The storm has settled and fishing has resumed around Cape Cod. Well, for a lot of anglers, the fishing never stopped. Saturday morning, at the height of the storm, a big crowd was working the Cape Cod Canal to see if the northeast winds had blown in any migratory stripers. The storm hit pause on the albie season, but things may be getting back on track, and there are fun-sized bluefin within range of the Cape. October is off to a great start.
The action and the anglers have been concentrated at the East End of the Canal, according to AJ at Red Top Sporting Goods. Fishermen have been lining up, bouncing paddletails along the bottom, and catching good-sized stripers every day. The bite started before the storm, kept going right through the bad weather, and continued all week. Be prepared to fish in a crowd, though, and watch the anglers around you to time your cast so it fits into the “rotation.”
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Paddletails have been the most popular choice, in white and green, from 3 to 5 ounces depending on how fast the current is running. Bucktails are also working.
AJ said there’s been scattered action throughout the Canal, just nothing as consistent as the East End. He mentioned that mackerel moved back in after the storm, which could spark some topwater action. Until now, the Canal bass have been glued to the bottom.
There’s solid striper fishing on the South Side of the Cape as well, according to Evan at Eastman’s Sport & Tackle. Evan said he’s been selling lots of eels to boat and shore fishermen alike. Shore anglers have been focusing on the outflows, where he said the bait has been 4- to 6-inch peanut bunker. Boaters are doing best by running down the Elizabeth Islands and slinging eels into the rocks, a tale as old as time.
Christian at Sports Port also had good news on the striper scene. He said white paddletails have been effective in the Canal, and fishermen are finding a wide range of bass, from schoolies to 40-plus-inchers, from the Canal throughout Cape Cod Bay and even down the backside beaches. In other words, the stripers have us surrounded.
Bluefish have been scarce, though I managed to find one last night while fishing some of the eels Evan recommended. Normally, I’d be furious to have an eel shortened to a cigar stub by a yellow-eyed devil, but I’ve seen so few of them this year that I almost didn’t mind.
Even when the bluefishing is slow on the Cape, you can always count on some at the islands. Participants in the Martha’s Vineyard Derby have weighed in 360 bluefish so far this year, with an 18-pounder leading the boat division and a 15-pounder leading the shore division. Based on the numbers, it’s also been an excellent season for bonito on the Vineyard, especially for shore anglers, who have weighed in more bones than the boat crowd.
Albies are the biggest question mark since the storm. The fishing was just starting to get consistent on the Cape when the nor’easter rolled through. Now that the seas have settled and the water looks beautiful, everyone’s wondering when (or if) the albies will be back.
Christian at Sports Port said he’s had no word of false albacore in the Hyannis-to-Waquoit stretch since the storm. Evan at Eastman’s heard about blitzing fish, but the anglers who got casts into the feeds hooked bonito.
Since the storm, the bonito seem to have come roaring back to parts of the South Side, with some good-sized fish in the mix. Large silversides, a favorite bonito prey, have been fueling the bite, and both epoxy jigs and Albie Snax are working.
School bluefin tuna, which seemed to skip the Cape for most of the summer, turned up off Provincetown ahead of the storm, and a few boats that ventured out early this week found them again. Capt. Bobby Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters used a RonZ to put tuna in the box this week. Trolling has also raised fish.
The water’s still pretty warm, but tog fishing is good and getting better. Christian at Sports Port said the shop is stocked with green crabs, and fishermen have been hitting Nantucket Sound structure to find keeper blackfish. The tog limit is three fish through October 14, and it bumps up to five fish on October 15.
Anglers can still keep black sea bass, which is great because there are still keepers around. I caught two while jigging in the Canal this past week. The limit is two sea bass per day through October 14.
Fall trout stocking began this week, with trucks from the Sandwich Hatchery making the rounds to deliver rainbow trout to ponds across the Cape. As water temperatures drop, the holdover trout will get more active and move shallow along with the fresh stockies, making for some fun, fast fall fishing. Spinners, spoons, and stickbaits will all work, but one of the old-timers’ favorite tactics is the “blown-up nightcrawler,” a worm injected with an air bubble. The air floats the worm off the bottom and into the line of sight of a cruising trout. The technique is especially effective after some rain.
Best Bets for the Weekend
It’s going to be a beautiful fall weekend, especially compared to last weekend. Stripers are all around the Cape, so pick your poison. Given the crowds on the Canal during the storm, you can count on a lot of anglers fishing the Big Ditch this weekend, especially the East End. If you’re willing to move away from the crowds, though, you could find some fish and a lot more elbow room. Pack plenty of jigs, but bring a few pencil poppers in case the fish start feeding on top.
If you want some solitude and a shot at a good fish, grab some eels and work the Elizabeths, or take a walk on the Outer Cape.
If you’re making a run around P-Town and the Outer Cape looking for tuna, keep some bass gear on board (if you’re within 3 miles), because tuna fishermen keep reporting 25-pound striped “nuisances” grabbing baits and lures meant for bluefin.
The albies could come back any day, and with all the bonito around, going out to look isn’t a fool’s errand. Again, pack some bass gear, since roving packs of stripers have been turning up all over the Cape since the storm.
You could also fish for trout, but they aren’t going anywhere. Maybe leave the freshwater gear in the garage for a couple more weeks.