Cape Cod, Massachusetts Sea Kayaking and Kayak Fishing: Monomoy Island, Chatham

Monomoy Island off Chatham, Massachusetts (Cape Cod) is a worthy destination for anyone with a sea kayak or fishing kayak. The area is filled with fish, and challenges: shifting channels, wandering sandbars, frequent fogs and prevailing southwesterly winds that kick up lively chop during the summer.

Related books. Buy one now:
Kayak Fishing: The Complete GuideKayak Bass Fishing: Largemouth, Smallmouth, StripersThe Complete Kayak FishermanPaddling Cape Cod: A Coastal Explorer's GuideAdventure Kayaking: Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard

See an updated Google Earth map of the area that includes the new closure of the South Beach gap, the growing seal colonies, and other points of interest, including put-ins and specifics on the serpentine channels that connect one of the islands to the other at all tides.

You can purchase the map for $3.50 via paypal.

Monomoy's southern and eastern shores are home to a large gray seal population and numerous species of migratory sea- and shorebirds. Last summer a small handful of grey seals, some in excess of 500 pounds, were hunted down and chewed up by great white sharks that were since tagged by NOAA. Some of the sharks migrated as far south as Florida over the winter.

The island's watery environs are seasonal feeding grounds for numerous migratory fish species: striped bass, bonito, bluefish, bluefin tuna -- pelagic sportfish that feed in the area's warm summer waters after swimming in from the not-too-distant Gulf Stream.

The island has a torturous (and tortuous) geomorphic history. Once a long spit attached to Cape Cod at Chatham, Monomoy then became an island. Then it became two islands. Most recently, it became a large single island and nominal second island that has re-attached itself to the mainland by way of an outlying barrier beach that, in turn, attached itself to the mainland about twenty years ago.

The file also includes a wide array of navigaiton and landmark notes.

To enlarge the image above, double-click on it. The image will appear on a new page. On the jpg you'll see Google Earth layered and interactive landmarks are located within the interactive Google Earth file.

US Fish and Wildlife: Monomoy Wildlife Refuge
North American Kayak Fishing