Hi Folks,The water temperatures are what to key in on at this time of year. These migrating fish are looking for the warmer water, and a decent food supply. The sound trap fishermen are now catching some of the mackeral that were holed up in the Muskeget Channel last week. As they move into the Nantucket Sound area with the warmer waters, so will the larger Stripers. Any estuaries and embayments will also have warmer water temps, the key there is to weed through the small fish schools that will be there. A good way to do that would be to use a larger bait, such as a mackeral or herring chunk or a live eel, tomcod, or scup. Even artificials will work as the hordes of fish move into the area. I like the Yozuri plugs, Zara Spooks, and the Fin-S and Sluggo soft plastic baits myself.
Even in Cape Cod Bay the fish are seeking the warmer waters. I have heard that the stripers there are in the shallows and knee deep water outside the herring runs, herding and scooping up any fish they find. Between the stripers, the gulls that get every herring that returns to the ocean and us sportfishers looking for the live bait advantage, its no wonder the herring runs are not getting the returns they need.
Soon enough, (a week ?) there will be so many fish on the Monomoy flats that you can walk on them, and as the waters warm throughout June and July, the big fish that stack up on the sand eels outside of Chatham and the Rips of Monomoy will be there for our enjoyment. The Miss Jillian is ready to go and will be launched on Monday afternoon. The first trip is scheduled for the 28 th of May and we intend to give Pleasant Bay a good effort.
If you want to experience some of Cape Cod's world class striper fishing that you've heard so much about, and you haven't yet reserved a date this summer, shoot me an email and we'll see if there is a date and a time that works for you.
Thanks,
Capt. Bruce & Miss Jillian
