Bass Going Strong, Tuna Fishing Quiet, Marlin Moving In

The opening of commercial striped bass season generally brings two things – increased boat traffic mid-week and even more secrecy regarding the whereabouts of Marone saxatilus. Thankfully, the location of the largest body of stripers in Cape waters has been no secret over the past few weeks. Monomoy and Chatham are still hot. The rips are loaded with big bass and blues reported Chris from Bad Fish Outfitters. On Thursday’s opener, Chatham was a “zoo” according to Chris, and while fish were caught, the fishing was slower than earlier in the week, which could be directly related to the massive increase boat traffic.

The waters of Woods Hole had a nice mix of bass and blues feeding on the surface. The bass, which have mostly been schoolies, are hitting topwaters. The rips of Hedge Fence are holding some larger stripers, giving the Upper Cape anglers a shot at a big fish even during the hottest part of the summer.

Race Point still has fish, and jigs on wire line have been the most productive way to catch them. kayakers launching from Herring Cove are still hooking up as well, mostly by trolling tube-and-worm rigs.

There were mixed reports coming from Cape Cod Bay. Dan from the Hook Up said warm water (as hot as 76 degrees) has driven most of the bass out of the bay, but Mike from M and D’s suspect some anglers are still finding good numbers of fish on Billinsgate Shoal.

Bluefish are still scarce along the backside beaches and not for lack of bait. Squid, sand eels and big mackerel abound on the backside through the Race, but the blues don’t seem to want to round Chatham reported Jim from Nelsons in Provincetown. Blues are hitting well in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard and Nantucket sounds.

Bluefishing from shore off Martha’s Vineyard is slowing down, but the boaters haven’t seen any decrease in action. The boat fishermen are also getting some early shots at bonito. Coop’s Bait and Tackle has weighed in a half-dozen bonito so far. This fishing should just keep getting better.

Fluke fishing has been very quiet in Buzzards Bay, but anglers fishing Lucas Shoal and the Nantucket Rips have been quite pleased with the fishing. Good sized fish are being taken on Lucas, mostly out of deeper water.

Very big sea bass are coming out of the deep water over Lucas Shoal as well. Chris from Bad Fish said one of his friends caught a potential line-class record. Chris promised to forward me more details as he gets them.

Giants are being picked off on Stellwagen, but overall that fishing has been lacking. A few 60- to 80-pounders have shown up, but they aren’t on the Bank in numbers. East of Chatham, the bluefin bite has slowed. Dan from the Hook Up in Orleans said the fishing has run hot and cold. The fish are averaging between 55 and 62 inches, when anglers can find them. This mid-July slowdown in the tuna fishing isn’t unusual according to Dan. Things should heat right back up by the end of the month. Coop had the same tuna report for the waters south of Martha’s Vineyard. On and off fishing for bluefin. He did have good news regarding another pelagic.

Some white marlin have crept up toward the Vineyard, following some good water in from the canyons. Coop said having a few weightless-rigged Hogys ready to pitch at the whites is a must.

Best Bets for the Weekend

If you had your heart set on bluefin fishing, it sounds like it might be a good weekend to conserve fuel for better days ahead. Scale down your gear and go prospecting for some marlin south of Martha’s Vineyard. Don’t forget the Hogy’s or other soft plastic stickbaits.

The best bass action has been off Chatham and Monomoy. Thankfully, commercial fishermen are restricted to Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, so anglers fishing Friday, Saturday and Monday should have some more breathing room. Race Point is a good bet as well, but I wouldn’t write off Billinsgate Shoal.

A mixed bag of big sea bass and fluke is waiting for anglers in the deep water off Lucas Shoal. The other flattie hotspots are the rips off Nantucket. Fresh sand eels have been the best bait at both places. Bad Fish Outfitters in Falmouth have them, and a call into your local shop will let you know if they carry them as well.