Cape Cod Fishing Report
We’ve been settling into early summer fishing patterns on the Cape for a week or two now. But with ocean temperatures about a week behind where they typically are for this time of year, stripers are still slowly making their way up the coast. We won’t see them settling into their summer haunts just yet.
Fresh waves of bass are sliding in along the Elizabeth Islands this week, and OTW reader Tim Russell had a banner outing down there on Tuesday with fish up to 39 inches while casting a 100-gram Shimano Current Sniper jig. For another week, at least, we should continue to see a mix of Hudson fish and those big Chesapeake bass that have been moseying up the coast after a multi-week stint off New Jersey and Long Island. In fact, local angler Rob Marland, who had been on a steady bite of slot-size fish lately, managed to hook one of those Chesapeake cows while jigging a soft plastic from the bank of an Upper Cape estuary this week. Most of those big post-spawn bass won’t head for skinny water, so this is a particularly special catch. Congratulations, Rob.
In addition to fresh migratory bass coming in from the ocean, we’ve got plenty more bluefish of various sizes showing up along the south-facing beaches, as well as northern kingfish and fluke. The wind has made fluke fishing a bit more challenging this week, but quality flatties can be caught from shore if sea conditions are unsafe to sail. I hooked a nice backwater fluke earlier this week while fishing a simple jig-and-teaser rig in the wind and rain. A 3/8-ounce jig tipped with Gulp swimming mullet, and a Spro bucktail teaser 18 inches above it, was the ticket to some fast action. It was mostly short fish, but as is usually the case with fluke fishing from shore, if you pick through the shorts you’ll eventually land a couple nice keepers. I opted to let my biggest keeper of the day go free.
Fluke action is picking up nicely across the board. There are some excellent fluke opportunities from Nantucket Shoals to Vineyard Sound, and the bite has improved in Buzzards Bay since the beginning of the month; keepers are still a bit tougher to come by in Buzzards, but they are around.
As previously mentioned, summer fishing patterns are really beginning to unfold. This time next week, we’ll be 5 days into a stretch of 80-degree weather. Those hot summer conditions will rapidly warm the shallow bays and salt ponds, so shore-based striped bass anglers should begin looking to the backside beaches of the outer Cape, as well as the bayside beaches and inlets. And while the backwaters become devoid of most striper activity, they’ll see an influx of fluke, northern kingfish, scup, small weakfish and unfortunately, sea robins, as we inch closer to July. Silversides are finally starting to fill in, and they’ll help to keep those species satiated through the summer months.
Gator bluefish have been a little tougher to pinpoint lately. Blues from 8 to 12 pounds had been marauding around upper Buzzards Bay earlier in the week, according to OTW’s Patrick Washburn, who caught more than his share in a few days of fishing from cocktail hour to dusk. The better bet for blues, however, would be to cast poppers, tins, and epoxies from the south side in places like Craigville Beach or South Cape Beach—two well-known bluefish spots—for 3- to 6-pound fish. And who knows? Maybe you’ll pull in a bonito. Those striped speedsters have been spotted all around the Cape and Islands over the past 3 weeks, and it should only get better from here. Additionally, if you drag those same metal and epoxy jigs along sandy bottom beaches, there’s potential to pull in some nice fluke—especially if you’re fishing a place like South Cape where there is usually heavy sweep. Otherwise, a standard bucktail and teaser rig will do the trick.
Sea bass fishing can still be summarized as spotty across the board. It’s worth poking around over 20- to 30-foot lumps and rock piles, but any hotspots are likely to be picked over. Consider fishing deeper reef and wreck structure if a few drops over shallow structure yield nothing but shorts and small scup.
Here’s what some of our local tackle shops and charters had to report heading into the weekend:
Connor Swartz at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay told me there are plenty of stripers in Buzzards Bay and Cape Cod Bay. The boat crowd has been doing well around the Elizabeths and upper Buzzards, but the fish are a bit spread out and lockjawed at times; Connor said they were not showing interest in eels or big artificials earlier this week, which he attributed to an influx of silversides in the area. However, the upper bay has good numbers of subsurface pogie schools hanging around 5 or 6 feet below the surface, which is good to see as more big Chesapeake fish arrive. Additionally, with silversides abundant, Connor said fluke fishing has been slowly improving in the bay, and there are plenty of short fluke in the Cape-side harbors. There have also been wolf packs of 8- to 10-pound bluefish in the Cape side harbors of upper Buzzards Bay. The sea bass bite, he said, continues to be hit or miss; he went out for sea bass on Father’s Day and said the fishing was just okay. Their group of 4 had 6 or 7 keepers to around 18 inches and loads of short fish that were just under keeper size. It might be time to start poking around in deeper water for untapped pieces of structure if you’re looking for some quality sea bass in better numbers.
From the Cape Cod Canal, East End Eddie Doherty reports: “Action on the Canal has slowed down so much that John “Seadog” Schmidt lamented, “I couldn’t even get the no-see-ums to bite!” Notwithstanding the gloom experienced by most, Keith “OFD” Dacey, the pride of Savin Hill, began last week by reeling in a nice slot on the east flood tide with his clear 2-ounce Tsunami curly tailed soft plastic jig. Mike Dick, a talented Bourne lure maker, enticed a couple of slots to hit his Happy as a Clam white Mini Canal Cruiser for some top water action on an early east tide at first light, and a couple of days before, caught a 39-inch bluefish. After 4 hours of casting without even a bump, North Attleboro native Justin “Shooter” Dorsey fought a powerful fish to the rocks as the week continued. Shooter’s persistence paid off when a 25-pound striper hit his green mack Al Gags Whip-It-Fish on an early rising east tide.”
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth said there are mid 30-inch stripers on the rips in Vineyard Sound but they’re thinning out a bit. He caught a few bass there on Monday this week, along with some 6- to 8-pound bluefish. The blues, he said, have been keyed in on smaller poppers. Evan mentioned that he doesn’t think the bite in the south side rips will last much longer; the squid draggers are still out there pulling out the bait, and it’s sending the fish packing for points east. A lot of bass have headed out toward Nantucket Sound and Monomoy where there are still a ton of squid. As far as the local shore fishing opportunities, there are a fair amount of bluefish on the beaches of Vineyard Sound and western Nantucket Sound; he’s had reports of blues around 8 pounds on poppers and metals. There is a lot of bait moving in and out of the salt ponds locally, so focus on outgoing tides if you’re looking to pick off a few small bass or bluefish on the adjacent beaches. Eel sales are picking up, he added, and he’s starting to get requests for eels specifically for brown shark fishing since the south side beaches and Buzzards Bay coastlines are now the only places Massachusetts anglers can legally fish for sharks. No brown shark catches reported just yet, though.
Captain Ben Sussman of In The Net Sportfishing in Osterville reported that as of Wednesday, there are still fair amounts of fish in the Vineyard Sound rips, most of which measure around 28 to 33 inches. Ben said they’ve been catching on white weightless soft plastics and spooks as the bass are feeding on the last of the squid out there. Keeper sea bass, he added, were taking metal jigs in 20 to 30 feet of water.
Christian at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis said the shore fishing scene has been “buck wild” the last two or three days with bluefish all over the south side beaches. Fish from 2 to 4 pounds are everywhere, being caught on tins, epoxy jigs and small topwaters. There are a lot of anglers coming into the shop with photos of northern kingfish and fluke off the local beaches, and there have even been some mid-size weakfish in the mix, too. On the north side in Cape Cod Bay, their shop regulars said there’s been a great bass bite close to shore than usual with some squid moving in tight to the beaches. The bulk of the bass are in the slot or just over-slot, with some fish over 40 inches, and they’re all being caught on topwater right around sunrise and again at dusk. And in the freshwater ponds, largemouth bass fishing has been excellent too. Young kids and families have been hitting the local bass ponds first thing in the morning and a few of them proudly shared photos of their bass, all of which were 3 pounds or larger. Grab some frogs, Senkos, and small topwater lures to cast around for bass in your local honey hole on the next foul-weather day.
From Nantucket, Rick Ramos reported: “The outer beaches of Great Point continue to deliver consistent striped bass action, especially during the early morning and evening tides. East winds have pushed schools of sand eels tight to the shoreline, drawing in hungry bass and making for excellent light-tackle opportunities. Albie Snax, IslandX Hellfire and Bomber Lures have all been producing solid results. Be prepared, as some anglers have connected with gator bluefish mixed in among the bass; consider bumping up your leader strength to avoid break-offs. Bonito are still making regular appearances around the lighthouse, with the most productive bites coming at first light. Meanwhile, the east end of the island is beginning to fire with more consistent numbers of slot-sized stripers. Anglers willing to reach the deeper edge with 3- to 4-ounce bucktails are finding success.”
Tyler Huckemeyer from the Helen H in Hyannis reported a steady pick of fluke with some nice double-digits in the mix on the Shoals again this week. Conditions aren’t great with the east winds, which have been incessant; anglers are working hard to catch and when they do, the results are good. In Cape Cod Bay, winter flounder fishing is still hot, and in Nantucket Sound, fishing for porgies and sea bass has been decent, but nothing to write home about. Check out their full schedule of available trips online and book directly through their website!
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George Sylvestre of Sylvestre Outdoors in Brewster reported: “The population of sand eels continues to grow out on the Brewster Flats and with it, of course, the schools of striped bass. By now they’ve seen some fishing pressure and have tended to be pretty picky lately. The Clouser Minnow tied on a small hook in olive and white is a good “go-to” fly, but don’t sleep on Flatwing patterns to help your fly stand out in the crowd. Early morning bite has been the best, particularly on these overcast days we’ve had. Lengthen that leader for selective bass and don’t be afraid to throw crab flies. For more consistent action, head out to the Monomoy Rips, which have been en fuego lately with loads of squid and hungry bass feeding at near frenzy pace at times. Tie up some squid flies and, if you can find an ebb tide that coincides with day break, call in sick to work and get out there.
Captain Drew Downing of Down East Charters in Chatham reported: “A week of east wind started sluggish, but the fish adjusted and bait started to come through with more regularity in the last few days. Still a variety down there, but more sand eels and terns in the mix now. Fun fishing to be had on both tides and most edges. Seeing a couple bluefish and oddball bones (bonito) at the point now as well.”
Captain Elena Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters in Truro reported: “With the approach of summer and start of school vacation, it has been great to see an increase in young anglers aboard the Reel Deal boats! Drifting live bait has worked well in these situations to give the kiddies opportunity to reel in their own catch. Also, for our more experienced anglers, the topwater bite has been bringing in some really big stripers approaching the 40-pound mark. Hogy’s Dog Walker in white or amber is producing the strikes! Be sure to check out our upcoming openings by visiting this link.”
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
Saturday looks like the best weekend day we’ve had in a long time. Temps will be pushing 80 degrees, southwest wind will be low, and at the time of this writing, there’s no rain in the forecast until Sunday. Take advantage of the nice conditions and get out to your sea bass spots, or fish the rips on the south side (from Monomoy west) for slot- to over-slot stripers that are chowing down on squid. Jigging bucktails on small rock piles and around the edges of shoals in Vineyard and Nantucket sounds could also yield some quality fluke. In Buzzards Bay, keep an eye out for schools of bass moving in from the south, and if you locate some pogies, spend a bit of time fishing metal lips, glidebaits, or walk-the-dog topwaters on the edges of the school for big blues or some of those bruiser bass that are showing up in sneaky areas.
Shore anglers have plenty of options, too. Pencil-popping on the bayside beaches, or casting metals and epoxies on the south side would be wise sunrise moves on Saturday when wind conditions are calm. Even the outer beaches should have bass pushing north after rounding the Cape’s elbow. Plus, there’s always wading for schoolies or fluke in the harbors and salt ponds of Buzzards Bay, and Nantucket and Vineyard sounds.
If nothing else, bottom fishing for a mixed bag of scup, sea bass and summer flounder is always a fun and accessible option whether you’ve got a boat or kayak. Whatever you do, just wear sunscreen. I’m peeling like an orange already, and it’s not even July.
Thanks for reading and enjoy the weekend.