September 2003 Daily Fishing Reports

Barnstable Harbor was the sight of my trip today with Mark Roberts and his son Daniel. While there were a few fish rising on a foggy, chilly morning, overall both Mark and I were surprised that we didn't have far more topwater action. The morning was much kinder to Daniel with Sluggos than Mark who was wielding a fly rod; the edges of Horseshoe Bar were good early on and then we found decent numbers of fish on the bar itself as the tide flooded. We were directed towards some good surface action around the entrance to Mill Creek by a helpful boater, and Mark started to close the gap on his son using both chartreuse/white and an olive/white Clousers. With the water flooding and filling the flats, the fish and bait scattered, so we checked along Sandy Neck and all the way to Scorton Creek with no success. I was shocked to see no birds or breaking fish during that run and back, but we did end the day with some fish on the flats off Chapin's as the tide ebbed and then off of Horseshoe Bar. As much fun as Mark and Daniel had, I was impressed with both of their calm demeanors and enjoyment of their fishing together, as well as Mark's tales of angling in spots I have only heard of.

After numerous postponements, I finally got to fish with Rich Carl and his son Jacob, who is an incredible angler for someone only six years old. I marveled at his casting ability and the way he could fish an eel perfectly and make plugs work just right. Unfortunately, we weren't able to find any fish in a short morning of angling, despite hitting the same stretches I did the day before; I can only imagine that the front that came through and produced east winds had some influence. The only topwater action we saw was a school of albies that blew up next to the boat as we were casting eels. By the time we grabbed the albie rods, the fish had headed beyond us and when I finally got the boat positioned for a shot, they disappeared, making for another unrequited meeting with my friends, the funny fish.

Mike Price took some time off from working on his mother-in-law's house to introduce his brother-in-law to big Cape Cod bass - and Scott Smith certainly had a good intro! Eels worked their magic today, with both Scott and Mike taking some good fish early on before Mike connected with a real cow. Scott just kept patiently fishing, even getting a blue to the boat before it cut free, and ultimately was rewarded with the final couple of bass of the day, including an impressive striper that just might have topped Mike's earlier catch. Of course, I forgot the camera at home and elected not to weigh or measure any of the fish caught today, so we'll just call it a draw on the day between Mike and Scott - which just might require a rematch next year when they make it back to the Cape.

Mark Tenerowicz and Charles Mann got to experience fall fishing and weather at its best, with beautiful clear blue skies,little wind, and fish everywhere. We started on the flats outside Onset where bass were rising everywhere you looked. Topwater plugs and Sluggos did the trick on schoolie sized fish. As the current went west even stronger, we hit upon fish all along the stretch between Hog Island and Mashnee Island. What was particularly cool was seeing the fish milling along the bottom as we drifted over them, and they would track a plug or soft plastic right to the boat. Heading even farther down, there were bass busting bait up against the Stony Point Dike. As the bass action slowed, I made the decision to run down the bay to see if we could find some funny fish. There were blips here and there that looked like bluefish, but once we hit West Falmouth, it was clear that we were into tuna. Charles had a brief hookup with an albie on a small stickbait, but despite some decent shots, they were very picky and spooky. But at least Mark and Charles got a flavor of the excitement that surrounds these speedsters - and perhaps had their appetites whetted for another meeting with them.

No, not the fishy kind, but the kind that come from Rich Paulette having to postpone due to his fishing partner being unable to make our Thursday date. Over the weekend, Saturday was fine, but I was on Nantucket with my field hockey team, while Sunday was predicted to be blowy and rough, not exactly a great day to pick up Rich Yetman and Paul Mort in Falmouth and scoot over to the Vineyard to pick up Rich's brother Davis for some Derby action. But hope is still strong with at least a couple more weekends on tap this fall.

After having to cancel our fall trip last year, this September proved kinder to Walter Nelson and Dave Johnson as we found little wind and just overcast skies around Barnstable. We also found decent numbers of bass up inside on top as we headed out, which is one of the first times I found that kind of action this season. We also ventured outside and found schools of blues and flocks of birds working down from the east end of the Canal towards Sandy Neck and beyond. These big fish were very fussy and scattered quickly as soon as we approached; I suspect motor noise might have been affecting the bait even more than the larger fish. We managed a few decent blues and it looked like there might have been some school bluefin around as some of the crashes and jumping fish just looked too large for blues. No matter how the fishing is, I find the time I spend with Walter and Dave some of the most relaxing of the year and the conversations funny, entertaining, and informative. Who could ask for more?

Due to some changes in plans, a lack of the desired fish, and foul weather, this week was a series of cancellations. Jane Rost was good enough to agree to a rescheduling due to a last minute conflict I had. I also had plans to meet with Peter and Rick Schwartz for some funny fish expeditions, but the lack of reliable fishing had me recommend that they stick with bass and blues off Chatham; it was certainly a good call as they caught some truly big bass on the fly and had over two hours of big, blitzing blues on one day. The weekend was a blowout with strong wind on Saturday for Jonathan Katz and less than ideal conditions for Rich Carl on Sunday.

Casting eels down the islands was the plan for Kevin Strange, a researcher from Vanderbilt University up for a conference at MBL who has fished the Elizabeths before, and his two associates, Ana Estevez and Jerod Denton. Despite what ended up being a pretty slow day with snakes, Ana ended up hooking a fish that simply took so much drag that I suspected she had a big bass. Kevin and Jerod offered no assistance, so I worked with Ana and kept encouraging her. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally got a look at what was the biggest bluefish I have seen in years. Despite all kinds of talk about 16, 18, or even 20 pound blues, the reality is most folks way overestimate the size of their choppers. But in this case, Ana's fish was so long and fat that I suspect it was upwards of the mid-teen's in weight. We also managed another good sized blue while Ana rested, but bass were hard to come by overall, leading me to wonder just when things would pick up along the Elizabeths again.

Today I got the chance to fish with Adam and Susie Bell who hail from upstate New York. Conditions looked best on the northside, so we met at Barnstable Harbor and were rewarded with a decent number of schoolies, including Susie's first fish on a Sluggo. To her credit, Susie worked on the fly rod for a good long while, but elected to move to light spinning tackle and she was rewarded. Adam proved to be very adept with the long wand and connected on a number of bass, completing a great trip with some really great folks.