The stripers our fishing brethern are now catching in New York and New Jersey are only a few weeks away from migrating up the coast and pile driving into Cape Cod waters. Where is the first place they show up here? Nantucket Soundside beaches...( the canal also, of course, but we will deal with that in another article).

 

Nantucket Sound is more uniformly shallow and warms up much more quickly than the ocean waters surrounding the rest of the Cape. In addition, the river entry ways to the ponds spring time herring use to begin their spawning ritual are located primarily on the Nantucket Sound side of the Cape. Add in the early spring time migration of squid into the sound from offshore waters and you have a combustible mix of fishy factors that make Nantucket sound explode with stripers in late April/ early May.

 

The three Soundside beaches we will highlight here are all within a 15-30 minute drive of each other. If the bite isn't on at the first one you try, you can easily throw the rod back in the car and go try one of the others. One of the really nice things about early season fishing on the Sound is ease of access and parking. Most of these beaches won't be checking for parking stickers until later in May and you can generally park right near to where you will be fishing. Sure beats the mile+ long walks down the outer beaches with all your gear in mid summer.

 

 

 

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Let's go over the beaches-

 

West Dennis Beach:

Directions:West Dennis Beach is off Davis Beach Road in West Dennis

Why it's good: Situated close to the massive Bass River system.

 

As waters warm up, one of the first places newly arrived stripers show up is West Dennis beach. It warms up quickly, will have tons of bait running the beach, particularly on an out going tide and is very comfortable to fish. West Dennis has ample parking and you can easily try one spot, get back in your car to try further down the beach and park right in front of the next spot you want to try. Stripers can be caught in good numbers for a few weeks early season, but then the Bluefish move in and take over. That's fun too...West Dennis might be the easiest to comfortably fish of the three listed here....if you are getting on in years, like this writer, West Dennis should be your first try.

 

Red River Beach Harwich

Directions-Red River Beach is off Uncle Venies Rd South Harwich

Why it's good-Situated between Saquatucket Harbor and the Red River

 

After the fish have been at West Dennis for a week or so, they will make their way down to Red River Beach. In the spring, strong Southwest winds and incoming tides can conspire to weed this beach up pretty good-this beach can be very dirty on a windswept incoming tide- even more so than West Dennis and Hardings. As a result, this should probably be your outgoing tide fishing spot in early spring.

Unlike West Dennis and Hardings, this is a jetty fishing beach. There are 7 of them in various sizes. The disruption to the natural current cycle the jetties pose is probably why it can have more weed at certain tides than the other beaches mentioned here. But, don't let the seaweed scare you...when it's clean, you can catch some really nice fish here.

 

So, let's talk about jetties- if they are wet after being soaked by the high tide, they can be down right treacherous. If you are even slightly unsure of your footing, stay off the jetties and fish the beach. Some of the biggest fish I have caught at Red River have been off the beach in between the jetties.

 

 

Hardings Beach Chatham

Hardings Beach is right off Hardings Beach Rd

Situated at the mouth of Stage Harbor

 

Though you can catch many fish right off the parking lot at various times, many fisherman in the know make the long hike down and fish closer to the entrance to Stage Harbor. If you haven't been getting your 10k steps a day in all winter, this can be a bit of a work out. This beach starts to become productive a few weeks after people begin catching fish consistently at West Dennis and Red River. The upside? The fishing can be still decent here into June- well after the other Soundside beaches begin to quiet down.

 

When to Fish:

The old axiom " a couple hours before, a couple hours after" high tide generally holds true here and is a good starting point when determining when to fish. However, know that the ever present wind in the spring can team up in an evil way with the incoming tide to make it very dirty with sea weed that needs to be removed between every cast. If I see that the wind has been blowing over 15mph, I will usually elect to fish the first 4 hours of the outgoing tide because it is generally cleaner. As long as the water is moving and it's not dead low tide the fish should be in feeding mode at some level.

 

 

 

 

Rods and Reels:

Unlike the outer Beaches, where the fish are generally closer to the shoreline than not, you are going to want a set up that will allow you to make decent 150-200 ft distance casts with plugs and terminal tackle up to 2-3 ozs. Being able to cast that distance allows you to cover alot of water. Because the soundside has much gentler currents than the ocean side and the stripers are less apt to hold in ambush points, you will have to do more search casting trying to find fish racing around chasing bait over uniform depth , featureless water.

The standard set up is a 9' medium action rod with a matching 4000-5000 size reel capable of holding a couple hundred yards 30-50 lb braid or mono.

 

The following is a list of good, better, best for rod and reel combinations that will let you fish the spring run of stripers on Nantucket Sound Beaches. You don't need to spend a vast fortune to get geared up for this fishery, but you are going to want something constructed of salt water worthy components. If you go too cheap, you will have constant issues with rust, corrosion and general break downs. Fish as big as 40-50 inches come into the Sound in the spring to feed on all the herring and squid. You don't want to lose the " big one" because your rod and reel wasn't up to the task.

 

GOOD-TSUNAMI TROPHY II SURF SPINNING ROD

$ 89.99

Tsunami Trophy II Surf Spinning Rods are affordable surf rods and are ideal for beach fishing. Tsunami Trophy II Surf Spinning Rods are lightweight and the actions are ideal for throwing plugs, tins, and baits. Featuring vinyl shrink grips, graphite cushioned reel seats and guides made for making long casts with braided line. Quality surf rods at an affordable price. Shop Now

 

BETTER-TSUNAMI SALTX SURF SPINNING ROD

$ 199.99

Tsunami is expanding their Salt X product line with yet another "weapon" of mass destruction. Ideal for those Surf anglers looking for quality components in their fishing rod. This 2-piece rod is durable and powerful for most surf fishing species such as striped bass, bluefish, kingfish, fluke and other saltwater species. Shop Now

 

ODM GENESIS SURF ROD (2021 VERSION)

$ 364.99

The new ODM Genesis Surf Rods for 2021 are a light-weight and powerful blank perfect for surfcasting to a variety of species. The Genesis incorporates ODM’s proprietary CNF2 (Carbon Nano Fiber Ver. 2) technology with 1K weave butt section in a completely re-engineered blank, multi-layered nano carbon, and high quality components. Shop Now

 

GOOD-TSUNAMI SHIELD SPINNING REEL

$ 119.99

The unique Tsunami Shield series of saltwater proof spinning reels feature up to 13 internal seals in key, strategic locations to shield critical components from harmful saltwater intrusion. Shop Now

 

DAIWA SALTIST SALTWATER SPINNING REEL

$ 176.00

Saltist® Spinning reels are made to withstand the elements. With the rugged and durable reputation of the Saltist name. These reels feature a Magsealed main shaft, Magsealed line roller and (CRBB) corrosion resistant ball bearings for long lasting smoothness and performance. Shop Now

 

SHIMANO SARAGOSA SW A SPINNING REEL

$ 269.99

The Saragosa SWA has built an incredible reputation and the newly released 2020 model takes it to the next level. Packed with upgrades to deliver great cranking power and unmatched durability, no other reel compares at this price point. Shop Now

 

 

 

What to use on the business end:

Back in the old days, when you could gather and fish with herring fresh from the runs...and that's what almost everybody used to do in the early spring. Now that that is not possible, you are going to have to fish with lures. What are the best ones for early spring? Here are our 3 " go to's ":

 

1. DRIFTER TACKLE SALT SERIES 7" LIL' DOC

   $ 27.99 It has exceptional triggering capabilities resulting from its mesmerizing side-to-side action. It’s plastic body and tapered construction produce excellent hooking percentages for this type of lure. The fish’s teeth don’t penetrate the lure but rather they slide over the surface allowing quality hookups time after time. Shop Now

2. RONZ 6" ORIGINAL JIG 1 OZ

   $ 7.50 The 3X612Z model is the next smallest of the RonZ line. This bait also features a lead head and a 3/0 Gamakatsu HD Hook. Like its smaller cousin, it too is capable of handling large game fish despite its smaller size.

   Saltwater fisherman love it for snook, striped bass, redfish, seatrout, blackfin tuna, bonito and much more! In freshwater, it's deadly on salmon, trout, bass and pike. Shop Now

3. THE MIGHTY FISH TACKLE COMPANY MF 007 DIAMOND JIG

   $ 4.99 The Mighty Fish Tackle Company Diamond Jig features a sleek hydrodynamic design. It excels in trolling, casting, or jigging applications.

   Features:

   • Top quality Mustad Duratin treble hook

   • Durable triple-chrome plating

   • Ultra shiny finish

   • Surgical tubing tail

   • Shop Now

    

   In just a couple of weeks you can begin exploring these Soundside Beaches for fresh, sea run stripers. From the early returns out of New York and New Jersey, this spring should be decent in terms of size and quantity of striped bass migrating into our Soundside beaches... send us your pics of your first of the year stripers! See you out there.