Cape Cod Fishing Report- September 19, 2024

Cape Cod Fishing Report

After another week of picky and scattered albies, many anglers around Cape Cod are looking forward to a few days of snotty weather and strong, northeast winds. The albie pursuit has been frustrating to say the least, and it’s what’s led me to swap early mornings on the kayak for late nights in the surf. Striped bass fishing is heating up while the air and water temperatures steadily drop, and after the passing of this nor’easter, Cape Codders and Islanders are hopeful that the fall run will be officially underway. It’s taking shape already, with mullet on the south side in surprising numbers.

Stripers, from small schoolie class to over-slot size, have been gorging on 3- to 6-inch mullet on the ebb tide lately, and a few larger bluefish have shown up to join the feast. The inlets of Nantucket and Vineyard sound are the best places to begin the search, but mullet have also been spotted in the Cape Cod Canal toward the west end, where there’s been a small concentration of small- to mid-size blues and scant schoolie bass. Topwater plugs like Super Strike Little Neck Poppers, pencil poppers, and 5-inch walk-the-dog spooks have been duping those fish around slack tide, while small Danny plugs, Mag Darters, SP Minnows and soft-plastic paddletails are catching when the fish aren’t showing on top.

In Cape Cod Bay, some larger, gator bluefish and stripers of various sizes are in the surf off of P-Town. A few schools of stripers have begun to slink south along the outer beaches in pursuit of peanut bunker, and there are some quality over-slot fish to be had. However, the beaches inside of Cape Cod Bay may be the better bet this weekend. This stiff, northeast wind will help to coax fish south and west toward places like Sandy Neck and the Cape Cod Canal, especially because we’re still seeing residual full-moon tides since the passing of the moon on the 17th. Those tides should remain amplified for a couple days with the help of strong onshore winds from the storm in Cape Cod Bay. This is usually the time of year when we begin to see some fish from the Boston area put on the feed bag and pack up for the long swim south. Unfortunately for the boat crowd, or at least for the small craft operators, this weekend looks like a good time to get in some reps in the surf. Fishing into nor’easter winds isn’t exactly pleasant or easy, but keeping a handful of heavy plugs that can punch through gusty conditions and reach productive water can lead to some of the best shore-based striper fishing of the season.

In Buzzards Bay and along the Elizabeth Islands, tautog fishing has garnered much more interest this week. Already, there have been a lot of boats anchored over small rock piles in open water, or in areas of high boat traffic (namely Woods Hole), so going forward, use extra caution when chasing down blitzing fish. So far, most tautog boats seem to be anchoring in 20 to 50 feet of water and the word is that fishing is good, but not “everyone got a limit” good—there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Come October 15, our 3-fish limit will increase to 5 fish per angler. By then, the tog season will have really taken shape.

Fishing for hardtails could be better, but it could be worse, too. Thankfully, I got a reliable report from local kayak angler, Toby Nice, who got his mitts on a couple of thicc albies this week. Toby provided the following report: “I tried to take advantage of the calm seas over the past week and target albies from my kayak, hitting beaches from Bass River to Nobska. The beginning of the week provided more bonito than albies, followed by a couple of days of mostly Spanish mackerel, but lately we are seeing a larger concentration of albies, though they have been extremely finicky. On Sunday there were plenty of albie opportunities and many boats targeting them, but hardly any rods bent. Even kayaks within 50 yards of a pod seemed to send them back down to the depths. But long casts with light tackle were able to do the trick.”

Buzzards Bay, Cape Cod Bay & Outer Cape

Connor Swartz at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay said there are some albies moving in and out of Buzzards Bay, but they’re not sticking around. They’re bouncing around between the Islands and occasionally showing outside of Woods Hole. Right now, tautog fishing is pretty popular in the bay. They’ve seen an influx in customers asking for green crabs, although it sounds like mostly short tautog are being caught for the most part. However, keeper tog are being caught in the Canal, but striper fishing has been slow in the Ditch, even after the full moon passed. Connor said there are lots of cocktail blues from 3 to 5 pounds ruining soft plastics—the fishing is otherwise pretty quiet. If you’re looking for bass, the best bet is to check out the harbors along the Cape side of Buzzards. Fluke fishing has really dropped off, he said, and the season closes in 3 or 4 days, so if you are looking for a keeper, you’d better act fast!

Alex MacMillian of FishLinked Charters in Wareham reported: “Things in Buzzards Bay are cooling off, but fall fishing seems to be heating up. To kick things off, some small tautog can be found already within Buzzards Bay. More sizable tautog are likely to move in soon. Get your green crabs ready and move from rock pile to rock pile. We have found structure around Cleveland’s Light to reliably hold some tog. The striper bite has been relentless in Buzzards Bay. Chasing them into harbors has worked well for us. Although you will see many people casting into feeds, we are dredging them up on eels on spreaders, the same way we started this season. Another species to look out for in some harbors are the yellow-eyed demons! Bluefish have returned. A mix of snapper blues and gator blues can be found poking around. White Al Gags Whip-it Fish are doing the trick—just pack a few extra tails because they’ll shred them with ease. If you are chasing bonito and albies, a quick ride through Woods Hole should reveal all-day feeds. With some patience and small enough epoxies you should be able to hook a few hardtails.”

From the Canal, East End Eddie Doherty reports: “Fish continue to devour bait in preparation for the southern migration. I caught a fat fish that I eyeballed to be about 27 inches, but the expanded girth caused the optical illusion of a shorter length which really measured out to 30 inches. Bruno DeSouza of Natick hooked a bluefish and 4 bass up to 35 inches on a 5-ounce Al Gags Wacky Mack soft-plastic paddletail jig on a west dropping tide in the dark. Koon Tang and his personable wife Kathy of upstate New York did well on the east tide. Koon caught 4 bass up to 33 inches with a peanut bunker shad and Kathy used a white shad to land 5 up to 35 inches. Paul “Sparky” Yuskaitis reeled in a nice 37-inch striper that swallowed his bunker chunk off the bottom at the start of the west tide. “Breakin” Bob Weir fooled a fat 22 pounder with a Wacky Mack FishLab on the west ebb tide and Johnny “The Fish” Kelly from Franklin, fishing next to him on the same tide with the same lure, muscled in a 32-pound striper that measured out to 44 inches! Canal Day is this Saturday, September 21 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The annual event, run by President & CEO Marie Oliva and the Cape Cod Canal Region Chamber of Commerce at Buzzards Bay Park, features crafts, food trucks, games, entertainment and many vendor booths staffed by professionals like Canal legend John Doble and his lovely wife Karen!”

Captain Elena Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters in Truro reported: “This week’s full moon cooled off the bluefin tuna bite as the increased presence of life and activity we experienced at the end of last week remarkably dropped off; although, our clients did enjoy vast pods of dolphins which often times came close enough to ride the bow wake of our boats. With a few days of heavy winds and a waning moon cycle coming up, we look forward to getting back out on the water next week in better conditions. However, on the striped bass front, the activity continues! The slowdown witnessed with the bluefin tuna scene did not occur for stripers as our boats caught some well over-slot striped bass, with keepers mixed in too. We will be fishing through October (whenever the weather allows) so be sure to get your fall trip booked today.”

Captain Drew Downing of Down East Charters in Chatham reported: “As fall kind of starts in earnest, periods of activity and lulls alternate as fish begin to move and weather and wind create fishable windows. With that said, over a 3 day period last week with the same group we landed bass, blues, sea bass, albies, bones, pollack, cod, haddock, and tuna—truly the best part of fishing in the fall. As you leave the harbor these days, be ready to cover some water and put some miles on the boat to see where the life has moved to especially after big weather.”

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

Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds/The Islands

Christian at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis said it’s been a little quiet locally. There was a massive blitz of bass and blues all weekend long off one of the local beaches, but the fishing has really dropped off since. He noted again that people are still catching big sea bass (now that you can’t keep them), but it has been an uneventful week overall.  The albies seem to have pushed west toward the Islands, and Christian thinks after this stormy weather we’ll see an improvement in albie fishing. He cited the clear, calm, 70-degree weather we’ve had all September and how it isn’t conducive to good albie fishing. Snotty weather should have them feeding more aggressively, and may even bring some more fish inshore. Other than that, he said, the striper crowd is doing well with big bass and bluefish in Cape Cod Bay by trolling umbrella rigs, and shore fishermen have been waiting for these conditions to bring some of the fish in close. It’s going to be a good week to fish the bay side beaches!

Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth reported: “It’s the same story as last week. There are a lot of albies around but they’re hard to catch. There are a lot off the local beaches as well as across the pond on the Vineyard side. They have been in open water more than along the coastline. The middle of Vineyard Sound has a good concentration of albies between Gay Head and Cuttyhunk. Most people have been running up and down the coast trying to find them but they are not where we historically see them. I heard some guys are getting slot fish on eels locally too, so there’s definitely some more stripers around. The Elizabeths are fishing well for bass too. The tog bite has really picked up, we’re selling a bunch of crabs. Some people have limited out in Buzzards Bay outside of Falmouth and along the Elizabeths.”

From Martha’s Vineyard, Captain Kurt Freund of Fishsticks Charters reports: “It has been a busy week that included the start of the Martha’s Vineyard Bass and Bluefish Derby. Despite the name, the Derby awards prizes for false albacore, Atlantic bonito and bluefish, but not for striped bass. Not since the regulations on striped bass changed to include a maximum size. When the slot limit on bass was established, the Derby committee appropriately removed striped bass from the competition. But back to this week’s fishing! The bonito fishing is still very good, though not quite as good as it was a few weeks ago. Bluefish continue to be scarce, and the albies have been super picky, but the most consistent of the three Derby species have been the bonito. I have logged a lot of miles this week, searching along the Elizabeth’s, out to Squibnocket, along East Beach and Wasque Shoal and out to Mutton Shoal, but I have still found the most dependable action close to home, often right in the harbor. A couple of highlights stand out from this week: On Friday, after hours of unsuccessful casting to finicky breaking fish, John Vandenbosch and friends finally convinced me to try trolling. Since we were all alone along the shore of the Elizabeth Islands, and weren’t going to disturb any other anglers that were drifting and casting, I agreed. John brought out a couple of his beautiful hand-carved and airbrush-painted deep-diving plugs and we caught two bonito along with a couple of sea bass on them. On Tuesday, I took Arthur Hermes and son John searching here, there and everywhere but came up empty. Until the last hour and a half of an eight hour trip, when we landed three bonito and a bluefish, very close to home.”

From Nantucket, Rick Ramos reports: “Week two of the Nantucket Inshore Classic is in full swing! Congrats to James Musia for leading the All-Tackle Boat Division with the tournament’s largest bluefish at 36 inches. In the Beach Division, Brian Majczak has taken the lead after landing one of only two tournament beach albies so far, along with a 26.25-inch bonito. On the fly, Johnson McKelvy is leading the Boat Division and just needs a bluefish to complete his Nantucket Grand Slam. Chris Krauter is making waves in the Fly Beach Division with a bluefish and bonito caught. Shoutout to junior angler Matvei Shubin for leading the Boat Division and Isla Grimes in the Beach Division—great to see young talent shining! With the tournament running through October 12th, there’s sure to be plenty of action ahead. Good luck to all participants, and for anyone looking to join, sign up at Nantucket Inshore Classic.

From the beach

Surfcasting has certainly been a grind lately, with the bonito thinning out and fewer albies running the beaches compared to previous seasons. It’s encouraging that dedicated anglers making blind casts are still managing to land some fish. Great Point remains the top spot for targeting all four species, while bass activity is picking up along the south shore.  With the NE winds, rising swell, and full moon, anglers should prepare for limited access to Great Point at high tide. This presents a perfect chance to explore the south shore and west end beaches, where there may be some hidden gems waiting to be discovered. Stay adaptable and good luck out there! 

From the boat

Captain Corey Gammill of Bill Fisher Outfitters shared that fishing has been a bit slow over the past few days. After a day of fantastic albie action outside of Great Point, they seemed to vanish the next day. While a few larger bluefish were landed, the overall bite has been slow. Bonito are thinning out, but there have been some bass caught on the west end. Here’s hoping for a change in the wind to improve the conditions! Fingers crossed for a turnaround soon!”

Offshore

The best tuna fishing close to home has been happening south of the Vineyard this week. A few guys from the On The Water crew got out there and hooked a handful of bluefin on poppers, while further out (at the canyons) yellowfin and bigeye were chewing well before the blow. Watch this week’s offshore fishing report below.

» Click to watch the most recent Northeast Offshore Report 

Cape Cod Fishing Forecast

The best bet for the weekend: shore fishing for bass, blues, bonito and albies.

On the beaches of Cape Cod Bay, striped bass and bluefish should be fired up and ready to feed in the roiled surf conditions. Big, rear-weighted topwater plugs that can handle larger swells and choppy conditions without fouling up, like Super Strike poppers, will be your friend, as will needlefish. Keep a good selection of needles in various sizes and colors to survey the bite. And don’t forget to bring a few tins—they’re often the forgotten category of surf lures, but during the fall, they truly shine. You can imitate sand eels, peanut bunker, silversides, mullet, and more with a variety of metals with different weights and profiles. In addition to providing casting distance, they don’t tumble and foul up in rough conditions like so many swimming plugs will.

If you’re shore fishing on the lee side of the Cape this weekend, casting distance will be of less concern with the wind at your back. However, you’ll be less likely to find albies, bass, or bonito feeding close to shore, as the northeast winds will have blown out much of the bait. Topwater plugs will be a good choice in the morning or evening, especially around some of the inlets, but metals and epoxy-style jigs will excel during the day and will still give you the casting distance to reach fish that may have been pushed off shore by the wind.

And don’t forget about all of our freshwater fishing opportunities. Soon enough, the fall trout stocking program will be underway, and it’s a great time of year to go bass fishing as well. Just bring a fish gripper, because big chain pickerel will also be on the prowl. Angler Jim Hatfield was fishing in Great South Pond in Plymouth earlier this week when he hooked and landed a 27.5-inch chain pickerel.

Whether you choose to fish sweet water or salt water this weekend, use extreme caution. Consider leaving the boat in the slip and the kayak at home, and just keep two feet planted on land for safety’s sake. It’s already blowing pretty hard out there with gusts up to 40 mph, and no fish is worth a life.

Here’s hoping that the first nor’easter of the fall brings better fishing for albies and blues, and that it fires up the southern migration of striped bass.

Be safe out there, have fun, and catch ’em up.