Developing a Gameplan for Locating Large Striped Bass

The single most daunting task, particularly in our neck of the woods, is locating quality fish. It does not matter what species of fish is targeted, the opportunity to consistently find fish on each fishing trip is half the battle, and is the most important ingredient to a successful season.

Locating fish among the 604 square miles of water that constitute Cape Cod Bay is very much like finding a needle within a haystack. Nantucket Sound to the south is not far more inviting. However it is possible to consistently locate quality fishing, no matter the time of year, climatic conditions or the presence of bait, given that a sound strategy is employed.

And in this day an age, consistently locating striped bass, when fishing Cape Cod, is heavily dependent upon the employment of electronics.

Finding a Place to Start

We all love those rare days when diving birds and breaking fish lead the way to great fishing. Or those exceptional moments when the fishing report we read in yesterday’s newspaper rings true.

The truth is on many trips we do not have these luxuries. Much more often than not we are welcomed by long distances of seemingly dry water with no indicators as to where the bite is best. Which presents the dilemma, amidst all this open h2o, where do we begin?

Implementing the most up to date info possible is a smart way to develop a place to start.

Let’s say the only information and facts we have is that last Saturday and Sunday, a handful of nice bass were caught in 60 feet of water somewhere in Cape Cod Bay. Even though we are not provided with any thorough info by this account, the piece of information we are granted (60 feet of water) is crucially important, considering the vastness of the Bay.

Sixty feet of water will probably be our kick off point.

Beginning the Search

Cruising out to a depth of 60 feet and quickly placing the Tube and Worm in the water isn't a good plan. The probability that fish are going to be holding in the first area we try,regardless of whether it is a well known hot spot,are certainly slim.

It is additionally a waste of precious time to troll around for many hours in 60 feet of water, wishing and praying to stumble across a striper or two. On another hand, we can take full advantage of our time and improve efficiency by using a more proactive technique to finding bass by using our electronics.

All that is needed is a reliable color sonar unit. Systems worth thousands of dollars are nice, however a color unit purchased for a few hundred bills will perform just fine.

The next measure to routinely finding fish is to identify what direction to start the search. Say for instance you exit Barnstable Harbor,get to a depth of 60 feet, and know from experience that you have done nicely to the west, in the area off Sandy Neck. In this situation it makes the best sense to begin our search by heading in a westerly track.

Always keeping an eye on the sonar, we’ll cruise west at a sensible pace-one that will permit us to clearly view fish markings on the sonar, while also enabling us to cover plenty of water. For most units, a speed of around eight miles-per-hour works fine.

Because the Bay is vast, and for the most part, devoid of any fish holding structure, we often might have to go miles without marking a single fish on the sonar. This is excellent news because we now have eradicated miles of water that we may of wasted hours trolling through.

When You Should Start Fishing

On some trips it may only take a few minutes to mark a bass on the sonar, and on other trips it could take numerous hours. However it is very important not underestimate the significance of even just one single mark on the sonar.

If you see a definitive bass mark on the sonar, it's likely that you have found one among hundreds of fish in the area. Striped bass are particularly prone to hang around in large schools. During 2010 we found on various instances, schools of bass around a mile in length.

By and large that one mark on the screen, is but one of countless fish holding in the immediate vicinity.

The next step is to put lines in the water and commence fishing. And if after fifteen or twenty minutes, there are no takes or additional fish marked on the sonar, it is time to resume the search.

It is often possible to locate a school of say 20-40 pound stripers, and follow them for miles. Nevertheless it is easy to lose the school if too much time is spent fishing in one spot, and not enough time is spent using sonar to stay on top of the school.

Splitting Free from Conventional Methods

Many people have a tendency to get caught up on hammering the GPS coordinates from a successful past trip, or gravitating to famous hot spots or fleets of other boats. Often times, lines enter the water despite no evidence of fish on the sonar.

The fact is that fish are almost constantly on the move, and quite often, move quickly. In spacious areas without structure and significant current, spending more time actively on the move, and a smaller amount time with lines in the water, will improve the odds of discovering a location holding fish.