The waterfront was alive with activity this past week, culminating in a spectacular fireworks show on one of those 10-out-of-10 Chamber of Commerce perfect summer days. Given how much awful weather we had this spring and early summer, I’d say we earned the kind of day we were graciously handed by Mother Nature on the Fourth of July.
It also looks like we’ve survived the insanity that happened, as is traditional, on the water that day, too. The July 4th holiday weekend seems to bring out boat operators and fishermen who are, shall we say, not in full possession of the skills and knowledge of the rules of conduct required when sharing a fishing area with 100 other boats.
The day put me in mind of the scene in the movie Jaws when every boat in the port heads out at the same time to go find the big shark, ramming into each another and contributing to the general chaos. That stuff is satirical comedy at its best in the movie but not so funny to folks who are trying to make a living out there.
Holiday aside, fishing has kicked into high gear. What’s old is new again, as striped bass have camped out in a location they haven’t been in for quite a few years: the area between Days Cottages and the Pamet has had a huge number of bass for a few days now, and there are a lot of over-slot-size big fish in the mix. Trollers have had a field day, and drifting baits have paid big dividends.
There have been some mackerel around to catch for bait, but it’s been inconsistent. The deep water off Hatches Harbor, Race Point rip, and Long Point have been the best bets, but on any given day the mackerel are at times nowhere to be found.
Bluefish remain missing in action, and I am starting to wonder if this may be a year we don’t see them at all. It would be one thing if they were just a little south of us in big numbers, and we were simply waiting for them to shift a little north, but I am not getting any reports from the south that they are there, either. So, it’s wait and see some more.
Squid fishing off the town wharf is very good right now. I see people leaving with full buckets quite often.
There’s still no encouraging news about the presence of fluke — or lack thereof. But I am going to try it again in a week or so to see if anything has changed.
So far nothing noteworthy in the giant bluefin tuna season, but it’s just the beginning.
For a few days, the whales were making it very difficult for our whale watch boats, as they were very far from our shores to the north and east. They have since moved a bit closer and appear to be settling into the same area they spent a lot of time last summer — just a little east and northeast of Peaked Hill Bar.
