Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay Fishing Forecast 8-11-2011

If you have your heart set on catching a trophy striped bass this week, you might be a little disappointed. If you’re willing to shift gears and target some different species, then you are in for an awesome weekend of fishing. A wide variety of species are available on Cape Cod right now and the fishing is great.

Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards Bay

The mackerel that were in the Canal last week are mostly gone, thanks in part to the arrival of big bluefish that terrorized the schools and chased them back into Cape Cod Bay. Though the mackerel have left, the blues have stuck around, shifting their sights to spearing and the juvenile herring that are dropping out of the Herring Run. Some smaller stripers are still feeding on the surface in the mornings as well according to Alan at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay. The bulk of the action has been taking place at the East End in Scusset Beach State Park.

The hotspot for big fluke continues to be upper Buzzards Bay. The doormats are hitting bucktails tipped with Berkley Gulp or strip baits as well as fluke rigs and strip baits dragged along the bottom.

Freshwater

While the juvenile herring that are dropping back into saltwater have found themselves in the crosshairs of hungry stripers and blues, the juvenile herring that have opted to remain in their freshwater nurseries are not fairing much better. Ponds with a herring run have come alive with saltwater-esque blitzes as largemouth and smallmouth bass rip through hapless schools of baby herring. Senko worms and tube jigs are great choices this time of year when bass are chasing baitfish, as are topwater poppers at dusk and after dark.

South Side

The bonito bite is on fire according to Bob at Falmouth Bait and Tackle. The bones are shredding small sand eels on the Hooter, south of Wasque, and at Bonito Bar off Nantucket. I had a chance to spend the morning at the Hooter this Saturday, and we had to pick our way through some 4- to 10-pound bluefish, but we did manage three nice bonito, one of which dragged the Boga down to 8 pounds. Two hit on the troll taking Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow plugs. The third, and my first ever bonito, hit a Deadly Dick I was casting while the boat sat at idle and we decided on our next move.

A good amount of bonito were reported at Hedge Fence on Saturday as well, but a more recent report from Chris Parisi at Bad Fish Outfitters suggests that the west winds have cooled off the water and the bonito bite there. Big bluefish are still abundant at Hedge Fence, however, and trolling deep-diving Yo-Zuris was the ticket.

Big bluefish also moved in range of surfcasters. A girl casting from Menahaunt Beach hooked a 10-pound bluefish and weighed it in at Falmouth Bait and Tackle this week. Larger toothy critters, i.e. brown sharks, have been absent from the reports lately, but not for any lack of effort said Bob at Falmouth Bait and Tackle who has had plenty of customers coming into the shop to load up for a night of beach sharkin’.

Keeper scup are being caught from the beach as well. The area in front of the Tides Motel in Falmouth is giving up some nice-sized scup for anglers fishing seaworms on small hooks there.

Just beyond Martha’s Vineyard, only about a 6 or 7 mile run, a number of mako sharks have been popping up. They’ve been accompanied by some monstrous blue dogs in the 300-pound class. Under lobster pots and floating debris, small mahi mahi have been abundant in the warm waters beyond the Vineyard. The chicken dolphin are great targets for fly and light-tackle spinning gear.

More bluefish reports came from Nantucket Sound and around Monomoy. A number of anglers trolling during last week’s Joe Cronin Memorial Tournament tied into bluefish and stripers all around Nantucket.

Cape Cod Bay

There weren’t many stripers taken in Cape Cod Bay this week, but there were some fairly substantial ones. Dan from the Hook Up in Orleans reported that a fellow Hook Up employee spent a day trolling tube-and-worm rigs in Cape Cod Bay. He only had two bites, but both came from 40-plus-pound stripers. Another angler casting topwaters in the early morning off Sandy Neck last weekend landed his new personal best striper and posted a pic of the 40-pounder on our Facebook page.

Mid and Outer Cape

The commercial bass season is over, so you can expect to find some more elbow room off Chatham and Nauset. The bite has slowed in this area, however.

The Bass River is full of snapper blues right now. These baby bluefish have the appetite and attitude equal to their larger relatives and are great fun for young anglers. Baiting up with squid or spearing under a bobber is a sure bet for getting a bite, but the snappers will eagerly attack a small metal lure as well.

Few reports came from the Outer Beaches this week. Anglers dunking sand eels on pompano rigs are catching stripers from Nauset up to the Race. Anglers getting onto the beach at first light are occasionally lucky enough to come across a school of blitzing blues. Metal lures are an excellent choice for both blues and stripers at this time of year.

Bluefin Tuna

Crab Ledge is still holding bluefin tuna. Captain Eric Stewart of the Hook Up in Orleans trolled up a 55-inch tuna on Thursday. Saturday, Eric had a tough day trolling east of Chatham and was headed for the barn when he came across feeding tuna in 60 feet of water off Monomoy. Working fast to deploy the trolling spread, the Tammy Rose went 3 for 5 on the bluefin, quickly turning around a slow day of fishing.

Boats leaving from Sandwich or Pamet or anywhere in between may not have to drive all the way to Stellwagen in order to find some tuna to cast at according to Alan at Red Top. Fish have been seen breaking not far off Race Point, and run-and-gun anglers are getting shots at these fish.

Best Bets for the Weekend

The snapper blue action isn’t restricted to the Bass River. West Falmouth Harbor, Megansett Harbor, Green Pond, Eel Pond, Cotuit, and so on will all have snappers in there willing to bite. Bring some very young anglers along to enjoy this late-summer fun.

The bonito bite isn’t going to get much better than it currently is, in fact, when the false albacore arrive (which shouldn’t be too far off), the bonito will scatter and become a bit more difficult to track down. Hit the Hooter or Bonito Bar for the best shot of action, but if things settle down in the sound, Hedge Fence ought to see another influx of bones.

Also, when chasing the bones, have some tuna gear at the ready. These baby bluefin have been making guest appearances as some nearshore locations, and having a rod rigged up and ready to cast at them could help you score a bonus bluefin to add to your day’s catch.

Try the East End of the Canal for bluefish, or the south side beaches near an outflow, like at Cotuit or Menahaunt.

The freshwater “blitz” fishing is another item worth checking out. Head out in the late afternoons or early evenings for the best shot at finding active bass and cast Senko Worms, tube jigs, lipless crankbaits and topwaters at these fish.