Bridge traffic, packed bars and restaurants, and great fishing awaits Cape Cod fishermen this weekend. With fluke season opening on Thursday, the late-spring/early-summer fishing is in full effect.
The black sea bass season opened last Saturday, and depending on where you fished, the action ranged from good to outstanding. John at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle reported fishermen catching “limits in minutes” around Vineyard Sound and lower Buzzards Bay structures.
Captain Kurt of Fishsticks Charters had a great opening week of sea bass fishing in Vineyard Sound (when the wind allowed for a trip), and even caught some stripers on jigs dropped for sea bass. Very exciting was a cow bass that followed a hooked sea robin to the boat before ultimately deciding it didn’t want to eat the hard-headed bottom-dweller.
Farther up Buzzards Bay, past Cleveland Ledge, the fishing became more of a pick. Smaller sea bass dominated the catch, reported the crew at Maco’s Bait and Tackle, but the bigger sea bass are working their way up the Bay, and should be well spread out by the weekend.
Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing has been looking for structures outside the big fleet at Cleveland Ledge and finding great fishing, suggesting that the sea bass are well spread out as they relate to rocky structure throughout the bay and sounds. He’s also taken a few blackfish on jigs dropped for sea bass, including a 9-pounder that fought as hard as a mid-30-inch striper, Brian said. Fishermen can keep 3 tog per day until the end of the month, when the limit drops to 1 fish per day until August.
The sea bass fishing has been good for Captain Matt at Fishy Business Sportfishing, but he said there’s room for improvement. As the waters warm, the sea bass fishing should continue to pick up all over Buzzards Bay. Matt’s been splitting his time between sea bass and stripers, which are also biting well in Buzzards Bay. Topwaters have been working well for Matt, who mentioned some larger fish have also moved into Buzzards Bay.
Captain Brian of Get Tight said he’s been able to cull out some larger fish from the big schools of schoolies by fishing large soft plastics right off the bottom, below the schools of smaller surface-feeding bass.
Mackerel are loaded in the Canal reported Jeff at Canal Bait and Tackle, along with herring. Most of the fish are under-sized or just barely keeper sized, but this week brought reports of fish in the 20-pound class. David at Red Top Sporting Goods had heard of bass to 29 pounds, while Jeff at Canal reported stripers to 25 pounds. The Maco’s crew knew of a 41-incher taken from the East End, and a 33-incher from the West End. Topwaters are working, as are swim shads.
Better numbers of keepers are also spreading along the South Side of the Cape, where they are joining the large schools of schoolies that have been here for the past two weeks according to the crew at Sports Port. It seems like it’s been an exceptional spring for worm “hatches.” Just about any harbor or bay from West Falmouth to Waquoit (and beyond) had huge numbers of spawning worms over the past week reported John at Eastmans. The bass feasting on them have been picky, but a weightless soft plastic in pink or red will get bites. Cinder worm flies also work well. John reported the scene at one of these worm spawns looking like a river with hundreds of rising trout. There’s also been some rumblings about weakfish being mixed in with bass under the worms.
In Cape Cod Bay, Captain Taylor of Cape Cod Bay Outfitters reports steady fishing with schoolie and small keeper bass, with more larger fish moving in. There are plenty of stripers in shallow water providing sight-fishing opportunities and fun fly- and light-tackle fishing.
Bluefish have been spotty. The first bluefish prize is still up for grabs at Larry’s Tackle on the Vineyard. Melissa reported that the boats are catching some blues, but the surf fishermen have yet to connect. Stripers have filled in the gap, with bass to 36 inches being caught all around the island.
Nantucket has yet to see the blues either, but Captain Jay from Starr Fishing Charters said the fishing really picked up mid-week with mackerel hitting the harbor and more schoolies and small keepers reaching the island, especially the west end.
John at Eastman’s reported a few blues coming from the South Side, but the action has been inconsistent.
Also worth noting is the haddock bite in Cape Cod Bay, where Jeff at Canal reported fishermen have been stopping short of Stellwagen and catching limits. Captain Bobby Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters caught some of those haddock, during a multi-species weekend that included black sea bass, scup, and, of course, stripers. That’s a good strategy for this weekend as well, catching as much variety as possible to celebrate the unofficial start of summer.
Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod
A long weekend and good fishing will make for a crowded Canal, but jumping in the lineup and tossing a pencil popper is a good call. If you’re willing to sacrifice the shot at a 20-plus-pounder for more elbow room and lighter tackle, you’ll find big numbers of schoolies to 36-inchers on the South Side, on the beaches, in the bays, and at the outlets.
And, if you really want to fish some water by yourself, hit a pond. The largemouths are biting well, and are even hitting topwaters.
If you’re longing for blues, the strong southwest Thursday night may improve your chances on the South Side on Friday. Once the wind spins north, you’re better off chasing bass.
While I didn’t mention scup above, there are plenty of big scup being caught in Buzzards Bay and in the Sound, and will help fill out your cooler once you fill your sea bass limit. Fluke opened Thursday, and there’s been no word yet, but you can probably find a few in the area known as Mashnee Flats in Buzzards Bay. There may not be many keepers there yet, but if you fill your sea bass limit quickly and want to keep fishing, that’s an option.
Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for Cape Cod.
can I still weigh in a fish for the striper cup at the old weigh stations,ie red top,sports port?I don’t have a smart phone.
Don’t need a smartphone, you can just take a picture with a digital camera of any type and upload the photo to stripercup.com or email it to stripercup@onthewater.com