The late-summer fishing is firing on all cylinders. Stripers, blues, fluke, bonito, tuna, and even an albie sighting to spice things up.

Cape Cod Canal Fishing Report

Full moon, strong tides and breaking fish in the Canal this week. Fishermen caught fish larger than 40 pounds this week, but most fish measured 28 to 32 inches. Topwater poppers worked well at first light, but a switch to jigs allowed anglers to catch fish later into the morning. Butterfish and snapper blues were the most commonly seen baitfish in the Big Ditch this week.

The Canal action was good through Thursday morning reported Tom at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay. On Thursday, he weighed a few fish from 27 to 33 pounds. One angler was grinning ear to ear as he deposited his first-ever 30-pound striper on the Red Top scales, Tom said.

Cape Cod Bay Fishing Report

It seems the Bay had a lot to offer this week, starting with big numbers of schoolie stripers and small bluefish on Brewster Flats. Small soft-plastic baits were tempting both the bass and blues.

Tube-and-worm trolling has been responsible for some larger Cape Cod Bay stripers, said Tom at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay. Tom said most report indicate that the bass are holding in deep water, often tight to the bottom. Anglers may need to hunt down bass in waters as deep as 70 feet, Tom said.

Jeff at Forestdale Bait and Tackle said live eels have also caught some nice stripers for boat fishermen in Cape Cod Bay. While the action last week was usually very early morning, Jeff said, the fish have been biting well later into the day lately.

Buzzards Bay Fishing Report

The first reported false albacore sighting came from Buzzards Bay, where On The Water’s own Bill Dean spotted a school of speedsters on the surface.

Other topwater action came from, believe it or not, black sea bass, which Bill said were aggressively attacking anything dragged across the surface. The fish were all shy of the legal limit however, which is 14 inches.

Fluke fishing in Buzzards Bay has been good according to Mike at M and D’s in Wareham. The trick, Mike said, is using live snapper blues as bait. Mike weighed in a 7.2-pound doormar, along with several 5-plus-pounders.

The snappers are easily caught in just about any harbor. Small pieces of squid or tiny spoons are best.

Along the Elizabeth Islands, boat fishermen are finding good bass by chunking with fresh bunker.

South Side Fishing Report

Bonito fishing is still good at the Hooter, but no one had much to say about them moving into other areas.

Though small black sea bass have invaded Buzzards Bay, fishermen can still count on catching keepers in Vineyard and Nantucket sounds. The big sea bass are more plentiful in these waters according to Jeff at Forestdale Bait and Tackle. Jeff also mentioned that several anglers have reported schools of black sea bass feeding on the surface, blitzing as if they were bluefish. I’ve never heard of black sea bass feeding on the surface before this season, but this is the fourth or fifth report, and these sea bass blitzes have been spotted from Nantucket Sound to the entrance to the Canal. Sounds like a good opportunity for anyone looking to check black sea bass off their list of species caught on the fly rod.

Tom at Red Top said Lucas Shoal has been the fluke hot spot, but various Vineyard and Nantucket sound shoals are holding keeper flatfish. Bucktail jigs and Gulp are working well, as are fluke rigs tipped with strips of squid or cut fish.

Lower Cape Fishing Report

Provincetown is still mostly devoid of bass. On The Water contributor Captain Bobby Rice posted some pictures of big bass on his facebook page this week, but when I contacted him to ask if these were Race Point fish, he replied that he had to run toward Chatham to catch those bass. John at Nelson’s Bait and Tackle in Provincetown said the bluefish are around for boat fishermen, but things have been quiet on the beach for nearly a month now.

Chatham still has stripers reported The Hook Up in Orleans. Diamond jigs continue to be the ticket.

Fish Chatham Charters reports that the tuna are feeding heavily on sand eels. They’ve been hooking the majority of tuna on squid bars that have the same coloration. They also had a few bass trips last week and reported that stripers can be found in deeper water while wire line trolling.

Bluefin Tuna Fishing Report

The reports of bluefin tuna this week were mixed. The Hook Up reported a slow week, mentioning just one 50-inch fish caught trolling east of Chatham. Captain Bobby Rice had a banner day early this week when he picked up two tuna on the troll and then capped it off with one on the jig.

Captain Terry Nugent tracked down some surface-feeding schools of football bluefin, catching them on tackle more suited to striped bass. These fish haven’t been abundant in New England waters for several years now, but hopefully  that is about to change. They are great fun on fly and light tackle. However, Terry’s catch most likely came from waters well south of the Cape, as Rhode Island fishermen have had the same reports of small bluefin feeding on the surface.

Offshore Fishing Report

The canyons are still hot, reported Tom at Red Top Sporting Goods. Longfin albacore, white marlin, swordfish and bigeye tuna hitting well.

Freshwater Fishing Report

Jeff at Forestdale Bait and Tackle weighed a few big largemouth bass and one big smallmouth bass this week. The freshwater fishing, he said, is excellent for bass, and even trout, provided you are fishing 35 to 50 feet of water.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Late-summer fluke fishing can be fantastic. Getting a few snapper blues (remember, the possession limit for bluefish still applies, even if you are just using them for bait), and drop them down to the bottom. The live baby blues will be too much for most undersized fluke to take down, but the doormat will eagerly inhale this bait in one bite.

Cape Cod Bay striper fishing is probably the boat hotspot. Tom at Red Top recommends fishing deep water, though some anglers reported decent fishing in shallower water as well.  If the big fish pull a disappearing act, head to Brewster Flats and enjoy light-tackle action with school stripers.