Cape Cod Fishing Report
Late-summer patterns are in full effect on Cape Cod. We’re seeing hardtails — mostly small to mid-size bonito — working tight to shore in Vineyard Sound along the upper Cape and Vineyard beaches. They are in isolated pods that are quick up and down, and a few casts into their short-lived feeds yielded no results for me and Capt. Ben Sussman of In The Net Sportfishing on our way back from the tuna grounds earlier this week. Further east in western Nantucket Sound, big schools of 1- to 3-pound bluefish continue to blitz on the surface at all hours. We caught plenty of those in the 20 minutes we spent chasing down feeds in hopes of connecting with a few bones. For those seeking larger bluefish, the best place to begin the search is the easternmost point of Martha’s Vineyard.
In Buzzards Bay, bonito seem to be hanging toward the mainland side where they’re feeding on baitfish dropping out of the rivers and harbors. However, on Tuesday and Wednesday, bonito were caught in the west and east ends of the Cape Cod Canal and along some of the Cape side harbors in Buzzards Bay, leaving anglers in Cape Cod Bay hopeful that they’ll vacate the ditch and head east.
Aside from the concentrations of bass in eastern Cape Cod Bay, on the outer beaches, and the occasional school riding the rocky shores of the Elizabeths, stripers are few and far between at the moment. It appears that the bunker bite along the south shore has subsided, and Monomoy has grown somewhat quiet over the past week as the bass seek out sand eels just north of the famed rips. But with small mullet and peanut bunker populating salt ponds and estuaries along the south side of Cape, local shore anglers have high hopes for a bite to develop as those baitfish begin to flush out of the backwaters en masse. As the month progresses, we’ll see more bass, bonito, bluefish, and eventually, albies (and maybe Spanish mackerel), staging in the same areas where those small wolf packs of bonito are currently plucking baitfish on the ebb tide. Look to river mouths, bay and pond inlets, and rips to find your first hardtails of the season.
The best bet for some large fluke is to jump on a charter and head to Nantucket Shoals, although there are still keepers around the shoals of Vineyard Sound in around 70 feet of water, and some anglers are finding fish in the low 20-inch range up in Buzzards Bay on the flats.
Keeper sea bass are tough to come by these days, but charter captains and party boats are doing their best to locate them in Nantucket Sound while others make the long haul toward Nomans to jig around deep rock structure. Gator blues have been in the mix down there, too, chomping on diamond jigs and at times, hooked sea bass.
Early August is a bit of a transition period on Cape. The fluke bite hits a temporary lull until silversides, peanuts, and mullet (among other baitfish) are packed tight into estuaries and bays. Then, our summer flatfish put on the feed bags and gorge on those baitfish in skinny water before sliding out of the inlets to pluck stragglers along the beaches of the sounds and Buzzards Bay. It’ll be a bit tough to find keepers feeding on peanut bunker and silversides in the back, but the action from short fish can be fast and hectic. Come late August, I’ve witnessed fluke blitzing on peanuts in some of our rivers and shallow harbors, and even if you’re not a fluke lover (like me), it’s a spectacle.
And while our inshore fisheries are going through this short-lived transition between late summer and early (very early) fall fishing patterns, midshore fishing for bluefin tuna has been hot one day and cold the next. This week, many charters and guides headed home tuna-free and searching for mahi. There’s plenty of life down south beyond Cox Ledge toward the Gully and Tuna Ridge, but bluefin are clearly responding to the heavy fishing pressure. On Monday’s trip with Capt. Ben Sussman, a handful of boats were able to hook up on UVT jigs, zucchini and purple side trackers, and dead-sticked RonZs while others went home empty handed. There are mahi on the pots and windmills, but even they were finicky. Ben, his friend Derek, and I pot hopped our way back north and east and encountered several schools of 10- to 15-pound mahi in open water that wanted nothing to do with our jigs. Thankfully, Capt. Ben was able to stick a solid 45-inch bluefin after it ate a pink RonZ on the sink when we marked it at 75 feet and dropped the jig right on its noggin.
Ready your epoxy jigs and surf & inshore rods for the weekend, because it looks like Mother Nature is blessing us with another beauty. Low wind, calm seas, and a blossoming inshore hardtail season should bring good results to shore, boat, and kayak anglers around Cape Cod.
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 there have been bonito in the east end of the Canal as of this morning, and AJ said his buddy also caught a massive bone on an epoxy jig in the west end this morning. There are plenty of bunker and silversides in the ditch, and as a result, the chunk bite has been great in the east end for slot and over-slot bass. Back in Buzzards Bay, there are still some decent-size fluke around on the flats; Howie from the shop caught a 21 incher this week. Meanwhile, down in Vineyard Sound, bonito is the name of the game. Connor talked to an angler earlier today who caught five, although it takes some work to stay with the fast-moving schools and they are being a bit picky.
From the Cape Cod Canal, East End Eddie Doherty reported: “Pogies, silversides and macks continue to inhabit the Canal, ringing the dinner bell for hungry striped bass with some recent catches providing hope for better days. An active school of stripers were breaking in front of Henry Gorbey of Hanover on the early west dropping tide Saturday. He fought a 35-inch linesider to the rocks that attacked his Guppy JoBo during the topwater bite and, at about the same time, Justin “Chef” Winters of West Barnstable reeled in a couple of fish just shy of slot size with a GT Eel. “Slap Shot Scottie’ Ewell picked off a couple of slots from the bottom with a diamond jig during a morning excursion and Mark “Preacher” MacNeill reported 7 schoolies landed up to 27 inches on an SP Minnow until a seal brought the action to a halt. US Air Force Iraq combat veteran Harold Skelton, who founded Fishing for the Mission 22, has implemented another tremendous initiative to help his fellow veterans, active-duty military and first responders. Skelton has 3 electric bikes available through October at no cost for America’s heroes. They are fully equipped with all the fishing gear needed for the Canal as well as an experienced guide if desired. Contact info@fishingforthemission22.org or 774-810-2223 at 47 Main Street, Buzzards Bay across from the Railroad Bridge west end parking lot for more on this terrific program.”
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth said this week there have been bonito on the south side but they’re scattered all over the place. They’re everywhere from down along the Weepeckets over to the Vineyard’s north side beaches, and off of Falmouth from the west side in Buzzards Bay down to the south side beaches. One of Evan’s customers today said he had 15 bones on jigs closer to the Vineyard. Locally, they’ve been within casting range from shore. A fair amount of people are going for fluke this week with mixed results; 50 to 70 feet of water in Vineyard Sound seems to be the money spot, he said. Other bottom bouncers are heading south of the Vineyard to pick up keeper sea bass on diamond jigs in deep water.
Captain Ben Sussman of In The Net Sportfishing out of Osterville said he and his charter had some bonito on jigs yesterday, but it required covering a lot of ground. They’re a bit finicky and not staying up super long, but as time passes and more baitfish dump out of the ponds and bays, the bite should only improve. He’s got another tuna trip down south of the islands tomorrow and is hoping the action has picked up a bit sine Monday. The east and northeast winds have messed with water temperatures and boosted visibility, which could be playing a role in the tuna and mahi becoming picky.
Nathan at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis said Monomoy continues to fish well for stripers and blues with smaller presentations like squid flies and soft plastics the most productive. Schoolies off the local beaches on poppers and swimbaits. some tuna south of the Dump earlier in the week. Bonito seem scattered along the south side.
Tyler Huckemeyer of the Helen H in Hyannis reported that fluke fishing at the Shoals has been a slow but steady pick with some nice fish mixed in. They’ve seen seven double-digit fish in the last five days, including a 12, a 13 and a handful of 10s. Bottom fishing in the Sound remains steady for scup, he said, but the water has been a bit too warm for big sea bass. Up in Cape Cod Bay, their boat has been doing well on striped bass with several 20-plus-fish outings and a wide range of sizes from under to over slot.
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Captain Kurt Freund of Fishsticks Charters on Martha’s Vineyard reported: “This has been a strange weather week, with mostly light winds, but out of the north and east, which isn’t the nicest. Nevertheless, we continue to work hard to find fish for our guests. Two highlights stand out from this week’s trips. Hoping to find some bonito or bluefish breaking, I searched along the north shore with Justin Laupert and family on Monday afternoon. We did find some fish breaking under a flock of terns, but to my surprise, they were striped bass. They must have been focused on some very tiny baitfish, because we had a hard time convincing them to bite. Benny Laupert managed to hook a nice 27” striper. Another highlight of this week was the arrival of good numbers of bonito. Dwain Thomas and friend JD managed 4 bonito on Wednesday morning. One of the fish we landed spit up peanut bunker and silversides, which explains why silver was the hot color that morning.”
From Nantucket, Rick Ramos shared the following report: “It feels like Nantucket could use a good August storm to shake things up and reset the bite. Fishing has been just ok lately, but certainly still worth getting out there. Surfcasters are picking away at small schools of bluefish along the south shore and at Great Point. Most fish are on the smaller side, but a few over 35-inches have been landed which is keeping things interesting for tournament anglers. Striped bass action has been quieter, with the most consistent bites happening at night, particularly off the west end of the island. Bonito made a brief appearance over the weekend, just long enough to tease anglers before disappearing again and living up to their reputation as the “Elusive Bonito”.
From the boat, Captain Corey Gammill of Bill Fisher Outfitters echoed the sentiment: ‘The fishing’s been a bit of a grind. Bluefish and bass are hanging around the west end, especially when there’s a decent swell. Great Point has also produced blues, and while bonito are starting to show, their presence remains hit-or-miss. If you’re looking for striped bass with more consistency, your best bet is to head east.’
On the bright side, the August Blues Nantucket Fishing Tournament is off to a great start! David Tribble currently leads the Triple Strike Beach Division with a combined 99-inches from his top three bluefish. 2024 Boat Division Champion Heather Unruh is back at it again, kicking off with 101.5-inches. The tournament runs through August 31, with weekly contests and new chances to win great prizes for all anglers. Check out our popular family division and all junior anglers’ registration is free. Whether you’re chasing blues from the beach or boat, there’s still time to get in on the action. Sign up today at August Blues Nantucket and join the fun!”
Captain Elena Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters in Truro reported: “What a week to be grateful for consecutive days of favorable marine conditions off outer Cape Cod and the continued presence of striped bass surface shows! We’re trying not to get spoiled, but the acres of topwater splashing stripers has sure been nice to see most every day. Lighter-colored slim-profile lures reeled with a slow twitch are generating multiple bent rods while our tube-tailed diamond jigs wait their turn for the later afternoon hours. Awesome to have such a great striper bite still going strong into August. We have one opening left for the upcoming weekend—check it out here!”
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
As previously mentioned, it looks like we’re in for a beautiful weekend and there are plenty of good fishing opportunities on all sides of Cape Cod.
On the south side, bonito and small bluefish are everywhere. The bones have been moving around quite a bit, so running a circuit around Vineyard Sound is a safe bet if you’re looking for an early August hardtail fix. Look along the beaches from Hyannis to Falmouth, or head toward the Vineyard and the Elizabeths. There have also been bonito reported close to shore on both sides of Buzzards Bay and in the Canal, so shore and kayak anglers should have plenty of shots at them.
There’s no telling how the tuna bite down south will unfold this weekend, but one thing is for sure, it’s going to be crowded out there. With low winds and calm seas in the forecast, the best strategy is to look for signs of life on the outskirts of the main fleet. Troll until you start marking them and if they’re not hitting bars and daisy chains, get the jigging gear ready… and don’t go south without a few RonZs to deadstick from a rod holder. Worst case scenario, be prepared with some lighter spin gear to cast jigs to mahi on the pots or bonito once you make it back inshore.
Shark fishing is still good from the south-facing beaches for anglers fishing eels and chunked bluefish, so don’t be so quick to bypass those schools of nuisance 2-pound blues if you’re planning to do some sharking in the near future.
Up in Cape Cod Bay, the first light topwater bite along the outer Cape has been exceptional, but it turns into a jig bite as the day wears on, so be ready to do both.