Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay Fishing Report 6-22-2012

Cape Cod Fishing is HOT

It’s finally starting to feel like summer. Up until Wednesday, a hooded sweatshirt was a requirement for morning fishing, but by Thursday, it was hot enough for anglers to break a sweat before 7:00 a.m. Expect to see some changes in the fishing as summer sets in, but for now, there’s still some great “spring run” fishing to be had around Cape Cod.

This week’s new moon made for good tides in the Canal, which in turn made for good morning fishing. The mackerel, which haven’t left the Canal (or maybe haven’t been able to) for the past three weeks, were once again under heavy assault by good-sized stripers. Stripers have been playing goalie at the East End, keeping the macks penned up in the confines of the Big Ditch.

Just as the macks are being whaled on by the stripers, the stripers are being whaled on by the fishermen. Barry at Red Top reported good numbers of 30-pound-plus stripers being taken this week, as anglers of all experience levels had the opportunity to catch the blitzing fish – provided they’d staked out the right place at the right time.

This week, the right time was definitely sunrise, which happens early in late June. If you arrived at the Ditch at 4:30 a.m. this week, you were fashionably late, as anglers started lining the rocks around 1:00 or 2:00, both to get in on the night bite and to claim their spot before the crowds arrived. Barry at Red Top Sporting Goods said the nighttime bite has been good on swimming plugs and jigs, so getting to the Canal to fish in the dark has been productive as well.

The right place has been a bit more of a moving target. With the tide running, just about anywhere from the Railroad Bridge to the tip of the Scusset Jetty will have some fish moving through. The trick is finding the places where the bass will trap the mackerel and the bass will linger for a bit. Being mobile is important. If the tide is running well and you aren’t seeing fish, make a move. This is where having a fishing bike rigged and ready will help. This way you can change locations without ever taking your eyes off the water. Both the Cape and Mainland side have had fish, but whenever I was fishing the Canal this week, the best side was the other side.

Fortunately striper fishing has been good in a number of areas this week. The Monomoy Rips had good fish for anglers trolling umbrella rigs and casting Slug-Gos reported Paul from BlackBeard’s.

Race Point and the waters off Provincetown are loaded with stripers as well, comes the report from Nelsons. Most fish are in the 30- to 35-inch range, but some bigger ones are in the mix. Even surfcasters are getting in on the bite out there, and the Daiwa SP Minnow has been this year’s hot lure on the Outer Cape. Eric at the Hook Up had also caught word about the “crazy” fishing taking place up there. Wire line jigging has been working well, but so has vertical jigging. One of the hot baits has been the Savage Sand Eel. This lure has also been popular in the Cape Cod Canal in its heavier 5-ounce version.

Eric also mentioned great fishing in Cape Cod Bay, particularly off Rock Harbor. Bass are off Chatham as well, with a dash of big blues in the mix.

Big bluefish are mixing in with the stripers in the canal. There’s one out there sporting my mackerel-colored Guppy Pencil Popper right now after it was kind enough to snip my leader. The big blues are a fun addition to the bass, provided they play nice and lay off the soft-plastics and leader material.

While big blues are in Nantucket and Vineyard sounds, and on the South Shore of Martha’s Vineyard around Chappaquiddick (reported Dan from Coops), they’ve been noticeably absent on the Outer Cape according to Paul at Blackbeards. With things warming up, blues will hopefully make their move to the Lower Cape.
We’re seeing a shift in the bottom fishing with the warm weather. While the large scup remain, big sea bass are slowing down according to Barry at Red Top. Taking their place on the angler’s docket is summer flounder, which are being caught in larger numbers now. As Buzzards Bay warms up, Barry expects the fluke fishing to follow suit. Flukin’ around Nantucket has been very good. The Helen-H had a number of tackle shop owners out to try out some of the new Shimano Gear. The crew did well with the Lucanus Jigs, boating fluke up to 9 pounds with some big sea bass in the mix as well. Water of 65 feet or deeper was the key to catching the bigger flatfish. Plenty of 16- to 16.5-inch fluke are being taken around Martha’s Vineyard, so sticking it out on the shoals and lumps will yield enough keepers for a few nice dinners if you have the patience to sift through the shorts according to Dan at Coops on MV.

And lastly, there’s bluefin tuna to talk about. No word from Stellwagen Bank reported the guys at Nelsons, but east of Chatham is giving up fish. Eric Stewart of the Hook Up caught two tuna out of four bites on Thursday. The fish hit splash bars trolled over Crab Ledge. The fish haven’t been showing too much of a color preference, Eric said, but darker colors might be the better bet.

Live bait is also working well in the waters east of Chatham. Barry at Red Top said that this may be the best shot of the year for a recreational angler to catch their yearly allowance of one 73-inch or larger tuna. Bluefish in the 16- to 20-inch range are the current bait of choice. Chris from Bad Fish Outfitters said there’s scores of 60-inch fish south of Gay Head on Martha’s Vineyard. They’ve been feeding on the surface long enough for anglers to toss stickbaits into them. Chris recommends Ocean Lures and the River2Sea WideGlide.

There have been reports of 300- to 400-pound tuna on Stellwagen Bank, but catches have been sparse.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Looks like fair winds and smooth seas all around the Cape this weekend. If ever there was a time to go bluefin fishing, this weekend would be it. East of Chatham and South of Martha’s Vineyard are the spots, and if the current forecast holds, boats of all sizes may be able to reach the tuna grounds. Just check and recheck the weather and have a buddy boat for the run. Also, have a good back up plan if the tuna don’t cooperate. Running inshore and fishing the Monomoy Rips should be automatic for bass, same with the rips off Nantucket, which are still filled with bass and blues.

The light winds should also make fluke fishing a pleasant ordeal. Scale down your tackle and fish bucktail or Lucanus jigs. You may encounter a number of short fish, but with lighter tackle, at least you’ll be having fun. Plus, there are enough keepers around that if you stick with it, you’ll get enough fillets for a nice meal. Deeper water around Nantucket and the Vineyard would be my pick.

The canal fishing could hold up through the weekend, but get there soon. When Buzzards Bay warms beyond the stripers’ comfort zone, they will finally let those mackerel escape the canal. At that point, the bass will follow the bait into Cape Cod Bay. Other surf fishing opportunities, with far less crowding, are present at the opposite end of the Cape, were few fishermen are catching good numbers of bass from Race Point to Truro.