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, […]
Fisheries
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 […]
FISHERIES
Fishermen Join Fight for Herring Trawler Rules
Push to save river herring may help protect the oceangoing species
The marine ecosystem around Cape Cod is built on the backs of Atlantic herring. These baitfish school in massive numbers, providing food for marine mammals, seabirds, and large fish like […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
The Whales Have Moved North, and the Stripers Are Here
Special speed rules to protect whales are lifted for the season
The bass are here, and the right whales are not. The whales left a week ago, and the latest aerial survey found no right whales in the area, so NOAA […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Too Soon to Tell, But Not Too Soon to Worry
Seeing fewer striped bass and bigger storms in the Caribbean
The striped bass are continuing to move into our area, and there seem to be a fair number of fish in Buzzards Bay, but the fishermen to our south in […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Minimum Sizes for Summer Flounder and Scup Inch Up
And traveling bass, stranded dolphins, and wandering whales
The striped bass are finally heading our way. Reports from south of the Cape indicate slot-size fish have entered the west end of Long Island Sound and the bigger-than-slot-size fish […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
The Spring Show Begins
Watching Provincetown Harbor in wonder as right whales come in close
We are still waiting patiently — or not so patiently in some cases — for the warmer weather to return to get those striped bass moving north. Water temperatures remain […]
ON THE BEACH
A New Old Favorite Fishing Spot
A tiny fly pattern reveals the bounty in a Wellfleet kettle pond
You would think that after 50 years of obsessive globe-trotting in search of new and better places to fish, the last place I’d find would be a pond in my […]
ON THE BEACH
A New Old Favorite Fishing Spot
A tiny fly pattern reveals the bounty in a Wellfleet kettle pond
You would think that after 50 years of obsessive globe-trotting in search of new and better places to fish, the last place I’d find would be a pond in my […]
