October marks the last full month of good saltwater fishing on Cape Cod. So far, October reports have been so-so, but there are reasons to be hopeful for the weekend.

Cape Cod Canal

All the shops agreed that there was bait aplenty in the Cape Cod Canal Thursday morning. Butterfish, sea herring and mackerel were a few of the species spotted by fishermen. Some more stripers moved in, with the vast majority being school-sized, although several better stripers up to 40 inches were reported.

Mike from M and D’s in Wareham is optimistic about this weekend’s tides, starting Sunday. Mike also said there were some enormous squid in the Canal, some with tubes as long as a man’s forearm.

Big bluefish are also popping up in the canal, often snipping eels or soft-plastic jigs. The fish being landed are as big as 16 pounds. That’s one heck of a bluefish!

Black sea bass are also in the Canal reported Andrea at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay. They are spread the length of the Canal, and anglers are having great success targeting them with Crippled Herring. Many are keeper-sized.

Buzzards Bay and Elizabeth Islands

Albies made a showing in the Mattapoisset area in Buzzards Bay according to Mike at M and D’s. None of the little tunas have made a move closer to the Canal just yet. There’s still time though.

No real word of stripers or blues in Buzzards Bay, however. Black sea bass are still strong in the bay, but you’ll have to weed through a fair number of undersize fish to get some keepers.

Fishing eels among the rocks of the Elizabeth Islands is producing some nice stripers. OTW TV was filming down there on Wednesday and managed several good fish including one heavier than 30 pounds.

Blackfish are thick along the Elizabeths as well. While crabs are always the best bait for tog, there were reports of blackfish being so aggressive they were even attacking metal jigs dropped down for sea bass.

The best false albacore bite is along the Elizabeths, all the way down toward Cuttyhunk. The schools are less pressured here and more likely to stay on the surface long enough for fishermen to get a cast into them.

South Side of the Cape

The albies have thinned out along the South Side, but that doesn’t mean the season is over. These fish have a habit of disappearing for a few days and reappearing in huge numbers. Count on having shots at South Side false albacore until Columbus Day this year, especially with mild weather slowing down the drop in water temperatures.

Striper fishing along the South Side is picking up. Kevin at Falmouth Bait and Tackle had heard reports of fishermen having great outings fishing shads along some of the South Side outflows like Eel River, Trunk River and Bourne’s Pond. Fish to almost 30 pounds have been taken this week.

Eels are also working according to Jeff at Forestdale Bait and Tackle. The live “snakes” have helped cull keeper-sized bass from the schoolies migrating along the South Side. If you are planning on fishing eels, bring along enough to last the night as bluefish and aggressive schoolie stripers could exhaust your supply.

At sunset, topwater striper action is pretty good, with anglers catching schoolies on pencil poppers as the light starts to fade.

Cape Cod Bay

Not much to report from Cape Cod Bay this week. Jeff at Forestdale has been finding some school-sized stripers by walking the beaches and throwing poppers or swimming plugs. No word from the boats lately, however.

Andrea at Red Top said mackerel are abundant outside the East End of the Canal, and presumably some stripers are with them.

Lower Cape

Big stripers are stacked up outside of Chatham Light according to Dan at The Hook Up in Orleans. He said tuna fishermen looking for bluefish for bait ran into a number of 30-plus pound stripers.

Beach fishing on the Outer Cape is quiet, reported Rich as Nelsons Bait and Tackle in Provincetown. However, “quiet” isn’t necessarily the same as “slow.” A lack of anglers fishing have led to the lack of reports in that region. There are most certainly stripers moving south along the back beaches right now. Try your luck at dawn, dusk or overnight with needlefish, minnow plugs, teasers and eels.

Rich had heard of some bluefish being taken as well.

Mackerel are thick off Race Point, and anglers can jig these fish to their heart’s content. Rich is still hoping that some big stripers find the mackerel and sand eels as they move south.

Adding another wrench into the gears of Outer Cape fishing is the fact that government furloughs have put driving on Race Point off limits reported Rich.

Tuna

Tuna fishing at the Regal Sword has slowed, but happily it seems that the fish have moved north, closer to the Cape. Dan at the Hook Up said the waters off Nauset and Pochet are teeming with tuna. The fish are in shallow water, 90 feet, which has a tendency to make them a bit more difficult to fool. Eric Stewart managed one on the troll this week, and all the other boats hooking up also did so trolling.

Rich at Nelsons reported a giant tuna taken on Stellwagen this past week as well.

Freshwater

The fall stocking of trout went in this week, giving the freshwater scene a shot in the arm. The freshly stocked rainbows should be more than willing to attack spoons, but if you really want to put up some numbers, get down and dirty with PowerBait.

Cooling waters are bringing brown trout closer to shore as well. Dan from the Hook Up reported seeing a couple big browns cruising the shoreline of one Cape Pond this week. Dan had a few follows from the browns, but none would commit to bite the spoon. Trying after dark with a minnow plug may find the browns a little more willing to bite.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Fall fishing is inherently tough to predict with rapidly changing conditions and constantly moving fish. The schools of big bass off Chatham Light have piqued my interest, but by the time this report reaches your inbox, they could be ancient history, headed for Montauk. My advice would be to hit the waters of Chatham prepared for a few different scenarios. Bring some striper gear, but also have the tuna stuff on board. That way you can adjust your techniques to whatever fish you find.

The South Side and the Canal both have potential this weekend, and big fish were pulled from both areas this week. You’ll definitely find less crowds on the South Side, and more fish all to yourself. If fishing alone is your aim, the backside beaches will provide that, and almost definitely some fish. Reports or not, the calendar will tell you that now is the time to fish the beaches from Truro to Nauset. Surfcasting guide Tony Stetzko is reporting getting into stripers every night on needlefish and teasers.

For false albacore, you’ll likely have to take a run down to Cuttyhunk to find consistent action. If you’re going to head all that way, you’ll want to have some eels and heavier spinning gear on board so you can spice up the trip with the shot at a big striper.

And with the fall trout stocked, freshwater is a slam dunk this weekend. With leaves just starting to change around the Cape, there isn’t a prettier time to fish the ponds.