Cape Cod Fishing Report
Mild, then cold. Near freezing, then mild. Mother Nature just can’t seem to make up her mind this week, and her indecisiveness—along with the dispersion of baitfish in many areas around Cape—has thrown off the striper bite (at least in my experience). One thing is for certain though; since the cold front moved in, the most reliable fishing for stripers has been in the rivers. Schools of silversides and peanut bunker are lingering in skinny water, and in our local harbors, waiting for their final cue to head south. The remaining schools of bait have certainly thinned out, but there’s enough to keep the bass around for a couple more weeks if air and water temperatures cooperate.
This is the most challenging time of the fall run. It’s not over yet, but the end is certainly near. Action tends to be much more scattered and unpredictable. It is the time of year where your local harbor may seem like a ghost town, devoid of any signs of life, and meanwhile, a buddy who lives 40 minutes away is on a solid backwater blitz. One thing is for certain though, the best fishing this time of year happens during the low-light hours. First light tends to bring some fish to the surface in the Cape Cod Canal, dusk finds bass blitzing on bait off the beaches until the sun settles below the horizon, and during the right tide windows at night, the rivers come to life. At times, you wouldn’t even know the bass were there if not for the occasional pop created by the suction of a hungry bass inhaling a couple spearing from the surface.
Earlier this week, I caught a few small schoolies in a south side river using 4-inch white paddletails and a 7-foot rod. This time of year, I don’t worry much about encountering a fish larger than 15 pounds or so; but they are around. One of our readers, Rob Marland, is spending his nights prying the rivers of the Upper Cape, finding consistent action from school-size stripers until he encountered a fish that gave him a run for his money on light tackle.
A 40 incher is a nice surprise in early November, especially when a majority of the remaining migratory bass seem to fall between 18 and 30 inches. It can be tough to brave the 30-degree temperatures when the probability of finding fish—especially bigger ones—is dwindling by the day, but they’re still around in decent numbers for now. A painfully slow retrieve is what worked for me this week, and I’d imagine Rob was working his paddletails in a similar fashion. Crawling soft plastics through channels and choke points where there is steady current and some slightly deeper water is the most reliable approach if you’re looking to pick off a few bass in the cold.
Much like the rivers of the Upper Cape and the south side, the harbors along Cape Cod Bay are holding some bass as well. And surprisingly, there are still albies to be caught in the Bay. Last week, we got word from Red Top Sporting Goods that albies had made a mass exodus from the bay into the Cape Cod Canal on Sunday morning, but there are some hardy albies that stuck around. My friend Ryan was scouting a small harbor on Cape Cod Bay for stripers last week when he noticed a school of albies blitzing only feet from the boat ramp. He got a few casts into the fray, but to no avail. It’s surprising to see albies still around in decent numbers, especially in Cape Cod Bay. With mild weather blessing Cape Cod anglers this weekend, it could be the last good chance to hook a few hardtails until next August or September.
With refreshing 50-degree temperatures forecasted this weekend, it’ll be a great time to put in some final fishing hours on the boat (if it’s still in the water). The water has gotten a bit too cold for me to hop in the kayak, but with the way tautog have been biting in Buzzards Bay, it may be the most productive option for anglers looking to bend a rod in the salt this weekend. While there’s been plenty of action from short tog along the Cape side, the Elizabeth Islands are fishing well for keepers, as are the areas just off of New Bedford and Westport. Our newest team member at OTW, Nick Cancelliere, came up from Long Island for the week, and while we didn’t get out for tog, he was on a good tog bite in the Long Island Sound where he employed Fish Bites on tog jigs instead of green crabs. Their tough, scented mesh material is undoubtedly less messy than a bucket of green crabs and can withstand the nibbling and chomping of pesky scup, cunner and short tog. If you run out of crabs this weekend, keep a bag of Fish Bites on you and thread them onto a tog jig to see if you can stick a keeper on artificial bait.
Nick and I did a little freshwater fishing at a local kettle pond before work this week and had a fair amount of action in less than an hour of fishing. We fished a shoreline that kept the wind at our backs, allowing our Kastmasters to soar a bit further and reach fish that were feeding on herring on the surface. Initially, I hooked and lost a little smallmouth bass on a faster retrieve. When we slowed our retrieves down though, Nick and I began hooking into some aggressive white perch, which was a nice surprise in this pond where I typically only catch rainbow trout and smallies. A few casts later, a decent yellow perch came on the Kastmaster. Then Nick hooked a trout that inhaled his spoon right in front of our feet, and I reeled in a decent largemouth bass—the first I had ever seen come out of this pond. It was clear that all inhabitants of the pond were fattening up on these oily little baitfish as they exit the pond and head downstream for saltwater. The presence of those herring make for some great freshwater action, and as they reach the salt ponds and back bays, they’ll be met by hungry stripers that are either hunkering down for a Cape Cod winter, or making a pit stop for a quick meal on their journey south. With bass currently in the backwaters, and herring on their way out of the ponds, the skinny-water striper bite should hold steady for a bit.
Aside from our productive morning on the sweetwater, Nick and I hit the East End of the Canal for a cold, uneventful outing that lasted only an hour before it was time to head for the office. Breaking tides had us hopeful for some topwater action, but from what I understand, and from the looks of the parking lot, the east end has been quiet this week. The west end had not been much better, with spotty, fast and unpredictable action at times. For a better idea of the happenings in the ditch, East End Eddie Doherty reports:
“The warm weather has stalled the migration as stripers north of the Canal think summer is back! Rain bait remains throughout the Canal and a nice size school of adult bunker have been active in the west end. Patriots’ players were waking up in Miami while dozens of surfcasters got to the east end early to throw plugs, including “Paulie the Painter” Gravina, who jigged up an enormous bluefish and a slot amongst a bunch of smaller bass. Surfcasters did much better than the Pats as slots, and some bigger, were causing rods to bend in a cramped, busy venue. Tim “Hollywood” Petracca landed some nice fish including a 34-inch striper on a ‘Paulie the Painter’ custom jig, but lost an even bigger fish to an aggressive seal! I released a small linesider near the Sagamore Bridge after he hit my white Hurley Canal Killer, then I reeled in a 20-inch bluefish that left my soft plastic jig surprisingly undamaged; the next bluefish not only bit the plug in half just below the hook, but he also chomped underneath the shank, leaving me with a 2 inch stub. I decided against making the unusually steep climb up the rip rap stone bank to retrieve another lure from my bike, as fish were breaking right in front of me. I landed my stub in the middle of the frenzy and proceeded to catch 4 more blues and a slot bass! Like the late, great Dick Hopwood of Maco’s Bait & Tackle told me years ago, ‘Eddie, sometimes the fish will even hit an old sock!'”
Connor at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay told me that the best bass fishing this week has been on the south side of Cape. The rivers are holding some fish and there are peanut bunker out front; one of their customers has been doing well fishing east of Mashpee at night using soft plastics and minnow plugs. Connor also said Buzzards Bay tog fishing has been great around Cleveland Light. There’s no shortage of tog out there, it’s just a matter of finding a good piece of rocky structure that hasn’t received a ton of fishing pressure. He added that there have been some fish in the East End of the Canal but the action has been inconsistent. He had a customer in the shop today who caught 2 slot bass, 1 short, and one 32-inch bluefish, which is the best action they’ve heard of since the cold snap. When I asked him if anyone has come in for freshwater gear, he said not many guys are targeting trout yet, but in the next couple weeks they expect an increase in customers looking for live shiners and PowerBait.
Captain Ross of Cape Cod Charter Guys in Bourne reported that they’re packing it up for the season after some freezing temperatures this week. They wanted to thank everyone who joined them for charters between May 1 and October 31, and they’ll be back at it in the spring on May 1 again.
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Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth said that it has been a quiet week due to freezing temperatures the last couple of days. For wading fishermen, the water temperatures are slightly refreshing in comparison to the brisk late-Autumn air. Evan has had a few customers striper fishing locally, but most other customers are getting green crabs for tautog. He said there are some smaller fish in the salt ponds, with the best action in the mornings and evenings, but he’s received very few reports from customers on what exactly they’re catching with. And he added that all hope for hardtails is not lost. Last Friday, he heard from a customer who was trolling off Squibnocket and caught some large bonito. In the same area, another customer caught some nice over-slot bass while trolling the tube and worm. The best bet for some weekend action will be for stripers in the salt ponds, or tautog off the Elizabeths or in Buzzards Bay. Eastman’s is already carrying plenty of nightcrawlers and shiners for freshwater, where the trout and bass have remained active through the cold front.
Christian at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis reported some steady tautog action around Colliers Ledge and Osterville, with plenty of short action to keep things interesting. However, he said that the better tog bite has been on the Sound side of the Elizabeth Islands into Woods Hole, which seems to be the better bet for anglers on the south side instead of heading up into Buzzards. Christian said they’re selling a ton of green crabs this week; there has been a clear shift toward tautog fishing this week for boat anglers, but their die-hard surfcasting customers are still catching bass on the south side. He also mentioned that there were albies and bonito blitzing on schools of peanuts out near Hyannis earlier this week, so anglers to the west should keep their eyes peeled along the water’s edge. Lastly, Christian mentioned that the trout bite has been cooking after the drop in temperature this week, so don’t hesitate to hit a local pond to bend a rod this weekend.
Captain Cam Faria of Cambo Charters got out this past Sunday for a tautog charter, and his group easily got a boat limit. The skipper firmly believes that the tog fishing is not even at its peak in Buzzards Bay, and with the commercial tuna season reopening on December 1, he plans to stick it out and run tautog trips in the meantime. So if you’re looking to get on some tog, reach out to him via his website while the bite is hot!
From Martha’s Vineyard Stavros Viglas reports:
“There are still albies being caught from shore and boat around the island, mostly near the harbors where the warmer water comes and goes. Albies and bonito are also chasing squid off the docks. Striped bass fishing is decent, I wouldn’t fully commit to holdovers just yet. Pond openings and the usual night time hot spots are still productive. I was catching fish up to 20 pounds off the beach last weekend. Giant bluefish are still around too, I mean big ones! Those can be found from the beach and out in the rips. The adult bunker are thinning out but there’s still plenty of peanut bunker and some butterfish in the harbors. Saturday looks like a good day for one more shot at some tuna south of the Vineyard.”
From Nantucket, Rick Ramos reports:
“The Nantucket Tackle Center sponsored ‘Last Albie’ and ‘Last Bass’ contest is still running. Current leaders are John Colton – Last Albie, and Timothy Thacher-Renshaw – Last Bass. The Nantucket Anglers Club also started their ‘Last Gasp Striper Tournament’ running November 1 – 30, 2023. This is the club’s last tourney of the year which is a catch and release event open to both guests for a $25 fee and members are free. Prizes awarded for the longest striped bass, 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will be announced on December 1st. Good luck!
The full moon high tides hindered our access at Great Point Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge this past weekend. I was fortunate to get out to the refuge late Sunday after the rangers reopened the gate on the falling tide. I worked my way to Marker 2 where I thought I could get my shot at my last albie of the 2023 season and win the Last Albie Contest. I stopped 50 yards short of my spot as the angler we all know as PT HOG was already there. It was just me and him – head-to-head casting for that last albie. With a stiff east wind in my face, I pulled out my 11’ ODM rod to make what felt like 1,000 blind casts hoping to connect. I was soon rewarded with an albie, then another and another. Five in total, all caught on a pink Hogy epoxy and all at the very end of my long cast. Of course, I was looking to my left frequently checking on the PT HOG and seeing that he wasn’t reaching the albies but landing snapper blues and even a nice striper in close…all good by me! As darkness fell upon us, we both drove off the beach and I felt pretty good about my chances that I had “the last albie” to win the contest. The next morning, I received a text message from PT HOG, ‘Hey Rick, I’m not on social media, where do I post pics? Which tackle store is running this? Thanks, and nice work yesterday crushing albies. I picked up small blues and a nice slot bass.’ Now this was my dilemma, to share or not to share. We all know why they call him PT HOG. Because John Colton will sit on a point and grind out a thousand casts to get his fish. I had already left the island for the week, and I knew that PT HOG was gunning for me. He was heading out to his point to put in his time. So, all in good spirit, I gave John the contest information and email address to submit a fish with a ‘good luck and go get ‘em!’ Well, you read the current results – John Colton, a.k.a. PT HOG, took down my albie that Monday afternoon and he is the current angler to beat for Nantucket’s ‘Last Albie’ of 2023! Good luck John, but keep casting because we both know that there are a dozen guys and Tammy King casting for you!”
Rick checked in with Pat McEvoy, who made a quick trip to the water’s edge of Cisco beach and landed a solid slot-size bass on a light tackle setup with a live sand flea presentation. This is a highly effective technique that is used by a few anglers here on the island. Simply dig up a few sand fleas and rig them on a 6/0 circle hook. Flip them in the shoreline trough where the stripers run and hold on!
Victor Boucher also told Rick that he got into a nice peanut-bunker-fueled blitz at Sesachacha Pond the night they opened the pond. Rick said this has been a great spot to locate hungry bass when they open a “cut” that creates an outflow of current, which can trap and hold bait. Victor said he was on quick intense bites and landed two over-slot bass and lost his “pumpkin bass.” Also on the bass bite, Tadas Baliukonis has been working the late shift and picking up over-slot bass on the south shore. He said there are still a few bigger bass around.
Nate Skerritt shared that Surfside and Point of Breakers have so many 18- to 24-inch bluefish that you could throw a Stubby’s steak and cheese in the water and it would be gone in seconds! Greg Chotkowski and Raf Osona also reported solid bites at POB. Greg picked up six bass on bucktails during sunrise while Raf was working the water for bluefish. Raf also emphasized that his truck is still down and out, so he will be fishing POB until the end of the week. This is great news for the PT HOG!
Rick also checked in with Tammy King, who shared that Sunday was another day filled with blues. “Rolling into Monday and Tuesday we are still experiencing hours of hauling in monster blues. They are laying low in the bottom of the water column. Heavy metals are my go-to now. Look for darker water, pockets, edges of sand bars and areas of moving water.” Tammy said the Great Point area is also showing periods of blitzing blues and albies, but it’s all about timing. Bonito are still screaming down the shoreline on the east side, she said. Tammy also reported that the south shore is still clean and producing; striped bass are actively feeding and hitting hard if you can get them past the seals.
Corey Gammill from Bill Fisher Outfitters has put his focus on the commercial bay scallop season that opened up November 1st. We would like to thank Corey for his contributions to our weekly fishing reports this season!
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Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
Tautog fishing in Buzzards Bay or off the Sound side of the Elizabeth Islands will be the most reliable action this weekend. Get your green crabs ready, or try something new and thread a piece of Fish Bites onto your tog jig. I’d be interested to hear how Nick’s artificial tog bait performs in our neck of the woods.
Stripers are still active in the rivers and salt ponds, and all you’ll need are some small to mid-size paddletails to dupe them into chewing. A slow, steady retrieve along the bottom is king, with the occasional hop or two to avoid snags and trigger strikes. For the greatest odds, time your outings outside of peak tide windows and aim for low light hours in the early morning or right before dusk.
If you’ve still got a boat in the water and you’re out tog fishing, or bass fishing in open water, keep a rod rigged and ready with an epoxy jig or something of the sort; we haven’t seen the last of the hardtails just yet. With albies still in Cape Cod Bay, and schools of albies and bonito off the Cape beaches in Nantucket Sound, the Elizabeths and Buzzards Bay are likely locations to cross paths with any albies making their way out of town.
And of course, don’t forget about your local trout ponds. With juvie herring leaving many of the kettle ponds, trout, bass, perch and more are picking them off on their way out. When they do reach the rivers, they have a short journey to the salt where stripers will be waiting at the ready to pick them off.
Have a great week, stay warm and fish hard. Thanks for reading.