By George Doucette
Hello again loyal readers, Capt. George here if you read my column last month, I talked of trolling a five mackerel spread to attract striped bass in the Cape Cod bay. Well, I am going to stick with the same format for June, July and August. Instead of mackerel we are going to use the tube and worms. Red, black and orange tubes with a big fat sea worm.
I use a 6ft. 20-40 class conventional rod with Shimano TLD 25 reel. The line choice is 45lb. lead core 300ft., 50lb. Dacron backing and a 20ft. 40lb leader mono or fluorocarbon. A 75lb. snap swivel should ensure a solid trolling set up. Up until now, if you are still with me you are probably saying (I know all of this). Well, I will bet you didn’t know this. About 20 years ago, I stumbled upon a little known fact in depths ranging from 30-60ft. stripers can be found at almost any depth. But, one thing is for sure; in Cape Cod Bay as the sun rises so do the bass.
Let me explain why, belly lice, that’s right belly lice. When a striper has lice on its belly she lives with it. When the lice begin to move to the fish’s sides it interferes with its lateral lines. This creates a problem as the fish’s stripes are use to detect food sources.
As the sun comes up so do the bass. Lice do not like the light so as the bass come to or near the surface they roll on their side, usually 3-9ft. under the surface. The lice begin to fall off and at this time if you troll by at about 1-1.5mph you are putting one of the stripers favorite meals right in the strike zone. It’s a no brainer.
On the outriggers one line has one color in the water. The other outrigger has three colors in the water. The outriggers have five through seven colors in the water and the centerline has all the colors in the water. You now have a tube and worm at all depths to entice a fish as they are coming up or going back down. Again, I have drawn a crude diagram to show the spread. I have also enclosed a photo of a 50+ pound bass to prove I am not lying. Fishermen do not lie. I wish you tight lines and fair weather. If you would like more info on this proven way to catch big stripers come to Monahan’s Marine RTE 53. Weymouth, MA. On Wednesday and I will show you what you need.
Multiple depth tube and worm trolling for stripers.
Captain George Doucette shows off his 50-pound striper caught in Cape Cod Bay.
FORECAST BY: Captain George Doucette has been late spring trolling for stripers in the Cape Cod Bay area since 1970. He currently works in the fishing department down at Monahan’s Marine located in Weymouth, Mass. To have Captain Doucette help outfit your boat, please call (781)-335-2746.