Cape Cod Fishing Report
Wind and weather is back this weekend after the long holiday weekend brought hit or miss fishing conditions. I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Independence Day, whether you made it out fishing or not. The weather on the 4th was beautiful, so I took full advantage with my friend Sean, who had just arrived in town from Long Island. Blue, sunny skies, low wind, and warm summer air screamed “fluke fishing”, so that’s exactly what we did.
Sean and I wet waded to a backwater spot where there have been some nicer fluke around, and it didn’t take us long to find them. We had action almost immediately from short fish, and after a couple hours of dragging 3/8-ounce jigs and teasers over the sand flats, we had a couple keeper-class fish under our belts (although all were released). Sean caught one of those keepers on a jig that I tied, which is always nice to see, and my final fish of the outing was a solid 19- to 20-inch class flattie that also smoked one of my own shad dart bucktails.
We took some photos and enjoyed the warmth of the shallow water before the bite slowed and we decided to get back to the sand so our ladies wouldn’t sunburn too badly. Overall, we caught around 12 fluke, 3 or 4 of which were keepers, in 90 minutes of fishing. Not bad!
As I’ve mentioned in past reports, if you’re looking to bend a rod during the summer and bass and blues are giving you a hard time, fluke are a great fall back option. That’s not to say they’re easy to catch, but if you find two or three spots where you’re catching short fluke—whether by accident or intentionally—it’s worth picking through them in search of a keeper. If you’d like to learn more about fluke fishing from shore, or wading for fluke, check out the most recent episode of the OTW Podcast in which Jimmy Fee and I discuss why fluke are the saviors of summer. They’re such a fun and accessible option, and anglers of all ages and ability levels can enjoy catching them close to home from June through September. You can listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts here.
When the weather went downhill and the wind kicked up, we decided to switch things up and do a little freshwater fishing. We headed to Mashpee-Wakeby Pond and ducked out of the wind a bit, so I brought out the 5wt fly rod and Sean got to casting around a small whopper plopper. We were into fish almost immediately, and even though we weren’t looking for big fish, there’s always the possibility a 3- or 4-pound largemouth or smallmouth will appear in shallow. Last year at this same spot, I watched a 3-pound smallie cruise up behind my black wooly bugger and slurp it right up, and as I stripped into the bite, the fish was already going airborne and shook free. As nice as a 3-pound bass would have been, we were prepared to catch mostly perch and sunfish, and we did just that. The fly worked best. We had white perch schooled up over grass taking crystal buggers and pheasant-tail nymphs, and eventually we tied on a small bumble-bee patterned popper, which a few big sunfish, small largemouth, and yellow perch took a liking to. It was a nice change of pace to wade in the sweet water with super light spinning and fly tackle. That kind of fishing is very calming, and I highly recommend giving it a try on the next day of foul fishing weather.
From the Canal, East End Eddie Doherty reports: “The Canal came back to life with some slots caught on the surface by John Morgan on a west ebb tide with his blue Atom Striper Swiper that he’s been throwing for 20 years. Other surfcasters landed slots including “Paulie the Painter” Gravina with his handmade white paddletail jig and “Bloodhound Steve” Colleran who had his trusty pink Al Gags soft plastic paddle tail bouncing off the bottom. The generous Vietnam era Marine Corps veteran usually does well with pink colors even during the absence of squid. “Everyday Al” Mazeiko hooked a 39-inch linesider, fighting it to fruition through an eastbound topwater battle. This correspondent got into an early morning east flood bite as my white Guppy Jobo Jr. fooled well fed 30- & 33-inch bass with the slot going to the family table of our youngest daughter Chrissy. Both fish ate the bucktail single tailhook, further validating my theory that many fish are lost using hookless flags. Tim “Hollywood” Petracca caught a fat 33-inch striper down tide from me, maybe the same fish I just released! I brought a 45-inch, 30 pounder to the rocks the next day on the same tide with the same lure!”
Connor Swartz at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay said the best thing going in Buzzards Bay right now is fluke fishing. There have not been many people out with the way the wind and weather has been since the weekend, but if you can duck out of the wind there are some decent fluke to be had. Bullhead jigs with Gulp are working well, including the Tsunami ball jig with a swing hook. Cape Cod Bay, he said, still has loads of pogies and bass of all sizes. One of their customers went out in the kayak and had under-slot stripers to start the day, which progressed into over-slot fish, and eventually 45-inch fish. But with all those fish in Cape Cod Bay and warm water temperatures in Buzzards Bay, hope for another push of bass through the Ditch is dwindling. Connor said the Canal has been very quiet this week; they aren’t even getting their typical morning rush of fishermen from the Ditch. Connor thinks that it may have something to do with the recent, albeit sporadic, night bite from the mid-Canal toward the east end.
Gary at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis said things have been quiet in Nantucket Sound due to the wind, but just before the blow, tuna fishing was hot in the canyons. One of their customers said they caught almost 30 yellowfin after making the run, which hasn’t been feasible in a few days. There were also some white marlin spotted way south of Nantucket near the canyons. Meanwhile closer to home, the best thing going right now is scup fishing in Nantucket Sound, with some hubcap-sized specimens coming over the rail. There are also a fair amount of fluke in some of the typical sea bass areas, which have been a nice backup plan because the sea bass fishing has been pretty horrible. The surf leaves much to be desired in the way of bluefish and stripers.
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Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain around Cape Cod and the Islands!
Captain Ross of Cape Cod Charter Guys in Bourne said bass fishing has been slower this week while battling through the wind. The skipper said water temperatures are changing pretty drastically too which hasn’t helped; water temperatures have dropped 15 degrees in some areas! When it hasn’t been the wind giving them trouble, they’ve been socked in by the fog which limits their range a bit. Ross said they’re still catching fish in Cape Cod Bay, mostly on diamond jigs and by running deep divers on the troll, which has been huge when they’re marking scattered pods of fish and the bass have lockjaw. He said they’re finding fish further out when the wind has allowed, and on some occasions, they’ve been able to scratch a few fish on topwater plugs in the early morning fog. Message/call them for upcoming availability!
Captain Drew Downing of Down East Charters in Chatham said: “Fun fishing continues this week in the face of fog and relentless wind. Low temperatures on both tides have fish a bit sluggish for moments, but they roar to life when the bait comes through. Literally every edge we’ve checked from Chatham to Nantucket has had fish on it, so don’t be afraid to spread out and find your own water. Be especially aware with radar and watch duties as you pass in and out of rip edges where targets can be obscured. Slow and steady wins the race. Catch ’em up!”
Captain Cam Faria of Cambo Charters said he made the run to the Canyons before the wind kicked up this weekend, which was his first time making the run in his own boat. He said he learned a lot of lessons that would make for a smoother trip next time around. Cam headed out at 11 p.m. on Sunday, arriving at the Canyons on Monday around 4 a.m. and said he immediately started trolling. Joined by Michael Xu and Cam’s friend Willy, the trio went 3 for 5 on yellowfin before the bite died off and Cam decided to head in early because the weather was kicking up. He did some striper fishing on Tuesday and Wednesday and did well in Cape Cod Bay. Give him a shout to book a charter!
Captain Elena Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters in Truro reported: “If it’s not windy, then we are socked in with dense fog this past week with the Garmin radars going overtime to keep us all safe on the water. Fortunately our boats were still able to get into some superb topwater fishing for striped bass with pink and amber lures producing the most action. When the fog banks would roll out mid-day to unleash the amazingly humid sunshine, vertically jigging would grab the interest of striped bass as they headed to deeper waters. The larger brown/pogy-colored jigs have been a recent favorite. We have striped bass fishing charters available starting Friday, July 12th! View the full calendar here.”
Captain Kurt Freund of Fishsticks Charters on Martha’s Vineyard reported: “I had to cancel two trips today (small craft advisory) and I’m watching the forecast for the next couple days, hoping it will improve. The fishing has been good, and not so good. First, the not so good. Last Thursday, the Davenports and Harveys spent a beautiful morning with me on Middle Ground. We saw a lot of fish and squid, and the guys worked their tails off, but we only caught 3 stripers. Nice fish, but it’s just not as good as it was a few weeks ago. I think most of the fish have moved on and the ones that are still there are very fussy. So I have been expanding the search for bass and bluefish, with limited success. Having tried Gay Head and Squibnocket last week, I turned east. Michael Cimarusti and Dave Bell joined me on Monday for a tour of all the spots I know between Wasque and Muskeget Island. Spots I have done well at in past years and spots where friends have done well just recently. But we only caught black sea bass. Similarly, Ed Noble and I did a search from Hedge Fence to Horseshoe and several spots in between on Wednesday morning. The best action we saw was closest to home when I hooked and lost what I think was a small bluefish at Hedge Fence… Now the good news. The most consistent fishing this week has been for black sea bass in Vineyard Sound. We have caught them on jigs and bucktails, but mostly on traditional fluke rigs with bait. There have been lots of big fish up to 22 inches. The Harbison family enjoyed a successful morning of bottom fishing on Tuesday and on Wednesday afternoon, I fished with Jamie Masterson, son Aiden and friends Evan and Dan for some big sea bass. But the highlight of that trip and the whole week was Aidan’s monster fluke! After boating a mess of big sea bass, we had released several small fluke, and then this one 8-pound doormat. High-fives all around! Just a few days early for the upcoming Fluke for Luke tournament.”
From Nantucket, Rick Ramos reported:
“Matt Haeffner’s recent articles on targeting fluke from the beach have sparked my interest to explore Nantucket’s beaches for fluke; so, I connected with New Jersey surfcaster, Kyle Basbous, who visited the island last weekend and who’s quite good at targeting fluke from the beach, and we set out for a go of it. We are excited to report that we connected with 8 fluke on the deeper edges of the east end of Nantucket’s shoreline. It was quite fun and a simple light tackle presentation of a 1/4-ounce jig with a green 6-inch Gulp jerk shad was highly effective.
For a bass and blues report, I checked in with local guides Steve Tornovish and Tammy King. Steve had a great week fishing the inside of Great Point putting clients of nice schools of blues. Tammy also shared a positive report from Great Point, with early morning bass up to 34-inches being caught on topwater with the Island X Hellfire 180. Tammy also recommends using a heavy metal with a very slow, straight retrieve as blues and bass tend to hang in the deeper end of the water column in these hot summer days. With the water warming up, we recommend that anglers stay focused on the areas of Great Point, Coatue and the south shore such as Point of Breakers where you can find deeper moving water. There are plenty of fish around if you put your time in.
From the boat:
I booked a fantastic trip with Captain Bill Toelstedt of Bill Fisher Outfitters late last week. We made a long run out to the eastern edges of Nantucket Shoals and caught our limit of fluke and black sea bass. On our run back, we worked the edges of these shoals targeting striped bass. There were fish for miles actively feeding on squid and sand eels. I also checked in with Captain Corey Gammill to get a more recent report in which he shared that fishing has slowed down tremendously over the last few days. Corey said, “there are still lots of bass on the eastern edges if you can make the run. Old Man Shoal is also fishing well on the incoming tide. More locally around the island, you need work to find fish on the west end where there is a mix of bass and blues.” The good news is that our waters are always moving so the next tide and next wind brings the potential for things to turn on quickly, so just get out there and wet a line.”
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
The weekend forecast is grim until Sunday, but it should clear up in time for some good bottom fishing before the weekend wraps up and those “Sunday scaries” settle in. The best bet is to ride out the high winds and potential rain, and sneak in some fluke fishing if you can. Grab a mix of natural bait like squid and spearing, and some Gulp and jigs to cover your bases on the artificial side, and target sandy shoals with some good moving water where you can set up a drift. For shore bound anglers, I encourage you to listen to the most recent episode of the OTW Podcast for some insight from Jim Fee and me as to why fluke fishing reigns supreme in the summer.
If you’re looking for stripers, Nantucket Sound has still got ’em, but they’re mostly out of reach of surfcasters. Whether from shore or boat, Cape Cod Bay sounds like the place to be. Big pogies are the predominant bait, and if you can get some in the live well, you’re in good shape. Just make sure you have inline (non-offset) circle hooks on hand to adhere to the regulations.
There’s no telling what the weather will do to the tuna fishing south of the islands, but after some steady south wind, it sounds like there’s been a significant upwelling in some areas of the coast, so expect temperatures to be lower and jumbled.
Have a great weekend, stay safe out there, and catch ’em up.
What a depressing report for Striper fisherman for both surf and boat. How the hell does anyone know which way the Stripers enter the canal?! East? West? Buzzards Bay is too warm so they must not come from there! Such dumb, naive reporting. Stripers at this time of year will follow the bait, regardless of water temps. They can still come from Buzzards Bay. Don’t be fooled by silly reporting like this.
Aggravating reading these reports this year, lots and lots of embellishing on how the Striper fishing is. Tell it like it is! Its been phenomenally poor!