Cape Cod Fishing Report - September 14, 2017

Dan Shutt lifts his first-ever false albacore, caught earlier this week. 

There’s something going around the OTW office. Half the staff has been coming in late and leaving early. There’s been excited storytelling around the water cooler and little actual work getting done. Someone even arrived for work in a blood-stained shirt on Thursday (okay, it was me). There’s only one explanation—albie fever!

False albacore are everywhere, from the East End of the Cape Cod Canal through Buzzards Bay, and out to Nantucket. Big blitzes are popping up on a daily basis as the miniature tuna rip through schools of peanut bunker and bay anchovies. Fishermen are connecting from kayaks, surf, and boats.

Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards Bay Fishing Report

Hayden at Red Top Sporting Goods said fishermen have been seeing albies in the east and west ends of the Canal. Fishermen have had a few shots, but Hayden had not yet received confirmation of a Canal-caught albie. Fishermen are catching false albacore in Buzzards Bay, and some of the action along the South Coast has been lights out.

Striper fishing in the Canal was slow on Thursday morning, but earlier in the week had been good reported Jeff from Canal Bait and Tackle. Lately, the best reports have been of fishing with jigs after dark, Jeff said.

Tog fishing is picking up, with fishermen working the rockpiles and wrecks connecting with good-sized keepers. Getting green crabs may be more challenging than getting keeper tog right now, with many shops not yet stocking them.

Cape Cod Bay Fishing Report

Captain Matt of Fishy Business Sportfishing said there are still big stripers in Cape Cod Bay. He used live eels and live mackerel to catch fish of 47, 46, and 44 inches earlier in the week.

Fishermen casting topwaters inside Barnstable Harbor have been catching stripers to 30 inches reported Bill at Sports Port Bait and Tackle. The bass in Barnstable and along Sandy Neck Beach have been feasting on  peanut bunker. Action has been good at first and last light, and into the dark. Occasionally, fishermen casting eels or plugs off the beaches are locking into some bigger fish at night.

South Side and Islands Fishing Report

“It’s prime time!” reported Cooper at Coops Bait and Tackle. Albies are all around Martha’s Vineyard, and many are being caught of the beaches, Coop said. Coop also said that the albies have been thick at a variety of shore-fishing locations, which has spread out the crowds, giving everyone plenty of elbow room to cast at the albies.

There are also good pockets of bonito all around the island, Coop said. Fishermen continue to catch them by casting metals into breaking fish.

I only heard of one bonito of the Cape Cod side of the Sound this week, but with the huge numbers of albies, I didn’t hear anyone complaining. Fishermen leaving from just about any harbor from Falmouth to Bass River have been finding albies on the surface from just after sunrise to early afternoon. The evening bite has been a little tougher to pin down, but a few fishermen have been getting out after work and hooking up, especially around Waquoit.

Bluefish have been sporadic but big around Martha’s Vineyard. The leading blue is currently a tough-to-beat 18 pounds, but Coop reported several other 16-pounders hitting the scales.

Lower Cape and Offshore Fishing Report

Stripers to 30 pounds have been caught around Chatham and Monomoy this week, but farther down-Cape, the striper action has been close to non-existent reported Captain Eric from Schooney Fishing Charters.

There have been some school-sized fish taken from the beaches, especially in the dark. Now’s the time to hit the beaches before storm swell from Hurricane Jose makes the beaches unfishable for a few days.

Eric said tuna fishing is good with giants in Cape Cod Bay and smaller, spinning-tackle-sized tuna east of Chatham. Coop also heard of small to medium-sized bluefin showing up in The Gully, south of Martha’s Vineyard.

There hasn’t been much word from the canyons, said Steve from Chaser Offshore Fishing. He’s hoping to get in a couple more canyon trips before the season wraps in October.

Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod

With the new moon next week, striped bass fishing is only going to improve, which frees up your weekend for false albacore. The albies are just about everywhere, so don’t feel obligated to follow the crowds. Breaking out on your own could turn up some less-pressured fish that will be more willing to bite. The albies have been picky at times, so having a variety of lures on hand is a good idea. Ambers and oranges are working when they are on bay anchovies while silvers, greens, and golds have been working when they are on peanut bunker or silversides. Long-casting metals like the 1.2-ounce Daddy Mac Albie/Bonito jig have been a hot ticket from shore and the boats, and soft plastics like the Albie Snax have been productive for boat fishermen.