Above: Captain Bobby Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters took advantage of the weather windows this week to catch two 100-inch-plus tuna!

It’s getting quiet on the Cape. Many of the shops I called this week had little to no fresh information, but there is still some news.

At Red Top, there’s still word of schoolie stripers in the Canal taking jigs near the bottom. The South Side and Cape Cod Bay beaches are still producing schoolie bass in the early mornings. Small baits are best, like a 3-inch paddle-tail soft plastic. Fly-fishermen are also catching on days when when the wind isn’t too bad.

On Martha’s Vineyard, the best action is either the mackerel bite in Edgartown Harbor or the white perch and schoolies in the ponds according to Peter at Larry’s Tackle.

John from Eastmans went south to Rhode Island this week where he found plenty of hungry schoolies and a few keepers. John said there were lots of anglers and even boats out enjoying the fishing, and that he thinks there’s probably similar action happening somewhere on Cape Cod with few anglers there to experience it.

Freshwater fishing is very good. Water temperatures are prime for peak trout activity, with rainbows rising to midges on calm mornings and browns hunting the shallows after dark.  A gold spoon, cast at sunrise or sunset will take either species.

The water is still warm enough for the smallmouth to be shallow and on the feed. Jerkbaits are prime for fall smallies, but a tube jig bounced along the bottom like a crayfish will draw hits as well.

On the shallow largemouth ponds, the weeds are still pretty close to the surface, making it difficult to fish deeper-diving baits. Shallow-running crankbaits will catch, as will weedless-rigged soft swimbaits. Spinnerbaits are another fall favorite among the legions of largemouth anglers.

Pickerel are biting well on just about anything you can show them.

Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod

There’s still time if you want to catch a few more stripers in the surf. You might even find a keeper, but you’ll have to weed through big numbers of schoolies first. The smaller lures are producing best, and it’s a good idea to crush your barbs to facilitate the release of the small stripers.

In freshwater, there are plenty of fish to catch, and with the mild weather, this weekend is looking perfect for a raid on the local trout and bass ponds. Big largemouths are feeding heavily, and its a good time to show them a big bait.

Or, if you have the time, you could always head south to Rhode Island where there are a few more bass, and a few more keeper sized fish still swimming around the surf.