The wind has let up and we are experiencing some perfect October weather right now. The fishing reports are fair, but the full moon this weekend ought to bring another wave of stripers into Cape Cod waters.
Cape Cod Canal and Cape Cod Bay
Canal reports have been mixed. Many anglers are reporting slow fishing, but a few are reporting catching the occasional keeper-sized fish. Fishermen finding large schools of bait have also typically been finding plenty of schoolies feeding on it.
Cape Cod Bay is still holding baitfish and school stripers. The small bass are perfect for targeting with light tackle or fly rods as they are feeding on small bait close to the beach. The fish have been active both during the day and after dark. Boat fishermen using live mackerel in the bay have been catching schoolie stripers and large bluefish.
Bill at Sports Port reported that the bass fishing has been good in Barnstable Harbor, with some keeper-size fish in the mix.
Some giant bluefin have also been hunting in the bay, eating whiting, mackerel, and bluefish.
South Side and Buzzards Bay
That blackfish bite has been good reported Ben at Forestdale Bait and Tackle. The fish have been biting well on green crabs dropped over wrecks and rockpiles in Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay. Bring plenty of crabs, because between undersized tog and missing hits, you may go through a lot of bait before connecting with a keeper.
Striper fishing has been steady along the south side. Ben reported big numbers of schoolies falling to topwaters in the late afternoon and evening hours around the mouths of Cotuit and Popponesset. Inside the bays, the schoolies have been feasting on peanut bunker. Ben said small topwater lures have been working well. At night some larger bass are moving into the South Side beaches. Ben caught fish to 32 inches after dark this week.
Farther east, big blues have been making a regular appearance at Dowses Beach reported Bill at Sports Port in Hyannis. Bluefish to 14 pounds have been caught in recent days. Schools of big bunker are likely drawing and holding the big blues in the area.
The fishing on the Vineyard slowed down late the week. The action was great on Tuesday reported the crew at Coop’s Bait and Tackle. Since then, fish have been a bit tougher to come by. Julian at Larry’s Tackle had a similar story. The albies that are still around are small and very picky Julian reported. The albies seem to be feeding on tiny sand eels, making them difficult to tempt with lures or flies. Some bonito are still being weighed in however.
A new Derby-leading striped bass was also weighed this week, a 39-pounder that Julian suspected was caught on live or chunked bunker. Schools of bunker around the Vineyard have also been bringing in bluefish.
Outer Cape
Bass and blues are still biting well for boat fishermen off Chatham and Nauset. Captain Mort from Fish Tale Charters had stripers to 42 inches this week. On Thursday, he found a mess of bluefish, with some stripers mixed in. Mort has also heard of good action around Nantucket.
The bluefin bite rages on when weather allows boats to hit the tuna grounds. Live baits, RonZs and stickbaits are working well on the tuna which have been ranging between 40 and 60 inches mostly. Some larger fish were caught this week, with some as big as 77 inches being taken on spinning gear.
Freshwater
The ponds have been stocked and the fishing is on fire for chunky rainbow trout. Spoons, spinners, nightcrawlers and PowerBait have been filling up stringers for fishermen all around the Cape. The big browns haven’t moved shallow yet, reported Ben at Forestdale, but that should happen soon. A few more cool nights will draw the holdover browns out of the depths and into the shallows.
Largemouth bass fishing is fantastic. Lipless crankbaits, medium-diving crankbaits, jigs, spinnerbaits, and even topwaters are working on bass. Pickerel fishing is great as well. The pickerel bite always seems to improve as the weeds begin to die, leaving the fish less places to hide. The same lures that are working for bass are also working for pickerel, although the picks are less inclined to strike a lure on the surface.
Smallmouth fishing has been good. The fish are still relatively shallow, hitting jerkbaits and jigs. In a few weeks, when water temperatures drop into the 40s, the smallies will form large, loose schools and hold over deep structure, making for some of the best fishing of the year.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Freshwater fishing is a slam dunk right now, but the striper fishing could pick up with the approaching full moon. Many tuna fishermen believe a full moon kills the tuna bite, but the bite showed little signs of slowing as of Thursday. If the weather allows, a run to the tuna grounds could be the ticket—just remember that this weekend is the Wellfleet Oysterfest, which jams up route 6. If launching a center console, Sandwich or Marshfield are better bets than Pamet this weekend.
The canal was hot on eels after dark since last Friday. I was hitting multiple keepers and schoolies that night then I caught twice as many 5 keepers 5 schoolies Monday night and bait fish was everywhere but last night my spot was a ghost town . No bait . No splashes . No hits and went up and down the canal with no bait fish in site . But I had a blast since October 1st till Oct 11th. I know there’s more to come .
Wednesday Cotuit had large schools of adult bunker in and around the mooring fields with big blues underneath . Late afternoon/Early evening Albies and a ton of small blues tucked in between Nonamesset and Naushon.