Flyfishing while wading or casting from Cape Cod shores . .
.
. . . is the most popular approach around the Cape & Islands.
Stripers are usually "bottom" fish, seeking the deep water of
channels for cover but they can be found within casting distance of shore
where forage or structure allows them to hold. It is best to think of stripers
as first being shy, they don't like to be seen or even waiting in the light
of day if they can help it. Timing is almost everything in striper fishing.
Fish the right times and you can get away with a lot of so-so locales and
presentations.
This should immediately suggest the advisability of fishing at night
and this is wise. Any location where some fish are being caught in the light
of day will produce more and bigger fish on the same tide in the dark. The
other advantage of night fishing is reduced pressure on the water. Boaters
are generally gone; beachcombers and swimmers too. This quietude allows
the shy striper to come up from the safety of the depths to feed nearer
the surface and nearer the shore. So near sometimes that you may turn and
see the dorsal fin of one pass between you and the sand while you are standing
knee deep and casting to "better" prospects further out.
Night fishing requires little in the way of special tackle. A red
lens for your flashlight helps to preserve your night vision. However, more
essential is a daylight scouting trip to spot any dangerous drops or currents
that you may encounter. Much of the Cape's, Nantucket Sound and Cape Cod
Bay, shoreline has a longshore current that produces a flow not unlike a
big slow river. This needs to be taken into account for both safety while
wading and when casting "up current". Bays and coves usually have
significantly stronger currents from the ebb and flow of the tide through
confined necks and along channels. This set of the tide can be treacherous
in the dark but remembering that striped bass come closer and shallower
at night means that the fly caster rarely needs to wade out further than
is necessary to secure room for his backcast. I'll discuss flies and tackle
for all conditions below.
One more serious safety consideration for night fishing is to wear
a hat and flatten all your barbs. It's unnerving enough hearing a 1/0 hook
flying past your head at thirty miles an hour, however the sounds your spouse
makes having to get up to extricate it from your scalp at one in the morning
is even worse. Not to mention, loosing the time on the water.
All other factors being equal (and of course, they rarely are) the
best time to fish for stripers in the light of day is at the first light
of day. Like all predators, they have the advantage of adjusting to changing
light conditions faster than the forage species. This gives them an edge
and then natural selection has determined that they feed more heavily at
these times. First light is a bit more than an hour before sunrise. Plan
to be on the shore, twohours before sunrise for the
best early morning time. (This is also why charter captains try to get their
clients into the boat at first light. Its much easier to produce fish at
5:00 a.m. than 8:00 a.m.)
If you can't fish the night or morning, you can minimize your handicap
by optimizing locale before tackle. As I said above, stripers like to hide
and feel safe. They aren't fussy eaters (usaully) or delicate biters but
they won't come up to the surface unless its a sure thing or all their brethren
are there already. This means finding bottom structure likely to
hold fish. More to come . . .3/7/00
This should immediately suggest the advisability of fishing at night
and this is wise. Any location where some fish are being caught in the light
of day will produce more and bigger fish on the same tide in the dark. The
other advantage of night fishing is reduced pressure on the water. Boaters
are generally gone; beachcombers and swimmers too. This quietude allows
the shy striper to come up from the safety of the depths to feed nearer
the surface and nearer the shore. So near sometimes that you may turn and
see the dorsal fin of one pass between you and the sand while you are standing
knee deep and casting to "better" prospects further out.
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2000