Cape Cod Fishing Report
It’s been a week since albies arrived on Cape Cod, but they haven’t exactly filled in since then. If anything, the albies seem to be more scattered than when they initially showed up. I’ve received reports of them being caught as far out as Nantucket and south of the Vineyard, and as close to home as the upper Cape beaches. The Elizabeth Islands are worth a poke, too. Concentrations of different baitfish—including silversides, anchovies, and small herring—combined with the hard, rocky structure down there, is sure to attract early-arriving albies and more bonito.
Speaking of bonito, Buzzards Bay has been loaded. Since late last week, bones have pushed as far north as the west end of the Canal, where they’re being caught on diamond and epoxy jigs alongside some cocktail bluefish. There are good numbers of bass in the Canal, too, which was not the case this time last week. Fish are popping up at sunrise and at different times of day, depending on when the tide turns. To position yourself for success, check the tide tables, pack your plug bag with pencils, swimming plugs, and tins and epoxies, and pick a confidence spot on the mainland or Cape side of the ditch. Chris at Red Top Sporting Goods told me that fish to 20 pounds could pop up as the tide turns in the west end, mid Canal, or the east end, as they did a few days ago.
Those stripers undoubtedly came in ahead of the full moon from Cape Cod Bay, where the squid bite has recently rebounded, although not to the same degree we saw in June. In the bay there are even a few gator blues mixed in with our summer resident striped bass, both of which are being caught on Hoochies and large topwater plugs during the early morning hours, according to Captain Matt Dempsey of Salt Reaper Charters. The backwaters of Cape Cod Bay along the South Shore are coming to life with early signs of the fall run, too. I fished just a bit north last Friday with OTW’s Matt Ryan and we encountered big flocks of diving birds over fast-moving pods of schoolie stripers that seemed to be eating peanut bunker. Soft plastics swim shads, minnow plugs, bucktails, glidebaits, and poppers all brought fish to hand, the largest of which were right in that 28- to 31-inch slot range. But most of the bass we caught were 20 to 26 inches and I have to say, it was refreshing to catch some schoolies for a change. As noted in reports throughout this season, they’ve been largely absent for most of the year, even during the spring migration. If you run into a scene like this, remember to treat those little fish with the same respect you’d treat a cow. After all, they’re our future cows, and we need them around now more than ever.
With summer resident stripers beginning to stir just north of us, it won’t be long until we see this sort of activity in the harbors and bays of Cape Cod. If you’re looking for stripers this week, consider spending some time in Cape Cod Bay, book a charter with one of the many qualified captains for the job, or cast eels along the Elizabeth Islands.
For most anglers, it’s all about hardtails right now, and I’m not just talking about inshore speedsters. There’s a decent jig bite for rec-size bluefin tuna that are feeding on sand eels out east of Chatham, but fair warning—the fishing has been hit or miss. It’s excellent action one day, quiet the next. You’ve just got to be there when the fish are active.
Here’s this week’s rundown from a few of our local shops and charters:
Chris at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay said that after last week’s lull, the Canal turned right on with the full moon approaching. Since the weekend, the fishing in the ditch has been steady. In the beginning of the week, he said, there was an influx of snapper and cocktail bluefish, followed by a good push of bonito and for two days, there were some nice bass in the mix. Chris said the fish would start chewing up top at first light, then shut off until the tide turned at which point the bite would fire up again, no matter what time of day the turn happened. The east end blew up midday a couple of days ago with 20-pound fish, and Chris thinks that the action should carry on this way through the end of the summer before the fishing improves further in early September as temps begin to drop. This wave of bluefish, bonito, and bass was the Canal’s full moon push, and he’s hopeful that the new moon in early September brings some larger bass in from the bay. Cape Cod Bay has been fishing well again this week, especially out by Race Point. When I mentioned that there are some larger bluefish kicking around out there, Chris noted the lack of blues in the Canal this year and said he’s not even seeing the typical gator blues down off Nomans. For now, Canal casters will have to settle for bluefish in that 2- to 5-pound range. The bonito, however, have all been big. Chris said they saw one caught this morning that had to be over 20 inches. Assorted tins, especially diamond jigs, and heavier epoxies are the ticket for blues and bones in the ditch, while surface and swimming plugs are catching bass when they show up top around first light and the turn of the tide. Swing by the shop this weekend for the latest intel and to pick up some extra jigs for the inshore hardtail season.
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth told me he was out yesterday running around like crazy in search of albies and bonito for hours, only to find them outside his harbor in lower Buzzards Bay. He first headed down the Elizabeths and marked tons of fish, which he’s almost certain were the hardtails he was looking for. The marks, he said, are much different than when sea bass or stripers are below the boat. He dropped jigs right on top of them but was unable to hook up, and eventually ran back to Buzzards and found a pile of big bones close to his mooring. At first, he thought he had hooked a bluefish or an albie because his drag was singing, but it turned out to be a bonito that was all of 6 pounds. Striper fishing, he added, is still best at nighttime off the Elizabeths. It’s not lights out, but a new employee of his has been fishing eels down along the islands religiously, which yielded him a 36-inch bass last night. As air and water temperatures slowly begin to cool, eel-slinging striper fishermen should see less interference from brown sharks. So, if it’s striped bass you’re after but you don’t have the ability to run to Cape Cod Bay, look to the islands until the fall run is underway.
Captain Ben Sussman of In The Net Sportfishing out of Osterville had just returned from a tuna trip southwest of the Vineyard when I caught up with him. Ben said that although the tuna fishing was slow, they were able to score some consolation mahi on the pots as they headed in. Most of the mahi, he noted, were in the 3- to 5-pound range, but they lost two that looked to be roughly 20 pounds. There were hundreds of mahi out there according to the skipper, but they kept only a half dozen for dinner—which is really all you need for a 2-man trip. Captain Ben is available for bonito/albie, striper, bottom fishing, and tuna charters, so give him a shout to inquire about his upcoming availability.
From Martha’s Vineyard, Captain Kurt Freund of Fishsticks Charters out of Vineyard Haven reported: “Despite several days of windy or rainy weather, we managed to squeeze in a few trips this week. Bonito have been our primary target, but they continue to be widely scattered and fussy when located. Several of the folks I’ve spoken to recently have speculated that the bonito are focused on very small prey and that’s why they have been reluctant to bite our usual lures. That does seem consistent with my recent experience, but the bonito we caught on Wednesday was full of silversides that were similar in size to our epoxy jigs and small swimming plugs. Maybe that’s why we caught that one but have been striking out with so many of the other fish we’ve seen breaking. You can’t inspect the stomach contents of any of the fish you don’t catch. You can only see what’s in the stomachs of the fish you do catch, and chances are, it’s gonna look like the lure you caught them on. So the mystery remains, I guess.”
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Christian at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis said they have been selling a whole lot of RonZs lately, which is likely due to the tuna bite improving to the east, and epoxy jigs are flying out the door. He arrived at the shop this mornin to a long line of anglers who were picking up tins and epoxies for bonito and bluefish, the latter of which were blitzing all over the south side beaches this morning. Christian said it was mostly cocktails, but there were quite a few fish in the mid-20-inch range landed as well. He’s received no word of albies locally since last week, when there were a few caught out by Monomoy, but the bonito bite further west in Nantucket Sound has provided some reliable action even though the fish, generally, are a bit finicky. Bottom fishing remained status quo, although the sea bass have been in thick and moved in a little closer, and fluking is strong but most folks are catching a lot of shorts and struggling to find keepers. Fishing for largemouth bass and pickerel in the ponds is still great, and they’re seeing a whole lot of freshwater interest from kids because it’s so accessible. Jigs and other craw imitations have been hot, but weedless and wacky-rigged Senkos continue to pull some respectable fish from grass. Once the water temps in the ponds begin to drop and the juvenile herring start moving, it’ll be time to throw small poppers, spoons, and swimbaits.
Riverview Bait and Tackle in South Yarmouth reported: “The albie and bonito bite has yet to break wide open… but every species from sharks to sea bass and Nantucket Shoals fluke have been biting.
In the past week, Riverview’s crew has helped set up numerous customers for surf shark fishing. The brown shark bite has stayed strong atypically late in the season on our local beaches. Many have been caught by customers on the shop’s custom surf sharkin’ rig and the specially picked “XL Sharkin’ Eeels” available while supplies last in the tank.
Bottom fishing has been lights out as well. Prior to today’s strong SW blow, customers were catching dinner plate scup and abundant sea bass on the Yarmouth and Harwich artificial reefs. The excellent bottom fishing action has extended to Monomoy and Nantucket Shoals, where keeper sized fluke are more plentiful. Several regular Riverview customers aboard charter Mike Harney’s boat, Emma Jack, limited out on fluke this past weekend.
The shop’s crew and customers alike are hoping that more peanut bunker will move into the sound with the incoming weather change this weekend. An influx of bait will enhance the striper bite at Monomoy, and the inshore albie/bone bite. When that happens, you’d be well-advised to stop in and stock up from our selection of wide-profiled epoxies made by JoeBaggs, FishLab, and our new line of Hogy jigs.”
Captain Matthew Dempsey of Salt Reaper Charters out of Dennis told me that despite last week’s lull, Cape Cod Bay is still holding some good bass and there are a few more bluefish starting to show—and they’re big ones. Trolling Hoochies and casting Docs early in the morning have been the tickets for their charters this week. There are also plenty of squid—which have been hitting sabiki rigs—even though they seemed to have dried up last week, so keep an eye out for bass busting on them up top around sunrise if it’s topwater action you’re after, or give Capt. Matt a call to inquire about their upcoming availability as the fall run approaches.
Captain Drew Downing of Down East Charters out of Chatham reported: “Fishing has bounced back a bit this week out by us. Sand eels and bass along the beach under bird piles has made for some fun fishing. The rips have been pretty quiet although there were a few bones down there the other day. Lots of small blues in our end of Nantucket Sound now, and we have seen a FEW albies thus far. Most sightings are to the west of us and no real great opportunities at feeds. Will improve as they settle in.”
Captain Elena Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters out of Truro reported: “The first epic recreational bluefin tuna jig bite arrives! After several weeks of battling large bluefin on conventional gear, the Done Deal put our recent clients onto some fantastic light tackle bluefin tuna fishing, including one group that went 13-for-13 on a memorable day to say the least. Welcome to the football season, which is unfolding just in time as August is about to dissolve into September. For those looking for a slightly lower adrenaline light tackle option, the striped bass fishing continues to produce some excellent catches on topwater at sunrise and jigging later in the day. We may be closing in on the last few weeks of summer, but the Cape Cod fishing scene still has so much to offer! We have openings beginning next week and you want to get in on this great activity while it lasts. Check out our schedule and book a trip here.”
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
The weekend forecast looks great, if a little breezy. But hey, albies, bonito, bluefish and stripers generally prefer to feed in sloppy, choppy, and overcast conditions. And with a full moon tonight/tomorrow, the stage is set for a good weekend of inshore fishing around Cape Cod.
From this weekend into next week, we can anticipate good bonito fishing to continue, a rise in albie numbers, and more stripers moving into the canal. As far as the bluefin bite out east, it can unfold one of two ways: either it’s lights-out, or the bite shuts down as bait (and the tuna) make a big move. I’m going to go out on a limb and say the former is probably more likely. There are loads of sand eels out there, and judging by the Reel Deal’s report in which they went 13-for-13 on bluefin this week, it seems like those tunas are just pouncing on jigs. If you want more detailed info, check out OTW’s Northeast Offshore Report for August 26.
For the striper enthusiasts, I highly recommend making a trip or two to the Canal this weekend. Time your outings around first light and the turn of the tide, and if you have a Canal bike, don’t leave it at home. There are bonito and cocktail blues in the west end, where stripers have also shown up on top—but I’d be willing to bet that the striper bite will be best in the east end where there’s some cooler water and, potentially, squid that get pushed in from Cape Cod Bay by the full moon tides.