Cape Cod tips?

[scooby]

Guys, I'm heading out to the Cape in 2 weeks for stripers, blues and false albacore. Talked to a fly shop in Harwich who said the albies are already showing up and fishing should be great. Been tying up clousers in chartreuse and white and blue and white. I have 8 and 9 weights with floating, intermediate, and full sink lines. Anyone ever done this before? I know what I'm doing down at the Indian River in FL but have never fished for salt water stripers in New England before. Any tips would be appreciated.

[fishmeister]

Several years ago in October, I fished with Capt. Dave Ruddock through http://www.fishingthecape.com in Chatham, a few miles east of Harwich. We fished the channel leading south out of the Chatham area with full sink lines for blues and stripers, then looked around the Monomoy flats for stripers (1 sighting, no shots). He had a good flats boat, though I would have preferred a center console with some freeboard for the conditions we had that day, and good tackle. Calling him taciturn doesn't really do him justice, but he put me on fish and we had a good time. He was a good guide and a pleasant (if quiet) boat companion.

I also met a fellow near Wellfleet who wades the bay side (west) shoreline near Wellfleet for stripers and sight casts to them with flies. I wasn't able to try it that time, but I will the next time I'm up there.

Send us a report when you get back!

[redmenace]

I've been up to Martha's Vineyard a couple of times in September. Both times we found (stripers and albies) fish busting huge pods of small peanut bunker and cast to them with small (2.5-3" sz. 6) grey over white epoxy headed polafibre flies to get hooked up. The albies have great eyesight and require more exacting imitations than the stripers. Retrieve rate is important to these fish and you really can't move the fly too fast so a two-handed retrieve is a must. If you hesitate or stop your retrieve the ablies will swerve away so I would think that heavy-eyed clousers wouldn't work too great (jigging motion). Good luck. I envy the heck out of you. If you haven't caught an albie before you're in for a treat. After you hook up, keep your hands away from the reel or you might make a trip to the ER.

[scooby]

Well, Ernesto managed to rain us out on Sunday and Saturday the winds were about 30MPH so we couldn't go then either. Went out offshore on Friday for tuna, saw some but couldn't get to them quick enough. Did see some whales, a humpback and a pilot whale and got a few blues trolling. Monday the wind was up and the rips were really happening, too many blues to count and a few stripers. I tried to fly fish for about an hour, but way too windy and my sink line and heavy Clousers just couldn't get down far enough in the rips. Fun trip and I know the fish are there, just not conducive to good fly fishing last weekend. I did go into the local fly shop you referred to, fishmeister. Not a real friendly bunch of people there. I'm used to southern hospitality, not the case at the Cape. I will go back and try again!