Cape Cod's winter ocean is a brutal environment. Any striped bass that decide to spend the winter really have their work cut out for them. Finding food and avoiding freezing is certainly a serious challenge. Yet each season some bass do decide to spend the winter on good ole' Cape Cod.
The areas to focus on are the far upper reaches of estuaries, creeks and marshes. The beachfront and open bays do not produce stripers during the winter like they do during the summer.
There seems to be a few "constants" when it comes to finding a winter environment suitable for stripers. The ideal location will provide a consistent food source with "easy to catch" prey items.
The best spots will also feature a tidal flow that carries oxygenated water through the system. The flow of water will also help prevent the area from freezing over. In past years there have been documented striped bass kills when the temps dropped and entire creeks froze solid.
What this means is that the most productive areas on the Cape will be hidden amongst the upper reaches of our estuaries. Estuaries will provide the best shot for stripers looking to locate a consistent food source.
Keep in mind that most of these fish are very young. Therefore most of the bass are also on the smaller end of the spectrum. Be careful when handling the fish. Exposing bass to freezing air temperatures just can't be healthy for the fish. Getting them back in the water as soon as possible is important. Especially considering that you may be catching the same fish over and over again throughout the winter.
Concentrate on fishing these areas around low tide. This is the tide when the bass are most often settled into the deep depressions and ditches found in many Cape Cod creeks. Fishing at low tide will make finding and catching the stripers much easier than fishing around the time of high water.
It can be a challenge catching striped bass during the winter on Cape Cod. Most folks quit fishing sometime during October. Yet for those hard nosed and hard core striper fishermen out there, fishing Cape Cod during the winter can be one of the coolest and most reward of striped bass fishing experiences.
Captain Ryan Collins fishes for striped bass and Bluefin tuna off Cape Cod, MA. Visit his blog, myfishingcapecod.com for insider striped bass fishing techniques.
