Island anglers and naturalists will watch the thermometer, the sun, and the ponds every day between now and the new moon on May 24.
Sometime between the full moon and new moon in May, cinder worms rise to the surfaces of Island coastal ponds to mate, causing feeding frenzies in striped bass and frenzied action among some Island fishermen. Photo courtesy of capawock.com
They are waiting for tiny cinder worms to rise from muddy bottoms in saltwater ponds across Martha's Vineyard in an annual spawning that leads to a feeding frenzy of astonishing proportion, drawing striped bass, birds, fishermen, and onlookers.
Phil Cronin of West Tisbury has observed the worm spawn for the past 20 years and its power and mystery continues to fascinate him. Retired from his position as head of USO New England, he now runs a fishing charter business.
Although he may be a professional fisherman, Mr. Cronin's voice has the excitement of an amateur when he describes the five-day event. "It's just an amazing phenomenon," he said. "You're really seeing the full cycle of life in nature, a mating ritual in the midst of foraging predators, right in front of you."
Mr. Cronin and other anglers know what happens, and mostly where and why, but never exactly when the surface of Tashmoo, Poucha, Sengekontacket, and other Vineyard ponds will roil with hundreds of thousands of two- to four-inch spinning, wriggling worms. But they do know that the worms will attract a sea of feeding striped bass and a swarm of birds. Not far behind are fishermen like themselves who are drawn to the fascinating natural scene and the possibility of hooking dozens of stripers in a single night. "The water is swirling and dimpling, fish tails slapping and birds paddling around dipping and grabbing worms as fast as they can," he said.
As Mr. Cronin described it, a combination of warming water and bottom temperatures from spring sunlight triggers the emergence of the cinder worms (phylum-Annalida, family-Nereidae).
The worm spawn is really a race to procreate amid predators. Rising to the surface, the worms engage in a spinning, circular mating dance until they find a mate, females releasing eggs, males releasing sperm, which covers the eggs as they sink back to the muddy bottom. After spawning, the remaining adult cinder worms die and their offspring burrow into the mud to wait for the next spring cycle.
"The worms actually change their shape during the spawn," explained Mr. Cronin. "Their heads turn red, their bodies flatten and elongate and they develop hard tails, which act as paddles for swimming." They do this while being chased by hungry bass that in turn are being sought by fishermen.
"No, it's not like just hitting a school of fish," said Cooper "Coop" Gilkes, owner of Coop's Bait and Tackle in Edgartown. "It's different from other fishing, beyond a shadow of a doubt. The whole pond is erupting. It's pretty exciting. Mostly they are schoolies [undersized bass] but there are big fish, keepers [over 28 inches in length], in there as well."
Mr. Cronin, Mr. Gilkes, and Steve Purcell, owner of Larry's Tackle Shop in Edgartown, are well aware of the delicate nature of conditions required for the spawn and fishing the spawn. They also debate the relative importance of the full and new moons as triggers.
"Sunny weather is best for the spawn and the first few days after full moon tends to be best," Mr. Purcell said.
They know the spawn only occurs in ponds with muddy bottoms, where there is sufficient ocean current and when the sun and air conditions are right.
"We don't know when it's going to happen," Mr. Cronin said. "You have to go to the ponds every day." There's some temperature trigger in the water or on the bottom I think. I've seen the spawn begin, then the weather become cloudy or cold and it stops, then resumes when the weather changes."
From a fishing perspective, the spawn is most active an hour before sunset, when it draws the most fish. The activity can continue for hours, according to Mr. Cronin. "There may be a scent that draws the fish. Depending on whether the squid have arrived, the spawn may draw larger fish," he said. "If the squid are here, the larger fish will stay offshore in middle ground by the rip, but I've seen 40-inchers taken in the pond spawn."
Mr. Cronin is a fly fisherman who fishes from a canoe. "If you get a good fish, it'll tow you around, kind of a Vineyard mini-sleigh ride," he said, referencing the 19th-century term "Nantucket sleigh ride," used to describe a dory full of whalers being towed by a harpooned whale.
And, of course, there have to be fish. "I know we don't have a worm problem, but sometimes we have a fish problem, although Rhode Island is reporting a lot of fish moving through," Mr. Gilkes said.
There's a knack to fishing the feeding bass during the spawn. "We put on really light seven-weight fly line and use tiny worm lures," Mr. Cronin said.
"It's more like trout fishing," advised Mr. Gilkes. "You can't put much pressure on them. Strip the line slowly; let the fly sink a good 10 feet, then bring it back up. Ninety percent of the time, that works."
Mr. Cronin advises keeping your May schedule flexible. "When it starts, scratch out your calendar for the next five days. Then it's over."
Jack Shea is a frequent contributor to The Martha's Vineyard Times.
