Cape Cod Fishing Report - July 18, 2019

The Canal is slow. Most of the shops we spoke with this week said that in one way or another. As of Thursday, the full moon and breaking tides had failed to produce much in the way of blitzing stripers. According to the report from Maco’s Bait and Tackle, there have been some stripers in the East End in the mornings, and some stripers in the West End in the evenings, but overall, it’s slow. The fish being caught have mostly come on subsurface baits like Magic Swimmers.

Cal at Red Top Sporting Goods said that there has been some bait spotted, including squid and pogies, but relatively few fish feeding on them.

The bigger news this week was the arrival of some larger bluefish, all around the Cape. I “caught” my first bluefish of the year the other night, a stout 14-pounder. I write “caught” because the fish was not hooked in the mouth, but in the tail, which made for an exciting fight in the Canal. More large blues have been reported in the Canal, as well as at Monomoy, on Martha’s Vineyard, and off the Outer Cape.

Blues up to 14 pounds have been reported off the eastern side of Martha’s Vineyard, reported Peter from Larry’s Tackle Shop. Just about every day, there have been blues over 10 pounds taken, Peter said.

Captain John of Fish Chatham Charters said that the blues hit Monomoy this week, and he caught them to 36 inches. There have also been smaller blues, 3- to 4-pounders, in the mix.

Blues moved in hot and heavy off the tip of the Cape reported Captain Mike from Cee Jay Fishing. The blues, which have ranged from 2 up to 13 pounds, have been popping up off Wood End, Race Point, and along the Backside. The action has lasted 4 or 5 days, as of Thursday, and Mike hopes the blues stick around a bit longer. He said it’s been five years since there was a decent run of blues off the Lower Cape.

Captain Kurt of FishSticks Charters had a great week using the birds to find the blues. The blues around Martha’s Vineyard have been gorging on small anchovies and squid. On Tuesday, Kurt says he spent 2 ½ hours unhooking 3- to 4-pound bluefish that his client was catching at a feverish pace.

Finding keeper fluke has been a challenge inshore, around Martha’s Vineyard and in Vineyard Sound. There are plenty of throwbacks, but keepers have been few and far between. Except in Upper Buzzards Bay, where, according to Maco’s, the fluke fishing improved over the past week, with fish to 26 inches taken from the Mashnee Flats area.

The black sea bass fishing is similar to the fluke right now, with many shorts taken for each keeper in Buzzards Bay and the Sounds. If you venture around the Vineyard, it’s a different story, however. Captain Mel of FishNet Charters has been catching big sea bass in 50 to 60 feet of water south of the island.

Bonito, which showed early, seem to have vanished to parts unknown. The last bonito Peter from Larry’s heard of were taken two weeks ago between Wasque and the Hooter. Waters on the South Side of the Cape are warming quickly (a trend that should continue with this weekend’s heat advisory), so don’t give up hope on bonito just yet. Also, keep your eyes peeled for king mackerel launching out of the water—this is around the time they arrived each of the past two years.

Tuna action has been steady on larger fish, reported Captain John of Fish Chatham. He was two for two on his tuna trips this week, landing a 100- and a 90-inch fish on bait. John did hear of one 60-inch “recreational size” bluefin, but so far, it’s mostly giants swimming around the Cape. Captain Jay of Starrfish Charters had a good week with the tuna, landing three giants.

Captain Rich of Beth Ann Charters has also been hearing of tuna taken on Stellwagen. The 2- to 4-pound blues that hit the Outer Cape this week are the perfect size for bluefin bait, Rich said.

Small stripers abound off the Lower Cape, said both Captain Rich of Beth Ann Charters and Captain Mike of Cee Jay Fishing. Big numbers of 24- to 26-inch stripers are even feeding on the surface at times. Rich had heard of some scattered schools of larger fish, with many of the larger fish falling to live mackerel. The macks, however, have been tougher to find this week. It’s a long-held belief among older fishermen that the arrival of bluefish scatters the bait, and the recent disappearance of the mackerel with the arrival of the blues supports the theory.

Monomoy is also loaded with smaller bass. The squid have moved out, reported Captain Drew of Downeast Charters, but thick schools of sand eels have kept the fish interested. Drew said the flood tide, which is bringing in colder water, has been fishing better lately. He advises looking along the east side of Monomoy, as the fish move in response to the warming waters.

Captain Mort of FishTale Sportfishing is enjoying the big numbers of smaller bass, recording a 100-fish day last week. He’s scaled down his tackle and has been breaking out the fly rod to enjoy the 24- to 26-inch stripers, with some in the 30-inch range.

Cape Cod Bay is producing some fish for boat anglers trolling tube-and-worm rigs and hoochies, reported the crew at Sports Port. Most of the fish have been shorts and small keeper-sized bass.

Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod

It’s going to be a lot cooler on the water than on land this weekend, so be sure to spend as much time fishing as possible. The summertime blues are in full effect, so head out and have fun catching some yellow-eyed devils.

For stripers, try nighttime, and try bait. The crew at Sports Port mentioned that they’d heard of some larger bass being caught on chunked bunker lately. Live eels have also been fishing well.