Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay Fishing Report 9-26-2012

StriperFest Weekend, Albie Action Red Hot

Week to week, and even day to day, the fall fishing around Cape Cod changes quite a bit. Last week’s hot spot might be this week’s dead sea. The most productive tactics change quickly as well. Late last week and into the weekend, jigging with soft-plastic baits on heavy leadheads was as good as it gets in the canal, but by Wednesday night if you weren’t eeling, you weren’t fishing.

Cape Cod Canal

The Canal bite definitely slowed this week. Last weekend’s anglers were treated to scores of breaking stripers moving west with the tide, but if you missed it, don’t feel too bad. For 100 casters I saw just three fish taken. Alan from Red Top said there are still blues and bass showing up in the mornings, but eels drifted in the overnight hours are producing the most consistent results.

With the full moon tides, another run of bass could make its way through the Cape Cod Canal this weekend.

Cape Cod Bay

Big numbers of bass in the 18- to 28-inch range have moved into Cape Cod Bay. Barnstable Harbor is loaded with these schoolie size bass, which are often feeding on the surface under birds, reported Mike from Bad Fish Outfitters in Falmouth. In Plymouth, more schoolies are feasting on small baitfish, making fun action for fly-fishermen.

Alan at Red Top said boat fishermen in Cape Cod Bay are having luck with eels and Slug-Go’s rigged on a jighead. Trolling has also been a popular tactic. Tube-and-worm rigs are still the hottest ticket for big Cape Cod Bay bass into the 40-pound range. Recent south winds may have nudged the fish toward deeper structure such as the Fingers, but checking close to the beach at Sandy Neck is a good option as well.

Buzzards Bay and Elizabeth Islands

Buzzard’s Bay continues to be the dead sea when it comes to fishing activity. Mike from Bad Fish saw no life in there this week when he poked around looking for tautog. Even bluefish have been scarce. The water has cleaned up from the algae bloom, so it shouldn’t be long before some fish nose into the bay.  I would be surprised if some schools of albies didn’t make their way into Buzzards Bay very soon.

The Elizabeth Islands are another story. Chris Megan and Neal Larsson found stripers on every cast in Robinson’s Hole this past week. They caught fish into the 30-pound range on eels and bucktail jigs.

Neal returned to the scene of the crime the following day, hoping for a repeat, but the large fish had gone, leaving behind bass in 18- to 32-inch range. What surprised Neal was all the false albacore feeding along the islands, and how aggressive they were. While albie fishermen on the South Side of the Cape were scratching their heads trying to get the fish to eat, Neal was having albies intercept lures intended for stripers.

The albie fishing has been excellent along the Elizabeths.  Not only have the fish been numerous, but they’ve been easy to fool.

Tog fishing is looking good along the islands. Anglers dropping green crabs are catching keeper blackfish along with some big sea bass.

South Side of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket

Albies thinned out on the Cape side of the sound this past week, but the albie fishing on Martha’s Vineyard picked up quite a bit. Captain Terry Nugent has been catching as many as two dozen albies on morning trips to Martha’s Vineyard. He’s been using everything from small metal jigs to topwater poppers.

The folks at Coops on the Vineyard said the albie bite is even going strong for shore-bound anglers. The albies have hit the beaches on the Vineyard, and, according to Mike from Bad Fish, on the Cape as well. Wednesday’s strong south winds put bait and albies on some of the Falmouth beaches, well within range of shore-casting anglers.

Striper fishing on the Vineyard is best described as slow reported Coop’s. Fish are being weighed in for the Derby on a daily basis, but the action is far from hot. Beach fishermen are actually out-fishing the boaters at the moment.

Striper fishing on the South Side is good. Mike from Bad Fish reported good action at the pond entrances after dark. Bass into the 40-pound range have been caught from the South Side beaches this week. Live eels have been the best bet. Big blues are also showing up after dark. Unfortunately, they too have been showing a preference for eels.

Bluefishing is red hot from Gay Head on Martha’s Vineyard to the back side of Nantucket. There is no one specific hotspot for the blues, it seems like the whole area is hot. Beach anglers are also getting in on the action.

Bonito fishing is fair for boat anglers around Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

Lower Cape

Some bass are being taken on Nauset Beach, but there haven’t been too many reports coming in from the area. Given the time of year, there should be some fish moving through, especially after dark. Small swimmers or eels will be your best bets.

Race Point is still swarming with bluefish reported Jim at Nelson’s Tackle in Provincetown. The bass fishing on the beaches has also improved. Jim had 25 fish from the beach the other night with the largest going 37 inches. Boat fishermen were unable to get out the past couple days because of high winds, but prior to the blow, vertical jigging and wire-line jigging were producing fish.

Jim said the Race is overdue for the run of big fish that usually arrive every fall. He hopes it happens soon.

Bluefin Tuna

Plenty more to report on the bluefin front. Football tuna finally invaded Cape Cod Bay. Several anglers targeting stripers saw the bluefin on the surface. The tuna bite continues to be strong at Peaked Hill Bar as well.

The BC Buoy and Regal Sword are producing big numbers of school bluefin on the troll. Dan at the Hook Up spent some time at each of these spots earlier this week, landing 11 tuna to 59 inches. Giant tuna have also been showing up at the Regal Sword chasing herring clear out of the water. Ten giants were taken there earlier this week, and Dan watched one boat battle a 900-pounder for more than 5 hours.

Speaking of giants, anglers making the trip to giant bluefin Nirvana at Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia are doing battle with monster bluefin on surprisingly small gear. The Shimano Talica 50II two-speed reel spooled with 130-pound test Power Pro hollow ace put the boots to tuna as big as 909 pounds this past week up in Canada. The angler who bested the 900-pounder did so in less than an hour! On the Cape, anglers have been equally impressed with the Talica. Chuck Risio, fishing out of Hyannis, dropped a 321-pound bluefin on the scale after battling it for 45 minutes on a Shimano Talica/Shimano Terez Rail Rod combo. An impressive feat for such relatively small tackle.

Freshwater

Things are looking good on the freshwater front. Trout fishing is picking up, and has been enhanced by the addition of some freshly stocked rainbows over the past week. Peters Pond has been among the hotspots.

Smallmouth bass action is picking up as well. The cooling weather has put them into much more of a feeding mood. Mike at Bad Fish said the largemouth bite is looking good as well. A few 5-pounders were taken this week from Upper Cape ponds.

Best Bets for the Weekend

The full moon this weekend should get some fish moving and shuffle the deck a bit. The fishery  could look totally different by Monday morning. For now, the albie bite is the best bet. The fish are thick as thieves on Martha’s Vineyard, and are feeding aggressively, taking a variety of articificial lures and flies. The Elizabeth Islands would be the next best bet for albie action.

Bluefish are biting well from Race Point to Martha’s Vineyard, with some real slammers in the mix.

Fluke season closes on Sept. 30th, so this weekend is your last chance at a late-season doormat.

The most encouraging surf-fishing striper reports this week came from the South Side of the Cape and Race Point, where anglers found good action after dark. Target the outflows on the South Side with live eels. Boat fishermen should continue to ply the waters between Plymouth and Barnstable looking for big schools of migrating bass. Pack along some light tackle as some big schools of smaller fish have moved into the area lately.

Also, don’t forget about StriperFest this weekend at Falmouth Harbor. The festivities start at 1:00 and last until 7:00. There will be food, drinks and plenty of striper fishing swag. Pop by after a morning of fishing. For a coupon for $5 off the entrance fee, follow this link.