Fishing Frenzy

By far the most daunting task, especially in our neck of the woods, is locating quality fish. It isn't important what type of fish is targeted, the opportunity to consistently find fish on each fishing trip is half the battle, and is the most important ingredient to a successful season.

Locating fish within the 604 square miles of water that constitute Cape Cod Bay may be very similar to locating a needle within a haystack. Nantucket Sound to the south is not much more inviting. However you can consistently locate quality fishing, no matter the season, climate conditions or the presence of bait, provided that a sound tactic is employed.

And in this day an age, consistently locating striped bass, when fishing Cape Cod, is heavily dependent upon the employment of electronics.

Finding a Place to Start

We all love those rare days when diving birds and breaking fish lead the way to great fishing. Or those exceptional moments when the fishing report we read in yesterday's newspaper rings true.

The fact is that on most trips we really do not have these luxuries. Much more often we are met with long distances of seemingly dry water with no signs as to where the bite is best. Which creates the question, amidst all this open h2o, where do we start?

Utilizing the most current info possible is a smart way to develop a place to start.

Let's say the only intel we have is that last weekend a number of nice bass were caught in 60 feet of water somewhere in Cape Cod Bay. Even though we are not supplied any in-depth information by this report, the bit of data we are presented with (60 feet of water) is crucially essential, taking into consideration the vastness of the Bay.

Sixty feet of water shall be our starting position.

Commencing the Search

Driving to a depth of 60 feet and instantly placing baits in the water is simply not a wise course of action. The probability that fish are going to be holding in the first spot we try, even if it is a popular hot spot, are extremely slim.

Additionally, it is a waste of precious time to troll around all dayi n 60 feet of water, wishing and praying to stagger across a striperor two. On the other hand we can easily maximize our time and efficiency by using a more proactive strategy to finding fish using our electronics.

All that is required is a dependable color sonar unit. Systems worth thousands of dollars are nice, however a color unit acquired for a few hundred bills will function perfectly.

The next measure to routinely locating fish is to determine what track to commence the search. Say for example you depart Barnstable Harbor, reach a depth of 60 feet and know from practical experience that you've done very well to the west, in the area off Sandy Neck. In this example it can make the best sense to begin our search by moving in a westerly track.

Always keeping a close eye on the sonar, we'll cruise west at a sensible speed-one that will permit us to clearly view fish marks on the sonar, while also enabling us to cover loads of water. For most units, a speed of around eight miles-per-hour will work fine.

Since the Bay is vast, and also for the most part, devoid of any fish holding structure, we commonly may go miles without marking a single fish on the sonar. This is great news because we've eradicated miles of water that we may of forfeited hours trolling through.

When You Should Begin Fishing

On some excursions it may only take a few minutes to mark a bass on the sonar, and on other trips it could take multiple hours. However one must always not underestimate the significance ofeven just a single mark on the sonar.

If you notice a definitive bass mark on the sonar, it's likely that that you have found one among hundreds of fish in the area. Striped bass are especially prone to spend time in large schools. During 2010 we located on several instances, schools of bass around a mile in length.

Most of the time that one mark on the screen, is but one of countless fish holding in the immediate vicinity.

Now is the time to put lines in the water and commence fishing. And if after fifteen or twenty minutes, there are no takes or more fish marked on the sonar, it is time to resume the search.

It is usually possible to find a school of say 20-40 pound stripers, and follow them for miles. Nevertheless it is easy to lose the school if too much time is spent fishing in one spot, and not enough time is spent using sonar to keep on top of the school.

Breaking from Traditional Wisdom

A lot of people tend to get caught up on hammering the GPS coordinates from a productive past trip, or gravitating to well known hot spots or fleets of other boats. In many cases, lines will end up in the water despite no evidence of fish on the sonar.

The fact is that fish are almost continuously on the move, and frequently move quickly. In wide open areas without structure and significant current, investing more time actively moving around, and a smaller amount of time with lines in the water, will maximize the prospects of finding a spot holding fish.