June 16, 2011

For a morning with “breaking tides” during the peak of the striped bass season in June, the Canal was uncharacteristically uncrowded this morning. This Philadelphia sports fan had no issues answering the bell bright and early, but I suspect some of the Bruins faithful – who considerably outnumber the Flyers Faithful on the rocks of the Big Ditch – had a bit more difficult time getting out of bed. They didn’t miss too much.

Cape Cod Canal

As seems to be the case on most of my canal outings, the best fishing was on the “other” side. I set up Capeside and watched schools of bass move well within casting distance of anglers on the Mainland. While some anglers hooked up, Mike from M and D’s (though on the right side) was also doing more watching than catching. “With all the small bait, small sand eels,” Mike said, “the fish were only interested in small lures.” Mike had taken his Daiwa SP Minnow, this year’s red-hot canal lure, out of his bag and forgotten to return it. A friend of Mike’s who had remembered the SP Minnows managed a boatload of fish, though none were very large.

According to Dylan at Red Top, the high end for fish in the canal this week was 21 pounds, though there are certainly some bigger ones in there. For the time being, it seems like most of the canal fish are moving in from Cape Cod Bay, since very little has been reported from Buzzards Bay lately. Some big bluefish made their way through the Canal this week, claiming a few soft plastics. The fish had not set up shop in any particular end, but seemed to be caught throughout the Canal as they moved through.

Mackerel have been no-shows the past few days, and Dylan seems to think they may have moved out for the season. Good reports coming from Plymouth about big stripers wallowing in schools of mackerel support his theory.

Buzzards Bay and South Coast

While striped bass fishing in Buzzards Bay may not be as hot and heavy as it was back in May, anglers are having great success with another species of bass. Black sea bass action is still going strong. Chris Parisi from Bad Fish Outfitters reported plenty of big sea bass out there still. He fielded a crew for a tournament last week and won, returning to port with the heaviest 5-fish creel at 22 pounds and change. Do the math – that means the average size of the sea bass Chris and Crew brought back to the dock was almost 4 ½ pounds!

Anglers on the South Coast looking for stripers will find them under the Brighman Street

Bridge. Chunks of bunker have been the hot ticket lately. Mike at Bucko’s Bait and Tackle in Fall River said 4- to 6-pound blues have been mixed in with these stripers as well.  The Westport 88 Bridge is also giving up bass on chunks during the incoming tide.

Mike said anglers looking to do some bottom fishing can find black sea bass in the river right now. These fish have moved in recently, and are taking squid and clam baits. Scup are being caught in good numbers from the Causeway to Gooseberry Island.

Down along the Elizabeth Islands, Quick’s Hole is reportedly filled up with striped bass.

Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds

Boat anglers are finally tying into some bigger fish around Martha’s Vineyard. Colin at Larry’s Tackle heard of a 44- and a 37-pounder caught this week. Shore anglers aren’t catching such quality bass, but they are finding quantity. Colin reported a strong bite at Chappaquiddick this week, again on darters. The fish, which maxed out around 20 pounds, have thinned out a bit, but Colin suspects there are still some around to be caught.

On the Cape Side, Chris from Bad Fish Outfitters reported schools of stripers hanging at the mouth of Waquoit Bay. Some of the fish are exceeding the 28-inch minimum size, and at nearby South Cape Beach, big schools of bluefish continue to roam the beaches. More bluefish can be found in Cotuit and at Horseshoe Shoal according to Mike at Powderhorn.

Roy from Riverview Bait and Tackle heard of some keeper fluke around Chatham. Mixed with the fluke on the bottom of Nantucket Sound has been black sea bass and scup. Scup action has picked back up over the past few days according to Mike, and anglers are once again catching dinner-plate-sized specimens.

Bishop and Clerks is another good bet for anglers looking for bass. The Monomoy Rips, which should be holding fish by now, were unfishable with this week’s north winds. With more favorable winds in the forecast, they may be a good place to look over the weekend.

Cape Cod Bay

More good reports came from Barnstable Harbor this week. The mouth has been giving up good stripers on live mackerel, while inside the harbor continues to offer great shots at bass on fly and light tackle.

Rock Harbor reportedly has big schools of big bass in front. Dan at the Hook Up got a call from a friend about the hot action there.

Outer Cape

The north winds put a damper on the good Outer Cape fishing according to John at Nelson’s Bait and Tackle in Provincetown. With the wind once again out of the southwest, things should start to settle out again and the fish should return. In Provincetown Harbor, the few anglers giving it a try are finding blackfish and winter flounder.

Tuna

It was a slow week on the Cape Cod tuna grounds by all accounts. I gave the waters off the back side a look-see on Saturday, and witnessed two boats hook up – one on live bait, one on the troll – but we never found any marks to drop our jigs to or any breaking fish to cast our lures at. Things were looking better as of Thursday, however.

In the morning, Dan from the Hook Up reported that Captain Eric had connected with one tuna briefly east of Chatham and Captain Rich had landed a 69-incher. While in the process of writing this report, I got an email from Captain Terry Nugent talking about a massive school of bluefin Captain Sean Ruge located “off the map.” The fish were on small bait and very finicky, but finding them is the first step to another fantastic tuna season. Hopefully those tuna will find their way onto the map before too long and the craziness will begin.

Best Bets for the Weekend

I wish I could tell you where to go looking for the “motherlode” of tuna that the Riptide Charters boys have located, but I honestly couldn’t even venture a guess. I do know for a fact there are tuna on the grounds east of Chatham, so at the moment, that may be the best bet for anglers looking to connect with Charlie. With the fish scattered, live bait and trolling are working better than jigging for the time being.

Barnstable Harbor and Rockport Harbor would be my striper picks for the week.  Load up on some live mackerel and set them out with a single hook through the nose outside the mouths of these harbors.

If you’re shorebound this weekend, South Cape Beach may offer a good shot at a bass and bluefish combo if you’re willing to take a walk to get to the Waquoit Jetties. Get to the beach before first light and bring some swimming plugs and topwaters.

In the canal, don’t forget the small lures to match the smaller sand eels that are in the ditch right now. The tides look good for Friday and Saturday mornings, but if the past couple days are any indication, the fish could be picky.