Welcome to Solstice’s weekly Cape Cod fly fishing guide and report for the week of 5/22/2023. The winds this past week were difficult to navigate on most days. There were still some awesome fish caught from various parties. During that time the water temperature has increased to 54 degrees in Cape Cod Bay. Looking forward there are going to be some nice days ahead of us with calm winds and high sun for sight fishing opportunities.
The fishing on Cape Cod is about as good as it gets and will continue to stay this way for a few weeks. Along with great numbers of Striped Bass On Cape Cod, the amount of crabs on the flats, sand eels schools, mackerel, and herring around, it is up to you and your best judgement of where you are for what fly to use. This goes with the normal tale of “match the hatch”. Observe and read about Striped Bass and their behavior this will teach you a lot about how to fish for them.
As for a side note, head guide Kevin LaCroix had been fishing around this weekend and was able to connect with a few anglers who were part of the Cheeky Fly Fishing Tournament that happens every year. He noticed a few things when talking to a few groups and it was about the type of gear they were using. This is good valuable information, so listen up. Generally Striped Bass are easy to catch except for when they are in skinny water and easily spooked. This is said because you don’t need all these fancy sink tip, sinking leader, or whatever you use with tons of weight on your fly, make it easier on yourself and fish a floating fly line with a long longish leader. A leader that is about 8 to 12 feet depending on where you are on Cape Cod. The longer the leader for a clear skinny water days on the flats and not so long for deeper darker water. Floating lines are easy to cast and will make your day more enjoyable. Yes, of course if you are fishing a shoal from a boat use a sinking line but if you are walking the beach, don’t make it to complicated.
This simplification of your gear also goes into what weight rod is used. Another observation was everyone was wearing out their shoulders with big heavy 9 weight fly rods. If you have tried a Solstice Mid-Flat Fly Rod, you know its quite a contrast to traditional Striped Bass Fly rods. This is because its lighter, and more of a full flexing fly rod. It allows you to have delicate presentations to fish on the flats or salt ponds during cinder worm hatches. The 9 weights are great from a boat with a stiff wind. Fishing a 9 weight from shore can often be overkill.
Just a few thoughts from our “book”. If you have any questions or want to try one of our fly rods please reach out on our site Solstice Fly Fishing. Our Cape Cod Fly Fishing Guide Trips are starting to fill for the summer so inquire soon. Lastly, make sure you take a moment to support the Striped Bass fishery along the east coast by supporting our local grass roots organizations like Stripers Forever and American Saltwater Guides Association. Thanks for reading!