September 2000 Daily Fishing Reports

If there's one thing I should have learned is to listen to the weather channel, but always, always make the final decision according to what I see when I wake up the next morning. All week long there were dire predictions of a gale heading our way, but quite frankly what we experienced here on the upper Cape, especially along the southside, was definitely less than fierce. Just Wednesday morning, I fished with Ron Sweeten of Vermont after postponing our planned nighttime adventure after all of the chatter about high winds that I assumed would make Nobska and some other selected spots downright dangerous. Of course, it was also driving rain which made my decision easier to take. Well, the next morning arrived and even in the early morning darkness it was apparent that there would be no white water that I prefer around the lighthouse. In fact, it was flat calm with hardly a breath of wind. The sky was dark and ominous, but the heavy stuff headed towards the Vineyard and eventually we were treated to a beautiful sunrise and Ron's first fish on a live eel. It wasn't the big fish that I had hoped to find for him, but given the rest of the day, it was better than nothing. We sniffed around some of the southside ponds in Falmouth which have had the occasional schoolies, as has Waquoit, but nothing much was happening as we were on an incoming tide which I definitely do not prefer. One fish did roll in Bourne's Pond, but I think it was only giving me the big raspberry, as if to say, "You can't catch me." Off to Bourne it was and some spots with perfect falling tides, albeit in the bright sunshine. Quite frankly, at this time of the year, I have found spectacular fishing all day long as fish are getting into a feeding mood and preparing for their travels to the south and west, but other than some small bluefish that Ron scored with a Yo-Zuri Wagging Dog, things were quiet. Of course, I later ran into On The Water's editor, Gene Bourque, up in Sandwich who told me that West Falmouth was on fire as he left there earlier, which is earlier than I remember that area waking up. I guess it just goes to show that even when you think you have patterns of fish behavior figured out, they deliver lessons about who's really in control! I was happy to find out later that Ron did manage to use some of the thoughts I shared with him about fishing eels to take a nice striper around 38 inches down Cape as he finished his vacation before heading back north to his home.

It seems that as each day rolls along, I get more and more senior moments. For example, if you read the report for September 3, I talk about fishing with Steve Murphy and Ron Quain. Well, that actually took place on September 24, while on September 3 I fished with Steve and his brother Brian. While there was a stack of boats well off Waquoit on Saturday, we drifted well away from the madding crowd, at least for the most part, and they managed to hook up four times, landing three nice little tunny, all of them on Deadly Dicks. Before first light, we had also streamed the tube-and-worm inside Waquoit and managed to pick up some nice schoolie bass as well, but be advised that bigger fish will show in this venue as well in the fall - and live eels will do the job as well. Every time Brian comes to fish with his brother, he somehow manages to just catch fish. Last year, he delivered one of the largest bass caught on the Katie G. as he salvaged a wet, soggy trip and this time he caught all the bass and even managed to hook up with three albies while blind casting for the most part - quite a performance overall. Still, I was most pleased that Steve finally managed to hook and land his own fat albert, because if anybody deserves some good fortune in the fishing world, it's him.

After a fantastic day of nice bass (nothing under 24 inches) on Tuesday as I fished with my good friend Jim Lowe in B-harbor in the fog, I felt confident that Jeff Howard and I would have equal luck on the weekend as there should have been no reason for the fish to move. Well, something certainly changed the fishes' minds as we made some drifts in the windy conditions and managed to catch one or two small stripers. With the wind building, I suggested to Jeff, who is from Sandwich, to reschedule the remainder of the trip for a later date when conditions for casting were more reasonable and the chances for doing more fish and getting to better spots would be an option.

The Elizabeths were certainly tough for me on Sunday when I fished with John Arndt, an excellent angler and gentlemen from Georgia. Since Captain John Christian was already booked on Sunday, I filled in and unfortunately was not able to find much action for John. After looking for albies all day, I certainly expected to find at least some schoolies around the islands, but other than a follow on the fly rod, things were quiet, at least around Naushon up above Tarpaulin. But what I have learned over the years is to listen and learn, and in this case I know I might have learned more from my charter than he did from me. John's home waters are Lake Lanier in northern Georgia, where they have a great population of landlocked stripers (his best is 32 pounds). He told me that the stripers there grow much faster than in saltwater, mostly due to the abundance of threadfin shad and now blueback herring that the bass feed on. In his experience, nothing beats Zoom Salty Fluke and Zoom Salty Super Fluke baits, which are soft plastics which he rigs unweighted, although he does occasionally add in a split shot about 18 inches above the plastic. Other companies make similar baits such as Fin-S-Fish, but John likes the Zooms and only fishes them in the pearl color. He has fished for albies off of Harker's Island, where 15 to 20 fish days aren't uncommon and swears that the Flukes really knock them dead. Our fishing experience for albies was less than fulfilling, with not much off Waquoit which had been hot and I elected to head over to the Vineyard rather than go east. We ran into a nice break of what looked like bonito rather than albies off Big Bridge and John had at least seven or eight shots with what I am convinced has been the hot lure, the #1 Long green Deadly Dick. Nothing. No hook-ups, no runs, not even a sniff. From there, we did the big cruise looking for action. Out to Cape Poge and back through all the spots from Edgartown to West Chop, we saw only what I call spasms of fish, which lasted hardly a second. Through the Hole we went up into Buzzards Bay and things were beginning to look pretty bleak for yours truly. Finally, I spied a break off of Racing Beach and set up the boat for John to cast a Fluke, which means upwind so the cast is going with the wind since these plastics don't go a long way. Wouldn't you know it? Even though the fish weren't showing anymore, John was quickly into a false albacore which he played like the expert he is. I know that I am convinced of the efficacy of these plastics and when Judd Poole told me that he say John fishing with Captain John in the Hole on Monday and they were catching bass and albies with the Flukes, I am absolutely converted. Of course, I know that much of their success is in the hands of skillful anglers like John Arndt who can make one look just like a baby pogy flipping around on or just below the surface. I like the fall because I have time to get back to types of fishing we might have overlooked in the heat of funny fish frenzies and summer craziness. September and October provide opportunities and motivation to listen and learn when fish are right there and you can't catch. During the dog days of summer, we can blame things on the hot water and traffic and whatever and stubbornly stick to the old standbys, especially if nobody is catching, but when the fish are all around you and you're doing bubkus, an open mind and a willing ear can sometimes salvage at least something from the day and make for more success in the future.

After an August trip with Kevin Butler and Brad Shufelt which produced plenty of fish showing but no hook-ups, my two buddies joined me for another shot. Our adventure started off Cape Poge, where small pods of albies were making splooshes here and there. It was pretty rough, but Kevin did a great job of hitting a fish right on the break and it was off to the races. It wasn't the biggest fat albert we've caught this year, but it sure was exciting. And what was great is how excited Brad was for him! The fish finally stopped showing and we headed across the sound for Osterville where there have been roving schools of albies. Sure enough, they were there, but despite some good shots, there would be no more hook-ups for us on this day. And it certainly was interesting watching three guys fly cast over and around each other as fish broke; it was a bit of organized choreography that any dance teacher could appreciate!

Suffice it to say that Steve Murphy is one of the nicest guys I know. Today we went out in the fog for a day of tubing and chucking live eels. My original thought was to troll Squibbie with the tube-and-worm, but as I looked at roller coaster sized waves a mile or so as we made our way from Gay Head, I decided that discretion is indeed the better part of valor. We tubed Devil's Bridge with no luck, and then headed for Quick's. Things were slow for a bit, but then Ron managed a nice fish on Pasque and after working Robinson's, he once again hit paydirt with two big fish on snakes - and Steve just missed hooking up when his bail flipped over prematurely, sending a signal to the fish that something was wrong with Mr. Wiggly. What was interesting was how we managed to take several nice fish out of one small spot as we worked it over and over again. Overall, this was probably the best daytime eel action I had all season on the Katie G.

Fog kept us from getting out first thing in the morning, but as it lifted, David Martinez, his son Robert, and Dr. Tim Barton joined me for a shot at some of the albies which have just been ripping up the waters along the southside. As part of Robert's Eagle Scout fishing badge requirements, he was looking to catch his first fish - and the 13 year old certainly did well, hooking three fish and landing two false albacore, one of which his dad got a nice picture of as his son flashed a smile as wide as Nantucket Sound. Tim also hooked up and brought a fish to boat, which yours truly somehow managed to mishandle and even then it just lay there for another shot with my "hand" net. Unfortunately, just like that it got a shot of life and headed for deeper water, but overall it was a solid day of crashing fish and exciting hookups.