1.Brewster Flats/ Brewster- Second only to the Monomoy Flats , the Brewster Flats are perhaps one of the most renowned locations for sight fishing to striped bass on Cape Cod. You will want to get here at low tide, walk out to where the water begins and fish the incoming tide as it pours back over the flats. Be careful wading here however...every year at least a couple fisherman get in big trouble staying too far out for far too long. As the tide comes in fish flood into deeper channels and depressions on the flats. Look hard for any structure on the bottom- grass beds, mussel beds, rocky areas or anywhere with water that appears darker than the surrounding light sand. If you end up boat fishing the flats, kill the motor as often as you can- you'll scare every fish off the flats for hundreds of yards. Typically , any bait with the size and profile of a sandeel will do. RonZ, Bill Hurley, Daiwa SP Minnows, epoxy jigs or sparsely tied clousers for the fly fisherman
Reaching the Brewster Flats couldn’t be easier, as every bayside beach in town has a road connecting it to Route 6a.
Unfortunately, there aren’t many signs directing you toward these beaches, but they’re easy enough to find anyway.
All you have to do is look for street names that correspond with the beach you’re looking to visit.
For example, Breakwater Road will take you to Breakwater Beach, Paine’s Creek Road comes out at Paine’s Creek Beach, and Linnell Landing Road ends at Linnell Landing Beach.
2.South Sunken Meadow / Eastham- Same routine as above, but locals also do well fishing bait at night on the high tide in May and June. Again, be super careful wading on the incoming tide. In the spring/early summer, bigger baits, poppers or swimming lures can be used, but beginning around Memorial Day, smaller profile baits are a better choice. Bluefish usually take over this area by middle of June, so bring wire leaders if you are fishing that time of the year. To fish here most effectively, you will need to arrive at the lowest part of the tide and walk out to where the water is...some tides, that can be almost a 1/4 of a mile. You can fish the channel entrance to Welfleet Harbor for a bit until the tide turns and starts coming in. At that point, you want to turn around and start fishing your way towards the beach. Remember, what seemed like a long walk along perfectly level sand flats on the way out will be totally different on the way back. There are actually quite dramatic changes in elevation on the flats. You can easily be walking in neck deep water if you linger too long while fishing.
3.Nauset Beach / Orleans-it is possible to fish effectively by just walking in on foot from the public parking lot access, but much more enjoyable if you have a 4 wheel drive and purchase the over sand permit. One of the biggest surf stripers came off this beach one November and it is famed for its epic fall runs. During the day, surface poppers can be very productive, but at night you will want to use swimming lures like the Daiwa SP minnows or live eels. Look for any changes to current or darker water(holes and channels). In fact, if you plan on really fishing the outer beaches, you should plan at least one recon mission at dead low tide to record spots with desirable bottom features.
4.Cape Cod Canal- Not for the faint of heart or truly inexperienced fisherman. The slippery rocks, particularly at night require a good deal of strength and stability to negotiate. Where casting distance is not hypercritical for most of the Cape's shore fisheries, in the Canal, it can become hypercritical. 10' rod lengths are considered minimum and reels should have good capacity for a heavier braid so you can turn big stripers in a heavy current. Jigs are super popular here, but live eels, swimming plugs and surface lures can be very effective. Fish grippers, like the Boga Grip and stud bottomed footwear will help you reach down and land your fish when it's just out of range to land by hand and negotiate the wet slippery rocks .
Chatham Light/ South Beach-this spot is where Pleasant Bay empties out into the Atlantic...as you can probably imagine, a ton of bait fish get swept through this area on the out going tides due to the stiff current. The best time to fish here is the outgoing tide. Parking is very limited during daylight hours. For the most productive fishing, you will want to fish nights anyway. For most of the summer, baitfish will be smaller nd thin profiled. You are going to want to match the hatch and select your lures accordingly. Because of this, fly fisherman can do exceedingly well here. good amount of walking through heavy beach sand..make sure your conditioning is good before taking a mile long fishing walk down the beach.
Monomoy Flats- Perhaps the most famous sight fishing spot on Cape Cod. Sight fishing here became super popular in the 90's with the "River Runs Through It" movie fly fishing boom. Fly Fishing or Lite tackle fishing is still the preferred methods due to the skinny, gin clear water. Light, careful presentations are a must here...lobbing a 6 ounce popper onto the flats is going to be generally very unproductive.Sand eels and spearing are the primary baitfish striper will be looking for here, but crabs are a biggie too. Stripers will be running all over the flats on an incoming tide and it's more common to encounter small packs of 2-3 cruisers rather than large schools.Outgoing tide is a favorite here, but as the tide peters out, the bass will head to deep water– start looking look for deeper areas at the end of the tide. This style of fishing requires a quiet approach.If you bomb and bang around you will send fish scurrying off the flats. Striper are apt to be constantly moving around...a really good pair of polarized sunglasses are essential, required equipment
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