If there’s one thing I learned from this week’s report, it’s that if I want to catch good numbers of bass, I want to be fishing in Chatham. Shops from Wareham to Provincetown spoke of the good bite taking place at the Cape’s elbow, saying along with the big numbers of bass, big numbers of boats, mostly commercial fishermen thanks to the season’s opening this past Tuesday. Striper reports from the rest of the Cape ranged from decent to ice cold.
Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards Bay
The term “bathwater” was used several times to describe the water temperatures in Buzzards Bay at the moment. With water in the 70s, that means one thing according to Larry at Red Top Sporting Goods – bluefish city. Blues are all over the bay with several different size classes chopping up the small baitfish that are abundant right now. Mike at M and D’s in Wareham said he’s been hearing about a lot of 2- to 3-pound blues up in the bay while OTW’s Andy Nabreski did a number on 7- to 10-pound choppers by trolling with light tackle south of Cleveland Light.
The warm water continued to perk up Buzzards Bay fluke, and bottom fishermen with squid strips or bucktails and Berkley Gulp found a number of keepers this week.
According to reports from both M and D’s and Red Top, the Canal has been slow, even for this time of year. There were some small fish on the surface in the morning and rumors of some bigger fishing being caught after sundown jigs and live eels, but for the most part the Canal is slow. There are “breaking tides” coming up, however, and with the strong northeast wind Wednesday into Thursday, there just might be some fish pushed in from Cape Cod Bay.
Larry from Red Top was optimistic that this wind change will cool off the waters a bit, which even in Cape Cod Bay had risen into the 70s, a bit out of the striper’s comfort zone. Some cooler water may rejuvenate the striper bite.
Cape Cod Bay
Unfortunately, there may not be many fish in Cape Cod Bay for the Northeast wind to push toward the Canal. Larry from Red Top said the reports he’d been hearing from Cape Cod Bay were very slow. Mike at Powderhorn Outfitters in Hyannis had some better news about the bay, however. Mike said that Fishing Ledge is producing some small bluefin tuna and striped bass for anglers casting lures. The hot lure has been a West Coast import, the Tady Jig, which looks a lot like the metals we use when surfcasting here in the Northeast, but they are tapered at each end and supposedly have a deadly action on a straight retrieve. Some other stripers were caught in the channel at Barnstable Harbor.
Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and the sounds
Surfcasters fishing eels at the various cuts on the south side of the Cape were rewarded with some nice bass this week. Fish to 32 pounds were weighed in at Powderhorn Outfitters in Hyannis. Mike said the fishing has been good, but parking has been difficult in these areas due to a movie being filmed with Adam Sandler in the Cotuit area.
The Monomoy Rips are slowing down a bit, but they still have enough stripers to keep things interesting. Roy from Riverview Bait and Tackle reported that more bluefish were showing up in the rips in recent days.
Bass and bluefish are being caught around Sankaty as well.
If you’re looking for a shot at bluefish, Mike at Powderhorn recommends fishing Horseshoe Shoal, which is filthy with the yellow-eyed devils.
Surfcasters can count on finding bluefish at Wasque on the Vineyard according to Rob at Coop’s Bait and Tackle. The bluefish have been showing up like clockwork on the dropping tide in the afternoon hours. Nighttime surfcasting continues to turn up stripers at Dogfish Bar and Lobsterville Beach.
The bonito have not shown up at the Hooter just yet, but Rob predicts they will within the week. Anglers fishing for bluefin at the 20 Fathom Line are catching the bonito incidentally.
Finding fluke in Vineyard and Nantucket sounds continues to be a relatively easy endeavor. Finding keepers has been much more difficult. With so many undersize fluke around, the key to catching keepers is persistence. Make short drifts over productive areas. You may increase your odds by targeting deeper water and using larger or live baits. Though snapper blues have not arrived yet, bergalls (cunners, choggies) make an excellent bait for fluke when fished live. You’ll get far less hits with a live bergall, but the ones you get will be quality. As John Skinner recommended in his article in the July 2011 Issue of On The Water, “Beachfront Flukin,” dead-sticking the live-bait rod and holding a rod with a more traditional fluke rig will allow to continue to enjoy fast action without sacrificing your shot at a trophy.
Mid and Outer Cape
As I mentioned at the opening, Chatham is the place to be right now. Captain Eric from the Hook Up in Orleans said bass and blues are thick and 4-ounce diamond jigs are the ticket. The Coast Guard is patrolling the 3-mile line, so make sure all of your striped bass fishing is done legally in state waters.
Jim at Nelson’s Tackle in Provincetown said that the striper fishing has slowed substantially on the beaches and in the boats. Fish are showing up sporadically in the evenings with a few keepers being wrangled from the beaches on bait. Bluefish have been showing up a bit more reliably with blitzes of 10- to 12-pound fish hitting the beaches. Pinpointing where these blitzes will occur next has been difficult however, because according to Jim, the bluefish, like lightning, are not striking the same place twice.
Tuna
Captain Eric Stewart said the trolling bite east of Chatham had cooled off, but anglers going out and putting in a good day’s effort are generally being rewarded with a bite or two. One angler trolled up a 760-pounder east of Chatham this week. The giant measured 110 inches and was the biggest Captain Eric has heard of out there so far this season. Stellwagen Bank saw a nice influx of tuna on Wednesday, with several 73-inch-plus tuna and a number of slot-sized fish coming back to the dock.
The 20-fathom line south of Martha’s Vineyard is still holding good numbers of school-sized tuna, and trolling seems the best bet for locating these fish at the moment.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Grab your diamond jigs and head to Chatham. The sand-eel feast off Chatham seems to be holding bass and blues better than anywhere else on the Cape at the moment. From shore, get some live eels and fish the south side cuts, where parking allows. As is the case with summer surfcasting, you may not get many bites, but the ones you get will often be quality fish. The canal may be a good bet for the weekend as well, provided the northeast winds push some bait and cooler water into the Big Ditch.
Though they are often overlooked by angler’s seeking stripers, big bluefish are a summertime favorite of mine. Getting some medium or light tackle and trolling up these feisty blues in either Buzzards Bay or at Horseshoe Shoal might just save a day of frustrating striper fishing