Everywhere you go now the stripers are in, and in big numbers. These fish are running 16 to 25 inches, or about 6 inches bigger than the first run of schoolies of a month ago. There were a lot of fish then and there are even more now. Keepers are usually in the just-legal size of 28 to 31 inches, with only a few notable 41- and 42-inch fish having been taken to date. This means that the big ones aren't here yet, so we're all looking forward to even better fishing to come.

Bluefish are in too, but not in big numbers. These are big fish, though.
Fish in the 6- to 10-pound size are the rule with 14s and 16s showing up unpredictably to bust up tackle and chop off the occasional schoolie tail in the surf!

On the forage scene, the herring runs were mostly good this year but the big spring runs are past. The run in the Canal has been closed. Mackerel are in Nantucket Sound and the Canal in very good numbers, and have been for weeks. There are big numbers of sand eels in Buzzards Bay. Pogies are also being seen lately in the Canal and sand eels as far as Chatham's Pleasant Bay and Orleans on the Bay side. Some folk are already scoring on black eels, and even crabs are accounting for a few keeper-size fish.

Sheila Miller at Canal Bait and Tackle just told me that big stripers were busting the surface of the Canal on the turn of the tide. Anglers capable of casting to the middle with plugs were catching the fish, but you had to cast far enough to reach them. She says that there are a lot of tinker mackerel and pogies in the Canal right now and folks using cut bait are doing well up by the power plant, catching 25- to 29-inch fish. She hears that a "ton 'o blues" are being caught from boats near the west end, fish in the 15-pound size and smaller blues (only 8 pounders!) are being taken in the Canal. On the freshwater scene, Sheila hears of the stocked salmon being taken from Peter's Pond by lucky fishermen hunting big rainbows and browns.

Steve Shiraka, a fishing guide in the West Barnstable area, tells of good numbers of sand eels in Barnstable Harbor and the excellent fishing that can be expected there. He says that the fishing has been very good at Mill Creek and on Horseshoe Bar for those catching the tide. And on the flood on the east bar from the east side of the channel to Bass Hole and Chapin's, the fishing has been excellent. Fly-fishing, live-lining and small plugs have been consistently yielding 16- to 25-inch fish and not many keepers yet. Steve says that Sandy Neck is closed due to piping plover nesting, but those cruising the shallows by boat have seen the fishing pick up considerably in the last couple of weeks. There has been good fishing at the mouth of Scorton Creek and Old Harbor too. Steve closes by noting that a few bluefish have been caught recently off Barnstable in the Bay by boaters.

Now, way up the Bay in Wellfleet, Seth at the Black Duck Sports Shop has an interesting report. Until last Sunday, the surf-casters were doing very well on stripers with chunk bait from Sunken Meadow to outside the harbor. But last Sunday that fishing petered out and lately only the fly-fishers using Clousers and the like have been doing well, both outside and inside the harbor. The surf- casters have switched to small Kastmasters and Hopkins to catch a few but that fishing is slow right now. A few bluefish, bigguns at 14 to 16 pounds, have been caught on the Bay but not many. It's too early for the fluke, but a few folk have been doing quite well on flounder at the target ship, using seaworms. Remember, the ship is hazardous water, so its wise to keep a distance.

Up in Provincetown, Emilio at Nelson's Bait and Tackle says that the fishing is "fantastic". They are catching a lot of schoolies off the beaches, Herring cove and Race Point using sand eels and chunk mackerel. From the breakwater, a few bluefish are being caught on Kastmasters and Bombers but the fishing for blues is spotty. The flounder fishermen are catching flounder off the breakwater on sand worms and a few fluke are being caught on clams off the beaches.

Down the outside of the Cape, Ritchie Johnson from The Bait Shack in Orleans fishes Nauset Inlet all the time, on his own as well as guiding. He tells me there is a mixed bag right now at the inlet. Last Sunday there were 5 keepers taken - one ran 42 inches - from inside! A fellow was drifting crabs with good success off Ft. Hill too. Outside, there are a lot of 12- to 24-inch stripers and the occasional keeper of the just legal size, white grubs and green and white jigs seem to be working best. No one is catching bluefish BUT a schoolie lost a tail to one in the wash as it was landed. He saw it, no doubt about it, and it had to be a big one from the bite radius.

Further down the coast in Chatham the fishing has been excellent for more than a month. I guide on Pleasant Bay and Monomoy flats for Cape Cod Outdoors. I've seen a lot of schoolies caught almost everywhere in the bay for more than a month now. Fish in the 10- to 20-inch range. After the Northeaster a couple of weeks ago, a new run of stripers in the 16- to 30-inch size added to those already in Pleasant Bay. These fish came from where they had been holding, just west of Monomoy in the sound. Fishing in Pleasant Bay is very good right now on a fly or spinning. Clousers always catch, but sometimes bigger fish fall to big white bunnies and big Deceivers. Those drifting herring and even chunk bait have picked up fish up to 41 inches from Strong Island down to the rock wall. Spin fishermen are having good success with big swimming plugs and spoons, such as Hopkins. A few bluefish are being caught up as far as Little Pleasant Bay but not consistently, though lots of schoolies are always around. Down around the corner in Nantucket Sound, there has been excellent fishing at the river mouths and off the jetties for the last three weeks. Big plugs and jigs have consistently caught well. Last week, Red River Beach saw a big run of bluefish up to 40 inches, racers. There are a lot of mackerel in the sound and the fish are feeding and hitting well.

Larry Nickerson, owner of Kildee Hill Bait and Tackle in Harwichport, saw a nice fish last night. He says a young fellow brought in a 47-inch striper that weighed 37 pounds. He said he took it from Allen Harbor on live herring. And speaking of herring, it's been a great year for herring on Herring River this year. They are still running up strong, which would explain the big fish hanging around the river mouths. In general though, Larry notes that the fishing has slowed down a bit over the last week from the spectacular action of the previous two weeks. They're still catching blues off the jetties in the 33- to 39-inch size, racers, but Red River has slowed with the arrival of more bathers and the like. Hardings Beach is tougher becuase it's pretty dirty right now from the strong Sou'west winds and surf of late. The good news is that the trap fishermen are getting marketable fluke out in the sound (that's 14 inches-plus) - the fluke are moving along the Cape on schedule. Out on Monomoy, trollers are catching a few keepers using parachute jigs around Pollock Rip. On the freshwater scene, Larry says he's selling a lot of shiners to folks trying for the salmon in Sheep's Pond and Big Cliff. Largemouth bass fishermen should know that they are still on the beds, but not for long.

Andy Little is in charge of the fishing department at The Powderhorn Outfitters in Hyannis. Andy recommends the fishing from Popponesset (and Succonnesset) to New Seabury and saw a nice striper, 41 inches, taken on an eel the other night. Stripers are running to the sizes found elsewhere, 16 to 29 inches. Bluefish are jumping on Kastmasters and poppers thrown from shore, and he hears that they are still getting a few blues along with a lot of stripers off the mouth of Bass river. Oregon Beach is offering some good fishing from the beach and the jetties. Asked about the ground fishing, Andy says the scup and tautog fishing is poor and he hasn't heard of any sportfishing take of fluke yet. He did hear that a few guys were getting flounder off the can in Barnstable Harbor though.

Capt. Mike Doak of Eastwind Sportfishing charters out of Falmouth says that the fishing has been "fantastic" off the Elizabeth Islands and Martha's Vineyard. Mike reports that the biggest fish have been taken drifting live herring and that there are a lot of bluefish in the 6- to 10-pound size around. He notes that the fish are heavier in general this year, and I would have to agree that that is my experience and what most others have seen as well. This indicates the very healthy state of the striper stocks and should indicate a very good fishing year. Mike adds that the fishing from the beach and jetties as well as from boats has all been very good. Fly-fishers have been scoring well on these big schoolies too.

Speaking of the Vineyard, I was talking to Cooper Gilkes at Coop's Bait and Tackle on the Vineyard the other day. Coop was telling me that lately Wasque had been really hot on the last three hours of ebb for bluefish. He added that the blues were up the east beach all the way to Arudia Point. The jetty fishing has also been good for schoolies and blues around the island. Cape Poge and Squibnocket have been producing good bass and some keepers as well. Coop particularly mentioned that they were catching well from boats at Devil's Bridge using eels and that West Chop was holding fish as well. As usual, the Vineyard seems to offer some of the best fishing around.

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