Cape Cod Fishing Report

Jeff at Canal Bait and Tackle in Sagamore says “everyone is catching fish.” From the east end all the way to the west end. There have been small bass, slots, and fish up to 40 pounds. Mackerel-colored plugs have been working best, according to Jeff.

Pat at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth says not much has changed locally There are plenty of small stripers and bluefish at Middle Ground. Monomoy is holding slot-sized bass, Billingsgate has pretty good, and the east end of the Canal has been fishing well for surfcasters. Sea bass action has stayed the same at Cedar Tree, where the fish can be found in 80 to 120 feet of water. West End and Middle Ground have short fluke—if you’re looking for keepers, Nantucket Shoals is the best bet. There are reports of bonito, bluefish, and black sea bass coming from the Hooter. The Dump has plenty of 30-to-40-inch bluefin and there have also been reports of white marlin. Veatch and Atlantis Canyons offer the best shot for yellowfin at the moment. Giant bluefin up to 100 inches have been taken at Regal Sword Wreck.

Kurt at Fishsticks Charters on Martha’s Vineyard says he caught 40- to 50-inch bluefin at the Claw on Monday trolling spreader bars. He heard reports of some big bass being taken on live bunker. The squid bite in the rips is over and now there’s small ½- to ¾ inch bait filling in. Kurt says his charters are catching bluefish in the rips with soft plastics on jigheads, metal jigs, or swimming lures. There are fluke but they’re mostly shorts with the occasional keeper mixed in.

Peter at Larry’s Tackle Shop on Martha’s Vineyard says shore brown sharking is unbelievable with fish to 200 pounds. Bluefish has been the bait of choice—some are live lining and others are casting and floating them. Peter says he hooked into five last night and landed two. There are 7- to 8-pound bluefish tight to shore on the east side with some bigger fish mixed it. However, it’s hit or miss. The bite turns on for 45 minutes and shuts down. Action up island has been decent at Squibby, Menemsha, and Gay Head. Some decent-sized fluke up to 6 pounds were caught in Vineyard Sound from the boat. Peter says it’s challenging and the fishing is hit or miss. Black sea bass are everywhere, including the harbor where there are also porgies being caught. Bonito have been caught by boats trolling in the rips of Squibby and Noman’s. The offshore bite has moved east and there are reports of white marlin popping up on the calmer days.

Elena at Reel Deal Charters in Provincetown says the striper and bluefish bite off the tip of Provincetown has been really good. They’re seeing slot-sized fish on mackerel, but the charters are occasionally bumping into schools of squid and sea herring. Elena says it was hard to find tuna at Regal Sword Wreck because they kept hooking into large porbeagle sharks.

Gary at Sports Port Bait & Tackle says his coworker Ben caught a 42 inch bass at the east end of the Canal on a topwater plug. He also noted brown sharks are being taken off the beaches.

Capt. Ross of Cape Cod Charter Guys in Bourne says the striper and bluefish topwater bite has been good in Cape Cod Bay. His charters have been working through thick fog to find birds diving on sand eels, silversides, and bunker in 10 to 25 feet of water. The 7” and 9” Doc are producing slot and some over slot fish. Capt. Ross says the over-slot fish have been on bunker schools.

AJ at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay says today marks the 10th day in a row of consistent action in the morning at the Canal. Bass are being taken at the east and west end on topwater plugs, jigs, and Magic Swimmers. AJ says the fish have been feeding on tinker mackerel.

Cape Cod Forecast

Although the new moon breaking tides passed, the bass have stuck around the Canal and they continue to feed on mackerel in the mornings. The Canal is the right play for catching a slot or over slot bass at the moment. Cape Cod Bay and Martha’s Vineyard have been consistently producing stripers and blues for the boats trolling and fishing live bait.

Bluefin tuna fishing is getting better and the fish are getting larger south of the Vineyard, but the general consensus is they’re moving east. Giant tuna have been east of Chatham, along with porbeagle sharks.

Finding keeper-sized fluke has been difficult because of all the shorts. The shoals of Nantucket are still producing doormat fluke but the weather windows have been few and far between.

If you can’t get out in a boat, shark fishing is a wise play, especially at night for browns on the South Cape and Vineyard. Bluefish or bunker should get you hooked into several browns in an outing.