Cape Cod Fishing Report - July 5, 2018

Above: Chris Parisi with his personal best fluke taken on Tuesday on Nantucket Shoals with Captain Jeff Viamari on Bad Influence Sportfishing

The best way to cool off these past few sweltering days has been to hit the water, early or late in the day, and look for some summer stripers, fluke, blues, and tuna.

Cape Cod Canal and Cape Cod Bay Fishing Report

The Canal fishing was steady this week according to the report from Red Top. Big crowds lined both sides of the Ditch this week, but fishermen were treated to sporadic shots at good-sized stripers. Red Top checked in a few 30-pounders this week, and a 50-pounder on Sunday. The 50 fell for a Magic Swimmer in a custom color.

Bouncing bottom with 5-ounce paddle tails in mackerel patterns has been working best according to the report from Bruce at Canal Bait and Tackle. He saw fish to 30 pounds in recent days.

Bruce also mentioned that boat fishermen are beginning to take some stripers on eels in Cape Cod Bay.

The bay is still fishing well according to Captain Dan from Salt Shaker Charters. Dan’s been doing well jigging wire line in the northeastern part of the bay, and he even saw a big blitz on Billingsgate Shoals on Thursday. Many of the fish are 30 to 32 inches, but Dan had fish to 45 inches this week. The western part of the bay has been slow, Dan reported.

Captain Matt from Fishy Business has been catching good numbers of “smaller” bass, referring to the 30- to 32-inchers that seem to be abundant this season. Over the past week, the larger fish have become a little tougher to come by, Matt reported, but they are still around.  He’s hopeful that the next set of extreme tides around the new moon next week move some more fish into the area.

Lower Cape Cod Fishing Report

Larger stripers have even gotten a little scarce off the tip of the Cape and around the backside, though smaller fish are in good supply. Monomoy Rips continue to fish very well, with fish chowing on squid.

Still not much to report on the tuna front, although there have been rumblings that some fish are finally moving up from New Jersey.

South Side and Buzzards Bay Fishing Report

There are schoolies galore on the South Side and throughout Buzzards Bay.  I watched a pack of 12- to 24-inch stripers weaving between the bathers at Old Silver Beach this week as they hunted the surfline for sand fleas. The bays have good schools of smaller bass feasting on the spearing and small baitfish in there.

Fluke fishing is steady in the shoals and rips, with small jigs working best. If you can hop a ride to Nantucket Shoals, the fluke fishing there is as good as it gets.

Capt Mel True from FishNet Charters checked in with lots of striper action all around the Cape. Cape Cod Bay and the outer Cape have great fishing with good numbers of stripers in the 30” +
range.

The Buzzards Bay Sea Bass bite has moved into deeper water 50”-70” and they are still very aggressive!! Non stop action on VERTA JIGS in the 3oz & 5oz have been our go to method. No bait needed with these jigs and that helps keep many of the smaller fish off the hook.

Offshore Fishing Report

The canyons are hot, reported Steve from Chaser Offshore Fishing. Steve had a good trip to  Veatch this week, where he caught bigeye tuna to 125 pounds and yellowfin to 60 pounds, and a big mahi for good measure. He also said that East Atlantis was holding fish. While fishermen wait for better numbers of bluefin to settle in south of the Vineyard, those with the range are hitting the canyons with great results. So far in this young canyon season, there have been a good number of bigeye notched for the boats trolling early mornings and late evenings.

Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod Fishing Forecast

With big striper reports a little sparse, it might be a good weekend to pare down the tackle and enjoy the schoolies and small keepers that are around the Cape in big numbers. Try sunrise and sunset for the best shots at action, and pack a bag with a mix of topwaters and small soft plastics.