By John Merwin

The call of the surf. That is partly why I’m on Cape Cod today, and before heading home tomorrow I want to try and explain just a bit of why surfcasting has such a magical appeal.

Standing at the ocean’s edge, a fisherman seems infinitely small compared to the vastness of the water. It’s an odd feeling and makes trout rivers and bass lakes seem cozy by comparison. I have often felt oddly idiotic standing at the edge of the sea, wondering where in that huge expanse I might cast.

By John Merwin

Still reporting live this week from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where we’re on vacation and fishing for stripers between platters of fried clams. The weather has been outstanding; highs in the 70s, bright sun, and just a little breeze. As it turned out, that breeze was key to yesterday’s fishing.

By John Merwin

So I’m posting live this morning from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where my wife and I are vacationing. No, we did not hit the surf for stripers at dawn this morning. We are presently at the Cottage Street Bakery in Orleans scarfing down fresh fruit pastries and coffee. Stripers are iffy. The bakery is a sure thing.

By Joe Cermele

While rummaging through a box of old books not long ago, I found a marble notebook that served as my fishing log. It was from 2003, and the first 10 pages had 5 trips logged, all with meticulous info ranging from water temperature, to wind, tide, hatches, and air temperature. The rest of the notebook was blank.

You would think that since I'm a writer, I'd stick with a fishing log, but I guess on trip number 6 I came home dead tired and just said "eh, I'll skip it tonight." I never went back to it. But without question, I'd be a far better angler if I had kept it up.