Cape Cod Fishing Report
Bones, bones, bones. They’re here, and they’re thick.
Since the first few inshore bonito were caught back in June, their presence has been spotty and their whereabouts sporadic. But over the past two weeks we’ve seen isolated pods of small to mid-size bonito across the south side of Cape out to the Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands, with some hit-or-miss action in Buzzards Bay. There were even some bonito caught in Cape Cod Bay last week. Now, larger bonito to 6 pounds or so have inundated the upper Cape from Buzzards down into Vineyard Sound and beyond. Kayak and boat anglers on the west side of Cape and the South Coast have enjoyed some large, sustained foamers this week, and even shore anglers have had their shots at breaking fish.
With a week and change left in August, all we need is the albies to arrive in targetable numbers. Here’s hoping Hurricane Erin pushes them in from points offshore rather than scattering the bait and bonito, which would reshuffle the deck. Cape Codders and islanders shouldn’t have too much to worry about though (aside from a bit of storm swell), since Erin is tracking to remain 350 miles offshore at its closest point to land.
Cooler temperatures and breezy, overcast conditions over the past few days have been the driving forces behind a building bonito bite and improved striper fishing. There’s been excellent topwater action at first light off the Outer Cape near P-Town, and Monomoy continues to fish well. Resident summer bass are also becoming more active along the south facing beaches as peanut bunker and silversides continue to drop out of the backwaters, and they’ve shown a willingness to hit small topwaters and epoxy jigs as a result. Even sea bass have been blitzing on the hordes of baitfish on the outskirts of Cape-side harbors in Buzzards Bay and down the Elizabeths. We’ve only got 10 more days to keep sea biscuits before the season closes, so if you run into the stripeless bass feeding on top in your search for hardtails, don’t be so quick to move on. You might be able to box a few nice ones for the dinner table.
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 bonito are anywhere from Cleveland Light to Woods Hole. It’s unbelievable how many are out there. Standard epoxy jigs are doing the heavy lifting— just make sure you have a few different profiles on hand since they’re on a variety of bait. There are rumors of albies in Vineyard Sound, but he hadn’t received word of any confirmed catches (yet). Up in the Cape Cod Canal, there were sub-slot stripers and bonito feeding on peanut bunker just outside the east end on Tuesday morning. Small pencils (around 2 ounces) along with SP Minnows and epoxy jigs are catching schoolie bass and bones. There are still a lot of horse mackerel in the ditch as well, which has extended the chunk bite for larger bass to around 20 pounds throughout the canal, he added. Chunks are outfishing lures 3 to 1, and that is strange because chunking is usually hot when bluefish are present, but they’ve been more abundant on the south shore over the past week or so. The shop just received a tall order of fresh mackerel, so if you’re interested in fishing chunks for some over-slot bass from the riprap, swing by this weekend. Bottom fishing interest has slowed down since the bonito showed up in force, but the shop weighed in a 7-pound fluke last weekend that was caught down in the sound, and there’s still plenty of time left before the flatfish season closes.
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth said he got into a bunch of bonito in lower Buzzards Bay over the weekend; in a few hours, he and a friend caught about 10 each before heading in. Evan said JoeBaggs peanut resins and Hogy epoxy jigs were the top producers; a few of the bonito were spitting up peanuts, so match the hatch and you should find success. There’s still no word of albies out this way which, he said, is surprising, but there are rumors of them further east on the south side. However, he expressed some concern over the incoming storm conditions; there’s no telling what impact it will have on the inshore hardtail action. Erin could carry a bunch of mung and weed in from the ocean, or it could bring the albies in tight. We’ll just have to wait and see. Striper fishing, he said, has been much better this week though. Eels are getting the job done for anglers fishing after dark, and there are a lot more stripers down along the Elizabeths, most of which are schoolie size. As far as bottom fishing is concerned, you still have to fish deep for sea bass and fluke—around 75 to 100 feet. The shoal edges in Vineyard Sound are your best bet for sea bass close to home, and Nomans is fishing well if you’re willing to make the run. Offshore, West Atlantis was giving up some big yellowfin on the troll before the storm, and there are a whole lot of mahi sitting tight to high fliers around The Dump.
Captain Ben Sussman of In The Net Sportfishing out of Osterville said he was out on Wednesday morning for a kids charter and they had plenty of scup in the boat along with a 5- or 6-pound bonito that hit a trolled Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow. His past three trips have all yielded bonito in good numbers, and while he has yet to catch any albies, he’s received word of them out by the north side of the Vineyard and even saw them breaking off Hyannis a few days ago. Ben noted that water temps in Nantucket Sound have dropped substantially since last week; he’s seeing 70 degrees, which is almost a 5 degree drop, and bodes well for the fall run of striped bass which should be picking up after Erin rolls through. Give him a call if you’re interested in chasing hardtails or bass as the early fall run ramps up over the next few weeks.
Garrett from Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis said there are schoolies in the bays and off the local beaches hitting paddletails and small Heddon spooks early in the morning and right around sunset. In addition to the schoolies, bluefish have been in the mix for anglers casting jigs and topwaters off the jetties at dusk. There are also some needlefish out front, and they tend to prefer warm, shallow salt ponds and bays, so that’s a sign of smaller baitfish exiting the backwaters in stronger numbers, which could be a result of the recent drop in temperature. There are lots of bonito out by Monomoy and they’re starting to show up in better numbers off Hyannis. Moments before our call, a customer had just come in and shared that he was catching albies on 1/2-ounce Hogy poppers, which is great news; not only are they beginning to move in, but they were willing to hit slightly larger baits than last year, when they were keyed in on rain bait for the duration of the late summer and early fall. On the bottom fishing front, people are still catching fluke from the beaches on soft plastics, jigs, and squid strips.
Captain Cam Faria of Cambo Fishing Charters was busy getting everything squared away with his new Bluewater this week and had not been out, but he’s got trips scheduled for Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Thursday and Friday of this coming week. The post-storm weekend plan is to target big sea bass, and the rest of the week he is dedicating to running out to the canyons for tuna in the new rig. Assuming all goes well, Cam will be available for canyon trips going forward in addition to their inshore charters, so give him a shout to inquire about availability for either.
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Tyler Huckemeyer of the Helen H out of Hyannis said the doormat fluke bite is winding down, but not without some substantial catches to cap off another great trophy season on the Nantucket Shoals. Over the past week, two 14-pound-plus fluke came over the rail of the Helen H—one weighed 14.8 pounds, the other was 14.4. Huckemeyer said light-colored Gulps with dark skirts have been producing the best results for big fish. They’ve got a couple more trips in search of PB-breaking doormats, then they’ll shift to targeting quantity over quality, fishing for 4- to 6-pound fluke in shallower water on the Shoals until the season closes in mid-September.
Captain Kurt Freund of Fishsticks Charters out of Vineyard Haven reported: “For the past few weeks, I have been trying to get an early start, in order to avoid some of the worst boat traffic and to take advantage of an early morning bite. This week, on days when the weather allowed us to get out, that strategy has paid off and we’ve had some very productive trips. On Sunday, I fished with a dad and his 6-year-old son. This young, but already avid angler and I made a great team- I cast and he reeled, and he managed to hook and land a nice striped bass on our first cast. After trying for another bass for a little while longer, we headed out to look for bonito. Dad cast to breaking fish while the little guy and I kept busy with scup and sea bass. On Tuesday, I fished with Aaron Stock and his sons, Gardner and Byron. Once again the striped bass were blitzing for the first hour after sunrise, and we landed 4 nice bass, including Byron’s two slot-sized fish. We spent the rest of the morning casting to breaking bonito. These fish have been up and down so quickly that it is often very hard to get a cast into them, but persistence paid off and Gardner hooked and landed one nice bonito. As I stood ready to net his fish, we watched a bluefish chase and attack the hooked bonito, almost chomping the tail right off. On Wednesday, I fished with Chris Hartnick and family, and we chased birds and breaking bonito. We managed to hook and land two nice bonito with a bonus of a big scup that ate a jig bounced on the bottom. The first bonito took us all around the boat before finally coming to the net.”
From Nantucket, Rick Ramos shared the following report: “Well, here is the reset we’ve been looking for. Hurricane Erin will kick off new beginnings next week with new beach structure and new life as everything settles. Erin will most likely serve as the catalyst for an energized bite with hard tails, migratory bass starting their patterns, and of course larger bluefish flooding the island.
Captain Corey Gammill of Bill Fisher Outfitters added: “Before the storm, we were seeing steady improvement across the island. The harbor stayed good with bonito, the Bonito Bar was getting better, and Great Point was starting to hold more fish. Bluefishing wasn’t what it should be, but trips of 4–10 fish were common. With so much micro bait in the water, I think this storm could really help reset things and set us up for some great late-summer fishing.”
Late August is always a fun transition on Nantucket as anglers compete in the final weeks of the August Blues tournament and we begin to look ahead to the The Nantucket Inshore Classic, which celebrates its 20th year as a competitive beach and boat tournament running September 7th – October 11, 2025. Sponsored by the Nantucket Anglers’ Club, this is Nantucket’s premiere fall fishing tournament open to all local and visiting anglers. I encourage you to check it out and plan to visit the island to participate in this outstanding event. “
George Sylvestre of Sylvestre Outdoors in Brewster reported: “The bonito bite in Chatham has been consistently bonkers and recently attracted more and more boats. Good boat driving and casting practice for the upcoming albie bumper boat season (when will they show?). If you need a break from the hard tails, head in the direction of the South Chatham cut to look for bass feeding on sand eels. I was up on the Bay side briefly on Wednesday test driving a boat; didn’t fish but saw plenty of bait and birds, so I will split my time north and south next week.”
Captain Matthew Dempsey of Salt Reaper Charters in Dennis said he’s been fishing in Vineyard and Nantucket sounds where there has been very good bonito action. He even saw a few albies mixed in recently, but no hookups yet. The skipper also reported some good topwater action in Cape Cod Bay from over-slot striped bass in the shallows off the canal.
Captain Elena Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters in Truro reported: “Well our customers (and Captains!) reveled in some epic striped bass surface shows at sunrise off the tip of outer Cape Cod as captured here. This awesome topwater light-tackle bite lasted a few days until completely disrupted by the heavy NE winds which blew through on Monday. The past couple days, though we’re still catching, has required all different techniques, and the fish are finicky. We’re in for a couple more days of heavy winds and then we will be ready in full hunting mode by the weekend to get back on those blitzing stripers! We have openings starting Sunday, which can be viewed here. Please everyone stay safe as the tropical weather passes by!”
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
The weekend weather, aside from some wind, looks spectacular. Temperatures will be back in the upper 70s, wind will be blowing 10-15 knots out of the southwest, and seas (inside the islands) should be settled. In Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, it’s looking like long period 1- to 2-foot swells, which is perfect for chasing around bonito. A little chop should bring sustained feeds and less “spooky” fish. However, the further east you go on the south side, the bigger the swell. The forecast in Nantucket Sound is calling for 5 footers at 10-second intervals, which is manageable—but use caution. Kayak anglers in search of bass, bluefish, or bonito should focus on launching in Buzzards Bay or Cape Cod Bay.
For most anglers, the name of the game this weekend is Sarda sarda—Atlantic bonito. However, false albacore sightings are ramping up by the day, so there are bound to be a few of them caught (we hope).
Striped bass fishing is another great option this weekend if you can run through the Canal or launch in Cape Cod Bay. Pack a mix of topwaters and diamond jigs, because the best action has been around sunrise, and once the sun is up, those fish tend to go down. That said, some cooler weather and a decent (albeit temporary) drop in water temps may find them feeding up top longer than usual.
Shore anglers should have shots at bonito, small bluefish, and bass from Nantucket Sound to Buzzards Bay. And if, for some reason, all is quiet on the south side, head up to the Canal with pencils, minnow plugs and an array of epoxy jigs to cast to schoolie and slot-size stripers or bonito. You can also catch yourself some mackerel and set up to chunk, or swing by Red Top and pick up some of the fresh macks they received just a couple days ago.