Belated Mem. Weekend report...

Fully expecting to have only morning on Cape, I was lucky to hit a 30" plus right off the bat while waiting for the Rip Ryder shuttle. Met with Bigcat, Striblue, Craig at the lot and found Wallace and friend working the outer beach. With the minus tides, there was a lot to explore - bigcat even went out to the outer outer bar facing Portugal!

Craig, Ron and his brother and I took the ride to the refuge with high hopes. The high expectations for the ebb was anti-climatic, nothing like the same tide two weeks prior (after the hot spell). Just as Craig and I were departing, fish started showing up all over the place on the flood - just like Steve Robbins told us and just as Bob Pink had reinforced. Ran into Bardy on the way back to the mainland, I think he fared about the same as we had. Those who got to stay were doing well even as we were leaving.

I had no choice, I was supposed to be heading north again on rte 3 around noonish. Then I got a call on the cell phone from the wife saying "stay down there I am bringing the kids". YEEHAH! Enjoyed a great lunch at Clancy's Beach bar w/ Craig and headed to the cottage to settle in.

Well, once the family took over the fishing got pretty slim, but I did get a chance to visit a few of our sponsors and friends in the business while running errands.

Did the lightning rod act on South Beach on Sunday AM to a continual stream of schoolies and the family was surprised to see me back at the cottage early enough so that coffee and donuts I brought still had meaning.

Bob Pink called to inform me he was on the bridge and about to launch a full frontal attack on the beach and boy he wasn't kidding! After over 40" of striper on the flats standing on his feet he might spend a little more time off the fiberglas deck once in a while! ;-)

I hooked up with Bob that evening on South Beach where I found a bunch more schoolies and nothing doing for big fish. Todd Murphy joined Bill Stanton and I for the evening bite. Soon the only three left standing were Bill, Todd and I discussing the morning's last hurrah.

Todd and I have been trying to work out a time to do a photo shoot for his website, and Bill mentioned having not broken the 2001 skunk yet - so there it was, we had a plan... out for a morning sorte' on Todd's Hewes flats boat to capture the action on the flats and to kill a skunk.

All I can say is HOLY COW! Just as BobP found adventures on the flats in waders, we were enlightened to the sight fishing on the flats from the ultimate flats machine. I even got to pole! But we won't go there.

Combined with Todd's experience in this fishery and his professionalism even when it wasn't necessary, it was a truly world-class morning.

You know I love schleppin' the shoreline, and there's a certain magic to wading - but if you haven't already experienced flats boat fishing on Monomoy I highly recommend it.

Here is a small sampling of the shots I am processing for Todd's website...