Things are getting tough on the saltwater scene around the Cape, and with another gale coming Halloween night, things seem unlikely to improve.
I picked a pair of 28-inch stripers on minnow plugs off the South Side early in the week, and Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle heard of a 40-incher caught there as well. Mostly, the stripers have been falling well short of 28 inches, in the 12- to 24-inch range. I also checked the Canal this week one morning before work, but apparently the wrong morning, as AJ at Red Top said large schools of smallish bass had been around the East End hitting topwaters. AJ said some fishermen used jigs to get below the breaking schoolies, hoping to get a larger fish, but only found more small stripers on the bottom.
The bait in the harbors thinned out substantially one or two storms ago, so there’s not much to hold migrating stripers should there be any more to pass through. Though, AJ said there were peanuts in the Canal. At this point in the season, an influx of sea herring is our last hope for an end of season blitz of big stripers.
Even the tuna seem to be thinning out, reported Captain John from Fish Chatham Charters. John will be getting back out on Saturday, fishing the tuna grounds east of Chatham where he hopes the recently arrived schools of mackerel will attract some giants. On his most recent trips last weekend, he said there were a few giants taking bait, and some 60-inch fish on the surface, moving south, fast. A few of the smaller fish were caught by fishermen on the troll.
Tog fishing is the best thing going in saltwater right now. The bite is still excellent, according to Captain Kurt from FishSticks Charters. He even found a keeper cod mixed in with the blackfish. I snagged some leftover green crabs from my colleague, Anthony DeiCicchi, and hit some South Side rocks during my Monday lunch break. The two of us caught 10 or so tog in 45 minutes of fishing, including a keeper.
Other productive shore-bound tog fishing is happening in the Canal, where AJ at Red Top says the East and West ends are giving up keepers.
Freshwater fishing is excellent, noted Evan at Eastman’s. Spoons are working well, and dry flies are catching as well, as the water temperatures in the ponds are perfect for the rainbows to rise to the surface.
Largemouth bass fishing is very good according to AJ at Red Top. I had a big one on a swimbait last weekend, along with a mess of pickerel that seemed to be eating anything thrown their way. Smallmouth are also biting well, AJ said.
Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod
Freshwater fishing is fired up right now, the pond temperatures are perfect for trout, bass, and pickerel to be feeding heavily. But, I understand the impulse to squeeze every last drop out of the saltwater season. The Canal is probably the best bet for a last striper, but if you’re looking for something to bring home, hit some structure for tog.