The early part of May usually means haddock fishing for me before the Massachusetts seabass and fluke seasons begin. In Massachusetts the weather has played a huge part in the early boat season. A week ago, I wore my winter coat to my children’s soccer practice and today I am in a t-shirt. Yes, it’s spring and it has snowed up here on Mother’s Day but the shifting temperature, wind directions and storms have played some havoc with the haddock season.
I managed a trip on May 6th with Ryan Collins of MyFishingCapecod.com and the conditions were quite good. Light breeze. Clear water. A steady bite greeted us and it was an absolutely beautiful day to be out in nature.
After a week of Northeast wind, high seas, and cold temps, the water temperatures actually dropped below 50 degrees again out off of Stellwagen. And and near shore areas. The haddock were hard to find yesterday and the ones that were located responded only to anchored boats with chum pots. It was a slower pick and the water surface was filled with weeds and I have no doubt the conditions at the bottom were turned up as well.
Ryan was kind enough to summarize our day in a blog post on his website. He has made a portion of the Blog post available to everyone and you can see it here it’s very informative. https://myfishingcapecod.com/haddock-fishing/ *Photos below are courtesy of Ryan Collins of MyFishingCapeCod.com
I heard online and from other contacts I have that the fishing 'north' of the bank has been better and improving each day. Limits of haddock and numerous throwback cod are being taken. The hope is that the inshore bite to the south will improve as the water temperature increases. The water temps were still in the upper 40's the entire trip. We wait and hope for improved fishing and hope for some more frequent weather windows to be able to get out there.
Tautog
I have been looking to try my hand at Tautog. It's a species I have not really targeted because in the early season I am so eager to get for the haddock. However, the good fishing in Buzzards Bay and other early season spots have shown numerous keepers and some overall good fishing.
A story emerged today on 'On the Water' and other outlets that a 23lb monster was landed by an angler on a kayak. I have no reason to doubt the story or the size of the fish because it is an absolute dinosaur !
Image courtesy of 'On The Water Magazine' Instagram Page by @sunrisekayakfishing
Image courtesy of 'On The Water Magazine' Instagram Page by @sunrisekayakfishing
Image courtesy of 'On The Water Magazine' Instagram Page by @sunrisekayakfishing
Congratulations to the angler! The giant tautog missed the CT catch and release record apparently by 9 ounces. The fish went back in to fight another day and is still out there. I would say by next weekend it will have gained the nine ounces to make it a record fish !!!
If the wind continues to the north and east in the haddock waters, I may try my hand at this just yet. The shop does have tautog rigs. I have made some very simple ones, a high low, and a rig that has a trailer hook down near the sinker. Both rigs were requested and tied for Rick Faulkner. Rick, I hope you are having good luck with them.
Fluke New Jersey
Last year, in the first year of the shop, a good number of anglers from New Jersey visited and fished with rigs from the shop. This year many have returned and stocked up for May 1st. A large number of people are eagerly awaiting the start of fluke season with the new bag limit and slot sizes in tow. Can't come soon enough. I myself am eagerly awaiting the start of fluke season in Massachusetts. Last year was a great fluke season. I achieved my personal best fish or just over 7 pounds and I will be looking to improve upon that.
Spirit of Collaboration
For those that followed last year, you may recall that I enjoyed a cooperative effort with Hurst Tackle of New Jersey in using his jigheads to make the 'popcorn' style high low fluke rigs at the shop. Those jigheads are still being used and are going strong.
Since last year I have been looking for a minnow style silicone skirted bucktail, and my search led to the recommendation of Jimmy at JTC Jigs. Jimmy makes with great care, jigs in a variety of sizes and colors and he does so by hand, one at a time, and with tremendous attention to detail. Monomoy Tackle will be using 3 ounce and 4 ounce jigs from JTC in combination with hand tied rigs from the shop or in kits. I encourage everyone to visit both Hurst Tackle and JTC Jigs if you wish to purchase products individually from them. They are good products made by even better people. Much more will follow on the JTC jigs when they make there way on to the website. A sample image is below of the work done by Jimmy.
Before the first 'fishing report of the season is in the books, I want to give a shoutout to a couple more people.
Ryan Collins - My Fishing Cape Cod.
Monomoy Tackle products and my family were featured on a couple of episodes of MFCC TV this season and to say that I was touched and honored doesn't do justice to the work that Ryan does with his content.
Below is a link to the episode on fluke fishing. Not only do I encourage everyone to watch it and appreciate the footage and the camerawork of the fluke, but I strongly encourage anyone interested to join as a member.
HarwichSport Bait and Tackle
Chris and Paul took a leap of faith and have put Monomoy Tackle products in their shop. Their store is located on Route 28 near Saquatucket Harbor and they are the first shop to house and offer Monomoy Tackle products.
Bill Mitchell - Seven Stripes
Captain Bill invited me to his fantastic podcast. It's fantastic for many other reasons other than having me on. The list of guests that he has interviewed is impressive and the topics he covers are
equally impressive. Please check out his podcast wherever you get your podcast mater
ial. It's named Seven Strips Podcast and its great. My bottom fishing conversation with Bill is on there. There is a link on the previous blog post.
St Pete Sportfishing, Black Rose Charters and Team Hook 'Em
Doug Klimavich, Rich Antonino, and Captain Derek Barber purchased Monomoy Tackle rigs to use on their charters this season and again, I am honored that they would consider using the product. Captain Kyle Wiley purchased some fluke rigs last year as well. The partnerships with Charter Captains is a good way to aggressively test the product but to also get real life feedback from them on improvements to the product beyond my own fishing. Feedback from customers is also always welcome.
Thank you everyone for your support of Monomoy Tackle and the passion project that it is. I look forward to blogging throughout the fishing season.
Tight Lines.
Eddy K