We’ve been on quite the roller-coaster ride since the close of the 2024 fishing season, trying to follow rumors and meetings about what to do with striped bass regulations for […]
Fisheries
FRESH BROOK HISTORY
The Sea-Run Brook Trout of Wellfleet
Along a stream where fishing flourished, stillness, and a chance for restoration
It’s hard to imagine what Wellfleet’s Fresh Brook — or Trout Brook, as it is labeled on some old maps — looked like a half millennium ago, when it was […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
When More Stripers Overwinter in Northern Waters, Poaching Follows
Massachusetts does not have a winter moratorium, at least not yet
As we wait for the weather to warm and trigger the striped bass spring migration, there are some interesting — albeit troubling — issues to follow regarding the effects of […]
SHELLFISHING
How to Bring In Four Bushels of Wild Winter Oysters
A day on a dragger, in pursuit of deep-water Wellfleets
WELLFLEET — When Dave Seitler got up at 5 a.m. on Sunday, the first thing he checked was the temperature. Through nearly all of February, low temperatures had stymied his attempts […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
A Look Back on the Fishing Season
In 2024, fewer bass and blues on the bay side and the return of fluke
As we wrap up the year, there’s some recent news: the early arrival on Nov. 18 of two North Atlantic right whales. Scientists from the Center for Coastal Studies were […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
A Fisherman’s Glimpse of a Simpler Life
Awaiting whales, watching corals, and avoiding parrotfish in Tortola
Greetings from sunny, warm Tortola — a place my mate and I love so much we visit twice a year. I often write about the challenges fishermen face in our […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Long Island Sound Lost Its Lobster Fishery. Is Cape Cod Bay Next?
With warmer water and a steeper thermocline, it’s hard to know where the lobsters will go
Cape Cod and lobster are as much a match as peanut butter and jelly. It’s hard to imagine a summer without lobster rolls or that quintessential Cape Cod food adventure, […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Long Island Sound Lost Its Lobster Fishery. Is Cape Cod Bay Next?
With warmer water and a steeper thermocline, it’s hard to know where the lobsters will go
Cape Cod and lobster are as much a match as peanut butter and jelly. It’s hard to imagine a summer without lobster rolls or that quintessential Cape Cod food adventure, […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
A Look at a New Kind of Ark
Maybe floating open-water fish farming will take the pressure off wild stocks
It’s hard for me to wrap my head around fish farming. I grew up commercial fishing the old-fashioned way, for one thing. Besides, it seems to me fish farming produces […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
A Leveling Off of the Steep Right Whale Decline
Births have increased but so have deaths caused by human activities
There is some good news about the population of North Atlantic right whales: after seven years of declining numbers from 2013 to 2020, there has been a small increase in […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Chesapeake Bay Results Are In, and They’re Not Good
Striper spawning success is low for sixth year in a row
The results are in from the annual seine in the Chesapeake Bay to determine the status of the juvenile striped bass population, and the news isn’t good. Samples of fish […]
ON THE BEACH
The Emotional Comfort of a Go-To Lure
Even scruffy and worn, favorite lures create the confidence necessary for fishing success
Halfway through the upswing of my cast, I heard a snap and watched my silvery popper fly lazily overhead and plop in the fast-moving water a few dozen yards in […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Mild Days and No Wind, Keeper Bass and Nice Flounder
A shark washes up in Orleans, and a sunfish is rescued in Provincetown
Slowly but surely the charter and party fishing boats are wrapping it up for the season. We had our last trip for the year on the Cee-Jay on Saturday and […]
OYSTERFEST 2024
Women on the Tides
In Wellfleet, women find their dream jobs on the flats
Photos and story by Edward Boches The weather can be harsh, the winds frigid, the low tides so early it’s hard to get out of bed to work them. And […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Tuna Fishing Is Not White Hot, and Neither Is the Market
Bass from points north are here on their way to warmer waters
Fishing has remained good for striped bass. The weather has been great, and with no serious cold fronts coming through, water temperatures haven’t plummeted. Still, the bass have begun to […]
