By Dan Carns
My buddy Jim and I planned a group family vacation on Cape Cod this year and as in past years, we landed at Atlantic Oaks on the outer Cape; five families, campers in tow with kayaks on the roof racks and plenty of fishing gear. We were quite late for the initial striper migration, and the water temperatures were high. Remembering that this was a family vacation, we settled into our usual packing for the beach, planning group dinners for a couple days, then we head out for a little fishing. The new members of the group got a rough rundown of what to expect and we launched into the surf at Herring Cove, a first for some, but a favorite haunt for Jim and I. A mile out came the first shout of fish on and as expected, it was a medium-sized bluefish followed by more announcements of the same “fish on”. Then the stripers began to show on top water plugs. For the next 3 hours our tiny flotilla boated approximately 70 fish with some truly bruiser bluefish and a ton of just under-slot stripers. We attempted to relaunch and repeat this scenario twice more, but due to the wind and surf were relegated to only a couple more fish. Our young anglers wanted to rest on the next attempt, so Jim and I planned one more early morning outing.
We launched early with a slight breeze and a little surf coming onshore and soon passed the first line of buoys, about a mile out and continued to paddle farther offshore when both our trolling rigs went off, one striper and one bluefish! Shared photos and smiles and then we see it – fish are busting on bait all around us, birds are everywhere, and all hell breaks out! Stripers are tagging everything we offer, while the bluefish are ripping apart anything tearable! For two hours we tie and toss every kind of lure we have, boating dozens of fish on topwater, metal jigs and rubber paddle tails until the cockpits of our kayaks look like a scrap yard; broken hooks and lures, dozens of ripped up plastics and shredded leaders. We’re in the middle of one of those days, two friends sharing one of the best days of fishing, when I see Jim is trolling two lines and one has a fish on. So with the other hand he starts to attempt to reel in the spare rod and it goes off. This is a big fish and now he has one in both hands, so I paddle over, taking the first fish and he battles a keeper to his kayak! We both know fish is on the menu for dinner and we just smile knowing that this is a lifetime event for us both. (A special thank you to Atlantic Oaks Campground in Eastham, MA for the best cleaning station and outstanding campground!)
It’s A Wild World-Get Out There!
Come by the shop at 4120 Pine Island Rd. Matlacha Fl. 33993 (239) 283-1125 and see for yourself what we have to offer as I’m sure you will love our location! It’s A Wild World-Get Out There! Fishman Dan
