Cape Cod Fishing Report - June 21, 2018

Summer’s here and so are the stripers. This week, two seasoned captains told me that they were seeing more stripers than they had in a very long time. This would be great to hear even if they were both fishing the same body of water, but it’s even better to hear when you consider that Captain John of Fish Chatham Charters was saying it about Monomoy while Captain Dan of Salt Shaker Charters was saying it about Cape Cod Bay.

The Cape is definitely flush with striped bass right now, and best of all, the action is so widespread, that boats departing any harbor from Falmouth to Pamet River are a just short ride from some action.

Cape Cod South Side And The Islands

The rips, especially Middle Ground, are hot reported Peter at Larry’s Tackle Shop on Martha’s Vineyard. The bass are feeding on squid of mixed sizes from two-inch-long juveniles to foot-long adults. Durable white or pink soft plastics like the Z-Man HeroZ, Big Occhi and Slug-Go have been doing best at drawing strikes and standing up to short-striking fish without fouling. Articulated squid flies are giving fly-fishermen a shot at keeper-sized stripers, and walk-the-dog topwater baits have been drawing explosive strikes.

Surfcasters on the Vineyard continue to find good numbers of stripers. The ponds are loaded with schoolies, keepers are a possibility on many beaches, and larger fish, some into the mid-20-pound range being taken up-island. Peter also mentioned that fly-casters are hooking good fish on Dogfish Bar during the incoming tide.

More good news on the Vineyard surfcasting front is that some of the beaches closed to driving have reopened.

Bluefish action at Wasque has been steady, but not a blitz, Peter reported. Most of the blues are small, but schools of 12- to 14-pounders are occasionally moving in.

On the other side of the sound, the bluefish action has been spotty to non-existent said Scott at Sports Port Bait and Tackle, who was surprised that the warming waters hadn’t brought in more of the yellow-eyed devils.

The warming waters have turned on the striper action at Monomoy, however, reported Scott. John from Fish Chatham Charters said there’s more fish than he’s seen in years, and that he’s been catching 20 to 30 stripers an outing.

In Nantucket Sound, the black sea bass fishing shows little sign of slowing down reported Scott, and fluke are being caught with increasing frequency at rips like Succonesset. Even Middle Ground gave up some keeper flatfish to the fishermen who dropped a jig to the bottom during slower periods of the tide.

Fluke fishing was good around Noman’s Island this week, and one angler reported catching a monster flatfish, pointing to the mount of a 12-pound fluke in Larry’s Tackle and saying, “It was bigger than that!”

Buzzards Bay and the Cape Cod Canal Fishing Report

The sea bass fishing has been slowing down in Buzzards Bay, though it’s still good reported John at Red Top Sporting Goods. Captain Mel True of FishNet Charters said he found good fishing on his last trip out, on Monday, but has heard the bite has since tapered off.

Mel had heard of some large stripers caught by fishermen wire-line trolling in the Buzzards Bay.

There continue to be stripers in the Cape Cod Canal, from the Herring Run area to the East End said John at Red Top. Most of the fish have been 25- to 35-inches, but there are some larger.

The larger Canal fish Jeff at Canal Bait and Tackle heard of were in the 25- to 32-pound range. Jeff said yellow has been the best color, especially for the larger fish.

The bass have been running the center line on the Canal, John reported, so long-casting plugs have been a requirement for getting bit on some mornings.

John sacrificed a few plastics to bluefish this week, and saw a couple caught in the Canal, so it’s safe to say that the blues have hit the Canal.

Cape Cod Bay and the Lower Cape Fishing Report

The largest fish we heard of this week was a 48-pounder checked into Canal Bait and Tackle. Jeff said the fish was caught from a boat in Cape Cod Bay.

With the exception of the waters around Sandwich, Cape Cod Bay is loaded with bass, reported Captain Dan from Salt Shaker Charters. Brewster, Barnstable, P-Town, and Billingsgate Shoals are all holding bass in varying sizes, from schoolies in Barnstable to larger fish on Billingsgate. Dan’s been trolling hoochies with great success, explaining that the bass have been keyed in on squid. The best action has been in the early morning, and most of the fish have been 32 to 34 inches, with a few topping 40 inches.

Race Point is holding good bass as well, reported John at Red Top. Live-lining mackerel has been the most productive technique, but Matt from Fishy Business Sportfishing said diamond jigs and plugs have been catching there as well. John said the fish at the Race have been loaded with sea lice, having just arrived from the open ocean. Matt said that the bass have been biting all day, but the largest fish are being caught in the early morning.

Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod

The bass continue to live up to their old-timey nickname as squidhounds, as they feast on the ink-squirting mollusks in Vineyard Sound, the Monomoy Rips, and in Cape Cod Bay. Stock up on squid imitations if you’ll be fishing any of these places, including pink and white poppers, long soft plastics, articulated flies, and vertical jigs.

Fluke are adding some more variety to the bottom fishing off the South Side, so fishermen can box a couple flatfish in addition to the sea bass and scup. Bounce squid- or Gulp-tipped bucktails in the rips during slower stages of the tide for the best shot at a flatfish.