Cape Cod Fishing Report - June 18, 2015

The breaking tides in the Canal this week didn’t disappoint, and the fishing is looking good going into the weekend. Boat fishermen continue to stack up stripers around the Cape and a few other species are giving fishermen a good “Plan B” when the stripers aren’t biting.

Red Top weighed fish to 47 pounds on Thursday. Reports from the Canal have been varying pretty widely, however.  It seems like the fish are popping up in a few concentrated areas where fishermen are catching big numbers while in other locations, anglers are seeing little to no action. The mid-Canal, between the bridges, seems to have the best action lately, but anglers are advised to stay on the move to locate the fish. Don’t be a barnacle and stay stuck to one rock waiting for the fish to come to you.  I “barnacled” this morning and got the skunk while more mobile anglers found good action on 20-plus-pound stripers.

Kyle at Falmouth Bait and Tackle reported big bluefish of 8 to 12 pounds have been hitting South Cape Beach fairly regularly. Those are monsters compared to the usual 3- to 6-pounders than feed off the South Side. Metal lures and poppers are working, and the afternoon tides have been best. Kyle also mentioned that wire-line jigging is accounting for keeper stripers in Vineyard Sound. Though black sea bass fishing has slowed, it’s still good off the South Side, Kyle reports, and fishermen can still count on coming home with more than enough keeper fish.

Dan at Goose Hummock reported some tog holding at the Target Ship in Cape Cod Bay.  Some bluefish have also moved into the bay, and have mixed in with some of the striper schools. Boat fishing for stripers in Cape Cod Bay continues to be excellent. Many fishermen are live-lining mackerel and catching good numbers of bass from Barnstable Harbor to Billingsgate Shoals.

Jeff at Forestdale Bait and Tackle reported schoolie stripers running the beaches of the South Side including Cotuit and Popponesset. There were some keeper stripers taken in the bays this week, and Jeff said a surprising number of big bluefish have entered the bays as well.

The bluefishing on the South Side beaches has fizzled out a bit Jeff reported. Even the boats have been having some trouble finding them. Buzzards Bay black sea bass fishing continues to be great Jeff said, particularly the waters around Cleveland Ledge.

In freshwater, Jeff reported awesome fishing for largemouth and pickerel in most of the Cape’s ponds. Trout fishing, however, is slowing down. Fishermen looking for trout will need to focus on depths of 25 feet or greater where the rainbows and browns will be seeking out cooler water.

The fishing around the tip of the Cape was lights out Thursday morning reported the crew at Nelson’s Bait and Tackle. The stripers were good sizes, some 40 inches or more, and were caught by trolling, vertical jigging, live-lining mackerel, and by casting topwater plugs.  A few were even caught from the beach. The time to hit Race Point is right now, said the Nelson’s crew, before commercial striper season opens next week and a huge fleet descends on the area.

In New Bedford, Eric at CMS said the black sea bass and scup fishing is excellent. Many black sea bass are in the 4- to 5-pound range, and quite a few 5- to 7-pound monsters have been caught in the past week. Surf fishing on the South Coast has been fair, Eric said. Fishermen are regularly catching 12- to 18-pound stripers, and fishermen who are putting in a solid effort are occasionally tracking down some larger bass. Boat fishermen in the area have found the stripers to be finicky, ignoring lures, but readily taking live baits such as eels or bunker. There are plenty of bluefish around Eric said, providing fishermen with good action between striper bites.

UPDATE: 4:30 PM: Several boats headed south of the Vineyard on Thursday and found big schools of willing football bluefin tuna. The fish ranged from 30 to 50 pounds, and were taken on spreader bars and trolled soft-plastics. A temperature break south of the Claw concentrated baitfish and the school bluefin.

Best Bets for the Weekend

If you have a capable boat or a friend with a capable boat, get South of the Vineyard. Some anglers are claiming to have caught “countless” bluefin tuna, and there’s no telling how long this bite will last.

The insane fishing around Race Point has been going on for two weeks, so it’d be wise to get in on that before the fish move on or the commercial fleet creates bumper boat conditions. Don’t forget the Sabiki rigs, as live mackerel have been producing even on the tough days.