It’s been another good week for catching striped bass and some bluefish. Provincetown charter and party boats all reported excellent catches, and we’re very grateful we’ve had a windless week […]
Fisheries
ENVIRONMENT
Cape Cod’s Coral Gardens (Yes, We Have Corals Here) Are in Trouble
NOAA expands its research into deeper waters from Maine to North Carolina
If you were to picture coral right now, your mind’s eye would surely see tropical reefs with crystal-clear turquoise water. But that image is incomplete: the temperate seas around the […]
ENVIRONMENT
Cape Cod’s Coral Gardens (Yes, We Have Corals Here) Are in Trouble
NOAA expands its research into deeper waters from Maine to North Carolina
If you were to picture coral right now, your mind’s eye would surely see tropical reefs with crystal-clear turquoise water. But that image is incomplete: the temperate seas around the […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Summer Weather Brings On the Blues
Pacific tuna are rebounding; here’s hoping that’s true in the Atlantic, too
Fishing around the Outer Cape is heating up with this summer weather, which has been ideal; we are getting a fraction of the heat they’ve been feeling on the mainland. Striped […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
The Summer of Wind
Still no blues, just worries about an ocean experiment
The summer of 2024 will be remembered on the waterfront as the summer of wind. Apart from a few windless days here and there, we have been pummeled day in […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Bass Fishing Heats Up, but Bluefish Are Nowhere to Be Found
Remembering ‘JB’ Browne, one of Provincetown’s legendary fishermen
Fishing for striped bass took a giant leap forward last week as the area between Race Point and Peaked Hill Bar exploded on July 4 like the fireworks that were […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
When Sweet Sea Breezes Are Winds That Won’t Quit
Finding stripers at the Cape’s tip, but bluefish are in hiding
I’m not a scientist, but as a more-than-casual observer of all things ocean-related, it seems to me that it’s been getting windier out here. What I have known since childhood […]
ON THE BEACH
A Fisherman’s Luck
Skill is one thing, but how to explain the hits and hookups that happen on the very last cast?
Knowing a backshore beach’s structures — the deeps, shallows, and river-like troughs between the shore and the first sandbar — is as important to catching fish as knowing the tides, […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Of Flaky Fish and Future Storms
Warm waters in the Caribbean, bonito in the bay
The fish cannot seem to make up their minds about where they want to be for more than a day at a time. It looked like they were settling in […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
An Odd Pod off Nantucket and Rambunctious Dolphins in Provincetown
Fishing heats up with bass, schoolie-size tuna, and the first of the blues
I wrote last week that fishing being what it is, we could have a 180-degree turnaround from the slow showing of bass. Well, we did. Striped bass made a big […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Old Thom Is Back
Bass fishing slows, flounder fishing is good; the future is hard to fathom
Striped bass fishing slowed this past week, as the fish seem to have moved out of the bay, and the few that are around are down on the ocean side […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Watching for Rebounds in Canada and Spain
Promising reports on Atlantic cod and bluefin tuna reach our shores
Striped bass fishing is heating up in the bay, and Billingsgate Shoals is the place to be. A few days ago there were a lot of bass off Wood End […]
BUG SEASON
Lobstermen and Scientists See a Fishery in Flux
This summer, watching for warming trends and easterly winds
PROVINCETOWN — This year, May 15 marked the beginning of the lobster fishing season on the Outer Cape. The fishery is not an insignificant one here. There are 42 fishermen […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Summertime and the Citizen Science Is Easy
Watching whales, tracking sharks, and tagging stripers
The summer season is officially upon us, and now is the time to enjoy all our marine environment has to offer. Whale watching has been fantastic, and people on board […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Learning to Expect the Unexpected
Melting icebergs send colder, more acidic fresh water our way
The Provincetown waterfront is coming alive with the lifting of the bay-wide 10-knot speed limit. Our first high-speed ferries from Boston arrived this week. Our first cruise ship also came […]