Cape Cod Fishing Report - May 31, 2018

Fishing Report For Cape Cod

TAUTOG ANGLERS PLEASE NOTE: June 1 thru July 30 the Massachusetts daily limit for taugog is 1 fish/angler/day. Please remember to check your state’s regulations before going fishing.

Mackerel, squid, herring, sand eels, bunker, whiting, butterfish – this is the list of baitfish that fishermen found striped bass feeding on the past few days around Cape Cod.

I saw first-hand, hundreds of hungry stripers chowing down on calamari off the Lower Cape while fishing with captains Bobby Rice and Ian Wall of Reel Deal Fishing Charters on Wednesday. The bass, Bobby said, seemed to be fresh-arrivals that had taken the long way around the Cape, rather than the short cut through the Canal. The fish eagerly attacked topwaters, like the Daddy Mac RD Bomb.

Chris Megan and Patrick Sebile were also fishing off the Lower Cape, catching stripers on Sebile’s new Ocean Born Flying Series of lures.

While there are stripers swimming the long way, there are just as many making their way through the Cape Cod Canal, where morning tides provided shore fishermen with topwater action. Jeff at Canal Bait and Tackle weighed in bass to 41 pounds this week, some proof that big bass have begun to join the 24- to 32-inch stripers that have dominated catches since the middle of the month.

There are still plenty of those just-keeper stripers around, reported the crew at Red Top Sporting Goods. First light has been best, but the fish have been finicky at times. A slower retrieve with a pencil popper has been working to get the picky bass to bite.

Fish the ends, reported Twitch at Maco’s Bait and Tackle, who said angler’s are likely to find the best action east of the Sagamore Bridge or west of the Bourne Bridge. He also mentioned that fishermen jigging at night have been catching bass in the Canal.

John at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle reported that fishermen working the rips and shoals in Vineyard Sound have been having great luck wire-line jigging. John said that few fishermen both with this old-school tactic anymore, but that it clearly still works. I’d be interested to hear how fishermen would make out trying mojo rigs in these same areas. The mojos seem to have many of the benefits of wire-line jigging, without the hassle of wire line or the cumbersome tackle it requires.

Based on the comments in last week’s report, I’ll keep the bluefish part short. Bluefish are sparse in Buzzards Bay, reported Twitch at Macos, but Amy at Sports Port Bait and Tackle reported a wave of 3- to 5-pounders showing up along the South Side at Dowses Beach, among other areas. These blues are joining and increasing number of keeper-sized stripers, Amy said. Bunker are hanging around, and boat fishermen have been able to live-line them and hook some larger bass.

Captain Mel True of Fishnet Charters said that the black sea bass fishing is the best he’s ever seen. His clients are catching limits, with the smallest fish weighing 3 pounds or more. The sea bass have been so abundant that he’s even bee seeing them on the surface.

Buzzards Bay is swarming with black sea bass, with some as large as 24 inches reported Twitch at Maco’s.

Captain Kurt Fruend of FishSticks Charters reported keeper fluke in the mix with the black sea bass off Oak Bluffs. Those two more desirable species were accompanied by swarms of big sea robins as well, said Kurt.

Amy at Sports Port said the sea bass fishing is just as good in Nantucket Sound, with fishermen filling their limits easily. Scup fishing is also good, but Amy said fishermen are having a difficult time getting through the sea bass – which isn’t a bad problem to have.

Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod

Boat, beach, or Canal, you can find stripers around every corner of the Cape right now. Keepers are everywhere, and 20-plus-pounders are being caught in Vineyard Sound, Cape Cod Bay, the Canal, and Race Point. And one of the best parts of spring is that many of these fish are feeding on top. Keep a supply of topwaters on hand, but be ready to switch over to jigs or live bait if the fish fail to show on the surface.

And, find some time for sea bass this weekend. The shops and captains didn’t have enough superlatives to describe just how good that fishing has been. A jig tipped with squid or scented soft baits are all you need.