Cape Cod Fishing Report
Welp, albies are in, but they’re not here in force (yet). You might find a few mixed in with bonito in Nantucket Sound, like my buddy Ryan Henry, who caught 10 bonito and hooked, but dropped, one albie from his kayak earlier this week. I was ready to write a report about how albies are beginning to trickle in, but since Tuesday, they’ve become much more prevalent. That’s not to say they’ve flooded the Cape, but they’re out there, and the south side is currently the place to be.
Despite the arrival of albies, bonito are still the best game in town, and black sea bass fishing in the sound has improved once again this week. It’s been a strange sea bass season overall, with random flurries of good fishing for rec-size keepers throughout the summer. Peaks and valleys, as they say. The same can be said for fluke. Many backwater areas lacked the influx of keeper-size flatties that we typically see from late June through July. However, deep holes down by the Vineyard and the Elizabeths, as well as shoal edges in Vineyard and Nantucket sounds, have given up some respectable fish throughout the season, albeit inconsistently. If you’re looking for some sea bass for the table, check out the reports below from Riverview Bait and Tackle and Salt Reaper Charters.
Light-tackle spin and fly fishermen seeking bonito will find a few kicking around in eastern Nantucket Sound, down the Elizabeths in Vineyard Sound, in lower Buzzards Bay, and off the mid and lower Cape beaches. The general consensus is that the bones are quick up and down, and very picky when you get good shots at them—but the action varies from day to day. You could have a frustrating outing picking away at fish on jigs, or stumble upon a do-no-wrong blitz, like Ryan did. I’d start loading up on compact epoxy-style jigs capable of casting long distances. A lot of the bait we’re seeing right now is minuscule, so small profiles have been the key to getting bit in most cases. I like the 3/4-ounce Fat Cow Fat Minnow, 3/4-ounce Hogy Heavy Minnow, and 3/4-ounce Game On Exo jigs. And with albies present, you know they’re going to be looking for the smallest baitfish around. If you’re as poor at fly casting as I am, consider also rigging up a casting bubble/egg and fly on an inshore spinning rod to show the albies and bones a smaller presentation from a distance to avoid putting down the spooky schools.
Striped bass fishing is in a little bit of a lull, even for the boat crowd in Cape Cod Bay. Surf fishermen are plying the backside and bayside beaches with mild success after schools of bass slid out to the oceanside of the outer Cape last week. Since then, live bait, whether it be mackerel, bunker, or squid (if you can get your hands on some), is the ticket for most charters fishing off the outer Cape this week. Meanwhile, surfcasters crossing the Sagamore Bridge are finding better striper fishing on the South Shore. It’s been quiet on the striper front along the south side beaches, which continue to give up cocktail bluefish, the occasional bonito, and mostly short fluke. And of course, there are scup and sea robins in the mix, too.
Although fluke fishing remains a grind, there are short fish along the upper and mid-Cape beaches and in the channels of bays and salt ponds, especially near inlets and flumes where baitfish are being flushed into the sound on falling tides. In addition to anchovies, silversides, and small herring, there are tiny peanut bunker in the backwaters, which is a good sign. It can lead to some fast-paced action from short and keeper-size fish as the fluke begin to migrate out of the shallows, but it also bodes well for albie season, which is officially here.
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 said there were schoolies and some slot fish feeding on top mid Canal a couple days ago, but it has been a very quiet week otherwise. There’s still a lot of bait, including squid and sand eels, and mackerel here and there, but there are little to no bass on them. AJ did mention that there are bluefish in upper Buzzards Bay, but they have not made their way into the Canal. He’s expecting the albies to push into Buzzards very soon and hopefully, they’ll head north into the Canal again this season. It’s been a few years since that has happened, so we’ll have to wait and see. Head over to the shop to load up on metals and epoxies before the mad dash begins.
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth reported that one customer ran into what looked like albies on his way out east to go tuna fishing earlier this week. But until today, he hadn’t heard any confirmed albie catches or sightings. By the end of the weekend, which looks to be a wash, there should be better numbers of albies available closer to home. For now, there are still loads of bonito, but Evan echoed the sentiment of most charter and tackle shop reports this week—they are super finicky and eating tiny bait. Plus, the bonito seem to be moving around quite a bit day to day, so it has been hard for folks to pin them down. He did mention that another customer ran into a few small pods of bonito in upper Buzzards Bay, but not quite as far as the Canal entrance. Evan also mentioned that he’s selling a good deal of eels to striper fishermen who are running down the Elizabeths to pitch them into the rocks, which is just about the best way to catch them until the fall run is underway. On the bottom fishing front, he’s pointing his customers toward sharp drop-offs into deep water, between 60 and 80 feet, which has yielded some nice sea bass and scup as well as some keeper fluke mixed in with loads of shorts. Swing by the shop this weekend to re-up on jigs before the weather clears up and the albies have filled in more.
Captain Ben Sussman of In The Net Sportfishing out of Osterville told me fishing has been pretty good this week, aside from yesterday when he tried to make the run for tuna south of the Vineyard. The forecast was a total bust, again—a pattern Ben has noticed throughout the season. He runs a 25-foot Grady-White and still couldn’t handle the swell, which was much bigger than predicted and made it a sketchy run. However, Ben said when they turned around and headed back to Cape, they found good bonito feeds off the south side of the upper Cape and caught a handful, including a couple in the 7-pound range. He also mentioned that there are definitely some albies out there; several of the surface feeds they saw were way too big to be bonito. Albie blowups are unmistakable, and Ben’s been seeing them off the south side since Monday, but they’re super finicky and even quicker up and down than the bonito; he’s spotting only 2 or 3 albies coming up at a time, and they’re big ones. Blind casting, he said, would probably a good choice, but his recent charters have been novice anglers that are happy to troll for bonito and bluefish. Ben said most of the blues range from 2- to 5-pounds, and they are everywhere on the south side, so fire up the smoker.
From Martha’s Vineyard, Captain Kurt Freund of Fishsticks Charters out of Vineyard Haven reported: “Looking back at the past week’s trips, what was clear is that there are some bonito and bluefish out there, but it takes time, patience and persistence to find them and to get them to bite. There does seem to be a lot of baitfish out there. Many of the schools we’ve marked on sonar seem completely unbothered by predators. Some days there have been flocks of birds working the bait, but not every bird pile has fish under it. And some days we didn’t even see any birds at all. But the trips that were most successful were the longer trips and the ones where we stuck with it, kept searching for birds, and kept casting when we found signs of life. This kind of fishing isn’t for everyone, especially little kids. I get it. There were trips when we ran out of patience for the bonito quest and decided to jig for fluke and sea bass. And that’s fine. We caught a lot of small sea bass and fluke, and even a few keepers. A few trips that stayed focused on bonito and bluefish were rewarded with some nice fish.
On Friday, John O’Donnell and family hung in while we searched Woods Hole, Buzzards Bay and the Elizabeths, and we found some bonito and bluefish. Saturday was a busman’s holiday for me, as I went tuna fishing with friends. It was tough going, as trolling did not produce, but most of the fleet was jigging and fishing live bait. We hooked, but sadly, pulled the hook on one fish while friends on another boat fought a fish for over an hour before losing it to a hammerhead shark. As we were leaving, they hooked up again on a jig and, after another long fight, eventually landed that fish, a 46-inch bluefin tuna. I had two trips on Sunday that both split their time between looking for breaking fish to cast to and jigging for sea bass and fluke. After a weather cancellation on Monday, father and son Mike and Mikah John fished a long morning with me on Tuesday and we found some bonito on the Elizabeths and bluefish near Woods Hole. On Wednesday, Amy Gavin and her pals boated a couple of bluefish before catching a bunch of small sea bass, fluke, scup and sea robins and one keeper sea bass on jigs.”
- Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain on Cape Cod & the Islands
Gabriel at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis reported good bottom fishing for sea bass in Nantucket Sound, along with some fluke and big scup, the latter of which there’s no shortage. He said there was a good push of bonito out by Monomoy late last week, and those fish have since spread out, but there are good schools of them to the east of Hyannis. Albies, he added, are here and they had a few customers today who found them south of the Vineyard, and off the upper and mid Cape beaches. There also a lot of cocktail bluefish pushing around baitfish schools on the south side, and they’re occasionally mixed in with the bonito. Swing by the shop this weekend to load up on jigs and Albie Snax before beginning your albie hunt.
Riverview Bait and Tackle in South Yarmouth reported: “Sea bassing is this week’s hottest species by far! Knotheads abound throughout the sound, but are especially concentrated on the Harwich and Yarmouth artificial reefs. Larger baits—Berkley Gulp 6” grubs in New Penny and Blue Fuze, and Z-Man Doormatadorz—are flying off the shelves for recreational and commercial sea bass anglers alike.
Other inshore species have hit a typical summer lull. Our regular charter captains report that striper fishing is still viable by day on the tube & worm in Cape Cod Bay. The bayside flats have produced especially well for shop staff Noah and customer Vinny Simmarano, but night fishing is a necessity as long as the daytime temps continue to climb into the 80s. Nighttime fishing for sharks on the sound side continues to be hot later into the season than is expected for brown sharks. The shop is still well-stocked with our signature Riverview Surf Sharkin’ rigs and mega eels.
Captain Matthew Dempsey of Salt Reaper Charters out of Dennis told me there are some bonito showing up in his neck of the woods, but they’ve been very picky. Thankfully, there have been more bluefish in the mix lately, which is a nice bonus when the bones are uncooperative. Capt. Matt said striped bass fishing remains tough, but there are still some really nice ones around. His charters are seeing the best bass results on live bait just after first light due to warm water temperatures. On the south side, he added, black sea bass have been chewing hard early in the morning, but the bite window for true jumbos is short-lived. If you’re planning to hit the reefs and wrecks in Nantucket Sound, get out there early for sea bass and chase bonito once the bottom bite slows down. Give Capt. Matt a call to inquire about his upcoming availability if you want to book a trip.
Captain Elena Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters out of Truro reported: “Heading into the second half of August, striped bass fishing activity remains well above average, which sure is a win for the outer Cape Cod fishing scene! Our recent clients have landed some very impressive striped bass on topwater plugs in olive, gray or at times, amber. Early risers are being greatly rewarded with sunrise surface activity while those who prefer the later departures are pulling in keeper-sized fish to overs on jigs. Still quiet on the bluefish scene, so we are fortunate to have striped bass filling that void. The bluefin tuna grounds stay exciting with consistent activity on large/medium or giant fish, including this 90-inch fish brought in aboard the Done Deal yesterday. It looks like we may get some rain this weekend, so if you can’t be at the beach—you might as well be out fishing! We have openings starting with the sunrise departure tomorrow.”
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
Shifting wind, rain, and rough seas are in the forecast this weekend. But hey, if there’s one constant pattern I’ve recognized this season, it’s that weather forecasts have been way, way off. Maybe we’ll luck out and have some decent conditions. Small craft warnings will likely be in effect, but larger vessels might be able to manage.
Should the forecast unfold as expected, take advantage of the foul weather and pay a visit to your local tackle shop to pick up a few extra epoxy jigs, or spend some time rigging up rods with light fluorocarbon leader and jigs for the next weather window. With bonito abundant and albies moving in, we’re looking at a solid close to the month of August.
The weather might shake things up a bit, so keep that in mind for when your albie and bonito hunts resume. We’re heading into (almost) everyone’s favorite time of year, when any shore or boat fishing trip has the potential to produce albies, stripers, bonito, and bluefish. And don’t forget, our sea bass season is open until October 14 this year, but the bag limit changes from 4 fish to 2 fish per angler on September 1.
There’s a lot of good fishing ahead of us. Get excited. It’s officially hardtail season.