Who fish's chatham?

[Sluggoslinger]

It is my stomping ground and I'm just curious if I'll be seeing many of you out there this summer. I'm sure we all have our secret spots and I'd never ask where they are. I'm just curious who's out there. What was your best day last year. When will your first day at the rips be? I'm aiming for mid to late may but might get out sooner.

BTW I love this site. I can't wait until we're all catching fish!

[Moses]

My cousin (who lives in Chatham) and I fish the area quite a bit. We typically lanuch out of Oyster boat ramp and go from there. Depending on weather, we'll also fish from shore a few times during the season.

Concerning good fish catches last year, I think we caught some decent quantity but not quality. Meaning alot of the fish were "racers" in my book (long and skinny). Still fun to catch. Most of our fishing was between 4 - 9am. We hope to fish a couple of moon tides this year at night. He has a 24' Rampage and I have a 22' Sea Hunt CC.

He usually starts around memorial Day.

[ProfessorM]

I'd love to go. Need company?

[Sluggoslinger]

One day over the summer, i'd love to bring a couple guys out. Its a great chance to learn from each other and do some fishing... The boats a 93' Mako 215 with a brand new honda 150 being installed at this moment...

[ProfessorM]

I'll Pm you in the summer. P.

[tattoobob]

I usually stop in a couple of times in the Spring and Fall I don't like tourists so I stay away in the summer

[capesams]

" We typically lanuch out of Oyster boat ramp "

where the heck is that??

[Skitterpop]

Oyster River in Chatham?

[tattoobob]

I know of Stage harbor and Outer Most Harbor Marine

[Little Round]

You mean the Barnhill ramp?
That is what everybody calls it.
It will be diffrent this year in Chatham b/c the Southway. The tides are kinda changing. The tides are not as big b/c the water isn't moving the same way as it has in years past. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but I just think it will be diffrent.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by capesams

" We typically lanuch out of Oyster boat ramp "

where the heck is that??

Sorry, I believe the official name is Barnhill but I refer to it as Oyster.

[capesams]

just letting some air outta ya trailer tire....havn't dumped the boat in there for years as they cut off most of the parking and cut the ramp in half.

[New_Caster]

I hit the beach there a few times a year. never from a boat. and Im new to this so not alot of luck.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by capesams

just letting some air outta ya trailer tire....havn't dumped the boat in there for years as they cut off most of the parking and cut the ramp in half.

As long as we arrive before 4am, we're usually the first ones there we a pick of parking spots. When we leave later in the morning, the place is a cluster F%^k. Trucks and trailers parked along the street way up to the split to Hardings Beach.

[Little Round]

If you need a place to park, you can park at my house. It is 2 seconds from the ramp. I always just walk down to the ramp b/c there is no where to park. The clam trucks take up quite a bit of room. Some days it isn't bad for parking though, but depends on the day.

[Flaptail]

Originally Posted by Moses

As long as we arrive before 4am, we're usually the first ones there we a pick of parking spots. When we leave later in the morning, the place is a cluster F%^k. Trucks and trailers parked along the street way up to the split to Hardings Beach.

That's because that is a working mans ramp. If the tide is low at dawn the commercial shellfisherman ( and they certainly have the right to) pile in thier as the Oyster River/Stage Harbor complex is the nearest access to Monomoy flats. Also on a nice sunny day it will be mobbed with summer folks and their jet skis, Mom and Dad and the kiddes pile into their boat for the obligatory once a summer boat thing and then you have the flyguys and those funny flat boats they use. I use the place but only mid week and I am outa the harbor before it gets light. Besides Ryder's up in PB it's the closest to the island, tuna grounds and the rips. Now that the island and south beach are almost joined at the hip it's really going to be nutz there. I can see the town one day putting up a fee system there and Ryders. And how long can the residents take all the jokers parking on Barn Hill Road before they go to the town and no parking signs are put up?

[Sluggoslinger]

Originally Posted by Little Round

You mean the Barnhill ramp?
That is what everybody calls it.
It will be diffrent this year in Chatham b/c the Southway. The tides are kinda changing. The tides are not as big b/c the water isn't moving the same way as it has in years past. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but I just think it will be diffrent.

I think it could be a good thing for the end of south monomoy. The tides may be smaller at stage harbor but out at the tip their will be much more water flowing around to fill the sound. I bet it will change and move some of the rips. I'm always excited for spring in chatham to see what winter delt us. Last year their were major changes, I took a plane up so I could check it out. I might do that this spring as well. You really get a good feel for where the rips are and especially the rivers on the west side.

[Little Round]

Ryder's might be a little hard to get out of this year. 3 Reasons 1. I think that I heard a boat trying to get out of ryder's/bassing harbor to go clamming 2 days ago, and all I could hear was the engine wine like it was beached as soon as it was trying to get over to the channel. I didn't take a look, but I knew that is what happened. It was a clammer too, so you can't say that is was just some yahoo stuck in the middle of the summer. 2. the south end of nauset is closing in toward the light house. There is a big bar that has developed to make the channel pretty tight, right at the end of Holway st. where the rocks are. 3. The outer bar some days I believe is giving trouble to the commercail boats and the CG, at low tide. When it is calm it dosen't look so bad, but when it blows out, it looks nasty at the light house lately.

[Hooper]

Originally Posted by Sluggoslinger

It is my stomping ground and I'm just curious if I'll be seeing many of you out there this summer. I'm sure we all have our secret spots and I'd never ask where they are. I'm just curious who's out there. What was your best day last year. When will your first day at the rips be? I'm aiming for mid to late may but might get out sooner.

BTW I love this site. I can't wait until we're all catching fish!

Sluggo-

I'll see you out there!


To find the really big stripers, I just take my high powered binos and scan the horizon for any sign of Capesams, then I speed out right next to him and cast wildly. You can try that too, he doesn't mind the crowds...

Just kidding Steve!

I love the Chatham area, and Nantucket for that matter. I learned about the area as a mate on a 31 JC called the Shanti out of Saquatucket Harbor in the late 80's. The boat is still around, but under a new owner. The original owner, Bob Lassen, passed away not too long ago. He was like a grandfather to me and I miss him. Everytime I step on my boat and head southeast from Bass River to those rips he taught me about I think of him. I had my greatest single day of fishing aboard the Shanti. We found the migration off Nantucket late in October, almost Halloween back in 1994. Birds, gulls too not terns, were wheeling and diving for miles and miles in every direction and we were alone. Great fish too, all 36-40" fish. We whaled on those fish until the SW wind became so bad that we had to leave. Those fish were still getting fat when we left.

Anyways I'm rambling..... I have a white 23' SeaCraft, we'll PM as the season approaches!

[capesams]

what's a rip? I like hump's an underwater channel's an gal's with tite fittin sweatta's.....should be interestin to see what the old bar does this year...oneway trip at high..long ride home at low...she'll break through somewhere else...it's comin.