Fishing Tips

Local experts recommend that if you're fishing in waders, you should wear a personal flotation device and tell someone where you're going and when you expect to be back. When in the water, shuffle and slide your feet to move your body, but always keep both feet on the ground. If your waders fill with water and you're wearing a personal flotation device, roll onto your back and paddle towards shore. Also, always carry a knife so that if you aren't wearing a personal flotation device, you can cut off the waders.

A few reminders when fishing with a child: Don't forget to go to the bathroom before you shove off from land or walk out on a jetty, always bring lots of snacks and beverages, don't forget a sun hat, and remember to apply lots of sunscreen, even on a cloudy day.

Except for bluefin tuna, which require going to sea, striped bass, bluefish, flounder, and mackerel are all available from shoreline locations just about everywhere on Cape Cod. If you are looking for surfcasting locations in the Falmouth area, try Chapoquoit Beach off Chapoquoit Road in West Falmouth, or Nobska Point off Church Street in Woods Hole.

If you want to see where most of the Cape's trout start out, visit the Sandwich Fish Hatchery on Mass. Rt. 6A, (508) 888-0008. More than 80,000 trout are raised here to stock the state's ponds. Admission is free.

One way to learn more about fishing on Cape Cod is to attend a meeting of the Cape Cod Chapter of Trout Unlimited, which meets at Liberty Hall, just off Mass. Rt. 149 in Marstons Mills, on the second Wednesday of the month. The meetings, which run from 7 to 9 PM, are held from September through May and are open to the public.

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