Fishing Log

June Starts with a bang!

Fri, 8 Jun 2012 23:06:25 -0400

Mark P. from Pennsylvania was my guest on June 7. He and his wife Robin patiently endured the wet, windy, cold weather New England can sometimes punish us with in springtime. The storm system lingered for most of the week putting a damper on their first vacation to Cape Cod.
Mark’s suffering was quickly rewarded once the weather broke on Thursday.
With the spring high tides and storm surges, flooding carried a tremendous amount of debris into the bay. The week’s strong winds kept me off the water and I thought locating the fish may be tough and fishing in the weedy, debris filled water could be difficult. To my and Mark’s delight, locating the fish was not an issue. We found some mackerel early and quickly filled the live well with these little striper candies.
We decided to fish the falling tide near Barnstable Harbor and were immediately into the fish. Mark’s first ever saltwater striper eclipsed the 20 pound mark! By the end of the day, he would be approaching the 3o pound mark!.
On light tackle, these fish will test the skill of any angler. Mark was up to the challenge and masterfully battled over 20 aggressive striped bass averaging 38-40 inches!
This was truly an amazing trip that I will remember for a very long time and I know that Mark will too. Days like this remind me of how fortunate I am to live in this part of the world. Sharing and showing it to great people from other parts of the country is a joy that never grows old.

Hope to see you on the water.
Catch em up!
Captain Steve

Memorable Memorial Day!

Mon, 28 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The 2012 season just keeps getting better!
Memorial Day 2012 for us, began in fog cloaked Sesuit Harbor at 5:30 A.M.
My guests for the day were local boys Matt G. and Nick G. and special guest Sunny M. from Connecticut. This would be Sunny’s 3rd trip aboard the Squeegee Monkey. A May 2009 trip saw him rewarded with lots of schoolies and a few decent keeper size bass. In the fall of 2009 he wanted to try a tuna trip. 1 hour into his first foray on the tuna ground, he hooked and landed a nice Bluefin.
This year, the fishing was even more amazing!

We started the day catching a few mackerel and drifting them near Barnstable Harbor. The fishing was a bit slow with some lazy strikes and one fish lost boat-side. The Bay waters are warming and the mackerel are thinning out as they head North for cooler waters. However, there is no shortage of food in the bay. Sand eels are becoming the food of choice for hungry bass. Acting on an earlier tip from another member of my charter group we headed to Billingsgate Shoal. What we found upon arrival was a fisherman’s dream. Tails and backs of large striped bass as far as the eye could see. Gannets and shearwaters diving, terns screeching and splashes all around us.
Casting metal and plastic sand eel imitations, we were doubled and tripled-up numerous times. This frenzy lasted for more than two hours and we managed to land and release nearly 30 beautiful fish to 20lbs.

As the wind picked up and our arms began aching, we put a few eating size fish in the box and headed for the harbor. This would be a day to remember. Catching 20lb bass on artificial lures with light tackle is an anglers dream. We all will relish this day but I fear Sunny may have even higher expectations the next time he fishes with me.
Has he been spoiled or has he spoiled me with the good fortune he brings aboard The Squeegee Monkey?

early spring stripers

Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

As the first battalion of bass invade our waters in springtime, the action can be furious. One of my favorite ways to catch these marauding linesiders is with live mackerel. Watching a group of bass race each other to get to your mackerel gets your heart pumping. When honed in on mackerel, bass are extremely aggressive. Even jigging up mackerel on Sabiki rigs is a fun and exciting start to the the day of angling.
We had an amazing day in this past weekend. With anglers, Ted K., Nick G. and Mike P., we managed to jig up 30-40 mackerel. Then it was off to Barnstable harbor where the bass were concentrated in the channel. We fished the West Bar and had non-stop action. We even managed to have all four anglers hooked up at the same time! (see the clip on the video page). We landed more than 20 bass in a short time and they were all healthy keeper-size bass like the one Ted K. is holding (see photo).
The 2012 season is off to a tremendous start. Lots of fish, happy anglers and fabulous weather. I hope to see you on The Squeegee Monkey this season!
Tight lines,

Capt. Steve

Marlin caught in Cape Cod Bay!

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:43:29 -0500

As I wait for winter to pass and ready my gear for the upcoming season, I can’t help but wonder what surprises the upcoming summer might bring.
In 2011 we saw the Striped Bass World Record broken with a 81.88 pound behemoth caught by Greg Meyerson. A record that many believed would not be broken.
This has me wondering: What other giants are roaming our waters?
As I am going through some old photos from my fathers tuna fishing days of the late 1940’s and early 50’s, one photo jumps out at me. The above photo of Mike Goulart and son Mickey holding a Marlin amazes me. It’s not amazing due to the size of the fish. It’s amazing because it was caught in the cooler waters of Cape Cod Bay, just a few miles from Barnstable Harbor. I spoke with my Dad’s friend Mickey and asked him about this fish. “There was a stretch where we caught three marlin in two summers” Mickey told me. “I don’t know if they would have come through the warmer waters of the Canal (relatively new in the 1940’s) or come around the corner from P-town” he said.
I’ve never heard of any others being caught, but with 2012 having the mildest winter I can remember, who knows what surprises we may catch in 2012!

Winter preparation

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:23:15 -0500

Happy New Year!
As the calendar turns to February, the days are getting longer and spring is on the horizon. This winter has been mild, which should mean the fish will arrive early this year.

Next week is the Super Bowl...Go Patriots!
This will bring a close to football season and with no ice to fish on, my Sundays will be free to prepare for the upcoming fishing season.

Time to strip line and re-spool for the battles ahead. Service the reels, organize my tackle and dream of Stripers, Blues and Tuna.

I’ll see you on the water soon.
Wishing you tight lines.
Captain Steve