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Photos courtesy Jeff Smith and William Strakele
There’s something romantic about fishing on Cape Cod: Capt. Jeff Smith and a reel catch (bluefin tuna). |
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Smith, owner and operator of Fin Addiction charters, holds up a big striped bass caught on light tackle. |
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Romancing the fish
Whatever your chosen fishing fancy, you can find it on the Outer Cape
By Kaimi Rose Lum
Banner Staff
What would summer be without a day out on the water stalking stripers, soaking in the sun and doing a little seal-sighting and lighthouse-viewing on the side? Add a cold beer and a capable captain and you’re guaranteed a happy memory, if not a keeper or two.
For the boat-less bass (or bluefish) enthusiast, there is no shortage of charter-fishing opportunities on the Cape. Whether it’s light tackle fishing on a fly rod you fancy, plug-fishing on a spinning rod or just jigging with wire, the right guide awaits. And if you want to try your hand at a bluefin tuna, there are captains who are all too happy to whisk you off the flats and out to sea for a real adventure.
Capt. Bill Strakele of Orleans, owner and operator of Moonlighter Charters, does light-tackle fishing on fly and spinning rods for stripers, bluefish and bluefin tuna on his 22-foot catamaran. He’s a master of the mid-Cape waters, fishing off Brewster, Orleans and Chatham, but he will follow fish all the way to Truro if that’s what it takes. For tuna, he’ll venture 15 to 20 miles offshore.
“I go where the fish go,” says Strakele, a retired cop who has been a licensed captain for 15 years. Because he trailers his boat, he can launch pretty much anywhere he wants, which gives his business a nice flexibility. He offers “very personalized trips,” he says. He can take up to three clients on either a half-day (four-hour) or full-day (eight-hour) excursion, but one or two clients are even better.
Saltwater flyfishing — which uses flies that mimic little bait fish and crustaceans instead of the freshwater angler’s insect-imitating flies — has taken off in the last 10 years or so, and Strakele is happy to accommodate it.
“A good portion of my clients are flyfishermen, which is exciting because you’re fighting the fish with the line in your hand,” he says. He calls it “a lot more sporting” than traditional kinds of fishing.
Capt. Jeff Smith, who runs a charter business called Fin Addiction, agrees. Like Strakele, Smith does light-tackle fishing on both fly rods and spinning rods, and he encourages people to try the flyfishing.
“I think the real thrill of what I do mainly is being in crystal clear water in the shallows on the flats, seeing a group of fish come through, and picking one out and casting and seeing the fish actually take the fly,” Smith says. He was a freshwater trout flyfisherman out west for 25 years before he and his wife moved to Wellfleet, so the saltwater version of the sport came easily.
Smith runs two boats, a 19-foot skiff for inshore shallow water light-tackle fishing and 24-foot “deep v” for bluefin tuna fishing. For tuna, he says, “I’ll run anywhere up to 60 miles south of the Vineyard,” or to Stellwagen if necessary. He, too, trailers his boat from ramp to ramp, so he can launch where he pleases, and he can accommodate up to two clients on the skiff and four on the bigger boat. He does half-day and full-day trips, caters to families and welcomes beginners.
You don’t have to be an experienced flyfisherman to go on one of his trips, he adds. “Teaching people flyfishing is one of my favorite things to do.”
Capt. Dick Burhoe offers the classic New England fishing experience on his 35-foot Duffy, Excalibur, which runs out of MacMillan Pier in Provincetown (from the same float as the Viking Princess). Burhoe does rod and reel fishing with jigs and specializes in stripers and blues. “Generally, we fish off Long Point to just about the corner of Race Point,” he says.
Burhoe also offers fluke-fishing trips, which are a guaranteed good time, and he even does the occasional shark-fishing excursion. The Excalibur can accommodate up to six people, so it’s perfect for families. Burhoe offers half-day trips or full-day trips, and he was itching to go fishing as the post-Memorial Day doldrums set in this month. Rain or shine, he’ll guide, he says. “Weather doesn’t bother me. If people want to go, we go.”
Burhoe also offers private whalewatching trips, if people are interested, and Strakele points out that the wildlife-viewing can be fascinating on a lot of charter trips around here. Big sunfish and basking sharks are a common enough sight, and there are often white-sided dolphins off Peaked Hill Bars in Provincetown.
Not to mention seals. “It’s like something out of National Geographic on the beaches off Chatham,” Strakele says. “There are literally hundreds of seals.”
To reach Strakele at Moonlighter Charters, call (508) 255-5223. His four-hour trips cost $325; eight-hour trips cost $495. To book a trip with Fin Addiction, call Smith at (508) 360-2037 (cell); on the skiff, a four-hour trip costs $320 and a full-day trip costs $495, and on the big boat it’s $595 for all-day only. To reach Burhoe, call (508) 487-0110. He charges $400 for a half-day and $800 for all day.
Enjoy this and more fabulous features in this month's Outer Cape Living magazine: ON THE WATER special
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Jul 7th, 2005