Cape Cod Fishing Report
According to the calendar, it’s not fall yet… but with the equinox less than a week away and overnight temps dipping into the 50s, it might as well be.
Striper action has ramped up ever since last Thursday’s new moon, which was followed by a torrential rainstorm on Sunday. Those exaggerated tides and extreme weather conditions undoubtedly set things in motion, so grab your bass gear and spend some time casting to stripers from the boat or beach this week.
Stripers are pressing south and a couple waves of migratory fish have hit the Cape since Sunday’s downpour. There was a big bunker blitz in Cape Cod Bay a few days ago, with 30-inch-class fish pinning 7- to 8-inch “walnut” bunker right against the beach in a foot of water. If you recall last week’s report, I mentioned the possibility of those walnut bunker pods from the North Shore and Boston making a big move toward Cape Cod around the moon, and that’s exactly what happened. Unfortunately, I missed out on the bite because I was stuck at home with flu symptoms. *kicks self*
This morning, another school of larger bass in the 20- to 30-pound range traversed the Cape Cod Canal almost completely under the radar until they reached the west end. According to AJ Coots at Red Top, nobody saw them coming. During the fall migration, surf fishermen, especially, often follow stripers from Boston down the south shore to the east end of the ditch—but these bass breezed through the 7-mile stretch undetected before stopping to refuel on silversides, sand eels, and macks. It’s getting to be that time of year when regular morning trips to the Canal are worth the extra early wake-up call. And with bonito still ripping around in the west end, all hope is not lost if the bass are MIA. Albies, however, are nowhere to be found in the Canal; but you might run into them in lower Buzzards Bay near the Elizabeths.
The albie bite still isn’t great, but it’s better than it had been. In the same way that the September new moon kickstarted the fall striper migration, it seems to have brought in a few extra alberts. The upper Cape has seen larger sustained albie feeds this week. Meanwhile, the albies that were stationed a bit further east around mid Cape have spread out a bit. Based on some of the reports you’ll read below, the upper Cape albies have been much less finicky this week thanks to a diet of abundant silversides, which are substantially larger than the micro sea herring and anchovies they were feeding on. Still, it seems like the tinier the jig, the better. Several report contributors mentioned the 1/2- and 3/4-ounce Hogy Heavy Minnows getting the job done—the same jigs I’ve been harping on for at least 3 weeks now.
In other news, the 81st Annual MV Derby is underway and some hefty bluefish, albies, and bonito have been weighed in already. Click here to check out the Derby leaderboards and stay in the know.
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 the striped bass bite in the canal was solid last week and recently got better thanks to a push of larger fish. A wave of fish to 30 pounds were blitzing in the west end this morning, but they appeared out of nowhere. It’s very likely the first school of big migratory bass to push through the canal, but AJ said if that’s the case, the fish went undetected from Plymouth to the east end and beelined for Buzzards Bay. The canal is still pretty loaded with small bait including silversides and sand eels, but there are also mackerel kicking around and some squid in the east end, he added. Those smaller baitfish continue to fuel the bonito bite for canal casters, but it’s not exactly hot and heavy. In addition to the canal action, one of the best things going right now is the fall sea bass bite, which AJ said has been good. Right now, you can go out in Buzzards Bay to fish for stripers at dawn, spend a little time chasing bonito and bluefish, and round out the day with some scup and sea bass for the table. Take advantage of the extended sea bass season before it closes on October 14, and don’t forget the daily limit is now 2 fish at a minimum of 16 inches per angler.
Captain Ray Jarvis of Salt of the Earth Sportfishing out of Westport told me that fishing for albies and bonito continues to be best to the west, but they seem to be getting more consistent around the islands and Buzzards Bay lately. That said, every day is different. The one constant is a “silly” amount of bait for the hardtails to feed on locally, and for now, water temperatures are holding, so Ray is predicting an increasingly productive bite in the coming weeks as temps start to drop. The wind farms, he said, are still loaded with mahi, albies, and bonito too. Striped bass fishing, the captain added, is improving in his neck of the woods but like the albie/bonito bite, it is changing day to day. The bass are most definitely on the move, and we need to give each fish we catch the best chance of surviving the migration and spawning next spring. So, please, try to limit fight times, avoid using treble hooks whenever possible, keep the fish in the water, support the belly if you need a quick photo, and revive larger fish before releasing them. Ray is booked for the rest of the season, but he’s booking dates in 2027 already for anyone who’d like to secure a date next year.
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth reported that yesterday was a great albie day. He got out before sunrise but probably could’ve slept for a few extra hours because this year, the fish don’t seem to be feeding until 9 am or later. Afternoons and evenings are good too, but when Evan has risen early, the first light bite has been nonexistent. The albies he found yesterday were eating silversides, not rain bait, which definitely made the fish more willing to eat a jig. There were larger schools of fish across the south side of upper Cape, so nobody was fishing on top of each other, and the feeds he encountered were sustained so he was able to get several casts into them. Evan said he wound up catching three albies, all on the Hogy Heavy Minnow jig, away from two small fleets that were chasing their own pods of fish. It definitely seems like the new moon and big storm on Sunday brought in a new wave of fish. Striped bass fishing, Evan noted, has also picked up considerably. He’s had customers running down the Elizabeths at night and catching fish to 37 inches on live eels, plus a couple of local shore fishermen who caught stripers in the 20-pound class from town beaches. These next two weeks, Evan said, are his favorite time of year to fish because you can catch just about anything. Sea bass, scup, stripers, bluefish, albies, and bonito are all fair game, and fluke season is still open until the 23rd. Water temps are already in the high 60s and falling, so make these next few weeks count!
From Martha’s Vineyard, Captain Kurt Freund of Fishsticks Charters out of Vineyard Haven reported: “This week’s report is largely the same as last week’s. Bonito continue to be our primary target, with some small bluefish popping up randomly. Bonito continue to show up in small quick feeds and the occasional longer blitz. It has been challenging to get close enough to cast to these feeding fish before they disappear again, and there are times when a lure cast right into a feed goes untouched. But with patience and persistence, we’ve been able to land at least one bonito on most of the trips this week. Most of these fish have been packed with small silversides, so it makes sense that small swimming plugs like the size 8 X-Rap and metal jigs like the Hogy Heavy Minnow jig have been our most productive lures.
- Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain on Cape Cod & the Islands
Tyler Huckemeyer of the Helen H Fleet out of Hyannis told me they’ve got a lot going on these days, but it’s all in the name of good fishing. The porgy (scup) bite in Nantucket Sound has been very good, and there are plenty of sea bass mixed in. They’ll be running mixed bag bottom fishing trips until the sea bass season wraps up in mid October. Their offshore overnight tuna trips are seeing good fishing for yellowfin lately, and although the tuna are on the smaller side, Tyler said the quantity is there. Overnight canyon trips for yellowfin will also continue, whenever conditions allow, until mid October. In other news, the cod season opened on September 1 in the Western Gulf of Maine with a daily limit of 1 fish per person at a 23-inch minimum. The Helen H will be running groundfishing trips for haddock and cod until cod closes on October 31, at which point those trips will be focused on haddock and pollock. Huckemeyer said it has been a decent bite so far, and it should get better heading into late September. Finally, they’ll also be running Nantucket Sound tautog trips in October and November, so head to the Helen H website and check out their booking calendar for open dates.
Christian at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis said he had roughly 20 shots at blitzing albies off the local beaches this week but still, no dice on the shore ‘core. However, the kayak guys, he said, were catching them good just a bit further from shore on heavy pink epoxies. The albie feeds seem to have improved since last week, but they continue to stay out of range for shore fishermen. Over in Cape Cod Bay, there was a huge blitz earlier this week with bass chasing bunker into a foot of water at sunset. It has quieted down since then, but there will be more pods of migratory fish heading west toward the canal in the coming weeks. Fishing effort for sea bass and fluke is still surprisingly strong in Nantucket Sound, Christian added. The fluke bite is certainly slowing down, but people are catching them out in the Sound and off the beaches. Most of the fluke being caught lately are shorts, but you might encounter some bigger, keeper-size fish off the shoals out by Monomoy, he said. When it comes to freshwater, smallmouth bass fishing in the ponds is hard to pass up—especially when they’re hitting poppers early in the morning. Stop in and check out Sports Port’s selection of saltwater and freshwater tackle this weekend.
Riverview Bait and Tackle in South Yarmouth reported: “Although summer is slowly waning, the sun is still shining and the fish are still biting for Riverview’s crew and customers! Sea bassing in the sound has been the highlight of this past week. Boat anglers from Yarmouth’s artificial reef all the way east to Monomoy have been hammering knotheads. As has been the case all summer, bigger presentations—6” Gulp grubs in salmon and pink shine, as well as heavier ball head jigs—have been the ticket to sea bass success.
While bottom fishing, keep a lighter rod rigged for albies and bonito. They’ve yet to make a strong showing in eastern Nantucket Sound. However, our customers who’ve fished further west, as far as the Elizabeths, have seen more consistent feeds comprised of fish willing to eat.
Striper action has slowed in Cape Cod Bay; scattered smaller fish have been the primary quarry for our staff and customers who’ve hit the surf at night. At the same time, recreational anglers looking for larger game in Cape Cod Bay have found some rec-sized tuna recently. Customer Patrick Brewster landed a beautiful football bluefin solo late last week on light spin gear!”
Captain Matt Dempsey of Salt Reaper Charters out of Dennis said he’s finding steady action from striped bass and bluefish in Cape Cod Bay as fish head for the canal. The skipper said the bite is best early in the morning and most of the bass have ranged from schoolies to the low-30-inch class. The bluefish are larger than we’ve seen on Cape for most of the season, with some chunky double-digit fish mixed with the stripers—a nice change of pace from the 2- to 5-pound blues that have dominated Buzzards Bay and Vineyard and Nantucket sounds this year. The fall run is underway, so give Capt. Matt a call to inquire about his upcoming availability.
Captain Elena Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters out of Truro shared the following report: “The changing angle of the sun gets more dramatic as we head into mid-September and striped bass activity remains best off the ocean side as the stripers, too, start changing their summer patterns. We’re using mostly live or chunk bait for striped bass, with vertical jigging green tube tails as the next best option. The topwater gear gets a break, but we’re keeping it ready should that moment arise. Bluefin tuna fishing off outer Cape Cod and in the bay is producing some really big catches, including a 108-inch, 800-pound fish taken in the bay this week by Captain Ian Wall aboard Reel Deal II. We are still vigilantly monitoring for those smaller recreational-size fish which have yet to settle in—a bit atypical for this time of year. If that occurs later than usual, it could make for an epic October season as we enjoyed years ago. Be sure to take advantage of every weather window we get to head out on one last fishing charter! View availability here.”
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
We’ve got some true fall weather ahead. The forecast for the next week shows daily highs in the mid 60s with steady wind most days, so break out the hoodies, windbreakers, and insulated bibs for those brisk early morning outings.
Over the next 7 days, I’d expect the albie bite to ramp up a bit as true fall weather patterns emerge. The cooler the water and sloppier the conditions, the more recklessly albies (and bonito) tend to feed. However, there’s also the potential for a heavy blow to completely shake things up on the hardtail front. We’ll have to wait and see. All the more reason to take your shots at albies this weekend.
Even more so than good albie action, we can expect much better striper fishing across the board—from the beaches of Cape Cod Bay to the Canal, to the harbors, bays, and salt ponds that wreath the Cape. It can only get better before it gets worse, and judging by the forecast, next week is going to be a good one for shore/surf fishermen. Not only do the conditions look great, but we’ll be heading toward a full moon on September 26, which is bound to put some more fish on the move.
September 26 is also the day of On The Water’s StriperFest. Come down to Falmouth Marine Park from 12-6 p.m. to listen to live music, shop around, explore work from local artists, and celebrate another striped bass fishing season. I’ll see you there.
Until then, I’m shaking off this stupid flu and going full bore fall run fishing. Enjoy the weekend, be safe, and fish hard.