I have been dreaming about fishing the first two weeks of June since the end of the first two weeks of June last year. Regardless of weather or water temperature or moon phase, everything seems to come together to create awesome fishing at this time of year. With migrating stripers and blues arriving in greater numbers daily, bluefin tuna making their presence known and bottom fishing breaking open all over the Cape, you’ll have your plate full with fishing options this weekend.

Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards Bay Fishing Report

“Breaking” tides (West-to-East Current change at daybreak) will be happening at the over  the weekend. Late in the week, Canal action began to improve somewhat, mostly inthe East End. Mike from M and D’s in Wareham said the 15- to 20-pound stripers have been moving into the East End from Cape Cod Bay and providing some morning action.

Heavy jigheads paired with soft-plastics fished on the bottom are accounting for most canal action according to Barry at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay. Judging by the number of soft-plastics being rung up by the Red Top cash registers, Barry says the big bluefish are pretty thick in the Canal, particularly the West End. The blues have not made a strong springtime showing in the Canal in a few years, but their return is certainly welcome…for most. For anglers having their soft-plastics shortened by the blues, the arrival of the choppers may be bittersweet.

At first light, topwater lures are tempting bass and blues, but Barry said the fish return to the deep as soon as the sun fully crests the horizon.

There was one big striper taken in the Canal this week, a fish just shy of 40 pounds from the mid-Canal (Bourne Bridge to Sagamore Bridge) area.

Angler’s haven’t seen too much bait in the Canal this week, certainly not the big mackerel schools that were present at this time last year. That could all change on one turn of the tide, however. Barry believes Saturday, Sunday and Monday could bring good tides and good schools of fish back to the Canal.

Mike at M and D’s is cautiously optimistic. Hot and heavy reports from the Outer Cape have led Mike to believe a big school of stripers opted against taking the “shortcut” through the Canal on their way north—which, while being bad news for Canal fishing, could be great news for fishing the sandy beaches of the Outer Cape.

Cleveland Ledge continues to produce sea bass and scup. In fact, most of the rocky or mussel-bed bottom structure in Buzzards Bay is holding sea bass and scup.  The scup are large, with many 3-plus-pounders being caught. Mike at M and D’s expects the super-sized scup to stay for another week or so, before they begin to thin out.

There are a few keeper fluke being caught, though for the most part, the Buzzards Bay fluke bite is quiet. Anglers are occasionally finding them mixed with the sea bass and scup.

Cape Cod Bay and the Outer Cape Fishing Report

Mackerel are milling around the Gurnet outside the east end of the Canal. There are also macks off Barnstable Harbor, and boat anglers have converted a few freshly caught mackerel into nice-sized striped bass.

For the most part, the action on the Barnstable side of Cape Cod Bay has slowed, but the fishing from Long Point to Race Point has been on fire for the boats. Wednesday’s fishing was described as “insane,” “epic,” “nonstop,” and all the other superlatives you could imagine. Rich at Nelsons Bait and Tackle in Provincetown reported excellent action on vertical jigs in that Long Point to Race Point Stretch in 40 to 70 feet of water. The fish have been coming to the surface as well and attacking topwater plugs. From the sound of it, Wednesday was total mayhem with acres or striped bass on the surface feeding on sea herring. Rich said many of the fish were teen-sized, though Mike at M and D’s heard of some big numbers of 25- to 40-pounders smashing the surface out there.

Bluefish are scattered around the Lower Cape right now, but as waters warm, larger concentrations of the blues should set up shop in those waters according to Rich.

Not all the action is on the boats. Rich at Nelsons Bait & Tackle in Provincetown in reported some good action on the beaches as well. While the big offshore blitzes haven’t moved into casting range, at least a few of the stripers have been swimming close enough to the surf for anglers to hook up. Head of the Meadow and Race Point are two of the places where surf anglers have hooked keepers in the past few days. There’s also a rumor circulating about a boat fisherman who made a cast off his boat dock after returning from fishing and catching a very large striped bass. Rich was unable to confirm this however.

In Provincetown Harbor, bottom fishing is great. Winter flounder and tog are biting well, and hardly any fishermen are targeting them. With some rough weather forecasted this weekend, those harbor bottom fish may be the only option on that part of the Cape.

South Side Cape Cod and Islands Fishing Report

It was another great week of fishing on the South Side of Cape Cod. Bluefish continue to hit the beaches between Falmouth Heights and Dennis, but this week, in many places, the blues were actually outnumbered by stripers. Todd at Falmouth Bait and Tackle reported an all-out striper blitz in Falmouth Heights this week. He’d also heard of a great bite at Trunk River on swim shads. Many of these South Side stripers have been 24 to 28 inches, but there have been some much larger ones.  Falmouth Bait and Tackle checked in a 30-pounder from the South Side this week. Jeff at Forestdale Bait and Tackle in Sandwich heard of two bass over 40 inches taken area. One was 42 inches and the second was rumored to be 48 inches—a giant striper for anywhere along the coast.

Holding the bass along the South Side has been the bait, adult bunker that are moving in and out of the bays. Roy at Riverview Bait and Tackle in South Yarmouth said the bunker have pulled in many bass between 28 and 35 inches. He’s personally had them up to 28 pounds on the South Side recently.

Jeff at Forestdale Bait and Tackle said that many wading anglers are catching keeper-sized bass by fishing the late-night outgoing tide in the bays, particularly Cotuit and Popponesset. Live bunker have worked, but so have swim shads and swimming plugs.

Afternoon bluefishing at South Cape Beach should be good over the weekend, reports Jeff at Forestdale, who thinks the overcast stormy weather will put the blues in a feeding mood.

On Martha’s Vineyard, Coop of Coop’s Bait and Tackle in Edgartown reported the fishing is wide open. Bluefish are feeding big time at Wasque and Leland beaches during the day, and after dark, the stripers are moving into these same spots. Loads of sand eels and bunker have swarmed the island, bringing in the bigger fish. Squid, however, are still a no-show.

Stripers seem to be everywhere, Coop said. The North Shore of the Island is good, and the south shore is improving. The ponds also, are stacking up with stripers. Some of the larger fish have clocked in at 25 pounds, with a good number over 20.

Boat anglers are having luck off Gay Head and in Quick’s Hole, also with 20- to 25-pound stripers.

Cape Cod Freshwater Fishing Report

There are no guarantees in fishing, but right now, a shiner under a bobber in a Cape Cod Pond is a pretty sure bet for a largemouth bass. Dan at the Hook Up in Orleans and Jeff at Forestdale both said the afternoon and evening fishing in the ponds is excellent. Roy at Riverview concurred that the bass bite is good, but suggested looking to deeper water for a shot at a bigger bucketmouth.

Trout fishing is also going strong. One fisherman claimed they couldn’t get a bait to the bass through the trout in John’s Pond. That’s not a bad problem to have!

Bluefin Tuna Fishing Report

This was definitely the breakout week for bluefin. Calm seas early in the week made for great conditions, and spinning and trolling anglers hooked up. A number of giants were caught, including a 92-incher caught with Got Stryper charters on a spinning rod and Strategic Anglers stickbait. Captain Eric Stewart trolled up a 72- and a 69-inch fish this week. Bobby Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters tied into some big 73-inch-plus fish on RonZ jigs this week as well. Fish Chatham Charters also caught a 75-inch bluefin. Tuna seemed to be patrolling anywhere from Peaked Hill down to Crab Ledge. While there is a lot of water to cover in that area, the Wednesday hotspot was off of Chatham. By Thursday the tuna bite had cooled off. The big tuna can cover a lot of ground very quickly, and as Captain Dom of Coastal Charters put it, tuna of that size don’t feed heavily every day. The weather looks like it will keep boats off the water until Sunday, and by then, the tuna could very well be back on the feed.

Best Bets for the Weekend

We’re looking at some rain and wind Friday into Saturday, but nothing so extreme as to keep fishermen from fishing. Sunday is looking like a fine day to get on the water. It’s tough to say where the best bet from shore will be this weekend, as there are three pretty good options. The tides are looking good in the canal, though the reports leading up to the weekend have been so-so. But, that could all change quickly if a fresh school of migrating stripers collides with some bait near the Canal. The South Side has had the better reports, along with some quality fish. I suppose if the Canal is still quiet by 6 or 7 a.m. a prudent move might be to shoot to the South Side to look for stripers and blues. Or hit the South Side in the afternoon, particularly South Cape Beach, to look for a bluefish blitz. If you stick it out at the Canal, fish deep with jigs or shads. The Provincetown beaches are also worth a look, as there is a huge amount of fish in the area, and more than a few must be moving into casting range.

Boat fishermen should get themselves to Race Point if the seas remain fishable. The huge school of fish in the area should still be present. Even if they aren’t showing on the surface, vertical jigging with soft plastics or diamond jigs should do the trick.

Again, any weekend tuna fishing hinges on the weather, but if it’s safe to go, then go! The fish are big, so use appropriate tackle. Trolling is working, and so is casting with topwaters or soft-plastic jigs. The fish have all been big, 65 to 90 inches, so make sure your gear is up to the task.

For some relaxing fishing, scoop up a bucket of shiners and hit a local pond for some bass fishing.

Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts Fishing Report

Offshore Fishing Report