Cape Cod Fishing Report
Welp, there are albies out there in Vineyard Sound. Can you believe it? After the mediocre run they staged not only on Cape Cod, but the entire northeast coast this fall, it was a little frustrating to see them blitzing in open water without a single boat in sight while my albie jigs were sitting in the car. As Les Brown once said, “better to be prepared for an opportunity, and not have one, than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.” So much for that.
If you’ve still got a boat in the water, get out there and look around. The fish were breaking beneath low-flying gulls, which I would have missed completely had Chris LaFrange not pointed them out with his hawk-like vision—I’m sure that comes in handy on the bluefin grounds all summer.
Albies aside, the saltwater scene is still alive and kicking. Stripers, while scarce, are taking small soft plastics in the creeks and marshes across the south side, but man is it tough to get them to bite. One of the downfalls of casting to stripers in such skinny water is that after catching and releasing a fish or two, the rest of them wise up. Still, if you’re looking for some November stripes, the best place to begin your search is along the south side beaches early in the morning, or way up in the backwaters. Late on Tuesday night, I scouted a local creek that tends to be most productive in the early spring, and to my surprise, occasional, loud pops on the surface indicated that there were bass actively feeding. After two hours, I was still uncertain of what the bass were eating, and the fish were uncooperative, so I called it quits, happy to have found activity at all. Maybe it was spearing on the menu, or the herring fry that are still packed in tight. Whatever it was, I’ll certainly be returning to that spot before the month’s end. But a reasonable bedtime was necessary if I was to make the 6:15 AM dock departure with Harvey Russell of My Brother Charters on Wednesday.
As the sun rose on a fair-weather hump day, tautog were promptly crunching green crabs for breakfast in 60 feet of water. With the tide running hard, we picked away at small fish until it slacked out around 7:30 AM, and after sacrificing several jigs and one slider rig to the sticky bottom, the bite picked up. A few late-rising biggins came over the rail, but overall, there was a slight drop in average size compared to last week. Whether that’s just the way the cookie crumbled, or the structure had been picked over throughout the past week, or the larger fish have moved deeper, I do not know. However, most of the keepers we did catch were still around 4 to 6 pounds, and those pesky sea bass had all but disappeared.
Aside from tog, scarce stripers, and the few remaining hardtails out there, there’s good fishing to be had in our lakes and ponds. Across the Cape, largemouth bass and chain pickerel are feeding aggressively on herring fry which, for the most part, have remained trapped in the ponds due to low flows in our small rivers and streams. I’ve seen schools of them stacked at the fish ladders and outflows with largemouth in pairs, cruising the edges and picking off stragglers. Meanwhile, OTW’s Robbie Tartaglia has been bass fishing in larger kettle lakes further east, and he said it was nearly impossible to keep 3-pound pickerel off his hooks. The bass fishing has been lights out in places like Mashpee-Wakeby and Wequaquet, where, under calm conditions, schools of herring can be spotted on the surface over submerged humps. Fish around those schools with soft plastics and jerkbaits and you’re in for some fast action. Shore anglers will find similar action in the smaller, grassier lakes and ponds that dot the Cape’s landscape.
Of course, trout fishing has also been good as a result of these herring fry sticking around. Jerkbaits and spoons are getting the best looks from stocked rainbows and browns. But I changed things up last weekend and made a pilgrimage to the Chu (Wachusett Reservoir) in search of some lake trout with current laker state-record holder, John Stamas. John and I covered a lot of ground between 6:30 AM and noon on Sunday, and while I caught only two lakers on a 1/2-ounce Krocodile spoon within an hour or two of sunrise on the same stretch of shoreline, the exploratory trip was well worth the long drive. The fish weren’t much bigger than the trout we see in our kettle ponds, and they fed in a similar manner—cruising tight to shore to feed on smelt. We don’t get smelt down here, our browns and rainbows chase herring fry in shallow water instead.
Here’s what our local shops and captains had to report this week.
Connor Swartz at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay said things have grown quiet in the Canal as of late, but there are stacks of mackerel being caught on sabikis in the east end. He said the best mackerel fishing seems to happen around dusk. Other than that, freshwater fishing for bass and trout is the main draw right now. They have shiners available, and he mentioned the shop is having an online only Black Friday sale from 11/29 to 12/2, so it’s a great opportunity to stock up on marked-down gear for the 2025 saltwater season, or load up on freshwater tackle for the long winter ahead.
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth said one of his customer’s has been catching tautog from shore in Woods Hole this week. He also received word of breaking fish in Vineyard Sound—which were likely the albies/bonito we spotted while tautog fishing on Wednesday—but they were too far out to reach from shore. It’s that time of the year when shellfishing interest spikes, so he’s selling a fair amount of gear like rakes, waders, and baskets; otherwise, freshwater fishing is a safe bet for trout and bass, especially when conditions are poor and tautog are out of the question.
Captain Cam Faria of Cambo Charters said he hasn’t been out on tog charters this week as it’s been tough to find a weather window. However, he’s looking ahead and planning to do more commercial giant bluefin fishing when it opens again next week. Give him a ring if you have any interest in booking a tautog charter in Buzzards Bay!
Amy at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis said they’ve seen an increase in shellfishing interest as the weather gets cooler. People are out and about getting their oysters, quahogs, scallops, and steamers. She said there are some locals fishing for trout which has been good, with one regular customer who has been catching a lot of trout on the fly. Unfortunately, they have stopped stocking green crabs, but people are still togging when they can get the bait to do it. A few of their shore fishing customers have been doing well with tautog in the Canal and from shore in Falmouth, while some anglers who still have their boats in the water are picking away at keepers in Nantucket Sound. Amy also added that there are some stripers in the local creeks and bays, and the boat guys are still running east and catching schoolies in the rips off Monomoy. The fish are few and far between, but they’re there, so keep an eye on your local beaches as those schoolies move south and west through the sounds.
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Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
If there’s a time to go tautog fishing this weekend, it’s looking like Saturday morning is the best bet with low wind. Although if it’s pouring rain, that’s not exactly comfortable fishing conditions. Best grab your freshwater wand of choice and hit the ponds for bass, pickerel, trout, and panfish like yellow or white perch. Some of the best bass fishing of the fall could be in store this weekend. The rain will allow some of those herring to drop into the rivers so they can head downstream for salt water. If and when the rain stops, the wind will persist, and those choppy, gusty conditions could bring some very good fishing for trout and bass close to shore—especially near outflows and fish ladders. Strap up the waders and pack an array of plastics, jerkbaits, spoons, and spinners, and go see what’s biting in your local honey hole.
Additionally, keep in mind that when those herring do reach saltwater, any remaining stripers will be there waiting to pick them off. Grab a lightweight inshore setup and some soft plastics, even some freshwater-style jerkbaits like X-Raps, and cast around in the backwaters to survey the striper scene. If the fish are actively feeding, it will be very clear. Otherwise, jigging small soft plastics in deeper holes of the marshes and salt ponds will be the next best option.
And even though high winds might deter avid toggers from leaving the boat slip, they can still be caught from shore as well. Target areas like jetties where you can drop a jig or rig into 15 to 20 feet of water. You might wind up playing catch and release with short tautog, but a bent rod is better than a rod in storage.
Personally, I have some serious tackle organization to do, starting with the back seat of my truck. If the wind and rain is too much to bear, this will also be a good weekend to tie up jigs and flies for next year, or start the long, grueling process of swapping out split rings and rusted hooks on your striper gear.