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main page.| Provincetown | I saw Emilio at Nelson's Bait & Tackle in Provincetown this morning and he reported that bluefish were hitting at the Race as we were talking at 8 A.M. There are a lot of schoolies around still and only a few dedicated surf casters are picking up the keepers now on plugs and chunks. The fluking is still good though, and bluefish are also being caught offshore by the boaters dragging eels and such for stripers. I asked about small squid (more later) and another fellow mentioned seeing them thick at the main pier in P'town the night before, under the lights amid other small baitfish. There is plenty of forage around to hold the fish. |
| Barnstable Harbor | Capt. Todd Balicki of Nemesis Charters e-mailed this report: "The harbor
has quieted down a bit this week with fish showing on the dawn tides. Best
bet is to try outside off Chapin in deeper water or try eels at night on
the Horseshoe or the #4 nun on the incoming evening tides. There are still
huge schools of small sand eels scattered around the harbor and in the bay
so try to locate fish using the " bait jumping " method. Keep
lures and flies deep as the water temp. is up there, around 70. The fluke
bite is pretty good on the Horseshoe using squid strips and jigs, so don't
pass up these hard fighters and good eaters. Otherwise, the Harbor this
week should still rank at the top of this list, as most other areas on the Cape have fish moved offshore into deeper water. Sandspikers should try sand eels on the bottom on the flooding tides at or near the Bone Hill area." Thanks again, Todd. |
| Nantucket Sound and Barnstable | Andy at the Powderhorn in Hyannis says the water is extremely warm and the fishing off a bit because of this. But there are still a few bonito being caught off the tent at Popponesset. Check Collier's Ledge off Centerville for striper action this week. The blues have been running to 12 pounds on Horseshoe Shoals lately. Andy has also recently heard of both stripers and blues up on the grass in Barnstable Harbor. |
| Harwichport | Larry Nickerson, owner of Kildee Hill Bait & Tackle in Harwichport, says the shore fishing remains slow but the snapper blues are pretty well into the coves and rivers. A few sub- legal bass have been taken off the jetties lately but the best fishing is still the fluking off the Kill Pond Buoy and the bluefishing out near the end of Monomoy.. |
| Nauset Inlet & Orleans | Tom at the Bait Shack in Orleans says that the bite is still on right off the boardwalk at Nauset Beach and lots of visitors have done well there this past week, casting from shore. There continues to be a lot of bass off the Brewster flats as well, if fun fish in the mid-20s is your goal. Freshwater anglers continue to score on bass at night or deep, using topwaters and bait respectively. Of course the pickerel are very active, but for trout you need to get down to the thermocline and try shiners for best results. |
| Falmouth | Alex at Eastman's Sport and Tackle in Falmouth reports that the shore fishing is slowed by the warm water, though schoolies are still being caught. He did, however, note that there were some bluefin taken out past Quicks Hole in the Elizabeths! A few larger bass have been taken in Waquoit Bay on chunks and eels, but not a heavy run there, either. There have been a few bonito taken consistently off shore by trollers, but the best fishing appears to still be with the fluke. |
| Nantucket | Barry at Barry Thurston's Fish Supply on Nantucket reports the fishing only fair on the beach. The water temperature is 74 degrees off the outside jetties, and that's warm to hold bass. For best results try the stripers off the east side colder beaches, such as 'Sconset and Sankaty, and the shoals near Rose & Crown. There continue to be lots of white marlin 5 miles out off the south side - or less. Barry adds that there are big schools of bluefish off the shore on the east side, too. The bonito bite remains tentative and a few false albacore are being caught. For fluke try off Great Point, which happens to be the best location for most fish at most times of the summer. |
| Chatham & Monomoy | I guide in the Pleasant Bay and Monomoy area. The wind is back up around Chatham but there has been some improvement in the schoolie action in the bay. This may be due to more sand eels outside or the influx of 1-inch squid seen lately stranded on bars at low tide. Try dawn or dusk on the ebb and downstream side of the major bars. A few keeper stripers are being taken with regularity by the eel throwers around the lighthouse. Night is best. A short walk out South Beach, beyond the osprey nest, may be better on the flood than inside. Pollock Rip still produces both bass and blues with regularity, but take a variety of bait (sand eels, black eels and pogies) - these fish are fussy sometimes. |
| Martha's Vineyard | Coop at Coop's Bait & Tackle on the Vineyard says the striper fishing is starting to improve but for mostly small fish. Beach pluggin' and fly-fishing has been okay all around the island, much like the June run. There is a definite increase in sand eels lately, and the appearance of small squid may also be holding the bigger fish offshore. Try for bluefish off South Beach if they are your game. Fluke fishing is still okay with the spinner rigs and strip bait. Bonito is still slow for no known reason, but best around Edgartown and the Middleground. Offshore the white marlin fishing is just incredible, and yellowfin and bluefin tuna too, in the 15- to 25-pound size. These are catchable fish on spinning and fly tackle, and so a great opportunity for the angler. |
| Cape Cod Bay | Chris Morissette, of Seaduction Charter services in Rock Harbor, told me the striper fishing at sunup over Billingsgate Shoals has been great. Try jigging 18 feet deep for good sized fish and a consistent bite. He confirms the bluefish in a non-stop bite off "the path" and up Pamet to near P'town along the shore. He has seen no fluke, though he admits this may only be a result of his fishing style. Chris tells an interesting story of a professional tuna spotter flying over the bay last week spotting half a dozen makos and a couple of great whites. Interesting? |
Fine tune your fluke rigs by choosing the small spinner type or glo-worm models. Thin, 4-inch strips of belly or squid are working well. Check out the fluke story in On The Water this month for more details. Want something bigger? There appear to be a lot of sharks around this year. So why not drown half a bluefish and see if you can't hook something you'll never land? One more note: if you fly-fishers can't make those stripers hit your Clouser on the flats, try going smaller - a lot smaller. Good fishing.
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