Cape Cod Fishing Report- November 3, 2022

The past week has seen significantly colder weather, even dipping into the forties at night. It finally feels like fall, although it feels like we skipped the first half of it and jumped straight from late summer into late autumn. Albies arrived in the last week or so of August, providing a long and enjoyable season for anglers around the Cape and Islands, and until only two weeks ago, the water remained astonishingly warm. Now that fall has settled in, our seasonal saltwater fisheries are going through the expected changes that come with cooler weather, colder water, and fewer options. It’s also the time of year that people start getting sick, and it becomes evident that some of us (myself included) didn’t take the best care of ourselves during the height of the season. When you put fishing first for months on end, sleep and diet unfortunately fall by the wayside in favor of late nights, early mornings, and convenient meals. As November begins and we head toward holiday season, take some time to focus on yourself, your loved ones and your health. But don’t forget to wet a line in between all that!

Striped bass should stick around for a few more weeks, though finding fish will be more challenging. The best places to begin the search are river mouths, inlets and salt ponds. At night the fish will cruise into slightly shallower water in search of easy meals. The outgoing tide will funnel any baitfish or crabs down into the inlet mouth where bass sit and wait for their food to drift down current, so they expend minimal energy for their meals. Although the larger body of fish has grown much smaller around the upper Cape and south-facing beaches, slot-size fish and bigger still peruse the shallows at night among the schoolies. Personally, I haven’t caught anything larger than 24-inches in the past week; but I’ve also been trying to make more health conscious decisions as we approach the final weeks of the fall run. It’s almost the time of year to rest… but not yet.

Believe it or not, there are still albies lurking around the south side of Cape. OTW summer intern Robbie Tartaglia has yet to let up on chasing them. Robbie reported:

“We got out for a quick fish yesterday before class and managed to hook 1. However my dad went on Tuesday and got 7 with a few on fly. You can still find pods around the south side of the cape during the good tides. The windier days seem to have them more committing. They have been on either peanuts or small bait. If you find them on peanuts success is inevitable.”

It’s refreshing to see albies sticking around longer than expected. Let’s hope it’s a sign for good things to come in the next few years!

While I didn’t get any albies, I’ve been lucky to pluck a few stripers on the night bite. Aside from that, I have spent my daytime outings in fresh water. Largemouth and smallmouth bass have been fired up, hitting small poppers, kastmasters, floating Rapalas and more. I even caught a jumbo pickerel on my lunch break earlier today that was pushing 25-inches, but after netting it and removing the hook, the fish used all its might to flop out of my net and escape a picture. The teeth on this pickerel were insane. I’m pretty positive its the same one that took my lure a few casts prior, snapping my line after a couple mean head shakes. They may not be the most desirable fish to some, but I appreciate the power of those frustrating slime darts.

But, even toothier, there are still bluefish to be caught. They’re few and far between, but the ones being caught in the Canal are seriously fat. I haven’t gone down to the ditch this week, so here’s the scoop from East End Eddie Doherty:

Connor at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay reports:

” The East End has been going steady with slot fish for a while. There are also a healthy amount of 38- to 40-inch bass up there. Jigs are doing the job, and topwater will occasionally find a few fish but works best during the low light hours. The topwater bass are generally a bit smaller too. Bluefish are here one day and gone the next. We weighed in a giant the other day, it was 14 pounds, bled and dried, which means it was probably a 16-plus pounder. The bass and blues are all fat, feeding on mackerel and butterfish with a side order of squid at night. There are plenty of silversides fueling brief blitzes too. As far as tog fishing,  the canal is producing some of the best fish we’re seeing at around 18- to 19-inches; we haven’t heard or seen too much about the tautog fishing out in the Bay this week.”

• Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain around Cape Cod and the Islands!

Captain Ross from Cape Cod Charter Guys in Bourne reports:

“We finished our last charter of the season on October 31, when we went out and got into some stripers and albies. We were on breaking albies the entire day and left them biting after some of the best action all year. Hardly any other boat out there! The action was hot and heavy which is sometimes surprising for a really pristine day; the sun was out, the water was smooth and we were with a great group of clients. Great way to wrap up the fall run. There’s plenty of work to do this off season. Thank you for a great year of fishing, we truly appreciate everyone that booked with us!”

Maco’s Bait and Tackle in Buzzards Bay reports:

“There’s good tog fishing in the Canal and out by Cleveland Ledge. The bass fishing is good in the mornings around the upper bay toward the west end, but they are mostly schoolies. They are hitting topwaters which is fun on light tackle. Otherwise, there are plenty of larger fish in the Canal to be caught on jigs throughout the day.”

Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth reports:

“Tog fishing is on fire I’m selling tons of crabs and hearing of lots of limits. There are more big fish around this year than last year that’s for sure, so tog fishing should remain steady. Albies are still popping up around the Elizabeth Islands, so if you’re tog fishing out there bring some albie jigs. There are tons of striped bass out by Monomoy this week following schools of bait. I’m hoping that they’ll make their way along the south side of Cape Cod rather than out and around Nantucket and the Vineyard, but we’ll see. For now, eels and plugs are working on the south side at night, but the fish are becoming harder to find.”

Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis reports:

“Tautog fishing is good out near Bishops Light, but shore tog fishing is also productive around the jetties like Dowses Beach. There have been more stripers filing in along the south side, and there’s a decent body of fish up on the North side in Cape Cod Bay near the Canal. There have even been some reports of big bluefish recently, some nearing 15-pounds. Those reports are coming mostly from Cape Cod Bay and the Canal, although there have also been some bruiser blues out by Nantucket on pogies this past week.”

Lots of customers doing freshwater trout and bass fishing. No big trout yet. Peters Pond doing well. Bass have been biting well.”

Fishsticks Charters on Martha’s Vineyard reports:

“Hans and Jacob Riis came along with me and Blue Cullen for some tog fishing on Sunday. A beautiful sunrise gave way to an absolutely perfect day, and we enjoyed some great tog fishing on the rockpiles in Vineyard Sound, both on the north shore of the Vineyard and along the Elizabeth Islands.”

• Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain around Cape Cod and the Islands!

Cape Cod Fishing Forecast

The Fall Run is dwindling. Bass are blitzing at sunrise in Buzzards Bay, the Canal and even along some of the south-facing beaches, but there’s hardly any size to them.

These large bodies of fish are significantly smaller than any of the schoolies I had caught until last week. What’s smaller than a schoolie? A diaper striper? I’m not sure, but some of these fish are measuring high-teens in inches, and that’s expected, but to enjoy every last bit of the run, downsize your tackle during sunrise outings. Small spooks, soft plastic flukes, albie snax, resin jigs and small molded tins are the best way to match the hatch and get these little bass fired up. I enjoy catching small schoolies one after another on light gear. They’re the future of our fishery, and each one I release I hope to someday cross paths with again. I know that’s a stretch, but it’s wishful thinking.

Tautog are biting well in deep water, as temperatures have significantly dropped over the past two weeks. A couple of cold nights in the high-40’s has made even the night bite more difficult. In the two night outings I’ve had this past week, I found only a handful of stripers that were at most 24-inches. It’s no wonder that people switch gears to tautog fishing when it gets cold. Buzzards Bay has yielded some quality tog, and the areas around the Elizabeth Islands continue to produce quality fish both inside and outside of Vineyard Sound. However, the biggins seem to be coming primarily from Buzzards.

While many anglers shift gears to tautog fishing, or hanging it up for the year, I switch gears to freshwater fishing. I’ve got my bass and trout rods rigged and ready for action in these coming weeks. Mid-day sunshine will find fish actively feeding on shiners around drop-offs and sunny flats; I’m even hoping to catch a few more pickerel after the show they’ve put on these past couple weeks. When the conditions aren’t favorable for saltwater fishing, the next best thing is taking advantage of the many lakes and ponds we are blessed with on the Cape. It may not be as exciting as running offshore, but when it comes to being on the water, freshwater bass and trout provide all the off-season entertainment one could ask for.

Most of the Cape’s ponds have been stocked with rainbows, and they’ve been aggressive towards kastmasters, spoons and Rapalas so far. Let’s hope the state continues stocking with a couple different trout species; there’s nothing wrong with rainbows, it’s just more enjoyable to catch a mixed bag after landing a handful of them. Fish the same drop-offs and flats you would for bass and there will likely be some fish chasing shiners and other small baitfish seeking temporary warmth in the sun.

Whatever you choose to fish for this week, respect the fish, respect each other, be safe and fish hard.

I’ll catch you next Thursday.