Schoolies Are Starting To Show, But Striper Fishing Still Slow

     I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am still amazed each season to see how a little sunshine gets the fishing show on the road. In this case, I’m talking about fishermen, not fish.
     Some folks might have complained about how cold and wet April was, but to me, it was just the typical stuff on the Upper Cape. The month that just passed is always a tough one, with as much of a chance of getting a little snow as a day in the 50s with a hint of sun.
     That said, I agree with most folks that fishing along the south side has been slow.

     Mixed Results At South Cape

     Jeff Clabault at Forestdale Bait & Tackle on Route 130 has been taking his usual trips to the Popponesset and South Cape Beach areas with mixed results. He took a few small stripers in the creek area on Monday and a few small fish in the mid-20 inch range from Sandy Beach. He agreed that many folks haven’t gotten into the swing of things, with few anglers even bothering to sniff around when he has been fishing. Jeff is determined to catch a legal fish or two by this weekend and will be pulling out all the stops.
     Jay Sylvester from Mashpee Bait and Tackle on Route 28 called to say that bluefish have shown up around Oregon Beach. Amy Wrightson at the Sports Port called Tuesday evening to say that an angler had come by with a few bluefish he had taken from the same area as Jay reported. Amy agreed that things have been hit-or-miss even in the Cotuit area, which is usually crawling with schoolies and producing more than a few legal fish at this point.
     Rob Miceli, the boys’ tennis coach at Mashpee High School, shared a firsthand observation of a nice bass caught on Tuesday evening by a couple of boat anglers who were fishing the Loop Beach off Cotuit, just east of Oregon, so there is hope, and hopefully plenty of time, for shore anglers to enjoy some good catches along the south side.
     Rich Generazio from Falmouth Bait and Tackle in Teaticket lives around the Eel River area and said there were schoolies earlier this week really raising a ruckus. It appears that fish are starting to filter in on every new tide from Falmouth to Hyannis.
     The reports I have received about squid fishing in the sound have been mixed; Jeff Clabault said that Tuesday was a better day, but there is some suspicion that more squid are south of the Vineyard, making for a slow season here so far.
     Jim Young at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle on Main Street, Falmouth, added that a number of draggers are going back to fishing for sea scallops since the squid catch is so thin that they can’t make any money.
     Andy Nabreski of On The Water magazine noted that Patriot Party Boats out of Falmouth is offering night trips for squid, mainly on Saturday nights. Andy and friends went out last Saturday, and even though rough seas made for some queasy stomachs, they did manage to jig some up. Apparently, the Helen H out of Hyannis has been doing these types of trips for some time, both during the day and at night, and the fishing can be quite good. Call to check on schedules and availability before heading to the docks.
     Andy also enjoys fishing for squid from shore and feels they should be in the harbors and close to shore by now, adding that his wife saw a pair of draggers working close to shore around the mouth of Falmouth Harbor on Wednesday morning. Some folks rely on the lights along most commercial docks to draw the squid in, but others have all kinds of high-powered lighting systems connected to batteries to increase their chances of drawing in small bait that brings in the squid to feed.

     Tautog Season Well Underway

     Rich Generazio said that a young angler reported to him that on Tuesday night the area around Trunk River was crawling with squid.
     Tautog fishing has been very good, noted Bob Lewis at Green Pond Fish ‘n Gear in East Falmouth. Woods Hole is always a good spot, Bob said, but there are also some patches of hard bottom off Falmouth Harbor that produce well. With the toggies moving in to spawn close to shore, anglers working around Nobska and any number of jetties along the south side should enjoy some success.
     Mixed in with the toggies this time of year will be some scup, but remember that the season for recreational anglers doesn’t open until May 24, although you can go out on a headboat and fish for them starting May 15.
     If you are targeting larger stripers at the moment, then your odds will be increased if you make the turn through Woods Hole up into Buzzards Bay.
     Although he spends a great deal of his time around our southside beaches, Falmouth’s John Bazycki made a wise move Sunday night to the Quissett area and managed what has been reported as the first legal bass from shore, or boat for that matter, checked in at a Falmouth shop. Jim Young said the 30-inch striper weighed just over 12 pounds and was caught on a Danny plug.
     While fishing the West Falmouth area on Monday evening, Tim Folan of Bad Fish Outfitters on Route 28A in North Falmouth got to experience his first worm spawn. If you haven’t ever been part of one, it is equal parts mesmerizing and frustrating as the worms spin and do their mating dance. Bass just vector in on these events, but more often than not, especially after they get going hot and heavy, it can be almost impossible to get a fish to take a lure or fly. In fact, Tim tried everything in his bag and finally managed a fish on a small swimming plug. That kind of move, switching to something that doesn’t remotely resemble a worm, is often the key, although every flyrodder I know has a favorite pattern and spin anglers swear by extra small Sluggos.
     From what Mike Thomas at M & D’s in Wareham said, the rivers up his way are filled with stripers, with the number of legal (28 inches and over) ones increasing every day; Mike added that some tautog anglers have reported seeing schools of big bass moving through on the tide out in Buzzards Bay.
     Shore anglers are doing very well on small Spook-type plugs as well as various soft plastics, and with some really good-sized schools of pogies around, odds are that even bigger bass will show up to chow on them. Snagging and livelining these choice baits are almost a sure thing, but it is also time to think about upsizing your plugs because the fish will attack them with abandon in May, especially if you work the edges of the schools of bait.
     Dick Hopwood at Maco’s in Buzzards Bay called schoolie action up around Onset and Buttermilk Bay pretty consistent, and a friend of his also managed a legal fish up inside Onset. Drifting seaworms is always a popular method up inside these protected waters.
     This area has apparently produced the largest fish I have heard of, a 29-pounder that Jay Sylvester weighed in for a friend who wouldn’t reveal what he was using.
     A number of the commercial tautog fishermen who frequent Maco’s were out fishing on Monday, Dick said, when they got the word that the state had closed the spring season as the poundage for that period had been reached.
     For those Canal regulars who are itching for a Big Ditch fix, the word from Bob Samuelson at Red Top in Buzzards Bay is that there were good numbers of stripers there, particularly around the herring run. Many of them were much larger than the occasional schoolie that has been the main catch so far. Folks standing on the banks of the Canal who had polarized sunglasses could see them milling about. On the other hand, the bad news is that as of earlier this week, they had lockjaw, but that could change in a matter of one tide, advised Bob.
     Some schools of bass have worked their way through the Canal or have moved in from deeper water along the Outer Cape, as at least one angler has found them willing to take topwater plugs off Town Neck Beach in Sandwich, said Bob Samuelson.

     Mackerel Fishing Picking Up In CC Bay

     At the east end, there have been a few mackerel reported, confirmed Bruce Miller, as they move across Cape Cod Bay after making the swing around Race Point. There are some off the bell buoy outside of Barnstable Harbor and there should be more and more bass pushing through the Canal in the next several weeks.
     Flounder fishing is picking up at the east end, but if you want tautog, the shoreline by the Maritime Academy is your best bet at present, although Bruce expects them to spread throughout the Canal as May progresses.
     With more of the freshwater crew heading for saltwater, the diehard sweetwater crew will find less pressure, which adds up to better angling. The water in the ponds is still cool enough at some of the deeper dropoffs, so trout angling is still okay from shore. Folks are still having fun with the smaller salmon that the state stocked in Peters Pond.
     With largemouth bass moving onto their beds in shallow water close to shore, you will be getting aggressive strikes on topwater lures as the fish protect their territory, with some anglers believing it is best to leave them alone during spawning season. Hamblins Pond has produced some nice smallmouths, Jay Sylvester said, on plastic worms and shiners, and perch fishing is excellent.