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Date: June 13, 2021 Body of Water: Barnstable Harbor and Channel - Barnstable, Massachusetts Moon Phase: New Moon plus 3 days; waxing crescent Tides: Low Tide at about 8:40 AM; generally fished the bottom half of the tide Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Striped Bass Time: 6:30 AM - 12:30 PM Conditions: About 60 - 75 degrees; clear and bright; steady WSW winds about 10 mph; water was greenish clear and about 62 degrees F in the harbor; and green and 58 degrees F in the channel and with the incoming tide With SW wind in the forecast, I decided to hunt for bigger fish on the Cape's north side instead of being penned up in the south-side estuaries. Plus, I was due for a dose of Barnstable; it has always treated me well during my infrequent visits! The launch was not crowded at all for such a beautiful Sunday, and I left the ramp by 6:30 AM. I'd left some low-light conditions on the table, but I can only get up so early; and somehow a wild goose chase for gas and a gaffe with my GPS mapping ate 45 minutes or so go prime fishing time. Conditions were almost still, with just a light breeze ruffling the water as I entered Barnstable Harbor, proper. I was without a clear plan of execution, but my planning had equipped me for lots of situations. The outgoing tide still had two hours, so I was thinking about the main channel outlet. But as I approached navigation Marker 8 in the harbor, I could see some raucous birds over the water. They weren't diving, but they sure were watching the water and excited. I approached slowly as I grabbed my spinning rod with a Smack-it Jr. popper tied on. I heard the first couple of bass before I saw them on top; and my first cast was interrupted by a nice, 25-inch striper. And there were still plenty popping and several nice-sized followers behind mine! Keying largely on visible current seems while moving around with the concentration of most active birds, I had almost an hour of excellent popper fishing. At first I was alone, but over time my bent rods (and the birds and the splashes of feeding bass) attracted others. When the bite slowed a bit after 8 or 9 bass, I switched to a fluke (with a weighted swim-bait hook) to reveal and catch several more. I caught a feisty, 5-pound bluefish, too. Collectively, the bass were all nice fish, averaging about 25 inches but ranging to 30! Each fish revealed many others, too, through follows, chases and missed strikes, so it seemed like I'd had even more action. A couple of the sighted bass looked big enough to keep me interested for as long as this could possibly last. By about 8:15 AM, the bite had gone quiet; slack tide was in the next half hour. I decided to troll cranks to the outlet, and quickly picked up two small stripers and a flounder on the Rapala Sliver Needlefish (as well as a couple of drive-bys on the Rapala X-Rap Mag 15). Now out by Marker 1, I decided to reverse directions with the tide and troll back into the channel. I set out a single tube-and-worm combination on a lead-core outfit. It looked and felt like this was getting hit. I never hooked up, though, even though the tube came back clean a couple of times. While I was marking some fish at depth, these might have been sea bass or flounder; a lot of folks in this area appeared to be fishing with bait. Nothing too good happened during this time; I was simply putting in my work trying to figure out new techniques and locations. But by 11 AM, boat traffic was really ramping up, and I found myself thinking about the ramp. I decided to head in and perhaps beat the afternoon rush. As I was motoring up the harbor, once again I spied active birds. This time, instead of being along the deep channel, the flock was over shallow water, where Horseshoe Shoal was flooding. Once again, I approached slowly, got within casting range of busting bass, and scored on my first cast. The 29-inch bass absolutely inhaled the popper and fought well in the shallow (3 feet?) water. These feeds were more sporadic than in the morning, the shallow water prohibited quick changes in location, and there was a lot more competition for these fish. I ended up doing better with the fluke than with the popper, and I pulled multiple bass from a mini-rip where the flood tide flowed over the edge of the shoal. The stripers were right where you'd expect them to be! I ended the day with 20 stripers landed, as well as a blue, the flounder and a sea bass. It had been a really good day, and I didn't even encounter any issues at the ramp! What do I have to say about this? As good as this fishing was, and as pleased as I was to see local Captain Dave Peros motor by on his beautiful Katie G, I can only imagine how much better the fishing might have been elsewhere. A number of boats simply disappeared on the horizon, and I know there are some truly large stripers in Cape Cod Bay right now; this just wasn't the day for me to push my little skiff too hard. Plus, if I start questioning the value of a day on the water where bass to 30 inches are providing fast action on light tackle... there's something wrong! The mid-day blitz was really my first success here on a rising tide, and I took note. It was fun to quickly cover water and find some quality fish in new places. Someday, I'll catch the tail end of the flood, and explore some of the back country available here; I'll probably enjoy trying to develop some additional, locally productive patterns. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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