The Cape of Cod (caution...hero shots)

I get to fish the Cape each June with a group of guys from Eugene. This year the striper numbers are a bit reduced, and the shore fishing has been tough. Poor weather and not many schoolies at our usual wade spots. It's possible the fish are just late this year.

However, the last two days I have been fishing with guides and having a blast. Lots of action on gurglers and some epic sight fishing on the outer sand bars. Olive clousers on an 8 wt rod and a floating/intermediate line. A couple 20lb fish today...




Check out the flupper on this momma

 

[Brute]

We used to eat them when I was a kid surf casting with my dad in NJ…but moving to Hawaii when I was 18 and eating my first fresh mahi & ono changed my opinion of them…

 

[Greg Armstrong]

Pickled Bluefish is excellent as well.

 

[Dave Westburg]

Pickled Bluefish is excellent as well.

As long as you avoid their teeth during the catching. Bob Triggs tells stories about bluefish trips gone wrong. When a small boat comes in at full throttle and someone has a towel wrapped around one hand you know a bluefish was involved.

 

[Greg Armstrong]

As long as you avoid their teeth during the catching. Bob Triggs tells stories about bluefish trips gone wrong. When a small boat comes in at full throttle and someone has a towel wrapped around one hand you know a bluefish was involved.

My father in law in Rhode Island introduced me to Bluefish... he referred to them as "Chompers", appropriately!
Mother in law introduced me to the pickled Bluefish. It was the only way they'd prepare them, but boy were they delicious.

We're flying back there tomorrow morning but alas, there won't be any fishing on this trip.

 

[Tim Cottage]

When I was much younger I fished for Bluefish off the New Jersey shore both off the beach and farther out in boats. The common vernacular for the three different size classes were Snappers, Chompers and Gorillas. I've seen at least a few torn hands by less experienced fishers.

 

[Wade Rivers]

Will be in NE in a couple weeks with some time to chase stripers, mind posting a picture of the flies that worked for you??

Here's a fly picture for you:




Flatwing, gurgler, small crab then an assortment of clousers....one with bite wire for the blues. Squid patters, sand eels, etc. The list goes on and on, but if I'm wading The Cape my easy go to is an olive clouser

The guides we fish with don't throw a lot of chartruese, though others swear by it. Go figure. They like olive bucktail (more on the yellow side of olive, not green olive) or tan is common. Hook sizes 2 or 4 are fine. If it's windy, I can't cast a big clouser so I just use a smaller one and sparse is good. Guides also tying with synthetics. I use Fuzzy Fiber in olive with or without the bucktail.

Cheers! Hope this helps and let us know how it goes.

 

[Hem]

I had a run of fishing for stripers every year in the 90's with my Dad. We fished a variety of locations Ipswich/ Plum Island, Vineyard, Orleans, and once Southern Maine/ Rhode Island. Brown dogs are awesome on a flyrod. I never had the timing to fish a bluefish blitz when the school pushes bait to the beach.
Blueish are oily, tremendous grilled though.
Nice fish @Wade Rivers .