Cape Cod - Same Ocean different planet

You can only listen to the stories of blitzing shoals and fly fishing the flats for Striped Bass for so long before you have to see for yourself. After months of planning I was headed west towards Cape Cod in Massachusetts .I could hardly contain my excitement. Just a couple of guys who love to fish ,spouses left at home unadulterated fishing for ten days. Bass fishing from Dawn till dusk with just enough time at night for a clam chowder and a couple of cold Beers to follow ,it sounds great ! We also caught around 400 Bass in ten days .You soon lose count when the fishing is that good.

Fishing can be hard work at times!

Chatham and Cape Cod
After a two hour drive East from Boston airport and you will arrive at Chatham a picture postcard New England town with the most wonderful period timber houses. The beach front houses sell for Millions , so if you plan to relocate start saving .

The fishery
Cape Cod is a mecca for saltwater fly fishermen. An intelligent coastal fisheries policy has provided the East coast with a bounty both in the terms of quality fishing but also in terms of money spent by visiting foreign fishermen and locals alike. You will find a strong saltwater fly fishing scene and all accessible to the visitor. The migrating Stripers will arrive at the Cape From around mid may ,soon after the bluefish arrive. Blues are the hard fighting thugs , a fish with attitude and a set of teeth to match. These fish will hang around until the fall. As the season progresses the fish wise up and can be harder to catch. Early season is a great time , as the fish are hungry having recently spawned . Later in the year the false albacore arrive and provide great sport on the fly. The Cape has endless options for Flyfishermen. fishing the flats ,the rips, Oceanside surf beaches ,salt ponds and the creeks. We managed to fish a variety of environments and caught fish from every single one of them.

Creeks	Beaches
Flats	Afloat

The Fish
Striped Bass are prolific along the East coast They are very similar to our European bass although as with all things American they tend to be a great deal larger .they will migrate North with the warmer waters and head back down south as the sea temperatures drop. Bluefish are voracious predators . To watch a shoal of blues attack baitfish is amazing they will slash at anything that comes within their path .They also fight like demons when hooked .If you start losing flies then its time to rig a bite tippet .

Tackle And Fishing Files.
Take both a 7/8 wt and a 9/10 wt . The lighter set up would suit the creeks . You are far more likely to fish a 9/10 most of the time. You will need a full compliment of fly lines and expect to use fast sinking lines in the rips on a regular basis. Twenty pound fluorocarbon leaders were used . And remember to pack a decent bite proof tippet material for the bluefish. I used PRO LEADER and had no problems. Expect to hook big fish that will run hard and fast so invest in a decent reel with plenty of backing .

Flies
Size 4- 2 # Olive sparse DNA Clousers - On the flats and beaches
Size 2 Gurglers - In the creeks
Size 1 /0 Olive Super hair Clousers - In the fast Rips and drop offs

A day out with Fin Addiction
We had arranged to spend one day with Captain Jeff Smith from Fin Addiction Charters . Fortunately the clouds parted and the wind dropped in time for or our day afloat.

Jeff your pretty cool, but not that cool!

We met Jeff at Pamet harbour at Five AM And were soon blasting out at great speed past Province town and Race Point towards the fishing grounds. Jeff loves his work and it came across. I just knew we were going to have a great day out. We arrived at the first spot to the sight of a vast shoal of sandeel . Fast sinking lines on 9 Wt rods were rigged and size 4/0 DNA bush pigs were tied onto strong leaders. We were soon into what we regard as great fish and Jeff regards as little fellas. A few seven or eight pound bass wasn't’t too bad to start with . Jeff had other plans and wanted to get us into the Cows. We headed further South and were confronted by a unforgettable scene ,a colossal shoal of sandeel ,literally a few miles square in size dimpling the surface .Gulls and Terns were diving on mass . Humpback Whales were engulfing prey with huge mouths open as they broke the surface. Bass also were attacking the bait .You could possibly think that catching fish in these circumstances would be a formality but that wasn’t the case. Jeff had to work really hard to get us onto fish, as fast as the bass would hit the surface they would vanish to re appear elsewhere , we would move closer to the action or play the waiting game and then if lucky get one or two shots at the fish before they disappeared. Jeff was slightly frustrated but we were over the moon. My buddy Colin had a personal best fish at thirty five inches. I had a few double figure fish and a big smile on my face. Two very happy customers indeed.

A nice start to the day	Colin with a great fish (again!)
Someone to do the hard work	Our Home for the day

After several hours Oceanside we headed towards the sheltered waters of Provincetown Harbour to try a little sight fishing in the shallows. Clouds appeared from nowhere and visibility was lost, the next couple of hours were spend catching 3 lb class bass on intermediate lines and olive DNA clousers. Great sport and great fun watching twenty fish follow the fly from our elevated position on the boat. I am already looking forward to a day out with Jeff in the future.

A managed fishery , we can only dream.
In the late eighties the population of striped bass hit rock bottom ,over fishing by the commercial sector had taken its toll .Radical steps were required and quickly. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in conjunction with Federal government introduced a far sweeping range of laws to protect the species. And more importantly those laws were enforced rather than just passed.

In the UK Saltwater fly fishing is regarded as ‘’ the next big thing ‘’ .I watch fishing boats leaving the harbour laden with monofilament gill nets soon to return with juvenile fish that have not been given even a chance to spawn . If we had the same commitment and vision to change policy then perhaps we could achieve the same as the Americans . Recreational Sea fishing is now booming in the States. Saltwater fly fishing in the UK is great fun but a shadow of what could be.

If I have inspired one person to visit Cape Cod I hope I have inspired at least another to join BASS these guys have been fighting on our behalf with some success for years. Look at the Irish Drift nets. Recreational fishermen are standing up and being counted and it seems that common sense may finally be winning .The same could be achieved over here its all down to us.

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