Cape Cod Fishing Report - May 21, 2015

The first big wave of stripers arrived on Cape Cod just in time for the unofficial start of summers. Waters all around the Cape came alive with hungry bass this week.

The breaking tides earlier this week brought big schools of stripers into the Cape Cod Canal. Most fish were between 18 and 28 inches, but some larger fish were mixed in. Fishermen landed a decent number of 20-pound-plus fish reported Todd at Falmouth Bait and Tackle.

Most of the action is sub-surface. Jigs like the Savage Sandeel are working reported Todd, as are 3- to 5-ounce bucktail jigs. Swimming plugs like the Daiwa SP Minnow are working as well. Fishermen are catching some fish on topwaters, but by and large, the action is down deep.

Fishermen stand a chance of encountering bass throughout the Canal. Fish are showing up from the Railroad Bridge to Scusset chasing herring and mackerel.

At least a few of those bass have trickled into Cape Cod Bay. The report from Goose Hummock was that stripers are all over the bay. Barnstable Harbor is heating up, as are the flats. The larger striped bass moving through the Canal will no doubt be seeking out the large schools of mackerel staging off Barnstable Harbor and Provincetown predicted Jeff at Forestdale Bait and Tackle.

Productive tactics in Cape Cod Bay have been small soft plastics for schoolies and chunked mackerel for larger fish. As more big stripers pass through the Canal, live-lining mackerel will become the go-to tactic for boat fishermen off Barnstable Harbor and the East End of the Canal.

The South Side is producing stripers as well. The bluefish have been largely absent from the South Side beaches, but stripers are picking up the slack somewhat. Keeper-sized fish are being taken on topwaters off the beaches, either in the early morning or late evening. Chunking with squid is producing some fish as well. According to Ben at Black Eel, the striped bass are very aggressive all along the beaches from west Dennis to Chatham. Large fish have been pulled from inlets and coves in Chatham, and the beaches in Harwich are also hot with action. Keeper-sized fish are now becoming more regular. Hot lures this week seem to be SP Minnow, bomber minnows, savage sand eels, and Hogy originals.

According to Ben at the Black Eel Outfitters in Dennis, things have really turned on this past week. Cape Cod Bay is loaded with sand eels, and this past weekend produced some great fishing. Barnstable Harbor, Brewster Flats and even up into Truro have all had blitzing fish. Schoolies are plentiful just about everywhere, and many keeper-sized are fish mixed in. Perfect weather conditions collided with great tides in the early morning hours on Sunday on the Bay providing memorable fishing.

Bass River continues to be a hot spot for any angler looking to get their fair share of schoolies,Ben said, adding that it also offers up a great shot at 30-plus-inch fish. Bait is loaded in there and the hours from dusk to dawn have been the best time for targeting larger fish in the river. On Tuesday, Ben had a very large fish swipe at his Bomber right at his feet. No particular spot has been better than others, all are producing well.

Not many reports of bluefish have been circulating on the South Side of the cape yet, which is surprising.

The bluefish have been mostly absent from the reports again this week, except on the Vineyard. Pete from Larry’s Tackle reported bluefish finally arrived this week at Wasque. No word of all out blitzes but anglers are getting enough for their smokers.

The number of larger stripers that are mixed in with the schoolie has increased on the Vineyard as well.  Bucktailing seems to be the most productive method so far.  Reports are coming in from around the island including Big Bridge, Menemsha Channel, North Shore, and Norton’s Point.

Squid in the harbor has been a little “hit or miss”.   Some nights anglers do very well and then struggle the next.    The boat angler going out for tautog have seen large number of black sea bass, which opens up this Saturday, May 23.

The boat squid bite in Vineyard Sound seems to have died down some, but fishermen are still finding a few. Boat fishermen hitting the sounds looking for dinner have been doing well with large scup.

In freshwater, the bass fishing is excellent right now. Trout fishing is still going strong, but the trout, now acclimated to their new homes, have changed their diets to bugs, making them a little tougher to fool.

Best Bets for the Weekend

With the bluefish finally arriving on Martha’s Vineyard in numbers, it should just take a hearty south wind to put them on the beaches on the South Side of the Cape. Looks like we’ll have the perfect conditions on Sunday. Wait until the bathers clear off the beaches in the late afternoon and head down with some poppers and metals.

The tides in the Canal aren’t ideal this weekend, but there should be some action nonetheless. Boat fishermen in Cape Cod Bay should be prepared for this wave of larger stripers to find the mackerel schools off Barnstable and P-Town.

Lastly, black sea bass season opens Saturday, and already, anglers are reporting good catches while targeting other species.