Each year I have the pleasure of making a pilgrimage to Cape Cod, where I join a group of Vermont anglers in kayaking for striped bass. This year was a record breaker.
This region of Massachusetts is rich with maritime history, and even today the fishing is spectacular. Cape Cod juts off the mainland and 65 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean. This makes it an interesting place to explore from a kayak. Clear, nutrient-rich waters teem with baitfish. Cold waters from the Gulf of Maine fill into Cape Cod Bay and sweep around Race Point to the north. Meanwhile, the warm Gulf Stream races up from the south bringing large migratory predators like bluefin tuna and great white sharks.
Striped bass fill the waters, from the shallowest estuary to all of the calm water bays that dot Cape Cod. They amass in huge schools from the canal to the outer beaches. Anyone with a fishing rod has the opportunity to catch a linesider, as they are called, from shore, bridge or boat. A kayak is a versatile craft for chasing them. These fish eat virtually anything in the water, from clams, crabs and worms to mackerel, eels and chunk baits.
Kayaking For Striped Bass with Artificials
We love to target these hard-hitting, drag-ripping fish with artificials. Topwaters are exciting, and they’ll hit paddletails or anything else that presents itself as a baitfish. This year’s fishing reports where like most of the past 15 years. Prior to our arrival, smaller fish— called schoolies—filled the estuaries. Schools of large keeper-size fish, 28 inches and longer, were being reported off Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown, which is right on the tip of the cape.
We camp at about the midpoint of the cape, at Atlantic Oaks Campground in Eastham. So after a night of gear checks, knot tying, beer drinking and fish stories, we arose at 2:45 a.m. to head up to the tip of the cape at Herring Cove.
We arrived just as light began to creep over the horizon on what promised to be a warm day with light winds. Six of us then launched kayaks at daybreak with two rods apiece, a vast array of lures and the collective knowledge from past trips. We fished past the first mile without a single strike and continued out another half mile before the action started.
Beautiful fish in the 25-inch range were tagging our paddletails, and all six of us were on at one point. We drifted out with the tide while catching and releasing fish. Then there were hoots, howls and photos when the first “big fish” was hooked… and then another! We all caught one longer than 28 inches, and we collectively caught and released another 80 fish together. It was outstanding, and as the fishing eventually slacked off, we knew this had been an epic year for the group.
Want more information on kayaking for striped bass? Fishman Dan can be reached at Gulf Coast Kayak in Matlacha, Fla. at (239) 283-1125.
By “Fishman” Dan Carns