According to some reports, the albie season seems to be winding down. Their numbers thinned out on the South Side of Cape Cod and around Martha’s Vineyard this week, and fishermen fished hard to catch a few albies this week.
Cape Cod Fishing Report
Unless of course, you were fishing around Monomoy. Captain Mel True of FishNet Charters and Captain John Clothier of Fish Chatham Charters both mentioned the big numbers of albies around Monomoy, and the relatively few boats out chasing them. Mel posted a video on Facebook (below) that shows the size of these schools, and how long they were staying up and feeding. So, all hope if not lost for an albie-filled three-day weekend.
While Cameron at Larry’s Tackle said the Vineyard albie fishing had slowed drastically, he did say that Nantucket was currently full of albies, so it would seem that our albies have made a move to the east. All we can do is hope they stick around and move back west before they head back south to wherever it is that they live between November and September.
Mel said that the bass fishing has been good along the Outer Cape, with live mackerel taking fish up to 25 pounds. There have also been good fish around Barnstable Harbor according to James at Sports Port. Those fish are also falling to live mackerel. James said bunker are the bait of choice if you’re looking for a big striper in Nantucket Sound. Schools of adult menhaden have moved in, and have brought some big blues and stripers with them, James reported.
Even the Canal has some good stripers early in the week. Jill at Red Top said the shop weighed in a few 30-pounders and mid-Canal has had good numbers of schoolies the past few days, first thing in the morning.
Jeff at Canal Bait and Tackle had heard of fish into the 40s. Jeff said the Canal has been loaded with squid and the stripers are striking at anything white, especially jigs.
After being slow for most of the season, the Elizabeth Islands showed some signs of life this week. Jim at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle said eels at night has been catching stripers from 30 inches to 25 pounds along the islands. While it’s mostly been a night bite, on darker, cloudy days, (like most of our days so far this month) the bite has extended into the daylight. Jim also mentioned that porgy numbers are thinning out, which has once again allowed anglers to troll tube-and-worm rigs without sacrificing a flat of sandworms to the bait-stealing scup.
Schoolie stripers are pretty much a sure thing along the Cape Cod Bay beaches, as they feast on peanut bunker and spearing. James from Sports Port mentioned that while Amy from the shop was fishing for schoolies, she hooked into, but ultimately lost, a big brown trout. The trout is a survivor from the spring stocking of Scorton Creek, and while many of these fish disappear to the bay (or to hungry stripers) some survive and provide a unique opportunity to catch a trophy trout in saltwater. Getting a saltwater brown trout in the fall and winter takes a lot of determination, and a fair amount of luck.
The tuna bite continues to be very good off Chatham, and John of Fish Chatham Charters has caught a giant on each of the days since the commercial season re-opened on October 1. As we spoke on Thursday, he was returning with a 91-incher.
Tog fishing was slow most of the week, reported Captain Mel True of Fishnet Charters, due to the persistent northeast winds, but the wind out of the south on Thursday improved the bite once again, and he had fish to 7 pounds.
Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod
The Fall Run gives, and the fall run takes away. While this week saw major improvement on the big striper scene, the false albacore fishing faltered. Yet, encouraging reports from Monomoy and Nantucket suggest that albie season isn’t over just yet.