it be my report or someone else's,
the story is going to be the same. The storm this past week
pretty well messed things up. I guess tomorrow the hunt
begins again to find where the fish are at. Read farther
down and I can report where the fish aren't, with a few tips
of where they are. Good luck this weekend. Dave |
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08/26/10 |
By: Capt. Hap Farrell
The Stunmai II |
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August Fishing...
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August has always been a good month for fishing the waters
of Cape Cod Bay. The bluefish have been active and bass have
started moving up on Billingsgate Shoals and become active
also. So far this is what is happening this season. This
last week we had a few days off due to some inclement
weather, a pesky noreaster. I expect this will continue
through September. In Fact I think the bass fishing will
greatly improve as the water cools a bit.
Lately the blue fishing has greatly improve. At first the
only really active area was from the area called the “Ugly
House” which is a mile or so south of the Path. Also, by the
way, the newly constructed house that is there now is a nice
looking house so we are calling this area the “Not so ugly
house”. Anyway, this active area has expanded both north and
south from this area. Also, the bluefish have moved into the
north edge of Billingsgate Shoals right on the edge. They
have taken up residence off the Eastham shore. This area is
not always active but is improving each week so it is a good
place to check out. Basically, the bluefish action has come
alive in the Bay...
The striped bass, what most every fisherman who comes to
Cape Cod wants to catch, is what our fleet out of Rock
Harbor spends much of its time looking for. Cape Cod Bay has
traditionally been a haven for these fish and fishermen who
fish for it. This season has given us, as charter captains,
a reliable source for these fish. Billingsgate Shoals and up
by P-town has produced some very good fishing for the
striped bass. We have not found the really large bass for
the most part but a good amount of what we call dinner fish.
From 28 inches up to 34 inches with the occasional fish in
the 40 to 47 inch range. This good fishing should continue
through the rest of this season and should actually get
better. Also, from what I can find out from the long range
weather forecast we will be dealing with warm and sunny
weather.
This will be the last weekend I will donate the $20 of food
to the Lower Cape Outreach Council in the name of an angler
I’ve had on my boat. This weeks angler is a young boy from
Vermont, actually he is Korean. His name is Jacob MinHo
Hoskins. He is the adopted son of Dan Hoskins. They were out
with me last year and Jason landed a number of big bluefish.
This season he wanted a striped bass. Well, he got his wish
times two. I wonder what he’ll want to catch next season. I
hope it’s not too big, Jason is only nine.
If you’d like to get in this late season great fishing give
me a call at:508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211. |
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08/26/10 |
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Fishing the South Side with the Maverick |
Capt. Jack Riley
Maverick Charters |
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Well, the commercial bass season is over now, with the quota
met. Now the boats can run out to where the comm fleet was
and fight the dogfish and bluefish to get at the bass on the
bottom!
Our bass fishing has been quite good these past few weeks.
With the exception of the storm that moved through. Now I
suppose everything is shuffled around. I will know in a day
or two.
My mate went out to the tuna grounds today and out of
approximately 30 boats there was one bite. The tuna bite,
what there is of it, has been South Crab ledge and SW of the
BC buoy. There are also fish mixed in with the whales 7
miles off the new Chatham Inlet. The fact that the fish are
there doesn't mean they are biting anything. It has been a
tough bite lately. Hopefully the storm stirred things up.
I know of many boats that put on many miles fishing the
Canyons last weekend. As great as the weather was the
fishing was not very good. I heard of catches of small
yellowfin and a few swords after dark. In all, for all the
boats out there, the fishing was poor.
With the weather over and things looking to improve, the
fishing should get better from here on out. Good luck! Jack
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08/26/10 |
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Elsewhere.... |
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Well, as I said in the opening, all the reports are going to
read the same. It is time to regroup and find where the fish
are. It sounds like Cape Cod Bay has settled into a post
storm pattern of sorts, but everywhere else is up for grabs.
<br><br>
The tuna bite on Stellwagon is about the same as off
Chatham. There are fish around but not snapping at the
baits. This will all change. I can't wait for the bigger
fish to move in from offshore!
<br><br>
I won't spend a lot of time repeating what has already been
said. Go out and find the fish so we can have a real report
next week! Thanks. Dave
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08/19/10 |
By: Capt. Hap Farrell
The Stunmai II
Summer Season nears an End...
The end of August is near. Then, shortly after that Labor
Day. This usually indicates the end of the summer season
here on the Cape. However, It is not the end of the fishing
season. Just the opposite. It can also mean the beginning of
the some of the best fishing of the season. Typically, the
bass will congregate on Billingsgate Shoals and up around
P-town to feed before moving south for the winter. This is
when the really big bluefish show up and are very
aggressive. Really good fishing. I don’t see why this season
will be any different.
I’ve been getting a number of calls about the bluefish up
along the Eastham shore and in the Sunken Meadow area. For
most of this season there have been very few bluefish in
this area which is unusual. I have no idea why, other than
there has been an unusual amount of mung in this area. A
week ago or so a large amount of big bluefish moved into
this area and we had some really good fishing there for a
few days. Then, when the water cooled down some the big
bluefish left. What was left behind were a few small
bluefish up near the #10 can at the entrance to Welfleet
Harbor and also down northeast of the old Target Ship right
at the edge of the flats. They did come back for a day or
two and then were hard to find. I think that is the way it
will be for awhile.
The bass have been a little elusive here for the past few
days. They have been up around P-town but they have been hot
and cold down this way. At times we will do well on the
north edge of Billingsgate Shoals jigging from northeast to
southwest or back the other way. As the tide goes out they
may move to the south edge or just plain disappear out into
the deep water. At any rate, they have us a little confused.
We used to go in behind the sea clammers but there are so
many dog fish, small harmless sharks, you can’t get to any
bass that might be there. Well, as the chinese philosopher
said, ”and this too will change”.
I had a nice gentleman on the boat this week named George
Douglas from Leominster, Ma. He was along with some friends
who took him fishing for his birthday. George is dealing
with alzheimers but still loves to fish. He was shown how to
jig and it was not long before he hooked up and landed a
striper. It was just undersize and had to go back but he was
still proud of his catch. So, I’m donating the $20 of food
in his name to the Lower Cape Outreach Council pantry.
If you’d like to try some of this good late season fishing
give me a call at: 508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211. |
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The Hatteras
Creature
has taken
flight.! The
response to this
bait has been
unbelievable. Two
dozen Hatteras
Creatures being
fished in the
Canyons this weekend
as well as east of
Chatham! This is 19"
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08/12/10 |
|
The Cape at Large... |
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|
Once again it is the Bay that is the big producer. Lots of
bass and bluefish with some really big fish mixed in. Hap's
report pretty well spells it out.
There are giants being caught on Stellwagon and beyond.
Reports of some big fish coming off the SE corner are
persistent. Rumors of an 800 lb fish being taken in the past
couple of days are plentiful. There were some fish caught
off Jeffries earlier in the week that pushed the 80" mark.
The story goes that plastic took the fish.
I know a couple hiliners headed to the Bank and beyond
looking for giants this weekend. Live bait under a kite will
be their bait of choice. I will keep you informed as to what
transpires. This same bunch was supposed to fish the
Cuttyhunk Offshore Tournament this weekend but that was
canceled due to weather. I believe the Falmouth Grand Prix
is still on.
All I am hearing east of Chatham is frustration. There are
fish around but they are not active. It appears that the big
fish are way offshore. maybe it will be like last year and
they will come in en mass late in the fall.
That worked for me last year!
The sound seems pretty warm and all am hearing is bluefish
and bonito. What few stripers that are being caught are on
the small side. I imagine the best place for stripers is
just inside the federal waters east of the rips of Monomoy.
That is where the commercial fleet posted in great numbers
last week and I haven't heard of any great changes.
The canal has turned on a bit with all the fresh bait
around. Some decent fish have been taken of late. Jigs and
topwater...both extremes are working.
Offshore south and east to the Canyons will remain to be
seen. Phenomenal fishing out there this year so far, but we
will see what this weekend does to the fishing.
Whatever your flavor, hit it hard this weekend. Just
think...hunting season is just around the corner. Whether
that means giant bluefin or giant whitetail, or both...the
magical time of year is coming sooner than we think. If you
are like me, you are torn between the two. But...bluefin
wins every time!
Good Luck and have a great weekend! Dave
|
|
08/11/10 |
Capt. Hap Farrell
The Stunmai II |
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Consistent Summer Fishing.... |
If this summer is one thing it is consistent. Hot, muggy,
and sunny with not much rain. As far as the fish are
concerned this summer is one of more predictable season
we’ve had for a while. Want stripers, it’s Billingsgate
Shoals or P-town. There are days when they are hard to find
but that’s why they call it “fishing” instead of “catching”.
The wire manufactures are having a field day. Jigging is the
main way we are using to catch the striper. Between hang ups
and kinks in the wire, we are going through quite a bit of
it. The people who shuck sea clams
are staying busy because we are feeding the dog fish and
stripers the sea clams when we fish behind the clammers. We
are keeping the economy going just on terminal tackle alone.
The bluefish, for awhile they were a little scarce, but now
they are becoming predictable. The Path and south of the not
so Ugly house is where they are hanging out. Single
hootchies work well. Mainly on 200 foot wires with a 10 foot
leader, but mono will work, just not as well. These bluefish
are huge. They average between 10 to 15 pounds with some
even bigger. They also have shown up in by the #3 can. From
there to the east and up a little on the flats along the
Eastham shore. At times they might work up to the Sunken
Meadow area. These are mixed in size, from 5 pound up to the
really huge ones.
What we need again is another northwest wind. Preferably at
night from 10 pm. to 5 am. so we don’t have to fish in the
wind. This will cool the water down some and drive the bass
up on the shoals. That is the big stripers. There are some
big fish being caught down near Barnstable Harbor out in the
deep water. That is a hit or miss situation. You have to
troll around until you run across a school and then stay
with it.
This last week I had two old friends out with other family
members and thier friends. It had been a couple of years
since I had Lewis Bittle out and even more since Al Johnson
was out with me. I had them both out and we landed a good
number of both bass and bluefish. I met them both when we
used to have the Bluewater Tournament out of Rock Harbor
more than twenty years ago. In that tournament we had folks
from Bermuda and a Boston fishing club fishing with us for
three straight days. It was a treat to have them on the
board. So, I’m donating the $20 of nonperishable foods in
their names to the Lower Cape Outreach Council this week.
If you’d like to get out for some of this good fishing give
me a call at 508-255-6211 or 508-240-8267. |
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08/05/10 |
|
Fish of the week |
|
Submitted by Capt. Dan Rooks of the
Tuna Duck |
|
22nd Annual Ducks Unlimited Band the Billfish Tournament |
 |
Dave,
54 boats competed in the tourney, there was a four way tie
on billfish with 550 points, The meatfish weights are the
tiebreaker.
We had three sails hooked Saturday and landed two, It was a
laidback weekend on the Beaufort waterfront. Everyone had
fun. Enclosed is a photo of Mike and Ricky with a sailfish.
Capt. Dan Rooks
Tuna Duck Sportfishing |
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|
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08/05/10 |
The Cape at large...
As you read, the Bay is active for stripers and blues. The
backside beaches are seeing some bluefish action here and
there. That is hit or miss though.
I haven't heard if any more great whites have taken up
residence off Chatham, but I would assume none have left! It
should get interesting later in the month.
I told you last week that the Green Harbor Tuna Tournament
was to take place last weekend. The fishing was very
poor...one fish at 73"...that took the prize. The giants are
apparently offshore somewhere...certainly not on Stellwagon.
That can change at any time though. It doesn't sound like
anybody is putting any time in way east of Chatham. There
are some slot fish close, so I guess the majority is
satisfied with that. I do know that if the number of tuna
jigs I sold this week alone is any indication of what is
going on, then the spinning rod and vertical jigging fleet
is out in force. I sold literally every tuna jig I had, and
through conversations with other dealers they are seeing the
same thing. That is a good thing...
Below is a report a customer sent me the other day after
fishing the canyons for the day.
 "We
had 15 mixed bag bluefin/yellowfin (80/20) at chicken canyon
at daybreak on Saturday - chicken canyon - arrived at 5:30
am - first green machine spreader bar went off as soon as
deployed from rigger - rainbow bird was hot. Ballyhoo also -
fish were all 40-60 class with a couple of 80 pounders mixed
in - I am gen'l cat so I can keep the bluefin less than
73"... - we left the fish biting and headed to the hudson -
60 boats trolling the tip hard - clean water - bait, whales,
porpoise, marlin spotted on surface - nobody hooking up at
all - we were there by 8:30 am and trolled to sw corner
without a touch. The canyon water is clean and blue -
especially south of the elbow - was heading across the mouth
when I spoke with Mike on the Desire who was at 100SQ and
heading my way - said it was desolate there - we caught a
couple of mahi in the deep and then headed to the SW corner
for some tiles - took a few hundred pounds in a little over
3 hours - biggest one dressed at 32 lbs "
The Canyons are hot, as the "60 boats" indicates. It has
been the hot bite for a few weeks now. The Cuttyhunk
tournament is next weekend so lets hope the fishing stays
good for the guys fishing it.
Speaking of Tournaments, the White Marlin Open is going on
as we speak, with lots of big fish brought to the scales.
Currently a 1010.5 lb. blue marlin and a 97.5 are leading
the pack. They are both beautiful fish. They will be tough
to beat.
Have a great weekend. Dave |
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08/05/10 |
|
Capt. Hap Farrell |
|
The Stunmai II |
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaycharters.com |
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Fishing Heats Up, Weather Cools... |
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|
We have enjoyed some pretty good fishing this summer. For
the first time in a few seasons we can mostly count on the
fish being in certain areas of Cape Cod Bay. These areas,
Billingsgate Shoals, the deep water off the north edge of
the shoals or off the Path in the deeper water or in tight
to the beach. So, as we come out of Rock Harbor we decide
where we want to go and the fish will be there.
Oh yes, there’s P-town. That is a unique place to fish. It’s
very active but you have to have a little knowledge of the
area. There are hang ups from Wood End up to Race Point. If
you are jigging you will most likely run across a few of
them. There is a lot of lost wires in this area. Ghost pots
which are covered with jigs. If you don’t know what a ghost
pot is, it’s a lobster pot that the buoy line has been cut
off or come loose so you don’t know it is there. Normally
you would stay clear of a lobster pot if you’d seen the
buoy.
The bluefish are still hanging around the Path. Sometimes
the main body might be a little south down near Great Island
and at times they will move a little north of the Path but
they will be in the area. Also the deep water is another
good area to check out. This has been going on all summer.
I’ve been asked by a large number of people about the Sunken
Meadow area. I have no explanation on why the bluefish
aren’t in there on a regular basis. They do show up now and
then but with no predictability. You just have to take a
ride in there and look for yourself. If the bluefish are
there you will most likely be by yourself for the day.
I take a number families fishing every season. One of the
families is the Ewen family from Connecticut. Chris, his
daughter Emily and Christa come fish at least 3 times a
year, sometimes more. Emily comes just about every time and
Christa once in a while. Emily has become quite an angler.
Every time I develop a new light tackle system or set of
rods she is the first to really put them to the test. In her
times fishing with me she has landed stripers over 35 pounds
with as light a gear as 6 pound test tackle. She was 13 when
she did that. Now she is 16 and has expressed a desire to
learn the skills to be a mate. I believe she will make an
excellent mate when she puts in the time needed. So, I’m
donating the $20 of nonperishable foods in her name to the
Lower Cape Outreach Council this week.
If you’d like to try your hand a this seasons great fishing
give me a call at: 508-240-8267
|
|
07/29/10 |
The Cape at large...
Lots of fish, lots of people. Here we get into the practice
of "fishing the fringe". Whether you are fishing bluefin
tuna or blue marlin, when there is fishing pressure look
outside the ring. move off a quarter or half a mile and fish
the fish that have scattered because of the fishing pressure
and boat pressure.
This weekend we have the Green Harbor Tuna Tournament. These
boats will be fishing the Bay and the Bank.
The consistent method of fishing right now is live bluefish
or pogies under a kite. This method is far outfishing
anything else, especially for the bigger fish.
If you are trolling, you need Carlson or East of Chatham
Green machine bars, Bird bars, Sluggo bars and for that big
bite you need a couple Hatteras Creatures. These lures are
selling at a phenomenal rate and are being fished in two
tournaments this weekend plus another next weekend, plus all
the boats using them in the canyons and the far east! That's
not counting the southern fleet. Talk to your friends who
own some, hold them in your hand and watch them swim. You
will be hooked!
The canyons are proving to be the spot to fish so far this
year. multiple species of fish are around and yellowfin to
60lbs aren't uncommon. More than a few boats are heading to
oceanographers this weekend. Good luck!
Good luck to all fishing the tournaments this weekend. And
for those of you who fished the shark tournament last
weekend, I hope you did well.
Have a great weekend. Dave
|
|
07/29/10 |
|
|
 Capt.
Bruce Peters
Po Box 947
East Orleans, MA 02643
bruce@sportfishingcapecod.com
www.sportfishingcapecod.com
(508) 255 0911
Cape Cod Fishing Report |
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|
Hi Folks,
If you look east of Chatham this morning you will see a
large fleet of mixed boats just inside the 3 mile line.
There are small skiffs and 40 foot custom tuna boats. The
commercial bass season is now in full swing on Sunday,
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays and it appears that this
area off to the east is where they are working. Yesterday I
counted over 100 boats all jockeying for position in this
area. This spot is absolutely loaded with bluefish and
dogfish as well, yet I saw a large percentage of guys
drifting live eels to try to catch the stripers. At a buck
apiece per eel, that can add up the bait bill really quickly
! The talk on the radio yesterday was that there are about
10 short striped bass to every one keeper sized one for the
commercial guys, not really great fishing in anybody's book.
As a "sportie", a recreational boat, we can catch our
recreational limit and have some fun doing it. It took me a
little while, but I finally did figure out how to
consistently produce striped bass from this area, with less
blues and dogfish. Yesterday's trip ended with lots of
bluefish, a limit of bass for all on the boat and a couple
for me to sell for gas money too. There is plenty of fish
and bait in the area, and as long as the water temperature
and the bait stay, the fishing should hold for a while. The
crowd of boats is what makes it a less desirable spot to
fish. There are stripers in the rips too, but its just
another 5 miles away to the south. The rip fishing is usual
summer fishing, where after you take a fish or two off an
edge, you move over to another edge and take one or two, and
then move back etc. One must work around the boat traffic,
be observant and fish where there hasn't been a boat for the
last 15-20 minutes.
As for bluefin tuna fishing, it has been spotty, with one
day they are jumping next to the boat, and then the next not
to be seen. I have not had many tuna trips this year, and
the last one I had to reschedule to make a repair to the
boat. The bolts to the cutlass bearing had come undone and I
had to take the boat out of the water to repair and
reinstall them. I am very lucky that the repair was done
within one day and I was back in the water the next. There
is a good bait supply west of the "BC" buoy where we fished
a couple years ago, and that would be where i would look as
long as I had good visibility. I have not heard from my
friend that fished the Regal Sword area yesterday, but I did
hear him say it looked good on the radio before I lost
contact with him. My thinking is that the tuna are where
there is a decent food supply and not many boats. I know
there are fish in the inshore spots, but with all the
bass/bluefish/dogfish/small boats competing with them for a
meal, I am leaning towards fishing in the areas that have
much less pressure. The Regal Sword area has had very little
pressure because its 25 plus miles away. It is situated on a
travel corridor of the bluefin. If there is bait in the
area, there will be tuna fish there. The key is having a
long enough scheduled trip to get there and leaving early
enough in the morning to have a decent morning bite !
With the economy off, my charter bookings are off. I have no
charter today. I had last weekend off with not one booking.
Folks that call are not asking about the boat or the tackle,
or the fishing, or where the boat is, but merely price
shopping, looking for the less expensive boat. I found out
yesterday that one of the better charter guys offering
charters in my harbor has reduced his rates by $25, and
another lesser boat says he charges $150 less for his half
day trip. I have had many folks ask me for a shorter trip
than my usual 5 hour version. I am now considering the
addition of a 4 hour trip, with the rate to be determined,
for those that are just interested in a shorter trip. It is
possible depending upon what feedback I receive, that the 5
hour trip would become a 4 hour trip instead. Any feedback
would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Robust economy or sluggish economy, the stripers don't care.
They feed regardless. This morning I headed out about 2
miles from the harbor entrance and caught 5 limits of
stripers and at least 20 bluefish in 2 hours ! That is
damned good fishing. We were using 15 pound test line on St.
Croix 7.6 foot spinning rods and Penn 560 spinning reels.
There is an area about 2 miles long and 1/2 a mile wide
where if you put your big toe in the water you would
probably catch a bluefish. Yet I have no charter scheduled
for Saturday or Sunday ! Go figure.
So to enhance the
Capeshores Charters experience, I am for the first time,
offering a 4 hour charter. The rate will be $525. You may
reserve a date by calling 508 237-0399
Thanks very much,
Bruce & "Marilyn S"
|
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07/29/10 |
|
Capt. Hap Farrell |
|
The Stunmai II |
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaycharters.com |
|
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|
The Summer Marches on... |
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|
Every day we go out of Rock Harbor and head our boats
towards the shoals. We have cut back the jigs on our 300 ft.
wires, set the drags, and put either wooden head hootchies
or reverse atoms on our outrigger lines. We are ready. We
get to the middle of the shoals and set our lines out. More
times than not we will have a good day. This is good
fishing. Now we can add something else to our resume. It
seems that some bluefish have gotten over to the Eastham
shore. Late last weekend a few private boats went up there
just to check on what might be and found fish.
Remember in last weeks article I said if we got a hard
northwest wind some big bass might be pushed up onto
Billingsgate Shoals. Well, it happened. The first fish we
hooked up on Thursday the 22nd on the half day trip was 46
inches long and weighed close to 35 pounds. That day we took
a few more bass from 34 to 38 inches. Not many, but more
than we have seen this summer. The whole trip was really
active with stripers from 28 to 33 inches. We easily got our
limit that day. The same thing happened this last Monday,
the 26th. We had a hard northwest wind and this pushed a
good number of fish onto the shoals. That day our biggest
fish was 37 inches and it was not quite as active as that
Thursday. The shoals should continue to be the place to go
for stripers.
The bluefish, where have they been and where do we find
them? So far the main area has been off the Path from 10
feet of water out to 20 feet. The only other place we have
run across these fish has been in the deep water off the
north edge of the shoals. Well, now we have a new spot. This
last week a large school of big bluefish was found off the
Eastham shore from the cell phone tower up to Sunken Meadow
area. Hootchies or popping plugs were the lures of choice.
It is about time they showed up in this area. I hope they
stick around for a while.
I had the Hodge families out for a half day trip this last
Tuesday. The trip came through the booth at the harbor. I
was told it was a family with young kids. Just who I love to
get out fishing and into some big fish. The first to hook up
was Ryan, who is nine. It was a real big bluefish. Then
Carter who is twelve was next followed closely by little
Brooke who is seven. After that we went after some stripers.
Each one landed a keeper. Little Brooke needed some help but
with the light gear I carry she handled most of it by
herself. These three kids running around on deck catching
fish kept me and Mark the mate very busy. The $20 donation
of food to the Lower Cape Outreach Council will be made in
their names. |
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If you’d like to get in on this really good summer fishing
call me at 508-255-6211 or 508-240-8267. Thanks. Capt. Hap
Farrell |
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|
|
07/16/10 |
NMFS Closes Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Northern Area Trophy
Fishery
NMFS closes the northern area Angling category fishery for
large medium and giant ("trophy") BFT for the remainder of
2010. Fishing for, retaining, possessing, or landing large
medium and giant BFT (measuring 73 inches curved fork length
or greater) north of 39°18' N. lat. (off Great Egg Inlet,
NJ,) is prohibited effective at 11:59 p.m., July 18, 2010.
The intent of this closure is to prevent overharvest of the
Angling category northern area trophy BFT subquota of 1.7 mt.
NMFS closed the southern area trophy BFT fishery effective
June 12, 2010. Anglers are reminded that all non-tournament
BFT landed under the Angling category quota must be reported
within 24 hours of landing either online at
www.hmspermits.gov or by calling (888) 872-8862.
In Maryland and North Carolina, vessel owners must report
their recreational tuna landings at state-operated reporting
stations. For additional information on these programs,
including reporting station locations, please call (410)
213-1351 (Maryland) or (800) 338-7804 (North Carolina).
Anglers may catch and release or tag and release BFT of all
sizes, subject to the requirements of HMS catch-and-release
and tag-and-release programs. NMFS regulations at 50 CFR
635.21(a)(1) require that all released BFT be released in a
manner that will maximize survivability, and without
removing the fish from the water. For further information on
safe handling see: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/PartnershipsCommunications/recfish/ethics.htm
NMFS may make further Angling category adjustments via in
season action, if warranted.
This notice is a courtesy to BFT fishery permit holders to
help keep you informed about your fishery. For additional
information, ca1l (888) 872-8862 or (978) 281-9260, or go to
www.hmspermits.gov. Official notice of Federal fishery
actions is made through filing such notice with the Office
of the Federal Register.
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07/15/10 |
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Capt.
Bruce Peters
Po Box 947
East Orleans, MA 02643
bruce@sportfishingcapecod.com
www.sportfishingcapecod.com
(508) 255 0911
Cape Cod Fishing Report |
|
|
Yes finally there are fish back in the rips. We have been
doing limits on the stripers, using squid for bait on the
light tackle. Of course now that the Massachusetts
commercial striped bass season has started again, there are
more anglers competing for position in the rips as well. For
the record, I DO support a commercial striped bass fishery,
as it is well managed, has a limited quota and the fishery
provides a way for folks that do not have a a boat or a surf
rod to share the common resource of striped bass.
The water temperatures have dropped considerably and we now
have squid and birds in the rips, and therefore the stripers
are under them, boiling and splashing as they seek an easy
meal. The fish are ranging in sizes from 30" to 42" with
most in the 33 inch range. The tides have been running
strong and that I think is what has made the water quality
improve and cool down. The fog has been thick as pea soup,
making it hard to find the fish and birds, and for stressful
operation. In addition the bar has been breaking at 5-7 feet
on a few of the mornings last week. Last Friday a Orleans
angler lost his life as he fell out of the boat trying to
cross a bar in Nauset Inlet with less than optimal
visibility. I saved a couple of lifejacket clad fellows in
the Chatham inlet on Monday. They had dunked the engine and
were without power, and had anchored up right in the
breakers. I quickly pulled them aboard and towed their 13
foot whaler (little pisspot) in to the Fish Pier, berating
them all the way for their incredible stupidity in taking
that little boat out in the huge surf in the fog. I even
asked them if their little fishing trip was worth their life
!
I have not fished for tuna in over a week, due to my daily
bass charters, but I hear the guys on the radio everyday. It
has been hard for the gang to find the fish with the thick
fog. The bluefin are mixed right in with the schools of
bluefish and stripers. They are all feeding on the same food
supply. Usually there are a smattering of birds hovering
these tiny pockets of feeding fish. If you have a good
radar, and its properly tuned, you can see the echoes of the
birds on the screen to help you get on the fish. By the way,
all of those little boats that have no radar reflector on
your boats, you cannot be seen on radar except in flat calm
conditions. With any kind of 2 foot chop, the radar reflects
"sea clutter" on the screen at close range, making your
small boat invisible and undetectable. Invest in a $25 radar
reflector and it just could save you from being run over in
the fog.
Good fishing to you,
Bruce & "Marilyn S" |
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07/14/10 |
|
Cape Cod Bay Fishing Report |
|
Capt Hap Farrell |
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaycharters.com
|
The striped bass have taken up residence on Billingsgate
Shoals with a sense of almost permanence. For the past two
weeks we have found them either on top of the shoals or on
either the north or south edges. This is during the top of
the tide. As the tide drops they slowly move off into the
deeper water, I think. We’re not sure where they really go
but they do disappear. They show back up about 2 to 3 hour
before high water and make themselves available for catching
which we do with a vengeance. Jigging is by far the best
method to hook up on these fish with trolling hootchies a
second and almost as productive way to land some of the
stripers. It seems that there are not any bluefish mixed in
which is a little unusual.
P-town, the bass capital of Cape Cod Bay, holds the most
striped bass right now. With the commercial season starting
it will be and is a very crowded area. With the way the
economy is right now and the potential price for the bass at
the fish market most everyone with commercial license is
there. From what I’ve heard the first day was not all that
good. A large amount of bluefish have moved in over night
and made it difficult to use eels to catch the stripers.
Many of the fishermen turned to jigging and the tube and
worm, but even that was only marginal. I’m sure things will
change, it’s just when will it change.
The bluefish are settling in out in the deep water off the
east end of Billingsgate Shoals. This area is called the
square, by this I mean it 40 over 40 using the old Loran
system. Just go across the east end of the shoals and go out
to 55 to 60 feet of water and you’re there. Single hootchies
on 200 foot wires works very well. An umbrella rig will work
but you will tear it up, these fish are big.
The Rock Harbor Charter Fleet, plus boats from other
harbors, hosted this seasons Special Olympics type fishing
trip. The fish we usually find along the Eastham shore were
not there but were out in the deep water north of
Billingsgate Shoals. There we found a good amount of big
bluefish and some stripers. Everyone caught their share of
fish and had a great time as usual. These special anglers
are already talking about next years fishing.
The fisherman of the week which I’ll be donating twenty
dollars of canned goods to the Lower Cape Outreach Pantry is
Casey Jagermann. This young lady handled both some big
striped bass and bluefish with the skill of a pro. It was
her first time fishing the bay.
If you’d like to get in on this really good summer fishing
call me at 508-255-6211 or 508-240-8267. |
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07/08/10 |
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The Hatteras
Creature
has taken
flight.! The
response to this
bait has been
unbelievable. They
are going to be
fished in the
Hatteras Grand Slam
Tournament this
weekend as well as
on the Bank, East of
Chatham, and a a
whole lot of places
in between! This is
19" of squid the
likes of nothing you
have ever seen, and
for sure have never
fished. You need to
see it in action to
believe it. It has
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07/08/10 |
Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras
Again, you have read Hap's
report and Jack's
report. The fishing is ok in some spots and down right
tough in others. There is extremely warm water off Monomoy,
depending on the tide. I am hearing between 63 and 69
degrees. This is making for some tough fishing and is
chasing some boats off to Nantucket. At least there if the
bass aren't biting there are some 10-12 lb. bluefish to keep
you occupied.
There are a ton of squid in the sound, but the tides aren't
strong enough yet to push the bait across the rips. That
will change.
We do know that 10 miles east of Chatham, in Federal
waters...there are schools of big bass boiling on the
surface all over. This is no mans land for anyone wanting to
keep a bass...
The tuna bite is spotty. There are a ton of fish around both
east of Chatham and on Stellwagon. Getting them to bite
changes daily. There were some decent fish caught on
Stellwagon late last week using live mackerel under kites. I
haven't heard much from the live bluefish crowd but those
trolling rigs are saying it is hit or miss. What I have
heard consistently is that there aren't many anglers that
like the slot limits they need to fish. I guess we will all
have to get used to it.
The hottest bite around may very well be the Canyons if you
can get there. Two highliners who I will not name from Rhode
Island are slamming the yellowfin on both Green Machine Bars
and Bait Shower Teasers towing a rigged Bullet Nob Green
Machine. All of you know what "covered up" means when
trolling for yellowfin...just about there!
The hot spot for big stripers is a toss up between Block
Island, RI and Montauk, NY. Montauk is giving up fish to 50
lbs. feeding on huge schools of bunker. Block Island just
gave up a fish, as in the last day, that was 63 lbs. These
fish are chasing sand eels.
There are bluefin being caught off Ocean City and Atlantic
City as we speak. There aren't the numbers that are flooding
the Cape, but they seem to be biting.
This weekend is the Hatteras Grand Slam Tournament. The
fishing days are Friday and Saturday, and it is a catch and
release tournament. All billfish are worth the same amount
of points, and the big prize goes to the boat that completes
the Grand Slam...blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish. If
nobody does it, the money rolls over to next year. Sounds
like a fun tournament. I personally know half a dozen boats
and crews fishing it, plus there is a whole lot more that I
don't know. I hope they have a great showing!
I hope all of you have a great , safe, and highly productive
weekend. Good luck to all. Dave |
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07/08/10 |
Capt. Hap Farrell
Stunmai II
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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The Fish Have Moved in... |
We have been waiting for the bass and bluefish to settle
into somewhat of a pattern. Or, at least staying in a
general area for a period of time so we have some idea where
to look for them each day. It seems Billingsgate Shoals is
the place to go this season. Whether it is the west end or
on the east section up by Great Island or by Billingsgate
Island itself. Jig is the most productive method so far but
if it is deep enough, over 17 feet, you can use an umbrella
rig on a short wire, 150 feet.
As far as the bluefish are concerned they seem to have taken
up residence up by the Path in water from 20 feet into as
shallow as 8 feet There are some bluefish in off the Eastham
shore but not much right now. There are also some small bass
on some of the rock piles east of the #3 can and up towards
Welfleet Harbor. This is also a hit or miss situation,
meaning they are only there now and then. An umbrella rig is
the best but single hootchies can work too. Just troll them
at around 5.5 knots.
Provincetown, now that is a good area to fish, especially if
you want to play bumper cars. With the commercial season
opening up soon, I think the 13th of July, that place will
be very crowded. Last summer it was the only really active
area for commercial size fish, over 34 inches. Most used
live eels but you have to know how to fish them or they will
not work well. If you’re just there to fish for fun jigging
is your best bet but be prepared for hang-ups on the bottom.
There are a good number of them especially by the Bath
House.
One area that might be worth checking out is the deep water.
I was out there with a charter on the half day on the 4th. I
found a few bunches of fish in 55 feet of water and worked
them. We took 3 bass from 29 inches up to 32 inches and 2
bluefish. I used my 150 foot wire with 4 ounces of extra
weight and slowed down when I went of the fish. I normally
troll at 3.5 to 4 knots and would slow to just under 3 knots
over fish and wait. More times than not I’d get a fish on.
I’d look there instead of going up to P-town.
This last week I had Chris Ewen and his daughter Emily out
for a full day trip. Emily loves to use really light gear.
This time they brought Emily’s cousin Brendan who is ten. He
skillfully landed big 12 pound bluefish on my 12 lb. test
rod set up. Not bad for a first timer. So, this weeks
donation to the Orleans Outreach Council will be made in his
name.
If you’d like to get in on this really good summer fishing
call me at 508-255-6211 or 508-240-8267. |
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07/08/10 |
Capt. Jack Riley
Maverick Charters |
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I stopped at Snug Harbor on the way home and they said the
bass fishing at Southwest Ledge on Block Island was
fantastic. They are feeding on Sandeels.
I heard the same for the Race and Montauk with big stripers
following the bunker schools.
A customer of ours called me and said he was at West
Atlantis last weekend and caught 14 1/2 40-60# yellowfin on
the troll during the day using green machine bars and an "eyecatcher
bait shower teaser" with a green machine stinger. He loves
the bait shower and calls it his "Lady Dancer". The 1/2 is
because a mako ate half a yellowfin. He caught the mako as
well as a 70# white marlin. Big fish.
The stripers have showed in the race at PTown and at times
are pushing sandeels onto the beach but there are 150 boats
fighting for space in an area the size of your backyard.
Some of the PTown boats are putting their outriggers out to
clear a little space.
Good luck! Capt. Jack |
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06/28/10 |
As you have read in
Hap's and Jack's report, there is some pretty consistent
fishing to be had if you put the effort into looking.
The big June run on the backside is over, but there are
still fish being caught. The Race off P-town I'm sure will
be a zoo this weekend for the shore crowd. For that matter,
I am sure the waters will be teaming with boats of all
sizes.
If it is tuna you are targeting, I am sure the "fleet" will
give away where the fish are at. One proven method for
success is to fish the fringe. By that I mean get 1/4 mile
or so away from the fleet and fish the edge. Blue marlin or
tuna, yellowfin or bluefin, a concentration of boats will
put them down and or out. Many a Captain has pulled good
fish from the edges of a concentrated fleet. Ask the
highliners...they will tell you.
For school, medium and giant bluefin tuna pay attention to
the sea surface temperature chart available on the home page
of Offshore Pursuits. The temperature break east of Chatham
from 49/50 degrees up to 58/59 degrees is holding large
schools of bluefin. The break is in around 95/100 feet of
water and runs the length of the Great South Channel from
P-Town down to the BB Buoy. This break changes every day
based on the tide. Some days the fish are on the warm side
and biting. Other days they are on the cold side and
difficult to get a look from. I have not heard anything
specific about the bank. I do know of a boat that jigged a
fish up today put pulled him off. His exact location I do
not know. Like I said though, the fleet will let you know if
they find fish.
Apparently the striper bite around the Vineyard is a live
bait thing. I don't believe there will be any fishing the
"fringes" in this case. Plan on company wherever you go.
The Canal is an on again off again bite depending on what
happens to show up for bait. There have been some 40 lb.
fish caught, but it is spotty.
If I had a choice, I would be east of Chatham fishing the
break with a spread of squid rigs behind me and a pair of
Hatteras
Creatures fished out of the long riggers way back. At
squid rig speed the
Hatteras
Creature
swims sub surface, which is good. That puts the bait
slightly below the squid rigs. What do you think is gong to
get hit first? If you are trolling
tuna trains and skirted or naked ballyhoo, the
Creature
swims on the surface. You control the action by your
boat control.
I will tell you a proven trick concerning the
Hatteras
Creature...come out of gear and let all your rigs come
to a stop. The Creature will be nose up and tentacles
straight down. Put the boat in gear and start to troll...as
soon as the
Creature
arches forward and begins to swim, watch out. A nice
blue marlin was fooled that way. That is a fact...
I hope all of you have a great , safe, and highly productive
holiday weekend. Good luck to all. Dave |
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For
Offshore Fishing Reports click here |
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06/28/10 |
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Interesting bit of news picked up today. A tuna fisherman
caught and tagged a great white shark of Scituate. They
filmed the catch and Marine Fisheries verified the fish as
being a great white shark.
Click here for a link to the article and video. This
news is from Fox News. |
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06/23/10 |
Capt. Hap Farrell
Stunmai II
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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It is the end of June. The schools are letting out and folks
are headed to Cape Cod. This means the traffic will be
busier, lines will happen and be long, and the weather will
be hotter. Hopefully the fishing will get the same way.
The west end of Billingsgate Shoals is still the place to
go. That and up around P-town. Although, if you do not like
to fish in a very crowded area I would not go there. It can
be hot and cold, lots of fish that won’t eat, no fish, or
really, really active. When it is active from Wood End up to
Race Point there are usually so many boats you can walk from
one to the other and keep your feet dry.
There are some fish showing up around the Path and out in
the deep water off the Path. It’s a mixture of bass and
bluefish with mostly bluefish. These may be the fish that
were out in the deep water off the north edge of the shoals.
Umbrella rigs on wire work well with these fish or even a
single hootchie on wire will work. Hopefully, these bluefish
will move south and get in the Stony Bar area and off the
Eastham shore where they belong. Only time will tell so when
you have a chance check that area out. It should get active
soon.
I saw something in the paper last week that got me thinking.
The Lower Cape Outreach Council indicated that their pantry
was running very low. So, I’m going to make challenge to the
charter fleet in Rock Harbor, in fact to all of us who are
somewhat skillful in the art of fishing. For every unusually
large fish, whether bass or bluefish, caught by an angler on
my boat I will donate $20 of canned and non-perishable food
to this organization in the name of the angler. I challenge
the fleet and any of you who fish for both pleasure and an
occasional dinner to do the same. The way I see it, it’s
like making a deposit in a bank that we hope we’ll never
have to make a withdrawal from. Drop off points will be at
the booth at Rock Harbor, the Goose Hummock, and the Lower
Cape Outreach office on 19 Brewster Crossroads in Orleans.
The office hours are from 9:30 am. to 3:30 pm. Mon. thru
Thrus. and 9:30 am. to 12:30 pm. on Fridays. You can call
508-240-1490 with any questions.
For those who are not on Cape Cod and able to participate in
this challenge you may sent a check to the Lower Cape
Outreach Council care of Janice Perrin, Human Services
Coordinator, 19 Brewster Cross Rd., PO Box 665, Orleans, Ma.
02653. Thank You.... Hap |
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06/23/10 |
Capt. Jack Riley
Maverick Charters |
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I returned from the Cape last night late. Charters every
day. I rescheduled tomorrow because of the thunderstorm
forecast. I was wondering about the returns myself and
called but Dennis is out till the AM and he will call me. We
both want them done. I cancelled the credit card last week
with a -0- balance.
I picked up a regular customer from Texas at Martha's
Vineyard yesterday and spent the better part of the AM
looking for bass and blues at MV. Nothing. No marks and very
little bait. And I watched four other charter boats do the
same thing. Nothing. The charter agreed to pay four hundred
more so I ran back to Handkercheif Shoal and limited out. I
left my dock at 6:30 AM and got back at 5:00 PM. Long day.
The three days before that I limited out in 2-3 hours each
day at Stone Horse off Monomoy. There are bass on all the
shoals around Monomoy and Muskeget Channel. Most of the fish
are in the mid thirty inch range but I had three over 40"
with the largest at 43". We have caught trolling with rigs,
spin casting with lures and flyfishing. Anything that mimics
a sandeel gets eaten.
On the tuna front Matt on the "Menace of Dennis" from my
dock lost a bluefin at the back of the boat last week
estimated to be between 400-500#. He and a friend were
fishing alone on Crab Ledge when their plastic got hit. Said
he would have gotten the fish if he had a third person
aboard. I listen to Channel 68 (the tuna channel) all day
and they are seeing fish from Crab ledge to the "BC" and
south and southwest of the buoy. The bunch that were off
Nauset seems to have moved to deeper water but that can
change daily.
Capt. Randy of
www.firstmatesportfishing.com has gotten some big bass
live lining mackeral and eels in some of his favorite holes
on Cape Cod Bay. Capt. Robbie of
www.seaducedfishing.com caught a 23" Fluke at Stone
Horse waiting for the tide and bass to turn on. |
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06/20/10 |
Capt. Hap Farrell
Stunmai II
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
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Getting Hooked...
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In the last two days both my trips have gone very well. We
fished on the west end of Billingsgate Shoals. Jigging was
the most productive method, but that is not what made both
trips so good. On the trip on the 17th of June a young woman
named Hilary came a long on the trip. She had never fished
before. She landed the most fish and the biggest. Could it
have been beginners luck?
Today, the 18th of June, I have another young woman named
Laural aboard. She also had never fished before. She also
landed the most fish and the biggest. This should tell you
guys something. Take you wife or girlfriend with you when
you go fishing. You will bring home some fish. Hap |
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06/10/10 |
Capt.
Bruce Peters
Po Box 947
East Orleans, MA 02643
bruce@sportfishingcapecod.com
www.sportfishingcapecod.com
(508) 255 0911
06/09/2010
Cape Cod Fishing Report
|
The fishing in June here on Cape Cod is busting wide open.
The waters are warming rapidly and there are huge amounts of
baitfish and predatory species moving through the area. The
Nantucket Sound spring squid and mackerel runs were a bust,
yet the black bass fishing was phenomenal. there are large
pogies in the sound estuaries to be caught and used for bait
for big bass and bluefin tuna. There are some mackerel
schools reported on the backside, but I think the herring
midwater trawlers have done their damage. If you get a
chance to sign on to a letter looking for increased observer
coverage for these boats please do so.
Cape Cod Bay has had good bass action recently on
Billingsgate Shoals, yet the entire Rock Harbor Charter
Fleet was at the dock today ! There are a few scattered
bluefish around but its been mostly bass so far. There were
a few smaller tuna caught in the bay this last week as well.
By smaller, I mean smaller than the 68" to 72" fish that are
being caught off Chatham. These 45-60" fish are just what
the doctor ordered for the health of our fishery, in that it
is another different year class of fish to spread the
harvest over a wide range of ages of our Atlantic Bluefin
Tuna. Last year it seemed all we could catch was the 60 to
67" inch fish. I did hear that the boats on Stellwagon and
in the Cape Cod Bay were working on the smaller tuna last
fall, I just never saw many.
There is a nice school of bluefin tuna east of Chatham that
are mixed in with stripers. Folks are catching bass on the
squid bars while trolling for tuna. These are the 68 " size
class of fish, so be careful if you think you are going to
catch one on the spinning gear. A local Chatham lobster man
told me he saw a school of smaller "jumpers" 8 miles
southeast of the cut the other day. I hope the smaller ones
do stick around. The tuna and the bass have been keyed in on
a big bait supply that moves from day to day up and down the
coastline according to the wind directions. Watch for the
birds and you should do fine. I have not been to the rips as
yet because the bass are 2 miles out side the harbor! I
think soon I may take a look see at Bearse's and
Handkerchief shoals.
I received a notice from the National Marine Fisheries
Service a day or so ago regarding 3 changes to the rules
regarding ABT. The first change reduces the angling category
(recreational anglers in their own boats) daily bag limit
from 2 per day to one per day, between 27" and 59". It also
allows for the charter/headboat category to still take two
fish, (like last year) but one must be from 27" to 47" and
the other from 47" to 59". Lastly, this first change makes
it illegal for either category to retain or keep any BFT
from 59" to 73". The second change closes the "trophy"
fishery south of Great Egg Inlet, NJ after 12/31/2010. The
third change is a transfer of 1.7 MT of quota from the
reserve to the northern angling category "trophy" quota. OK,
so what does this mean ? I truthfully have mixed feelings
because although I think it is good for the fish, I think it
may be tough on the Chatham charterboats, if the fish are
all like last year's fish. My own short term, self seeking
motives aside, it allows the large mediums a chance to make
it to giant sizes and perhaps more will spawn. We need all
the help we can get with the oil disaster happening in the
gulf of Mexico.
Thanks very much,
Bruce & "Marilyn S" |
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06/10/10 |
The Hatteras Bite...with Capt. Dan Rooks
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Capt.
Dan Rooks
Tuna Duck Sportfishing
Hatteras, NC
(252)216-6160
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Red Hot Yellowfin Bite! |
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This past week has seen the yellowfin bite take off with
great catches of fish in the 60-65 lb. range. Big schools of
hungry fish are in the mixed water inshore of the stream. We
have had days of 14 fish...
Offshore on the edge, about 40 miles or so, there is a great
dolphin bite happening. Both gaffers and bailers...lots of
white marlin around with some boats landing 3 in a day. Good
sailfishing and some good blue marlin around.
The Big Rock Blue marlin Tournament starts this weekend. The
actual tournament starts on Monday. It should be an
interesting week!
Capt. Dan |
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06/10/10 |
Capt. Hap Farrell
Stunmai II
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com
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Fish Staying in Deep Water... |
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I have predicted that the stripers would start moving to
different areas in the Bay by this time of the season. Well,
they have, a little bit. By this I mean they have moved from
the northeast section of the north edge of Billingsgate
Shoals down to the southwest near the #1 can at the end of
the shoals. There does not seem to be much activity in by
the #3 and #5 cans or along the Eastham shore. I’m at a loss
to say why. There is or was plenty of bait in there. I have
found some fish there, once, but that was it.
Lately, we have been dealing with an unusual amount of
weather changes. Sun and relatively calm one day, wind and
rain the next and then sun and wind. Plus, the fleet as a
whole has been fairly slow this spring so not that many
boats have been out fishing. This makes it hard to keep
track on where the bass and bluefish are concentrating. So
far, it seems that out in the “Square”, an area where the
Loran, when it was working, read 40 over 40 on the 13 and 44
lines, is the most active area. Another way to find it is 3
miles off Griffin Island out in 45 to 55 feet of water.
Billingsgate Shoals is starting to get a little active now,
especially on the west end. This is good sign because last
season the shoals itself was dead. It was unusual to find
any amount of fish on top of the shoals. It was the north
edge out in 25 to 30 feet that was the most productive area.
Now, it is the south edge and up on top anywhere from the #1
can and a mile or so to the east.
The 3rd Annual Vets Fish P-town was a big success last
Saturday. Even with wind and rain six boats from Rock Harbor
made up and took these vets and their families fishing. I
had Kyle and his uncle Joe, plus Dominik and Katye who were
marines. Kyle’s father is in Iraq serving as an MP so Joe,
his brother accompanied Kyle out fishing. We got everyone a
keeper, as the other boats did, and a large number of small
fish. The weather improved and it turned into a great day
for all.
Capt. John Shakliks, of the Luau, had a regular trip with
Dick Stroble and Kenny Henderson, from Stockhome, N.J., plus
their crew, that day and fished Billingsgate Shoals and the
north edge. They landed a full compliment of stripers
trolling, casting and jigging. Capt. Shakliks threw
everything including the kitchen sink at these fish with
extremely good success. His anglers were worn to a nub by
the end of the trip, but they were smiling from ear to ear.
If you’d like to get into some this really good bass fishing
give me a call and we’ll get you out and see how lucky you
are.
508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211 |
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06/9/10 |
The first bluefin picture of the season! Send your pictures
to
dave@offshorepursuits.com and the best picture of the
week will receive a ProFishCo Bullet Nob! Submit as many as
you like. I will get them all up here and in our gallery.
Thanks! Dave
|
 Richard
Radulski sent me this picture this afternoon of this nice
fish he caught east of Chatham this morning. The fish
measured out at 68"...a nice fish for the second week in
June. Imagine this fish after it had fattened up over the
summer! I do believe that this year will prove to be an
awesome year offshore. It started south and moved up the
coast to the Cape.
Nice work Richard and I expect to see lots more pictures of
this class and bigger!
The fishing offshore is improving daily, both of Cape Cod
and Cape Hatteras. The yellowfin are snapping in the blended
water and are going around 65 lbs. Dolphin are
abundant...both gaffers and bailers. The white marlin bite
was hot today with the
Sea
Creature hooking up 4 times with 3 releases. Great tune
up for the Big Rock Tournament that starts Monday. We will
have daily updates on all the action! Check back often and
follow your favorite boat.
The Sea
Creature with Capt. Steve Coulter won it last year, and
my money is on a repeat. Who knows though...Good luck to all
participants! Dave |
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06/8/10 |
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The tuna bite continues to the east and on Stellwagon. It
sound like the guys in Green Harbor and such are doing a
little better than the guys going East right now. I talked
to one today and they were doing "ok". Especially this
early. Nice yellowfin bite going on off Hatteras. 60-65 lb
fish in the mixed water inshore of the break. The big Rock
starts Saturday...Good luck to all. Dave
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06/8/10 |
Capt.
Bruce Peters
Po Box 947
East Orleans, MA 02643
bruce@sportfishingcapecod.com
www.sportfishingcapecod.com
(508) 255 0911
06/07/2010
Subject: Bluefin Tuna Abundance
Hi Folks,
First let me correct the last report. The buyer of the
supposedly 74" bluefin last week never bought the fish
because it was
too small according to Will Case of Nauset Marine East. I
saw the fish
and knew it was close, but with the fish bent into a curve
like that,
it may have been measured wrong. At any rate it was a "no
sale" - too short !
There are lots of fish being caught east of Chatham and up
on
Stellwagon though. These fish are on either side of 68 "
with lots of 71"
fish in the mix. These will fool you into thinking you have
a legal
fish, but once on deck you have nothing more than a huge
amount of
shashimi for all of your sushi loving friends. The Green
Harbor boats
are using live pogies when they can get them for an instant
bite. A
real big menhaden splashing around on the surface really
gets the tuna fired up !!!
Fran, from the Goose Hummock told me there were huge schools
of bait fish 3 miles off the beach north of Coast Guard
beach. Bass
and tuna were feeding on these bait balls and he reported
fish were
puking up butterfish. Ben a lobsterman friend in Chatham
told me
today he saw a mile wide school of smaller (3 footers) tuna
breaking
water on Saturday. Today he saw only the big ones again.
ONLY ??????
The small ones are good to see, as that is another younger
years class
of fish and multiple year classes is an indication of a
healthier
resource of bluefin tuna. Lets hope they continue to show
up.
The Marilyn S went into the water today and we are now
booking charters for bass and tuna. We got the bait, water
temperature and the fish.
I hope to see you on the water.
Good Fishing,
Bruce & Marilyn S
Capt. Bruce Peters
P o Box 947
East Orleans, MA 02643
(508) 255 0911
bruce@sportfishingcapecod.com
www.sportfishingcapecod.com
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06/03/10 |
Capt. Hap Farrell
Stunmai II
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com
Early
Season Fishing
Well, it’s official. The 2010
season has started on the Cape. Memorial Day weekend has
come and gone. It left behind some really good fishing. The
north edge of Billingsgate Shoals came alive with bass and
bluefish. Yes, I said bluefish. Big ones too. It is early
for these toothy critters and they showed up in an unusual
place, in the deep water off the edge. Normally, we first
find these fish in the shallow water along the Eastham shore
or in the channel between the #3 and #5 cans. The fish
themselves are good sized fish. They are running from 10 to
12 pounds and very aggressive, which is a good thing. If
this is preview of the season to come, it will be one of the
best in many years.
There is an event going
to take place this Saturday in P-town that 5 or so of our
boats, the charter boats in the Rock Harbor Charter Service,
are going to participate in. The 3rd annual Vets Fish P-Town
is taking place on MacMillian Pier from 7 am. to 4 pm. There
will be two shifts of Vets taking part in this fishing
event. Because of Rock Harbors unique tidal situation, our
boats will take out these vets from 10 am. to 2 pm..
Basically a third shift. If you’d like to find out more
about this fishing event go to “www.vetsfishingptown.com”
and all will be explained. Having spent some time overseas
learning how to duck flying objects I have a vested interest
in this trip. Remember, the basic responsibility of the
military is to protect this country, us, and they must be
appreciated.
There are still fish out to the
west off the Brewster Flats. Just not as many as a week ago.
Plus, they are more spread out. Towing an umbrella rig
around will find them, but it’s hit or miss situation. A few
schools of both bass and bluefish are on Stony Bar now. The
birds were on them big time this last Sunday. Most of the
fish are undersize with a few keepers mixed in. I think they
are part of what was west of the old Target Ship Buoy. It
will take a while for these fish to get settled in. This
area, Stony Bar, the Screen Range, and along the Eastham
shore has always been a active area for both the bass and
bluefish during the month of June.
I think you will
find everything in a bit of transition this coming week. As
what has already happened, the New Ground area slowing down
and bit, and the north edge getting more active, many areas
will have the fish come in and then disappear. It will be
hard to find them at first until they settle into where ever
it is they go. Plus some of these fish will continue to
migrate north and new fish will show up. You just have to
keep checking out each area to see what is going on. If you
don’t find any fish, move on to another.
If you’d
like to get in on some of this deep water fishing before the
fish move on call me at: 508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211. |
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06/01/10 |
I received the below report this morning from Capt. Bruce
Peters of
Capeshores Charters.
"Hi
Folks,
The first salable tuna I have seen was landed
this morning in Orleans. The fish was small at 74 ", but was
still a legal for sale (>73") bluefin tuna. The fish was
caught by the F/V "Amazing Grace" a 24' boston whaler,
captained by Mike Vaughan. Doing battle with the bluefin was
crewman and local boy, Patrick Skayne.
Congratulations
boys !
This fish was caught because the fishermen
went fishing ! The guys admitted to me they were the only
ones out there this morning and that they left the Chatham
Break at 4:30 this morning to get an early start.
Considering that they were back at the dock with a fish to
sell by 11 AM, I would say they did very well. The tuna was
caught on a trolled splash bar in natural colors.
There are tuna in the area and they are feeding. I heard
rumors of a nice tuna show in Cape Cod bay this morning as
well. If you are up for a tuna trip, send me an email, make
a reservation and try to land one of these bad boys.
Good fishing,
Capt. Bruce & "Marilyn S"..." Great
start! Dave |
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05/31/10 |
 I
hope all of you had a safe and happy Memorial Day Weekend,
and that today you took a moment to give thanks to all, past
and future, that have made and will maintain our way of life
as we know and love it. There are no words to truly express
the gratitude felt by all of us towards those who have given
the ultimate sacrifice so we can live the freedom that we
do. All we can say is thank you... |
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05/31/10 |
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The 2010 Bluefin Tuna Season |
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The 2010 bluefin tuna season starts tomorrow. There are fish
around, and if the bite they had off NC and VA late into the
spring is any indication of what is off the Cape now, or on
their way, it should be a great season with some very good
fish caught. As was indicated in Thursdays newsletter, there
have been fish caught and released already. We wish everyone
the best of luck during the new season!
To make sure
you are geared up with the best there is, all
East of Chatham Squid Rigs, Sluggo Bars, Bird Bars and bulk
squid will be 10% off untill the 14th of June! Your
discounts will be applied to your order at the time of
checkout. Good luck! |
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05/26/10 |
Capt. Hap Farrell
Stunmai II |
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaysportfishing.com |
Changes in the Bay...
This is the
time of the season when the habits and locations of the
striped bass change a bit. For the last two weeks the most
active body of fish nearest Rock Harbor has been to the west
of the old Target Ship. This area is called the New Grounds.
There are also schools of bass off the north edge of
Billingsgate Shoals in the deep water from northwest of the
#1 can up to the area off Great Island or called The Square.
These fish have been a bit more finicky and don't hit as
readily. There has not been any real activity in on Stony
Bar or any of the Rock Piles as of late. I think this will
change soon.
Right now it seems the stripers are
mainly feeding off the abundant sand eels plus small bait
fish found in the Bay. What first brought them into the Bay
was the herring, however, most of them have made it up the
runs. There are still some that are late arrivals and with
the amount of fish in the Bay they most likely will not make
it. What will really spice things up is when and if the
squid arrive. Some years we get just a small amount in the
Bay, other years we get slammed with them. Lets hope we get
slammed with squid. If so, the hootchie will be the lure of
choice and man, will they work well.
I've been
checking up in by the #3 and #5 cans and along the Eastham
shore when I get a chance. So far, I've not found much. One
of the other captains did report he found a few small
schools of small fish on the Rock Pile area but that was
just one day. Because of this early and warm spring we keep
thinking it is later into this season than it really is. So
we think the fish should be active in areas they really wont
be for a while longer. This last Tuesday when I was in there
I recorded lots of bait in the area of Stony Bar and up
towards Welfleet Harbor. The fish will find this bait and
when they do all hell should break loose.
I had an
old friend of mine named Jimmy Rainey out on the half day
this last Tuesday. He used to bass fish commercially many
years ago. Then it was not unusual to land stripers in the
30 to 40 pound range. Then you were doing well to get 25
cents per pound. On this trip we used lead core line
trolling an umbrella rig. We got two small bass every time
we went tight. One of these bass was dinner size. Twenty
Eight and a quarter inches, perfect eating size. I hope the
big fish will show up soon.
If you'd like to get a
shot at this good spring fishing give me a call at:
508-240-8267 or 508-255-6211 and we'll get out on the Bay.
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05/26/10 |
Around the Cape with Dave
I have
heard it from three sources and I read it...there was a
bluefin caught on Stellwagon earlier in the week. They say
it was 88"...nice "pre-season"!
Although with the
spring bluefin bite they had off Cape Hatteras and north it
doesn't surprise me! They caught a ton of big fish and saw
acres and acres of good fish. They were still catching them
of Virginia last week.
You have read Hap's report on
the bass fishing in the Bay. There are some big stripers
moving through the canal, and the bluefish are just starting
to show on the west end. Still mackerel on the east end too.
There are fish moving up the backside...soft
plastics are working well.
The bluefish are getting
aggressive on the south side. There are stripers on Tom's
Shoals and fish being caught on Middle Ground. Nantucket is
giving up fish on the south side right now.
From our
friends in RI they are telling me that the southwest corner
of Block Island is loaded with bass and they are seeing more
sandeels than in recent years. It is should be a great
weekend to kick the summer off!
Good Luck! Dave
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05/25/10 |
Capt. Dan Rooks
Tuna Duck
Sportfishing
Hatteras, NC
(252)216-6160
May 25th Fishing Report
There are
plenty of good dolphin to be had right now, both bailers and
gaffers. Of course when the dolphin show up in numbers the
billfish aren't far behind.
We landed a 500 lb+ blue
marlin on Tuesday. We also had two whites that day. There
were more fish landed that day with a bunch seen.
There is a scattered yellowfin bite going on, some decent
wahoo fishing, and good numbers of sailfish, blue marlin,
white marlin and of course the dolphin.
Right now
the water is pushed in closer than it was tournament week
witch means less running and more fishing!
If you
would like to try some of the best fishing in the world,
give us a call and head on down to Hatteras for the
experience of a lifetime.
Capt. Dan Rooks
Tuna Duck Sportfishing
Hatteras, NC
(252)216-6160 |
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05/24/10 |
The Season Begins...
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 I
just got back late last week from a beautiful 9 days in
Hatteras, NC. We fished the Hatteras Village Offshore Open
aboard the
Tuna Duck with Capt. Dan Rooks, Mike Edwards (mate...and
a good one at that!) Nunzio Litterio Jr., and John Simpson.
We didn't win, but not for lack of effort. We had a fish on,
as in he had the bait locked tight in his jaws without the
hook in him. When he let go it was over. We saw some other
fish in the spread and caught plenty of dolphin. We also
fished three beautiful days almost 50 miles offshore. The
warm water was pushed way off so everybody had a long ride
to and from the fishing grounds. We will get it right next
year :). The above picture is of Nunzio and John as we
trolled 50 miles offshore in 79 degree water.
 We
also spent a day hunting for marlin aboard the
Sea
Creature with Capt. Steve Coulter and his mate Jeremy.
Again we had beautiful weather far offshore. We didn't see a
marlin but the girls caught some nice dolphin. A great trip
as usual.
If you ever get the opportunity to get down
to Hatteras, or if you are looking for some of the best
fishing in the world, you owe it to yourself to contact
Capt. Dan Rooks on the
Tuna Duck
and Capt. Steve Coulter on the
Sea
Creature. By the way, Steve and his crew on the Sea
Creature won the Big Rock Tournament last year! The above
picture is of Dakota Jecevicus taking us home under the
watchful eye of captain Steve Coulter aboard the
Sea
Creature.
With the bluefin season about to start,
the striper bite starting up around Cape Cod and the fishing
off Cape Hatteras getting red hot we are starting our weekly
news and reports and will be adding items daily as they
happen. Look for a lot of videos to come as well as some new
and interesting features in the coming weeks.
We will
put out a report this coming Thursday night just in time for
the Memorial Day weekend. Check back then or sooner! |
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05/09/10 |
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Things are getting "fishy".... |
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From around the Cape... |
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There are small stripers all around the Cape and in the
Canal. There was a good school of keeper fish off Sesuit
last week, but they have vanished. Keepers have been taken
on chunk mackerel off South Sunken Meadow and some small
keepers have been landed off Crowell Road.
The Bay is
full of herring and mackerel, with sand eels being seen by
the #3 can.
Haddock and pollack are plentiful on the
east end of the bank, with some small keeper cod in the mix.
There have not been any squid around yet, but there have
been rumors of some bluefish off the south side (Falmouth
area?).
I am leaving tomorrow (05/10) for Hatteras NC
to fish the Hatteras Village Offshore Open on the Tuna Duck
with Captain Dan Rooks, Mike, and the rest of our team. It
should be a good week.
For this reason there won't be
a report next week, but after that there will be the weekly
newsletter and real time updates when things start
happening. Good luck to all of you! Dave |
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02/16/10 |
Cape Cod Bay’s “2010” Season...
By: Capt. Hap Farrell
 One
of the common questions a fisherman poses to him or herself
is, “What is going to happen next season?” It’s a question
there is no known answer to. No one can predict the future.
So, we have what is called an “educated guess”. And believe
me in that this is as much a guess as it is educated.
Last season the main body of stripers settled in around
P-town. From off Race Point all the way over to Day’s
Cottages. There were some on Billingsgate Shoals, mainly
right on the north edge, with some in the deep water. Near
the end of the season there was a few schools of big fish
just outside Barnstable Harbor also. However, the main area
of action was P-town. The bluefish stuck to their more
traditional areas. Up by the Path, off the Eastham shore,
the deep water north of the shoals and some just off the
Brewster Flats. This was last season.
This coming season, I think, will show us some changes.
Because of the massive amount of bait that was on
Billingsgate Shoals last season I think the bass will be
there this season. Since fish work in cycles I believe it is
going to be the Billingsgate Shoals turn to be the most
productive spot in the bay this season. It may be in the
deep water for a while with the fish moving up onto the
shoals at other times. As far as the bluefish are concerned.
I think there wouldn’t be much change from last season, just
more fish this season. Remember, this is my opinion.
Hopefully it will come true but at least it will give a
place to start.
I’ve been writing reports and articles for a few web sites
like this one, which is one of the better ones by the way,
for a while now. I also write a small weekly report in the
Cape Codder, a local newspaper for the Lower Cape area. The
one thing I’ve noticed is that they are not as timely as I’d
like. So, I’m making changes in my web site,
www.capecodbaycharters.com, so I can post timely reports
on what exactly is happening in Cape Cod Bay. They will be
short in nature and right to the point, giving areas, what
lures seem to be working the best, and such like that. It
should be up and running in a week or two. Until the fishing
starts I’ll put occasional short statements on what to do to
get ready.
If you have a Facebook account type in one of these pages:
Stunmai II Charter Fishing, Stunmai II Sportfishing Service,
or Sportfishing, Rock Harbor, Cape Cod. This will show you
something of what I do fishing in the Bay. There are videos
on each site. I have videos up on YouTube also. Just type in
the search box Stunmai II and they will come up. What I’m
hoping is that those who come to the Cape and want to fish
the Bay will put my information to good use. Of course,
those who are coming to go fishing will look me up to take
them out for a day or half day of good Cape Cod Bay fishing.
That is what I do.
www.capecodbaycharters.com
capthap@capecodbaycharters.com |
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12/14/09 |
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"Save Your Tuna Fishery!" |
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I received the below, and a dozen like
it, in the last day. It is very important that you read the
below and respond to the petition. I decided to use the one
I received from Capt. Bruce Peters. |
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Hi Folks,
We (tuna fishermen) want to quickly do a sign on letter to
oppose a CITES listing for BLUEFIN TUNA. A CITES listing
will devalue the ABT fishery and penalize sushi and
sportfishing businesses, YET do nothing to limit overharvest
in the European countries, due to the "reservation" clause
in CITES rules !
As you know we have decided to use an online petition as our
way of expressing our opposition to the US supporting a
Cites listing. Please go to the following link:
http://www.petitiononline.com/tuna09/petition.html
Sign on and feel free to pass it on. Also we all know people
who do not use email but we still want their support. If you
have people who don't use email then get their permission
and sign them on. We need all the people we can get and I
know a lot of fishermen who do not use email. They are
important so please do it for them.
These sign on letters have been very successful for CHOIR.
Most people while they may intend to write their own letter
do not ever follow through. A sign on letter can be a very
effective means of showing our government and our elected
officials where people stand. We do not want to put
someone's name on the list unless we have their permission.
We would appreciate it if you could help us build this list.
Individuals, fishermen (commercial or rec), fishing
organizations, marinas, tackle shops, restaurants, fuel
suppliers, marine hardware shops, etc should be the targets.
We will only submit one list so please respond promptly
Thanks very much,
Bruce & Marilyn S |
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10/29/09 |
Well, I missed a week again, although for good reason. My
younger sister, Ginny Tasso, passed away last week
unexpectedly and I had to go to Chatham for the funeral and
such. She was far too young, only 51. I will miss her, as
will all that knew her.
Below is a synopsis of what happened on Tuesday of this
week. I honestly believe my sister paid me a visit. I will
be writing a full story on the day, but read below and you
will get the idea. |
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One Last Time... |
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This past Tuesday was supposed to be a nice day on the
water, but as is often the case, Monday was the nice day and
Tuesday was not so nice. The two to four that was forecasted
was four to six stacked up every four seconds, with six to
eight common and a few eight to tens thrown in the mix. It
was a long ride to the grounds at reduced speed, but we
jogged our way out to give it a shot.
"We" consisted of Capt. Jack Riley and the Maverick, Capt.
Randy Black and myself. I was in town to attend the funeral
of my younger sister and found myself with a day with no
obligations the day before we had to head back. I asked Jack
if we could possibly go offshore to get my mind off of
things and he readily agreed. Tuesday looked like the best
day at the time so we planned on that.
Once we completed the long ride out we set up our first
drift to the north edge of the fleet. Things were pretty
quiet and there weren't a lot of bites. Our first drift
didn't even produce a mark, so we pulled up and steamed to
the SE corner of the fleet and set up in the vicinity of
some gillnetters working their gear. We had the tail section
of a mackerel with the hook buried and sewn shut set at 140
feet, a chunk of herring presented the same way at 110 feet,
and another chunk of mackerel slowly let out to match the
sink rate of the chunk and brought in, reset, etc, etc.
Sometime around 1:00 pm the deep mackerel went off. Jack was
jigging cod, Randy was cutting bait and I was looking at the
screen. There were no marks around when we went off so it
was a surprise. I jumped on the rod and started fighting the
fish. The way that it was coming in Randy and I figured a
short or a shark. Not much fight at all. That lasted about
10 minutes. At that point the fish must have decided that it
was hooked a made the first of 10 hard runs. He dumped 75%
of the spool before we realized that this fish wasn't
fooling around. We needed to back down in a hurry to get
some line back then turned and put him off the corner.
This was the beginning of a three hour battle. I have caught
my share of big fish but never have I dealt with a fish that
was this powerful and this determined to be anywhere but
near the boat. At an hour and a half he came up fifty or
sixty feet off the stern and showed us his entire upper
back, all lit up and huge! We knew we had a big fish then
and all the "what if's" start racing through your mind.
At the end of the second hour we had him just off the stern
and straight down. he was within reach of the long harpoon
so Randy drove it deep, only to have the fish turn and avoid
the dart. I put everything I had into turning the fish so
Randy could get a second shot. This time he drove it home
and put all his weight behind it once he felt meat. This
pissed the fish off!
Now we are still hooked up, a dart in the fish, and we can't
control him. So we begin another hour of give and take with
a very big fish that refuses to give up. At the end of the
third hour we had him close enough to drive a second dart
deep into him. Now we have two darts in him, plus he is
still hooked up, and he is thrashing at the stern. It is
quite an experience trying to tail rope a big fish that is
mad as hell! I finally got two tail ropes on the fish and
tied him off. We cut the line and took a third harpoon and
raked his gills, bleeding him as we eased ahead.
Without going into too much detail here (I am writing a
story about the day that will cover all the details) I will
tell you that it took us another hour to get him in the
boat. This fish would not die and made our life miserable!
We did prevail and in the end had a 900 lb fish on the deck.
I am not into such things but I honestly believe that this
fish was a gift from my sister. Not something handed over
but offered up as a test. If we were willing to give it all
we had, and then some, plus put up with one last surge of
strength and determination from one taken too young, then
the prize could be ours, maybe.
We took the challenge and came out winners on a day that
none of us will ever forget. Thanks Ginny...Dave |
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10/15/09 |
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 I
must apologize for missing the last two weeks but I was
offshore the first week and away on business the second.
Again, I do apologize.
As most of you know there has been one heck of a giant
bluefin tuna bite going on east of Chatham the last 3 weeks
or better. The bite died down early this
week and the weather negated this weekend. So...the big
question is are the fish still around and will the bite turn
on again next week? Or, did the fish move on with another
wave to follow?
I have talked with some of the most knowledgeable tuna
fishermen there are, guys who have fished Chatham for many,
many years and made a very good
living at it and there is a common theme I am hearing.
What I am hearing is that this year is like years in the
"old" days. There are a lot of fish around, a lot of fish
being caught, and some truly huge fish being both caught and
lost. I have heard stories, true stories, that I won't
repeat because no one would believe them.
I can tell you that I lost the biggest fish I have ever had
on, plus I caught a very large Dusky shark. I have 3
witnesses that will verify that one!
I wish you all the best of luck when ever you can get back
out! Dave |
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Fall Specials!
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14" East of Chatham Black Squid - $2.50 each, any quantity. |
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09/17/09 |
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Fishing with the Maverick |
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Capt. Jack Riley |
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Maverick Charters |
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The bass fishing has slowed a bit. There are some fish
around, but you need to work for them. As you read in Hap's
report, the best striper action is off P-Town. We have a few
bass charters left, then it is on to commercial bluefin
fishing. In a week and a half Dave will be out and we are
going to hit it hard for the week.
The bluefin bite is very good when you can get out. From the
BC to the BB buoy is good, with the best bite south of the
Regal Sword.
A couple of our commercial contacts report good catches of
giants in the Bay this week. One boat went 3 days with 3
fish, another went two for two. All fish were caught on live
bluefish under a kite. It is the only way to fish live bait
now with all the dogfish around. We have a friend that tried
to slow troll (2 knots) a bluefish last week and within ten
minutes the fish was destroyed by dogfish.
So...it is bluefish and kites for us the last week of
September!
The draggers have been active at Mud Hole, attracting tuna
to 900 lbs. These fish love the floaters left behind by the
draggers. This is an anchor up fishery confined to a
relatively small place. It gets interesting at times when
the bite is on and the fleet is thick!
It seems like anyone you talk to is getting ready to hunt
deer or hunt tuna. Whatever your pleasure, good luck!
Capt. Jack |
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© Offshore Pursuits LLC 2010 |
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