February 25, 2015 - less than 3 months ago - 18 square miles of ice filled Cape Cod Bay.
Whew.
It's no surprise that striped bass may be a little slow this year returning to Cape Cod waters, which were colder than usual through April, and are slowly warming.
Reports of schoolies are now widespread around the region, even into Cape Cod Bay. According to On The Water magazine, bigger stripers (30+ inches) are away to the south along the Rhode Island coast, while the real big fish are still in their spawning areas around the Chesapeake Bay. But the migration is on, and they should begin making their way north soon.
For striped bass anglers, the big story this year is the change in the bag limit. The day limit is now one fish at 28 inches - that's down from the previous limit of two fish at 28 inches. This is to allow the stocks to regain strength, while waiting for the maturing year class that is expected to help rebound the stock numbers.
Squid have been reported in numbers, with the boat fishing being particularly good. That means, even if you're not an angler, it's a nice moment to visit your fish market for fresh caught local squid.
Steve Junker and Kevin Blinkoff discuss the weekly fishing action on WCAI. Audio is posted above - give it a listen.
