: all night flats fishing on Cape Cod
06-20-2002, 10:43 PM
We will be meeting for our All-Night Flats Fishing outing around Monomoy this Saturday. I want
to thank everyone who came to Nauset last month it was a really good turnout and I had a lot of
fun meeting and sharing with you all. We are going to be fishing the flats for stripers throughout
the night and what an experience it is going to be. Kenney and I will be there to share the
experiences we have had night fishing on the flats and help you to pattern the fish.
We will meet at the weather station on Morris Island in Chatham at 5pm.
We want everyone to be safe so these are the things you will want to bring:
Flash light with new batteries
Inflatable life vests if you have one
Bottle of water
Fleece and Windbreaker
If any of you have “talk-abouts” please bring them so we can stay in touch with one another.
Directions to Weather Station:
Take Exit 11Route 137 south off of the Mid Cape Highway and follow to Route 28. Go left on
to Route 28 which will take you down into the town of Chatham. Continue through the town of
Chatham until you run into Shore Road. At the stop sign take a right and follow to the fork in the
road.(The fork will be just after the Coast Guard light house. Go left at the fork which is Morris
Island Rd. One hundred yards down the road Morris Island will take a right. You will see Stage
Harbor on your right and South Beach on your left as you drive the long causeway. You will see
signs for a private neighborhood but continue through and up the hill. Once you get to the top of
the hill on your left will be Wikis Way and the weather station parking lot. We will be able to
park there throughout the night and into early morning.
06-21-2002, 12:57 AM
Looking forward to another outing with you and Kenny. I'm sure it will prove interesting and informative. I'm not sure If I can start that early, perhaps I can hook up with you alittle later out on the flats.
06-21-2002, 05:33 AM
At a local store a few days ago and one of the line manufactures (RIO? or Tenney) latest product was a 'glow in the dark' fly line. Interesting idea?? Any benefit for the trip above?
06-21-2002, 06:35 AM
Good concept for night salmon and steelhead surf and river fishing.
Also for Michigan Hex hatch dry fly fishing at midnight for big browns :smokin:
You have not experienced all of dry fly trout fishing until you have experienced this. Bats whizzing by you in the dark and every other night critter is out while you are in the middle of the river in the pitch dark.:smokin: :smokin:
This is what I call a "Real Mans" trout fly fishing.
P.S. Night saltwater flats fishing looks risky to me I did that 20 years ago in NJ Barnegat Bay and you had better know your tides and the flats you are walking in micro detail. Wading the rivers and great lakes surf at night is risky but at least we donot have water tides to worry about.
06-21-2002, 08:08 AM
looks like i'm going to have to work most if not all weekend :mad:
...but just in case:
1) any particular fly recommendations?
2) when will the boat be returning?
06-21-2002, 10:31 AM
I'm in and will help with the shuttle service.
06-21-2002, 04:56 PM
Since I have the family down... what is the come back time? I am going to try and make it.. Where's the drop off, are we talking about north or south monomoy?
I think I am in... although I have a conflict at this point I still need to work out.
Greg - just talked to Todd, if you arrive late just call his cell
Good moon for it, should be interesting. Lots of big fish around.
06-21-2002, 10:37 PM
OK, I'll give Todd a call once I get his cell phone number. I don't think I have it, I'll check or better yet, send it to me please.
Too bad it's not tonight, nice clear moonlit night. A 40% chance of thunderstorms on the forcast I saw for tomorrow night. The flats are not the place to be during a lightning storm. Hope the weather forcast is wrong.
FredE- That glow in the dark line should be great for casting at night, wonder if it spooks fish though.
Fred- I would have serious reservations about using the glo in the dark line when bluefish are in the area. If it glos in the dark then it'll glo in the day and I can see multiple hits from the "piranha" of the NE. I lost a fly line because a blue spotted the flo yellow backing I had out while fighting a fish. This blue spotted the bimini knot that I had forming the loop in my backing and neatly severed it; I can only imagine what a school of blues would do to a fly line they could see realy well. Ron:smokin:
06-22-2002, 04:58 PM
Only a short segment of the line glows. So that in the dark you have some sense of how much line you have out.
Anxious to hear the reports... I am working today because I played hooky all day yesterday from my dayjob while the team works on a new release thru the weekend. Couldn't come straight in from an all-nighter on the flats although I seriously thought about it when I spoke with Todd last night.
A good number of folks were on the excursion, tide was just quivering to start the flood, and I am certain some huge fish were cruising under the stars.
06-23-2002, 09:34 PM
I had a late start getting to the weather station around 7pm, I arrived just in time to see the launch of a weather balloon into the increasingly overcast sky. I went over to the
pick-up point and was pleased to see Kenny and a few fisherman waiting on the beach. I think
I was on the 4 or 5 shuttle trip on Todds boat to the first fishing spot. When I got to the first drop off point one person already hooked up with a 30 or so incher, and the fish were coming in with the tide. We fanned out and start fishing for awhile, then Todd showed up after alittle recon trip. Apparently he spotted a large school of fish feeding along some sand bars on the flats.
Well myself, Pete and another fisherman were fortunate enough to get a boat ride to the edge
of the flats the fish were feeding in. Another group worked the flats on the way to where we were dropped off. It was one of the few times I 've come upon fish wading from the ocean side to the shore with fish grubbin all around in the dark. We spread out with Pete and I started working slowly towards shore. I started in for a hundred or so feet then just stood there getting in tune with the fish and look for feeding patterns. I found a bunch that seemed to be holding in an area. It took awhile to get any attention, But finally had a fish follow it alittle. Put it back out there to him again and this time managed to get hooked
up. He didn't feel that big at first and I started to bring him in towards shore. When I rolled the fish over in the current on the way to shore that's when the fish really started
putting up a fight and pulling the line out which put him on the reel. As I was walking in I startled another group of fish in front which backed me up alittle cursing the thought of moving in any further. At this point I either released some of the tension or the fish simply just wasn't hooked well. He spit the hook 15-20 feet away Doh...
I saw another nice fish caught abit later about keeper sized 26-27in.
Despite it being a full moon, we saw very little of it, so sighting fish was tough. And the 60% chance of rain became 100% and the wind died as it started spitting. After hours of working the flats bar area, things slowed down and we made a move down towards deeper what where fish were spotted earlier. After the lengthy hike and fishing hard on the flats for hours many of us crashed for awhile like a herd of beached seals. Some were even able to sleep through the down pour that came upon us. It became colder yet with the wind shift and I was glad I packed an extra sweat shirt. Most napped till first light and then we spread out and tried to find some fish.
We saw lots of sandeels around, But we didn't find any fish there, some moved up the flat and others packed it up and called a day. I poked around abit and didn't find any fish and when Todd returned we departed too.
On the way back home we past by Kenny who looked like he found a sluice box situation with bait being flushed off the flat, we expect he was into some fish at that time. We also saw porpoising fish and some nice boils in the water on the way in.
A hearty Thank You is in order for Capt Todd burning up more than a tank of gas plus shuttling us around all night and putting us in the fish. Despite the weather's significant impact on our moonlit flats adventure, it was quite a night. Thanks also to Kenny Abrames and all the attendees for sharing their thoughts and advice and making the event so interesting. There were about 12-13 people totaled in the group, including one couple and a gentleman from as far away as PA.
It was a fun and informative outing with a bunch of great people and fish <'>>>-<. Sorry about the delayed report and not mentioning everyone I met by name.
Can't wait to go again, Monday night looks good. :hehe:
06-24-2002, 09:44 AM
Greg said it all...tough fishing!...eager fish would have made the striper stew spicier but the educational opportunities offered by the Right Honourable Capt Todd and FlyMeister Ken certainly made for a noteworthy experience that I won't soon forget! Thank you BIG!
Long about 0200 when the wind stopped and the bite turned on (not the fish, the no-see-ums) I was happy to have packed a head net and some gloves...a small tarp made snoozing in the rain much more tolerable. And so the list of things to bring grows and the pack swells...
Capt Todd knows the flatzz like the back of his hand...Give him a call and you'll be in for a treat!
06-24-2002, 10:27 AM
How about a ghillie?
06-24-2002, 12:40 PM
Doc...I wuzz thinkin' more on the linez of a Sherpa porter!
If "they" would "handicap access" da beeech I could use a shopping cart!
You shoulda' been there!
06-24-2002, 09:38 PM
That must have been a blast! Sounds like some outstanding fishermen to hang with, too. I would have learnde a lot, but owed my son a camping trip for Cub Scouts. You know, that was a lot of fun, too. Sure put a big smile on his face.
Might be coming up in a couple of weeks...don't want to jinx it by saying too much until the last minute. Bad mojo been working lately for yours truly. Still working on tying those flies for the box...how 'bout a Ray's fly in flatwing, bucktail, and as a Jiggy (in honor of the Joisey Giant, the legendary Mr. Bob Popovics)?
Take care of yourself, and I hope to get up again soon! Heck, I'll even hump the ruck!