Fishing the sandbars of Barnstable Harbor is at times, more like fishing in the Florida Keys than fishing Cape Cod. Bass can be found swimming in less than two feet of water on most days. The ocean over the flats takes on a greenish hue under the summertime sun. The water often heats up to near eighty degrees. This is not your typical Northeast fishing environment!
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.
Barnstable Harbor is located at the southernmost point of the Gulf of Maine. The strong currents and windswept ocean have, over the centuries, deposited large amounts of sand and sediment off the coast of Barnstable. The result is large expanses of sand bars which at low tide, stretch for miles into Cape Cod Bay.
The flats off Barnstable are divided by the Barnstable Harbor channel. The channel ranges in depth from 15-40 feet depending on the location. Barnstable Harbor itself is Cape Cod’s most extensive and largest estuary. Marshland covers acres upon acres. Numerous tributaries and creeks empty into Barnstable Harbor. To the west the flats continue and join with the Brewster flats to create the most extensive sandbars on Cape Cod.