Why is fishing on the Race so bad? - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

Sweetwater · 10-05-2006, 06:08 PM

I spent an entire week fishing Race Point (and area) HARD! Used fresh sandeels (raked by my own poor hands) and nada! No bait in the water, no fish, no nothin! Fished 3 good solid SW and NW blows (usually good) and nothing but crabs eating the bait.

I'd like to blame it on the seals. I'd like to blame it on inflation or the war in Iraq. But I'm at a lose. I've fished there for many years and never seen such sterile water.

Whats the deal!

BigFish · 10-05-2006, 06:12 PM

I have not come across many Iraqi soldiers down that way.....my guess is seals! They are 500 pound rats!

Karl F · 10-05-2006, 06:15 PM

Yeah, I agree, the seals are a huge factor.. however.. the water temps are still to high for the fall run.. c'mon cooler temps.. I hope that brings them in.. not for lack of bait.... not sure about the Race. but south of there.. lots of good eats for the striped ones, right now.

Slipknot · 10-05-2006, 06:28 PM

Seals, seal poop, seals, more seal poop
lack of bait because the seals eat the bait and the stripers and blues too and turn it into seal poop.
water is warm still but not for long

seals have and are destroying the cape fisheries
flounder are gone, sand eels are moving offshore, searats are responsible, it's time to get their numbers in check before it's too late

tattoobob · 10-05-2006, 06:45 PM

When we were there a month ago there was a ton of bait in the water
and big blue fish with small bass blitzing. I spent alot of time watching
blitzes out of casting range. and once or twice a day they would come
close enough to catch a few. I did watch alot of guys fighting seal though.

Karl F · 10-05-2006, 07:31 PM

"October 5, 2006

Biding our time until the Big Feed
By MOLLY BENJAMIN
Things are better than last week, encouraging even. But I won't tell you to drop everything and get to the beach. Not yet, though every single true Cape Codder is waiting, and hoping, for the Big Feed to start happening.

I mean, what does Dame Nature need to do? Run a ''Pogies! Half-Price!'' sale?

Bait is abundant. Food, baby, food, and our migratory gamefish know they'll need to bulk up before beginning their 1,000-mile swim to points south.

(You see, they are far too impatient to put up with all the nonsense at airports these days. So they hoof it - well, fin it - instead. It's true, it's true.)

Water temperatures remain extraordinarily warm. This is October, ya know, and it's 61, 62 degrees? Unheard of. This probably links right up with why they aren't grouping up and feeding inshore like teenagers - yet."

This pic shows what is all over my beach

..
another week or so.. me thinks, is when the fish might move inshore

tattoobob · 10-05-2006, 07:39 PM

the water at Block Island last week was so warm it was kinda like bath water.

Tagger · 10-05-2006, 08:07 PM

Iron Curtain of Seals,,, I think your seal problem is affecting my fishing up here...

capecodder · 10-05-2006, 08:48 PM

Well I hope this NE blow changes things. I'll be there the next 2 days by boat and beach... Hope to report on things improving...

Finaddict · 10-05-2006, 09:09 PM

Let's hope you are right CapeCodder - my gal got a job painting a house in Orleans - yes, she's an interior painter - and I am going along duing my week off to take care of our little daughter who will be with us, but I am hoping to get some time to fish the beach and catch some fish ... if ... there are some around and not too many seals ...

Flaptail · 10-05-2006, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karl F

"October 5, 2006

Biding our time until the Big Feed
By MOLLY BENJAMIN
Things are better than last week, encouraging even. But I won't tell you to drop everything and get to the beach. Not yet, though every single true Cape Codder is waiting, and hoping, for the Big Feed to start happening.

I mean, what does Dame Nature need to do? Run a ''Pogies! Half-Price!'' sale?

Bait is abundant. Food, baby, food, and our migratory gamefish know they'll need to bulk up before beginning their 1,000-mile swim to points south.

(You see, they are far too impatient to put up with all the nonsense at airports these days. So they hoof it - well, fin it - instead. It's true, it's true.)

Water temperatures remain extraordinarily warm. This is October, ya know, and it's 61, 62 degrees? Unheard of. This probably links right up with why they aren't grouping up and feeding inshore like teenagers - yet."

This pic shows what is all over my beach

..
another week or so.. me thinks, is when the fish might move inshore

That's what we had for bait just north of you when the fishing was good few days back.

Blitzseeker · 10-06-2006, 12:06 PM

Preface: I have fished Race Pt./Back Beach/Coast Guard regularly for the past 13 years.

I fish the Outer Cape hard for about a week every year around end of Sept/early October. I just returned. This is clearly, by a long shot, the worst year of fishing from the beach over that stretch. Last year was the second worst.

On the other hand, we are only a couple of years removed from the best fishing over that stretch, which in my mind was 2002 and 2003.

My ovservations, many of which are repetitive of those already stated:

1) Seals. I never saw a seal at the Race until 2002 when I saw one, one time over the course of a week's fishing trip in the fall. In 2003 a guy I fished with had a nice bass taken off the end of his line by a seal. It was such a novelty we told everyone about it....thought it was such a great story. This year if you fish the Traps at first light or sunset it is a coin flip as to whether you can get a hooked fish to shore past the seal herd.....assuming you hook up at all. Both last year and this year there have been plenty of fish in the area, just 100-200 yards offshore and not coming into the beach as in the past. Boats have been killing them out there, but the beach is a desert. My best guess is that if I'm a big bass or a school of blues and I start swimming towards the beach and run into 6-8 500 lb seals, I turn around and head back out past the sand bar.

2) Mung. Last year and this year were two of the worst mung years ever. Three or four days ago the entire beach was munged up all the way from Coast Guard around the corner at the lighthouse to Hatches. I have NEVER seen heavy mung at the lighthouse and Hatches before, no matter how bad it got on the back beach or even at the Traps. Fishable water has been cut in half the past two years compared to many prior years, although there were some bad mung years in the late '90s as well. You can use a few tricks and take some nice fish out of the mung, but it takes a lot of time and effort and cuts into your overall yield quite a bit compared to clear water fishing.

3) Bait. There was no bait this year on the shore. None. Last year was a little better, but most of the bait was in the heavy mung on the back beach.

4) Water temps. This year was the warmest I can remember. Not sure if this contributes to the mung problem, or the bait issue, but my guess is that it does. I'm no crazy enviromentalist but you can't help but wonder a little bit about the global warming thing.

We salvaged the trip this year by getting some decent numbers of fish (not much size) on the last couple of days by going to some "off the beaten track" spots. Nobody I heard of was catching anything significant from shore. I fish with two guys who have fished out there, a lot, since the mid-1970s. They catch striped bass in thier sleep. Best fish between them this trip was a 20 lber, which is a freaking joke for them this time of year out there.

If it's bad again next year with the seals then I think I'll be convinced it will never recover until they are gone or reduced. I'm going to see how the fishing/seals look over the spring/summer next year, and if fishing has not improved we'll be picking a new location for fall fishing in 2007.

fishpoopoo · 10-06-2006, 12:14 PM

you weren't graced by the presence of #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&?

Mike P · 10-06-2006, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karl F

"...our migratory gamefish know they'll need to bulk up before beginning their 1,000-mile swim to points south."

Hmmm, I didn't know stripers wintered off Jacksonville, Molly

At least, not until they get to be blue-hairs

piemma · 10-06-2006, 02:14 PM

Wonder why the water is so warm on the Cape? This morning in upper Narragansett Bay I was reading 62 degrees. Same temp you guys are reporting on the outer beaches and I'm 25 miles from open water. This temp was in Warwick Cove but I'm also seeing it around Prudence Island.

BigFish · 10-06-2006, 02:18 PM

The water is extra warm on the Cape for the same reason your built in pool might be warm with 20 5 year olds swimming in it....seals gotta goo poopy and pee pee!

piemma · 10-06-2006, 02:53 PM

Good point Larry. I doubt that's the reason. I'm betting the Gulf Stream has moved closer to the cape shore and these are warm eddys breaking off.

piemma · 10-06-2006, 02:55 PM

Interesting thing is that as late as 2000 I don't remember seeing tons of seals.....

PoPin Plug · 10-06-2006, 02:56 PM

seals

tattoobob · 10-06-2006, 03:05 PM

they are all moving down from Chatham to get food there are so many seals in Chatham that there is no food for them and they are moving south next we will see them heading to BI & long Island sound

BigFish · 10-06-2006, 04:26 PM

I remember back just to 2003 it was an oddity to see a seal....just one maybe two and we found it curious. I knew there were many off Chatham but never saw many off the backside! Then 2004.....there were more of them and the fishing began to plummet!!! 2005.....last year was horrible down there....watching pods of seals patrol the beach spread out like soldiers just so far apart and seeing them downing 15 pound bass and blues like pez from a dispenser........and the occasional fisherman would hook up with one or battle one for the fish he hooked!!!! This year........just horrible, and I thought it could get no worse than last year!!! We have not seen the worst yet....wait till next year I am afraid!!!! This year the few times I was down there I witnessed groups of at least 20 seals just lazing about in one spot......that was not seen just 2 years ago.....will Cape Cod surf fishing ever be good again???

eastendlu · 10-06-2006, 05:16 PM

Their are already seals in L.I. sound.

libassboy · 10-06-2006, 05:41 PM

Yes there are LU, we shud do soemthing about it now while we still have a chance...

Karl F · 10-07-2006, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike P

Hmmm, I didn't know stripers wintered off Jacksonville, Molly

At least, not until they get to be blue-hairs

Missed that one Mike

.. one always needs to keep an eye open for such things, when reading Molly's column

piemma · 10-07-2006, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tattoobob

they are all moving down from Chatham to get food there are so many seals in Chatham that there is no food for them and they are moving south next we will see them heading to BI & long Island sound

I'll tell ya. There are some in Narragansett Bay but not a lot. If they move in force there will be measures taken. I have been to many CRMC meetings and the Commercial Fishermen's lobby is very very powerful. There is a strong commercail Bass, Fluke, Tautog and shelfish industry that is centered around Narragansett Bay. You put 5000 guys out of work to save the Seals and there will be "blood on the tracks" so to speak. Just my opinion

Water Treater · 10-07-2006, 07:14 PM

Fished Montauk (Lighthouse area) from shore last weekend (Thursday-Saturday) September 28th-30th. Tons of small bait and early/late day blitzes of bass/blues that were mostly under 30 inches.

Saw a seal one morning just after sunrise. A harbinger of things to come?

Karl F · 10-07-2006, 07:20 PM

if you saw one, and there are bass, bait, flunder, fluke, scup, or even sand dabs around.. he will tell his friends.. slowly, you will next notice two.. then three.. oops five..then.. the following year or two.. twenty.. Wow, folks wil say,. them seals are cool!.. and so cute..
thirty.. oh look that one has a fish in his mouth, and he is showing it off, who has a camera.. they are so cute.. fifty, and what is that over there, oh look another pod of thirty..
the following year.. Wow, look hundreds of them.. the next year, an article in the paper saying how nice it is that you now have a healthy population of about fifteen hundred, and there will be locals offering "Seal Tours", pressure will be put on officials to educate all beach users on how to NOT harass the resting seals..

Long story short.. yeah.. That seals name was Harbinger.. For sure...
You have my sympathy....

tattoobob · 10-07-2006, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piemma

I'll tell ya. There are some in Narragansett Bay but not a lot. If they move in force there will be measures taken. I have been to many CRMC meetings and the Commercial Fishermen's lobby is very very powerful. There is a strong commercail Bass, Fluke, Tautog and shelfish industry that is centered around Narragansett Bay. You put 5000 guys out of work to save the Seals and there will be "blood on the tracks" so to speak. Just my opinion

Paul you are so right and there should be something done about the seals on the outer beaches, not to mention the beaches closed 6 weeks because of stupid birds it is so out of control. I just don't get it

Karl F · 10-07-2006, 07:24 PM

That is one tough nut to crack.. Federal Protection..

and they (seal) have the damn "Cute" thing going.. plus the fact that there is a "Seal Tour" industry in bed with the environazis... and we all know how friggin great a job the Feds are doing with the fishing fleets. and here in Mass, this State, with environutz, and how they treat any kind of fisherman.. well...

Blitzseeker · 10-07-2006, 07:33 PM

I agree. If you saw a seal you've got about two years before you fishing is finished. You've got too much bait and fish there for the seals not to flourish once they've found it.

That is sad, but I'd bet you anything it will happen to Montauk as well.