Cape Cod Fishing Report
After a 4- to 5-day lull in the striper action last week, a dry spell which had many Cape anglers thinking “this is the end”, a sign of hope arrived in Nantucket Sound—bunker.
Acres of menhaden were spotted between Woods Hole and Quicks Hole last weekend, and it didn’t stop there. The stream of bunker continued throughout this week, with scattered pods of adult pogies marching west along the shores of Nantucket Sound. With those bunker came a few more stripers, gator bluefish, and what might have been the last wave of bonito on the south side of Cape.
According to a couple close friends who were able to run down the islands, the bass were mostly schoolies and slots—not exactly big enough to eat full-size bunker. However, they were more than willing to hit 5- to 6-inch white topwater plugs, as well as live eels. According to my buddy Zack, there were a lot of stripers tight to the rocks as far south as Cuttyhunk—a sign that they were on their way out of town.
Bonito, on the other hand, were ripping through schools of micro bait fish, and they were more than willing to hit jigs for a change. Zack and his co-worker, after catching their share of bass, ran into the bones on their way back toward Falmouth and caught 8 to 10 a piece.
While striped bass and bonito left the adult bunker pods unbothered, big bluefish to 10 pounds blitzed on them mid-day on Tuesday. A crew of OTW employees caught wind of the action and a mass exodus from the office followed. A few gators were landed by locals and OTW’s own Jimmy Fee before the blues vanished just as quickly as they appeared. The bunker remained only until sundown. By the next morning, they too, were gone.
The point in sharing all this is: it might seem like the run is over, but it’s not. Close to the end? Yes. But there are still stragglers to be caught. Maybe there’s a school of late-season cows or another wave of bunker with double-digit bluefish hot on their tails just north of us. That’s enough to keep me out fishing in the surf and wading in the salt ponds until it’s uncomfortably cold and the water is basically lifeless. That’s half the reason I enjoy late-fall tautog fishing—the prospect of seeing something promising that might lead to one last striper or one more bonito blitz.
Togging was slow for me last weekend, but I was fishing too deep. Our 3-man crew managed only a few shorts and a lot of jumbo throwback sea bass, which was somewhat expected. It was a scouting mission, and I’m confident the tog will move a bit further offshore in two weeks time. For now, tog anglers should have no problem finding fish in shallow water on jigs. Roughly 30 to 35 feet seems to be the sweet spot, judging by reports from anglers who had far more success this week, including Captain Kurt Freund of Fishsticks Charters. As water temps drop a few more degrees, we’ll see the fish slide deeper.
In fresh water, the trout bite is picking up in the ponds as temps drop, and there are loads of baitfish in shallow. I saw small sunfish, killies, and juvenile herring with stocked rainbows and smallmouth bass crashing through them this week.
Whether you’re hitting fresh or salt, get outside this week and wet a line before it’s too late. The fish are biting, and the cold is coming.
Here’s this week’s rundown from a few of our local shops and charters:
Howie at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay said there are not many stripers left in the Cape Cod Canal these days, although the east end had some fish on jigs and metals earlier in the week. Similarly, the bonito bite has really slowed down, but there are a few stragglers also lingering in the east end where bait has been a bit more plentiful. Howie also mentioned that there have been a lot of bunker passing through Buzzards Bay and heading south, but there have been no fish on them. Tog fishing, he added, has been good in the west end of the canal and out in the bay with most keeper-sized fish coming from structure in 30 to 35 feet, like last week. On the freshwater side of things, largemouth bass fishing has been very good in the ponds, with jerkbaits and 2.5- to 3-inch swimbaits on 1/4-ounce jigheads producing some quality bass in the 3-pound range. The bass are feeding on schools of small river herring, sunfish, which is why Howie recommends fishing brighter, natural-colored finesse swimbaits this time of year. The shop has a good deal of freshwater bass and trout gear, so pop in on your way to the pond this weekend.
Captain Ray Jarvis of Salt of the Earth Sportfishing out of Westport said there are still a lot of striped bass to be caught in the backwaters, but the action is on and off from day to day. There is a ton of bait around, he added, and catching bass is still just a matter of finding the bait because the fish seem to turn on with the tide. Tog fishing has also been good and there are big throwback sea bass in the mix. Ray has his final charter of the season this coming weekend, but if you’re interested in booking a trip in 2027, give him a shout.
From Martha’s Vineyard, Captain Kurt Freund of Fishsticks Charters out of Vineyard Haven reported: “The beautiful weather this weekend was surpassed only by the spectacular tautog fishing. Last week’s report was spot on about the depth where we should expect to find tog, as we anchored up in depths of 30’ to 32’ in rocky areas and found immediate and non-stop action with lots of tog and some sea bass. Note that sea bass season has closed, so all our sea bass, including some really big ones, were released. We caught tog up to 20 inches, with many in the keeper range and many more smaller fish. We caught fish on both rigs and jigs, but with this moon tide, we only had a short period of time around the slack when we could fish effectively with jigs. During the peak current, we needed sinkers up to 16 ounces to hold bottom. I’m looking forward to a few more weeks of excellent tog fishing. I’m available for charters and I can pick folks up in Falmouth if they’re not staying on the Vineyard.”
- Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain on Cape Cod & the Islands
Amy at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis said the saltwater scene is really starting to slow down, but there are oppotunities to extend the season if you haven’t already hung it up. When it comes to striped bass, there are some fish in the back bays along the south side eating small bait like silversides, so consider using topwaters and soft plastics that are appropirately sized to match the forage. In the Canal, striper fishing is still decent—a crew of shop regulars has been catching by just jigging paddletails toward the east end. Tautog fishing, she noted, has been good in the Canal, too. However, closer to the shop in Nantucket Sound, the tog fishing has been a bit tougher. Amy said the boat crowd is catching a lot of fish, but finding keepers has been a real struggle. The kayak guys seem to be doing better on shallower rock piles, tighter to the beach than some of the boats can get. One of their customers, who is an avid tog angler, shared that they caught 100 fish and had only 5 keepers during a recent trip in the Sound—that’s a short to keeper ratio of 20 to 1. Meanwhile, the kayak anglers hitting smaller rock piles in tight are seeing ratios of along the lines of 5 shorts for every 1 keeper. Amy recommends moving around a bit more to find different pieces and types of structure as the tog push offshore, even if you’re in a spot with plenty of short life and trying to build a bite. When it comes to fresh water, Amy said trout fishing has been the main draw lately since all the ponds were stocked, and just about everything is catching fish right now including nightcrawlers, spoons, spinners, and PowerBait. Sports Port is fully loaded with fresh green crabs for the weekend and the weather looks decent, so give the tog a shot before picking up a freshwater wand.
Riverview Bait and Tackle in South Yarmouth reported: “The weather and water are cooling down, but there are still fish to be found all around Cape Cod! Despite the rapidly cooling water temps Monomoy has seen a push of larger bass in the past week. These are likely waves of migrating fish moving down the backside on their southbound route. In lieu of the usual larger soft plastics and topwaters like the Doc, try throwing smaller sand eel imitators like Savage Gear Sandeels and diamond jigs to imitate this common fall forage species.
Our customers and charters dedicated to putting a few fillets in the freezer for this coming winter are finding flounder in Cape Cod Bay willing to bite clams. Tog are also still active throughout Buzzards Bay and will readily eat any jig dropped down with a halved green crab. We have an abundant supply of locally-sourced clams and crabs for all your bottom fishing needs!
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
Tog fishing is the best bet for saltwater anglers this weekend. Buzzards Bay, Vineyard Sound and the Elizabeths are fishing well, while the action has generally been a little slower in Nantucket Sound. Get your green crabs early to make sure you have bait in case your local shop runs out!
If stripers are on your radar, head to your neighborhood salt pond, the Cape Cod Canal, or south to the Elizabeths or even the rivers of mainland Massachusetts along the South Coast.
Trout fishing will also be a good choice, with high sun and low overnight temps making it a great weekend to cast spoons and spinners in the kettle ponds.
Have a safe and happy Halloween!