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Date: June 27, 2020 Body of Water: Barnstable Harbor and outlet - Barnstable, Massachusetts Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous; New Moon + 6 days Tides: Falling until 11:15 AM, slack tide and then incoming well by 1 PM Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 7:30 AM - 1:30 PM Conditions: Quite pleasant, with the exception of afternoon crowds and congestion; clear to mostly cloudy; 70 - 80 degrees; mild southerly winds; water was quite clear; a beautiful introduction to an interesting port. A few things attracted me to Barnstable, but chief among them were the prospects of schoolies in the harbor, with purported easy access to the deeper and potentially bait-filled waters of the channel and Cape Cod Bay. I arrived with some anxiety about crowds and the ability to launch; but that was wasted discomfort, as neither were a problem until after Noon. By then, I'd had a full, enjoyable day, and I was able to cope with what is the simple reality of Cape Cod in Summer. Once again, I was fishing "blind" (without sonar), but between my GPS mapping system and the clarity of the water, I was all set. With the tide still outgoing, I decided to stay in the harbor and fish my way out. After a few truly blind and unproductive casts in some deeper water near an island, I continued toward the harbor's mouth. I stopped at the hint of a current seam along an isolated beach. I casted an olive Hogy epoxy jig up current and tried to dance it along the bottom; and instantly got hit. It was just a small striper, but several others of more interesting size followed, and I knew there was a group of fish here! I quickly tagged another small teenager, and I was on my way to another small Striper Cup Limit of three photographed stripers. Barnstable was showing well! Action slowed here after the first few casts, but I still had many visible follows, often with multiple fish at the same time. Some of these looked to be near legal size, too, so I stuck around, trying to coax some additional bites. When the next fish crushed my bait on a fast retrieve as I gave up on a cast (a nicer, 20-inch bass, too), I decided to go a bit heavier , faster and flashier with my favored Crippled Herring. Once again, the first few casts were greeted enthusiastically, including a couple of fish in the 22-23 inch range. Things were looking up! Things were really looking up when I noticed the day's first (and only) visible bait chase. I heard it more than saw the chase, but a striper immediately jumped on my Rebel Jumpin' Minnow. After a dogged fight, I landed my nicest striper in a few weeks, a solid 24-incher. Once again, I started seeing more fish than I was getting to bite. I decided to employ an entirely new-to-me technique to see if I could fire these fish up. I casted a Ben Parker Magnum Flutter Spoon (in the color "Undead", as pre-selected by A) up current, counted it down to the bottom and started a ripping/falling retrieve. I got touched on my first cast, but got absolutely hammered on my third. This was another stout 24-incher (still not a big striper by any means, but certainly worth fishing for), and this was the start of a productive hour or so. By now, the outgoing tide was at full force, and current seams and rips were obvious. The stripers seemed to prefer the deeper, slower holding water, but they maintained a steady aggressiveness towards the spoon. While I caught fish as small as 15 inches on this 8+ inch spoon, most of the fish were solid 22 - 24 inchers. And many truly crushed the spoon; in such a beautiful setting, this was fun fishing! I attempted to troll tubes-and-worms down-current with the tide, once again with no success. As I approached Green Can No. 1 near the channel's end, I decided to employ the flutter spoon in this deeper water. Once again, the first cast got touched, but the next cast got demolished. The biggest bass of the day (25 inches) came aboard. When the spoon bite slowed, I did manage another bass or two, as well as two 5-pound bluefish, on sand eel jigs; all near Green Can No. 1. As the tide slackened, I explored the flats beyond the harbor, as well as the deeper water of Cape Cod Bay. I found several groups of pogies, but none seemed to hold any bass. I saw no evidence of mackerel, and no other boats were trying to make bait. I trolled for blues with a single Yozuri swimmer for a while, and added the last bass of the day. With the incoming tide starting to build, I revisited my areas of success; and while I have no doubt that there were still fish to be caught, at 1:30 PM I called it quits on account of the crowded conditions. The day had been good to me; 17 stripers, 2 blues, and many fond memories. What do I have to say about this? I will be back; hopefully with A and/or K. And perhaps not on a summer Saturday. But other than the rude boating, crowds at navigation pinch points and the rather dysfunctional ramp, this was a very high-quality experience. I very much look forward to returning in the fall. But for now; amybaby22 is relocating to her "home" waters of Casco Bay, Maine for the remainder of the summer. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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