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 doing an aerial survey that day when they saw two juvenile males, one off Plymouth and one just seven miles off Wellfleet. These whales are typically seen in the bay between January and May.
I have a mixed report on this past season of fishing. Striped bass came to our area a little later than they had the previous year. We didn’t see many schoolies nor many large bass either. Most of the fish were near the slot size — that was 28 to 31 inches — as well as just under and just over it. Our bass never really settled into the bay, but at least we consistently found them on the backside from Race Point to the Peaked Hill Bar.
The striped bass commercial fishery pretty much fell apart here, as there were not nearly enough legal-size fish around to make the effort sustainable. From what I hear, the larger bass were north of us, off southern Maine. Now the rumor mill is turning on what this will mean for the recreational bass fishery in 2025.
One rumor is that it means the striped bass will become a total catch-and-release fishery. Another is that we will only be able to fish for bass on declared open days like the commercial guys have to do. And then there is always the rumor of a complete closure. That would have a catastrophic effect on our charter and party boat fleet. I’ll await real news.
Bluefishing was not very good this year. They’ve been in and out for the last few years, but this year they were mostly out. There were none on the bay side of the Outer Cape, although they were at times found at the southern end of the bay from the Brewster Flats to Barnstable. What we did have were very big bluefish — from what I understand, much bigger than most of the fish found to our south.
I worry about the fact that these fish continue to show no desire to be in the bay along the Outer Cape for any length of time — never beyond a day or two. Both species have stayed on the ocean side, even though there is plenty of food in the bay to keep them there, as has been the case for decades. I cannot help believing there is something wrong with the water. Could this change in behavior be random? I suppose so, but I’m not convinced of that at all.
The biggest surprise of the season was unquestionably the return of fluke this fall after a 10-year absence. We had a good number of them from Long Point out to Race Point and along the backside ocean beaches. Most of the fish were just under keeper size, so it will be interesting to see if they come back next spring. I am keeping my fingers crossed, because if they close striper fishing, fluke could be the fish that saves the boat-for-hire businesses out here.
Giant tuna fishing was the same as it has been in recent years: plenty of fish, a completely saturated commercial market creating a price collapse, and far too many Wicked Tuna-inspired people out there making it difficult for the guys who actually fish for a living to do what they need to do.
This year we saw more dolphins than usual, and although the Race Point fin whales were a no-show, we enjoyed the steady presence of humpback whales just east of Peaked Hill from midsummer to fall. We also saw whales in the harbor a little more often than usual.
There you have it: another exciting offshore season concludes, and now it’s time to take a break and look forward to what next season will bring us. Undoubtedly, we’ll see more changes to all that we are accustomed to, as that seems to be the trend of late. In the meantime, stay warm.
