Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay Fishing Report 6-15-2012

“The Best Bass Bite in Recent Memory”

As good as the striper fishing was last week, that’s how good the bluefishing has been this week. Striper fishing has dropped a notch in most spots around the Cape on weak between-moon tides, but at least one area is experiencing “the best striper run in recent memory.” Read on to find out where.

Canal anglers throwing soft plastics weren’t too happy to have big numbers of bluefish invade the West End of the Canal this week. Barry at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay said the area just west of the Maritime Academy has been holding the blues. Thankfully, the blues weren’t on a strict diet of soft plastic, and were willing takers of swimming plugs and even topwaters.

Coop at Coop’s Bait and Tackle on Martha’s Vineyard said MV anglers are “up to their ears” in bluefish. The choppers are all over the island, eating just about anything you can throw at them.

Barry at Red Top reported the occasional school of 8- to 10-pound blues hitting the Cape’s southside beaches. Chris at Bad Fish Outfitters in Falmouth recommended trying the pond entrances for the best shot at intercepting the blues. Big schools of sand eels and bunker in Vineyard and Nantucket sounds have been responsible for the influx of blues.
Buzzards Bay has the blues as well. Harbors and coves on both sides of the bay are loaded with blues. Casting topwaters or metals under working birds or trolling has been effective.

If you didn’t get out and catch the giant knot-headed sea bass that have been in Buzzards Bay for the past month, it looks like the window of opportunity may be closing, according to Mike at M and D’s in Wareham. Smaller sea bass abound in the bay, but the monsters seem to have left for deeper waters. You can still pick through them for some keeper-sized fish and good fillets, however. Big scup, while still present in the Bay, are thinning out as well.

Sea bassing is good around Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, reported Cam from Billfisher Tackle on Nantucket and Coop from Coop’s Bait and Tackle on the Vineyard.

Fluke fishing is picking up – for the anglers that are going. Cam at Billfisher Tackle said not many anglers have been trying for this flatfish around Nantucket. The deepwater humps and shoals surrounding the Vineyard are giving up more keepers with each passing day reports Coop.

Barry at Red Top also reported that the fluke bite has turned on. Lucas Shoal always seems to have fluke during the summertime, but some moving and experimenting around the structure may be necessary to find the keeper-sized fluke.

The bluefin season is still in its very early stages around the Cape. Giants are being caught fairly regularly east of Chatham, some as large as 90 inches. Eric Stewart at the Hook Up had a much more recreational-fishing friendly 68-incher.Trolling has been on the tough side, so most anglers are connecting with their tuna by fishing live mackerel, which, along with herring, have been in abundance on the tuna grounds. South of the Vineyard, there are a wide range of bluefin sizes from tiny 20-pound footballs to commercial-size giants.

So just where is the best striper fishing in recent memory taking place? It’s not at the Canal, though Canal fishing is very good. Evenings and nighttime outproduced mornings this week, with the waters east of the Herring Run being best according to Mike at M and D’s. Though there are far less fish in the ditch than there were last week, Barry from Red Top reports there are still great odds of landing a very big fish. Anglers hunting a Canal cow this weekend will have to put a little more elbow grease into their fishing and break out the heavy jigs and bounce bottom.

Race Point also has good striper fishing. Mike from M and D’s reported that some of last week’s Canal fish have already made it to the Race, and catches of up to 40 pounds were made on Wednesday. Sand eel imitations are a must for fishing off Provincetown right now, says the report from Nelsons. The backside beaches are also producing some fish according to Nelsons, with bass to 36 inches hitting the sand in Truro.

Woods Hole has given up stripers to 38 pounds for boat anglers this week, and the Elizabeth Islands are giving up even more fish of that size. All the way down to Cuttyhunk, Sow and Pigs fishing is pretty good for anglers doing the nighttime trolling dance with large plugs reported Chris from Bad Fish.

While the chunk bite off Devil’s Bridge is improving, it’s not the best in recent memory. Coop at Coop’s Bait and Tackle on the Vineyard is ranking the current striper fishing on the island as a 7 out of 10. He said fishermen working the shoreline after dark are consistently taking stripers of 30 pounds or better.

It’s past Muskeget Channel to the often overlooked Nantucket that the bass bite is as good as it’s been in years. Cam at Billfisher Tackle said there are thousands of stripers loaded into the rips east of the island. The fish are gorging on squid and herring, and they are fat. Fish as big as 40 pounds have been landed – on fly rods! Conventional gear is taking cows as well. Even surfcasting is good. The North Shore of Nantucket is producing keepers, as are other locales around the island.

Rep Top is still weighing big largemouths. With the warming ponds, pickerel are slowing down, but bass are still feeding heavily, as are perch and panfish.

Best Bets for the Weekend

If you want stripers this weekend, then it should be a no-brainer to head to Nantucket – specifically the rips east of the island. Squid imitations and topwaters are must-haves, but if you’re inclined to wave the long rod, bring it along.

Blues seem to have half of the Cape covered, so if you’re in the Canal, Buzzards Bay or off the south side, have some topwaters and metals at the ready.

There’s still time to fill a cooler with sea bass and porgy fillets both in Nantucket Sound and Buzzards Bay. Fluke are becoming a more viable option each day, and it’s definitely worth plying some deep structure for a doormat.