Cape Cod Fishing Report
Slowly but surely, it’s feeling more like fall. It might reach 80 degrees during the late afternoon, like today, but nights and mornings are noticeably cooler with lows dipping into the high 50s. And those are the temperatures that will help to kickstart the fall striped bass migration.
Up in Maine, along the North Shore of Massachusetts, and in Boston to some degree, fish are already on the move. Mackerel, sand eels, and “walnut” bunker—a step above the usual peanuts—are fueling blitzes from slot-size bass and over in the harbors and coves around Cape Ann. And with a new moon tonight, those fish are sure to be pushing bait south real soon. A day or two of stiff, north wind—combined with 60- to low-70-degree daytime temps—would do us a lot of good here on Cape.
That’s not to say there aren’t good striper fishing opportunities around Cape Cod right now. There are still some big bass and gator blues off the outer Cape, summer resident fish stationed along the Elizabeths, and schoolies and slots mixed in with cocktail blues in the Canal. Those schoolies that are ripping around the ditch this week are early indicators of the fall run beginning. I’m hopeful that the new moon will really set things in motion and maybe, just maybe, it’ll bring in more albies from offshore.
Our friends down in Rhode Island seem to be getting the better run of albies so far, but their bonito bite is not much different than what we’re experiencing here on Cape. Scattered, finicky fish continue to dominate reports. However, albies seem to be mixing in off Martha’s Vineyard and the south side of the upper Cape, there’s just no real reliable pattern yet. It’s not much different to the east, either. You have some albies off Nantucket and others scattered about the sound, but nothing consistent enough to return to day after day. The lackluster fishing is certainly not due to a lack of bait.
We have anchovies, sand eels, silversides, peanut bunker, and small herring scattered among Vineyard Sound, Nantucket Sound and Buzzards Bay, yet the albies and bonito seem dead set on eating the smallest of those baits they can find. If you haven’t already done so, put away the 3- and 4-inch epoxy jigs and break out the 2- to 2.5-inch jigs. Or, take a page out of Capt. Kurt Freund’s book and keep some small jerkbaits like Rapala X-Raps handy. Jerkbaits will limit casting distance, but because they dive and generate a slightly erratic swimming action, they are more likely (in many cases) to get noticed than a small epoxy jig skimming just beneath the surface. On the other hand, a compact jig like the 2″, 3/4-ounce Hogy Heavy Minnow will grant you casting distance and a closer match to the profile of tiny hardtail forage. And finally, if fly casting is not your forte, I highly recommend breaking out the splasher-and-fly rig. Small flies like Albie Whores and Surf Candies, dragged behind a casting egg or bubble, can work wonders on picky albies and bonito. The rig is highly customizable so you can make it work for you. For example, I prefer to attach a segment of mono leader to my braided line to add a bit of stretch between the braid and the line tie on the top of the casting egg. Monofilament is also buoyant, which is why I instead opt for a segment of fluorocarbon on the fly side of the casting egg. Fluorocarbon sinks, so it helps to present a small, weightless fly below the surface.
Those three rigs—small jerkbaits, compact jigs, and a splasher-and-fly—should help you to put an extra bonito or false albacore in the boat or kayak this week. Then again, maybe I’m wrong and Albie Snax will seal the deal.
While we continue to patiently wait for the fall run to take shape, and cross our fingers for more albies, take some time to enjoy a bit of laid back bottom fishing, too. I like to set aside some time to target northern puffers and northern kingfish this time of year. Water temperatures are still very warm, but both species will soon be on their way out. If you have young ones who are curious about fishing, this is a very simple and accessible way to get them involved. Plus, both species are delicious when fried. Most harbors, salt ponds and bays will hold kingfish and puffers right now. Grab some fresh squid, buy or tie a few high-low rigs with small, long-shank hooks, attach a 1- to 2-ounce bank sinker to the surgeon’s loop and you’re fishing. Chumming is useful, but not necessary. If anything, take a few strips of squid or clam, diced up, and occasionally toss a handful in the area you’re fishing. These fish are not going to pull drag but where there’s one, there’s more, and anglers of all ages and abilities can appreciate kingfish and puffers for what they are: downright tasty.
On a completely different note, shark fishing is still very good right now. Sandbar sharks are patrolling the south-facing beaches, but like the puffers and kingfish, they won’t be around much longer. As the brown sharks begin to migrate south and the fall striper migration ramps up, fishing live eels along the jetties of inlets and flumes on the south side becomes a productive technique for bass of all sizes. Jetty hopping with eels is also a great way to keep yourself informed as to which baitfish are in the area. This is the approach that helps me to locate small mullet runs each fall, which have led to some incredibly fun solo outings after dark.
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 the Canal has been fun this week, even though the stripers are small, there are a lot of 12- to 18-inch blues, and the bass are racing around in an unpredictable manner. There’s life from one end of the ditch to the other, though, which has kept things interesting. Chris had bluefish shredding his white Savage Gear Sand Eel in the east end the other day, but he managed to land a handful of them. White, he noted, has been the color for blues and bass this week. Most of the stripers are schoolies but there are a few slots mixed in, he added, and they’re blitzing at odd hours and locations, so there’s no real pattern to follow right now. He’s seen fish pop up for half an hour in the west end only to disappear and later show up mid Canal. It’s the time of year when the Canal rewards persistence; you don’t have to be down there at first light to connect with breaking fish, but you do have to visit regularly to luck into the sporadic and unpredictable topwater action that’s unfolding. These are early signs of what’s in store for the fall run. Chris and I agreed that, between the storm yesterday, warm weather today, and the new moon tonight, we should start to see some larger migratory fish departing the south shore and Boston for the Canal this weekend. Finally, Chris made a point to add that sharking is still exceptionally good on the south side of Cape and in Buzzards Bay. If you’re slinging eels off the beaches of Vineyard and Nantucket sounds, there’s a very good chance you’ll connect with at least one brown shark. Red Top is geared up with everything you need for the fall run, so fish the ditch following tonight’s new moon and swing by the shop this weekend.
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth told me it’s still tough fishing for bonito and albies this week. He spent Monday searching far and wide for his first albie of the year. Early that morning, Evan ran into a small pod of albies off the south side of the upper Cape, but they were super pressured with 9 or 10 boats on them. Evan said he decided to leave those fish alone and instead ran down the Elizabeths, where he found some incredibly picky bonito. Instead of sticking around, he decided to burn a little gas and ran east toward mid-Cape where he found some sizable bait balls off the beaches, but there seemed to be only small bluefish on them. Plus, the bait he saw was so small he could not even identify it. When Evan returned to upper Cape, the albies popped up in front of him and he had a few shots into blitzing fish before they went down and disappeared. Overall, Evan said he had roughly six casts into those two quick albie feeds over the course of a half day. His report echoed the sentiment of most light-tackle and fly anglers chasing not only albies, but bonito, too. Finding pockets of feeding fish takes time, the schools are not very large, and the bait they’re eating (for the most part) is minuscule. Be prepared to cover water, exercise patience, and focus on the timing and direction of your casts rather than jig color or profile. That said, the smaller your presentation is, the better off you’ll be.
From Martha’s Vineyard, Captain Kurt Freund of Fishsticks Charters out of Vineyard Haven reported: “This week, we searched for birds and breaking fish, found some small bluefish and nice bonito, but also leaned heavily into the backup plan of jigging for fluke, sea bass and scup.
The good news is that the feeds we’ve seen this week seemed to be bigger and last longer than what we saw in the past few weeks. I think that when fish are up and down very quickly, it might not be because the fish are skittish. I think those quick breaks are the work of small pods of predators. When they don’t have the numbers to surround and contain a bait ball, the baitfish can scatter and the feed is over quickly. However, when larger numbers of fish work together, they can keep the bait from escaping while they take turns attacking, and the feed can last longer. So these larger, more sustained feeds we’ve seen this week might be an indication that the fish are getting bolder, but I think it might be because there are larger groups of fish feeding cooperatively. Either way, it’s a good sign for us.
The highlight of the week was a trip on Saturday with Alex Glass. We scouted the south shore of the Cape for most of the morning and found some small bluefish and sea bass, but scooted back to the island when I got a text from my friend Tom Robinson, who I promised to give full credit. We got back to catch the end of a good feed from which Tom got three bonito and Alex got one.”
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From Martha’s Vineyard, Stephen D’Angelo of Kismet Outfitters in Edgartown reported: “The lackluster bluefish season continues, with only a few smaller fish caught around areas with significant drop-offs.
As we wait for the albies to make their push, bonito are commanding plenty of attention—and for good reason. They’re putting on a show of their own, blitzing under the birds and driving silversides and other bait right to the surface. When a school gets dialed in, bait showers out of the water and bonito crash through it, creating the kind of surface chaos that makes for seriously exciting fly fishing. They’re becoming increasingly finicky as the season progresses, but the good news for the fly angler is that small white flies, like Albie Whores, are outperforming conventional lures.
Albies are beginning to mix in with the bonito, but right now they’re still too spotty to say with any confidence that you’ll find them on a given day. That could change quickly, though. They appear to be hanging around Block Island, and all it may take is the right push of weather to turn things on.
The encouraging part is that there’s no shortage of bait around the island. Silversides, sand eels, and peanut bunker are all present, and much of it is pushed in tight to the jetties, beaches, and inlets. That has us feeling pretty good about how things are setting up for the fall run—and it’s especially good news for the shore angler.
At this point in the season, most of our clients are hardtail-focused, and it’s nice to give stripers a bit of a break. That said, bass can still be found on the flats and around rocky structure for those looking to sight fish.”
Christian at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis said he had 8 to 10 shots into bonito that were blitzing off the mid Cape beaches earlier this week, but could not connect. There’s not a ton of bait out there, he said, at least not in tight along the beaches—it all seems to be hanging just a bit further out in open water, and it’s all very small. The hardtail season continues to be tough, but he’s hopeful that with cooler temperatures the albie and bonito bite will improve. Bottom fishing, Christian said, is still producing some good action with sea bass a little closer to shore in shallower water and plenty of scup with them, but fluking is tailing off. Bottom fishing is also yielding some late summer visitors, like northern kingfish, which Christian caught a few of while jigging small spoons over the weekend. Over on the bay side, he added, there were some gator bluefish blitzing just off the beaches toward the east end of the Canal 3 or 4 days ago. The fish ranged from 8 pounds to the teens, and they were hitting poppers, metals, and swimming plugs. It was very refreshing to hear of bluefish heavier 3 pounds nearby; I hope we see some fish of that caliber during the fall run. Right now, hardtails, bottom fishing, and freshwater bass fishing are the main attractions, but it won’t be long before the striper bite really ramps up. Stop by the shop this weekend to load up on jigs, plastics, plugs and terminal tackle for the fall run.
Riverview Bait and Tackle in South Yarmouth reported: “With Labor Day in the rearview, Riverview’s staff are finally able to relax and enjoy some of our favorite local fisheries. The weather and water are finally starting to cool down, kicking some late summer angling opportunities into high gear!
Bass from the beach and boat have become a bit more abundant in Cape Cod Bay. The most productive tactic for our regular charter captains and dialed customers has been trolling the tube & worm during daylight hours. From the surf at night, shop staff Noah has been catching on weightless Slug-gos and Fish Snax plastics slowly retrieved tight to the shore break. The size class of fish currently around aren’t huge, but it is nice to see those schoolie and slot-sized bass that have been absent for most of the season. Speaking of the surf, our regular customers report that sharkin’ seems to still be going strong!
That said, the best bite this past week has been in freshwater. Shop staff Noah and Dana have both been enjoying fishing for largemouth and smallmouth in local kettle ponds loaded with young-of-the-year herring fry waiting to make their escape back to the ocean. Smaller lures from the shop’s new line of Megabass products, like the Vision 110 Jr. and the Karashi, have been especially productive. Our hope is that herring fry exiting the runs on the saltwater side will provide a forage base to help improve the still slow albie and bonito fishing.”
Captain Matt Dempsey of Salt Reaper Charters out of Dennis said he’s been switching it up a bit this week with striped bass, bluefish, and winter flounder. The flounder fishing in Cape Cod Bay right now isn’t lights out, but they’re available and Matt’s been getting keepers—including a few double headers—in 40 feet of water. The bass fishing, he said, is hit or miss lately. Some days are great and some days the fish are tougher to find or simply unwilling to chew. Capt. Matt said that the constantly shifting wind is making it tough to develop a pattern and pinpoint where the fish will be, but his charters had good striper and bluefish action late last week before the bite hit a lull. He anticipates that fish will settle into more predictable fall run feeding windows following this moon as stripers start to migrate south in the coming weeks. Give him a shout to inquire about his upcoming availability.
Captain Drew Downing of Down East Charters out of Chatham reported: “A lot of gas being burned this week on surveying water near and far for signs of life and cooperative fish away from the boats. The stuff to our west has largely been very tough for us to get buttoned up to fish with any regularity, with the exception of ever-willing blues. Warm-water bones and albies with scarce, pop-up conditions and heavy boat pressure is a tough combo. That said—we have had some luck on very small baits and in bigger winds. Nearer to home, there’s not a ton to get excited about. Some bass and blues along the outer beach, but the fall run hasn’t begun. Inshore, there are giant tuna around, but spotty. Some cooler temps incoming and shorter days could get it going. Looking to see what this big SW wind brings our way as well.”
Captain Elena Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters out of Truro reported: “Labor Day weekend produced some excellent striped bass fishing on live bait off the Outer Cape, including this 52-incher aboard the Done Deal during a surely memorable bachelor-party outing with Team Reel Deal. Since then, the persistent north winds have pushed the stripers out of our typical favorite spots. Longer travel times are required to find tight lines, but once we find them, the action is top-notch and worth the extra distance. We’re hoping today’s south winds will push these nice-sized fish back our way!
Bluefin tuna fishing also remains mostly a live-bait game, with recent catches in the mid-80-inch class. September on Cape Cod is one of many locals’ favorite times of the season, so be sure to book your fishing charter while some openings remain! View our calendar here.”
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
Our weekend forecast looks good aside from a bit of rain, so albies and bonito will be at the top of the list for most inshore anglers. Scan the rips, points, and beaches adjacent to inlets and flumes along the south side or poke around the Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. And wherever you go, keep a few rods handy, each with a different offering including:
- small epoxy jig
- Albie Snax
- small jerkbait
- splasher and fly
Nobody wants to be constantly cutting and retying when fish are busting around the boat. Take advantage of having 4 to 6 rod holders, but don’t have an epoxy tied on each one.
Following the new moon, shore and wading anglers should look to the beaches of Cape Cod Bay or the rip rap of the canal for stripers that are beginning their long migration south. It’s not fall yet, but the 21st is less than 2 weeks away. Don’t wait for reports of “fall run action” to start fishing. Go out and get after it now.