Cape Cod Convictions
To a dedicated angler, every trip has a way of becoming a fishing trip. Recently, my girlfriend and I decided we should take a spontaneous trip to somewhere that neither of us had ever been. We quickly decided on Boston and Cape Cod because of the food, the culture, the history and, you probably guessed, the fishing! The Cape, and surrounding fishing haunts, have long fascinated me because they offer ample opportunities that are unlike anything else in the world. Shallow, wadable flats are not necessarily uncommon but where I have experienced them they held Bonefish, Red Drum or Carp. Around the Cape, you hear stories of thousands of gargantuan Striped bass swimming past wading anglers in shallow water! Offshore, tales of blitzing fish grab the listener’s imagination. As soon as we began looking into our trip, I knew I would want a quality local guide to help us best experience the fishery.
My quick Google search quickly put Captain Patrick Cassidy with Cape Cod on the Fly on my radar. I spoke with Patrick several times before our trip and he freely offered excellent advice for how we should prepare for our trip. As potentially his last charter of the year, we knew that conditions could be temperamental and the fish might not be so easy to find.
It so happened that Halloween day provided our best weather window for getting out on the water in Patrick’s center console. One of the seemingly endless number of tropical storms and hurricanes from the 2020 season had just blown through dumping five inches of snow on Boston but leaving Cape Cod relatively calm the next day. We met up in Harwich with clear skies and a slight breeze. We were treated to beautiful views as we passed hundreds of waterfowl and seals relaxing in the placid bay on our quick run out to Monomoy island. Soon after rounding the point we came upon wheeling birds and busting fish. It looked like we were in for a treat and some quick gratification! At the second spot we reached and maybe within about 20 minutes, my girlfriend and I were doubled up on Striper! She was throwing an enormous soft plastic worm on spinning tackle while I was stripping a 10 inch long menhaden pattern back. In the sake of fairness, it should also be pointed out that my girlfriend both hooked and landed the first fish of our trip!
Our half day trip proceeded just as the first leg had begun, with consistent action and big fish! I’m not sure we ever went 20 minutes without being hooked up! Patrick had the fish perfectly dialed in and knew just how to keep us in the thick of them. Our small fish for the day measured around 22 inches while the biggest stretched out to around 30 inches while also sporting a hefty gut. Every fish fought hard and pulled line with several of the scrappier bass putting us nearly into our backing. We caught fish while swinging flies in the current, blind casting, trolling and sight casting to busting fish. In several instances we had fish eat directly in the wake of our boat and practically under our rod tips! Our trip was incredible and made for the most memorable half day of fishing that I’ve ever experienced. I was fishing a 9 foot TFO Axiom with a sinking line connected to 20 pound tippet. This simple rig was all it took to land a dozen fish and approximately 80-90 pounds of Striper before lunch time, absolutely epic.
Guide: Patrick Cassidy (http://capecodonthefly.com/)
