Cape Cod Fishing Report
Rumors of early-arriving albies continue to circulate on the south side of Cape Cod after a few potential sightings in Nantucket Sound and Vineyard Sounds last week. One thing is for sure though, bonito are filling in again.
Surfcasters on Martha’s Vineyard have picked up a few bones on the beaches this week while just across the pond on the upper Cape, the striped speedsters have been popping up sporadically to the pleasure of boat and kayak fishermen. Meanwhile, in Buzzards Bay, bonito are blitzing along the mainland shores and schools of small bluefish continue to rip through silversides and rain bait in the Cape side harbors, especially at first light, which bodes well for the blooming inshore hardtail season.
The backwaters are rich with baitfish right now, from small silversides and bay anchovies to miniature mullet. While wet wading for fluke with OTW’s Johnny McIntyre yesterday, we had hordes of baitfish schooling around our ankles and scattered groups of 2-inch mullet spooking tight to the marsh grasses. That’s an exciting prospect for the early fall run which, somehow, is just 3 or 4 weeks out. The fluke bite was slower than Johnny and I had hoped, with only a couple small fish on Gulp swimming mullets and one near-keeper fluke on the fly rod for me. Slowly stripping a Clouser minnow along a channel edge tempted that fish, but as water temperatures climb into the high 70s and low 80s in the bays and salt ponds, there’s been a noticeable shift from fluke slowly migrating out of protected, bait-rich estuaries into more comfortable waters along open beaches. It’s a great time to jump in the kayak and drift for flatties. Expect a lot of shorts with a few keepers mixed in.
The best chance for some larger fluke will be along the shoals. Deeper pockets of water, ranging from 80 to 100 feet, are good places to start and if the fish are uncooperative, sliding into water as shallow as 10 to 20 feet can yield some positive results. OTW’s Chris Megan and Kevin Blinkoff bounced around the shoals in Vineyard Sound late last week and found some XL sea bass in around 80 feet of water before tempting some aggressive fluke in about 20 feet of water. Joined by OTW Contributing Writer Gabe Gries, the trio tripled up a handful of times and had fluke following jigs and hooked fish up to the boat. To avoid being plagued by short fish, reach for larger grubs and curly tails to beef up your presentations.
On the mid-shore and offshore front, recreational bluefin tuna fishing continues to be excellent down south and southwest of the Vineyard. Sand eels are the baitfish du jour, and the jig bite is hot for 40- to 50-inch fish. Head south of the Vineyard to hit all the hotspots with a plan to move west toward Block Island and the wind farms if it’s quiet, and you’re likely to run into some rec-sized fish. However, bluefin to around 80 inches have also been reported, so be prepared to release those over-sized fish.
Meanwhile, in Cape Cod Bay, giant bluefin tuna are tearing through bunker schools along the south shore up toward Plymouth. There are also a whole lot of slot and over-slot stripers bouncing between bunker pods around first light into late morning, which has brought some exciting topwater action. And when they’re not eating bunker, there are also plenty of mackerel holding lower in the water column (around 80 feet).
The Cape Cod Canal is loaded with bait, although the bite continues to be hit or miss. Over the past week, anglers who frequent the ditch were catching schoolie and slot-size bass on top at first light, but the action has been very concentrated. It’s the kind of bite you’ll want, or rather, need a bike for if you want to locate fish feeding on top.
Here’s what our local shops and charters had to report heading into the weekend:
Connor Swartz at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay said that according to Bull MacKinnon, Tuesday was a quiet morning on the Canal and the bite in the East End had slowed, but more and bigger fish were back by Wednesday morning. There were also fish in the west end taking bucktails and Savage Gear sand eels, but since then the fish have shown preference for live bait. Ditch anglers were live-lining mackerel and catching slot-sized fish toward the west end on Wednesday morning, and by Wednesday afternoon, there was a mix of small bass and 3- to 5-pound bluefish feeding on top around slack tide. The majority of the bass have been in the 24- to 31-inch range. In Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, he said, fluking is picking up again as fish slide out of the harbors and salt ponds. The shoals in Vineyard Sound have been a safe bet for some keeper flatfish. As far as hardtails, bonito have popped up in Buzzards Bay this week along the mainland and surprisingly, are being caught on large soft plastics like the XL Fish Snax. Connor also said that mahi are loaded south of the Vineyard, and his hot take was that it’s very possible we see them temporarily push inside the Elizabeths at some point this month.
From the Cape Cod Canal, East End Eddie Doherty reported: “The Canal still has plenty of striper forage including mackerel, squid, silversides and other rain bait. The breaking tides produced a slot last week and a few schoolies for hardcore surfcaster Joe “Green Gloves” Moneghan who was working a Striper Gear Shaddy Daddy into the early east tide. Striped bass will sometimes use their broad tail to slap their prey in an effort to stun a potential meal swimming by. When a schoolie wacked my green & orange Yo-Zuri Hydro Minnow, it hooked itself in the tail, making the retrieve feel like a much bigger fish. Bob “Bull” MacKinnon continues to find fish, landing several slots in the 12-pound range out of a cookie cutter school traveling on top during a morning surface bite with a Wally’s 3-ounce white pencil.”
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth said Sunday and Monday there were bonito blitzing off the south side beaches. One customer caught 5 or 6 of them, and there were some cocktail bluefish mixed in. Epoxy jigs and soft plastics were both getting bit. Bigger blues, he said, have been stationed off Chappaquiddick. There’s also some pretty good fishing along the Elizabeth Islands, where schoolie bass have been blitzing tight to shore and taking epoxy jigs; with bonito beginning to fill in, it’s always worth poking around down there this time of year. There are still plenty of bass out by Monomoy though, and the 5-inch amber Albie Snax has been doing the heavy lifting. The key is to rig it on a jighead and work it lower in the water column, around 5 or 6 feet down, which has tempted some over-slot fish. Back around the upper Cape, there’s been decent fluke action outside the mouths of the salt ponds; a few of his customers have been catching plenty of shorts and a couple keepers on bucktails and Gulp. As far as the tuna scene, Evan said another customer was fishing down at Cox Ledge a couple days ago and had loads of sand eels being corralled by dolphins, with tuna and whales taking full advantage. They caught about 10 fish and relayed to him that pink jigs were the key color.
Captain Ben Sussman of In The Net Sportfishing out of Osterville reported that good striper fishing continues at Monomoy, although it’s gotten a bit dangerous lately in the fog. A gentle reminder that fishing around Monomoy, where visibility is often low and crowds are thick, requires the use of radar for the safety of not only your own passengers, but other boaters around you. In addition to consistent striper action from mixed size classes of fish, Ben continues to find quality sea bass out east in Nantucket Sound, which has been a nice addition to trips when customers want to keep a few fish for the table.
Amy at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis said there are bonito showing up nearby in Nantucket Sound, which has been the buzz lately. Grab your epoxy jigs and Albie Snax, because they’re filling in nicely. Scup fishing is still solid locally, and there are a lot more black sea bass coming up over by the Vineyard. Striper fishing is still good out of Monomoy, although most boats will be sidelined for a couple days with the building northeast wind. On the bay side, there are still good numbers of slot- and over-slot bass between Eastham and Brewster, while back on the south side, there are decent numbers of schoolies on the local beaches at dusk taking small topwaters and plastics. Amy got a report from some customers who hit the canal that chunked mackerel have been working well toward the east end, and a lot of macks are being caught just outside the ditch in Cape Cod Bay. For those interested in freshwater, all of the local ponds should be productive, but some of their younger customers have been throwing poppers at Wequaquet in the evening and are catching plenty of largemouth.
Tyler Huckemeyer of the Helen H in Hyannis reported
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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 Cam Faria of Cambo Fishing Charters had just returned from a recreational tuna trip south of the islands when we spoke, but they came up empty. Cam said they were marking a ton of fish on sand eels throughout the day but they just couldn’t get the fish to chew. With heavy northeast winds and a storm front coming after days of excellent fishing, the looming conditions are quite possibly to blame for the unfortunate results. Cam has also been running inshore trips this week, including Sunday’s bluefishing trip which saw incredible topwater action from big gators just south of the Vineyard. He’s taking a much needed day off on Friday but will be back at it once the seas settle after the blow.
Captain Drew Downing of Down East Charters out of Chatham reported: “The rips continue to be productive on colder tides, especially with a mix of squid and sand eels coming through. Bird piles are starting to be more reliable to the north, where the bait is mostly sand eels. These shallow water sand eel fish are challenging. Try downsizing tackle and allowing for more line scope. Simply put, cast further out the shallower you are and work off the bottom for willing fish.”
From Nantucket, Rick Ramos shared the following report: “August on Nantucket is all about bluefish — and we’re ready to “cast off” the 3rd Annual August Blues Tournament, running from August 1st through the 31st. Tournament founder Greg Chotkowski shared, “We’re excited to kick off our third year. It’s a month-long tournament open to all, with 100% of proceeds benefiting Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy to help end Duchenne. The competition is always tight—last year’s winner wasn’t decided until the final day. The phrase I keep hearing from the beach is: Beat Tedy Bruschi!”
That’s right—three-time New England Patriots Super Bowl champ and last year’s Beach Division winner, Tedy Bruschi, is back to defend his Triple Strike title. Think you can take him down? Time to find out.
As the tournament approaches, the bluefish are beginning to cooperate. Bigger blues have started to trickle in along the south shore and east end. Classic spots like Fisherman’s Beach, Point of Breakers, and the Great Point beaches have all produced solid action this week. Bass fishing has slowed a bit, but the south shore is still the best bet especially around daybreak or after dark.
Captain Corey Gammill of Bill Fisher Outfitters reports that bluefishing has started to pick up: “We’re not quite where we want to be yet, but it’s moving in the right direction. The east end has been holding fish, though they’re spread out. Keep an eye out for birds to locate the action.” Bass are still active to the east and around Monomoy, where the cooler water helps. And at the Bonito Bar, baitfish are stacking up, and the bite is beginning to heat up. The excitement is building as we wait for the stronger push of bonito and the first false albacore to return to the island’s waters.”
Captain Elena Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters in Truro reported: “The topwater sunrise striped bass blitz bonanza returned to outer Cape Cod! We remember these epic surface feeds from years ago and chancing upon them once again made lifetime memories for our clients this week. “National Geographic material!” as one recent angler quoted stepping off the boat. Starting at sunrise and lasting well into the morning, the surface explosions just kept coming on lighter-colored walk-the-dog style lures. An experience you can’t believe until you see it! Book your trip here to get in on this bite.”
Captain Matthew Dempsey of Salt Reaper Charters in Dennis reported: “The rips were strong this week and are holding a good mix of bass and blues on both tides. We had mostly slot-size fish with a few nice overs mixed in. Docs and SP Minnows were working great for the bass and blues, and we managed a few bonus bonito as well.”
Captain Mike Rathgeber of CeeJay Fishing out of Provincetown reported that bass fishing has rebounded in a big way following the chilling effect of the Canadian northerly which chilled the water and scattered the fish. Stripers have returned and are thick from Herring Cove to the Race with slot fish making up the majority of those caught.
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
By noon tomorrow, 6-foot swells at a rate of 5 seconds will keep boats from reaching the tuna grounds. Friday will be the day to ready your tuna and inshore fishing gear for the rest of the weekend. Saturday and Sunday look absolutely perfect, so expect a ton of boats to be hunting for bluefin south of the islands. The jig bite should pick up right where it left off; but in the event that the fish are heavily pressured and the bite proves challenging, as it was for Captain Cam Faria today before the blow, keep some lighter spinning gear ready to cast bucktails and epoxy jigs to mahi or bonito on the way home as a consolation prize.
Inshore, the best bet for the weekend is to seek out some bonito in Buzzards Bay or Vineyard and Nantucket sounds. They’re showing up in force after playing hard-to-get over the past few weeks. And who knows, you might just run into some albies out there. Just be sure that any bonito you keep for the table are over the 16-inch minimum size limit, and remember, the retention limit is 5-fish per angler.
Be safe and enjoy what looks to be a picture-perfect weather weekend ahead.