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Date: October 24, 2020 Body of Water: Barnstable Harbor - Barnstable, Massachusetts Moon Phase: Waxing Quarter Moon; Full - seven days Tides: Just about High at first, falling throughout, beginning of flood at end Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 7:45 AM - 2:30 PM Conditions: 55 - 65 degrees F; water was 57 - 60 degrees and clear. Skies were clear at first with light wind, but clouds and westerly breeze built after Noon. Other than thousands of migratory sea ducks, little bird or bait activity was evident. With predicted winds from the southwest, I thought Barnstable might offer protection and options both within the harbor and out on Cape Cod Bay. Plus, I'd really enjoyed my only previous visit to this picturesque port. Predicted High Tide was about 6:33 AM; I thought to catch the outgoing tide at the harbor's mouth. On my way there, I scanned for birds or bait, but none showed. Still, I scouted a few sandbars and current seams with poppers and jigs. Nothing reacted, though. This was my first trip to this port with a sonar; and I was surprised at the depth of portions of the channel. Several spots reached over 40 feet deep, and there was a lot of water over 20 feet. Reviewing areas that had produced fish in my previous visit, there were both bait and marks with some regularity, but just on bottom. I decided to drift with the building current and jigged with a variety of jigs and spoons without a bite. At 9 AM, I decided push my search further down the channel. To cover more water, more quickly, I switched to trolling. I quickly had a spread of two deep-diving stick-baits as I trolled with the current. I had just settled into a speed of about 3.5 mph, two mph over current speed, when the rod with my Rapala X-Rap Magnum 15 went off; I'd avoided the skunk with a pretty 24-incher! This fish had hit in about 30 feet of water, but right on the channel edge that went quickly into less than 20 feet. I continued further down the channel, almost to the end of the markers; but without any further action, ran back up-current to set up another trolling pass. This pass produced two additional fish of similar size. Both ate the same presentation, which by now I had determined was running about 19 feet deep, 100 feet behind the boat. Both hits came in 23 - 25 feet of water, slightly down current from the first; both ate between 10 and 10:30 AM; and so all three of my hits occurred within an hour of peak tidal current flow. These fish, under such beautiful conditions, made my day, but also kept me occupied for another hour. As Noon approached and I had seemingly lost touch with my fish, I decided to explore Cape Cod Bay, hoping to find birds, bait and bass. In short, despite going all the way west to Scorton Ledge, I found none. I scouted marked wrecks to find nothing of interest. I completed two circuits of Scorton Ledge itself and covered an additional 45-minutes of blind trolling with my stick-baits in 18 - 30 feet of water. I returned to Barnstable to catch the beginning of the flood. I trolled my way in, but encountered more "Nothing" as I entered the harbor itself. The weather was turning; skies were gray to forbidding, and the wind was both strengthening but also swinging more to the west. I was back at the dock by 2:30 or so, wondering if I'd caught my last striped bass of my boating season. What do I have to say about this? Of course, I'd like to contact more than three fish a trip, but this was still a quality experience. I appreciate the validation these fish gave me for my use of precision trolling tactics; I had placed and adjusted my baits with purpose, as if I were targeting Great Lakes salmon and trout, Muskegon Lake walleye, or Reeds Lake pike. I now have confidence in trolling stick-baits for stripers when conditions dictate. After the fact, I received a report of schoolies and small blues chasing peanut bunker well up the harbor, a couple of days prior. Maybe this was still going on; but I didn't see any evidence of such activity. I'll just need to return some day and acquaint myself with the inshore fishing of Barnstable Harbor. Both of my trips so far have featured a falling tide, and so I've been drawn to the harbor mouth. There's still so much to learn and explore! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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