Cape Cod Fishing Report- May 23, 2024

Cape Cod Fishing Report

Squid and scup, sand eels and spearing. That’s been the mantra of my surf fishing log book over the past 10 days. As expected, stripers are slowly beginning to drop out of the ponds and estuaries in some portions of Cape Cod, where they’re feeding on a smorgasbord of the aforementioned baits. Since the wind shifted from northeast to southwest over the past few days, fresh migratory schoolies, slots, and over-slot fish have been filing into places like Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, and personally, I’ve been throwing topwater, topwater, and more topwater. Why? Water temperatures in Vineyard Sound are landing right around 54-56 degrees or so, and the warm, sunny days earlier this week only helped boost water temps, making the fish more willing to feed on top in the surf. Additionally, just as discussed in weeks past, squid have finally shown up in some better numbers, and while many of them are stacking up in the rips of Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds, there are plenty being chased in slightly shallower water, which has bass feeding aggressively on large pencils and poppers.

From the jetty rocks, I’ve seen schools of small sand eels spraying from the waves, and schools of silversides schooling tight to the rocks, which brought the bass in super close. At times, I could see bass finning or swimming 15 feet in front of me. Long casts were not necessary, but when the bite got tough, covering more water was key to finding wolf packs of stripers cruising over sandy flats and moving in and out of channels to chase down those small baitfish and scup, which have also been chowing on the sand eels and spearing. Over the course of the week, a smaller class of fish moved in, but earlier this week, I enjoyed a stellar topwater bite around sunrise, and again at sunset, with bass from 8 to 15 pounds crushing pencils and Super Strike Little Neck poppers. Those larger bass have been keyed in on the squid, so natural colors and a 5- to 7-inch profile have been the keys to getting them to commit.

Whether it was a schoolie, a slot or over-slot fish on my line, they were all plump and eating well. The larger bass I caught were tough to figure out. One day they’d be fully lunging, dorsals exposed, in pursuit of my pencil popper, and other days, they preferred the slow, loud popping action of a Super Strike. I noted that pencils worked best from evening to dusk, while bottleneck-style poppers produced best during the morning hours. Additionally, once the southwest wind kicked up to 10 mph plus, pencils with a loud rattle like the Tsunami Talkin’ Popper XD, outproduced standard wooden pencils, like my personal favorite, the yellow 2-ounce Wally’s Pencil Popper. However, each one had its time and place, and the over-slot bass responded well to each presentation as long as I adjusted my lure choice to the conditions.

On the other hand, those smaller, liced-up fish, I like to think, are early exits from the Hudson River, which had a decent spawn a few years ago. It makes sense that with the full moon today, and warmer air and water temperatures this week, that the Hudson schoolies took the conditions as a cue to begin their migration up the coast.

By the time many of you read this, the full moon will have passed, but residual full-moon tide swings will likely put some larger bass in motion over the weekend. They’re around in force, from the rips to the beaches. Don’t believe me? Just ask these split rings if there are some bigger bass out in the surf.

A couple guys from the OTW Crew were on fish to 36 inches or so in the rips this week, and they said the good ol’ Doc was the key producer for them.

In other news, sea bass season started out hot in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. Expect to see crowds on the water this holiday weekend, and if the area you hoped to target is too heavily pressured, don’t hesitate to move and find some more promising structure. Last year, sea bass fishing was slow in late May and June, but things are looking up as of now. Earlier this week, OTW’s Anthony DeiCicchi and Jimmy Fee got out with Captain Anthony Forte in Vineyard Sound and they limited out on black sea bass, even throwing back a handful of 18- to 20-inch keepers.

And scup fishing has picked up too. Most of the action has been in the same areas where sea bass fishing has been good, but jetties adjacent to deep water in Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay are producing keepers for the shore fishing crowd. Clam, squid, jigs and Gulp are doing the job.

We’re still waiting for more bluefish to show up, and based on the numbers of blues in Rhode Island, and some on the western beaches of Buzzards Bay, they’re not far off. A little more southwest wind and warm weather, along with these full moon tides, should push them into Vineyard Sound, where they too will be feeding on squid and scup.

From the Cape Cod Canal, East End Eddie Doherty reports:

“The full moon Thursday morning, the 23^rd ushers in some breaking tides which will be more pronounced and powerful in the east end. “Mashpee Mike” LaRaia has been catching fish, some nice bass were caught by Joe Gray of Sagamore Beach on his Ditch Witch and Taylor Point’s “Breakin Bob” Weir with a white spook during a mid-Canal surface bite. Worcester Firefighter Joel Benoit fooled some slots and Buzzards Bay’s Ben Sivonen lost count after reeling in over 10 fish with the biggest measuring 45 inches. Both men were throwing white Magic Swimmers on a west flood tide. I was jigging a 5-ounce white Hurley Canal Killer on the east tide next to Vietnam War era Marine Corps Veteran Steve Colleran, when fish started breaking in front of us like a happy dream! I didn’t have time to switch to a pencil so I cast my jig, reeled fast to keep it high in the water column and hooked a 35-inch striper as Steve reeled in a fish the same size. It was jig time in the west end with slots and bigger riding the west flow along the bottom toward Buzzards Bay. JP Avelar of Marlboro landed 7 bass on a Canal Bait & Tackle 5-ounce green mack shad including a 37-inch beauty that was his first Canal striper. Congratulations and welcome to the Ditch JP!”

AJ Coots at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay said the Canal is fishing well this week, especially now that tinker mackerel have filled in throughout much of the ditch. There are some scattered schools of bunker in the area, as well as a fair amount of herring still hanging around in the middle of the Canal. Topwater action has picked up with the influx of small mackerel, but many of the larger fish being caught are on 5-inch long, 3- to 4-ounce jigs like the FishLab Mack Attack, which is a near-perfect imitation of tinker mackerel.

Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth reported very good striper fishing in the rips of Vineyard Sound on Tuesday. He started out throwing amber-colored poppers and said the stripers were stacked in schools of 20 or 30, but they wouldn’t touch his larger popper. His friend was throwing a 5-inch Talkin’ Popper and doing well, so Evan put on a 3/4-ounce Al Gags Whip-It Fish in white and started crushing them shortly after the swap. He said they saw some squid fly from the rips once or twice, but it seemed like the bass were keyed in on smaller baits than squid. When I asked him about sea bass, Evan said it’s been okay but not lights out. One group he spoke to limited out, another said they didn’t catch any sea bass at all, and both were fishing in Buzzards Bay. Meanwhile, he’s hearing from customers and friends that are limiting out at the wrecks in Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds. Evan said sea bass fishing should only continue to improve as we approach June.

Amy from Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis said she and Christian went out for sea bass earlier this week and they had a lot of shorts with a  few keepers. The saving grace was loads of big scup in Nantucket Sound, so they didn’t head home empty-handed. Amy said their customers have been catching stripers in the rips near Martha’s Vineyard, with lots of shorts and slot-class fish for the most part. She added that there are big bluefish on the south side but they are few and far between, and this is the first they’ve heard of bluefish over 3 or 4 pounds so far this year. A bit to the east, Christian’s friend got a few hickory shad on the fly this week; they have been moving in and out of the rivers, and if you can intercept them, they’re a ton of fun on lightweight spinning or fly tackle. The striper fishing on the Cape Cod Bay side is hit or miss, she said, now that the Northeast winds have died off. There are mackerel pushing in shallow in the bay, and it’s been mostly topwater action from schoolies and slots with bigger bass mixed in.

Captain Ross of Cape Cod Charter Guys in Bourne reported:

“We fished the waters all around Cape this week and it was very productive. We’ve caught some beautiful fish this early season and even with the weather and wind changing up a bit, and the bite temporarily slowing, we managed to put some quality stripers in the boat with our clients. We’re looking forward to the next wave of fresh fish here on Cape Cod. We’ll be sailing primarily for stripers and sea bass over the next few weeks, so reach out for our availability!”

Alex MacMillian of FishLinked Charters our of Wareham reported:

“It is time to break out the eel/worm playbook as the striper bite has shifted. We have been drumming up sneaky slobs with minimal bird action on the surface by utilizing spreader bars. We sold out of spreader bars in a day at our tackle shop, FishLinked Angler Center, and wise anglers are taking notice of this shift and staying on the fish.

Scup and black sea bass have arrived in troves to Buzzards Bay and they aren’t shy about pouncing on squid anywhere near their vicinity. Only a few keeper size black sea bass in the bay so far, with plenty of throwbacks and room to grow. Full-size scup are bountiful to fill the plate in the meantime. Opening day was met with a solid fleet of 25 to 30 boats working Cleavland’s Ledge and Little Cuba even though conditions were less than optimal. Tautog are also still poking around too. Buzzards Bay is teeming with life once again, and with the right tactics you can have a stellar day jumping from species to species. We’re looking forward to seeing some doormat fluke move in soon, too.”

Captain Cam Faria of Cambo Charters said Tuesday he got a ton of mackerel while fishing commercially with sabiki rigs. He mentioned that they also caught a fair amount of sea bass on the sabiki rigs, all of which had to be thrown back due to being on a commercial mackerel trip. He said once they drifted out of the mackerel, the sea bass would jump on their sabiki rigs, and they had some real jumbos in the mix. Cam also mentioned there were a lot of sand eels out there too, which, along with squid, is likely what the sea bass are feeding on. If you’re going sea passing, consider diamond jigs and epoxy jigs if they’re not taking Gulp and bucktails or the standard baited rigs. Cam has some striped bass charters this weekend in Buzzards Bay, and some availability coming up, so give him a call to book a trip.

Captain Elena Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters in Truro reported:

“The saltwater boat fishing scene greatly accelerated in activity this past week with well over slot topwater catches on the RD Bomb. As the Full Moon approached and the morning tides switched to incoming the surface strikes slowed down a bit prompting the switch over to live bait fishing. Drifting live bait is also bringing in all sizes of striped bass. Looking forward to the upcoming holiday weekend with a beautiful forecast and we still have trips available! Contact us today to get in on the bite.”

Captain Kurt Freund of Fishsticks Charters on Martha’s Vineyard reported:

“I’m just back from my trip to Cape Cod Bay. I met my friends Craig Przysiecki and Bill Lellis at Barnstable Harbor and we fished Monday, Tuesday and a little on Wednesday morning. Our main goal for this trip was to catch winter flounder, which we did quite successfully on Monday, nearly getting a boat limit with most fish over 14 inches and several around 16 inches. We also caught some mackerel and windowpane flounder on small jigs.

We started Tuesday morning off catching some blitzing stripers on topwater plugs and then spent a good part of the day trying to find some tog, without much success beyond some choggies, some of which were really big. They are delicious, by the way! But we ended the day catching some more flounder. Flounder are also delicious, but you knew that, I’m sure. Seriously, next time you get a big choggie, try it! Wednesday morning we thought we’d return to find those blitzing stripers again, but….. crickets. I left Barnstable late Wednesday morning and was back in Vineyard Sound early afternoon. I couldn’t pass up the chance to make a few casts on Middle Ground, and I was rewarded with three nice schoolie bass. I’m very encouraged and excited for my upcoming charters.”

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

Cape Cod Fishing Forecast

Let’s break down the weekend fishing options by body of water.

In Cape Cod Bay, you’ve got stripers pushing 40 inches feeding on mackerel, as well as winter flounder on bottom, which has seen a solid uptick in activity over the past 2 weeks.

In Buzzards Bay, stripers, sea bass and scup abound. Bring a steady mix of diamond jigs, epoxies, bucktails, and soft plastics for both sea bass and stripers. Once the stripers stop feeding on top, which usually happens by mid morning, you’ll want to jig around structure or current breaks. Sea bass have been eating squid and sand eels, so bucktails and diamond jigs should cover your bases there.

In Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds, stripers to 40 inches are chasing squid in the rips, and in those same areas, sea bass are chowing down on the squid too. Scup fishing has improved drastically in Nantucket Sound since last week, so in the event you can’t put together a sea bass bite, you can still head home with some fresh fish in the cooler.

And of course, there’s great bass fishing in the ponds around Cape Cod this week, per usual. They should be coming off the spawn in the next week, if not already, so they’ll be looking to eat. Take advantage!

The waters around Cape Cod have really exploded with life recently, and we still have big bluefish (hopefully) and fluke to look forward to before the offshore season kicks off. Wherever you find yourself fishing this weekend, be safe, respect each other, respect your catch, and enjoy some beautiful weather. Remember, we’re all out there for the same reason.

And lastly, take some time to appreciate all the freedoms we have both on and off the water, and remember all the fallen soldiers who fought for our country. They are the reason you can be out on a boat with your family, or wading in the surf and catching fish for an extra day this weekend. Many thanks to all who have served our country.

Cheers and tight lines.