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main page.Capt. John Christian reporting on Buzzard's Bay and the Elizabeth's remarks that Quick's Hole and the Sow and Pigs are holding some nice sized bass. These fish are mostly being caught on wire line and jigs or umbrellas. However the shore casting in Falmouth has slowed. The stripers are eating mostly squid now and fishers should bait with this in mind. Bluefish caught on bait are running in the 5 pound class and schoolie bass are generally going 20 to 25 inches.
Sheila, at the north end of the canal, continues to report that there are big stripers in the canal but you have to be able to cast to the middle to reach 'em. Over the weekend she saw fish in the 31 pound to 44 inch size coming into the shop. There are still herring schools in the canal and these and pogies are the best bait. She hears that the south Cape is still doing well, as others report. Boating has been difficult with all the wind and so offshore reports from the Bay aren't available.
Steve Shiraka provides the Cape Cod Bayside beaches and Barnstable Harbor update for this week. He says that the fishing has continued good on sandy Neck from the trail opening out to Little Neck. Best time for the fly fishermen appears to be in the evening using poppers on fly line and Clousers on monocore. Steve continues to report that Barnstable Harbor itself has been very good for stripers up to 34 inches or a little better. The squid are into the harbor and the fish and birds are chasing them for plenty of action. A lot of sand eels are in too and they add to the healthy stocks of holding striped bass.
Chris Morissette from Rock Harbor on Cape Cod Bay says that the striped bass are holding on the northern edge of the shoals lately. These fish are running 28 to 38 inches and there are some bluefish mixed in with them. He finds similar fish on south Sunken Meadow. If you are looking for the bigger stripers, try the #1 buoy out on Billingsgate Shoals. Umbrella rigs, jigging and a mix of Bombers and spoons have been successful on these bass. Chris does say that the fishing has been varied, so if one day is slow the next might be hot. There are plenty of sand eels around and they are the best bait right now.
Emilio in P'town reports that many schoolie bass are being taken on a fly and small plugs. A lot of fluke are being caught on small bucktails, eels and clam strips right now off the beaches but not many flounder. Places to try are Race Point and Hatches Harbor for stripers in the 28 to 36 inch size.
Tommy Goodrow from Orleans has been fishing Nauset Inlet. He says there have been some "tackle busting" blues coming up the coast lately, 30 to 40 inch fish and he sees a lot of smiles on folks comin' off the beach. He adds that the bass are coming into town cove now and the fishing is getting better every day.
Chatham has been very windy in most places this past week. The fishing appears to be off somewhat in Pleasant Bay and down to the break but the difficult fishing may account for that. There are still a nice mix of 12 to 32 inch stripers in the Bay and a few 4 to 6 pound bluefish mixed in. The wind has kept most boaters off Monomoy flats so no report from there. The herring runs are still showing fish and a few sand eels have started to come in from the Atlantic so bait is around to hold the fish. Fishers catch the best working flies or lures right on the bottom now.
Larry Nickerson in Harwichport cautions that the fishing continues to slow down but some very good catches are still being made. He notes that there are some very nice bass up in the Herring River chasing the very good run there this year. Larry heard of eight keepers being caught off Red River Beach last weekend but only one bluefish taken off Hardings lately, which jibes with other reports of a general Hardings Beach decline in the last weeks. Of course, a few folks are still taking bass off Monomoy with wire line and herring but plugs don't seem to be producing well right now. Larry hears of a few scup taken but no big catches yet.
Andy Little in Hyannis says that on the south shore of the Sound, beach casters are still taking stripers and bluefish from Cotuit to Popponesset. For those afloat, Horseshoe Shoals has given up some nice fish to trolling jigs and umbrella rigs. Others are using chunk bait with some success off Great Island and Bishops & Clerks. On the flats, the usual flies and light spinning grub tails have been right for the schoolies. The bottom fishing continues slow for tautog and he believes they are heading offshore.
Coop, out on the Vineyard, starts his report with Wasque. Fishing the blues at the rip on the last few hours of the ebb as very good. The east beach has been "spotty" but the Jetties are best. Cape Pogue is holding some small bass and Cape Pogue Gut is giving up good fish early in the day. The big bridge in Oak Bluffs has also been showing a lot of stripers and bluefish early in the morning. East Chop is okay. West Chop is good with eels or herring or wire and jigs. At Menemsha, there are a lot of small bass in the creek but bigger fish in the pond. Gay Head and Devil's Bridge has been good to the boaters but Lobsterville is just starting and Coop thinks next week it will really "fire off". Squibnocket has had only "so-so" little fish. He says it is still cold offshore and there isn't much out there yet.
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