Perhaps it's wishful thinking, but according to our fishing records, we are only 10-12 weeks away from catching our first schoolie striped bass of the season.
Exactly when the first of the migrating stripers from the Hudson or Chesapeake show up is the subject of much shop talk and debate in Jan, Feb and March. While not well known when this writer was a kid, a great many stripers do indeed winter over on Cape Cod and they can be caught nearly year round if you are determined enough and can withstand frozen finger tips and toes. When the weather finally warms up in very late March/ early April and it's reasonable enough for most fisherman to give it a try, we always catch a few off the Goose Hummock dock in Town Cove or in Pleasant Bay to start the season off. With almost 100% certainty, these are hold over fish- most a little beat up and a bit sluggish, but far stronger fighters than the stocked trout we will have been fishing for prior.
We used to have a customer (some long time Goose Hummock fans will remember this being on our websites) who we used to call "Diamond Dave"... he was always able to find and catch 34+inch fish( keeper sized at that time) every single month of the year in the upper reaches of Pleasant Bay. He actually would bring them(some) to the shop alive for a quick pic, then rush them back to Pleasant Bay to release. Now , are you likely to encounter a blitz of 30+ inch fish at the end of March/ early April? No. However, you can locate spots where you can catch a couple or six, 15-20 inch stripers to kick the season off with.
What is the best way to catch these early spring schoolies?
In the very earliest part of the spring schoolie season, we like to down size our lures and also select those that can be fished slowly. As at any time of the year, a smaller Ron Z in chartreuse or white fished on a light jig head is a universally agreed best choice here at the Goose. We sell these like hot cakes when the fishing heats up...if you are thinking about trying early season, buy some now in the best colors and sizes and put them away. If you are a fly fisherman, a chartreuse/white 1/0-2/0 clouser will do the trick like it does the rest of the year.
Unless it warms up really fast, you can probably keep the surface baits and poppers in your tackle bag for a few more weeks until it really warms up in May. Small rubber baits on lighter jig heads work great and are single hook. Most commercially available small swim baits can be equally effective at this time of year, but come loaded full of trebles. Single hook based lures won't tear up a juvenile striper like a fully armed swim bait. Make sure you are the good guy this striper season and good steward of the resource by not fishing multiple trebles early season..... we even make certain to crush barbs March- May because it's 90% certain you will be catching only small fish to that point. It's better to lose one 30+ inch early season fish than tear up dozens of 15-20 inchers that will never have the chance to reproduce.
Regardless of whether we end up having a relatively mild or a hellishly cold winter, the water is still going to be really cold at the time of the season we are discussing here. What you will have to find are shore based spots that are dark bottomed shallow water estuaries , bays and the upper reaches of our saltwater rivers. The stripers need something to eat and our local baitfish species prefer these kind of spots. Where there is available baitfish, there will be available stripers.
Many of our saltwater rivers lead to a herring run.The water in the upper reaches is typically shallow in these parts of the river and on the first unseasonably warm and sunny days will quickly heat up the dark bottomed sections. Any new fish scouts that arrive will also instinctually make a bee line for these areas.
Bays can hold quite alot and good variety of bait early season, but most will be very small until the Herring arrive. So, your lure selection will want to mirror this. Again, water temps and hence metabolisms will be at lowest points of the season. Accordingly, fish small and slow.
Where Exactly Should You Fish?
While no one is likely to give away an "x marks the spot" honey hole ( in the internet age, that ensures that 100+ guys will show up at a spot not designed to handle it), there are some popular , well known spots that you can make your first attempts and likely find some fish. As mentioned above, Town Cove in Orleans has a good winter over population in most years. Barnstable Harbor and Pleasant Bay also have good winter populations. In some of these spots, you will have to wait until the respective towns put in their docks for the season to have good shore access without having to wade into frigid waters. At this time of year, it is best to stay as dry as you can, hence, out of the water as much as you can.
So, if you get cabin fever and decide to jump the season for holdovers, please remember to ditch the trebles, fish small and slow, and do some recon in the type of spots mentioned above to search out some spots, that hold bait, have meaningful current and darker bottoms that will heat up the water quickly on sunny, warmer days.
See you out there and good luck with your fishing in 2025!
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