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fishing

    ON THE BEACH

    The Tale of One Improbable Catch

    If you want to catch a fish, you have to put a hook in the water

    By

    Casting alongside a couple of other fishermen in Blackfish Creek a few weeks back, I overheard their conversation, an exchange of information about tides, wind direction, baitfish, and time of day of their last catches.

    “Well,” one of them concluded, “I don’t know where they are right now, but the only way to find them is to keep putting hooks in the water.”

    He was right. The simple truth is that the only way to catch fish is to go fishing. I was reminded of a fishing story from a long-ago summer, back when Truro had lifeguards. I was sitting in the lifeguard stand, hard at work, when I heard a tentative voice behind me: “Excuse me, sir. Can I talk to you for a minute?”

    An old Atom lure, probably of the same vintage as the plug in the writer’s Ballston Beach fish tale. (Photo by Jim Gilbert)

    It was early July, high tide, with close-spaced three-foot waves breaking directly on the beach, pushed ashore by a cool onshore breeze. The voice belonged to a young man who stood on the sand holding a stubby, ancient-looking trolling rod with badly rusted eyelets. The rod’s classic wooden butt had an orange plastic knob at its end, and atop the butt stood an open-faced Bakelite trolling reel that had been popular in the 1940s and ’50s.

    Without bathers to worry about — the cool water was uninviting — I had nothing better to do than talk to the young man. “I heard there are bass around,” he said. He introduced me to his sister and added, “We went into our grandfather’s shed and found his old rod, and I’m wondering if we could use this to catch one.”

    As he handed the rod up to me, I saw that the reel was full of braided squidding line — an outdated type of line that was once used for jigging, trolling, and bait-fishing from a boat. The fragility of the aging line was less worrisome than the dozen or so hastily tied square knots whose tag ends sprouted out of the reel like asparagus shoots.

    I released the drag and was surprised to see the reel hadn’t frozen up. “You know, this rod and reel are not designed for casting from the beach,” I told them, immediately regretting my words when their innocent, anticipatory smiles faded into sadness. The sister was holding a big old-fashioned Atom plug. Their grandfather had likely used it for trolling; it was a heavy lure with a big steel lip to force it downward. The hooks were badly rusted and the few remaining scraggly bucktail hairs on the rear set of hooks were stained a dirty orange.

    I considered simply lending the pair my brand-new rod and reel. The thought of my own gear being returned minus the lure and with a fatally sand-choked reel suppressed that momentary urge.

    “There’s a way to get this lure out into the water a bit,” I told them. I showed them how to put the reel in free-spool mode for casting and told them to go well down the beach away from other people, pull out 30 feet of line, and lay it out straight behind them. “Point the rod straight back towards the lure and keep your finger on the spool. Reach way back and fling the lure as far as you can, releasing the spool when the lure flies over your head.”

    I half hoped my idea would sound so weird they’d find some other distraction.

    For 15 minutes I watched them practice their flinging. After perhaps 20 tries they were able to get the lure beyond the first wave. I was charmed by their persistence.

    Suddenly, the water exploded with what I knew immediately was a very large striper hitting the lure. Assuming it would never be put to a test, I had forgotten to adjust the drag, so I waited, fully expecting the line to part. Instead, what remained of the wave rose, then broke, dumping the fish onto the beach.

    The pair stood in shock, then the young man dropped the rod in the sand and leapt for the thrashing fish to prevent it from being pulled back in the wash. I ran towards the fish, blowing my whistle, terrified he would be impaled by the flailing hooks that were still dangling from the bass’s mouth.

    Grabbing the line a few feet above the lure, I dragged the fish up the berm a few feet. Even now I remain in awe of what happened that morning at Ballston. What I remember best is the smile on the faces of that brother and sister as they hoisted their 35-pound trophy and, ancient rod and reel in hand, made their way home amid applause and congratulations from a small crowd that had witnessed the miracle of that improbable fish.

    ON THE BEACH

    Move, Talk, and Follow the Bluefish

    Three tips for catching bass from the beach on a summer day

    By

    On most summer days, even when there are no fishermen casting at the water’s edge, fishing rods stick up out of the sand on the back shore like so many seedlings in a newly planted forest.

    This is clear evidence that, for many beach fishermen, catching a fish is secondary to other considerations. There are fish, but there are also kids and family and friends visiting. And there’s another reason why fishermen tend to be more passive fishing participants in the high summer season: parking restrictions that limit daytime fishing to just a single town’s beaches.

    A fishing pole awaits its fisherman on the back shore. (Photo by Rebecca Mack)

    While the odds of there being fish on “your” beach on any given day are low, the chance of catching a fish from the beach is actually higher in July and August than during the traditional runs in late spring and early fall. After their mass migration in spring, the great schools of bass, having splintered the equally large early-season schools of baitfish, tend to break up into much smaller cadres that disperse widely along the coast. The bass cruise long distances inshore looking for pockets of prey.

    Summer daytime beach fishing tip #1: Continuing to stand and cast from one spot without success is fishing’s definition of insanity. The secret to daytime fishing success is to move, move, and then move some more, trying deeper pools, rip currents, and the edges of sandbars where the sand drops into deeper water — all the while, of course, keeping an eye out for seals, birds, and the presence of bait.

    The warmer months can also bring lots of bluefish to bay and backshore beaches. Bluefish, unlike stripers, are daylight feeders and have no reservations about driving bait onto the beach in the midday sun. In my pre-great-white lifeguarding days, we kept our eyes peeled for rampaging schools of bluefish that would occasionally swarm through the swimming area. Sharks were a rarity then, but bluefish weren’t, and they’re indiscriminate feeders that slash brutally through their prey with extraordinarily sharp teeth.

    Summer daytime beach fishing tip #2: Follow the blues. When a bluefish blitz recedes, large bass are often present swimming right behind or under the departing blues, cleaning up the baitfish leftovers. Trade your surface popper lure for a shiny metal lure to drag beneath the blues. I’ve caught some of my biggest beach stripers that way.

    Everything on Earth, living or not, is subject to one cycle or another. Like it or not, we are prisoners of Sun cycles, Moon cycles, tide cycles, weather cycles, financial cycles, political cycles — need I go on? Why should it be any different for fishing? But while you can look up fishing cycle charts based on tides and Moon phases, nowhere will you find a long-range prediction telling you to be at this beach, at this time, to catch that kind of fish.

    Summer beach fishermen at Newcomb Hollow in Wellfleet go back and forth between a beachgoing baby and their fishing rods. (Photo by Jim Gilbert)

    There is another way you can increase your odds significantly, and that is simply by talking to other fishermen. Chances are high that what fish did yesterday at a certain time or tide they will repeat today and tomorrow. Information is key to discovering the latest fishing cycle, which can sometimes repeat for three or even five days if weather conditions remain constant.

    This leads us, naturally, to summer daytime beach fishing tip #3: Beaches are social places. Whenever you see other surf fisherman, ask how they’re doing. Find out where and when they’ve had success recently and what lure they were using. Nine out of 10 will be happy to chat, if only to garner whatever information you might have.

    Don’t be afraid to talk to the lifeguards. Guards are very much in tune with the passage of baitfish along the shores. When I was a guard, I always enjoyed the break in the monotony of staring at the water to answer a question or three.

    Finally, next time you’re in the bait shop replacing line or buying a new lure, introduce yourself to the salesperson, who deals with fisherpeople hour after hour every working day. Odds are he or she is walking the beach the rest of the time, rod in hand. It’s shopkeepers’ business to improve their clients’ success, and when they recommend a particular lure, I’ve found it’s usually worth making an investment in what they’re suggesting.

    It might be cheaper and easier to buy your fishing gear on Amazon. But just try asking Alexa if she knows where the fish are going to be biting today.

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    Smaller Bass, Bigger Blues

    It’s still quiet on the big tuna front

    By

    Water temperatures have moderated from the unusually high numbers we were seeing the week before last. The harbor cooled down from readings as high as 78 degrees to a more reasonable 71 degrees, and the waters from the Race to the backside beaches backed off into the high 60s. Fishing was very inconsistent, however.

    With the cooler water, striped bass continued to bite, and catches were mostly good for all who targeted them. The Race has been the best place for bass, and drifting chunks of mackerel or trolling umbrella rigs have been the ticket to catching them.

    Still, we continue to be inundated with smaller fish. The recent population has been in the 23-to-26-inch range, which, of course, we cannot keep. Customers on charter and party boats appear to be getting weary of not being able to go home with a fish to eat. The fish this size are in the 2018 to 2021 class, and it certainly looks like those were healthy reproductive years. I just hope that translates to an easing of the strict slot size at some point.

    Commercially, striped bass are quota-managed, and so far 45 percent of the quota has been filled. At this rate, the fishery will be closed sometime in late August. Due to the lack of commercial-size fish in our area — the minimum commercial size is 35 inches — we have not seen much of the commercial fleet targeting striped bass around here, and for that the recreational fishermen are thankful.

    Bluefish have backed off from their enormous presence in the bay and are firmly entrenched along the backside beaches from the Race Point Station down to Head of the Meadow. They are in shallow water, and they are very big. When they are in depths of under 30 feet, the only truly effective way to catch them is by casting swimming plugs.

    Bluefin tuna fishing was hit and miss, with some recreational-size fish being taken at Peaked Hill and the southwest and southeast corners of Stellwagen Bank. Federal permits for highly migratory species are required for those wanting to catch these fish, and here the recreational size for bluefin tuna is two small fish in the 27-to-47-inch range and one in the 47-to-under-73-inch range. Trollers and bait fishermen were catching a few here and there. It’s still pretty quiet for giants here.

    The Cee-Jay and a number of our friends on charter boats have been spotting some good-size great white sharks cruising between the Race and Head of the Meadow Beach. At the same time, there has been a notable absence of fin whales this summer. We’re not seeing them in their usual areas between Herring Cove and the Race, which is rather disappointing, and it’s strange given we have an enormous number of sand eels in our waters at the moment.

    This is a relatively quiet year so far for the charter and party boats in Provincetown, though I don’t want to speak too soon, because August can come on like gangbusters and change everything. Captains aren’t sure what it is that’s different. Is it the new striper rules that send fewer people home with a fish? Is it the higher prices that were raised to cover increased expenses? Is it the high cost of staying on the Outer Cape? All I know is right now a lot of boats are tied to the dock on days when they normally would be out fishing.

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    If You’re Fishing for Tautog, Hold Onto Your Rig

    Cold winds and hot diesel prices conspire against fishermen

    By

    The unrelenting winds from the northeast continue to pummel the Outer Cape, and the prediction is for them to continue throughout this week. With these northeast winds come cooler than normal temperatures and a dampness that goes right to your bones. This is making it difficult for spring fishing to gain any traction.

    There are encouraging signs in spite of this inhospitable spring weather pattern. Reports from the canal are that some decent-size striped bass have shown up and are being caught along the west end. There are also bass showing up on the back side of the Cape, though up past Chatham.

    Tautogs are strong fighters. Max Santos had fun catching this beauty over by the breakwater. (Photo by Noah Santos)

    Fishermen from that way say they are also seeing more schools of pogies (menhaden) than they have ever seen before. On one hand, it’s nice to see pogies, a staple food source for striped bass, bluefish, and tuna, in huge numbers. On the other hand, if these schools stay where they are, the bass could theoretically also stay put to be near their food, with no motivation to look our way.

    This is exactly what happened last year, only they were feeding along the South Shore and on up to the Boston Harbor area instead of on the Cape. We never saw the tremendous numbers of pogies here; consequently, we never really got a shot at the main body of striped bass — and we saw very few really large ones.

    But the good news is mackerel have come into our harbor and are pretty thick in the horseshoe cove at this writing. Flounder continue to bite in deeper waters off the Pamet on down to the Wellfleet Harbor entrance.

    Tautog are beginning to bite in our inner harbor. These are not migratory fish. They just move off into deeper water when it gets cold and come back to shallower water to feed and spawn as the water warms up past 50 degrees. These fish are very selective in where they choose to reside and what they eat. Their diet consists mostly of crabs, mussels, and clams, and they have a good set of teeth and powerful jaws to crush those foods.

    Because what they eat lives around underwater structures, that is where you must fish if you’re after tautog. So, for the inner harbor, the breakwater is a perfect place to toss a green crab or a piece of clam in hopes of catching one. Tautog are strong fighters and you will know when you have one hooked, as they hit the bait hard and will run your rig into the rocks if given the opportunity. Because of that, losing a fish and your rig is a common occurrence and part of the challenge of tautog fishing.

    These fish have white, flaky meat and a mild flavor, although their thick skin and bone structure make them a little challenging to clean. A long flexible filet knife makes the job easier.

    The right whales seem to be leaving our area and continuing north towards the Bay of Fundy. This coming week, the government-imposed ban on trap gear will expire and commercial lobster fishermen will finally get to put their traps out, though they will now be handicapped by diesel fuel prices north of five dollars a gallon. I wonder how the high cost of fuel is going to affect the price of lobsters this year.

    If it’s not one thing it’s another for these men and women who lobster for a living.

     

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    Stop and Smell the Plankton

    Of cold water, sea lice, early birds, and a few new rules

    By

    The weather this past week — the temperatures remained cooler than usual and the winds howled — was not conducive to an improvement in fishing.

    With the water temperature in the harbor at a frigid 46 degrees, I took a ride to look around and didn’t see many signs of life. Neither seals nor mackerel have arrived yet. Right whales are still around Race Point feeding on the enormous quantities of plankton that have bloomed. That’s what gives the ocean that wonderful aroma of fresh-cut melons you smell when you are by the water’s edge, by the way.

    Striped bass seem to have stalled their migration to our south, but there are reports of a few keeper-size fish being taken around Martha’s Vineyard, which is somewhat encouraging.

    Spring winds promote upwelling of nutrients from the deep, which, combined with more sunlight and gradually warming waters, make the northwest Atlantic fertile — first with phytoplankton, and then with fish. (Image courtesy NASA Earth Observatory/Landsat)

    One question I get asked a lot is “Early in the season, how can you tell if the first striper you catch is a migratory fish or a holdover fish that never left the area?” Well, the first way is by its size. Typically, only small, sexually immature fish remain in the area over the winter. In addition, because they hold over in brackish, muddy water, their colors aren’t usually vibrant — instead, they appear dull compared to migratory fish. The sure sign you have caught a migratory fish is the appearance of sea lice on the fish’s skin.

    Sea lice are the most abundant parasites found on the bodies of striped bass caught in island and coastal waters. They are parasitic copepods — small invertebrates that are members of the plankton family. They appear as orange and brown spots and almost look like leeches, which, of course, they are not. And they do not affect the taste or quality of the fish at all. What do sea lice have to do with migration? These tiny creatures cannot live in brackish or fresh water, where holdover fish reside in the winter months. If the fish you catch in the spring has sea lice on it, then it is most certainly a migratory fish.

    Lots of proposed changes to fishing regulations are being discussed lately at the National Marine Fisheries Service. Notable ones include a 16-inch minimum for commercially harvested bluefish; there is currently no limit. They’re also talking about reducing the recreational daily bag limit from 10 bluefish per person to five on boats for hire, with a three-fish bag limit for all others.

    There is also an idea of limiting the number of mackerel allowed per day to somewhere between 10 and 20 fish per person (there is currently no limit). Scup minimum size may increase from 8 to 10 inches, and there is talk of closing all scup fishing in federal waters, which is moot, as hardly any commercial or recreational scup fishing occurs in federal waters. Striped bass commercial quotas will remain the same as in 2020-2021, but bluefish quotas have been increased slightly.

    None of these proposals, in my opinion, really affects those of us who fish out of Provincetown and Truro. Our passengers do not typically catch more than five bluefish per day in a four-hour window.

    This past weekend, the Cee-Jay tendered the two cruise ships that visited our port, and I have to say it’s hard to find a downside. You see most passengers carrying multiple bags of items purchased in the shops as they return to the ship, and you hear a lot of rave reviews about the lunches they had in the restaurants. This happening in April, when business is usually slow, seems like a win-win for tourists and businesses alike.

    These ships will return in late October and early November, again bringing a welcome shot of revenue when business is otherwise a little soft.

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    Painting Hulls, Tuning Up Engines, and Sharpening Our Hooks

    Will the joys of fishing with smaller groups and more space on boats last?

    By

    Another season on the water is soon upon us and, with a little luck, we may not have Covid issues dramatically affecting everything we do. Still, the last two seasons have taught us a thing or two.

    April is a month for boat operators to bring their vessels out of storage, put the finishing touches on them, and get them into their slips ready for business. Bottoms and hulls get painted, engines are tuned up, and Coast Guard inspections get done in preparation for what looks to be a very busy tourist season. Cape-wide, lodging reservations have indicated high demand so far.

    Lacy Carter, the reservations office manager at the Dolphin Fleet, reports robust activity already. “We are all very optimistic,” she says. “All we need is good weather and whales.” People are looking forward to their Cape Cod vacations, says Lacy.

    Things are picking up again at MacMillan Pier. (Photo by Nancy Bloom)

    The whales being here is almost a given, but the weather we all need in order to do good business is another matter. It seems to be getting more iffy and challenging lately with climate change underway. My observation, shared by many others on the waterfront, is that we seem to have a shorter true summer weather pattern. We definitely have more wind than in past years. The predictions are also in on the upcoming tropical weather season and the consensus is we will see yet another increase in storms and landfalls this year. Time will tell.

    Capt. Rich Wood has an angle I hadn’t thought of on what a non-Covid season could be like for his fishing and whale watching business on the Beth Ann.

    “Six-pack charters did extremely well during Covid,” Rich says. He’s talking about small six-passenger groups. “It was just you and the family — no crowds, no strangers. But now, with less risk, will they come back for seconds?”

    In other words, Covid introduced a different kind of outing that people really enjoyed. But maybe visitors will go back to bigger boats — and crowds — to save money. Add in world unrest and inflated gas and oil prices and some people’s charter outing dollars will probably have to go to fill their oil tank at home instead.

    “On the other hand,” Rich says, “people might be fed up and say the hell with it — live for today. Who knows?”

    As for fishing on the Cee-Jay, we seem to be getting the typical number of phone calls for April. But we are seeing one unintended consequence from the Covid experience. Like everyone else, we had to up our fares and lower our passenger capacity last year to comply with social distancing protocols. We got so much positive feedback about the increased space on the boat that many people asked us to keep the same model going forward. So, we’re going to do that.

    As to what’s going on out there in the briny, the right whales are here in Cape Cod Bay and have been for a while, feeding on the enormous quantities of plankton in the water at this time of year. That means the bay-wide 10-miles-per-hour speed limit is in play. And no lined trap gear is permitted until May 15.

    The striped bass migration is going as usual. They have come as far north as New Jersey as of this writing and are continuing north toward our waters. They seem to be slightly ahead of schedule, although a protracted cold front could easily slow them down.

    In the meantime, we will sharpen our hooks, put new line on our reels, and get ready to start fishing.

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    Weathering the Weather and Keeping On Fishing

    This is the new normal; it’s time to start adapting

    By

    In a summer of relentless storms, the latest to hit the waterfront was what remained of Hurricane Ida. This one came racing up the East Coast and packed a much stronger wallop than was initially expected.

    Fortunately for the waterfront, the wind direction — it blew from the east at first, then quickly shifted to the northeast and north — was not so destructive to our harbor. We fared well, with only one private mooring failing, sending a small sailboat up on the rocks of the West End jetty.

    Provincetown’s harbormaster and staff righted a few boats after Tropical Storm Ida came through last week. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

    Once again, the newly installed wave attenuator proved to be extremely valuable, as the commercial fishing boats on the east side of MacMillan Wharf were able to stay put in their slips and ride out the storm safely. I came in off my mooring and tied up my boat to the Cee-Jay dock. I was amazed at how calm it was there, even through the highest wind gusts. In pre-wave attenuator times, that wind would have brought waves rolling into the inner harbor, threatening boats tied up to the finger piers.

    What needs to be reiterated is that this weather pattern is not an anomaly. This is the new normal. All the climate experts agree, and all the data concur: our new climate will continue to fuel more wind, more violent coastal storms, and more precipitation and flooding. Personally, I believe we are far beyond rectifying this situation and should shift gears to focus on adapting to the new world environment we have created and now must live in.

    We had one day of bad fishing immediately following the storm, but the fish went gangbusters after that. There was excellent bluefishing along the backside beaches from the Race to the Ranger Station. Water temperatures were somewhat lower because of Ida’s north and northeast winds, leveling off to the mid-60s, but coming from a very warm mid-70s.

    The bay seemed quiet and showed little bluefish activity, but the commercial tuna season reopened on Sept. 1, so the tuna fleet is back out in the bay off the Pamet. A few fish were taken there as well as at the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank.

    The new quota for tuna harvesting is 147.3 metric tons, and, as of Sept. 3, 24.5 metric tons had already been landed, so the thinking here is the fishery will reach the quota rather quickly, and it won’t be open for very long.

    The whales seem to be still avoiding our area. At the moment, they are much to our north. But an occasional minke whale has been seen in the Race, and a fin whale was spotted between Wood End and Long Point for a day. There are always surprises.

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    An Anxious Week on the Wharf

    The effects of the Covid cluster are felt on the waterfront

    By

    It certainly has been a strange week on the waterfront. First, we are getting some weird sunsets over the water, as the atmosphere is filled with smoke from the Western wildfires. On top of reducing visibility offshore, it has altered the Sun’s appearance as it approaches the horizon. It has been dropping into the ocean as an orange ball with no corona and no refracted light in the sky. Let’s hope this smoke will clear soon and we can get back to our explosively colorful Cape Cod sunsets.

    Second, we are seeing the effects of the recent Covid outbreak on our waterfront businesses. The ferries appear to have fewer passengers than usual for this time of summer. The whale watch business has undoubtedly been lighter, and the charter boats are reporting canceled trips and reduced phone activity.

    We have felt the effects on the Cee-Jay, as our phones have been quiet and our passenger counts are down significantly from what they were in prior weeks. There is much anxiety on the wharf. No one knows if this is going to be a short-term bump in the road or a protracted event with potentially devastating results. One thing is for sure: it is a short season and we all need to get back in sync with how we were doing prior to the Covid uptick as quickly as possible.

    The fin whales have finally shown up in their usual spots from Herring Cove to the Race Point Station. Even the fin whale with the big white scar on its back from a ship strike has returned, and the whales have been close enough to see them from the beach. Look for the tall column of mist from their powerful spouts. Fin whales display some of the tallest spouts of all the whales.
    Lots of humpbacks on Stellwagen Bank lately, too, so the whale watching has clearly gotten better.

    The seals on Long Point appear to feel safe with a lack of great whites in our area. (Photo Mike Rathgeber)

    Fishing has been up and down this past week. The good days are very good, and the bad days are pretty challenging. Striped bass are doing what they do in late July, which is become scarce and finicky, and bluefish are making more appearances, but they still aren’t solidly in the bay. The hot areas for bluefish have been the ocean backside from the Race Station to the Peaked Hill Bar and beyond in very shallow water. They have also been in and out of the Race Rips. Stripers have been most consistent at Race Point in and around the rips. Mackerel remain MIA in our harbor and in the bay, so catching them for bait is difficult. As a result, there is more vertical jigging, plugging, and trolling going on right now.

    Anyone know where all the great white sharks are? It’s been a quiet summer so far for sightings and beach closings, despite more seals than ever before in some areas of the Outer Cape.

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    The Bass Are Running in Huge Numbers

    Whales are scarce, but white sharks are appearing

    By

    Striped bass fishing dramatically improved this past week, with huge numbers of mixed-sized fish moving into the area between Wood End Light and Race Point. Most of the fish ranged from 26 to 32 inches, but every now and then a 35-to-40-inch fish was caught, as reported by all the charter boats as well as the Cee-Jay.

    The lack of big bass in our immediate locale has made a notable difference in the presence of the commercial striped bass fishing fleet. They have to catch fish of at least 35 inches to sell them on the commercial market. I can assure you there are very few fish of that size or bigger in our waters at the moment.

    Dylan Marra of Wellesley with a 44-inch beauty aboard the charter boat Ginny G. (Photo Capt. Dave Gibson)

    The best method for catching them remains drifting live or dead mackerel, although trollers using umbrella rigs and Jig-N-Eels had a good week, too. This past Saturday afternoon the bass bite was extraordinary, as all the charter boats from Provincetown limited out. At numerous times on the Cee-Jay that day, we had four and five people fighting fish at once.

    Mackerel have been inconsistent: here today, gone tomorrow, and back the next day, but the Horseshoe Cove and Long Point seem to be the best bets. There are a lot of squid all along the edge where the shoal water turns deep in the west side of the harbor. Bluefish have also done the here today, gone tomorrow routine around Herring Cove, off the Pamet, and south to the path off Wellfleet.

    Our ocean water temperatures took a nose dive when that northerly cold front came through. It got as low as the low 50s, but has since climbed back to the mid and upper 60s.

    Whale watching remains a tough gig. Still no fin whales in the stretch of water between Herring Cove and the Race Point ranger station, as we’ve come to expect. And Stellwagen Bank has not been very fruitful lately. There were a few whales seen in and around Peaked Hill Bar, but they didn’t stay long, despite there being massive amounts of food in the water for them.

    I was running a whale watch charter on the Beth Ann the other day, and the southwest corner of Stellwagen was teeming with life. Big schools of mackerel were chasing even bigger schools of sand eels, and tuna were chasing both. But no whales were seen in and among them.

    The number of seals here has grown exponentially over the last two weeks and, to no one’s surprise, great white sharks are now being reported at beaches including Head of the Meadow and Race Point.

    Last Sunday, the Blessing of the Fleet was subdued compared with its usual pomp. Boats were blessed at their docks instead of in the usual procession of boats going by the bishop at the end of the pier. I really hope next year we can get back to normal and have a Portuguese Festival and a Blessing of the Fleet that are more like the ones we had for years and years before the pandemic.

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    The Trouble With the Bass Rules: Throwbacks Don’t Survive

    Mackerel and squid are here, and bluefish are close behind

    By

    Bass fishing exploded in our area this week. And the big fish have arrived. Capt. Nico Pace of the Cape Tip’n, Capt. Russ Zawaduk of the Lisa Z, Capt. Rich Wood of the Beth Ann, and the Cee-Jay all reported having to throw back bass that were over 35 inches.

    You might be asking yourself why in the world we are throwing 35-plus-inch bass back in the sea. It’s because we have a so-called slot limit, which dictates we can keep bass only if they are between 28 and 35 inches long.

    Rant warning.

    Our bass keeper rules are not working. I get the intent, which is to save the most prolific breeders — those in the over-35-inch range — and to protect the soon-to-be breeders that are under 28 inches.

    But here is why I know those rules are failing. On Saturday, the bass fishing was extremely good — everyone out there was catching fish. It was a weekend, so there were a lot of boats out, which meant a high number of throwbacks.

    One of many short bass seen floating dead on the surface. These are fish that are caught and won’t survive but must be returned to the ocean regardless. (Photo Mike Rathgeber)

    News flash: the throwbacks are not surviving. This was evidenced by the enormous number of dead shorts on the surface that day. If preventing mortality and achieving conservation are the objectives, we are not meeting them.

    You want a rule that makes sense in terms of addressing both mortality and conservation? I’ll give you one: one fish per day of any size. After that, you simply have to stop targeting them.

    That would mean, on a six-man charter boat, the first six fish end striped bass fishing for the day. After six fish are caught, you have to target another species. Or go in early. Same with party fishing boats — on mine, that would mean after the first 20 fish are caught, regardless of size, that’s it. After that, you have to bottom fish, or go after bluefish, or go in early.

    I am convinced that is truly the only way to end this ridiculous killing of shorts. When you catch a short with a hook in its gut, or one that’s impaled by a plug with three treble hooks, there is no way it’s going to survive. The way things stand, we throw that fish back in the name of conservation and end up feeding the crabs. What we are being required to do is absolutely ludicrous.

    Rant over.

    Bluefish are making brief appearances at the cottages off Beach Point and off Herring Cove, but they don’t seem to be staying. Tuna fishing hasn’t really gotten going yet, although boats are out there looking and waiting for the bite to start.

    Flounder fishing remains good in deeper waters off the Pamet, using sea worms or clams. We still aren’t seeing the fin whales we typically see around Race Point and Herring Cove, but we’re hopeful they will arrive soon. There is plenty of food for them there. Mackerel fishing in the Horseshoe Cove is very good right now. Squid are also in the harbor and under the lights at night.

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    Bluefish, Bass, and Flounder Fishing Improves in the Bay

    But whales have been mostly absent

    By

    Fishing is heating up, with bluefish showing up in the bay and keeper-size striped bass being caught more and more. In the last week, striped bass keepers were taken off the cottages and from Wood End to Herring Cove. Mackerel are still very thick in the harbor, so getting bait is a pretty easy task.

    We have an unusually large number of small striped bass around, and they seem to be everywhere. Cut mackerel or live mackerel drifted as bait is still the most effective method.

    Flounder fishing is good off the Pamet. The trick is to fish deeper than the cormorants can dive, which is about 25 feet. Where it’s shallower than that, the cormorants have pretty much mopped the bottom clean of flounder.

    Whale watching has been tough. The whales have been mostly absent from our local waters. It’s a big ocean, and they go where they go to eat and are constantly moving. I’m sure we will see them around eventually. It has also been pretty quiet on the white shark front, and there do not seem to be as many seals in our bay and harbor as there normally are in June. It remains to be seen how this will play out as we get deeper into summer.

    We have had a significant marine mechanic shortage nationwide even before the pandemic came along. Now things are worse. The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas estimates that about 31,000 jobs will be unfilled at boat dealerships this year, and that more than 85 percent of all open marine service department positions are for service technicians and mechanics. This severe shortage has led to chronic backlogs. A survey that the website Soundings Trade Only conducted last summer showed that 90 percent of marine boat dealers had a service backlog, and 13 percent of them said the backlog was longer than two months.

    It is encouraging to see that some of our local high school graduates will be attending the Mass. Maritime Academy in the fall. Skilled mechanics will always be in demand.

    This is a good time to remind everyone to exercise extreme caution when operating your boat in the West End area of the harbor in front of the Provincetown Inn, as those waters are filled with oyster and clam farms, which are marked by buoys. Running over them can damage your boat and the aquaculture equipment as well.

    Also, walking your dog on the flats at dead low tide and letting it do its business out there is not a good idea, for obvious reasons. Keep that in mind and the oyster and clam farmers will thank you, and I thank you.

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    The Bass Get a Bit Bigger

    With the temperature, hopes are rising among fishermen

    By

    What a difference a week makes. We went from a November-like Memorial Day weekend storm to a blistering July-like heat wave.

    Fishing has improved somewhat. Striped bass are filtering in slow and steady, and the area off the cottages on Beach Point has had numerous schools of bass from 25 to 40 feet deep. The fish are getting bigger. The Cee-Jay, Beth Ann, and Lisa Z charter boats all reported keeper bass being taken this past week. Drifting fresh tinker mackerel has been the ticket, although trollers had success dragging umbrella rigs as well. Vertical jigging and casting swimming plugs have so far not been as effective as bait fishing. Mackerel are virtually everywhere, but particularly up in the Horseshoe Cove in the harbor.

    Commercial striped bass fishing opens on June 16, with some new rules and regulations in place for this season. The fishery will have three consecutive open days for the catch: Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. On Oct. 1, provided that the quota has not been taken and the fishery is still open, the number of open fishing days per week will increase to five.

    The commercial fishery will close for sure on Nov. 15 if the striped bass quota has not been taken before that date.

    The commercial quota has been set at 735,240 pounds, which is essentially the same number as last year. But the minimum size required for commercial sale of a striper is 35 inches, and I think that is going to significantly affect the commercial fleet here. We have hardly seen any striped bass of that size.

    This was a major issue among commercial striped bass fishermen here last year. Let’s hope that situation changes soon and we start seeing more big fish.

    Sand eels are plentiful, but the fin whales that eat them off Herring Cove are late arrivals. (Photo Mandy Lindeberg/NOAA/NFWS/AKFSC)

    Bluefish remain very close to our area, but they are not quite here yet.

    The whales have done quite the disappearing act. There were a few whales up on Stellwagen Bank, but further north than the Provincetown whale watch boats like to go, and now even those have left the area. We usually have a group of fin whales at this time of year, feeding between Herring Cove and the Race ranger station, but they have yet to show up. With as many mackerel, herring, sand eels, and pogies as we have around, I believe it’s just a matter of time before the whales find all this food and hang around within sight of the beaches.

    We had our first cruise ship arrive here since the start of the pandemic. The visit last weekend fired up people on both sides of the question whether these ships should be allowed in Provincetown Harbor at all.

    More kudos to the dudes at TowBoat, who rescued a large sailboat that went aground off Wood End Light. From what I understand, the sailors thought it was Long Point Light and inadvertently steered right toward the beach.

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    Weekend Nor’easter Turns Waterfront Into Dead Zone

    The storm demonstrated the value of new wave attenuators

    By

    The Provincetown waterfront season certainly has gotten off to a less than auspicious start.

    We had a classic winter-like nor’easter for the holiday weekend. This one was in no hurry to leave, either. It hung around for three days with 30-to-40-mph northeast and east winds, a cold rain that was horizontal at times, and frigid temperatures more like you see in late November.

    Wind-driven waves overturned a boat in Provincetown Harbor last weekend. (Photo Mike Rathgeber)

    Consequently, the waterfront, which would typically be alive with energy, was a dead zone. Whale watch trips were canceled for the entire weekend, along with charter and party fishing excursions. Provincetown Marina was very quiet, as boaters coming in as overnight guests and day trippers canceled their reservations.

    This was an awful start to the season, especially as all these businesses are coming off a weak 2020 season due to the pandemic. We also had a boat in the East End get flipped over by large, wind-driven waves. On Sunday morning’s low tide, the TowBoat U.S. crew were out there with divers, trying to get it flipped back upright, and it looked like a successful undertaking.

    I can’t say enough good things about the dedication and skills Noah Santos and Malcolm Hunter of TowBoat U.S. display in situations such as this. We are very lucky to have them right here in town when things go from bad to worse in our harbor. If you are a boat owner, having a TowBoat U.S. policy is a good idea.

    As I have said before, our harbor, beautiful as it is, is really not a safe refuge unless you’re inside the breakwater and in between the east- and west-facing wave attenuators. Beyond that, there is a lot of unblocked deep water, which can create large, wind-driven waves very quickly. This can be dangerous if you are on a mooring or anchor outside of the inner harbor.

    The value of the wave attenuators that the town installed on the east end of the inner harbor was clearly evident in this past storm. All the commercial boats sat safely and comfortably during the worst of the blow. I know, because I was on one of them, and what a difference it has made.

    Not much to report on the fishing front, as no one could really get out most of the week. Small bass were still around, and Long Point to Wood End was the most productive area last week before the blow. We still have no big keeper-size bass here yet. They are officially late in arriving.

    Just to our south in Nantucket Sound, bluefishing remains much better than it’s been in quite a few years. There was a reliable report of medium-size bluefish being caught in Wellfleet Harbor last week. Horseshoe crabs are here in our harbor for their annual spring mating ritual and can be seen in the clear, shallow water along the West End and East End beaches. We’re also starting to see some lions-mane red jellyfish here and there in the harbor. We just need some summer weather, so we can finally get out and enjoy all that our waterfront has to offer.

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    A Puzzle: Huge Schools of Very Small Bass

    The conditions are optimal, but the big stripers are MIA

    By

    Striped-bass fishing has gone from looking like it was going to develop earlier than usual to now looking like it will start a little later than usual. We are wondering what is going on. I checked my Cee-Jay logbooks, and by this time, in most years, we are solidly into keeper-size bass.

    Last weekend saw an enormous number of bass around. There were huge schools of fish off the cottages at Beach Point, off the Pamet, and from Long Point all the way to the Race rips. The problem was that all these fish were very small. The fish we caught were between 12 and 25 inches, with most being closer to 12.

    This is rather perplexing. Water temperatures are optimal, running from the low 50s to even 60 degrees in some spots. We have a fantastic amount of food in the water. Mackerel are virtually everywhere, and they are big and fat. Clouds of sand eels can be seen off Herring Cove, and I have even seen some squid in the lights at night off the town pier. Whale watch captains tell me they’ve never seen as many pogies up on Stellwagen Bank as they have this past week.

    Flounder fishing is pretty good off the Pamet and even better by the #1 buoy off Sesuit Harbor. Tautog fishing along the harbor breakwater, using green crabs for bait, has been steadily improving. I’m hearing about big bluefish being caught just to our south in Long Island Sound and Buzzards Bay, so I’m hoping they find their way into Cape Cod Bay soon, especially if the striped bass remain MIA.

    Right whales are now officially gone from the bay as they continue their migration north, so the 10-mile-an-hour speed limit has been lifted, and lobstermen can now set their gear and actually maybe make a living.

    A sad note: we have lost some legendary captains from our waterfront through the years, but none bigger then Joe “Bones” Basine, who died this past week. Joe passed away unexpectedly in Haiti, a place he went to help out following the massive earthquake there. He loved it so much that he went from visiting part-time to living full-time. But before that he spent decades running whale watch boats in Provincetown. He and I started about the same time, in the early ’80s. His musical talents were as extraordinary as his boatmanship, and he often played guitar and sang on the boat while working for the Portuguese Princess Whale Watch.

    Bones was often seen playing with the Jug Band in the old Surf Club, back in the day. Above and beyond that, he was a great guy with a big heart and kind soul. He had just texted me last week to offer his condolences on the passing of my mother, so I was shocked to hear a few days later that he was gone.

    He will be missed very much by all whose lives he touched in this town. Somewhere up there, Johnny Woods, Manny Phillips, Jean Frottier, Al and Aaron Avellar, and Bobby Cabral, just to name a few, and now, Joe Bones, are sitting in Heaven’s version of the Old Colony, having one hell of a conversation!

    COASTAL STUDIES

    Lobstermen Fish for ‘Ghost Gear’

    For a few hardy crews, it’s time to clean up the seafloor

    By

    PROVINCETOWN — Throughout April, a few hardy fishermen have been departing from MacMillan Pier most mornings not to haul in a bounty of fish but instead to haul in lost fishing gear.

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