So what's an eager spring fisherman to do?
Those busy southwest winds kept up most of this past week. For recreational anglers edgy to get out on the water searching for newly arrived striped bass, it has been a bit of a torment. Those 20mph+ gusts can take a lot of the fun out of small craft and kayak fishing. It's not so easy to cast and reel when you're being pitched from gunwale to gunwale, never mind trying to hold your boat's position up close to those big rocks.
This being Cape Cod, we do have to make our accommodation with an occasional stretch of southwest blow. It's kind of like being stuck in summer tourist traffic. Exasperating, yes - but you know it won't last forever.
Good news is, this time of year can offer shore fishermen some of their best opportunities for landing a nice-sized bass - so even if you can't step away from the dock, you can still test your skill. Kevin Blinkoff, of On The Water magazine, points out that the water is now warm enough to draw bigger fish close to shore, while not yet up to those mid-June temperatures that will start sending those choice stripers back offshore.
And there's plenty of fishing wisdom that suggests beach fishing into the wind may be to your benefit. The wind and waves bring in bait and create the kind of confused water that bigger bass and bluefish like. Just make sure you have a lure heavy enough to throw out there.
Reports are coming in of larger striped bass arriving from the south. We're talking fish in the range of 30 and 40-lbs, mixing in with the smaller fish. Plenty of details, and encouragement to go after black sea bass, in the audio posted above. Give it a listen.
