So much to fish for, so little time. The daily dilemma as to whether it’s more productive to target stripers at night, or albies at sunrise, is a difficult decision, and it doesn’t help that I already have indecisive tendencies. But it’s good to have options.
Stripers have begun to pack into the rivers, inlets and salt ponds, albeit for a short period of time. There, they are harassing schools of peanut bunker, bay anchovies, spearing and in some cases, mullet! OTW’s Andy Nabreski saw a school of stripers feeding on mullet as he drove around Falmouth in search of albies. I’m not positive that’s what I was seeing around the jetty I fished on Tuesday night, but it sure didn’t look like peanut bunker or any sort of rain bait. I caught a couple mid-20-inch bass on white 1-ounce bucktails toward the end of the outgoing tide, but the bite died after it switched. The inlets are prime locations to start the search for southbound stripers, and after a two week night shift hiatus, I feel rested and ready to put in the hours over the coming weeks. But first, another week of albie outings to get a few more fish under the belt.
Schools of little tunny are just about everywhere in Vineyard Sound, but they seem slightly scarce to the east. There are smaller schools of albies around Hyannis and east toward Harwich, but especially for shore anglers, Falmouth and Mashpee have been the hardtail hotspots over the past two weeks. OTW’s Patrick Washburn landed a nice albie from shore this morning after weeks of early mornings spent patiently waiting on jetties, hoping for a shot.
I commend Patrick’s dedication to the pursuit of a shore ‘core. Those Nantucket surfcasters make it look easy! More on that later.
For chasing albies, I prefer the kayak; but, even with the stealth and access it provides, I’ve found them to be particularly picky this season. OTW’s Zack Zeytoonjian had the opposite experience on Wednesday. He went 13 for 16 landing albies from the kayak in about 2 hours of fishing. That’s a banner day. In hopes of a repeat, we jumped in the yaks this morning with my buddy Ryan Henry, and each hooked up just as the sun rose above the horizon. That would be my only albie of the day, but Zack and Ryan each tied into a couple more. There were even some small bonito in the mix, which revealed themselves with quick, shallow leaps out of the water.
The south side is hot, that’s for sure. But the action continues up the eastern shore of Buzzards Bay and into the west end of the Cape Cod Canal, where albies are still being caught on soft plastics and pencil poppers. There are bass and bluefish there too. Soft plastics beware.
Reporting on the bite at the big ditch, East End Eddie Doherty says:
“David and Ray Barros along with “Bustin’ Bob” Abreu comprise the trio known as the Bucket Brigade, so called for their choice of portable 5 gallon seating in between casts. I lost a Bill Hurley Canal Killer when a bluefish on the bottom bit thru my leader, but later landed a 34-inch yellow eyed devil on a hand-crafted pencil that “Bustin’ Bob” had custom made for me. The toothy predator exploded on Bob’s surface plug causing splashes like a 2-year-old in the tub during a terrific fight! George Leydic, from Pennsylvania, jigged up a striper that measured out to 50 inches after a fierce battle just before dusk in the middle of a west bound ripping tide. Mike Goodwin caught over 30 fish including a 38-inch striper on a loaded green mack Cotton Cordell a few days before the storm. Huge schools of linesiders entered the Big Ditch the day before Hurricane Lee. Smalls, slots and plus slots rode an east tide with dozens of bent rods along the way including those held by John Doble and Scott Ewell, who fooled a 35-inch striper with an Outcast on top. Scott also caught a hungry Albie on the bottom with a white Striper Gear Rocket. The morning after the storm saw the tail end of the west tide give up a 38-inch striper jigged from the bottom by nuclear physics professor Dr. Johan Frenje. The pride of MIT set the hook on a white soft plastic Al Gags jig an hour before first light. Repairs got underway this week on the Bourne Bridge with traffic being restricted to one lane in each direction until work is completed so you may want to fish the side you live on for a while.”
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When I spoke to Connor at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay, he said that the Canal has been fishing very well recently, with some 35- to 40-pound bass caught in numbers this morning. They’re all gorging on peanut bunker, so jigging heavy metals and resin jigs has been the ticket to success. He added that albies are all over Buzzards Bay and a lot of them are also eating peanuts, so 3/4- to 1-ounce versions of those same, deep-bodied heavy metals and resin jigs you’d use in the Canal will trick the albies feeding on peanuts.
Captain Ross of Cape Cod Charter Guys in Bourne reports they’ve been back and forth between upper-30-inch class stripers, bluefish and albies. They came across schools of sand eels, peanut bunker and tinker macks earlier this week and the bass and blues were all over them, hitting topwater plugs with reckless abandon. They also witnessed albies ram feeding in Buzzards Bay and ended up catching on nearly every cast, but had to boost their leader strength to avoid losing them in such a massive school. The albies were in so thick they were hooking them in the dorsal fins as they were ram feeding! He pointed out how strange it is that the albies can be line shy in Buzzards Bay, but then they’ll eat a big yellow pencil popper that looks nothing like their forage in the Canal. The skipper said they’re running meat trips for bass and blues on top of albie trips, and as the weather and water cool, they’ll be running trips for tautog as well.
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth reports that the albies are in thick from Cotuit down through Falmouth. He’s also hearing of albies up in Buzzards Bay from West Falmouth to the Mashnee Flats. Evan was out on Tuesday around the Elizabeths and found some fish in the slop. He also reported that there were large schools of 5-inch-plus peanut bunker moving in and out of Falmouth salt ponds, and that there are finger mullet on the south side of Cape too, which could be great news for the striper bite going forward. With larger baitfish around in numbers, the albies will grow less finicky too. Evan made it a point to mention he’s been selling a ton of green crabs and that one customer came in today for 3 quarts of greenies, relaying to Evan that “the tog fishing is really heating up.” It might be that time of year to take a bunch of green crabs out on the yak in Buzzards Bay with an albie rod rigged and ready.
Christian at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis told me that bass are showing up all along the south side and they’re all different sizes, from schoolies to over slots. He said they’ve been pretty reserved to the channels in the rivers and in the bays, and that there are lots of angry bluefish in the mix. Both the bass and blues have been hitting topwater plugs. Meanwhile out front, he said albies are still running through the Cotuit area, and there are plenty of fish out east but they have been much more scattered, making it hard to dial in on a bite. They’re still selling epoxy jigs like crazy, which means people are still catching them!
Captain Cam Faria of Cambo Charters told me that he got out onto the tuna grounds east of Cape Cod right before the commercial tuna fishery closed. There, he found large schools of finicky bluefin refusing live pogies, but willing to take a mackerel. He is switching gears to focus on tautog, which have been more active since Hurricane Lee, and jig & pop tuna until the giant fishery reopens on October 1.
Join us in Falmouth, MA on Saturday, 9/23 for our annual StriperFest! Live music, free boat rides with Yamaha, hourly prizes and more! Click here for event details.
From Martha’s Vineyard, Captain Kurt Freund of Fishsticks Charters said that he had the boat hauled ahead of the storm, which ended up not being nearly as bad as anticipated. And after the small craft advisory on Tuesday, he got the boat back in for a trip on Wednesday. They found a bunch of albies in Vineyard Haven Harbor and when that slowed down, they headed across to Nobska, where they connected with only one while throwing jigs like the Hammer and the Swedish Pimple. Today (Thursday), their group “Fishsticks with Charter Sauce” headed to Nantucket and got a big albie and several big bluefish while trolling deep-divers.
Speaking of the Grey Lady, the Nantucket Inshore Classic continues this week, and according to Rick Ramos, the Nantucket surf is abound with albies after Hurricane Lee. He said the fish are feeding in tight to shore and that when they aren’t visibly blitzing, blind casting has been successful. Rick also warned of the aggressive seals that are lurking in the surf trying to steal hooked fish, so use caution when fighting fish close to the water’s edge. The quicker you can get them in, the better. Regarding the Inshore Classic, he said, long time Nantucket surfcaster Cody Peterson landed a whopping 38.5-inch bluefish to take over the top bluefish category; meanwhile Victor Boucher landed a 43.5-inch cow bass which is now the largest bass caught in the Classic’s 18-year tournament history. Let’s hope more of those big bass heading south make a pit stop for a snack along the shores of the island! And in the youth boat and surf divisions, Fisher Sullivan and Natalie O’Brien lead, respectively.
Albies and stripers are not all that’s swimming in the Nantucket surf this week. Rick also reported that a mahi was caught from shore, and he had the photos to prove it.
Wild stuff! The water is still so warm, you never know what southern visitor might bite.
At Bill Fisher Outfitters on Nantucket, Corey Gammill reports that inshore fishing has been challenging due to recent high winds. Just before the storm, Corey put his clients on at least 50 albies and 50 bonito in a six-hour trip, with the Great Point rip fishing well on the west tide. Since the storm conditions dissipated, Corey said there have been more bass on the western edges of the island. A few albies have been caught there too, but it has not been easy on account the swell and winds. The next couple days will be better as the water settles in and fishing becomes a bit more predictable before the heavy rains this weekend.
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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 best bets for this weekend are albies and stripers. With the waters west of Cotuit teeming with life, your chances of running into albies are sky high. The weather doesn’t look cooperative this Saturday, and that’s okay. A little foul-weather fishing is good for the soul, but the forecasted 30 knot winds might have other plans.
If you find yourself stuck indoors on a rainy Saturday, our annual StriperFest takes place from 12 to 6 p.m. at Falmouth Marine Park. There will be prize giveaways, a charity raffle, live music, fish-themed art displays from past and future Angling Artists, food from The Black Dog Tavern, plus beer, wine and much more. Come down and spend a (potentially) rainy day with us.
If you opt in to foul-weather fishing, it might be worth trying the Outer Cape surf, but with noreaster conditions, Cape Cod Bay will be a bit of a mess. Hurricane Lee rolled through and unofficially started the fall run, and this storm should push even more fish south. There are schools of bass moving through the Cape Ann area this week, and many anglers are hopeful that they’ll slide right down the backside of Cape Cod. If not, they’ve only got one other way to go; I’m looking at you, canal rats!
Also worth noting: the state’s fall trout stocking is around the corner! Keep an eye on your local ponds, and use this link to see stocking dates and species. A few more cool days/nights and they should begin.
Fish smart, fish hard, or if it’s really that gnarly out, don’t fish at all! We hope to see you at StriperFest in Falmouth this Saturday. Enjoy the weekend.