OUTDOORS: Stripers surge into Cape Cod Canal

This is a big week for fishing in the Canal and the local regulars there are numerous out-of-state anglers here to fish the new-moon tides.

Striped bass fishing in the Cape Cod Canal exploded on Thursday morning. I wasn’t there, but my brother Barry was. He texted me at 8 a.m. to say he had caught a 40-inch bass and he was already home fileting it, so I called him to get the details.

 He explained that he crossed the Bourne Bridge then drove toward Sandwich to try the east end of the Canal. All the parking areas were crowded and he noticed there were numerous number plates from Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.

 When he got down to the water at first light it was socked in with thick fog, but he could hear fish breaking on the surface. There were also schools of bait swimming close to the rocks in an attempt to escape the hordes of hungry striped bass.

 For lures he tried a stick shad, a rubber paddle tail and a blue-and-white Cotton Cordell pencil popper that he drew black mackerel stripes on with a Sharpie marker. He ended up catching his fish on the pencil popper and said it was quite a fight in the fast-moving moon tide.

 On Friday morning Barry and his friend Neil Winsor returned to the same spot and found the action had slowed down to almost nothing. They also tried several other locations and ended up getting a couple of small hits on the west end, but didn’t catch any fish.

 At Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay AJ Coots explained that after a great day on Thursday, the fishing was sporadic Friday morning throughout the Canal. The action picked up, though, early in the afternoon and it was good for the rest of the day.

 This is a big week for fishing in the Canal and AJ said besides the local regulars there are numerous out-of-state anglers here to fish the new-moon tides. Although conditions are good, there are no guarantees. Monday and Tuesday were a bit of a disappointment. A few fish were caught, but you had to work for them. Wednesday also started off slow, but the action picked up in the afternoon. Mackerel and sea herring were moving in at the east end and the bass went on a feeding frenzy.

 In this day of electronic communications, news spreads fast. The next morning the best parking areas filled up quickly, well before daybreak, as anglers hurried to get a good spot on the rocks along the edge of the Canal and it payed off. AJ said the fishing was extremely good starting at first light and the action went straight through to early afternoon. Many of the fish were in the 20 to 30-pound range. AJ said they weighed in two fish over 30 pounds and he saw photos of multiple bass 40 pounds and over.

 On Saturday morning AJ said he hadn’t heard any fishing reports yet, but the shop was about as crowded as he had ever seen it. “No one has frowns on their faces and everyone is smiling so the fishing must’ve been good,” he said.

 Maine moose lottery: After talking with my brother Barry about fishing the Canal on Thursday morning, I sent a text to my friend Skip Churchill, formerly of East Bridgewater and now from Maine. “Canal exploded this morning and I wasn’t there. Just sitting on the porch drinking tea, watching birds and hearing about the action,” I wrote.

 I didn’t know Barry had already sent him a photo of the fish he caught and Skip texted back. “He could have at least invited us to go with him haha.” His next text was a surprise when he informed me that he drew a September bull moose permit for Zone 4, which is to the north of Moosehead Lake. It’s the first time he’s been drawn and I’m sure he’s quite excited.

 The drawing for Maine’s moose permit lottery was held on Saturday, June 9 at 2 p.m. The event was hosted by Main Street Skowhegan at the historic Skowhegan Fairgrounds as part of their weekend-long Moose Festival. This year, 2,500 names were drawn in the random-chance lottery from a pool of over 54,000 applicants.

 The festival kicked off on June 8 with an exciting schedule of events for the entire weekend, including a moose-calling contest, a wild game and craft-brew pairing and a country-music concert featuring Phil Vassar and Bryan White. There were also vendors, food trucks and fun activities for the whole family throughout the weekend.

 Maine’s moose hunt is designed to manage the moose population. By modifying the number and type of moose permits available to hunters, the department can manage the moose population in order to provide for hunting and viewing opportunities, maintain a healthy moose population, and limit the number of moose/vehicle accidents.