 |
| Cunner From High Pine Ledge |
In October of 2017 I set a new personal record of catching 14 different species of fish in one day. I hoped to break this record in 2018. It took four attempts before I was finally successful.
June 27, 2018
Met John Morgan at the Plymouth Harbor boat ramp at sunrise. John’s plan was to take his boat just outside the harbor and jig for Atlantic Mackerel. With any luck we might catch some Striped Bass by live lining the Mackerel. John also wanted to stock up on baitfish for fishing in the Cape Cod Canal on the days when commercial fishing for Striped Bass is allowed. My goals were to maybe catch a big Striper and to use this opportunity as a starting point for a species hunting day.
Strong winds and choppy water prevented us from going out very far. However it didn’t take long before we jigged up some Mackerel and small Pollock. John even hooked a couple of tiny juvenile Cod. After filling the live well with bait we motored over to High Pine Ledge to live line the Macks for Striped Bass. This being a rocky shoal area I thought it would be a good idea to bounce some bits of clam off the bottom to find out what other species might be around. It didn’t take long to catch two more species, a Sculpin and a few Cunners. The Cunners were running between 6-12 inches which is actually large for this area. They grow larger in deep water to the south and also get bigger off the coast of Maine. We were about to head out to another spot when suddenly I felt a strong tug and hooked into a fairly heavy fish. I thought it might be a Tautog, the larger cousin of the Cunner. To my surprise I hauled in a 17 inch Cunner, the biggest one I ever caught!
We decided to head into the harbor to try another spot for Striped Bass. As we entered the harbor we saw gulls diving over at Browns Bank and decided to check it out. There were a few schools of small Striped Bass up to 23 inches long . We used surface plugs to catch and release a few of them.
It was 1:30pm when we got back to the ramp. So far the tally for the day was five species. I needed ten more to set a new personal record. At this point I was running out of energy from getting up before dawn and getting tossed around by the waves all morning. Had to go home for lunch and a two hour nap.
The first stop after my break was Flax Pond, a small pond in the town of Bourne. It's loaded with Bluegill Sunfish. Using a tiny hook baited with a small earthworm I quickly caught two “gills” and then drove over to nearby Megansett Harbor on the Buzzards Bay side of Cape Cod.
The water in Buzzards Bay during the Summer is normally ten degrees warmer than where I had been fishing in Cape Cod Bay earlier in the day. As a result it holds a number of warm water species rarely found north of the cape.
It was still very windy so kayaking wasn’t an option. Only managed to catch a few Scup which was species number seven. Next stop was the jetty in Woods Hole to target Black Sea Bass, Bluefish, and Tautog. Again I was limited to fishing from shore, Caught more Scup. Not using a kayak was a major handicap. The warm waters of Megansett and Woods Hole harbor diverse fish populations. However a boat or kayak is the best approach for multi-species fishing at these two spots.
Time was running out so I switched back to freshwater mode and headed over to Santuit Pond in Mashpee, a shallow weedy pond and home to a wide variety of species. Rigged one rod with a worm and bobber and easily caught three more species, Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Yellow Perch, and Golden Shiner. I usually catch Chain Pickerel and occasionally Largemouth Bass in Santuit. Tried live baitfish and artificials but they just weren’t biting.
 |
| Golden Shiner From Santuit Pond |
Went to Mashpee-Wakeby Pond as the sun was setting. This pond is deep with cold water for supporting trout. I wasn’t expecting trout as I figured by this time at the beginning of the Summer they would be out in deeper water. My target species were the Smallmouth Bass and White Perch that become active just after sunset. Soon after sunset splashing on the water surface told me that the White Perch were chasing small baitfish in the shallows. Soon after I aught a White Perch and a Smallmouth while casting a gold Colorado Spoon. Another rod was setup with a live Mummichog (a type of saltwater killifish) below a sliding bobber. The bail was left open so a fish could take the bait without feeling any resistance. When I saw the line peeling off the spool I assumed it must be a perch or a bass. I was surprised to find a Brown Trout at the end of the line. This was the first trout that I ever caught on Cape Cod in the summer. I went back to Santuit and fished for a while in the dark hoping for a Bullhead or an eel. I finally gave up after about an hour.
 |
| Brown Trout From Mashpee-Wakeby Pond
Thirteen species in one day wasn’t too bad, but still two short of setting a new personal record. Still it was fun fishing with my friend John in his boat catching Striped Bass and a personal best Cunner. The Brown Trout was an added bonus.
List Of Species Caught on 6/27/18
|
Please come visit soon and bring some fish of the edible variety😉
ReplyDeleteI'll try!
Delete