Cape Cod Fishing Report
It’s beginning to feel a lot like summer—as it should. With the solstice is in the rearview, the last waves of migratory stripers are reaching Cape Cod and the islands, fluke are biting from the bays to the shoals of Vineyard and Nantucket sounds (and beyond), and shore anglers are catching sharks off the south side beaches. This time of year, anglers of all walks have something worth casting for.
While bluefish are around, their presence remains spotty. Small cocktail blues are scattered about, mostly off the Nantucket Sound beaches and outside the harbors in Buzzards Bay. It’s still a “here one day and gone the next” type of bite, but anglers casting poppers, pencils, and tins on the south side are liable to catch a few anywhere from Mashpee to Chatham. Walk the beach to cover as much water as possible, and target points, rips, and inlets where there is substantial baitfish movement with the tides. Silversides seem much more abundant, and they’re fueling some decent fluke fishing in the bays and salt ponds, and off the beaches. Boat anglers looking for bigger “gator” blues should consider scoping out the east and south sides of Martha’s Vineyard. You may even run into some striped bass feeding on sand eels.
Fluke fishing has been good, not great, for shore and wading anglers—myself included. There is a decent mix of short and near-keeper-size fish in the backwaters, but I’ve yet to see any flatties that clearly exceed 17 inches. Remember, if you’re in a boat or kayak, the minimum size for fluke is 17.5 inches. I’ve been using standard jig-and-teaser rigs for the fluke, but I’ve got some unique sand flea jigs and crankbaits that I’m hoping to hook a few quality fluke with this summer. I expect the shallow fluke bite to pick up as the July 4th holiday approaches, because water temperatures are only getting warmer in the bays and there are certainly a fair amount of them out in the Sound. By several accounts, fluke fishing around the rips in Vineyard Sound has produced some keeper size fish with quite a few shorts mixed in. Drifting bucktails and fluke ball jigs tipped with Gulp, or hi-lo rigs baited with squid strips, along the deeper portions of the rips is a good way to connect with fluke, but don’t overlook the shallow edges. With stripers still chasing squid in the rips, be on the lookout for other boats and lines as you drift. Upper Buzzards Bay, just south of the Canal, is also a good place to drift for fluke with ball jigs and bucktails tipped with natural or scented artificial baits of your choice.
Surfcasters looking for striped bass this week should focus on the bayside beaches to the east, or start scoping out the backside surf. It hasn’t popped off yet, but there is potential to run into fish anywhere between Chatham and Provincetown. There have been bass feeding on squid and sand eels off P-Town and they’ve been in the rips off Monomoy for weeks now, and with plenty of sand eels and cooler water temps on the outer beaches, it’s only a matter of time until the fish move into the surf.
Plus, with the June full moon just a few days away, there’s a good chance that a late push of fresh fish will be marching east along the south side of Cape. A wave of migratory bass hit the Vineyard this week, which led to much better fishing in the rips of Vineyard Sound and beyond after a recent lull. Look for those fish to head through Nantucket Sound toward Monomoy, and potentially up the backside in the days leading up to (and following) the full moon on Monday. Nighttime surf bags on the bayside and outer beaches should consist of minnow plugs, needlefish, darters, bucktails, soft plastics (rigged weightless or on jigheads), and maybe a couple of metal-lipped swimmers. For the dawn and dusk crowds, pencil poppers, Polaris-style poppers, metals, bucktails, minnow plugs, soft plastics, and darters are all worth carrying.
While striper fishing has become a bit of grind for shore fishermen and surfcasters, shark fishing is drawing more attention on the Sound-facing beaches. Some larger brown sharks and rays have been caught on eels and chunked bluefish this week. If you locate a good bluefish bite with two feet on sand, that’s a good place to return at night with eels or chunks of the very bluefish you caught. Keep in mind, the bluefish limit, regardless of size, is now 5 fish per angler, per day. That should give you ample shark bait (and then some) if eels are tough to come by at the tackle shops.
Here’s this week’s rundown from a few of our local shops and charters:
AJ Coots at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay told me that the Canal action has not been hot and heavy this week, but there was a better bite in the ditch this morning with blues, bass, and mackerel making appearances. The bluefish were all cocktail size, but the bass were a mix of sizes. The biggest fish, one of which was 46 inches according to Bull MacKinnon, were hitting mackerel chunks. Over in the east end, guys are catching plenty of mackerel and either bringing them back toward the west end to chunk, or live-lining them off boats in the bay; both methods are producing good results. He said there is also a crowd that is doing well trolling X-Raps and Nomad DTX Minnows closer to shore along the south shore and out east toward Barnstable. In Buzzards Bay, he added, sea bass fishing has suddenly improved, which is strange to see this time of year. The fish have moved in shallow, at least temporarily, and the only explanation he could muster up was that there are still some squid kicking around. At night, they’re visible in the dock lights of the harbors and marinas in the middle and upper bay. We’ll see how long this sea bass bite lasts, because typically the fish are moving into deeper water at this point in the season, so it must be an influx of bait that’s bringing them in. Fluke reports in Buzzards, however, have been quiet since a couple of weeks ago.
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth said a new wave of migratory bass pushed into the area early this week and he and his buddy enjoyed steady action in Vineyard Sound yesterday morning in flat calm conditions around sunrise. The bass were busting on small squid on the calm side of the rip, and he had fish on nearly every drift until slack tide late in the morning. Evan said 5-inch Albie Snax and amber Hogy poppers were the ticket, but a few of his customers are catching on Nomad Jerk Squids lately, too. He mentioned that there were so many fish spread throughout the rip that even though there were a lot of boats out there, everyone was spaced out, which was nice. On the bottom fishing front, a couple guys he talked to are catching keeper fluke in and around Waquoit Bay, but the majority of keepers seem to be out on the shoals feeding on the same squid as the stripers in deeper water. Buzzards Bay, he added, has some bluefish kicking around, but they are mostly cocktail size.
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From Martha’s Vineyard, Stephen D’Angelo at Kismet Outfitters in Edgartown reported: “A fresh push of striped bass has arrived on Martha’s Vineyard, and the fishing has improved dramatically compared to last week. Fish are showing up in a variety of locations, with more consistent opportunities developing well beyond the rips. Along the North Shore, we’re finally seeing striped bass blitzing on dense schools of 2- to 4-inch sand eels. Matching the hatch has been critical, with slim-profile patterns like Bend Backs in tan and olive-over-white producing the most consistent results. Smaller topwater flies, particularly Crease Flies, have also been drawing explosive surface takes and aggressive reaction strikes when fish are actively feeding.
The rips continue to hold quality bass feeding on squid, though the bite has become noticeably more selective than it was earlier in June. Anglers focusing on the low-light windows of dawn and dusk are finding the best success. Midday fishing has been considerably slower, with fish becoming less responsive as the sun gets high and boat traffic increases. In the rips, fast-sinking lines paired with squid patterns in red/purple and orange continue to account for some of the largest fish of the season. For anglers targeting bass feeding on sand eels, intermediate lines paired with 16-pound fluorocarbon tippet have been particularly effective. With sand eels now abundant around the island and water temperatures remaining favorable, conditions are shaping up for what should be an excellent stretch of striped bass fishing over the coming weeks. As always, staying mobile, paying attention to forage, and matching the hatch will be the keys to consistent success.”
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Tony at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis reported a good striper bite up in Cape Cod Bay. Trolling the tube and worm has been productive during the late morning and mid-day hours, while others are having success with parachute jigs in deeper water. Squid and sand eels are still out there, and occasionally the bass will push bait on top, so keep a few surface plugs and small epoxy jigs or metals rigged and ready to go. In Nantucket Sound, he said, bottom fishing for scup and sea bass is going steady. Diamond jigs are catching the keeper sea bass, and hi-lo rigs tipped with squid are catching both scup and sea bass. Freshwater bass fishing, he added, is good across the board. All of the local ponds—namely Wequaquet, Long Pond, and Hathaway’s Ponds—are producing good numbers of largemouth and pickerel.
Riverview Bait and Tackle in South Yarmouth reported: “This week umbrella rigs and X-Rap Divers are flying off the shelves at Riverview Bait & Tackle. The bass in Cape Cod Bay have moved deep; trolling seems to be the preferred tactic to target slot bass and bigger around Billingsgate Shoals. Also in the bay, the winter flounder bite has slowed after an excellent season thus far. Monomoy is a superior option for spin and fly anglers hoping to tempt trophy-sized bass on artificials at first and last light. Customer Jim Richardson had a banner outing with his son this past weekend on Father’s Day! When not stocking shelves and picking seaworms, Riverview’s crew has been scouting the Nantucket Sound beaches for the first brown sharks of the ’26 season. Noah has been busy tying rigs and spooling sharkin’ combos for customers excited to stick a spike in the sand and wait for a big bite!”
Captain Matthew Dempsey of Salt Reaper Charters out of Dennis said he’s been bouncing back and forth between Cape Cod Bay and the rips on the south side chasing stripers. Both are fishing well, he said, but fishing pressure is way up due to summer boat traffic and the limited nice-weather days we’ve had this year. Whether in the Bay or in the Sound, his approach hasn’t changed much—the skipper locates bait and bass and equips his charters with the Doc or the Hogy XL Dog Walker, both of which have produced some quality fish in the past week or two. He’s also had anglers on board who prefer to fly cast, and they’ve been catching on large natural-colored squid patterns with good success. Give Capt. Matt a call to book a trip in the Bay or down the south side of Cape this summer.
Captain Drew Downing of Down East Charters out of Chatham reported: “Summer fishing has shown up by us this week with bright sun, lots of boats, and much more challenging conditions throughout the middle parts of the day. Less squid and gulls and more sand eels and lulls in the action have made early and late day tides paramount. Again, being willing to cover water and keep searching until you find productive drifts seems to make the difference. Water temps in Chatham are mid 50s to near 60. Tons of small sand eels are starting to show on the surface and up the beach. It won’t be long before fish start to push into their full summer patterns. Start adding the sand eel metals and epoxies to your compliment of rigged rods. Out east, there is bait and life but no tuna as of yet.”
Captain Elena Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters out of Truro reported: “Unsurprisingly this week, striped bass fishing remained awesome with the sunrise topwater bite keeping anglers delighted and the later morning vertical jig bite taking off. Pink Hogy jigs or green tube tailed diamond jigs are bending rods—depending on the day, give each one a try—sometimes with a slow steady retrieve, while other times an aggressive jig pattern. But if you stick with it, you will be rewarded with bites. What has been surprising this week: 1) Got our first bonito! One of our recent striped bass fishing charters picked up a nice-sized bonito off outer Cape Cod; and 2) Where are the bluefish? We have only caught one bluefish this season so far, which is atypical, so we look forward to those yellow-eyed devils showing up soon. Most importantly, you should be in on this action and we have a 5:00am departure open TOMORROW (Friday)—grab your spot now!”
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
I don’t know what to make of this weekend’s weather forecast. It is all over the place. Rain aside, Saturday looks to be fishable until the late afternoon when the SW winds inevitable pick up. It seems like almost every afternoon the wind is honking southwest, and it just won’t quit. Sunday, however, looks mostly calm.
Expect the rips—whether it be Monomoy, Middle Ground, or somewhere in between—to be slammed with summer boat traffic. While the squid have thinned out further east, there are sand eels everywhere, mackerel are right there with them, and the bass are around, but they can be finicky. Poking around on the backside of the outer Cape might be worth the extra gas it if the rips off Monomoy are like parking lots. In Vineyard Sound, stripers, fluke, and even sea bass will also attract the masses. Regardless of where you go, my recommendation would be this: get after it early—like, arrive-before-sunrise early. As long as the tide is running hard, Vineyard Sound and Nantucket Sound rips should produce some surface action at first light and beyond (especially if conditions are overcast). You can finish off the morning with a little bottom fishing for fluke or scup, or even cast around on the flats for bluefish in Nantucket Sound.
I can’t say from experience that Buzzards Bay is worth a look for sea bass, but if it’s a shorter run than heading down the Elizabeths, it’s worth a look. There are cocktail bluefish in the bay, too, which isn’t super exciting, but they are the right size for the smoker and they make nice shark baits. Shore-based sharking across the south side has been good so far and it’s drawing a lot of attention. There are plenty of folks that are very new to sharking, so I’ll just say this: exercise extreme caution whenever handling sharks or rays, and don’t drag them up onto dry sand.
Outside of sharking, shore fishing opportunities are rather slim, but if you put in the time and effort to cast for bluefish, or swim bucktails and teasers for fluke from shore, you should be rewarded. Short fluke and porgies (scup) are all over the place and they both are a lot of fun for the kids to catch. Double-check those keeper size regulations and bag limits though, because for fluke and scup, they differ between shore and boat/kayak. Keeper fluke are around, but they’ve been tough to come by from the beach or wading. A couple more weeks of warm summer weather should lead to better shore fluking. And if it’s stripers you’re after, shore and surf fishermen have a few options: check out the bayside beaches at night (especially on a falling tide), hit the Canal to soak chunks or jig or throw topwater in the morning, and consider fishing the outer Cape surf from dusk into dark. The bass are bound to be there any day—maybe you’ll be the one making the report this week!
Finally, Cape Cod Bay has slowed down for stripers, but anglers are trolling to find pockets of fish before setting up to jig over them. Those who aren’t trolling are looking for birds, or signs of mackerel and sand eels on the surface (or on their sounders). Keep diamond jigs, epoxy jigs, small soft plastics, and mid-size topwater plugs ready for blitz scenarios. Squid are still in the neighborhood, and you never know when you might run into a school of bass pinning them beneath diving birds.