striped bass charter guide cape cod chatham orleans harwich brewster striper bluefish blues albacore bonito spinning fly fishing flyfishing boat truro hyannis yarmouth dennis monomoy nantucket sound atlantic instruction classes family
striped bass fly fishing flyfishing cape cod charter guide sight flats ocean bay chatham harwich orleans brewster yarmouth boat

Fly Fishing and Spinning Charters,
& the forecast for 2005, plus guiding information.

Flyfishing Charters

Spinning Charters

Chartered flyfishing and spinning trips for Striped Bass, Bluefish, Bonito and False Albacore look good for this year if last year is any indication. After an average winter, the arrival of schoolie stripers and racer bluefish is expected on the Islands by late April. So break out the 9wt. and stretch that intermediate line. Make a few false casts in the yard and get down to some serious fly tying (or check out the Chatham Fly Pack). The fish are on the way!

You light spinning anglers have waited long enough. By all means, clean and lube the reel and change your line. This is a good time to restock your lures before the stores are all sold out to the other fishermen. Most retailers restock in April and have the biggest selection at this time.. Check out the Chatham Pack if you are looking for a selection you can count on to work across the Cape for Stripers and Blues and in a variety of situations.

The first herring (alewife) scouts will arrive in Ryder's Cove about April 1. If its a good run of herring into the Bay and the sand eels (sand lances) line up offshore as they have in past years, it could be a spectacular year. But even a "usual" year is good one on the Bay.

In May, the herring are all up and down the east coast of the Cape. Many stripers of keeper follow these fish into Pleasant Bay and good fishing is found from here to Nauset inlet where striper fishing is only limited by the very big blues which are chopping small stripers! The fishing should be very good then with all tackle. (A journal entry from one typical year, "I took over thirty fish and three keepers on a fly this morning alone, yesterday's charter took a near keeper for the first fish (on a clouser) and all the rest were in the 16" to 26" size. Blues are into the Bay too so watch out!")

(Last year was the best in the previous three years. Things are getting back to normal and the fishing was outstanding. I expect a banner year in 2005.)

Pleasant Bay offers good solid Striper fishing from May through October. The runs of the biggest Stripers occur in June through September. Often these runs last a week or less and offer unsurpassed action. (Consider the short list if you want to be kept informed of these events and if you live close enough to benefit from these peak fishing opportunities.)

Bluefish arrive in May following the squid or alewives from the ocean and pursuing the local baitfish of the Bay. Bluefish have not been a reliable fishery in Pleasant Bay for two or three years. But there are a few places on the Bay that always hold Blues if any are around. The ocean is another matter and Blues can be found every day outside the break.

Bonito are found outside Chatham harbor on the Atlantic and around the corner on Nantucket Sound. These fish are fast feeders and unless the fisher is lucky enough to have a pod break near them, the usual technique is to run and gun, chasing after surface feeding activity or work the percentages and stay near the rips or productive shorelines. There are a few places that increase the chances of finding fish nearby but no place is a sure thing. Flyfishers need to be prepared to offer some highly active retrieves with flashy flies to hook up one of these little tuna. False Albacore are even tougher fish to bring to the lure but there are tactics that increase catches here too. In '98 there were days in September when the albies were feeding over miles of the Atlantic outside Chatham, but usually they were sitting in the rips at Monomoy for a month about the end of August - last year, 2004, was no exception.

I've been booking charters for 2005 since last fall but still have openings for the season (note: 2/20/05). I've enjoyed how much fly fishing has grown in recent years and the preople that are now coming out to do it. It offers a sporting fight for the stripers big and small and is sometimes the only way to catch 'em.
Light spinning also provides good action and knowing a wide variety of approaches is important to finding what works.

Baitfishing is the surest method of catching but something I rarely do. Still, when the fish are finicky or conditions are tough for a family outing with small children or to find a keeper at all costs, I may bring bait as a backup to help the day along - but only on request. Bait fishermen undoubtedly catch the majority of keeper size fish over 28" in the Bay (usually on eels or herring) but I've found that a much wider selection of effective artificial baits exists for the knowledgable fisherman. I'll likely be teaching you these.

Whatever your preference, there are times and places that each fishing technique works best. Chartering can help you to get over that initial hurdle of understanding the local conditions if you are new to the game or the Cape. In a morning's charter, you will probably fish half a dozen or more places, each with its own special tactics and strategies. Each time we size up a place and hook up on a fish you add to your local knowledge and increase your probability of future successes on our own in other places.

A good guide not only provides the boat and the proper equipment but also years of local experience and hard won judgement. His purpose is surely to find you the fish and provide the information necessary for you to have the best chance of catching but guiding doesn't end there. The best guides also consider the needs of the client while fishing. The client's experience and expressed desire for independence or support are important. So is the guide's willingness to share information that may help beyond the current trip, so that the client can benefit from his experience for as long and as much as possible.

Cape Cod Outdoors, Capt. Mike (that's me) offers charters on Pleasant Bay, the near shore waters of the Atlantic off the North and South beaches, around the tip of Monomoy and on Monomoy flats.
More Charter Information and options for flyfishing and spinning trips for stripers, blues and the tunas can be found here.

IGFA

Basics

Islands

Charters

Stripers

Bluefish

Tuna(s)

Solo

Tackle

Flies

Boating

Return to Cape Cod Outdoors.

Email Capt. Michael Eichenseer, webmaster.

You are the

outdoor visitor to Cape Cod Outdoors. Welcome!