Cape Cod Fishing Report
Fourth of July weekend brings loads of visitors to Cape Cod, and right now, there is plenty of simple and rather accessible fishing that can be done from shore, wading (to stay cool), or by hopping on a charter. Whether you’re looking to put some fish on the dinner table, play tug of war with sharks, or just have a little catch-and-release fun, these are the best options around Cape heading into the holiday weekend.
Shore-based shark fishing on the south side of Cape is one of the main attractions at the moment. Tackle shops are crimping rigs and slinging eels to anglers who are looking to catch and release brown (sandbar) sharks from the beaches of Nantucket Sound, and the overwhelming consenus thus far is that there is no shortage of sharks in the area at this time. Many of the brown sharks landed so far this season have been rather large, around 5 to 6 feet, while later in the summer, we tend to see the juveniles in stronger numbers. There have also been some roughtail rays around, and if you hook one, you’re likely in for a long and grueling battle. Play it safe and opt for heavier spinning or conventional gear to outmuscle those rays and larger browns. It’d be wise to get to your local tackle shop on the early side to secure eels, but if they run out, chunking bluefish is a good Plan B.
While many of the larger bluefish we had on the south side during the early spring have disappeared, there are good numbers of “tailors” or cocktail blues—those that weigh 3 to 5 pounds—available off the beaches. The blues are feeding on sand eels, so casting epoxy jigs or slim-profile metals like Deadly Dicks on 8- to 10-foot surf rods is a good way to connect with them. The tackle may seem like overkill for such small bluefish, but they will grant you the casting distance to cover more and deeper water if the fish aren’t pushing bait close to shore. And who knows, maybe you’ll connect with a rogue bonito. There have been a handful of bones landed so far this spring, with sporadic showings in Vineyard and Nantucket sounds, and when bled quickly and tossed on ice, they are tasty table fare… but they, too, make good shark baits. The greatest concentrations of bluefish at the moment seem to be between West Falmouth and Hyannis. If you’re in a boat, look for diving terns and small, aggressive splashes on the surface as they tear through schools of sand eels.
Stripers in Vineyard Sound are also benefiting from the influx of sand eels. They’re still eating squid, but water temperatures are sitting right around 70 degrees, which is when the bass tend to move out of the rips. Anglers casting into the rips are reporting finicky fish and better results with epoxy jigs and low-profile soft plastics, like 5-inch Albe Snax, rather than poppers and larger plastics. Further east, the rips off Monomoy are fishing better, but the bite seems to be very tide dependent according to charter captains that frequent the area. The incoming is producing fish, but like the bass back west, they’re a bit picky. Try hitting the Monomoy rips on an outgoing tide to see if it makes much of a difference. Sometimes, the bass are just more active when water temps and baitfish abundance are conducive to their preferred feeding patterns. Squid, sand eels, and occasionally, mackerel, are fueling the bite out east.
Excellent striped bass fishing continues on the outer Cape as the fish gorge on squid in Cape Cod Bay. Charter boats and rec. anglers in the area are experiencing lights-out topwater action early in the morning and in the evening, and at times, the fish will show up top in broad daylight. Squid-colored pencil poppers, spooks, and large soft plastics are getting it done when the bass are blitzing on squid. As a result of all the squid lingering in the bay—where they’ve been for roughly a month now—night shift surfcasters will have their best shots at steady action on the bayside beaches with an onshore wind. Needlefish, minnow plugs, darters, glide baits, large soft plastics like Slug-Gos, and occasionally, metal lips are putting stripers that range from 30 inches to 30 pounds on sand.
Back on the upper Cape, fluking for shore and wading anglers across the south side and in Buzzards Bay is decent. Short fish have dominated the scene, but there are keepers to be had. Drifting bucktails and Gulp in back bay channels, or casting light jigs onto the flats and along channel edges, are good ways to locate some backwater fluke—just expect a high short-to-keeper ratio. The shoals in Vineyard Sound are producing some quality fish here and there, and so is Nantucket Sound, but again, the majority of the fish seem to fall short of the minimum keeper size (17.5 inches). No surprise here, but the fluke fishing further offshore, at Nantucket Shoals, continues to give up some impressive double-digit class fish. If you’re looking to connect with a doormat this week, the Shoals are the place to be.
Here’s this week’s rundown from a few of our local shops and charters:
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth said there are loads of sand eels to 5 inches in Vineyard Sound, which are fueling the bottom fishing, the striper bite in the rips, and bluefish blitzes this week. Hairball Charters relayed to Evan that he caught about 30 bass while trolling shell squids around the rips when there were hardly any boats out during yesterday’s rough conditions. On Tuesday at Middle Ground, Evan said, there were tons of bass in the rips but they were very finicky; guys have been doing better casting epoxy jigs on light fluoro leaders due to the iflux of sand eels, although there are still some squid around. That said, water temps are approaching 70 degrees in the Sound, so the fish probably won’t be in the rips much longer—maybe another week or so. On the bluefish front, Evan mentioned that there are large schools of small 3-pound blues eating those sand eels off the south side of Falmouth and in open water in lower Buzzards Bay, where there have been some large bluefish blitzes as well. It’s encouraging to see so much bait around because it’s led to better fluke fishing, although most of the fish being caught in Vineyard Sound have been shorts. The salt ponds and bays around Falmouth, he added, have been more productive for keeper fish. If you’re fishing in the Sound, Evan recommended focusing your efforts near pots and channel markers—areas where the draggers can’t go—which should yield some fluke and maybe a few keeper sea bass. And with so many sand eels around now, he is anticipating a push of bonito in the near future as long as the bait sticks around. He’s got a good selection of epoxy jigs, topwaters, and squid-imitating plastics in stock, so swing by the shop this weekend to stock up.
Captain Ben Sussman of In The Net Sportfishing out of Osterville told me he’s been fishing out east this week but the striper bite has been a little hit or miss off Monomoy. He thinks the bite is very tide dependent. Ben said his charters had good, but not great action on the incoming tide a couple times and the bass were picky; they were eating Albie Snax on the incoming only when you got the bait right in their faces, which makes him think the outgoing is probably more productive because there is certainly no shortage of fish out there. He’s booked up for the holiday weekend, but give him a shout to inquire about available dates after July 4th.
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From Martha’s Vineyard, Captain Kurt Freund of Fishsticks Charters out of Vineyard Haven shared the following report and a few good tips on basic etiquette when fishing a crowded rip: “On a recent Sunday, I decided to fish Middle Ground, despite the fact that I knew that it was going to be very crowded. I thought that getting an earlier than usual start would allow us to have some time on the rip before the boat traffic got too heavy, and it did, but eventually, there were boats all along the rip. We mostly kept to the eastern end, where the crowd was thinnest, but even there, it became difficult to maintain a polite distance from other boats. I might have moved to another location, but for a number of reasons, we stayed. I knew there were fish there and they were actively feeding. We saw swirls and jumping squid. We just hadn’t been able to get them to bite. So it was partly my stubborn determination to catch one of these fussy fish. But also, it was just a half-day charter and we were running out of time, so I didn’t want to waste any of it moving to another location. So we stuck it out with the crowd, but it was getting frustrating.
At one point, I had just moved back up-current and found a spot on the rip where I wouldn’t be crowding other boats and moved in. I had just positioned my boat above the rip and my client was about to start casting when another boat pulled in just in front of us. When I say “just in front of us,” I mean directly down-current. They had pulled right into the spot that I was about to drift into and that my client was about to start casting into. I gave the captain the palms-up “what the heck?” gesture, to which he responded with a scowl and a “What’s your problem?” I said, “You’re awfully close!” and to demonstrate how very close he was, I picked up a rod and cast an unweighted soft plastic lure over his bow and landed it well beyond his boat on the far side, and my line draped over his bow. When I retrieved the lure, it flipped harmlessly back over his boat. Now, to be clear, it was a cabin boat and no one was on the bow, so I did not damage any property nor endanger any people, but I clearly demonstrated that he was well within my casting range. My point was lost on the captain, who, instead of realizing what he had done, only got angrier. So, I let it go, maneuvered my boat to establish a polite distance between our boats, eventually moved to another spot along the rip, and did my best to avoid that boat for the rest of the trip.
The happy ending is that my client eventually hooked two nice bass, landing one of them. But the sad fact is that I have to assume that the other captain that we encountered simply did not understand basic etiquette. So I thought a reminder might be in order. When choosing a spot to start fishing, consider the other boats that are already in position. When drifting, whether on the rip for bass or in deeper water for fluke, consider the direction the boats are drifting and don’t jump in right in front of another boat. Run further upcurrent and get in line. Especially when casting, maintain a polite distance from other boats. I like to imagine a circle around my boat, the radius of which is my casting distance. I imagine a similar circle around every other boat, and I try to make sure that those circles don’t overlap. Most of all, as in all things in life, treat others as you would like to be treated. The bass fishing on Middle Ground may be winding down, but we’ll soon be chasing schools of bonito and albacore. Let’s all try to be respectful, even in the heat of the moment.
Recent trips have found fluke and sea bass, in addition to the bass that are still holding in the rips. This Tuesday, I fished with Tucker Forbes and his fiancé, Cady and his sister, Maddie. We caught quite a few black sea bass and some sea robins, but eventually, we found an area with terns diving on sand eels and striped bass swirling beneath. They were not striking lures recklessly, but we managed to get one to bite, and Cady landed a chunky 30-inch striper.”
Tony at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis said the fluke bite is good off the south side, both offshore at Nantucket Shoals and in the Sound. Keepers have been a bit tougher come by in Nantucket Sound, but if you work through the shorts you should be able to box a few for the table. There is also some decent fluking in the back bays and ponds, but again, it’s a game of weeding through short fish for a couple keepers. On the striper front, the Canal has been okay recently, but the best bass bites are up in Cape Cod Bay and in the rips out east, where the fish are primarily on squid. Small bluefish are around, too, but the bite has definitely slowed down a bit since mid June when waves of blues were moving around in the Sound. The shop is stocked up with bait for the holiday weekend, so head in to re-up before your next fluke trip or to pick up some topwaters and plastics if you’re headed out for stripers.
Tyler Huckemeyer of the Helen H Fleet out of Hyannis reported that they are running trips to Nantucket Shoals lately, where fluking has been solid overall. Some days are good some days are not so good, but that’s just fluking in June, he said. It’s a bit of a grind. However, on days when the fish are cooperative, they’ve seen some nice-size fluke around 10 pounds and up coming over the rails. Closer to home, porgy and sea bass fishing has been decent in the Sound. Meanwhile, the Starfish, which is sailing in Cape Cod Bay, just switched from winter flounder to striped bass fishing, which has been very good since they shifted gears because there are still loads of squid around. Visit the Helen H website to view their schedule and book your next trip for stripers, fluke, or sea bass and scup.
Riverview Bait and Tackle in South Yarmouth reported: “Prior to the start of this week’s strong winds, the Monomoy rip bite has been on fire! Our customers have been slamming bass up to the low-40-inch class on the Jigging World Bone at first light and trolled or cast Yo-Zuri Hydro Minnows and Hydro Squirts during the day. The epic bite in the rips has made up for less-than-stellar bottom fishing in the Sound. Short scup, sea bass, and fluke are everywhere. Charters and customers have had to make the run to Nantucket Shoals to find doormat fluke to 10+ pounds.
The strong southwest wind in Nantucket Sound over the past 48 hours has unfortunately kept many of Riverview’s customers shorebound, but that hasn’t stopped the shop’s crew from targeting sharks in the surf. Shop staff member Noah and customer Anthony found a few larger brown sharks willing to eat eels on Tuesday evening. Stop in this weekend to pick up a premium surf sharkin’ rig tied by Noah, or to pick our staff’s brains for the best bait and lure recommendations to get you and your family on fish for the Fourth of July!”
Captain Matthew Dempsey of Salt Reaper Charters out of Dennis said Cape Cod Bay is fishing very well this week as stripers continue to put a beat down on squid. In the skipper’s words, “the fish are just about everywhere—from Sandy Neck to Barnstable to P-Town.” His charters are catching most of their bass by casting topwater plugs, and trolling Hoochies when the fish aren’t actively pushing bait on top. Down on the south side, he added, the rips and Chatham have also been fishing well lately, so there’s no shortage of productive water whether you’re out in Nantucket Sound or up in the Bay.
Captain Elena Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters out of Truro reported: “If there ever was week for cows on topwater, this surely was it! Team Reel Deal encountered large feeding schools of well-over-slot striped bass aggressively hitting topwater plugs, sometimes for hours on end. One of our recent charter customers couldn’t stop laughing as he was in such disbelief of the nonstop epic fishing conditions! With the upcoming very hot days in the forecast, our crew is ready to pivot to jigging as needed should the stripers stay away due to warming surface waters. Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday weekend and for those who still haven’t finalized their plans, we have a couple openings left over the next few days! Check out availability here.”
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
Captain Kurt Freund of Fishsticks Charters made a great point about being considerate of other anglers around you when fishing the rips, whether it be in Vineyard Sound or out at Monomoy. It’s going to be a busy weekend on the water, so give space to other boats that are already actively fishing, keep your head on a swivel, and help each other enjoy the day. No reason to get competitive out there—we’re all just trying to have fun and catch some fish with family, friends, or paying customers.
That said, striper anglers should focus on the rips across the south side or poke around eastern Cape Cod Bay for stripers on squid. As Captain Elena Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters noted, be prepared to jig if the fish aren’t pounding squid on the surface. Use your electronics to mark schools of bait and to help you discern whether the bass are feeding on squid or sand eels, which should dictate the type of jigs to use and how to fish them. Diamond jigging is an effective technique on the outer Cape when the fish are holding deep, but it’d be wise to keep some heavier soft plastics ready in the event the bass are “blitzing” on squid lower in the column.
For more laid-back fishing, there are scup, sea bass, and fluke to be caught in Vineyard and Nantucket sounds. Sea bassing has been a bit of a grind, and so has fluking, but keepers are out there. Try drifting a variety of depths between 40 and 80 feet to hone in on where the better numbers of dinner-quality fish are hanging out. If you mark deep schools of sand eels, it’s worth setting up to drift through them even if there’s no larger marks visible around them. Sea bass are easy to notice on electronics—fluke are not, but often times they will closely relate to schools of bait and fly under-the-radar even when there’s a feeding frenzy unfolding along bottom. Keep a few tins or epoxy jigs tied onto spinning setups, too. You never know when a pack of cocktail blues (or maybe even bonito) might rip through the area. Epoxy jigs and diamond jigs are also deadly for low-lying sea bass, so you can seamlessly transition from bottom fishing to casting into blitzing blues.
Be smart, safe, and respectful on the water this weekend, and have a happy Independence Day. Cheers to 250 years.