Old Man Shoal #431

Further East on the Backside of Nantucket, you’ll find Old Man Shoal which was where my favorite fishing video was filmed when I was a kid by Rip Cunningham and Spider Andresen: “To Catch a Bluefish”. I must have watch that video 1000 times. It’s hard to imagine, but in those days, stripers were all but non existent and if not late fall, all the top captains ran “bluefish” charters. In this amazing video, I learned how to:

1. Tie a Spider Hitch. In the video, Spider argued that a Spider Hitch would give you a second chance if a bluefish nicked your line as you would maybe still have one of the two connections.
2. Stemming the Tide: Standard rip fishing. Like diagram below. The fish want to see the bait swinging accros the shoal and behind it. Not cast straight back. Like a trout behind a rock for a fly.
3. Difference between “Attractors and Imitators” 
4. The “Lacrosse Cast” to switch to a left cast to keep bluefish plugs out of the boat when casting.

How I film today is largely inspired by the style of this video. I digress,,,,

Standard Rip Fishing Here. With boat under power, stand well off the rip and cast toward it with large soft plastics, swimming plugs, metals or popping plugs, allowing lures to swing into the rip. Well known but sometimes hazardous location for large striped bass and large bluefish. Troll in deep water well off the rip on the down-tide side using large lures on wire line.

I personally think the Hogy Surface Pencil is a “No Brainer” here.

• Lat & Long:  41°13’ x 69°59.5’
• Best Tide: Outgoing.
• Hazards: Very strong rip with large standing waves at strongest portion of the tide; very large ocean swells may be present. Dangerous to approach in small craft.