On a nice day, fishing the flats of Barnstable Harbor is more like fishing the Florida Keys than fishing Cape Cod. Stripers cruise in foot deep water, much like Florida's famous bonefish. The water takes on a torquoise color that extends for miles in every direction. Under a summer sun tidal pools warm up to near 80 degrees as terns and sea birds dive for sandeels.

This area of Cape Cod is at times a breathtaking and surreal environment. It is hands down one of the most serene places to wet a line in the New England.

Located at the easternmost point of Sandy Neck, the flats extend northwards into Cape Cod Bay for hundreds of yards. At the northernmost point of the flats, the sandbars drop off quickly from 10-15 feet down to around 35 feet depending on the tide.

To the west the flats are divided by the Barnstable Harbor channel. Channel depths range from 15-40 feet depending on the tide and the location of your boat. On the eastern side of the channel, the flats extend for miles more, joining with the Brewster Flats to create one of the most extensive sandbar stretches on Cape Cod.

The most abundant bait fish in the area is of course, the sand eel. Most of these sand eels are on the small side, especially compared to the goliath foot long sand eels of the Outer Cape. Nevertheless the sheer number of sand eels provides plenty of reason for striped bass to venture in shallow.

Over the flats, it is not unusual at all to locate stripers cruising in less than 2 feet of water. Use a good pair of sunglasses and wade around until you locate the fish. Often times you will find individual bass. Other times you will find yourself surrounded by hundreds of fish.

The flats are best fished during the course of an incoming tide. Stripers are more likely to flood the flats when the tide is at their backs. This way they are less likely to become stranded in a tidal pool or sandy expanse. The bass will often follow the tide all the way up to the beachfront. If you want to stay with the best action, focus fishing the flats during the course of the flood tide.

Captain Ryan Collins fishes for striped bass and Bluefin tuna off Cape Cod, MA. Visit his blog, myfishingcapecod.com for insider tips. Click on how to troll for striped bass.

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